First of the Secrets of the Third Reich Germans!

I ordered a ton of Secrets of the Third Reich (SOTR) miniatures when Wayland Games had their summer sale on.  Up to 50 % off!  There was no better time to get in than now!

After trying out a colour scheme, I pumped out my first batch:

I'm happy with their look and basing.  They're easy to paint and I've been working furiously on lots more!  However, I have been distracted because of a recent 6mm Cold War game I played with a friend.  Now I have a bunch of Soviet tanks and vehicles on nails ready to be painted...

Painted while listening to:  The Kraken Project by Douglas Preston

I've read most of the Lincoln/Child books and their stand-alone novels.  I was looking forward to this one - I liked Blasphemy and Impact....I'm not liking this one so far.  I'm about half way through.  I can guess what's going to happen and it's not very riveting so far.  We'll see how it goes.

Cold War Choppers with Rotors and WIP

I had previously tried to purchase these rotors from Hurlbat, but they didn't have them.  Imagine how happy I was when I checked on a whim and there they were! 

Above is a pic of a Mil-24 Hind and Mil-8 Hip from GHQ, escorting some 2S9 SO-120s from CinC.  I recently received an order from CinC and was pleasantly surprised at the quality!  I've had these helicopters painted for a long time, but was waiting for the rotors to become available again.  They are very nicely made rotors - I picked up a bunch for future use.  Now to find that Mil-2 Hoplite I need to finish...

Here's a peek at what is on my miniature desk:

These are some of the miniatures I've had scuplted for years, but just didn't have the funds to get them released.  I'm working on painting up some for a kickstarter I'll be having in the near future.  You can see a ton of Dust miniatures and others in the background.  ;-)

Nacht Jager

To continue the weird war two theme, I have some Nacht Jager from Artizan Designs. 

I must say that I am INCREDIBLY pleased with how they came out.  I spent a bit more time on each figure and I think it shows.  I painted the body armour the luftwaffe blue colour, associated with Fallschirmjager.  I guessed from the helmet shape that that is what they are supposed to be like.  I added the FJ eagle to the armour, since the helmet had the little rivet sticking out on the sides. 

Painted while listening to:  Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson

This is my first Jeremy Robinson book.  I've looked at his stuff before, but thought it might be like the mass-produced Clive Cussler stuff.  I was pleasantly surprised to find no crazy over-the-top characters.  Of course, you have to still suspend belief while listening to it, but I thought it was a great book!

Sturm Battalion Zorn and SOTR Trial Figure

I've been painting a ton of weird war two miniatures lately.  I finished some Sturm Battalion Zorn miniatures from Artizan Designs recently:

In searching for the link to the miniatures, I didn't realize that there were more of them!!!  Looks like I'll be having to place an order soon....   ;-)

These three were great fun to paint.  I kept the colours simple and dark, and added a few decals from Warlord Games to the helmet to add some detail.

I also had a go at the trial paint scheme for my West Wind Secrets of the Third Reich minis:

I have a lot of these miniatures to paint and I wanted something simple.  I opted out of doing camouflage on the coat as I thought it would make it look a bit too busy and take away from the look of the figure.  I really wanted the weird war two-ness of the body armour and mask to stand out.  I'm happy with how it came out and am working on his friends six at a time.

Painted while listening to:  The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn

Think of those mindless monster B-movies out there...that's what this is.  There's some monsters in the mountains and they kill people.  The characters were actually well fleshed out and probably the best part of the book.  Overall...meh.

Lots of Weird War 2 Goodness!!!

Today I have quite a few miniatures to show you.  First up are some DUST Warfare/Tactics models, which I had finished quite a while ago but was waiting for some decals to show up:

These are the Axis Laser Grenadiers, and were quite easy to paint.  I tried out doing camouflage on the pants for the first time, and I must say it spices up the models some.  The helmet and shoulder decals are the German Heer ones from Warlord Games.  The cross on the chest is from I-94 Enterprises (GR 106 on the page I've linked to).  It was my first time using decals from I-94, and I am very happy with them.

Up next are some German soldiers with Vampir sights.  They came out recently from Warlord Games, but I can't find them on the website now.

All have been given heads from West Wind's Secrets of the Third Reich line of miniatures.  I think they fit in to the Weird War theme better with the heads!

Coming in at the end are some miniatures from Warlord Games that I am very proud of how they came out.  I like the poses and the face on the SS officer.

The miniatures that I used are German Waffen-SS officer with MP38, Waffen-SS firing Stg-44 Assault Rifle, Waffen-SS running with Stg-44, and Waffen-SS with Stg-44 Assault Rifle.  Three have been given German Gasmask Figure Heads. 

I am very pleased with how they came out!  I had to do some filling with putty to make the heads look where I wanted them to, but otherwise were an easy conversion.  The ones with the helmets have decals from Warlord Games, same as on the other miniatures in this post.

As you can see, I have finally set up my photography area.  So no more sad pictures from the painting mat!

Painted while listening to:  The Last Town by Blake Crouch

I finished this one off and I really enjoyed it!  Action-packed from start to finish, and the ending could leave room for a sequel but who knows.

Sadly, I have come down with a nasty cold a few days before I head up for two weeks of work.  I didn't do any painting today, but did get to watch a fun show:

The Blood Beast Terror is a typical B-movie romp with Peter Cushing.  It doesn't get very good reviews, but I enjoyed it!

Thriller: Fan Favourites (DVD Review)

I recently read Robert E. Howard's Pigeons from Hell for the first time, and was looking online for more information on the story.  I came across a reference to an episode of Thriller being based on this story.  I checked it out further and ordered the Thriller: Fan Favourites dvd online from Chapters.

Thriller is before my time, being a tv series running from 1960-62.  All of the episodes on the dvd are in black & white, and are quite atmospheric.  Here is a run-down of the episodes, taken from a review on Amazon.com:


The Purple Room (Season One, Episode 7): With Richard Anderson, Rip Torn and Alan Napier. Unscrupulous relations try to convince a man that the mansion he just inherited is haunted.

The Watcher (Season One, Episode 8): With Richard Chamberlain. After a psycho murders a teenager, he next targets a young couple.

The Cheaters (Season One, Episode 15): With Harry Townes and Jack Weston, based on a Robert Bloch (Psycho) story. A pair of eyeglasses gives the wearer an unusual gift, but it comes with a hefty price tag.

The Hungry Glass (Season One, Episode 16): With William Shatner, Russell Johnson and Donna Douglas. Ignoring ghostly tales, a young couple insist on purchasing a home by the sea.

Well of Doom (Season One, Episode 23): With Richard Kiel. A wealthy man is held captive by a powerful sorcerer and his faithful minion.

The Prisoner in the Mirror (Season One, Episode 34): With Lloyd Bochner and Marion Ross. Another sorcerer! This one escapes from a mirror, trades bodies with a historian, and causes plenty of trouble.

Pigeons from Hell (Season One, Episode 36): With Brandon DeWilde. Two brothers with car trouble spend a terrifying night in what they think is an abandoned Louisiana mansion.

The Grim Reaper (Season One, Episode 37): With William Shatner (again) and Natalie Schafer, another one by Robert Bloch. A cursed painting may spell doom for those that possess it.

The Weird Tailor (Season Two, Episode 4): With Henry Jones and George Macready, another by Bloch. Trying to awaken his son from death, a man commissions an odd suit of clothing.

The Incredible Dr. Markesan (Season Two, Episode 22): With Boris Karloff and Dick York. A young couple is forced to stay with a creepy uncle, dark secrets are revealed.



This is a great dvd, full of fantastic stories - check it out if you're bored with the gore-fests shown at the movies today!  ;-)

DUST Ubertoten Suicide Squad

I have another DUST miniatures installment for you - this time an Axis Ubertoten Suicide Squad. 

I enjoyed the painting the Ubertoten squads - the idea of undead Germans in Weird War II is appealing. 

Painted while listening to:  The Last Town by Blake Crouch

I'm half way through it and am really enjoying it!  It's the third book in the Wayward Pines series - it reminds me of something you'd see on the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits.  I hear they're making a mini-series or something of it as well, which I am looking forward to seeing!

I've been working on organizing the man cave, and have picked up a cabinet at IKEA and put it together the other day.

I spent part of the day unpacking most of my painted miniatures, and the cabinet is getting full already!  I actually picked up the cabinet a while ago, but picked out the wrong colour of doors.  When I went back to exchange them, they only had one of the white doors!!!!  So I had to wait until they were re-stocked. 

And of course I have to give you the obligatory puppy picture: