Tuesday 30 May 2017

Day 10 update of 100 Days of Hobby

Big update!!! So here we go...

Face lift

I have given the blog a face lift and this just looks nicer

New Phone

I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S8 and it is awesome, takes great photos too!

Days 0 - 10 of 100 Days of Hobby!


Day 0 - I wanted a jump start! Primed some trucks.

Day 1 - Modulation done to the Perry Trucks

Day 1 - Sold some DAK as I have converted to Offensive/Perry Miniatures


Day 2 - Blocked in some Crew

Day 2 - Sea Lion Arrived with some other goodness

Day 3 - Strong tone ink on the Perry Miniatures Crew

Day 4 - Care package arrives! Did some highlights to truck crew

Day 5 - Truck Crew finished!

Day 6 - Truck Crew varnished, trucks chipped and base coated 7TP

Day 7 - Washed trucks, filter applied to 7TP, based up some DAK

Day 8 - 7TP gloss coated, DAK infantry given grout to bases

Day 9 - 7TP Washed, DAK Base Coated, trucks just about finished

Day 9 - 7TP starting to look the business

Day 10 - Perry Miniatures DAK Trucks Finished!


1/56 Opel Blitz 28mm Opel Blitz


Day 10 - The Pot Hole Lookout for the trucks, will model him on later

An Original Prusa i3 MK2S arrives at Lefthanded Panzerfaust HQ
Printed a well in 28mm

The well cleaned up nice next to a 28mm Warlord Plastic FJ

Follow My 100 Days of Hobby

I will update the Blog every 10 Days for 100 Days of Hobby but will be posting Daily Updates on Twitter.

Saturday 20 May 2017

100 Days of Hobby

I want to put a big dent in all my hobby goodness.  I thought of a few ways I could do this, eg set a pledge, make some small achievable goals etc or I could just go out and set a big challenge!  I was inspired by the sculptor Tom Mason's recently completed 100 Days of Making Minis YouTube series.  I have a brand spanking new Samsung Galaxy S8 to capture all the beautiful pictures.


So why 100 Days?

You have probably heard of, 100 Days of Happiness, 100 Days of Eating well, 100 Days of fitness, 100 days of whatever, well I'm doing 100 Days of Hobby! Am I mad??? Probably!  100 Days is a nice even number that I can update in 10 day intervals!

I have come up with a few rules and regulations for my challenge.

What constitutes Hobby Time?

In order from most desirable to least desirable 
  • Painting Models
  • Building Models
  • Preparing Models
  • Playing Games
  • Blogging/Content Creation
  • Organising/rearranging/cleaning Hobby Room
  • Buying Selling Models
  • Reading one of my tangible Wargaming/hobby books
What constitutes a day of Hobby Time?
  • 1 hour + a day is most desirable
  • 10 minutes minimum due to work commitments, misadventure etc (least desirable!).
  • If a day is missed I must do 2 extra hours for each day missed in the 10 day block
How will i track progress?
  • Daily I will take notes/photograph what I do
  • I will post daily progress on twitter with the hashtag #100daysofhobby
  • This blog will be updated every 10 Days with a summary of what I have done
What do I wish to achieve?

This is entirely subject to change:
  • Finish a basic DAK platoon for battlegroup ruleset
  • Finish a basic Blitzkrieg German platoon for battlegroup ruleset 
  • Work on Poles - anything goes!
  • Complete my 6 x 4 Poland themed Table
  • Start 101st Airborne
  • Make progress on my Normandy themed Table
  • Complete Zombicide Season 1 boxset
  • Sell stuff I don't need
  • Bolt Action solo play - develop scenarios and play test
  • Play other games - I have a few miniature board games I like to play
  • Anything else goes!

Friday 19 May 2017

Command and Control

The latest additions to my DAK are Offensive Miniatures EGDK 304 - 6 DAK infantry Command and Perry Miniatures GWW5 Kubelwagen and Staff Officer.  Also as a bonus, Offensive Miniatures have given me an awesome little Radio Operator as a bonus for ordering their DAK platoon deal.

EGDK304 Comes with 1 Officer, 1 Feldwebel (Sergeant), LMG and Loader, and 2 rifleman.  Of interest there is no Anti-tank rifle included.

Offensive Miniatures DAK Command EGDK304
Offensive Miniatures EGDK 304 - 6 DAK Infantry Command

Offensive Miniatures DAK Officer
Offensive Miniautures DAK Officer

Offensive Miniatures DAK LMG
LMG Team as part of the Command Squad

Offensive Miniatures DAK Command Team
DAK Feldwebel and support.

Offensive Miniatures DAK Bonus Radio Operator
Offensive Miniatures Bonus - A radio Operator

Offensive Miniatures Radio Operator
The mini will also double as a nice little objective

Offensive Miniatures Radio Operator

Offensive Miniatures Perry Miniatures Comparison
Perry Miniatures DAK Kubelwagen Staff Car

Perry Miniatures GWW5 Kubelwagen and Staff Officer
So much swagger




So what's next?

It has been a quiet month at the Panzerfaust HQ but this is all going to change.  I am going to kick off my "100 Days of Hobby" very soon.  Stay tuned for a separate post detailing this.  I am also planning on getting a new phone so expect much better photos!



Monday 1 May 2017

Off to Africa I go

I have hinted it for the past month in my posts and I have finally began my adventure into Africa with the Deutches Afrikakorps (German African Corps), commonly known as the DAK.

I have decided to go with the 15th Panzer Division.  Why the 15th?  Most people with a good knowledge of the DAK have heard the exploits of the famed 21st Panzer Division.  The 21st Panzer Division went on to fight in Normandy and took with them their reputation from the desert as a formidable opponent.  Thus it would make sense they are a more popular choice for DAK armies, plus they had a very recognisable divisional emblem.  However I dare to be different.

15th Panzer Division Insignia
Without going into the full history of the DAK, the 15th Panzer Divsion shortly arrived after the 5th Leichte Division which went on to become the 21st Panzer Division.  The 15th missed out on the early engagements with the 5th Leichte however the 15th were involved in all major offensives and known battles within the Africa Campaign.  I am of the opinion they are often over shadowed by the almighty 21st Panzer, and I wish to bring them to life on the table.

I have chosen two paths with regards to modelling them however may expand on this.  Firstly I will be doing the 115th Shutzen Regiment and the 8th Panzer Regiment.  The 115th Shutzen Regiment was a mechanised infantry fighting force.  The 8th Panzer Regiment made up the bulk of the armoured fighting vehicles within the 15th Panzer Division.

I decided to step away from the usual Artizan/BTD miniatures combination and went for the newly released Offensive Miniatures mixed with some Perry Miniatures which have been out for quite a while.  I will do a separate post about these miniatures however all I can say is that the Offensive Miniatures are offensively good and the Perry's are superb! I will be using a combination of Warlord, Rubicon, Offensive and Perry Vehicles.  Usually I like to paint up a test figure.  Well this time I painted 10 test figures.

offensive miniatures 28mm DAK
Offensive Miniatures EGDK 305 - 10 DAK Infantry Squad
You can see much variations in the uniforms.  There are plenty of great articles about DAK uniforms and there really is no set formula for painting DAK due to the harsh conditions of the desert.  Put this into google images and you will see what I mean.  Rather than using a specific painting guide I just used a whole lot of images and used the paints I had on hand to come up with these combinations.  I have a pinterest board for inspiration.

My army will cover all periods of the DAK from the early days of 1941 to the defeat in Tunisia in 1943.  It should be noted that the DAK sun hat, AKA the Pith Helmet was favoured by the troops due to its sun protection and comfort.  There is a great article about helmets the DAK wore here.



This army will mostly be used for Battlegroup Tobruk and Bolt Action.  If you haven't checked out Battlegroup I highly recommend you do.  It is designed for 15mm-20mm play however we have played it in 28mm with no dramas.  If you crave a more historical feel to your games as Bolt Action sadly falls short at times, Battlegroup is your turn to rules!

Make sure to follow the Blog for more updates about my journey into the desert! Lets check out my test minis!



28mm DAK infantry
Offensive Miniatures DAK wearing Helmets

Offensive Miniatures Review
Offensive Minatures DAK wearing caps

28mm DAK LMG
One of my favorite poses MG34

28mm Bolt Action DAK

Offensive Miniatures DAK
Squad Leader - Looks the bisiness

28mm Afrika Korps

28mm Africa Corps

28mm WW2 German Afrikakorps
One of my favourites

Afrika Korps Pith Helmet 28mm Miniature
Another favorite, I love the sun helmet.  Good job offensive Miniatures!

28mm WW2 German DAK

28mm WW2 DAK Deutches Afrika Korps Army

Another great sculpt by Offensive Miniatures 

28mm Bolt Action DAK rifleman

Perry Miniatures Luftwaffe ground crew
Perry Miniatures GWW 34 Luftwaffe air crew and ground crew

Perry Miniatures Luftwaffe Air Crew Painted
Perry Miniatures GWW 34 - Their Stuka is WIP!

Perry Miniatures Offensive Miniatures Comparison
Comparison between Perry and Offensive Miniatures.
I miss the rains meme
Yes yes I know... the actual lyrics are "I bless the rains..."