After I had put this post together I was astounded at how much I actually achieved. Not to the standard of others in this group but I am pleased with the end result in terms of numbers and the quality that I can paint at.

October 1: “Sheik of the Burning Sands”

October 2: Lesser Xenomorphs

October 3: Deadzone Teraton

October 3: Ghouls

October 4: Mini Teratons (1)

October 5: Teraton Support Unit

October 6: Mini Teratons (2)

October 7: Dr Who U.N.I.T. support troops

October 8: “Mummy Mia”

October 9: WW2 Greek Infantry Squad (4)

October 11: WW2 Greek Skoda 7.5 cm Gebirgskanone M.15 Mountain Gun

October 12: WW2 Greek Artillery Mule team

October 13: More Ghouls

October 14: WW2 Greek Sniper Team

October 16: WW2 Greek CV3/35 Tankette

October 16: Deadzone Marauder Gruntbot Gaffer/Gruntbot

October 19: WW2 Greek Flamethrower?

October 20: WW2 Greek Medium Machine Gun – Hotchkiss M1926

October 21: WW2 Greek Vickers Tank

October 22: The Last of the Ghouls

October 23: Deadzone Marauder “Hulk”

October 24: A giant “Congregation” gathers – but is it just ribbiting around?

October 25: Deadzone Marauder Ripper “Rainmaker”

October 26: Deadzone Marauder Sergeant

October 27: Deadzone Marauder Stuntbot

October 28: German Panzerkamphwagen IV Ausf H

October 29: Napoleonic Goblins?

October 30: Reaper Miniatures 14205: Hill Giant and friends

October 30: Hobgoblins

October 31: Giant Spidermen

October 31: Swamp troll and frogs

Summary of the month:

• Modern = 1 Vehicle and 5 Miniatures;
• Dr Who = 1 Officer and 3 support teams (7);
• Fantasy = 8 Mummies;
• WW2 Greek = 2 vehicles, 1 Artillery and crew (5), Squad (11), 3 Support teams (8), mule team (3);
• WW2 German = 1 Tank

Total = 4 vehicles and 47 infantry etc.

These are of course in addition to the Orktober Green Thing count:

10 Lesser Xenomorphs + 1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant +1 Stuntbot + 10 Napoleonic Goblins + 3 Cufmalog and friends + 9 Hobgoblins + 3 Giant Spidermen + Swamp Troll a 3 friends = 82 Total.

The miniatures that were not completed for Orktober, are the ones that I will get finished anyway so were left to last, but alas time has run out.

25 Lizardmen and 11 Maruaders both partially painted.

I was really pleased to put together the Marauder Deadzone figures. A few of these have been painted, but about 60 are not. Those of you who are familiar with how fiddly they are to put together will understand the amount of time involved. I still have some more characters to put together and will do these in the next day or so.

Today I had enough of green things and did some work on my WW2 Collection

A Pioneer vehicle with its main colours on, and of course everyone has to have a Tiger 1 – this one still on the assembly line!

I plan to finish off the rest of the WW2 Greek army and read a few books before I paint anything else.

I really like this troll and the Reaper frogs have come out really well.

Sculpted by Jason Wiebe

Orktober Green Thing count:

10 Lesser Xenomorphs + 1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant +1 Stuntbot + 10 Napoleonic Goblins + 3 Cufmalog and friends + 9 Hobgoblins + 3 Giant Spidermen + Swamp Troll a 3 friends = 82 Total.

These Giant Spidermen have been on the painting table for as long as I can remember and I am just glad to have them finished and out of the way!

I think these are all Reaper Miniatures of some sort but am not sure.

The last two shots are to give you an idea of the size.

Bubba is a true 28mm scale miniature, but despite this is more than a match for these arachnids.

Orktober Green Thing count:

10 Lesser Xenomorphs + 1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant +1 Stuntbot + 10 Napoleonic Goblins + 3 Cufmalog and friends + 9 Hobgoblins + 3 Giant Spidermen = 78 Total

“A hobgoblin is a household spirit, appearing in English folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous.

Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a hobgoblin”. Wikipedia

Hobgoblins are larger cousins of goblins. Hobgoblins’ hair colour ranges from dark reddish-brown to dark gray. They have dark orange or red-orange skin. Large males have blue or red noses. Hobgoblins’ eyes are yellowish or dark brown, while their teeth are yellow.

Their garments tend to be brightly coloured, often blood red with black-tinted leather. Their weaponry is kept polished and in good repair.

Hobgoblins speak Goblin and Common. Most hobgoblins encountered outside their homes are warriors; the information in the statistics block below is for one of 1st level.

Hobgoblins have a strong grasp of strategy and tactics and are capable of carrying out sophisticated battle plans.

Under the leadership of a skilled strategist or tactician, their discipline can prove a deciding factor. Hobgoblins hate elves and attack them first, in preference to other opponents.

Hobgoblin characters possess the following racial traits:

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution.
• A hobgoblin’s base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Goblin. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Infernal, Giant, Orc.
• Favoured Class: Fighter.
• Level adjustment +1.

Hobgoblins normally use a Longsword or a longbow:

Longsword: Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) slashing damage, or 6 (1d10 + 1) slashing damage if used with two hands.

Longbow: Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage.

More green thingies finished. These will be used in Silver Bayonet.

Orktober Green Thing count:

10 Lesser Xenomorphs + 1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant +1 Stuntbot + 10 Napoleonic Goblins + 3 Cufmalog and friends + 9 Hobgoblins = 75 Total

Sorry about the poor quality photos.

I finally found all of the parts of this model and decided to put it together and paint it for Orktober – plans never survive contact with the enemy which in this case is a really cool miniature.

The Hill Giants had been a dangerous enemies to Orc and Goblins alike. Their green skin makes Biologists think that there DNA maybe linked to other “green-skins” but none have so far come close enough to extract their DNA and survive.

Sculpted by Jason Wiebe

The giant, “Cufmalog”, is well known for travelling on adventures with his two companions “Gorfhop” and “Lucifish”.

“Cufmalog”, “Gorfhop” and “Lucifish”

“Cufmalog”

“Cufmalog”

“Cufmalog”

“Gorfhop” and “Lucifish”

“Gorfhop” and “Lucifish”

“Gorfhop” and “Lucifish”

“Gorfhop” and “Lucifish”

“Cufmalog”, “Gorfhop” and “Lucifish”

Orktober Green Thing count:

10 Lesser Xenomorphs + 1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant +1 Stuntbot + 10 Napoleonic Goblins + 3 Cufmalog and friends = 66 Total

These are from Eureka Miniatures and will be used for Silver bayonet.

Silver bayonet describes the term “goblin as loosely applied to a large group of wingless, ‘trickster’ fairies, and each nation has their own varieties and terms. While these creatures are small, and physically weak, they are also tough, hard-to-kill, and capable of huge amounts of mischief.

One of the worst features of goblins is that their existence seems completely at-odds with technology, and their mere presence causes technology to fail. This, unfortunately, includes firearms which is a bit of a problem as these ones are all armed with muskets……..DOH!

October Green thing count:

1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant +1 Stuntbot + 10 Napoleonic Goblins = 53 Total

I also forgot to count the green things from my Oct 2 Post: Lesser Xenomorphs for Xenos Rampant.

Updated count:

10 Lesser Xenomorphs + 1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant +1 Stuntbot + 10 Napoleonic Goblins = 63 Total

What about Orktober? What’s that………………….I just needed a break from green for no other reason than coz! Anyway this has some green in it.

By 1943 German tank production was not keeping up with losses. It was realised that only by concentrating on the Panzer IV and those based on its chassis was production likely to improve. The new Panther and Tiger tanks were more costly and took longer to make.

Until the beginning of 1943, the Panzer IV production was rather low. The Ausf.H reached a monthly production of almost 300, with a maximum of 354 tanks built in December 1943. In comparison, some early Panzer IV versions needed over a year to produce such quantities. For example, during 1941, on average, the monthly Panzer IV production was around 40 tanks.

The armour protection was similar to the previous Ausf.G version. The exceptions included additional front and top armour. The previous 50mm armour was deemed insufficient, and additional 30 mm plates were either welded or bolted to the frontal hull and superstructure. This would stand up to the T34 76mm and the Sherman 75mm gun s, however the side armour was still relatively week only requiring a 20mm gun for penetration.

“The Panzer IV Ausf.H was equipped with the 7.5 cm Kw.K. L/48 long gun. The longer barrel, compared to the L/43 used on early Ausf.Gs, offered slightly improved anti-tank capabilities. At a 1 km range, the 7.5 cm Kw.K. L/48 gun could penetrate around 85 mm of armor angled at 30° using standard armor-piercing rounds. The rare tungsten round increased the penetration at the same distance and angle up to 97 mm. A third option consisted of a hollow charge round that could penetrate 100 mm of armor regardless of the range but had a slow velocity of only 450 m/s compared to 750 m/s of the standard anti-tank round. The usual ammunition load consisted of 87 rounds, usually almost equal numbers of AP and HE rounds. When available, tungsten AP rounds would also be stored in limited numbers and used against the best-armored targets. The hollow charge rounds were sometimes used instead of the HE rounds.

The secondary armament was unchanged and consisted of two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns. The ammunition load for these two machine guns was stored in 21 belt sacks, each with 150 rounds ( 3,150 rounds in total). A third machine gun could be placed on a Fligerbeschussgerat 43 type anti-aircraft mount located on top of the command cupola.“

Tank Encyclopaedia

Schurzen spaced armour was often used on the Panzerkamphwagen IV and the Panzerkamphwagen III, but this was by no means universal.

I have chosen not to model this as it makes for a more flimsy tabletop model and hides most of the tanks detail.

Well, this was a nice little diversion from Orktober. I still have a large amount to complete, but keep getting distracted, and including other models, or doing something completely different like this post!

Plans gone awry!

Another distraction on the work bench.

More frogs!

Spiders to finish off.

An Orc mountain giant and a marsh troll added and part painted! There have still been lots of benefits for participating in Orktober. Firstly already lots of “green thingies” have been completed, and secondly I have improved in my painting of green skins. Both of these have made it worth the effort, Anyway must sprint to the finish!

I do have a Pz III, a Panther, a Tiger 1, and some other vehicles to finish off………………….I wonder?

These are the “big boyz toyz” of the Marauder Deadzone armies. To give you a comparison of size here are the Marauder figures I have painted so far:

From left to right – Stuntbot, Gruntbot, Hulk, Ripper Rainmaker and yesterday’s post the Marauder Sergeant.

The Stuntbot’s capacity for destruction and thick armour makes piloting one a coveted job amongst Goblin fighters. This model is a Stuntbot “Slasher” with a Thermal Cannon and a Buzzsaw.

October Green thing count:

1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant +1 Stuntbot = 43 Total!

On Monday we went Thrift shop scrounging. me to see what books I might find and Maree was after “Barbie Dolls” so that her craft group could make clothes for them for little girls Christmas presents. We found 7 in good condition and a “mock off” Barbie car as well.

Life in plastic maybe fantastic but I prefer metal figures myself!

The next day I went to a local “Salvos” and picked this up.

The boat just required some repairs to the rigging and a damn good dusting and it will look like new. Picking it up for AU$20.00 was a real bonus. I’m thinking it will look great on my boat bar when I eventually get it set up in the new house.

It is a great model that someone has put endless hours into putting together.

The books are always a bit more expensive at the “Salvos” but at AU$4.00 each I was prepared to pay for them. With my “Carers” card for Maree I also received 20% off al three items!

Maybe some green thingies tomorrow.

I have called this Marauder Commando Sergeant “Shagrol” and his two knives “Sharga” The Left Hand of Darkness and “Yurtrus” The Right Hand of Death!

His dual knives gives him the “frenzy” trait and his pistol as a range of three.

“Shagrol” has the “By The Numbers” Leadership trait which allows other Commandos to re-roll any dice as part of a Shoot, Fight or Survive test.

October Green thing count:

1 Terraton + 4 Ghouls + 5 Mini Teratons + Gun and 2 crew + 5 Mini Teratons + 1 Ripper Mauler + 6 Ghouls +1 Marauder Gruntbot +8 Ghouls +1 Marauder Hulk + 5 Giant Frogs +1 Ripper Rainmaker + 1 Marauder Sergeant = 42 Total!