Follow this link to view photos from a local Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game event I went and had a look at yesterday. This event was (I believe) organised by Andrew Medbury of Medbury miniatures https://www.medburyminiatures.com/. Some great armies and everyone looked like they were having fun. Fantastic to see some events on the NSW Central Coast (of Australia) and only being 5 minutes away from my home, VHG_Rex

Soviet Naval Infantry aren't normally on top of everyone's list when thinking about a new WWII wargame army, but we found the whole topic hugely interesting, and this podcast has trigged us to order several Osprey books and a whole lot of web research to go along with our little men.

We hope you enjoy our journey into Soviet Naval Infantry, check out the Kickstarter here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flankmarch/black-death

As we progress with painting our sample STL's Images will show here and will be updated as we continue with our projects:
https://www.valhallagames.net/ep27

(..and sorry about Rex's audio!, should be fixed next time) 

Search for Valhalla Games in your favourite podcast and subscribe to us so you don't miss an episode, or clink on the image below to listen in the web player.

Progress photos - WW2 Soviet Naval Infantry... to follow check back on this page

'Finished' Soviet Naval Infantry…

I promised myself I would have these samples finished painting before the Kickstarter ended, well I'm finished… apart from: Faces/skin, eyes, hair, hats, any highlighting whatsoever, bases and detailing. (sad face)

Proof that time, tide, and Kickstarter wait for no man, hopefully they still show off the minis themselves and inspire just a little.
Get it while you can, only a few hours left.

Flank March Miniatures
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flankmarch/black-death

PS not a paid promotion I just love this guys stuff and was inspired when Dan and I interviewed him on Valhalla Games podcast. Ill put the paint recipe up here when I'm done.

Finished photos and Dan's efforts to follow...

Dan and I just finished recording a podcast with Steffan of Flank March Miniatures about his currently running 3D printable 28mm WW2 Soviet Naval Infantry Kickstarter.

We had a great time and learned a lot of interesting things about the Soviet Naval Brigade, also known as the Black Death, plus an interesting (unique?) extra at higher pledge levels.

Not only great looking printable miniatures but a huge quantity all sorts of different options.

Podcast to follow ASAP but in the meantime have a look at this Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flankmarch/black-death

Also, (rather cool) share this post:
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid05jbJnUvgB8GmcDG8YAG3x1npcyr6k678iTSPK1EDoftZZZ8nyXqY7RavS2hhA9fAl&id=100089882083627
… on Facebook, and if it gets enough shares some extra stretch goals get added.

If you have an interest in historical/actual 20th and 21st century Army organization; Squad, platoon, Company etc. This is an outstanding video explaining how it all works including using Easy Company from Band of Brothers as an example.

Thanks DigitalBattlefieldTours on YouTube for putting together such a fantastic resource.

I'm in [small scale] production, just what I need, unlimited near free minis to add to my pile of shame :-/. What do you mean 8 British airborne jeeps is too many?? :-)

I asked Skynet a couple of important questions just to make sure we were on the right track with things and this was their response... (for your mid-week amusement read the response in the second image below)

Also for completeness...

In this episode of the Valhalla Games podcast Dan and Rex talk about the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Sicily and Italy game day held in Sydney, 18 March 2023.

Will the allies get a foothold in the soft underbelly or will Italy kick them off, back into the Mediterranean? Perhaps more importantly will the Primosole bridge book scenarios and terrain stack up against the expectation of the veteran Bolt Action players of Western front gamers in Sydney Australia?

Subscribe in your podcast app by searching for Valhalla Games or play in the web player by clicking on the image below.​

Images and video of the day to follow at https://valhallagames.net/youtube shortly(ish).

Share your progress?

Ancient olive trees, the final result (well, enough for the event tomorrow at least) I'm pretty pleased with these I sculpted the bases on the bottom of the trees along with the rocks (the centre one is by games workshop for comparison) and made the all flock from scratch. I have also finally worked out how to glue the flock on in a way that it will stay!

Here is more on the construction process: https://youtu.be/mzXmLBeq3lA

 Testing out that twitter thing the young kids are using... Still not so sure about all that tweeting nonsense but I'm looking for a way to share MORE content but in a less obtrusive way... or should I just spam you? :-)

#80thAnniversaryItalyCampaignDay still love this, it's the best part of the game board! A few repairs needed before the event this weekend. pic.twitter.com/mqPNVKmtoU

— Valhalla Games Rex (@ValhallagamesR) March 13, 2023

I needed some pretty specific trees in a hurry and the manufacturer the we used last time has gone out of business, so... here we go!

Rex's 2023 hobby goals status update. OK 3 weeks off with an ear infection didn't help my cause but I'm back now and that March 18 deadline is fast approaching.

Dan, give us an update on yours? fiends of Valhalla Games feel free to share your own goals for 2023. Your not going to achieve goals if you don't set any!*

*So long as goal setting is fun for you and a good way to motivate yourself.

Join Dan and Rex as they go on a rambling journey that somehow turns up a whole heap of nuggets talking about:

- Italian Campaign 80th Ann. Campaign Day Sydney Australia
- Hobby Goals for 2023
- Storage space for your hobby kits and a solution to maximize it
- Display solutions for your collections
...and a heap more! 

Subscribe in your podcast by searching for Valhalla Games or click on the image below to listen in the web player.

Hi All, I just wanted to help the cause by compiling the photos that I have seen posted by BOTH Pauls...Paul from Empress Miniatures and Paul Hicks of course, the sculptor! There may be other pics out there that I've missed, and there was a few further 'angles' of these same models that I didn't post here to avoid further repetition.

  I will avoid captions or naming characters etc. but I've grouped them together logically (I Hope !). Enjoy! I will discuss more during our next podcast.     

New year, new Bolt Action army for Rex. A quick look at my new (slightly used) army that I got in the post a couple of days ago.

What are your new years wargame army aspirations? Let us know in the comments.  

Coming soon 3D printed terrain, just wanting to get my own images of my own printed and painted terrain and I will be listing these on https://valhallagames.net/store/ We have the seller rights to this building (all versions) and will be offering it for shipping to Australia and Zealand only (well... you welcome to buy from else-ware by the shipping may be prohibitively expensive). In fact we have seller rights to lots and lots of different buildings but this is a standout.

I already have stock printed so its immediate shipping for whatever is listed.

Don't worry were not 'going all commercial' just a sideline to offset costs. If your interested drop me a message here: https://www.valhallagames.net/contact

This is where I keep all my fully painted minis... :-)

Seriously though this is my new [used] display cabinet. 

Apart from the false start with another one that didn't fit and the glass door breakage carnage, and the removal of noticeboards from the wall carnage which required a fill and full wall repaint and apart from all the masking and respraying of the slightly chipped black bits, it was an easy job. Only lights and top and bottom boards to be replaced, and new doors.

All that aside I'm looking forward to getting some minis out of boxes and putting them on display after 5 plus years of... 'negotiation' for the space. Its also bigger than it looks 600mm wide and 2100 high, industrial strength for lots of lead.

I have found an interesting bit of software for modifying 3D files. Its both powerful and intuitive for your average wargamer who really just wants to get the job done so he/she can get back to rolling dice.

SelfCAD (https://www.selfcad.com/) is a Freemium product that you can use to edit your 3D print files make changes, damage things, erase parts, join things together, split things, add pins etc. There is one caveat however, and that that is the Freemium product doesn't do all of the things mentioned above, you have to get the paid version, either on a monthly subscription or a one time purchase.

In the past I have used tinker-cad (https://www.tinkercad.com/) which is great especially for creating things from scratch but as soon as there is texture in the STL files they are too big to be edited in tinker-cad.

Consider the following 3D building, it looks good and prints 'ok' (not well but OK). Once its printed removing from the print bed becomes a major problem. Because the portico has no floor the leverage when removing each of the print bed contact points the leverage on the areas marked with arrows means that its going to snap 95 times out of 100.

​The following modified model has had a section of floor duplicated from the centrer of the building, trimmed, and added to the portico joining the columns etc to the main floor therefore removing most of the leverage on the breakable parts and reinforcing the whole section. It prints better as well.

Final note, this is a wargaming blog not a 3D printing blog, if you would rather see less of this content (or more?) let us know in the comments below.

A couple of images from a game of Bolt Action last night with Wargaming buddy Ian, thanks for a great game, a draw. I tried some brand new tactics which worked well, just need to rework the tactics that didn't work.