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08 Nov 10:57

Tanks for Sicily 1943: Semovente 47/32

by Jose Maria Cagiga

 Hello guys


Sorry for the lack of activity in the last months, I got married in late April, then came the honeymoon,  a new job, I moved to a new home... so a lot of non hobby stuff as you can imagine, so now, very slowly I am recovering the mood of painting again :)

I wanted to add more tanks to my Bolt Action,  Axis force for the Battle of Sicily 1943. 

as shown previously here: https://spanishleadpainting.blogspot.com/2021/03/bolt-action-italian-tanks-in-sicily-1943.html




Italian armour in Sicily consisted of the captured R35 tank,  the Semovente 90/53 and finally, Semovente 47/32.  I already painted the first two models, so now I have finished the little Semovente 47/32.

These little tank destroyers after the fall of Tunis in 1943 were stationed in Italy, with units attached to the “Black Shirt” Divisions  and Livorno infantry division in Sicily. They saw action in defence of the island when the Allies invaded in  1943 with Operation Husky.

Unfortunately for the Semovente 47/32, when they entered service, they faced newer allied tank designs, with better armour and firepower. The 47mm gun was ineffective against medium tanks like  M4 Sherman, and barely adequate against smaller allied light tanks like the M3 ‘Honey’ Stuart at normal fighting ranges, so I will use the tank carefully in my games, trying to keep it safe under the protection of heavier German tanks or guns.

The model itself is from Warlord Games, resin and metal, but the quality is good and had no flash. The crew was also included, and was mandatory to paint them, as the tank would be absolutely incomplete without the crew, as it is an open top vehicle.

The painting process was the usual;

1) airbrushing the colors, giving them some cenital highlights

2)  gloss varnish

3) decals  

4) gloss varnish again in order to protect the previous work

5) color filter by Ammo Mig

6) Oil dots for color fading

7) Pin wash in the recesses with dark enamel by Tamiya

8) 2 color chipping

9) rust, streaking grime

10) dust effects, mud, and then matt varnish

11)spilled grease/oil , basing and finished!


I hope you like this little vehicle, cheers!









13 Apr 10:49

The Vaults of sha-Arthan

by James Maliszewski

A few people have asked me for more details of the campaign setting I mentioned during my recent interview. Called The Vaults of sha-Arthan, it's an exotic science fantasy setting explicitly modeled on Jorune and Tékumel but intended to be much more "user friendly" and accessible. Rules-wise, it's based on Old School Essentials, with unique character classes, spells, monsters, and magic items. The classes are
  • Adept: A skilled user of psychic disciplines
  • Scion: An adventuring aristocrat, equally adept at combat and intrigue
  • Sorcerer: A master of arcane arts
  • Warrior: An accomplished combantant
  • +3 Nonhuman Classes
The world of sha-Arthan (which means "true world" in an ancient tongue) is one filled with sclerotic, decadent empires, one of which – Inba Iro – was recently conquered and its venerable throne seized. Though the new rulers, from an upstart frontier kingdom, have largely attempted to maintain the old hierarchies without interruption, cracks have nevertheless begun to appear. Hoary traditions once considered inviolable are now being questioned, including exploration of the Vaults beneath the capital city of da-Imer. 

Many large settlements of sha-Arthan are built atop subterranean structures known Vaults. According to common belief, the Vaults are the original home of Man. They are "vast deeps" from which the Litany of the Forgotten states the Ancients came, before even the First Cycle and the establishment of the Empire of the Light of Kulvu. Entering them, let alone looting them of their reputed treasures, is a great sacrilege in most civilized realms – or was until the conquest of Inba Iro. 
Characters begin the campaign as one of the brave souls recruited to explore the Vault beneath da-Imer, despite the taboos against it. They must contend with not only the dangers they surely exist beneath the city but also factions above that seek to help or hinder their progress for their own ends. As time goes on, I expect the characters will become more actively involved with these factions, in addition to traveling to other locales on sha-Arthan and unraveling the mysteries of the world.

In all likelihood, I'll start refereeing The Vaults of sha-Arthan sometime in July or August 2021. Ideally, it'll be a weekly online campaign, like my existing House of Worms campaign. However, it's also possible that I'll be running a play-by-post campaign in parallel, as a way to develop the setting further. I'm a firm believer in learning through play when it comes to setting design. While I already know quite a few high-level details of sha-Arthan, there's a lot more I haven't yet decided – and will only decide once I've had a chance to referee the campaign.

The Vaults of sha-Arthan is an exotic fantasy setting with lots of science fictional elements. It's a chance for me to play with many ideas I've been tinkering with for years but in a completely new context that draws on my years of experience refereeing Tékumel. I'm very excited about it.
15 Feb 10:59

Gamer star PewDiePie canned by Disney and YouTube after anti-semitic postings

by Rob Beschizza

Gamer star PewDiePie was set for the big-time: 53m subscribers to his YouTube gamering channel and a hot deal with Disney to take his clean-cut mug to mass culture stardom. But then he started posting about the Jews.

[Felix] Kjellberg, a 27-year-old Swede whose YouTube antics secured him multimillion-dollar deals with YouTube and Disney, posted a Jan. 11 video that included two men laughing as they held a banner that read “Death to all Jews." He made a total of nine other videos that made anti-Semitic comments or used Nazi imagery, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the news.

Disney, which has owned Maker Studios since 2014, said it was severing ties with him.

YouTube also cancelled his reality show Scare PewDiePie and removed him from its premium line-up of ad-supported channels. Excuses were immediately forthcoming.

"I was trying to show how crazy the modern world is, specifically some of the services available online," he wrote, continuing, "I think it's important to say something and I want to make one thing clear: I am in no way supporting any kind of hateful attitudes."

Here's the sign he paid a couple of Sri Lankans to hold up:

That giggling sociopathic edgyness! The veil of irony spread over it! Imagine that you just got your big family-entertainment break from Disney and the thought that hits you is "right, now to dial that up a notch! Who can I hire to hold up signs saying DEATH TO ALL JEWS?"

It would almost be better if he were a closet fash rather than the soulless vlogger moron he excuses himself as. At least then it'd be the human result of a comprehensible emotion, rather than anomalous output from highly-performant content persona.

05 Mar 23:11

Three Songs

by marc
[This blog is the first in a 3-part series] Part 1. A Swansong At the end of an illustrious career comes the fireworks.  A swan’s mythically mute life, punctuated by a burst of song before expiring – a swansong.  For artists, it is a last great performance. For architects, a final, dazzling skyscraper. For political … Continue reading Three Songs →
08 Jul 18:56

Ente hijoputa: Scott Lively y su cruzada homófoba

by Paco Fox
Todos sabéis que ente bloj va de amor. De transmitir los valores de la sordidez. Pero vivimos en una sociedad empeñada en entrar en tu alcoba hasta mientras duermes, extirparte un pelo del interior de la nariz y, aluego, violarte mentalmente. Y yo es que soy muy sensible. Ya me lo dijo mi psiquiatra con esa finura propia de quien ha estudiado medicina: ‘Déjate de explicaciones tontas, que lo
08 Jul 18:56

Welcome to Scenic Whereverthefuck, if you lived here, you’d be caught up in drama by now.

by Last Gasp
In my short, sharp review of Scenic Dunnsmouth at the end of the last post, I listed what I felt were its shortfalls when I was running it, chief of which was the lack of inter-NPC relationships. Well instead of crying about it, what I did was start working on my own town generator using […]
17 Jun 12:04

Manel Prat after watching turkish police using water cannons against protesters

                                        image

—-> Read article here