Stuff to Listen to While Painting: Star Wars Radio Drama Episode 1: A Wind To Shake The Stars

 I somehow managed to accidentally post an outline of an article I'm dreaming up, and for a while you were all seeing some meaningless scribbles under Tales From the Big Board in your blog lists.  To cover
up my goof, I've got to post something, so I'm sharing this. 

 It's the first episode of the Star Wars Radio Drama released by PBS a long time ago.  The Material is all story from Lucas' Star Wars novel, and embraces some scenes which were shot, but which were, sadly, deleted from the final cut of the film.

The whole radio play is over 6.5 hours long, and includes hours of newly written material, all of it approved by George Lucas, in addition to dramatizations of scenes which never made it into the theater.  Mark Hamill plays Luke, which is nice, but you get stand in voice actors for most of the other parts.  Too bad, but oh, well.  A detailed break-down of the radio play is available at the amazing Star Wars Wiki if you're interested in pursuing it further.

Great stuff to listen to while painting minis, hopefully, it'll get me inspired to get to work painting my stack of classic West End miniatures.  If you've never heard it, enjoy.

Grenadier Guards Again (Flames of War 300 point upgrade)

Nothing super exciting tonight.  Just been working on building up my Flames of War British Armoured Squadron...I've miraculously managed to stick to my plan of building up the army in 300 point blocks for exactly one block so far. 

With the new 300 points, I've just bought another platoon of 3 Tommy Cookers and a platoon of Bren Carriers, but I'm kinda pleased with how it all looks, so far. 

Old Stuff:  (585 points)
HQ Platoon:
2x Sherman V:  + AA MGs: 135 points


Combat Platoons:

1st Platoon: 
2x Sherman V & 1x Firefly VC + AA MGs:  225 points

2nd Platoon:
2x Sherman V & 1x Firefly VC: +AA MGs:  225 points

New Stuff: (310 points)

 3rd Platoon:
2x Sherman V & 1x Firefly VC: +AA MGs:  225 points

Slopped on more mud, this time...

Brigade Support Platoons:

Scout Platoon:
3x Universal Carrier: 70 points + 1 extra MG per: 85 points

Would have preferred Daimler of Humber armoured cars for my recon platoon, but the Carriers were pretty cheap compared to the armoured cars, and they've grown on me.  I actually like them quite a bit, now.

I might eventually recruit some Daimlers to act as recon for my tanks, and use the Carriers to support an independent rifle platoon.

So...Good fun, so far!  Next I'd like to go for some motorized infantry and self-propelled guns, but I'll probably just knock out the last platoon of Shermans, since I've already got them, or maybe add the rifle platoon and strengthen my command platoon with 2 extra Shermans...

So, there's 895 points.  Back to my German Grenadiers, who are taking a lot longer than I imagined they would...the infantry stands are proving pretty challenging...

...til next time!

Yumskab Hokkflem's Light Orktillery

"You wanna know me wot?  Me fil...filosso...me filossofee o' combat?  Wot dat is, ey?  How 'bout yoo talk plain instead of all like a faerie and wot?  You wot?  OH!!!!   I see!  Yeh!  Yoo wanna know what I fink's da best way to go 'bout smashin' fings an' killin' peeple!  Right.  Well.  My fil...oss...o...fee about dat is uh...well...yoo know.  I'd stab 'em wif big spears and hit 'em wif big rocks!!  Waahghhh!!!  Yeh!  Like dat, see??!!  Yeh.  Dat's da best way ta do it, I fink.

"Hrm?  Well, no, s'not fancy or nuffin', but den...doesn't haff ta bee, does it?  I mean, does da job, right?  An' anyway, sometimes yoo go to da uvver side o' da river, you're lookin' for a fight, ya know?  An' you're over dere, you know...and yoo come to a fort.  Dere's hoomies in dere, but dey don't wanna come out!  Dere scared, see?  Got no stomach for a scrap.  Well, wot yoo gonna do?  Yoo can't go in dere and bring 'em out wif yer teef...tho I know some lads dat've tried...Naw, dat's not da way ta do it...no, you gotta git a masheen ta do it, see?  Like dese here...

"Now dese'll make some nice holes in da humies' walls, or you can set stuff on fire and throw it over da wall, and maybe it'll hit somefin good and blow up...hur hur...dat's real fun.  And sometimes dey'll be up dere prancin' about on da wall wif a white rag sayin' sumfin' like "Oy we wants ta TREET wif yoos" or "We want ta disguss turms!"  Course we dunno what any o' dat meens so we just frow a big ol' rock up dere and knock 'em roight off da wall!  Haw Haw Haw!  Ah, dat's da best!!  Da boys laff til dey cry when dat 'appens!

"Hm?  Oh, yeah, dese are da smaller masheens we got.  We got uvver ones dat are loads bigga, We got da Rock Lobbas an da Skull Smashas and da Head Bangas an' wot...Waaaggghhh! You should see da humies' faces when dey see dose comin'!  Hee hee hee!  But yoo know...good fing 'bout dese liddle ones?  Dere easy ta git over da river...not like da Rock Lobba an da Head Banga...fer dem ya gots ta build a big ol boat, and sometimes da boat leens over in da wattah an da whole fing goes sideways-like into da rivver wif boys hangin' onta it and fallin' offin' it an' lads git drownded and here, ya put all dat wurk inta makin' yer masheen and it ends up at da bottom of da river and loads a yer boys end up sleepin' wit da fishes.  Hm? Oh, yeh, it's funny...sure, all us bosses git a good laff outa it, 's a bluddy riot, but it don't help ya beat da humies, dat's my point.  An dese little ones, ya don't need ta do all dat work, see?  Yoo can just put em on a little raft, an' s easy to get 'em to da uvver side and back again real quick.  S' easy!

"Anyway, I gotta git back ta showin' dese new lads how ta use dis rokk chukka.  If I don't, den da first foight we get in, dey'll frow a rock inta da middle a Big Blackie's chariot, an dat'll be da end o' me fer sure!  OY!!! What doo yoo lot fink you're doin' dere, eh?  Put him down!  Dat fing's fer chukkin' rocks, not gobbos!  Why, I'll...er...akshully...Dat looks like fun!  Let me in dere, blast ye!!  I wanna chukk one!"

Retchie Stinkfinga's Sticka Gang

To:  The Honorable Lars von Sauken, Margrave of SudMark

Excellency:  

New information has fallen into our hands re: the series of barn-burnings and livestock disappearances which have plagued the farmsteads of the southern SudMark over the last three weeks.  A lone Goblin was found wandering lost under the eves of the Tulgey Wood yesterday and was taken by our men.  Before it died, the miserable creature told us that it was a member of a raiding band led by an individual which goes by the name of Retchie Stinkfinger.  Stinkfinger is apparently a member of the Dead Raven clan, that rabble who claim descent from the tribes of Greenskins our people drove out of the River Country a generation ago, and who yet bear a special hatred for the Baron von Refn and all our Volk.  

 We had, of course, hoped that the Dead Ravens had been more or less exterminated at the second battle of Bone Hill, but clearly we hoped for too much.  The Dead Ravens have apparently spent the last few years rebuilding their numbers and finding new leaders, amoung them, obviously, this miscreant, Stinkfinger.

 Stinkfinger is clearly a raider of some prodigious talent, for he has thusfar managed to slip through our listening posts undetected, and make his way safely back across the Black River without being marked by us, but we are working hard to pinpoint the paths he uses, and sooner or later his luck will run out. 

We will get him yet.

Your Servant,
 Hanzell Schnurrbart, Captain, Sudmark Rangers

 So here are the compulsory 20 Gobbie Stickas needed to get Big Blackies horde street legal according to Warhammer Armies.

They don't add many points to the horde, and they aren't of much tactical value, other than as a Fanatic Delivery System, but I like them.  They've got character, I think.  Next:  Slanneshi Chaos Thugs!  (And FOW German Grenadiers)

"Oi, dat was a good job findin' dis secret cave fing dat goes unda da rivva, Boss!  Dem Rangas'll nevva figga out where we're commin' in from!  Hee hee hee!"