Archecore World Fortress Tank

I came across the Archecore World Fortress Tank at a toy store in Taiwan a few months ago. The toy line is in 1/35 scale, but the size and vibe of this model fit the 28mm WW1 sci-fi forces I own, so I decided to buy it and repaint it to suit.

The model is pre-assembled and could not be disassembled for easier painting, but fortunately the turret could be removed from the hull. I primed the model black, and sprayed on a base coat of Tamiya Field Grey. I then used a make-up sponge to apply a light shade of field grey - some of the recessed parts proved hard to reach, as you can see from the photos.

Once the base colour was applied, I applied some Black Templars decals I had lying around, and then worked on the weathering.

I decided to paint most of the tank in field grey, so the only parts that had to be painted another colour were the exhaust pipes and the tracks. Once all the colours were applied, I added by mud and dust with a large make-up brush.

I hope to use this model in an attack-defence scenario in a game of Blood and Valor soon.

Blood and Valor

 For our session in May we played two games of Blood and Valor by Firelock Games.

I got the B&V rules several years ago when they first came out and created a buzz on youtube. I had earlier planned on using Trench Hammer from Nordic Weasel Games with my Warzone figures, but decided to give the B&V rules an actual play to see if they make a more 'fun' game.

We played a simple Attack-Defence scenario, with attackers having five units vs the defender's four. We played the scenario twice, switching sides after the first game. I lost both times, which I believe means the game is balanced.

The combat rules themselves are rather standard, but the initiative and fatigue systems add extra considerations for the players, which makes the game feel rather different from an IGOUGO mass skirmish game with no real morale effect. We enjoyed them enough to want to play them again, and I have a toy tank which I am currently painting to use for the game.