This was 2019!

30. December 201919. December 2019 thomasriepe 1/300 ships, 2019, after action report 2019, Crisis, Cruel Seas, Empress miniatures, Gringo 40, Salute, Vietnam war

So the year 2019 has past nearly. It went so quickly indeed. But I think the older you get the more time flies by. When I had a look at all the pictures I took this year I thought it might be a good idea to do something like a photo revue of the year 2019 .

The year started with lots of games of cruel seas and the scratch building of a lot of ships for that game:

I build the steamer Rheinland:

In February I went to a local convention , the Kiepencon in Münster. I hosted a cruel seas participation game there:

Until this years Salute I build a lot more ships for cruel Seas. Like the S.S. Bellota and the S.S. Green Island:

Then I started on the Hunt II escort destroyer:

Then came one of the main hobby events for me this year Salute 2019 at Excel London. Here are a few of the over 200 pictures I took. If you want to see more have a look here

After coming back home with a bag full of goodies I resumed building ships for cruel seas. Next were the coastal colliers. Three little ships with different loads:

The last ship I build for Cruel Seas so far was a VII C submarine , Das Boot

Then I stoped building ships for now as two companies started to release miniatures for a conflict I was always keen on building and gaming. The Vietnam war . Empress miniatures and Gringo 40 both released wonderful miniatures. Here are a few of the Gringo 40 Miniatures I painted this year:

And a few of the Empress ones:

After my summer holiday i got myself a 3d printer and started on doing terrain for my Vietnam war project:

Then I thought about doing the jungle terrain I would need . I figured out that I would need a lot off scatter material to do the jungle pieces . so I went to a friend who has a upholstery shop and got some old foam upholstery pieces to make my own scatter flock . If you want to know how I did it go here

In November I went to Antwerp like every year for Crisis run by the tin soldiers of Antwerp. For all the pictures go here.

After returning from Crisis I build some jungle terrain pieces with plastic plant pieces , plastic palm trees and the scatter I did myself:

After Crisis i decided that I would drop one line of Vietnam miniatures as the size of both Empress and Gringo 40 don’t fit properly. I decided to go with the Empress miniatures.

The last thing I did this year was to start on some elefant grass for my set up. I used some offcuts from artificial grass to build these:

So that’s it for this year. There are a lot of projects in the pipeline for next year . Especially concerning my 3d printer. Expect to see a lot of vehicles for mt Vietnam project, trucks, gun trucks and even a huey! So have a wonderful new year 2020 and keep up the hobby. Hope to see a few of you at Salute 20 or Crisis 20!

Another Gringo 40 marine

27. November 2019 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, Gringo 40, US Marines, Vietnam war

Here is another US marine for my Vietnam war project. Again a Gringo 40 figure.

These are still miniatures I purchased during the summer. I didn’t even start basing the new ones I bought at Crisis jet.

the third member of the second squad

19. November 2019 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, Gringo 40, US Marines, Vietnam war

This time a very iconic miniature . Again by Gringo 40

Grunt No II of the second squad

18. November 2019 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, Gringo 40, Vietnam war

Here is the second Grunt of the second Squat of my US Marines. A Gringo 40 miniature.

Another of Gringo 40 Vietnam Grunts

4. November 2019 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, Gringo 40, US Marines, Vietnam war

Here is another Grunt from Gringo 40 from their Vietnam range. Painted with Gas Contrast color range.

More to come.

The next US Marine squad, for Vietnam

2. October 20192. October 2019 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, Gringo 40, mini me, Paul Hicks, Vietnam war

here is the first figure of the second squad of my US Marines for Vietnam. This is a very special figure. It depicts the squad sergeant of the second squad, who happens to be me.

So here is sergeant Tom . the figure got a head swop and a special paint job on the left arm . The figure is a gringo 40 figure. The head is a special sculpt by my friend Paul Hicks and depicts my features. I added a scarf round the neck to hide the joint between the body and the head. On the left upper arm I tried to paint a tattoo I happen to have there.

More to come!

Lt. Colonel Ernest Clifford Cheatham

12. September 201912. September 2019 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, Ernest Clifford Cheatham, Fireteam 3, Gringo 40, Vietnam war

Ernest Clifford Cheatham Jr. (July 27, 1929 – June 14, 2014) was a United States Marine Corps officer, a veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Navy Cross, and American football defensive tackle who played for the Baltimore Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Lt Col Cheatham served as commander of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines during the Vietnam War.

On 2 February 1968 Cheatham was at Phu Bai Combat Base when he was ordered into Huế to take command of his companies already engaged in the Battle of Hue. Before leaving for Huế, Cheatham reviewed Marine urban fighting doctrine which recommended staying off the streets and moving forward by blasting through walls and buildings. He proceeded to gather the necessary equipment including M20 Bazookas, M40 106mm recoilless rifles mounted on M274 Mules, C-4 explosive, flamethrowers, tear gas and gas masks. This equipment was loaded onto a convoy which arrived at the MACV Compound at 1 pm on 3 February, Cheatham then joined his Company commanders in Huế University and they proceeded to develop the tactics to be used in recapturing southern Huế. Cheatham led his forces as they methodically cleared the Viet Cong and People’s Army of Vietnam forces from the western area of southern Huế.

He was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism leading 2/5 Marines during the battle.

More background here

here is the Gringo 40 Miniature of Ernest Cheatham painted with Contrast paints: