Pass in Review: Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) for Warhammer 40K

(Image from:  Deltavan 1 Military Humor)

I spent the first four years of my active duty US Air Force career as an electronic warfare technician.  My job was to maintain the electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment on B-52s.  After a few years of removing and replacing black boxes, I realized I wasn't enthused about being a fix-it man.  

I'm still not--even when it comes to painting miniatures.

I wanted to cross-train into a more combat-orientated career field.

And boy, did I get my wish.

I ended up becoming a member of the US Air Force's Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) group.

So I spent the remaining 16 years of my military service working with US Army headquarters and combat units helping to coordinate and direct Close Air Support (CAS) and Forward Air Control during exercises and actual deployments.

TACPs aren't just skilled at calling-in air strikes.  They're knowledgeable about an array of joint fire support, such as; US Army Forward Observers who perform with artillery fire, and Naval Gunfire Officers with ship-to-shore fire support.  (The US Marines have a similar group called ANGLICOs--Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company).

We're a tight-knit group and still keep in touch through social media.

Fast forward to a few years ago, and my son-in-law got me interested in Warhammer 4,000 (WH40K).

I delved into the game by purchasing earlier editions of the core rulebook and the codices.  I developed an affinity towards the Astra Militarum, and raised company-sized element of my own regiment, the 187th Dragoon Regiment (Composite).

(I still have an entire troop/company to do a blog post on.  But due to health reasons I haven't been able to conduct a large photo shoot yet).

A couple years ago, I asked my friend Peter to paint a command squad for me, but reconfigure it as a TACP.  He finished them early last year, and I've finally gotten around to posting my homage to TACPs past & present.

Somewhere on the Sector Fronteris... 

...an unusually configured Chimera rumbles into a ruined outpost.

Side Note:

I bought this model pre-painted and assembled.  It's been so long, that I can't remember who I got it from.  

TACPs support every type of Army combat unit.  For those assigned to armored, mechanized infantry, or armored cavalry units, they often have their own Armored Personnel Carrier (APC), or "track" as we liked to call them. 

I thought this particular Chimera, with it's risque nose art  would be the most suitable in my collection for my TACP.

Now back to the opening scene...

A 5-man team of an Astra Militarum TACP disembark. 

As the Chimera moves off to perform a perimeter security check, (and for readers to get a better view of the figures), the TACPs establish an observation point (OP). 

Now for a more detailed look at my WH4K version of a TACP, here's a side-view profile:

Peter did a remarkable job on the figures and especially with the TACP flag.

Now here's a look at the individual figures, and their functions within the TACP. (Note:  "TACP" can also refer to an individual as well as a team). 

The Air and Artillery Support Officer (a combination of Master of Ordnance and Officer of the Fleet):

The vox caster:

The Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC):  

A JTAC is an enlisted member performing the same functions as Air and Artillery Support Officer.  This will allow the team to split up if necessary in order to service two targets, and also provides back-up when if either become a casualty. 

The Target Designator/Heavy Weapons Specialist:

I have this figure armed with a plasma gun to be used at designating targets, by illuminating them with plasma fire, and to provide heavy weapon support to the TACP. 

The TACP Standard Bearer:

TACPs, and every other combat unit here in the Second Millennium, don't wave standards around in the heat of battle.  

But the figure and flag are too cool to pass up.

Pass in Review: Some German Vessels of Cruel Seas, Part 1

(Wikipedia image:  Seibel Ferry)

So far, I’ve only completed a few Kriegsmarine craft.  

The first, are a pair of “War Fish Cutters.” 

Both are painted nearly identical, except the large life rafts are orange on the first vessel...

...and yellow on the second one:

I guess I’ve been too infatuated with the larger, Kriegsmarine ships, because I never heard of Kriegfishcutters until I started collecting Cruel Seas vessels. 

The hull and superstructures were painted “Wolf Fur” gray from my  Army Painter set, while the deck was painted “Leather Brown” from my Reaper Learn-To-Paint kit.  I splashed on some Vallejo Paint grey and rust ink-wash to give the boats a grungy, weathered look.

Since I have a large micro-armor collection, I wanted to get some of my Siebel Ferries finished and ready to go.

Two are now painted, while I have two unpainted ferries still “in dry dock.”

I wanted my ferries to be as versatile as possible, so I didn’t glue any of the guns to the vessels’ deck.

Here’s a couple of bare-deck views:

Here’s a couple of views, of a ferry in “full gunship mode:”

I don’t know if having "loose cannons on deck" will be practical during gaming sessions.

However, I want to try and utilize these vessels for transporting vehicles during a game session.

Here’s some views of a ferry carrying several vehicles:

I have a lot more ships and boats to assemble and paint.  I’m not sure which vessels I’ll start working on next.  I have a few other painting projects I want to finish first, but please stay tuned. 

Pass in Review: Some Japanese Vessels of Cruel Seas, Part 1

(Wikipedia mage:  A Shin Yo suicide motorboat)

I’m still in the process of painting the smallest and easiest boats in my Cruel Seas collection.  

The following are some examples of my Imperial Japanese Navy vessels.

I finished-up the last of the Daihatsu-class landing craft.

Unlike “fully manned” set, these empty versions are taken from the deck of the No-1 class fast transport T-6, which I haven’t gotten around to assembling yet.

I painted these empty landing craft the same “Filthy Cape” color from my Army Painter set, and slathered with Vallejo paint, grey ink wash.

Next, I assembled and painted four AB-Tei gunboats

These armored boats were actually used by the Imperial Japanese Army to support their riverine operations in China.

Here I staged a couple armored boats guarding a landing site.

I found these vessels easy to assemble (super gluing 3 turrets), and paint.  I tried distinguishing the individual ships by painting the 6 midship top hatches a different color., while the main hulls are “Filthy Cape” grey, with grey ink wash.

During World War II, Japanese forces employed a number of special attack units...

...to include kamikaze boats.

The Warlord Games set contains 6 boats, 3 armed with depth charges...

...and 3 with rockets:

These were the tiniest and easiest boats in my collection to paint, since they’re all solid pieces.

More than 400 allied vessels were struck by Japanese suicide attack weapons during the last year of the war...

...everything from landing craft to battleships and aircraft carriers.

A couple years ago, historians discovered a kamikaze boat base on Formosa. 

My next Cruel Seas post will feature a couple of German vessels.  Stay tuned! 

Pass in Review: Reaper Pulp Action Figures

While my siblings, friends and I grew up after the Age of  Serial Films, many of them ran on the New York City network-affiliated stations.  These shows aired before the prime time hours, or late Saturday mornings after the cartoons. 

I remember watching some episodes of Buck Rogers, and Flash Gordon, and probably a few others I can’t remember; along with listening to a few episodes of  The Shadow which our hometown radio stations brought back on the air for a bit. 

The show that caught our attention the most when we were little kids was Our Gang/The Little Rascals.  One or more of our pet dogs would follow us around on our own misadventures, and we often tried building similar contraptions—go-carts, tree forts and the like—based on what the rascals did in the series. Often with the same calamitous results. 

Then as we got a bit older we got into The Bowery Boys (previously known as The Dead End Kids and East Side Kids).  We use to tussle around in our back yards and re-enact the fight scenes of the most recent episode we watched.  I guess the idea of fighting bad guys (as the “light side” Bowery Boys) in and around New York City appealed to us pre-teen Upstate New Yorkers.

But our lives didn’t just revolve around what was on the “boob tube.”  We read the comic book versions of pulp magazines, primarily Conan the Barbarian, and Solomon Kane.  

Although our moms were a bit leery of the Vampirella comics we read as teenagers, they didn’t outright forbid us from buying any issues. 

Anyway, spicy adventure stories aside, sometime between buying my last issue of Vampirella and the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark, I got into wargaming and role-playing games.

While my main focus is on historical, science fiction and heroic fantasy, I have a few pulp action games in my collection.

I bought Fortune and Glory and the two boxed expansion sets shortly after they were released.

A few years ago, I stumbled across a copy of Justice Inc at Half Price Books.

After last month’s shopping therapy session, I added Rattrap Productions’ .45 Adventure (1st Edition).

Eventually, I’d like to get my Fortune and Glory pieces painted, but in the meantime, my friend Peter finished the handful of pulp action figures for me.

While writing this post I took the time to concoct a title using my Comic Life program:

What follows is my Gallery of Pulp Heroes from Reaper Miniatures (Modern), somewhere on the grimy streets of Midnight City (you may have to scroll down on the linked pages to see the unpainted figure):

1. Agatha Fox, female spy, front view...

...rear view:

2. Sister Maria, front view...

...rear view:

3. Sascha DuBois, time chaser, front view...

...rear view:

4. Nightslip, pulp era heroine, front view...

...confrontation view...

...rear view:

5. The Black Mist, front view...

...rear view:

6. Rex (Dark Future Hero), front view...

...rear view:

7. Meanwhile, Frank Buck, adventurer, is exploring some remote part of the world, front view...

...rear view:

Uh-oh.  Looks like Frank got more adventure than he bargained for...

The "giant" snakes are some cheap kids' gag toys I bought years ago for just such occasions.

Here's a group photo:

Well, it seems like Frank made it back from his Adventure in the Cave of the Giant Snakes, but Agatha Fox must have disappeared on one of her clandestine missions.  (Translation:  I forgot to include her).

When the chips are down, my gang of heroes aren't above to plagiarizing catch-phrases: