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Bolt Action: Western Desert Boot Camp Live Blog – Friday

Bolt Action: Western Desert  Boot Camp Live Blog – Friday

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Come and join us for the Bolt Action Desert War Boot Camp being run alongside the awesome folks at Warlord Games.

Bolt Action Boot Camp Day 1 Friday - Cover

Today we're going to be meeting all of the folks coming along to the Boot Camp, cracking out their armies, and getting ready to build (and maybe even paint) their armies for a weekend of wargaming.

Win Prizes

We have some great goodies to give away over the weekend. Each day you'll be able to snap up an El Alamein Starter Set + A Panzer III & M3 Stuart.

All you have to do is comment on the Live Blog AND on the individual posts to be in with a chance of winning.

Thanks To Our Sponsors

Warlord Games - 4Ground - GameMat.EuArmy Painter

As well as that we've got Oriskany here with us in the studio letting us know how the weekend is going to unfold alongside some regular games.

Comment away and follow along!

Calling An End To Day One

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That’s it for Friday at this Boot Camp weekend. People are still busy hobbying and getting their armies ready to head to the tabletop tomorrow.

Come back this Saturday to see everyone’s progress and how their armies fair in the battles of Bolt Action’s Western Desert.

Grubs Up!

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After a long day building and painting miniatures in an autumnal Northern Ireland, there’s nothing quite like a bowl of hearty warmth to energise the soul!

Grubs Up!

Jim's Magnificent Map

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Our historical editor Jim (aka @oriskany) is running a campaign throughout the weekend and has come up with an ingenious map to show how the Bolt Action battles develope.

Unsung Heroes: Jen

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Unsung Heroes: Jen

Big thank you to Jennifer (@gladesrunner) who has come all the way from Florida to do the dishes!  We hope @oriskany knows just how lucky he is to have such a wonderful woman by his side!

Getting Weird In The Western Desert

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This World War is getting Weird as Lance and Gerry show off some of their own stranger additions to the Bolt Action Western Desert Boot Camp.

Gerry has brought in what may be the ultimate objective marker for the Germans, while Lance’s soldiers are feeling sleepy.

Wonder what our historical editor will make of these…

Personal Pick Of The Day: Universal Carrier

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Personal Pick Of The Day: Universal Carrier

I absolutely love the detailing on this universal carrier – it’s amazing that all this work has been done in one day!  I can’t wait to see this finished gun tractor when it reaches the table tomorrow!

Painting Tips For WWII Western Desert British

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Much like we did with the Germans, we’re now looking to give you some tips on painting the British as they appear in the Western Desert.

Everyone loves these sandy soldiers and it’s a bit different from delving into the regular European theatre that we’ve been playing for years.

Colour Comes To The Desert

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We’ve done all the building prep, now it’s time to get our men suited and booted for battle!

Colour Comes To The Desert

This is really exciting – we can’t wait to see how these guys look on the tabletop tomorrow!

Painting Tips For WWII Western Desert Germans

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John takes us through some of the different tips you’ll need to bear in mind if you’re going to be painting up your Bolt Action armies with us this weekend starting with a look at how to get those Germans looking desert body ready…

What tips do you have?

Hatched Buried & Gaming Afoot Tomorrow!

Hatched Buried & Gaming Afoot Tomorrow!20 Comments

Opinion Time: What Bolt Action Scenario Would You Create?

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Opinion Time: What Bolt Action Scenario Would You Create?

Here at Beasts of War, we’re fortunate to be part of a talented team and partner with awesome hobby companies to make fantastic events like this, but we want to hear from you!

What would be your ultimate Bolt Action cinematic battle?  Tell us where you would set it, what miniatures you would choose and how you would design the best battle royale on the tabletop!

Modelling With The Boot Campers: The Afrika Korps Part Two!

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Bob takes us through his experiences with the new Bolt Action German Afrika Korps plastic kit.

Everyone is finding them much easier and faster to put together and Bob is even trying his hand at some light conversion work.

Popping The Boot Camp Cherry: We Meet The First-Timers!

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Some of our first-time boot camp participants – Don’t worry guys, we promise to be gentle!

Christian and Steffan have come all the way from Demark, and are excited to try Bolt Action for the first time!Christian and Steffan have come all the way from Demark, and are excited to try Bolt Action for the first time!
Stephen, lived in Korea for thirteen years, and says he was always envious of the Boot Camps at Beasts of War. Now he's moved back home, and is loving the event so far!Stephen, lived in Korea for thirteen years, and says he was always envious of the Boot Camps at Beasts of War. Now he's moved back home, and is loving the event so far!
Damon Brentnall has been gaming for over 20 years. He's part of a local group in Darby, but after years of watching BoW decided he wanted to be part of the action!Damon Brentnall has been gaming for over 20 years. He's part of a local group in Darby, but after years of watching BoW decided he wanted to be part of the action!

We’re really excited to have so many new faces with us, and you guys following on the feed at home.  It’s going to be an amazing weekend!

Modelling With The Boot Campers: The British Part Two!

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Per has also been working on the British 8th Army, working on turning them into the Commonwealth forces sent over from New Zealand.

Everyone is really impressed by the new Bolt Action plastics and it is interesting to see the variety in approaches people are taking to their armies.

What's Gaz Planning With That Nail File?

What's Gaz Planning With That Nail File?18 Comments

Time For A Tea Break!

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It’s not all hectic hobbying – sometimes it’s nice to just sit and have a chat and a catch-up!

Time For A Tea Break!

Talking WWII Western Desert Terrain & Tabletops With John

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We’re chatting with John about the different tabletops that we’ve created for the Boot Camp. We have a variety of different terrain options for scenarios which include more rural areas and others which are distinctly more urban.

Attendees in Action! Getting The Hobby Started

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Time to check in and see how our hobbyists are getting along with their Bolt Action armies!

Attendees in Action! Getting The Hobby Started

It’s all looking good so far – can’t wait to see these painted!

Introduction to the Armies: The British 8th Army

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Continuing our introduction to the two forces of the Bolt Action Western Desert Boot Camp, Charlie and John have a talk about what the British 8th Army is taking to war.

It's Feeding Time! Fuel For The Team

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We go behind the scenes and scope out the team’s eating habits!

Lock up your women! Ben, a.k.a Sexy Furious, now comes with chocolate!Lock up your women! Ben, a.k.a Sexy Furious, now comes with chocolate!
Lance has become eternally perplexed about his yellow orangeLance has become eternally perplexed about his yellow orange
Sam and bananas have a complicated relationship, apparently...Sam and bananas have a complicated relationship, apparently...
Cass has stolen Ryan's Jaffa Cakes (don't tell him!)Cass has stolen Ryan's Jaffa Cakes (don't tell him!)
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO FUDGE LEFT?!WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO FUDGE LEFT?!

As you can see, we’ve got the fuel to keep us going for the weekend!

We're Lost Again, Aren't We?

We're Lost Again, Aren't We?26 Comments

Introduction To The Armies: The German Afrika Korps

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The conflicts of the Western Desert are a fascinating period of WWII. John and Charlie sit down to take us through the two Bolt Action forces facing off at this Boot Camp Weekend.

First, the German Afrika Korps head out to battle and we find out what sort of kit they used to claim victory in the desert.

Desert Storm-ing It At Our Boot Camp Weekend!

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The tables at boot camp look amazing this year! Looks like all that hard work has paid off. Forget sunny beaches, we like our sand mixed with kerosene!

Desert Storm-ing It At Our Boot Camp Weekend!

Modelling With The Boot Campers: The German Afrika Korps

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The armies of the German Afrika Korps have fallen behind the British in terms of speed of assembly, but our Boot Campers have a few tricks up their sleeves for them.

Andy has already broken out his brushes and started painting, while Mick gives us some tips on basing Warlord’s metal booster pack miniatures.

Don't Worry, They're Completely 'armless!

Don't Worry, They're Completely 'armless!22 Comments

Get Involved! Build Bolt Action Projects & Win Spot Prizes!

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We’ve got a great idea that we wanted to share with you! To get you guys involved at home we wanted to give away some spot prizes to those who create some Bolt Action based projects using our Project System.

Make Bolt Action Projects & Win £20 Warlord Games Vouchers!

This can be anything Bolt Action based, be it a unit of soldiers, a commander figure, tanks (John loves those!) or even some pieces of terrain. It DOES NOT have to be desert themed either.

Make sure to select this option when you’re putting together your projects!

Get Involved! Build Bolt Action Projects & Win Spot Prizes!

We can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on and the kind of things you share with us.

Boot Campers Getting Stuck In

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We’ve got all of the Boot Campers sitting down and working through their armies, building up the plastic and metal components for both the British and the Germans.

Boot Campers Getting Stuck In

A Stash Of Metal & Plastic Needs Building!

A Stash Of Metal & Plastic Needs Building!28 Comments

Modelling With The Boot Campers: The British Army Sikh

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Jeff has been tearing on getting his British army ready to play for Bolt Action.

Taking advantage of the different head options provided in Warlord’s plastic kit, Jeff has decided to make a force based upon the Sikhs who as part of the British army in World War II.

Bolt Action Boot Camp - WIN Prizes This Weekend!

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We’ve got a great competition in the works for you this weekend as Warlord Games are going to be giving away some awesome goodies!

You can win yourself an El Alamein Starter Set + A Panzer II & M3 Stuart.

Bolt Action Boot Camp - WIN Prizes This Weekend!

There will be ONE given away each day and you can get a hold of it by commenting on both the main live blog AND the individual posts themselves.

If you’d like to check out more you can view the individual components with the El Alamein Starter Set, Panzer III and M3 Stuart sets here.

Which side are you going to play as?

Welcome To The Bolt Action Western Desert Boot Camp!

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Welcome to Day One of the Bolt Action Western Desert where we’re going to be having fun with Warlord Games, building up awesome armies and taking them to the tabletop to show off a good old-fashioned clash between the British and the Germans.

Win Prizes

We have some great goodies to give away over the weekend. Each day you’ll be able to snap up an El Alamein Starter Set + A Panzer III & M3 Stuart.

Welcome To The Bolt Action Western Desert Boot Camp!

All you have to do is comment on the Live Blog AND on the individual posts to be in with a chance of winning.

Make sure to get involved and find out more about both hobbying AND gaming during the Western Desert campaign in WWII.

Warlord's Charlie Arrives At OnTableTop

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It’s nearly time. A grudge match of epic proportion is happening this weekend.

Warlord’s Charlie has arrived at OnTableTop HQ. He’s here to kick ass and paint models. And he’s all out of models.

Be sure to check in on Sunday at 11:00 BST for the Live Let’s Play of Charlie vs John.

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battlehawk
Cult of Games Member
1220xp

Cool prize, going to be a good weekend.

macadams00
Member
575xp

And so it begins…. ?

justgeorge
Member
160xp

Well I’ve never heard of this game in my life. So I’m finding all this very fascinating

dracs
Member
4281xp

Bolt Action is a fantastic game. Hope you enjoy the weekend and if you have any questions let us know and we’ll pass them along to the Warlord guys.

passimalo
Cult of Games Member
414xp

???… never heard about Bolt Action???.. Shame yourself and sit in the corner ????

collins
Cult of Games Member
16343xp

so they can just sit and watch all the content right? right?

passimalo
Cult of Games Member
414xp

Yessssss 😛

passimalo
Cult of Games Member
414xp

Have sooo much fun Guys, next year I will do everything for being there.. love the Bolt Action Bootcamps…… ????????

72draco
Member
516xp

Looks this will be as exciting as the FOW 4th edition Desert Boot Camp.

72draco
Member
516xp

The Desert trench board looks awesome. Will have to suggest that to my wargaming group for the next project.

olliep
Member
6011xp

Looking good so far
Gutted I missed this one (love me some BA) but only just got back from holidays so couldnt squeeze any more time off 🙁

mikeyboy403
Member
20xp

Looking forward to following this over the weekend. I love bolt action but not really done anything to do with the North Africa campaign before. This will be a good push in to it.

biggrim
Cult of Games Member
1831xp

Great prize there! Gotta get my British army built!

collins
Cult of Games Member
16343xp

looking forward to seeing how many people get their forces completed!

darthcheese
Member
4192xp

Totally wish that I’d booked for this now

brochtree
Member
1283xp

Matilda II, Queen of the Desert! The best tank of the Desert war!

baskett
Member
163xp

oh cool, shame the bolt action community near me is really small

tresilliian
Member
2199xp

The light in the room is so eerie, it’ll be interesting to see the effects when the games are covered

doomzombie
Cult of Games Member
5478xp

Great prizes, have a great weekender guys.

darkdanegan
Cult of Games Member
21470xp

Strapped in and ready to go! Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons for the win!

rbwgames
Cult of Games Member
2819xp

Looking good! Wish I was there. One of these days I’ll make it across for a boot camp. I loved my Bersagliere in FOW. I wouldn’t mind some small raiding forces for Bolt Action.

patrickkyle82
Member
456xp

I’ve always wanted to start an Afrika Korps army. Love the stories love the battles. Excited to follow all weekend

dorthonion
Member
1529xp

The Western Desert campaign has always been the most interesting for me as it featured so many quirky incidents in the often confused fighting. It also had an environment that was equally as inconvenient for both sides.
Very nice prize. The gaming tables are superb.

bothi
Member
6472xp

Wish I could be there again. Next time. Hoping everybody has a wonderful weekend. Including midnight kebap and maybe one or two pints 😀

chaingun
Member
1939xp

The tables look epic guys, can’t wait to follow this over the weekend.

zaknafein5
Cult of Games Member
1854xp

Looks like a great weekend.
I don’t play bolt action yet.
It looks very tempting.

gosho75
Member
330xp

I need more armies!

tankkommander
Member
6389xp

Looks like fun. I have just finished painting Boba Fett for Star Wars Legion and working on a camo scheme for the Imperial Scouts.

janus1004
Member
4165xp

Exciting to follow this during the weekend, it is an interesting part of the war.