Camera Upgrade

My new Olympus OMD EM5 Mk2 Titanium.

After nearly five years of using my Panasonic Lumix DMC GF1 I'm upgrading my camera system.  I got this as a present from my partner for my birthday, which is today, and is a significant double-digit number.  I've been spoilt rotten and I love her for it.

The last time I talked about upgrading my camera system was here.  This is a big deal, because photography is a thing for me, like breathing is a thing – can't live without it.

Anyway, my new micro four thirds camera normal resolution is 16 megapixels.  Lots of reviews on the web.  But what attracted me to it was the fact that it can take 40 megapixel still life pictures through a clever multiple exposure trick that moves the sensor between shots.  It's a good thing.  Especially good if one wants to take high resolution pictures of small toy soldiers.

The difference between my new Olympus OMD and my old Panasonic Lumix is that the latter was a digital camera while the former is a computer that takes pictures.  Colour me over excited.  Fortunately, I have an after market manual to help me learn all the functions, and I can't wait to take some pictures with it and post them here.

So far I managed to set the time and date.  As the saying goes, I may be some time.
  

Jovian Chronicles

  

Over on Fire Broadside! there's an interview with Robert Dubois from Dream Pod 9 about new their exo armor miniatures for the Jovian Chronicles game.  Colour me excited because Gundam space battle games are few and far between and Jovian Chronicles is meant to be rather good.  So I'm keeping an eye on the new releases and given that I now have a part time job I may be int he position to buy some in the future.
  

North American Combine 2nd Heavy Armour Brigade Combat Team

In the process of answering my friend Clive's question of why I brought so many miniatures to Blast-Tastic, the answer here, inspired me to finally got me working on naming my North American Combine force.  I finally decided that they will be called the 2nd Heavy Armour Brigade Combat Team.  In my mind they will be from the 7th Army's, 3rd Division.

Got have a name for ones armies, it makes them feel more connected to history.  The heavy description appended is made up to to account for the presence of Ogres.  The 2nd HABCT will consist of the following elements:
  
  
10th Battalion, 77th Ogre Brigade "The Red Eyes"

4 x Mark 1 Ogres (I still have to get around to painting the other three Mark 1s that I have).

3rd Battalion, 35th Armour Regiment "Conquerors"

2 x Company's each consisting of 4 x Light tanks, 8 x Heavy tanks, and 2 x Super Heavy tanks.

3rd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment "The Old Guard"

4 x Company's each consisting of 4 x GEV-PCs, 4 infantry platoons & 3 x Light GEVs.


1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment "Fighting Sixth"

3 x Troops each consisting of 8 x GEVs and 4 x Light GEVs.


2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment "Proud Americans"

4 x Battery's with 4 x Missile tanks in each (showing three of the four batteries I have painted).

In the US Army each brigade also has a small support formation, but as in most games of Ogre/GEV these will only need to be represented for specific scenarios.

Though I won't be fielding models of all the HQ elements,  I do have four models, one for each of the non-Ogre Battalions.  I will also have some models to represent logistics support and air defense assets in the form of hover trucks and laser turret/towers that the Ogre/GEV rule set supports.  In addition I plan to make some recovery vehicles, also  if I ever get a model of a Vulcan Ogre it will be assigned here.  So nominally attached to the 2nd HABCT will be the following:

555th Engineer Brigade

74th Brigade Support Battalion

In addition, I will have models to represent the 3rd Division's artillery brigade, usually abbreviated as DvArty.  As an aside the troops on the ground often refer to DVArty as DimArty, which is no doubt coloured by their experience of calling in artillery support:
   
  
C Battery, 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment "Tiger Brigade"

1 x Battery of 4 x Mobile Howitzers.


B Battery, 3d Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment "United We Stand"

1 x Battery of 4 x Howitzers.

C Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment "Viking"

1 x Battery of 4 x Cruise Missiles).

When deployed on the offensive the brigade combat team will be allocated a Slice of the divisions support assets.  This will be more Ogres as follows:
   
  
1st Battalion, 77th Ogre Brigade "The Red Eyes"

1 x Mark 6, 1 x Mark 2S Ogres.

3rd Battalion, 77th Ogre Brigade "The Red Eyes"

1 x Mark 5, 1 x Mark 4 Ogres.

5th Battalion, 77th Ogre Brigade "The Red Eyes"

1 x Mark 3b, 2 x Mark 3 Ogres.

Finally, to round out my force, I will have one Ogre Ninja, which I'm going to assume is an asset attached to the 7th Army's, 3rd Division:


2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade "The Eyes of Intelligence"

1 x Ogre Ninja.

Many thanks to Owen for helping me understand modern US Army formations.