Ogre: Retreads!

 

At the start of the year, I wrote a list of all the games I would like to play in 2024. A surprise entry on that list, even to me, was Ogre, the Steve Jackson classic of asymmetric warfare where a giant cybertank takes on a conventional army. Unfortunately, the only copy of the game I owned was an old pocket edition... which is a tough sell to most modern gamers. So, I decided to buy the big, Sixth Edition box set, but this proved difficult. It's sold out in the UK. Well, lucky for me, I just won an ebay auction for a decently priced used set, and I'm awaiting delivery. 

Although the game is technically a board game, using counters, I know I will eventually convert it to using all miniatures. Now, I did already have a few metal ogre miniatures from long ago, which I dug out of storage. In fact, they are dated 1993 on the bottom. I probably picked them up a bit later, maybe 1997, but that's still over 25 years ago. They were covered in dust and the paint jobs were horrible. I considered stripping them to paint again, but stripping miniatures is a really unpleasant and generally unrewarding experience - so I decided I would just paint over them.

I pulled out a Mark III and a Mark III-b and gave them each about 90 minutes of work. While they are unlikely to win any awards, they are vastly improved! I also have a Mark V, but he's in better shape. I might get to him later.  

Once I get the game, I'll make plans for replacing the counters with other miniatures. Apart from the ogres, I'm not committed to the official range, so will see what glorious 6mm tanks are available!

Here's the original paint job on the Mark III. Certainly needed some brightening, if nothing else. If you look closely, right in the middle of the back, you can see it was just slightly miscast - but I'm calling that battle damage!