Blog – Page 9 – Steve’s Hobby Blog

Never Mind The Bill Hooks Scenery

I’ve still yet to start gaming and to make matters worse, my figures for NMTBH’s are on loan at Wargames Illustrated, so I cant even play a solo game! It’s all a bit frustrating, particularly now that the rule set is out in the public domain and other people appear to be having great fun with it! The upside is that the Facebook page and blogs have been a source of inspiration and there have been some great ideas out there to ‘borrow’. One of these is a custom arrow storm counter. It’s so obvious, I cant think why we haven’t made them before but we just relied on a dice next to the unit. Functional, but not so pretty!

Arrow counters

So as a side project I made up enough counters for my four archer units. I had some micro dice from a kids game in my stash. I also had a couple of spare command frames from the Perry’s WOTR infanty that have the spare arrow groups. It was a simple matter of combining these with a 25mm round MDF base to make the counter. I just covered the base in Milliput and whilst it was still wet, pressed the dice into it to get the correct sized dice cavity. To keep the dice from being covered in Milliput, I wrapped it in cling film. I then pressed in the arrow group from the Command frame.

arrows on the Command Frame

Once that was done, it was left to dry, spray primed and then a thin coat of Vallejo dark earth texture paste was spread over the base to tie everything together and a bit of ballast added for extra detail. I then painted it with my usual basing paint, added some Green Flock and tufts to finish. The arrows were painted with Iraqi Sand for the shafts and white for the feathers.

Hidden Ditch by Andy Callan.

The next diversion was inspired by Andy Callan. He decided that it would be fun to have some scenery pieces to represent some of the special event cards so that we could add them to the table if they were played. Andy had made a piece for the ‘Terrain Advantage’ card – a hidden ditch. Andy had also added a touch of humour – a couple of Coots swimming in it! The picture above is stolen from Facebook, hopefully Andy wont mind!

A new cart for my Army!

That started me thinking that perhaps a marker or piece of terrain for the special event cards would be good fun and an excuse to add to my collection. The ‘Extra Arrow Supply’ prompted me to order a cart (I already have one, but any excuse…) to load up with extra arrows so that it can make an appearance on the table if called for. I also liked the idea of making a terrain piece full of arrows to represent ‘Fauconbergs Gambit’. All I had to do was to make some arrows.

Evergreen Rod & Strip for arrows

I had some Evergreen rod that looked about right – pack 211, .040″ width. With hindsight, it is a bit on the thick side and a slightly smaller diameter would have been better. But I used what I had rather than wait for the better solution. To make the arrow flights, I again used Evergreen strip, this time .040 wide by .010 thick – pack #102. I cut the strip into lengths about 3mm – 4mm long and then using a sharp scalpel blade cut them into triangles. It was a bit fiddly but surprisingly quick to do. I then used Tamiya liquid poly to coat the top of the rod and using the point of the scalpel, picked up a ‘flight’ and attached it to the arrow shaft. Once three flights were attached, I clipped the arrow off and started on the next one. Again, it sounds fiddly but once I got into the rhythm, it only took 30 minutes or so to make over twenty arrows.

Arrow production line!

I then had a spare MDF base that I covered in Milliput and simply pressed the arrows into the milliput. Again, after priming, Vallejo textured paste was used to tie everything together and cover any imperfections and the usual paint scheme followed to finish the arrows and terrain. I’m not sure whether I will get to use it in battle, but it will be fun to slap that piece off scenery down, along with the card, if I get the chance to play it!

Testing the arrows layout!

The finished piece.

So I am now thinking of other little additions to make in between my other painting projects. My version of the hidden ditch is already in the planning stage, and the ‘False Colours’ or ‘Treachery!’ cards could be represented by a flag with the Stanley colours on them! I also need to make some tents to hold my Army Morale markers, so that should keep me busy for a while. I quite like the idea of the symbolism of adding something to the table when playing the special cards. However, I think that taking a water spray bottle to represent ‘Sudden Heavy Rain Shower!’ may be a step too far….

New gaming pieces fr NMTBH’s

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you have yet to get your copy of Wargames Illustrated, including the free copy of Never Mind the Bill Hooks Rules set, we still have some of stock at the time of writing. It’s available, post free here!

WARGAMES ILLUSTRATED ISSUE 393

But it’s selling quickly so don’t hang around!

Almost all of the paints, miniatures, bases, basing materials and anything that you are likely to need for your hobby are available POST FREE from my shop here:

ARCANE SCENERY

Perry’s WOTR plastic range are here, including some nice army deals!

PERRY MINIATURES

You can see our range of Evergreen plastic strip and Rod here:

EVERGREEN PLASTIC

Milliput is available here:

FILLERS

MDF bases can be found here:

MDF BASES

You can find all the Vallejo Model colour paints here. If you don’t want to browse, just enter the paint number into the shop search bar;

VALLEJO PAINTS

Happy Modelling!

Painting WW2 British Infantry

I thought that it might be useful to document a step by step guide to painting WW2 British infantry, as much for my own reference but I hope that it might be useful for other wargamers. The figures that I am using are Crusader Miniatures British infantry. I wanted some additional troops for my growing BEF force and fancied a bit of variety from the superb Warlord BEF figures. The Crusader miniatures are every bit as good, both in terms of sculpting and casting and completely compatible size wise. However, I had made a mistake in thinking that these were early war as opposed to the Late War packs in the Crusader Miniatures range. I am by no means an expert on uniforms of WW2 but these figures are missing the gas mask pack worn on the chest, the rifle bandoleer and the entrenching tool is a two piece item rather than the earlier one piece. I suspect that this means that a purist would say that they are not suitable to join my BEF force. Fortunately, I am by no means a purist and they look great, so they are in the platoon!

The picture above shows four of the figures, cleaned up, primed with leather brown Army Painter spray, attached to Sarissa 25mm MDF bases and the first vallejo colour applied, Vallejo Flat Flesh 70955. Unless specified, all of the paints used are from the Vallejo model colour range.

All of the uniform is painted with Burnt Umber 70941.

The helmets and water bottle are painted with 70887 US olive drab.

The webbing, packs, belt and gaiters are painted with 70988 Khaki.

The rifles and entrenching tool handle were painted with German Cam. Black Brown 70822. I also paint the hair with the same colour – not that there is much to see!

The detail on the rifles, bayonet cover and boots were painted Black 70950.

The faces, hands, Helmets, water bottle and all khaki were painted over with Army painter soft tone ink. It doesn’t matter if you get some on the uniform, you will be over painting this in future steps

The uniforms were painted with English uniform 70921, leaving the burnt umber in the shadows and creases.

The Helmets and water bottles were repainted with 70887 US Olive drab, leaving some of the shading at the base of the helmet and around the webbing of the water bottle. All the Khaki, except the gaiters was repainted, again, leaving the shadows caused by the soft tone ink. I decided to leave the Gaiters a dirtier dark colour.

The Webbing and packs are highlighted with German Camouflage Beige 70821. The wood on the rifles highlighted with flat brown 70984.

The uniform is highlighted on the tops of the creases with 70880 Khaki Grey.

The flesh is highlighted with Flat Flesh 70855 and then skin tome70815. The rifles and shovel handle highlighted with 70846 Mahogany Brown.

The flesh is highlighted with Flat Flesh 70855 and then skin tone70815. The rifles and shovel handle highlighted with 70846 Mahogany Brown.

Bases painted with Dehli Bazaar Brown emulsion and then highlighted with an Iraqui sand mix. Sprinkled with Woodlands Scenics green grass T1349.

Crusader and Warlord WW2 British Infantry

And that’s another section completed – well nearly. They need a bren gun team to join them – I’ll get that painted later. Here’s a final shot of the two sections that I now have completed. On the right, the warlord figures, on the left, Crusader. They are in Movement trays for organisational and display purposes. If they ever do take to the table, the movement trays wont be in use.

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Almost all of the paints, miniatures, bases, basing materials and anything that you are likely to need for your hobby are available POST FREE at the time of writing, from my shop here:

ARCANE SCENERY

You can find the Warlord Games WW2 British sets ( including the Dads Army set) here;

WARLORD GAMES WW2 BRITISH

we carry a huge range of Vallejo paint and accessories here:

VALLEJO

Sarissa bases and movement trays are available here:

BASES AND MOVEMENT TRAYS

Crusader miniatures are available from North Star Games or from Arcane via special order email.

Happy Modelling!

Ramblings from the work bench

My wargaming activities are still very much curtailed by the COVID19 restrictions and as a result our gaming group has not met to roll dice for some time now. It’s a shame really as ‘Never Mind The Bill Hooks’ has been released to very positive reviews and were we gaming, I suspect that we would be running through all sorts of different scenarios. No doubt, this would have led me into painting even more units for the WOTR era, maybe a unit of early German Landsknechts to add to my mercenary contingent. Possibly some Irish, so that I could re fight Stokes field.

Tamiya 1/48th Scale V1

As it is I have been spending my time working through my lead pile/kit collection and finishing off projects that have been lurking on the work bench for a while now. A good example of this is the 1/48th scale model of the V1 flying bomb from Tamiya. I built and primed it about two years ago but never actually got around to finishing it. The lack of gaming and other such distractions meant that I finally finished this model off.

HMS VICTORY – an Airfix kit

I also built HMS Victory – an Aifix kit that I had picked up for a fiver from Aldi or Lidl a while back. It was a nice change to be building something completely different to my normal output. Both the V1 and HMS Victory are part of my plans for a larger collection. One of the drivers for my hobby is my need to ‘collect things’! They also form part of my interest of history in general. So HMS Victory now joins the Mary Rose as part of a collection of iconic ships from history that I may eventually build and put into the cabinet!

HMS Victory and Mary Rose

Likewise, the V1 is just the start of an (imaginary) collection of German ‘super weapons’, which will include a V2, Maus and selection of some of the operational German Jets. I actually already have some of the jets in 1/72nd scale from a previous time in my modelling history but I might just ‘upgrade’ them to 1/48th scale as well.

M163, Hs162 and Horton jet Bomber in 1/72nd scale.

I have still been painting Early WW2 British Infantry, albeit slowly. I dont have a specific plan for gaming with these. It’s another ‘collection’ that I am working on, sparked by painting the Dads Army set. I would like to have at least a full platoon of early WW2 British infantry, along with a few more Home Guard units. So the most recent addition to my painted figure collection is Corporal Jones in his Civvies.

Corporal Jones in his civilian outfit!

So, like my collection at the moment, this blog post is a bit of a ramble. I do have a cunning plan to pull all of my collections together though, but that’s another story for another time!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you have yet to get your copy of Wargames Illustrated with the free Never Mind the Bill Hooks rules, we still have plenty of stock at the time of writing. It’s available, post free here!

WARGAMES ILLUSTRATED ISSUE 393

But it’s selling quickly so don’t hang around!

Almost all of the paints, miniatures, bases, basing materials and anything that you are likely to need for your hobby are available POST FREE from my shop here:

ARCANE SCENERY

Happy Modelling!

Samurai Scenery.

Whilst looking in my display cabinet I noticed that there were some pieces of scenery that were not actually painted. I had acquired them just as I lost interest in painting Samurai and moved on to WAr of the Roses! As I am currently on a mission to reduce my lead pile and to complete all of these odd projects that I started and never finished, I thought that I would complete these pieces in between painting World War Two British Infantry.

The painting required was minimal, more a case of basing the pieces up and adding paint where required! The Temple dogs are resin pieces from Ainstey Castings. Once they had been washed and dried, I under coated them with a stone texture spray. They were then given a liberal wash using Army Painter Strong Tone ( brown ink) before dry brushing with Vallejo Stone Grey, mixed with white after the initial dry brush coat. I then based them on MDF bases, attaching them using the Vallejo Dark Earth texture paste and finished the basing using my usual method.

Temple Dogs from Ainstey Castings

The two garden lanterns are 3d printed scenery – I think from Iron Gate Scenery. Once undercoated, I simply painted them red, with black brown for the lanterns. The ‘lights’ were just yellow painted straight onto the lamp area. When dry, I carefully dry brushed this area with black brown and the grid was then picked out. They were based exactly as above, on 30mm round MDF bases.

Garden Lanterns

The last item was a Buddha statue. I was given this by Jaz, who found it in a gift shop and I think that it is more of a lucky charm or gift item. Although bit gaudy, I was happy to leave it as supplied and based it up with a random blossom tree that was also ‘kicking around at the back of the display cabinet. Once again, I just ‘plonked’ it onto the base and finished it as above. I added some nice red flowers to keep to the rather bright theme and another piece is ready for a game.

Happy Buddha and blossom tree.

Here’s a picture of all the pieces together with a Sarissa Temple and some of my other scenery and figures. I think that they all work together and should I find my way back to my Samurai project, or play Test of Honour, they will look good on the wargames table.

Temple Shrine and Garden

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

I dont actually sell any of the above but I do have a nice Samurai section in my shop, including the latest sets from Grey for Now Games!

SAMURAI

Of course, we do have most of the Paints, scatter and MDF bases in the Arcane Scenery shop:

THE ARCANE SCENERY SHOP

Happy Modelling!

Never Mind the Bill Hooks Update

Never mind the Billhooks!

I had already written a blog post for this week but it seemed strange to be posting about Japanese scenery when the real hot news was the release of the new rules set’ Never Mind the Bill Hooks’, which is being given away free with the September issue of Wargames Illustrated. So a quick change of plan! The Japanese scenery article can wait until next week!

At Last – Never Mind The Bill Hooks is in Print!

Regular readers of my blog ( if I have any!) will know that I spent most of 2019 collecting and painting my War Of the Roses army and play testing ‘Bill Hooks’ with my gaming group, which of course, includes Andy Callan, the Rules Writer and Pete Harris, who as well as me, supplied the bulk of the painted figures that illustrated the rules set.

This months Wargames Illustrated, Issue 393 with free ‘Bill Hooks’ Rule Set.

Covid19 has curtailed any gaming activity for the time being – although we might start with a new Scenario that Andy has written for next months issue of WI, a small skirmish as a prequel to the Battle at Stokes Field. As regards painting, my War Of The Roses contingent is more or less complete. I have a mind to paint three more mounted command figures and of course, I will add the WI ‘Giants in Miniature’ Lord Callan to my collection. Other than that, my army is complete. As well as supplying the figures for photography, I also wrote an article showing how to paint your retinue.

Never mind the Bill Hooks Painting article by your truly!

As there is such a positive response to the release of ‘Bill Hooks’ I thought that I would just provide a few links to some of the Blog Posts that I had written in the course of the Bill Hooks project. The posts include a couple of battle reports, painting articles and references, details of how and why I put my force together and some of the Historical sites that I have visited. The posts are all to be found in the WOTR category here:

WAR OF THE ROSES

I thought that it also might be helpful to point you in the direction of my Pinterest board devoted to War of The Roses. If you are not using Pinterest, I would recommend it as a great way of collecting useful reference pictures so that you can find them when you need them!

PINTEREST BOARD FOR WAR OF THE ROSES

If you haven’t found it already, there is now a Facebook group for ‘Bill Hooks’. Even better, Andy Callan is checking in and will answer any queries that you may have regarding the rules.

NEVER MIND THE BILL HOOKS FACEBOOK GROUP

As well as Facebook, if you are not in a forum, I very much recommend the Lead Adventure Forum. I find it to be very positive and encouraging, with plenty of help available if you need it. I think that there will be a ‘Bill Hooks’ thread but for now, head to the Medieval Boards.

LEAD ADVENTURE FORUM

Finally, if you are interested in the original inspiration for the rules, here’s a link to a blog post written in 2016, ‘Rules For Old Wargamers With Short Attention Spans’. They were designed for the Black Powder era as a set of Skirmish rules. The rules are available as a free PDF.

RULES FOR OLD WAR GAMERS WITH SHORT ATTENTION SPANS

I hope that you have as much enjoyment and fun as we have had, both in collecting and painting your Army and of course playing the game. Remember, it is a game, not a re enactment and I think that you will have more fun if you create an army, based on the period but with your own commanders.

Harry Hotspur Leads his retinue into battle!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you have yet to get your copy of Wargames Illustrated, we still have plenty of stock at the time of writing. It’s available, post free here!

WARGAMES ILLUSTRATED ISSUE 393

But it’s selling quickly so don’t hang around!

Almost all of the paints, miniatures, bases, basing materials and anything that you are likely to need for your hobby are available POST FREE from my shop here:

ARCANE SCENERY

Perry’s WOTR plastic range are here, including some nice army deals!

PERRY MINIATURES

You can find all the Vallejo Model colour paints here. If you don’t want to browse, just enter the paint number into the shop search bar;

VALLEJO PAINTS

Happy Modelling!

BEF Section and Vickers VIb completed

I’ve had quite a productive couple of weeks since my last blog, with a number of projects moving towards completion. The Vickers VIb is now more or less there. I still have to add some stowage but I have yet to find exactly what I need for this or take the time to make it from scratch. However, I have completed the weathering and added some markings. The decals are sourced from Warlord Games and supplemented with some hand painting. I also added the aerial and flag – another cut down 50mm spear from Arcane Scenery, the flag is just paper. So for now, I’m calling this one done.

VIckers VIb

Vickers VIb other side!

It’s worth pointing out that the markings that I have used are conjectural, and I have used a number of different picture references of tanks to come up with the layout. To be fair, the experts aren’t really sure of the markings used as there doesn’t seem to be a standard layout. The white squares do indicate that the tank is part of the BEF in France.

I’ve also completed the first BEF section along with a movement tray that is really just to facilitate display and to help organise my force for when I get to using them in a game

BEF section in their ‘movement tray’.

Bren Team

Also now complete and based are the HQ section comprising of a 2 inch Mortar:

2 inch Mortar Team

and the Boyes Anti Tank Gun:

Boyes AT Gun Team

The HQ is a man short, with just three figures at present. I’m on the lookout for a medic or spare man to make up the numbers.

HQ section

The last unit that I’ve added is the Vickers HMG as a support, which means that I have completely finished the Warlord Games BEF boxed set. I’m not entirely happy with the Vickers gun and may revisit it but for now, it will do!

Vickers Gun Team

I’ve also been busy basing up my Dad’s Army Home guard Platoon, using one of the ‘new’ scenic MDF bases from Sarissa. The main characters all fit into the ‘sabot’ bases that I have made and can be removed should I decide to game with them.

Dads Army on Display Base

I’ve also transferred the Vicar, Verger and Warden to renedra paved bases, so they look more at home.

Vicar, Verger and Warden

Finally, I’ve made a start on a Home guard Smith gun. The crew are complete and the gun needs weathering and the set basing.

Smith Gun for Home Guard – W.I.P.

Smith Gun (2) – the other side!

I still haven’t worked out whether I will game with these figures or I am just collecting them for my display cabinet. The thought of painting another 20 BEF figures isn’t as attractive as painting a few more tanks and weapon sets, such as the 2pdr AT gun or some of the quirky home guard weapons, the Blacker bombard and Northover projector. I suspect it will be a mixture of all three!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Almost all of the paints, miniatures, bases, basing materials and anything that you are likely to need for your hobby are available POST FREE at the time of writing, from my shop here:

ARCANE SCENERY

You can see the Blitzkrieg range of both 1/48th and 1/56th scale tanks here:

BLITZKRIEG MODELS

You can find the Warlord Games WW2 British sets ( including the Dads Army set) here;

WARLORD GAMES WW2 BRITISH

You can see our range of MIG ammo paints and accessories here:

MIG AMMO

we carry a huge range of Vallejo paint and accessories here:

VALLEJO

We carry a full range of Evergreen Plastic – ideal for modelling and converting:

EVERGREEN PLASTIC

If you haven’t got a piece of wire….the 50mm spears are here!

50MM SPEARS

If you prefer proper brass rod or tube, we carry a huge range of Albion Alloy metals here:

ALBION ALLOYS

Happy Modelling!

Vickers VIB Light Tank

Now that I have started my BEF force, it seemed sensible to add a tank as a support. One of the most numerous tanks supplied to the BEF at the start of the war was the Vickers VI mark B. Armed with a 0.303 machine gun and a 0.5 inch Vickers heavy machine gun and with a maximum speed of 35 mph, it was a useful recon vehicle but somewhat under gunned and under armoured compared to the contemporary German tanks that it would be facing. That aside, it is a lovely little tank, full of character and a nice subject for my collection. My first decision was to decide on what scale I would use.

The 1/48th scale Blitzkrieg Vickers VIB as supplied.

The common scale used by Warlord and Rubicon, and as a result, by many war gamers, is 1/56th scale. In theory, this should match the ‘scale’ of 28mm figures. However, I find that most war gaming figures are closer to 30mm in size and due to the manufacturing process, tend to be more ‘chunky’ than a true 1/56th scale figure would be. By the time that you mount figures on a base, I think that they look on the large size compared to the vehicles. I also have grand ideas of building a collection of 1/48th aircraft, so with all this in mind, I went for a 1/48th scale Vickers produced by Blitzkrieg Miniatures. You can see more on my thoughts as to what scale is best for your figures in a previous blog here:

Blitzkrieg tanks – what scale should I choose?

Vickers tank – Profile publications

Colour Schemes for Vickers in Profile magazine

As usual, the next task was to do some research on the tank and it’s colour scheme. I have quite a few old Military Modelling magazines in my collection and I was pleased to find that I had a couple of really good articles describing the tank and modelling the tank in 1/35th scale. I also had an old tank profile publication devoted to the Vickers. It is an old publication, now long OOP, I suspect. My copy still has the price of five shillings on the cover! I also did some research on the internet and there is no shortage of reference, both in terms of pictures and videos. The challenge for me was to convert this knowledge into a wargaming model rather than a massively detailed scale modelling project. The Blitzkrieg model is good enough to paint and use straight on the wargames table but I wanted to add some detail so that it looked good in the display cabinet.

Article from Military Modelling collectors edition #16

Modelling the Vickers VI in 1/35th scale from the same magazine

There were four areas where I thought a bit of detail would enhance the model. The drivers mirror is an obvious feature that is impossible to mould onto a resin cast kit. The Aerial platform at the rear of the turret is also missing. The muzzle of the 0.5inch machine gun is also not moulded onto the kit. The final ‘missing’ detail is the lack of tools or stowage – to be fair, from the pictures that I have seen, the Vickers did not seem to be carrying much in the way of stowage. Certainly not the amount that you see on tanks later on in the war.

Drivers mirror, Muzzle and aerial added to model.

My approach to modelling these details was to represent them rather than attempt to make scale replicas. So for the drivers mirror, I used a 50mm metal spear! It looked about the right thickness and is rigid enough to withstand a bit of wear and tear on the war games table. I just cut it to about the right length using the pictures as a reference. I then cut out a small bit of 20/000 thou plastic card of about the right size for the mirror, using a file to gently round the edges. I drilled the hull in about the right place and using Expo thick super glue with accelerator, glued the assembly into position.

The aerial platform – some sanding and shaping needed!

I took the same ‘cavalier’ attitude to making the aerial platform. I used a piece of 20/000 plasticard cut to about the right size and glued it to the back of the turret in about the right place. I then used another piece of the 50mm spear to make the support and again used super glue to fix it in position. To make the aerial holder/cover I cut a piece of plastic tube to about the right size, sanded the top to a curve and then filled it with Vallejo putty. Once dry, I again sanded it to the curved shape. I will add the whip aerial, using thin brass rod or stretched sprue, once I have finished the painting.

Close up of the 0.5 inch machine gun muzzle.

I then made the muzzle of the 0.50 Vickers gun using a piece of plastic rod. To get the cone shape, I put the rod into my trusty hand drill and spinning it around, used some sand paper to produce a cone shape at the end. I then cut this off and stuck it into the gun mount. This extra work took around an hour or so and would have been even quicker if I had not had to make at least two copies of the bits as I kept dropping them on the floor and losing them. I’m convinced that there’s a spider under my work bench that shares my hobby and is collecting the bits that I drop!

I’m leaving the stowage until after I have finished the painting. I’m trying to decide whether to buy some ready made stowage or just make some out of milliput and spares. I’ll probably go for the latter option but feel happy adding this to the finished model.

Model primed in Vallejo Black primer.

Onto painting. I should mention that the first job that I did was to wash the model in warm soapy water using an old tooth brush to give it a good scrub down before I started any modelling. With resin tanks, this is vital, as the silicon mold release agent will cause your paint to flake if you don’t get rid of it. For some reason, it is always a problem with resin. I never bother with plastic kits or metals and have never had an issue but resin is problematic – if you miss a spot, it will flake your paint! I then primed the model with Vallejo black primer using an airbrush.

Painting in progress. – You can see the original Olive drab that I thought was too light on the front of the tank- I’ve missed a bit when repainting!

As far as the colours go, you could write a book on the subject! Mike Starmer has written quite a few and is evidently the foremost expert in this area. Google him for more information. I took my usual pragmatic approach and used MIG Ammo colour Kahki Green MIG113, which has been designed specifically for painting British armour 1939 – 1942 with Mr Starmers input. Once again, I used an airbush to apply this coat. When it came to the camouflage pattern, I used blutack to mask off the pattern, approximating to the picture in the Profile publication. I initially airbrushed on Mig Ammo 0112 Olive Drab. This looked dark enough in the bottle but when on the model it looked too light to me. I decided to repaint this using Vallejo German Black Green 70979. I also added a couple of drops of black to make it even darker. Rather than re mask the model, I simply brush painted it over the Mig Olive drab.

Front view of the Vickers VIb

Rear view showing exhaust and aerial platform.

I then picked out some details – mirror and lights were painted silver, exhaust system Matt black, tracks, steel, aerial cover white. I have just started the weathering. A quick dry brush with the khaki green and dark green lightened with Iraqi sand just to pick up the edges of the armour and the rivets. I used army painter strong tone to run into the panel lines. And that is about as far as I have gone. I’ve now put the tank to one side whilst I order some markings and add the stowage before final weathering and ‘dirtying down’. I’ll re visit this process in another blog. For now, the Vickers VI is serviceable for the wargames table – if we get the chance to play!

Vickers VIB (almost) ready for battle!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Almost all of the paints, miniatures, bases, basing materials and anything that you are likely to need for your hobby are available POST FREE at the time of writing, from my shop here:

ARCANE SCENERY

You can see the Blitzkrieg range of both 1/48th and 1/56th scale tanks here:

BLITZKRIEG MODELS

You can see our range of MIG ammo paints and accessories here:

MIG AMMO

we carry a huge range of Vallejo paint and accessories here:

VALLEJO

We carry a full range of Evergreen Plastic – ideal for modelling and converting:

EVERGREEN PLASTIC

If you haven’t got a piece of wire….the 50mm spears are here!

50MM SPEARS

If you prefer proper brass rod or tube, we carry a huge range of Albion Alloy metals here:

ALBION ALLOYS

Happy Modelling!

The BEF force is growing.

I am gradually getting to grips with the organisation of the British army in WW2, and more specifically, the BEF in 1940. I would have thought that after being immersed in the button counting world of Napoleonic’s, a more modern period would be easy to grasp. Well I don’t find it so. It doesn’t help that I have been influenced by all of the war films that I have watched over the years. In the films, the Hero – Sergeant, or who ever was in charge, always seemed to be talking to his platoon of ten or so men. I now understand that a Platoon is a much larger body of men, and it is the Section that is the building block for the modern British army.

Lieutenant and Sergeant command the platoon.

Having read various internet articles on the subject, which to me appear vague – originally eight men to a section, then eleven ( including the corporal), then may be ten later in the war, all depending on casualties, I became confused. I could have saved myself a bit of time if I had just looked at the Perry’s Eighth army plastic boxed set. They explain it all very simply in one diagram! So one full strength section comprises of 8 men with rifles ( probably) and two men that make up the Bren gun team. Ten men to a section. Three sections to a platoon. You then have a small Platoon HQ, which generally comprises of the Platoon Commander – a Lieutenant, the platoon Sergeant, a couple of runners, an anti tank gun team ( Boyes rifle or PIAT) and a 2″ mortar team. So I need to paint around 38 figures to complete a platoon. That will do for me, I cant cope with a load of if’s but’s and maybes!

The confusion that I was feeling was because a variety of extra weapons teams or transports, organised in additional Platoons at Battalion level, can be attached to or deployed with the basic rifle platoon to give it some extra muscle. So you might have an extra Vickers HMG attached to your platoon or a couple of 3″ Mortars, or even an anti tank gun fighting with the rifle sections. Also Sergeants and Corporals might be carrying a sub machine gun rather than a rifle. Just to make matters worse for me, the battalion or regimental markings are very subdued. No brightly coloured facings or flags on the modern battlefield!

BEF section – some basing still needs finishing!

The same sort of approach was taken to deploying tanks. It’s not like the cavalry of my Napoleonic army, where you model the basic regiment and line them up all together. I’m sure that there were occasions when that happened, but again, it seems as though tank platoons or companies were attached to infantry or visa versa, as the need arose. I suppose that the commanders took a pragmatic approach and allocated whatever resources they had to acheive their objectives. In the case of the BEF, particularly as the fighting got underway, things became more chaotic and deployment was more fluid. With casualty replacement less likely as the campaign progressed, the ideal section or platoon rarely existed. It’s all very different to building ‘blocks’ of men that will represent a fighting unit.

Bren Team – Section LMG

I suspect that once I have decided on a rules set, the size and type of force will become clearer. To be fair, I need to play a bit of catch up in terms of the history. Most of the books that I have read deal with the grand view of the battles rather than the specific units at platoon level. In most WW2 games, the action takes place at platoon level. In effect, one model soldier represents one soldier in history. This is in contrast with earlier historical battles where the action took place in the main at Battalion level. I guess, that wargamers moving from WW2 back to Napoleonic wargaming find it just as confusing as I do moving the other way!

In the meantime, it would be nice to finish my first section!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you are looking for paints, bases or almost anything to help you with your modelling and wargaming, visit my shop below. At the time of writing, we are still offering worldwide free postage!

THE ARCANE SCENERY SHOP

Warlord games ranges are available here:

WARLORD GAMES

The Perry plastic second world war range can be seen here:

PERRY MINIATURES

Happy Modelling!

Whats on the Workbench? 02/07/20

I seem to be affected by lockdown lethargy. Whilst Facebook is filled with people apparently charging through their lead pile and painting army’s, I seem to have slowed my output even more than usual. It’s two weeks since my last blog post and I’ve had to resort to a ‘What’s on the Workbench’ post as in that time, I haven’t actually finished anything!

Warlord Games B.E.F. force – W.I.P.

In fact, my lead pile has got slightly taller as I’ve acquired yet more WW2 British infantry to paint. I think that I have strayed into collecting mode again, picking up items that will look nice when they are completed rather than painting for gaming or working towards a cohesive army. I’ve been helped in this direction by the lack of any opportunity to actually play a game. The closest that our group has got to gaming is to meet up for a socially distanced burger in the back garden one evening and have a chat about life in general. Still, at least we have remained in touch.

Hodges, the Vicar and the Verger from Dads Army, by Warlord Games

So what have I done? The Dads Army contingient has grown with the addition of Hodges, The Vicar and the Verger. I still have the ‘civvy’ versions of the characters to paint. I’m also working on rebasing the other members of the Dads Army Platoon. I’ve decided that I dont like the plastic ‘plinth’ bases and I’ve converted them to MDF ones. Once again, I have yet to finish this but should get them completed tonight, if all goes to plan.

Dads Army at Hougomont!

As you can see, I’ve also acquired a model of Hougomont. The model is by a Company called WoFun, based in Romania and my good friend Andy Callan is doing some work for them. Like all the models available from WoFun, it is laser cut MDF ( or acrylic for the figures) with a printed finish. Andy passed me the Hougomont model to test build. It’s an early test shot and the sharp eyed reader will spot some errors, which will of course be corrected for the final release. Once again, although I have put the majority of the kit together, the walls and North gate are yet to be completed. I also intend to base the buildings. The buildings are so well cut that at this stage I have simply slotted them together, without the need for glue! I will go back and glue everything but I think that I will keep the set as modular buildings to be used in our games once we get back to the table!

At the moment though, it is the early war British that are on the paint table and I suspect will be for some time. I still have no real plan for them but perhaps once lock down is over, a game of Bolt Action or Chain of Command will prompt me to complete a force for the gaming table.

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you are looking for paints, bases or almost anything to help you with your modelling and wargaming, visit my shop below. At the time of writing, we are still offering worldwide free postage!

THE ARCANE SCENERY SHOP

You can purchase the Dads Army Set here:

DAD’S ARMY

Warlord games ranges are available here:

WARLORD GAMES

You can see the WoFun ranges here ( well worth a look!)

WoFun

Happy Modelling!

Dont Panic Mr Mainwaring!

My dive into the lead pile continues! I had some Artizan British World War Two infantry that I had undercoated ages ago as part of a project that just never took off. I was probably diverted by another Napoleonic Battalion or my venture into the Wars of The Roses. As they were sitting looking at me from the top of the heap, I thought that I might as well paint them. The problem was that I had no idea what colours to use or where to start. As usual, the internet was my friend. A quick check on you tube and I found plenty of help and so decided to jump in.

Artizan WW2 British Infantry

I wont presume to give a step by step guide as to how I painted these figures. I am still learning and I suspect have a long way to go before I am any near competent or have any expertise in what uniforms the British wore in what part of WW2. I would simply refer you to the you tube video below. I used my usual block paint and Army Painter quick shade for these figures and I was fairly pleased with the result – they’ll do for the wargames table. I must say that the Artizan figures themselves were superb! Beautifully sculpted and cast and a joy to paint.

The finished section of Artizan Infantry

Encouraged by my initial results, I decided to have a go at painting the Warlord games Dad’s Army Set. I had bought these ages ago, when they were first released. I love the show and I also have an interest in the Home Guard – I didn’t serve, before any one else says it, but my Step Granddad, Victor Beer, did. He was in ‘H’ Company of the Torquay Home Guard. I have been researching some family history and so it seemed appropriate to carry on and paint the Warlord figures.

Jack Jones and his Van!

I had also acquired a diecast version of Jack Jones Butchers van that featured in the show. One of my favourite episodes was the one featuring the rifle drill. When it came to painting these figures I followed the guidance in the Art Master Studio you tube video ‘How to paint Artizan WW2 British Infantry’. Having watched the video through once, I actually painted along to it, pausing it if I needed to and pretty much followed the instructions and paint guide exactly.

I very much enjoy these video’s. Toby, the guy doing the painting, is extremely good at explaining exactly what to do and the fact that it is in real time allows you to see how the paint actually goes on and how he uses his brush. I am a great fan of ‘Toby’ – never met him but his painting skills are superb and he reminds me of Bob Ross in his relaxed delivery! As an aside, if you would like to learn how to paint horses, his video is my ‘go to’ guide!

Dads Army!

Having painted Corporal Jones, I then carried on and painted Captain Mainwaring, Sergeant Wilson, Private Pike and Private Godfrey. Private Walker and Private Frazer are on the painting bench at the moment. There’s still a bit of work to do – I’ll base them once they are all painted – I think that I might opt for flatter MDF bases rather than the plastic ‘plinth’ style supplied. With the Vicar, Verger and Warden Hodges still to paint and the Dad’s army Characters in Civvies also to do, I think the this project will keep me busy for a week or so!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you are looking for paints, bases or almost anything to help you with your modelling and wargaming, visit my shop below. At the time of writing, we are still offering worldwide free postage!

THE ARCANE SCENERY SHOP

You can purchase the Dads Army Set here:

DAD’S ARMY

3/1 Royal Scots Battalion Completed

It’s been a month since my last blog article. The social distancing and lockdown rules haven’t really influenced the speed of my output. I am fortunate in that we have been able to continue to run the business, albeit under difficult conditions, so if anything, work has increased. I have maintained my slow and steady out put and over the last month and I have completed another Battalion for my Napoleonic army. This one represents the 3/1 Royal Scots Battalion who were present at Waterloo as part of Pictons 5th Division.

Royal Scots Command

Just a note about how I decide what regiments to paint for my army. The idea is to use the order of battle at Waterloo as a base for my collection. I am not trying to recreate each unit as it appeared on the day. Most of the games that I play with my gaming buddies are ‘generic’ games, rather than being based on a particular battle. I suspect that this is increasingly the case for most wargamers these days. This means that I am happy to use a bit of artistic licence when it comes to my battalions.

2/44th advance!

A case in point is one of the battalions, the 2/44 East Essex, that I painted for the 9th Brigade. My battalion has these troops in great coats but I know that it was unlikely that any of the British troops serving at Waterloo were in great coats, despite the bad weather. However, I saw these models as part of a Kickstarter from Michael Percy’s Three Armies range and I liked the look of them, so they were painted and added to my collection.

3/1 Royal Scots Battalion

Along with the great coated troops, I bought two other battalions. As they had been languishing in my lead pile for some time, I thought it was a good idea to get these troops painted and thought that they could be the 3/1 Royal Scots, completing the British 9th Brigade, commanded by Sir Dennis Pack, and in turn, completing the British contingent of the 5th Infantry Division. To finish the division, I really need to paint the four battalions of Hanoverian Landwehr under Colonel Von Vincke. It is unlikely that this will happen anytime soon. There are far more interesting troops that were at Waterloo before I start another 96 red coats!

Batch Paint in progress

I painted the figures following my usual block paint and dip process. I made the mistake of painting them in one big batch. The problem with this method is that it takes a long time to get to a finished result when painting 24 figures in one go and I got a bit bogged down in the process. I usually paint in batches of 8 or 12 and I think that in future, I will go back to the smaller quantity. Once the main colours are blocked on, I paint the models with Army Painter Dark Tone quick shade.

Block painting finished.

When the ‘dip’ has dried thoroughly, I spray the figures with matt varnish and then re paint most of the white strapping, which has become ‘dirtied down’ by the shade. You can leave this extra stage but I like the cross belts to stand out – I think that it helps the look of the figure’s on the table.

Figures after quick shade and matting.

Then it’s on to basing and mounting in their movement trays. I base four figures on a 40mm by 40mm base, I tend to use Sarissa MDF bases for metals and Renedra plastic bases for plastics. You can use either for both! I also have designed my own movement trays for Black powder, so that I can name my regiments. It’s always good fun in the game when you can give your orders to a specific unit – ‘the 3rd Battalion of the of the Royal Scots Foot will advance’!

Royal Scots in their movement tray

So another battalion is ready for battle. I now have 17 Battalions of British, KGL and Hanoverian troops in my army – I still haven’t finished with the British Army – I would like to complete a KGL brigade but as I have said before, painting redcoats has become a bit tiresome. I think that some Brunswick troops would look nice…

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

If you are looking for paints, bases or almost anything to help you with your modelling and wargaming, visit my shop below. At the time of writing, we are still offering worldwide free postage!

THE ARCANE SCENERY SHOP

The Black powder movement trays can be found here:

BLACK POWDER MOVEMENT TRAYS

I’m not sure if the Three Armies range is still commercially available – the link that I did have does not now work. The flags are from my favourite flag supplier:

GMB FLAGS

How Many Wellingtons does it take……?

Anyone that knows me, will know that I am a great admirer of the Duke of Wellington. Based on my interpretation of the Queensbury rules, he is clearly the ‘Champion General’ of the Napoloeonic Age, having beaten all comers and retired as the winner from his last and greatest battle. Before anyone gets too excited, this blog isn’t an attempt to start another one of those endless debates about who was the greatest General and ramble on about who won at Waterloo…It’s a tale of my dive into the lead pile and a realisation that perhaps that I have let sentiment rule when it comes to buying miniatures.

Wellington and Wellington and Picton

The models above are from Warlord Games. I decided to paint them as part of my isolation clear down. I particularly liked the Warlord version of Picton, and the Snoozing model of Wellington that comes as a bonus was rather good as well. Picton is going to be based with a Highland officer figure from Trent Miniatures and will become one of my Brigade commanders for my Black Powder games. Having read somewhere recently that Picton carried a white umbrella at Waterloo, I may update my model.

Picton giving orders!

The painted version of Sir John Sinclair. from Trent miniatures

The Picton base will go with my current Army Commander, Sir Sydney Ruff-Diamond (the Front Rank version of General Rowland Hill).

Sir Sydney Ruff- Diamond watches on as Private James Riddles rebukes the French!

Sir Sydney Ruff- Diamond watches on as Private James Riddle rebukes the French!

It was when I went to the figure cabinet to get that model that I realised that I also had the Front rank models of General Sir Robert Craufurd and yet another Wellington! Both were painted but neither based. I got on with basing Sir Robert immediately, painting one of the DeeZee small dogs as a Dalmation and basing them together.

Sir Robert Craufurd (‘Black Bob’) and his dog.

Wellington – Front Rank Figures

I left the Front Rank Wellington un-based as I now had two very similar figures and I thought perhaps one could be used for the Peninsular army that I am very slowly building and one for the Waterloo contingent. I will need to paint some nice figures to accompany these versions of Wellington but I am still thinking of what would be appropriate. Is there a model of Maitland?

Foundry Wellington and Picton

Also tucked at the back of the cabinet was yet another model of Wellington and Piction – these are Foundry figures and I painted them about eight or nine years ago – I no longer use them for my army.

Four Wellingtons!

Mounted Wellington by Victrix. On foot by Wargames Illustrated.

So with four versions of Wellington, you would thing that would be enough. But no, as I was going through the lead pile I found that I had two more! I had bought the Victrix Metal one ages ago – I think these are now OOP in the UK but may be available from Brigade Games in the USA. The other model is from Wargames Illustrated and is from the Giants in Miniature series. So I have six versions of the great man, four painted and two unpainted.

Six Wellingtons!

Napoleon is definitely out numbered in this house!

Napoleon visits Little Bingham

Perhaps I wont be quite so quick to buy any more miniatures of Wellington….

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Almost all of the paints, miniatures, bases, basing materials and anything that you are likely to need for your hobby are available POST FREE from my shop here:

ARCANE SCENERY

Happy Modelling!

1 … 7 8 9 10 11 … 42

Never Mind The Bill Hooks Scenery

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Painting WW2 British Infantry

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Ramblings from the work bench

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Samurai Scenery.

Never Mind the Bill Hooks Update

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

BEF Section and Vickers VIb completed

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Vickers VIB Light Tank

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

The BEF force is growing.

Whats on the Workbench? 02/07/20

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Dont Panic Mr Mainwaring!

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

3/1 Royal Scots Battalion Completed

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

How Many Wellingtons does it take……?

THE COMMERCIAL BIT

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Help