A blog is a great tool for keeping me motivated and recording my various hobby projects. It can be a bit of a double edged sword. Two weeks after my last ‘Workbench update’ and I have very little progress to record!
Lord Callan’s Retinue – first three figures
My main focus has been to start on Lord Callan’s retinue. I did have the retinue assembled and they are now primed and painting has started.
Before I write any more of this blog, I must acknowledge the influence of a certain ‘Captain Blood’, AKA Richard Lloyd. You can see most of Richards work over on the Lead Adventure Forum and I provide a link below. Richard combines some very clever conversion and modelling work with superb brush work and a choice of colour and livery that is simply sublime. Add to the clever way he has blended actual historical retinues to some of his own and it’s fair to say that he has produced the best units that I have seen. Oh and his basing work is pretty damned good as well.
Lord Callan with the first of his retinue.
So having painted the ‘Lord Callan’ model from the Wargames Illustrated Giants in Miniature collection, I thought that I would give him a small retinue of Bills and Bows to lead into battle. Having seen the way Richard has produced his units, I have done my best to take some of his ideas to give Lord Callan’s units a slightly different feel from the rest of my army.
The next three figures on the bench!
Lord Callan’s Colours are black on red and his main Coat of Arms being a white lion over a golden wheatsheaf. In case anyone is interested in the provenance of this Livery, it is based on the two best pubs in Bingham, The White Lion and the Wheatsheaf! I decided that I would give Lord Callan the White Lion as his main Sigil and just use the Wheat sheaf on the Banner when I get to it.
Rear view of the W.I P.
The three figures above are very much a work in progress with their faces and bases still needing to be finished! You can see that I have stolen some of Richard’s ideas, with the pole of the halberd in House colours and the helmet and buckler also painted. I’ve also done quite a bit of swapping of heads and arms from the various Perry sets to get a ‘Veteran’ look to the unit, allowing me to claim an upgrade in the Bill Hooks game.
More of the retinue in progress
And the final three makes twelve!
Once the Billmen are completed, the plan is to add a unit of Veteran archers and at least one more banner man to stand along side Lord Callan, although I may use the horn blower below…
The next batch on the work bench
As you can see, I also have some other distractions that I am working on. The sharp eyed reader may have spotted three genestealers….
Gene Stealers!
They wont be making the retinue! I found them half completed in the loft when getting down the Christmas decorations, so decided to finish them ready for the next time we play Space Hulk….but that’s another entirely different subject!
If you would like to have a look at Captain Bloods original work on the Lead Adventure forum, here’s the Link:
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. The Links will open in another tab on your device.
I continue with my steady output of models during lockdown. Over the last fortnight or so, I have been working on a number of projects, none of them particularly connected to each other.
Whilst discussing how I might adapt the ‘Never Mind the Bill Hooks’ rules for use in a fantasy setting, I decided to dig out my Lord of The Rings Magazine collection. These were published weekly by Deagostini in conjunction with Games Workshop and each magazine came with a free sprue of plastic figures or a free metal miniature from the GW LOTR range.
goblins!
After 20 or so years of these being hidden away in my wardrobe, I decided to paint the figures that came with the first magazine, 12 Goblins of Moria. It was a nice break from my usual subjects and using only the magazine as a painting guide, I soon had them finished. Quite what I will do with them is another matter. For now, they are in my figure cabinet and issue 2, complete with a set of Elves and Men of Gondor is ready for me to paint, should I have the urge!
Bren Team and commander
I had also ordered some more units for my BEF force. I really liked the look of the new releases from Curteys 1st Corp and ordered myself a bren team, Officer set and a Matilda mark 1. The models are lovely and extremely well sculpted and produced. I was particularly impressed with the quality of the Matilda 1. The bren team and officer were painted up in a batch using the technique I have covered in my previous blogs. I left a link below if you would like more information.
Matilda Mk 1 and tank commanders
As well as the bren team, I also painted three tank commanders, one for the Matilda and one two for future tanks!
Matilda Mk 1
As for the Matilda, I am still in the process of finishing this model. I just need to add the markings and a flag for the aerial and touch up a few details. I have decided to use a slightly different colour scheme to my Vickers Mark IVb. Although the dark green on the Vickers tank matched the references that I have, The pictures that I have for the Matilda show a lighter green in the camouflage, so I went with this. I suspect purists will recoil at the mis match but I know that one of the two will be about right! I am at the age now that I would rather get on and paint a model rather than spend endless hours researching and never actually get anything finished.
Matilda Mk1 and Vickers MkVIb
That said, I do find myself revisiting projects and re- touching or adding bits as I think of something else or find a new piece of information. A case in point is the Medieval Church that I have been working on.
Sarissa Church
Back of the Church!
I have been working on this church on and off for some time now. There are still bits to do. I have plans to add a few graves and improve the ground work – I have asked Santa for a static Grass applicator. I also want to do something fancy for the windows. I have mounted it on the Sarissa terrain tiles – this will enable storage as I can remove the church from the tiles. I have grand plans of creating my own Medieval village and the tile system will let me ‘grow’ the village, building by building.
Winston Churchill goes to Church!
Lord Callans Merry Band!
On my conveyor belt of things to do, is the next unit for ‘Never Mind The Billhooks’. I had half a box of Perry’s WOTR infantry left over and decided customise them to produce a mixed unit of Billmen as a unit for Lord Callans retinue. All being well, I’ll cover these in a separate blog in the future.
I’m keeping busy during the lockdown and I think that the key to avoid getting stale or losing interest in a project is to keep a bit of variety on the work bench! It might seem that I spend forever out in the garage but I tend to work in short bursts of no more than a hour or so. What has increased my output has been to do something every day. I hope that you are having as much fun!
If you would like to see a step by step guide to how I paint my British World War Two Infantry, click here:
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. The Links will open in another tab on your device.
The launch of ‘Never Mind the Billhooks’ has caused plenty of excitement and prompted me to add a few more pieces to my army. I was still three figures short of completing my Cavalry contingent, which gave me a nice excuse to go shopping at the Perry’s…
Salisbury, Richard of York and Warwick
The three mounted figures complete two units of eight mounted Knights and give me a spare mounted commander to lead my light horse or another Ward if required. The pack that I choose contained models of Richard, Duke of York, Salisbury and Warwick.
Warwick, the King Maker!
I particularly liked the Warwick figure and decided that he would be one of my commanders. I painted the horses using the tutorial from Art Master Studio on you tube. It’s a bit long winded, but very good. I actually followed along when it came to painting the dapple grey that Warwick is mounted on. I used exactly the same colours listed in the video and the other ‘triples that Toby suggests also work really well.
Warwick turned out quite nicely so I decided to give him leaders base and a standard bearer. I still have half a box of Perry plastic WOTR infantry, so it was a simple assembly and paint job, following my usual process. I used a photocopy of the flag in the instruction sheet.
Warwick and Standard
I had also ordered a wagon from the Perry’s with the idea of using this to represent the ‘Extra Arrow Supply’ special event card. It would make a nice piece of battlefield scenery regardless. Assembly and painting this model was very straight forward and I went for a functional plain wooden finish for the wagon. I used Vallejo ‘Old Wood 310 with a few washes and dry brush coats to bring out the detail.
Perry Wagon being based
Wagon completed!
Whilst chatting to Andy Callan about the subject he pointed me in the direction of a picture in the Osprey ‘English Bowmen’ which showed a soldier re supplying the troops with a barrow of some description. I thought that it would be fun to make something similar – an Arrow Barrow! If you click on the link below, arrows (2), you can see the picture and Andy’s notes!
I used a figure from the Perry’s set and did a bit of minor converting. The pose was pretty close to someone wheeling a barrow so the only changes needed to the torso was to carve away a bag that was in the way. I then used an Archers hand for the right side and a bill mans hand for the left side. I had to do a bit of re positioning and filling but it all went together quite well.
Arrow barrow under construction
As for the Arrow Barrow itself, I just used some scrap plastic card, a bit from my spares box for the wheel (A shirt button with the holes filled in would have done the job!) and some plastic rod and strip to build something that looked like a medieval wheel barrow. I’ve no idea how accurate it is!
Ready for priming once the filler is sanded down!
The load is made up of the canvas arrow bags that come with the Perry’s Light Cavalry set that I had spare in the bits box. One of my friends remarked that they looked like marrows…I quite like the idea that Baldric was sent to get arrows and came back with marrows….’Baldric run and get some arrows’.
Wagon and Arrow barrow completed!
Next up, I started work on the ‘Hidden Ditch’ special event card. I thought that it would be a nice terrain piece regardless as to whether I used it in Bill hooks. I’ll show you how this project went in my next blog!
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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:
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!
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:
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!
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:
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:
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:
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!
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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.
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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!
Having more or less finished Sgt Ewart and the wounded (dead?) French Ensign , it was time to move on to paint the other figures in the Vignette. First up was the French infantry man. Now at this point I need to make it clear that my knowledge of French uniforms is about zero. So it was a question of copying other peoples work. As well as the superbly painted models on the Perry’s web page I also found a work of art completed by the painter Sasha Herm. I don’t know Sasha, other than through his work but he is extremely talented and produces the most beautifully painted models. I wont show his work here but if you would like view it, click on the link to my pinterest board here:
I painted the infantry mans coat in Vallejo Stone grey and his hat with Vallejo Buff. The shading was done with Dark tone ink and then high lighted with the original colours with a spot of white added.
French Line Lancer
The final model to complete was the French line Lancer. I again copied the examples that I could find. So once again, I’ve no idea whether the colours are ‘correct’. I used Vallejo Flat Green with German Extra dark Green for shading and for the facings, Vallejo Beige red. This doesn’t match the colour that I found on the Mont St Jean site for French Line Lancers but It was close to the colour on Sasha’s model and I liked it! Again I used various inks to shade the figure and the base colours + white to highlight.
Positioning the models on the base – all four models completed.
With the models all completed, it was time to assemble the vignette. I used a Sarissa Precision Oval MDF base. I do intend to mount this on a nice wooden plinth but for now I just wanted to get the basic model done.
Textured paste on the base.
I covered the base with Vallejo Textured Dark Earth paste and used a sculpting tool ( a cocktail stick would do) to bring the paste over the bases of the figures. As I don’t glue the figures to the MDF base, there is plenty of working time to allow me to position everything. Once the textured paste dries off it is strong enough to hold the figures in place. I also sprinkled the paste with earth and small stones to add extra texture. You might have noticed that at this point I added the ‘stolen’ Eagle to Sgt Ewart as I could now handle the vignette rather than the individual figure.
Base painted and textured
The next stage was top paint the base and add some scatter. I’ve covered my technique for basing elsewhere, so if you would like to know more just check out one of my older blog posts!
Long grass added to the base.
The last task was to add some long grass to the base. I used Woodlands Scenics 12mm light green field grass and just dipped small clumps into PVA glue and added them to the base. The long grass isn’t strictly accurate – they were fighting in amongst the trampled Rye that was growing across the battlefield and according to some records, originally stood at six foot tall. I think that it gives an idea of the ground though. The vignette is about finished and ready for the cabinet but for a few additions. I need to order in a nice flag from GMB designs ( my favourite flag supplier!) and I have the lance and spare discarded sword to add. But for now, I’m calling it done and moving on to the next project! Below are some pictures that I took in a light box with a slightly better camera than the usual i-phone camera that I use for my blog. I hope that you like them!
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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:
No, not a comment on life at the moment but my latest project. Despite having more time, my painting rate has dropped. I have come to a halt with my War Of The Roses project, having run out of subjects to paint, so I turned my attention to the ‘lead pile’. Rather than churning through yet more units, I decided to have a go at some of the more challenging models in my collection. I also deliberately slowed down. There was no need to rush. I am not under any time pressure in terms of getting a unit ready for the next game. So I have deliberately slowed up and decided not to put any artificial pressure on myself to clear my painting backlog or to build a new army.
The Perry Miniature version of ‘a Hard Contest’.
I thought that I would have a go at painting a Perry miniatures vignette, ‘A Hard Contest’. Inspired by Sgt Ewarts capture of the 45 Regts. eagle at Waterloo. The set comprises of Sgt Ewart himself and three French defenders. Rather than my usual functional ‘Block Paint and Quick shade’ style, I would try and paint these models using ‘proper’ shading and highlighting. Inspired by the picture above, the first model that I attempted was the Sgt Ewart figure.
Sgt. Ewart in progress – primed and blocking started
I started with the ‘grey’ horse but I wanted my figures to be on a white Horse as I thought that it would stand out when the whole Vignette was completed. I painted the horse with Vallejo London Grey and then worked through Light grey, silver grey and then Off white for the highlights.
Sgt Ewart – main colours blocked on.
I couldn’t break away completely from my usual style of painting and found myself blocking in most of the colours before going back to shade and highlight them. I also used a variety of inks to get the shading done. So red ink on the tunic, Flesh wash on the face, Strong tone on the browns and Dark tone on the black and metals. I think that the Army Painter inks are superb for shading and lining.
Sgt Ewart – a bit more detailing and highlighting
I find this style of painting less of a straight forward process and therefore difficult to describe. I paint a bit here, retouch a bit there, use some colours straight from the bottle, mix some up. If all that sounds a bit like Bob Ross ( My current obsession on TV. If you are not familiar with him, look him up!) then that is sort of how it is. I’ve got an idea as to how I would like things to look and I just fiddle around until I get close! I also use the photographs to help look for where I need to improve things. It’s a bit of an excuse but I am slightly red/green colour blind, so when it comes to highlighting these colours I’m really not sure how well they blend.
Sgt Ewart, nearly complete – I dont like the stripe on his trousers!
When it came to choosing the correct colours for the uniform, I relied on previous research that I did when painting my Scots Greys Cavalry Regiment. That said, I couldn’t work out whether a sergeant had Yellow facings and trim to his Jacket or Gold like the officers. In the end I went half and half as it looked nice…
Sgt Ewart Complete? Whoops! Is that a paint chip on his toe?
After much fiddling and retouching I got to the point where I had had enough of painting the Sgt. There’s always more to be done and even in the last picture I noticed a paint chip that needs repairing, and some lining need around the yellow on the jacket, but it was time to move on to the next figure.
A bad day at the office for this French soldier.
I chose the wounded French ensign to paint next. Again, I confess to doing limited research on his uniform. I copied the models on the Perry’s web site. He was painted in more or less one session, which surprised me but I guess I must be getting used to this new fangled approach to painting…. Once again, I’ll use the photos to revisit the figure and retouch any areas that I’m not happy with. I now have a French lancer and a French Infantry man in a great coat to paint. It’s then just a case of putting them all on a scenic base. It may take a bit of time but now that I’ve taken the pressure off myself to finish the model in a set time, I’m quite enjoying myself!
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:
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