Another Para Section, Sniper and PIAT

Been busy with the brush again! Here's the second section ...

Note that four of 'em still need basing properly ;-)

The figures are a mixture of Artizan, Crusader and Warlord.

A (Warlord) Sniper takes careful aim. He's actually part of Section three.

A PIAT team.

Almost there with a full Platoon for Chain of Command. The third (support) section are nearly done. After that I'll add some supports such as a medic, a Vickers, possibly a flamethrower team. In Chain of Command it's not common for the Paras to get a lot of support options so I'll only paint up a few. In Bolt Action these troops are quite expensive, so again there's no need for lots of options.

Last post of the year, so I'd just like to say "Best Wishes for a great 2016" to you all!!!

Matt :o)

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post to wish you all a very Merry Christmas ...

... and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

1st Corps Figures - British Paras

I'd like to draw your attention to this lovely range of figures from 1st Corps. (Please note that the superb brushwork shown here is *not* mine!)

Photo from 1st Corps website.

You can find the whole range here: 1st Corps British Airborne Range

Typically, I'd already bought the bulk of my Paras from Artizan by the time I saw these, however there are still a number of items that I "need", e.g. a mortar, a jeep or two, some specialists, an AT gun, etc. Here's a few more pics to hopefully pique your interest.

Vickers. Photo from 1st Corps website.

Parachute Cannisters. Photo from 1st Corps website.

Recce jeep with Vickers K. Photo from 1st Corps website.

Parachute canopy. Photo from 1st Corps website.

I've recently bought the Vickers MMG, the parachute cannisters and a few extra paras. The figures are crisply cast and mould lines are practically non-existent. Delivery was speedy too! The regular Para figures are 8 for £8 so they're also great value.

I'll be using the cannister set as Chain of Command Jump Off Points. So if you're in the market for some British Paras then I'd heartily recommend these. Happy gaming!

PS - As you've probably noticed I've reverted the template back to one of the slightly 'darker' styles. I just couldn't get used to the 'white' layout!

More British Paras Completed

More painted paratroopers on parade! Here's the first section, ready to give Jerry a good biff on the nose.

The Rifle team, including an NCO with a sten gun.

Sergeant (with a very bristling top lip) and the Bren gun team.

Again, I've really enjoyed these figures. They're a mixture of Artizan and Crusader models. As promised, here's how I painted them (if you're interested).

Painting
The recipe:

• Undercoat - Warlord British Uniform Brown spray.
• Trousers - VMC English Uniform (921).
• Smock - Foundry Moss mid (29B).
• Helmet - Foundry Forest Green mid (26B). The attached camo strips and/or leaves can be painted in any mixture of greens.
• Beret - Foundry British Redcoat shade (68A). Add a tiny bit of any dark red/brown for the base.
• Flesh - Foundry Flesh mid (5B).
• Webbing, packs, etc - VMC Russian Green (924).
• Rifle - Foundry Spearshaft shade (13A).
• Camo on smock - Patches of GW Scorched Brown (or VMC Flat Brown 984) and Foundry French Dragoon Green shade (70A).
• Water Bottle - VMC Flat Earth (983).
• Boots - GW Black then highlight with Foundry Charcoal Black mid (34B)

Then wash with GW Agrax Earthshade or Army Painter Strong Tone dip/ink (whichever you prefer). Make sure this is properly dry before continuing!

Now highlight with the original base colours. The next step is optional but well worth doing, apply a quick second highlight with the next colour in the Foundry triad or the VMC colour mixed with a little Foundry Boneyard light or VMC Dark Sand (847). Then I paint the weapons, cap badges, etc - just black followed by a very light drybrush of GW Leadbelcher. You could instead try a mid blue/grey instead of silver if you prefer.

Finish with a layer of good matt varnish such as W&N Galeria or W&N Artist's Anti-UV. I prefer the brush on variety. The basing was as described in the previous Paras post. Section number two and the PIAT team are well underway.

Building More Roads - Another Quick Tutorial

This time it's some cobbled roads. Ideal for villages, but usable anywhere. The basic technique is very similar to the country roads in that the sections are made from strips of cork tile. However, these road sections are much easier to make!!

This is what they look like on the table.
Some bold Germans despatch a Centaur that was about to interrupt the officer's party at the cafe. Svine-hund!?

My regular reader ;o) may recall seeing them from reports of a recent campaign to capture Monty. Anyway, quite a few people have asked how they were made, hence this post.

As mentioned they are strips of cork tile to which I have glued some sections of printed cobble-effect card purchased from my local model shop. Make sure that the card has a good matt finish as any shine will look odd. Paint the edges of the cork a mid-grey to match the card.

Here are the sheets; enough for 8 straight sections 27cm x 9cm and four larger areas, approx 27cm x 20cm, all for about £5.

Tip - to avoid curling, use as little glue as possible to stick the card to the cork. Make sure it's a good quality glue that has minimal shrinkage. Also, it's a good idea to place a few matchsticks or a thin paintbrush under the middle of the road section (laid cobbled side up!) so that any curling is offset as it dries, resulting in a nice flat road to finish.

Happy road-building! :-)

Reveille 2015

Sunday 29th November was the day for LBWS's "Reveille" wargames show. I was lucky enough to be able to help out Colin, of Charlie Foxtrot Models, with his trade stand. Shows on a Sunday mean a rather early start but the enjoyment was worth the effort.

We arrived at 8:15am and were greeted by a couple of very friendly club members who helped us unload and carry all the stuff in to the hall. That's a really good thing IMHO. Clearly they want the event to go smoothly.

The venue itself is ok; I rather like the fact that it's spread across a main hall and then four or five smaller halls. We were in a room with Steve of Battle Studios and Sean of Little Ninja Painting. Both lovely chaps - it was good to have a natter with you guys, see you at future shows no doubt! :o)

Business was a bit slow to start with, but plenty of interest though. Then it seemed to pick up especially as people returned, after seeing the show, to purchase the items they liked. Sadly my pic of Colin's stall was a bit blurred - but it looked flippin' ace! CFM's range is now enormous - we had a 12 foot table and we were struggling to get everything on display. After the late morning rush it went fairly quiet, I guess that a show near Chrimbo and on a day with awful weather is going to have limited punter appeal?

Still, it was absolutely great to chat to people visiting our stand, find out about what games they play, listen to tales of glorious victory and just generally have a natter about all sorts of gaming and non-gaming stuff. I really enjoy that sort of thing. It's also good fun trying to persuade customers to buy that extra building or pack of tokens! ;o) You know they 'need' it! You're actually doing them a favour, they'd only go home and think "oh, I wished I'd bought ...".

Here's a few pics of some of the games on display. First was a very impressive Warhammer-esque game of aerial combat above an Imperial cityscape.

Here's a superb ACW display, Antietam possibly.

Next is a 15mm El-Alamein game - using Rapid Fire.

Finally, it's Rob with a War & Conquest demo set in ancient Greece.

I had a chat with some other traders, Rob of Scarab Miniatures, Annie the dice bag lady and wossizname (sorry!) of Warlord amongst others. They seemed reasonably pleased with their trading.

All in all a good fun day out.