Blutkreuz Korps Untertoten Squad

I've managed to complete my Blutkreuz Korps Untertoten Squad, and enjoyed painting these "Dust Tactics" models so much that I've ordered a second boxed set off Ebay.

 The models are predominantly painted in “Vallejo” Heavy Orange and then liberally washed with Umber Shade in order to give them the 'penal inmate look' I wanted. I then gave their flesh a coat of Heavy Bluegrey and a wash of Green Shade. I 'picked out' some of their facial details with more Heavy Bluegrey, and then slightly smudged them so as to lessen their stark contrast with the areas washed with the Green Shade. Each "Axis Zombie" was then given a mouthful of bloody guck that dripped down their front, using a combination of Fleshtone Shade and Red Shade. Each model’s panzer glove was painted with Gunmetal Grey before being washed with Black Shade. The rivets and fittings of the close combat weapons were then treated to a wash of watered down Copper. Once dry, these areas were dry brushed with more Gunmetal Grey.

 My enthusiasm for the “Dust Tactics” range continues to go from strength to strength although I have experienced some initial doubts as to the colour I've selected for the “Grim Reapers” armour. The box artwork for the Allied unit clearly depicts light grey attire, but having applied a similarly coloured undercoat to the models, the Heavy Ranger Attack Squad appeared too close to the Early Panzer Grey scheme ordinarily attributed to German forces. This was despite the Rocket punching troopers wearing armour almost identical to that of the “Red Devils”. I have attempted to use Heavy Brown as an alternative, but shelved this idea after it made the Victory MG dual wielding soldiers appear too like the German ‘Afrika Korps’. Instead, I've now undercoated all three models in Heavy Grey in order to replicate the colour of the “Red Devils”, and establish a consistent green-brown look to all of my “Dust Tactics” Allied Forces.   

Axis Zombie

Despite me only starting to work on my Blutkreuz Korps Untertoten Squad a little over a week ago, I've already finished the first of the five “Axis Zombies”, and frankly there is little left to be done on the boxed set’s remaining four plastic models. Indeed this Undead painting project has gone so well I'm almost certain to buy a second box of Blutkreuz Zombies during the next couple of weeks.

I'm once again really enjoying painting the “Dust Tactics” 30mm model range by “Fantasy Flight”. so much so that I've already re-based the three models from the boxed set “Grim Reapers” in preparation to start painting them over the next few days.

Red Devils

Some six months after I first started painting them I've finally finished the three “Red Devils” by “Fantasy Flight”. I've struggled with my enthusiasm for this £8.99 30mm plastic boxed set (ordered from "Maelstorm Games") as I've found both the sculpting on the "Dust Tactics" models to be ‘soft’ and some of their details impossibly hard to reach with a paintbrush. As a result the majority of each soldier has simply been painted with “Vallejo” Heavy Grey and an equal mix of Umber Shade and Black Shade wash.

Fortunately the models have somewhat been improved by applying some allied decals I recently purchased from the Ebay store “1/144 Direct”. Costing £6.30 (including postage and packaging) the “1/144 - 1/160 Decals British Armour Divisions Europe 44-45 Tank 001” sheet has enabled me to give each model a 20” allied star on its armour, along with its arms of service serial number (in this case the Armed Recon Regiment), its bridge classification plate (2 tons) and its squadron marking (Senior Regiment 'A'). I've tried to place these decals on the 'armoured' models in the spirit of British military tank markings.

Work In Progress: Red Devils

I'm finally close to completing the three British Paratrooper models I've been 'working on' from the "Dust Tactics" “Red Devils” boxed set by "Fantasy Flight Games". Some five months after this mini-project originally started, I've actually varnished and based the second of my Third Para Brigade miniatures and, despite some repainting being required, am close to having the Heavy Grey "Vallejo" armour of the third model finished.

Unfortunately, this third Red Devil is proving even more frustrating to paint than the first, thanks to the model having some especially difficult areas to reach with a paintbrush. Worse, the equal mix of Umber Shade and Black Shade wash I used for their armour, has come out far darker on this soldier than it did on its two colleagues; so instead of pooling naturally, it has simply dried as it was applied and left plenty of splodgey brush stokes visible as a result. I've now applied a second coat of Heavy Grey to these problem areas in the hope that a further “Vallejo” wash will better settle.  

This poor-looking armour has lead to me ordering a set of allied decals “1/144 - 1/160 Decals British Armour Divisions Europe 44-45 Tank 001” from the Ebay store “1/144 Direct”. Hopefully once I've applied an allied star and a couple of insignia to each model I'll have masked some of their painting deficiencies.

Once I've finished working on these “Red Devils” I plan to turn my attention to the five Blutkreuz Korps Untertoten Squad models that make up the “Axis Zombies” boxed set. I'd like to get these finished before any of my "Dreadball" or "Judge Dredd" Kickstarter models arrive.

Brother Blog For 10mm Projects

In order to try and maintain a bit of motivation, I've created a second blog that will concentrate on a number of 10mm projects I plan to complete over the next few years. Essentially a mass armies affair, I hope to use it to record my excusions into the world of "Pike and Shotte", "Black Powder" and "Hail Caesar".

First up is the English Civil War, using "Pendraken Miniatures" with the "Pike and Shotte" rule set. The new blog can be found here: http://tenyearsandcountingdown.blogspot.co.uk/

I also hope to give this blog a good many updates in the run up to Christmas, largely thanks to the "Mongoose Publishing" Judge Dredd and "Mantic Games" Dreadball Kickstarters. But also some "Heroclix", "Crooked Dice" and "Project Pandora" stuff I've been pottering with on and off.

Red Devil

This British Paratrooper is one of three Third Para Brigade models from "Dust Tactics" by "Fantasy Flight Games". As with the Axis Gorillas I dislike the 'metal effect' bases, so repositioned it on a 40mm lipped base from the Ebay store Arcane Scenery.

The model was initially given a coat of Heavy Grey "Vallejo" paint and then heavily washed with an equal mix of Umber Shade and Black Shade. The 60W Phaser Gun was painted with Gunmetal Grey and Black Shade, before being drybrushed with more Gunmetal Grey to bring out the detail. The phaser weapon's tubing and the Paratrooper's Red Beret were picked out with Heavy Red and Red Shade. The face was painted with Heavy Skintone and Fleshtone Shade.

I must confess to be rather unhappy as to how this soldier has turned out, especially as the painted examples on the box look so good. Especially disappointing is how obviously plastic the model is. Indeed in some of the harder to reach areas (e.g. under the arms) detail had clearly been lost in the casting process, and some edges appeared jagged and almost torn. As a result I've found my enthusiasm for this project quickly disappearing, to the point where I'm struggling mightily to complete the remaining two miniatures from the box.

In the meantime I'm painting up some more 10mm Russian and German Early Winter War infantry and some scenery by "Pendraken Miniatures". This building is from their resin scenery "PS41 WWII Russian tiled hut, rendered walls" and the broken 50mm x 50mm "Dragon's Teeth" are part of "GR209 Tank Traps".

Axis Gorillas

This Blutkreuz Korps Kampfaffen Squad is from "Dust Tactics" by "Fantasy Flight Games", and are the first models I've ever painted using "Vallejo" paints. All three models come 'undercoated' and glued to Dust Tactics plastic pre-modelled bases. As I disliked the bases, and the positioning of some of the models I rebased them on 40mm lipped bases from the Ebay store Arcane Scenery.

All the models were then given a coat of Heavy Charcoal and a wash of Black Shade. They were then drybrushed with more Heavy Charcoal. The Panzer Gloves were painted with Gunmetal Grey and Black Shade, before being given a wash of watered down Copper. I then drybrushed more Gunmetal Grey over them to give them a rusty look. The tongues were picked out with Heavy Red and Red Shade.

The sand-covered bases were initially undercoated black before being brushed with Heavy Sienna and Heavy Warmgrey. These were then washed with a mixture of three parts Umber Shade one part Black Shade. Static grass was then added once the bases have been given a coat of PVA glue. Each model was then given a coat of "Games Workshop" 'Ardcoat.

Pendraken Miniatures WW2 Soviets - SV29 (ii)

Just a quick update (with some blurry pictures - apologies) as I've almost completed the twenty-five 10mm (Winter Equipment) Soviet Riflemen I need for the latest addition to my Soviet WW2 Army... a second company of Conscripts.

Alonside these I've finished painting a Panzer I tank and two Panzer Ib tanks. I already have some of these painted, but these latest models will let me field two three-tank Panzer I companies, and a three-tank Panzer 1b company instead of using a mixture of the two tank types.

If I can get these finished over the next couple of days, I plan to turn my attention to some roads, tank traps and some barns/buildings. All resin, and all from Pendraken Miniatures.

Pendraken Miniatures WW2 Soviets - SV29

Having been badly distracted in recent months by playing "The Lord of the Rings" skirmish game by "Games Workshop", "7TV" by "Crooked Dice" and most recently "Dwarf King's Hold" by "Mantic Games", I've finally got back to doing some painting. Though the imminent withdrawal of all the GW Foundation paints and washes I've come to enjoy using has dampened that enthusiasm somewhat... Hence I'm using their departure as an excuse to turn to using Vallejo paints for my future projects.

My current plan for this coming month however is to 'paint up' a few more World War Two 10mm units and scenery by "Pendraken Miniatures" (using my existing GW paints). I'm actually hoping to refight the crossing of the Przemysl Bridge (Poland) and the start of Operation Barbarossa as a series of campaigns.

Hyborian Age - Part One

My attempt to paint a large quantity of 15mm Fantasy Models by “Copplestone Castings” over the past week or so has finally come to an end, with somewhat fewer models having been completed than I'd hoped for. These models are part of a "Conan The Barbarian" project I plan to 'pick away at' having been inspired by the Matakishi Tea Party website Crom Rules found here http://www.matakishi.com/cromcampaign1.htm.

All three bear models from the bag ‘FM8 Shapechangers and Cave Bears’ have been fully based, as have three wolves from ‘FM10 Wolf Pack”. However, I had hoped to finish all fifteen of the Canis Lupus models as well as the three shapechangers (in Human guise carrying large axes).

Unfortunately, my experiment to try and get the wolves to appear more realistic by using a blend of washes and drybrushing has not been as successful as I hoped, and as a result my enthusiasm for these models has rather died. All of the wolves were orginally undercoated either Skull White or Astronomican Grey, and then washed with Devlan Mud. All the models were then drybrushed with more Grey. Disappointly the models then required a wash of Badab Black before having a drybrush of Adeptus Battlegrey in order for their details to beome visible (e.g. fur and facial features). This darker grey drybrush makes the figures look patchy, and in places has blotched out some of the fur’s detail.

In addition to my frustrations painting the wolves, my attempt to use an old pot of Terracotta paint for a red-brown look to the fur of one of the Cave Bears has meant that the model has required repainting, after areas of the paint rubbed off (revealing the metal underneath) whilst the model was being based and varnished. Only my experiment using Skull White and Gryphonne Sea in order to generate the impression of the fur of a Polar Bear seems to have been successful.

Fortunately, I've also finished painting the entire Command Section for my 6mm “GHQ Micro-Armour” Modern British Army. The Force’s Command Asset consists of three infantry bases (totalling twelve soldiers) and two vehicle bases (consisting of four Land Rover Defender 90’s).

COMING SOON - Realising that my enthusiasm for my Napoleonic French Command Stand was started to ebb, I turned to watching the DVD "Waterloo" in order to recharge my batteries... and have nearly finished painting the third of the four "Victrix" models I plan to use for the Command base.

British Sixth Airborne Division - Part Three

I've finished the painting on both my “Victrix” Napoleonic French Lieutenant and Standard Bearer, but have put the remaining two models required for the Command stand’s completion temporarily to one side in order to allow me time for a mini-push on some 15mm models by “Copplestone Castings” and some 6mm Modern British by “GHQ Micro-Armour”.

I've also finished the first of the officer bases for my 20mm British Airborne Paratroopers by “Friend And Foe”. I plan to use the ‘Officer with map pointing’ as Major John Howard DSO, the officer who led the glider-borne assault on the German-held bridges across the Caen Canal and River Orne.

COMING SOON - As a complete aside I've started repainting a number of 28mm “Warhammer Fantasy” models from “Games Workshop”. The Empire miniatures were originally completed a couple of years ago, but now require rebasing and their white/flesh areas repainted in order to fit in better with the current block and wash painting style I employ. This will hopefully mean the little guys will finally see some tabletop action, after a couple of years tucked away in a box in the loft.

The Battle of Marengo Project - Part Six

I've finally based a third stand of Napoleonic French Line Infantry by “Victrix", having had them standing around for a few days. I hope their completition will now let me more tightly focus my painting on two of the four 28mm models I plan to use for the French Command base (i.e. officer and standard bearer).

The pair of miniatures have previously been fighting for my attention alongside a couple of 20mm metal World War Two models by “Friend And Foe”, as well as some other plastic “Victrix” French Infantry models that required their white areas to be boxed in. However, both of the “Friend And Foe” British Paratroopers (‘Officer with map pointing’ and ‘Radio operator’ from their Command bag) have now been fully painted and glossed, whilst three of the four “Victrix” Fusiliers have had their initial white areas finished (in preparation for each soldier to be fully painted next month).

COMING SOON - I've undercoated a further four “Friend And Foe” 20mm British Airborne Division models (predominatly from their Rifle Firing bag) with Calthan Brown in order to continue the slow-time progress of my Memoir 44 Project, but probably more importantly have started to prepare a number of “GHQ Micro-Armour” Modern British infantry, vehicles and armour so I can give my “Battlefield Evolution" project a big push (hopefully) later this month.

The Battle of Marengo Project - Part Five

Painting has started in earnest upon three of the four “Victrix” plastic 28mm models I plan to use for the Command base of my first battalion of Napoleonic French Line Infantry. The paint schemes will be based upon the uniform plates found for the Standard-Bearer and Grenadier Drummer within “Austerlitz – The Empire at its Zenith” by “Histoire & Collections”, and that of a Lieutenant in winter quarters dress, 1810 in “The French Imperial Guard – The Foot Soldiers 1804-1815 also by “Histoire & Collections”. I hope to have both the Officer and Standard-Bearer finished within the next few days, in order to focus my attention on the stand’s Drummer and Porte-Aigle.

I'm currently basing up my third stand of four Fusiliers, so once the Command base has been completed I'll have already attained my monthly commitment of painting eight Napoleonic models per month for January. That will leave me a good three weeks clear for my painting to concentrate on some of the other projects I ended up putting to one side in 2011; projects such as doing Robert E. Howard's "Hyborian Age" using 15mm “Copplestone Castings", or "Battlefield Evolution: Modern Combat" using 6mm “GHQ Micro-Armour”, or even "Force on Force" using the 28mm models of “Empress Miniatures". Decisions decisions.