Australians arrive at last.

Finally got round to doing some of the Australians. I say finally but in fairness to them, they themselves painted up quickly and was fun to paint. I still have 4 more to do, repeats of the poses attached. Pics are done by me and are not meant to be anything special. I will get the last four painted and call it for a few weeks whilst I get on with some other figures. I am also going well on the buildings, two need final touches, two are about half way done and the last one is just primed. Not sure if I will do any tonight but I have to stay in tomorrow waiting on the delivery of three new chickens so I may use that as an excuse to crack on after a fairly slow two or so days.

For the Australians I wanted more terrain on the bases than the other Nations but less than the Japanese to give the Japanese that point of difference whilst keeping the Australians a little on the wild side. The next choice was uniform. Officially the clothing should be a darker green but if the boys had been in action for some time the colour would fade a great deal and who wants wet behind the ears guys? As normal with Artizan the poses are somewhat stiff. I like the touch of the binoculars on the figure on the left, nice point of difference. Of course the first Japanese sniper that clocks him will make him regret it!

Nice jaunty hats and fully loaded rifles. I also like the rolled up sleeves of these figures. All of them painted up easily so were quicker to paint. I am getting a better feel for the Poison Ivy now and cutting it out so that I get the best out of it.

I think these are the best looking figures of the eight. It took me a couple of goes before I was happy with the Bren Gun itself.

Finally a figure that is moving faster than a walk on the left though the right hand figure has good look about him. I my moan a bit about the mobility of the figures but I won't be looking for another supplier and probably would buy these again if and when I need more.

I took the pics just before 7am in the morning as the natural light was bright enough to give a good colour without the later bleaching effect. I was not brave enough to ask Cath to do it at THAT time!

Japanese Sniper Reminder for ASL

Bursting out of the Kunai with mischief in mind.

OK the fifth Nationality for the reminders. This one has been by far the most challenging. Bolt Action beat out Artizan for movement in the figures pose but really slide in quality of the casting. Mold lines and small runs of metal from run offs really make cleaning up the figures a chore and whilst I really like the variation that separate heads supply it's been a pain to get them to fit in the sockets with drilling, pruning and a tad of bad language thrown into the mixing pot. Then I struggled with some of the painting, the leg wraps have been painted three times before I was happy with them! All this added up to a longer than usual time spent on the bench whilst I worked on other projects between to keep sane. Basing of course was also harder than the typical reminder. Gone are the meadows of Europe and now I have to face Jungle and Kunai (very long grass). I knew what I wanted to achieve but it's taken some getting there. Pics are of two test pieces, one emerged in the Kunai whilst the other has just a taste. Not all will end up in the grass as it suits the mobile figures as well as some figures are crouching or prone so would be lost.

Same Guy from Above

Thanks to Cath again for the pics, much better than my Brownie could come up with. These base has DAS modelling clay with two uses, to build up a uneven surface and act as something to hold the grass in place.

I also added some of the Army Painter Poison Ivy but in larger clumps just to add to the feeling of closed in. I may yet add a couple of tufts to the bank and around the sniper number.

Here is an unfinished base but has all the Kunai that will be added. Still the ivy and tufts to be added which will be fairly heavy load. Overall then, it takes about twice the time to do the Japanese as it does the rest but time is something I have so it ain't no problem.

American Sniper Reminder Additions.

The Sniper Project is doing fine. I needed a few more Yanks due to one guy wanting a figure with netting on his helmet. I had only one of these which had already been picked so needed to get another pack. This pack had two guys with the netting so it worked out well in the end. Again these are dressed in Greatcoats which come out really well with a wash. The above photo was battling the natural light through the window but it gives a fair idea of what they look like. Again I used Artisan figures. These tend to be more stationary than Bolt Action but that works with the whole one figure with a board game thing. Though the Japanese I am just basing up mostly have a hell of a lot more movement (Bolt Action) and will look great when finished.

 Close up of the two with netting. I found the figures fun to paint up and much quicker than the Japanese which will be shown at a later date. In fact the Japanese have been rather a pain to paint up and now I have the extra work that the jungle base provides. Oh Joy.

The Tufts are the ones I bought directly from MiniNatur and as you can see I went a little overboard with them, but it adds to the look.

Here is a close up of the Company B decal. Given the extra practise I have had with them I have managed a better job (not that I was unhappy with the first). The decal wraps round the shoulder really well and the transparent edges disappear once the figure has been varnished. Prior to that it was easy to see. I add the decals post ink wash  so they remain crisp.

SNIPER!

This really is a cross post from my other ASL only blog. It can be great to have a project that melts two different parts of the same hobby into one, this is the case with my Sniper project. I must admit though, it's been a challenge to get exactly what I wanted but finally it's fallen into place. Selecting figures was not really too difficult, the original idea was to use sniper figures but I struggled to find figures that looked like I wanted them to. Basically I could buy a pack of 4 figures and use just one from the pack. This just did not float my boat. So I went after just riflemen, well in one of the packs it also came with a LMG so it will be interesting how that one goes down. Mostly I have gone with Artizan so far, but I also have a large number of Boltaction, though I prefer the former. What was far less easy was the picking out of bases and this is the area I have wasted the most money trying to get it right. Originally I was working with the plastic hexagonal base with the numbers painted on. The idea being that the number pointing towards you is the sniper number. This remained the cheap option right up to the end, but the main idea was using Heroclix bases. This had the advantage that they are readily available and can be picked up with a figure on them for around £1 + postage. The first ones I bought were 1st edition that was difficult to turn but would have worked though a little fiddly. Scratch a few quid. Then I ordered what looked like a base twist. I bought 16 of these but it turned out you had to hold onto the figure to turn them and what's more, they were very stiff. Figures would just come away from the base. Scratch £15!!! Only then did I find the Oreo style base, these I could still get at about the same price as long as I did not mind damaged figures (given I was cutting them off, I really did not mind!!) The problem is that the dial numbers did not have the number range I was needing (2-7) so I was going to have to replace the template. Not a major issue as I downloaded templates off the Internet but it's all time and effort. Then I discovered the Warbases casualty markers in Wargames Soldiers & Strategy issue 58. The plinth version of what I am using was being reviewed. Whilst not perfect it was close enough for me and looking on their website I saw the version I have used. The dial has a range of 1-12, plenty more than I need. The dial in fairness is slightly larger than I need but allows plenty of modeling space. the pictures below are of the bases almost finished, tufts need to be added but as I have ran out I need to nip out and get some more. I just have a few done at the bottom of the post.

Americans in greatcoats. Was a bit worried how these would come out, but rather pleased with the end result. You van see the tad for the dial sticking out at 11 O'clock. Simple system but works very well. I will do a full review of it at a later point.

Two 'Yanks' in normal battledress. These show off the decals I was talking about in the above post.The pic does not do them justice but I was in a hurry.

Much better shot. The decals (yes there are two on that arm) are between small and tiny. Company B also do 20mm decals, I don't even want to think about those!! I have painted up the 8 Yanks with a mix of uniform types and colours as they will never be used together.

A couple of Russians in winter padded clothing. I always thought of Russians in the pale brown but it seems the winter gear tended to be green. Must have stood out in the snow real nice. Again the basing needs work as you can see the figure base on the guy kneeling down.

The offensive LMG sniper, but at least he is back in the brown. With an extra mag in it's pouch hanging from his belt and a grenade stuffed in his boot I guess this guy means business.

All 21 painted and ready. Well 20 are ready, number 21 has to wait for a base (on order) and the tufts had not been added to any figures at that point. Below shows the figures from above to show off the numbers. You can also see the tufts which are by Army Painter.

Company B decals

Despite already being over budget both on my wargames neutral and actual project I could not resist trying out some of these Decals. Whilst it seems OK to miss out insignia on most of the WWII combatants, the Yanks seem plastered in the stuff. Recently I gave away a bunch of shield transfers as I was determined to paint all my shields by hand. In the case of these guys the detail is so small I gave in. As a test I have bought just one Divisions decals, this being the US 1st Infantry Division. If I can make a go of them I will buy a larger range (assuming I sell the figures in the first place LOL)
I got the decals from a distributor in the UK, this being The Wargames Command Post. Their web site is easy to navigate, has lots of colour pics to help with your choices. The decal range is stunning in it's breadth, not just WWII and they have a nice range of 28mm figures and seem to specialise in American suppliers. Whats more the $ to £ is not the good old bang it on so the price will not make you cough.

Back to the decals, one pack is £4 and the postage was a very reasonable 40p. I ordered these on Thursday, paying via Paypall, got a e-mail yesterday telling me they were in the post and today I received them, just after putting the finishing touches to the figures last night. Really you can't better service than that, so I am hoping I can work the decals well (water slide) and these will add that bit extra to the finished models.

So what did I get for £4?
45 stars and stripes patch,
72 Big Red 1 emblem (not all troops wore the stripes patch)
48 Private stripes,
12 Sargent stripes
16 Higher ranks stripes

so rather a lot for the money, these would stretch much further than I will require but I can see guys wanting other Divisions, so it's a good job a wide range is available.

Once the decals are in place and the figures based (waiting for delivery of these from Lee) I will send off to Curt for the painting contest and then present then here with the Russians. In the meantime I have a Viking to paint up.

Artizan Designs German WWII Infantry

A friend recently came up with an idea of using figures rather than plastic cards to remember our sniper numbers in Advanced Squad Leader. After a few back and fourth ramblings on Gamesquad Heroclix was brought up as to be the perfect base for the figures as you are able to change the number by use of the dial.

I have yet to attach any to these type of bases having for now just attached to Hex bases as I will also offer the option of just painted numbers on the base which I doubt will be popular. The Heroclix will take more work and I need to order more. The original use old versions and I want the new style as they are better for the job. I will get more Artizan as they look really good but plan to mix in with Boltaction Figures as well. These are the first 28mm figures i have painted and I have not painted 25+mm in 20 odd years, seemed like I was painting a barn door.

I really like the animation of the figures, the one on the left is loading his rifle and you can make out the cartridge as he is inserting in the rifle. I have painted them up as 10th Infantry Regiment 'Waffenrock' though I missed off the 10 on the epaulets! These were painted green with white piping and the collar flashes are white with the II painted in silver mixed with grey/white which does not show well which is correct.

I love the face on this guy, it's more the skill of the sculptor rather than my brush work. I used flat steel on such as the helmet edge and the canteen/gas mask etc. to show wear which I was pleased with the results.

A better view of more wear and tear. Also shows off the equipment these guys are carrying, much better than the usual harness only.

It took three painting sessions for the figure and if I had been putting in a full day they would have been done in a single day. Disapointed I did not spot the extra flock before the photo session but it was all loose so came off quick as you like. Next up is casualties for FoG and Impetus followed by 6mm French Hussars and three stands of Macedonian Command. All to be finished by next weekend?