2011 DM

January 2011

I started the year by finishing off the 15mm ACW Regimental Fire & Fury markers that I had ended last year working on. They are from a variety of makers: Peter Pig, Old Glory UK, and Freikorps (QRF). Round bases are from Warbases, and the static grass is from Games Workshop.

In a last-minute burst, I also based 25 Noch trees on magnetic penny-sized ‘fridge magnets (last seen being used on the bases of 28mm WW1 troops). My aim is to make some template woodland bases, and mount some steel washers on the base so that I can seat the trees for the night’s game and take them off for travelling. The pack of trees were bought on an impulse when I went into ModelZone just after it opened.

Aims for the New Year – get in more games.  Get gaming WW1 with “Triumph & Tragedy”. Get 10mm Flames of War/Blitzkrieg WW2 French on the table.

January ended with a splurge on the 10mm French chars, armoured cars and carriers. Figures from Pithead, paints Vallejo and some Games Workshop shading, painting guide from Wargames Illustrated 275 (some repeated online), and the Flames of War: Blitzkrieg book, plus lots of useful websites (eg Chars-Francais, littlewars.se guide to available models,  Madaxemans 10mm Photo Gallery, Keith’s Guide to The French Army of 1940 ). Bases are ‘specials’ from Warbases.

February 2011

I followed the Flames of War guide when painting the French infantry mortar battery. The Vallejo green-brown (879) uniform came out very light. A look around the sources (for example, re-enactors) which showed a darker brown in use, but the different dyes and wear in this image (WW2 in colour) cliched it for me. My intention is to use different shades to represent the active, reservists and colonial units. Probably the English Uniform (921) shade for colonials. I’ve changed shoes/belts to Vallejo leather brown (871).

Mix of Pithead French, Polish and Pendraken figures as artillery staff.  Phil has some more French figures in the pipeline, so I’m keeping these non-Pithead mixes in the background, though they seem to go well together. Homemade tables and, yes, I’m sad enough to have printed small maps of parts of France.

Pendraken‘s German motorcycle/sidecar combinations, helmets filed and all painted as French. I accidentally based 2 on the one stand, when they should be all be singly on a medium stand for use with artillery. Bish-bash-bosh-scrape-rebase.

Below, 15mm ACW silenced gun markers from QRF’s Freikorps range, for use with Regimental Fire & Fury. Bases are 30mm diameter, from Warbases.

February ended with a dose of the lurgy, so I only completed a few of my Pithead 10mm French WW2 infantry, just some independent HQ units, a couple of observers, and a platoons of Fusiliers-Voltigeurs (sans rifle-grenades).

Play WMV Video: French_Infantry

My order for dice has been caught up in the Maelstrom (so to speak). C’est la vie.

March 2011

What painting time I had was spent finishing off the Pithead French infantry. By the end of the month, I had moved on to the 75mm Schneider “Soixante-Quinze” guns, and a pair of 47mm anti-tank guns, and some trucks.

French infantry prior to static grass (10mm from Pithead)

10mm French artillery (Pithead Miniatures)

April 2011
Whilst avoiding the computer for a couple of days, I accidentally completed the remaining Laffly trucks (Pithead) and the limbers (Pendraken). Oh, and some 10mm terrain from Hovels.

Laffly S20TL trucks (10mm, Pithead Miniatures)

Horse-drawn limbers (10mm Pendraken). Guns & crew by Pithead

May-July 2011
This was mainly spent painting 28mm medieval Islemen for the club’s Harlaw display (83 of the 750 figures). I’ve pasted a link to my painting guide (PDF file).

Harlaw - Galloglass (Figures by Scheltrum Miniatures)

Harlaw - Galloglass centre (83 MacLeods and MacDonalds)

I did manage to sneak a few days making some 15mm ACW fencing though. A sheet of A4 plasticard produced about 14 foot of fences.

15mm fencing production line

Fence arms race (cover bonus)

Near the end of July, I worked on the woodland templates. Templates cut from brown magnetic foam sheets (edges rounded), glued on metal washers bought from local hardware store. Flock = meadow Grass Flock (Noch/Gaugemaster GM 173). Tree bases from Gaugemaster glued on to fridge magnet discs (1 penny size) from eBay, and painted Citadel Foundation Gretchin Green (similar shade to flock).

Tree templates 1 before

Tree templates 2 after

Most of the rest of year taken up with Harlaw and gaming. Got some 15mm Aslans painted up (feline sci-fi from Khurasan Miniatures).  Added magnetic sheeting to the 15mm GNW Swedes that I have been using for Black Powder. It makes it easier to carry them around in one “really useful” box.

Aslan infantry

Aslan bikes