Still on Prep.

yep still on the prep for the Analogue painting challenge. Not that I have done a lot. Mostly ordering stuff. Today  2 parcels. 1 is a load of "Tufts" from eBay so I don't run out in the challenge. But I can still order some more before the challenge ends.... and I am sure I will.

The other was a figure order for 2 6mm starter armies from Heroics and Ros.{ Click this link )
needles to say as starter armies there are lots of extras I can (and no doubt will) get to add. And If I can pick them up unpainted 2nd hand from eBay or Colonel Bills I will, that is  for sure (assuming I can save money).

I am also working on some counters for the game I have planned but until they are finished I will not be showing them. When they are finished I will be doing a quick walk through of the making process. But at  this stage there is little that will make any sense on its own.

Ao pretty much a nothing post today as I clean up the H+R order. That is how the painting challenge starts for me as I have "Mostly" cleared my painting desk ready to start. There are a couple of things still loitering though so I may get on with them in the next couple of days, but I am waiting now for the Analogue painting challenge to start.

All the best from warm (I am in a tee shirt) but overcast Kent.  Cheers Clint

The quiet before the Storm!

I am afraid I have nothing newly painted this post. But as we now have only 6 days before the Analogue Painting challenge starts I thought I would share with you just a little Prep that I di yesterday in anticipation. At the club yesterday I played a board game about making wine, then left early so no Pics of that. I mention it as I was able to get two bases case in resin by Tim (LINK to Frontline) From Frontline wargaming. For what I need they are a little too large, but totally serviceable as any smaller and they will fall over.

These are them in the raw state. and they are the smallest flying bases he make. What is more I scrounged them free so that makes them twice as good. They do not come with anything to make the flying things hover in a flying position high from the table. So I roughly worked out the bases centres and then drilled a very small hole at an angle. as you can see in the third photo.

Not a huge amount of preparation but more than I have done either last year or the year before. Some bright spark is going to ask what I will be painting that needs flying bases. But I am not going to say just yet as the figures have not arrived. (but I do expect them today or tomorrow). And until they do arrive I don't like to talk about it too much.

I have got more preparation to do this week, some of which are markers and terrain so I will score no points for them in the challenge so best get them done before hand if I can. SO expect that to be the next post as well.

Additionally I am the very happy winner of some figures from Ray's blog post giveaway. Link to Ray's Blog! Just the figure I most wanted that he was offering and I have emailed him asking if he can hold on to them until the Cavalier show at the end of February. That should save him a few pennies in postage.

Finally I have set a new high score on World of tanks. (I found out that high scores only last a week so it is still good, but not awesome. Again in my German Light tank. I am not so good and I do die a lot in it, but 2 kills in a game where I am the lowest level tank in the game is not anything to be sniffed at!

Back to more prep today and trying to source a Polykarpov P15 (Biplane) in 1/200 th (10mm) scale! I do not need one but having one would be nice,

All the best and enjoy the day.

Clint

BUF Auxilary (Part 2)

Well I suspected that I would get them finished and well, here they are. 10 more BUF Auxilary troops for a very British Civil war. There are a few weapon swaps mostly changing a rifle here and there for a smg which can be seen twice in the top picture. One kneeling guy has a rifle, the other a sub machinegun. Also the two guys o the right were the exact same figure until Matt swapped one rifle for an SMG.


On the second picture the man on the right has been converted to be a flag bearer but for the first time ever Matt did not include a flag pole for me, so it is easier to leave him un-flagged! The man in the centre is carrying lewis gun ammunition while the one on the left is an officer of some description.

So that is it for today 10 more troops all for Matt and I will pass them on tomorrow at the club and I hope pic up some more figures to paint.

Have a good weekend.
Cheers  for looking Clint

BUF Auxilary (Part 1)

Hurray Painted figures! Yes today here are 10 BUF Auxiliary troops. They are all 28mm and by Musketeer miniatures and available here (Click this link ) and are painted to represent the BUF in the North Somerset campaign, but they will be used in Kent for the crossing of the Medway and the ongoing battles with the AL.

They have been painted for Matt and he has done some weapon swaps among the figures but I do not notice any in the first photographs. So they may be finished for Saturday. Overall very nice figures to paint and base and I have enjoyed doing them. 10 more to finish for now, but who knows after that. Apart from the Lewis gun they are all rifle armed with chevrons on the jacket sleeve for the far right figure in the first photo.

That is it for today. With luck another 10 on Saturday. All the best from sunny Kent.

Cheers Clint

3 good things

Well progress is being made. Not on figures, that is going remarkably slowly at the moment. But all my news today is good.

Firstly I have received a "SECRET SANTA" parcel. And while I do have a postcode I will not be checking to see where it originates as that seems sneaky and not in the spirit. I just want the sender to know it has arrived and that I am very excited by it. I will be sending mine out the end of next week so they arrive closer to the deadline, but still in plenty of time. So whoever set it THANK YOU!

I also noticed that Ray over at http://onelover-ray.blogspot.co.uk/ Also known as "don't throw a 1" is celebrating his 1 millionth page view. As such he has a giveaway should you wish to take part. It is all historical as far as I can see, but all of some use. So feel free to click the link and pop over and sign up he just may have something for you.

And finally for today (more painted figures on Thursday). I have received a Kickstarter package. I do not go in for very many kickstarters and had totally forgotten about this one. So 18 months later it arrived! Not that it was a large pledge at all. Very small in fact but I have 2 gangs (or squads if you prefer) of 15mm figures and the rulebook. I went 15mm as opposed to 28mm as at the time I was into 15mm sci fi. But times change and I am now thinking 28mm would have been the way to go.

The Game is a tabletop wargame for those who have not seen it before. The basis of which is set in a Blade-runner like future. Each player forms a criminal gang in order to make a profit by stealing "Fabricants", android human like robots. The rules seem very simple and I strongly approve of them and the setting. I do like the game a lot, but now I am wondering if I will ever make the terrain. If I doyou will be the first to know. (After the materials supplier of course and I tell them noting.) The rules have grabbed me as has the setting so it may happen. But in reality I do realise that making a fururistic street setting is a LOT of work so it just may not get of the ground!

That is it for today. More figures painted by Thursday and the next post as I should finish a squad this afternoon/evening with a little luck.

Until then, have fun take care and splash some paint about. All the best Clint

EDIT FOR FRAN.....................................................................................................................................

Here are the 15mm figures. It is a Yakuza Gang so only 6 of the figures are HUMAN. The rest are Fabricants (Replicants in Blade Runner terms) so are PHYSICALY bigger stronger and probably faster as well. But they can be hacked by other gangs. (so NOT scale creep) The 6 Humans are mostly hackers able to alter the environment (setting of alarms (or not) changing the light levels calling the police to different areas or to this one If things are getting a bit edgy for them. You know the sort of things).

The figures are slim but well proportioned and more anatomically correct than many 15mm figures. I intend to paint them as part of the analogue painting challenge so expect to see them soon enough!

Stupid Boy!

 When I joined the Wargames club I did liken my command acumen to that of the incredible (in his own mind) Captain Mainwaring. Ten years later I still meet those high standards, but only just! This figure was an absolute joy to Paint. Matt had added a Thompson Machinegun tucked under his right arm and to my eye it fits very well indeed. The colour choice of a dark brown suit was to give him a sombre appearance. The light blue armbands of the Anglican league contrast very nicely with the brown. Of course it had to be a black bowler hat as befits a bank manager and my one extravagance was the dull red tie against the white shirt. Many other colour choices were of course available but this seemed to fit the character nicely. I know he wears a charcoal suit in the TV series so I will just claim that a man in his position potentially may have more than one suit!

From the back you can see there is no shoulder stock on the gun. It would have been nice, but Matt did not waste time or effort by adding one. It would have given me a lighter brown to work with but overall unless you are being picky it was not a nessercary addition. The umbrella will no doubt be used for pointing at things and was part of the original figure and a very  fitting accessory.

This should be the last Dad's Army figure for a while. (at least a year). Which is not to say no more homeguard but just no more TV series characters. I am painting some more figures for Matt as you read this and they should all be finished by Thursday. (Some BUF) for handing over on Sunday next week.

So until Tuesday when I get back to my "normal" blog posting schedule. "Stupid Boy!" Sorry I could not resist!

Alas Pike and Jones!

 Firstly let me say I have has internet problems. But now I have had a visit from Virgin Media Engineer and a new Modem and as far as I am concerned am back to normal. The Engineer thinks it is probably faster now, but in truth I see no change of speed.

So Today I thought I should give you 2 figures to make up for my few days of no blog posts. I will Do one more tomorrow as well trying to catch up with where I think I should be!

Firstly we have Corporal Jack Jones who does have a number of catch phrases so feel free to put them in the comments and get them out of your system. As a veteran of the Sudan wars Jonesy carries both a rifle and a spear ( queue the famous quote!) Yes we all know what they don't like!

The addition of the rifle is another Matt special but I do think it helps the character and will be definitely useful in table games. And you can hardly see the join. Looking at the figure again I should have painted the apron dark blue THEN added the "white" stripes. As It would have given a better effect, still you live and learn. So Next time. I am not saying it is a disaster at all but would have looked better the other way around! Other than the apron I am quite happy with the figure so no real gripes.

 And then we have the young Private Pike armed with a cricket bat. I am sure he would have been a menace with that weapon. The bat shows many red and white cricket ball marks as it I always better to add a few extra colours on the model. Likewise the West Ham Scarf has also allowed me to introduce another colour.

The face was touched up AFTER seeing this Photo and the darker skin tone is less prominent now. It is always worth seeing the figure with fresh eyes or in this case lens  as I quite often see things with a second look that I might otherwise miss.

While in Bank Clerk suit he also carries a civilian gas mask in a card board box. These cardboard boxes soon got decorated by family members, either kids with paint or more often a wife with some material so by 1942 few looked like the brown cardboard that was issued. My Grandfathers (I am told) was covered in an old rug! While my mother and sister would no doubt have used ribbons! But I have kept it plain as it is easier to identify.

Overall another splendid Warlord Games figure from the Dad's army box set.

Walker.

yes today we have Private Walker in muffy. (I admit I painted his eyes wrong). But here he is none the less. he does have the distinctive sky blue arm bands of the Anglican league as Matt wanted them painted but us main weapon is a kitchen knife tied to a broom handle. (Ok there is also a rifle on his back but you cannot see it from this angle).

While in the Tv series he is mostly in a grey suit (when not in uniform) I went for a brown suit instead simply as Wilson is in a grey suit and I did not want tem looking similar.

Overall apart from the eyes I am happy with the figure as he does fit in very well with the rest. As with all the others Bolt action warlord games 28mm Home Guard. But you know all that.

I had a mini pre Christmas splurge. It is a combination of 3 things.
 1} Knowing that I have the painting Challenge coming up! And wanting something easy to paint because I am a wimp!
And 2} Ground Zero Games having a pre Christmas sale.... yes I am weak.
Ok and 3} Being told I need to buy things for Christmas so my Mother and sister know what to get me.

The results is that I am giving up on 15mm sci fi. (Sob sob or Cheers if you don't like science fiction). So My plan is to re-paint my 6mm desert terrain. (That will be coming soon on this blog)>
And instead of 15mm Sci fi swap to 6 mm science fiction (Hooray! or Bo If you choose) .

As a Result I went to my local wargames/model/railway shop which stock Brigade games and bought some sci fi trucks in 6mm. These will not interfere with GZG and should compliment them. And as the "Dirtside" rules are free to down load I will be playing them as I know some of the club are interested as long as they do not need to buy anything, paint anything or read any rules, but they do like the "Stargrunt" rules so with luck in the new year we shall be playing "Dirtside!" (No Ray that is not a sexual thing!!!)

Frasier and the grave digger

 Two more today. The town undertaker Frasier together with another figure who I think is the grave digger but not sure. Frasier wearing a sailors jersey and in dark blue because of his Naval backstory. The Grave digger because he was a spare figure that matt once again converted and armed with a rifle yet still carries his trusty spade. he wears dark clothing so not to show the dirt but he could equally be a road mender or the stoker on a train. So I will let Matt create any background he wants.

Not sure who I will paint next so it could be anyone tomorrow!


Until then, take care, have fun and get some painting done.
All the best from Clint

Gofrey

Another of Matts conversions is Godfrey with a Lewis gun. All part of his growing Anglican League force. I have no idea what he would be doing with a Lewis gun or indeed what he would tell his sisters. But I do feel sure that he would never actually fire it with any hostile effect!

So Far this figure has been my favourite to paint and the sky blue armbands do make the figure stand out on the table top.

Thanks for Looking and most likely another one tomorrow. Probably Walker or Fraiser.

Hodges

 Yes as requested here is Mr Hodges. Before anyone says anything about the colour of the helmet. In the TV series it is shown as both black and white as a base colour so I went for the White version as that at a glance seems to be the most common version in still pictures of Mr Hodges. So If it is wrong feel free to blame the BBC!

Little more to add Matt converted this figure to carry a tommy gun. And that is about it!

I will have a break from posting tomorrow as I am at the club and playing board games but I will post again on Monday.

All the best Clint

Sgt Wilson

 Only 1 finished today. But most very nearly finished, skin and bases and shoes and finishing off. So Confident more will be done very soon. Until then here is Sargent Wilson in mufti! Another one of Matts Conversions, this time to be a flag bearer. The flag is of course by Pete Barnfield at (LINK) and sold by Solway. It is obviously an Invicta flag of Kent as Wilmington on Sea is somewhere in this county if only going by the cap badges in the TV series or the view of the White Cliffs at Dover. But you are free to set it in your own area, I am sure I would.

Anyway for those interested in VBCW the sky blue arm bands are for the Anglican league which dominates East Kent. I painted Wilson in a grey suit as it seemed slightly more flamboyant than a brown suit. (Captain Mainwaring will be in a Brown suit.) . One of the joys of painting figures for Matt is that he always gives me free rein with the colour choices. All he has said for these was "Sky Blue Arm bands for Anglican league!" and with that level of instruction I am happy to oblige.


I Hope to post again tomorrow when another rolls of the production line. I think it will be Hodges next, but after that I am happy to take requests on a first come first served basis. (Although I am not Happy with civilian Jones or Civilian Fraiser just yet. But I am happy to work on anyone of the crew (that I have in my position)

Thanks for looking.

All the best Clint