Wednesday's offerings

Today has been a day of steady progress after what felt yesterday like a day not much was one.

I'm still waiting on my last pack of Defrocked priests, despite an email from the supplier saying it had been shipped second class last week. I decided to just press ahead with the 4 I have and try and get them done this week.

Yesterday I assembled the 17 Pdr's, a task that was at once simple and annoying at the same time. Of the four, two went together with no issues, while the other two  I struggled with for a while. The join where the 'legs' of the gun meet the axle isn't a great one, and the way the model sits makes it even more awkward. Thankfully I managed in the end - although it did remind me I should pick up some of that instant cure superglue spray stuff.

The weight on the back of the legs was needed to to make sure they dried with both of the spades flat.

I also mounted up the gun crews and command squads, and then the passengers from the Defrocked Priests. Before bed I managed to give them all a coat of the black brush on primer paint I have. First time I've used the primer from Miniature Paints and it was a really nice consistency. Didn't need watered down and went on just thicker than a wash. Still preserved the detail, and so far I have had zero issues with it.

The Infantry also got a very quick coat of English Uniform (Vallejo 921 - biting back my comments about Vallejo's choice of paint name).

From experience now I know that this first coat of the uniform colour can be really rough and quick. When I started I was carefully leaving the bits I would be painting a different colour later, but as I progressed I realised that really it's going to get painted over so I'm as well saving time and just getting the paint on.

Today after lunch I started with applying two thin coats of Russian Uniform (Vallejo 924) to the guns and the Defrocked Priests. This again is a technique that I've really only recently started using. I would previously have gone for one thicker coat, but with the new primer and a bit more confidence I decided to take my time. In actuality doing this didn't add that much more time to this stage, as the thinner paint went on a lot quicker anyway.

Regarding the 17 pdrs - I drilled out the barrels, first using a thin drill bit then a thicker one using the first as a guide. It's a really daft thing, but I think it looks really great. You just have to compare it to one that has not been drilled to see the difference. Like the decals, it's one little thing that really helps the model 'pop'. I picked up a hand drill years ago just for helping with pinning larger models, and it does equally well for the barrels.

The other thing about these models was that compared to the versions on the Flames of War website (see here) mines have gone together with a much more angled gun shield, and they look a lot (in my opinion) better for it. More like heavy anti tank guns than the almost howitzer like look their display models have. I'm not sure why this is, as the models fit together based on the grooves and stuff on the axle and gun shield.

While using up the last of the Russian Uniform green, I quickly did the gun crew and passengers helmets as well.

So Wednesday night is my night out (off to play Eclipse Phase at a friends tonight, my regular Wednesday roleplay appointment) but the infantry mini's are ready for webbing, boots, carried equipment then flesh. Vehicles will have the wheels and tracks done (black), any other bits and bobs (stowage, ropes, tools, etc). Then Armypainter (strong tone). Hopefully I can get all that done tomorrow!