Progress and Xmas Loot

Hi Folks - and Merry Christmas from me and mine to you and yours!

This last week or so I've gotten started on my first entry for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge 8 (AHPC8), but progress has been slow. In all honesty I've just struggled to find the motivation to paint German gun crew. I have made some progress, but I think the pile of prepped models has actually put a damper on my motivation. I finally decided to go back to basics, pick one unit at a time and get them done, rather than staring at the whole lot and fretting!

Yesterday I really lucked out on gifts, getting everything that was on the list I had provided Amy with earlier in the year. Again, books were the main focus as they are easier to pick up and less chance of things not arriving by the big day. But I did get some models...

I'm really pleased with all of these. The Normandy stuff should keep me going for a while, and there looks to be some really great info in them. Especially the info on the Canadians! Combined with a really really interesting online find on Christmas Eve, where I found a .PDF of a post war Canadian Army report into Totalise that is chock full of some really great info, I feel like I've got some great new perspectives on the battle to read through.

Stripes is also a really interesting book, with lots of great options for Team Yankee... I can see me expanding my 3mm Americans based on some of the stuff that's there.

Necromunda is the first GW game I've gotten in a long time. When I saw it was coming out I just had to jump on board (which is pretty uncommon for me). I've great memories of this game from my teenage years. The contents of the box look great, and I'll have a think about how I build the figures before I do anything with them... but it does mean I need to think about new scenery!

Over the weekend, I also took the opportunity to prime my prepped German guns. Gunuary doesn't properly start until the 1st of January, but I'm jumping in early as I've so much to do.

A can of Plastic Soldier Company 'Late War German Dunkelgelb' went quite a long way on these, and forms a decent primer coat on all the guns. I'll probably do another light coat of middlestone or green ochre over these before detailing, washing and highlights. I also have to prep quite a lot of bases!

Right now, I'm focusing on the crew and guns for a 3.7cm AA battery. The figures are from the Battlefront SS set, but I am painting them in my attempt at Luftwaffe ground uniforms for a battery of III Flak Corps guns.

Hopefully everyone else got what they wanted for Christmas and had a great day!

Happy new year when it comes!