Finished!: British Recce Troop 2

Hey folks,

Don't worry, it's not a bad case of deja vu - just more green vehicles. My 2nd troop of the planned 3 has left the paint desk. 

Nothing much more to report really, these are still 15mm Flames of War miniatures. Still painted to reflect a troop of vehicles from 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry in around August 1944 and I've still more to do!

As per the last batch, this troop consists of three Humber IV Armoured Cars (although I believe these are more like III's) and two Humber LRCs. Stowage and aerials have been added, and the Armoured Cars still need crew (which are in the painting pile). 

I am sticking with the historical setup for this squadron, having diverged slightly from the FoW v4 setup. However, I can always mix and match to fit the current lists if required. Thankfully, the guys are happy enough to go with historical setups so it's not really an issue. This does mean the infantry platoon has one more half track than the rules currently require. I've also dropped one of the carrier patrols from the plan as the info on the unit's organisation shows only two patrols of three vehicles per squadron. 

'Finishing' this troop adds some nice colour to my painting chart. I spent some time recently prepping the Loyd Carriers and Forward Air Controller vehicles and got them sprayed today, so a little change in shade there as well. 6-pdrs and crew have also been primed.

Work is now starting on the 3rd troop of armoured cars, before I move on to the 6-pdrs. No particular order to the progression, other than they seem like they should be quick to paint. Not too keen on the PSC plastic crews, but I'll give them a try. 

Finished!: British Recce Troop 1

Hi folks,

As posted elsewhere, I have maintained the motivation I was seeking while painting camels, and have 'finished' the first troop of Recce vehicles for my British collection.

These are 15mm Battlefront miniatures. Specifically 3 Humber IV's and 2 Humber Light Recon Cars (LRCs) for my August 1944 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry Squadron.

I've used the older (now OOP) Battlefront Humber models, although I did review these compared to the newer (much larger) once here. I did this mainly as I already had most of the force and only required three vehicles to finish the list. The newer models were sold on to club members and I managed to find three more of the older models.

Technically, these are I think more Humber III's than IV's. But they will do for my purposes.

As mentioned elsewhere, I've changed my painting method for this force in order to try and speed up painting. In this case, I lost time due to a varnish issue (as a result I am giving up on Vallejo gloss varnish). The new technique is to assemble and add stowage, spray with Russian Uniform, give a quick base coat of bottled 70.924 Russian Uniform, wash with my home made black wash, drybrush with a mix of 70% Russian Uniform and 30% Iraqi Sand, then a lighter drybrush with the quantities reversed. Tidy up the panels, paint the stowage and wheels, quick brown wash on those then highlight.

I then did the usual varnishes and decals, before adding Tamiya Weathering Master for dust effects (this shows really poorly on camera). I'm now switching to using a floor polish for my gloss coat.

I've found that not spending time edge highlighting really speeds up the process (obviously). Also, using cheap makeup brushes for drybrushing works really well. I still need some more practice - I'm thinking my drybrush technique is a bit rough.

You can really see the difference in how the weathering looks depending on the lighting between this last image and the first one.

Decals, which are hidden by the weathering, include the bridging weight, Recce AoS, Highland Division sign, WD numbers, recognition stars and allied stars.

As usual, two aerials for command vehicle. It will also have two crew members which I've still to paint. The other Humber A/C's will have one crew member each. Turrets have all been magnetised as well (other than on the LRC's which are glued down).

With the new painting style, I've managed to make some progress on the other two troops. I'm hoping to have one more finished in the next few days. Other vehicles still need more prep in the form of stowage and base spray, so that will slow down the rest.

Hope everyone is doing well and keeping safe.

Prep - when too much can be a bad thing

Hi folks,

Not many updates from me recently I'm afraid. Since the AHPC challenge ended in March I'd not picked up a paint brush until this week. Not sure why, I just didn't feel like it and was procrastinating because I had two more fantasy units lined up that I had to pick colours for.

I did a few things instead - prepping for a Rogue Trader RPG I'm running during lockdown (where I decided to use the Savage World rules instead of the official ones). Building (then modifying) some Jagdpathers. Prepping my 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry Armoured Car Squadron. Cleaning up models ready for undercoating. Sorting through my unbuilt stuff checking what I was short of. Planning future lists. Etc, etc.

The long and short of this was that I wasn't painting but was filling up my painting shelf with more and more stuff. I was struggling to find space on the shelves next to my painting station and getting more disheartened about how much I had to do every time I looked at it.

Combined with homeworking for a prolonged period (where I struggle with getting anything done in the morning, leading me to feel like I am just burning half my day, every day) , I was/am starting to get a bit frayed mentally. Starting to be very negative about everything and getting a little down on myself, work and the hobby. I guess it's depression - but the prevailing feeling has been negativity rather than the overwhelming sadness I have had previously.

Social media played a part in this too - trying to help people with questions about my 'specialist subject', only to have to fight uphill battles about stuff I know and have checked against people quoting populist history nonsense (who can never provide a reference and argue even in the face of photographic evidence...).

So yes, in trying to be productive with my non painting, I ended up digging myself a hole which was further sapping my motivation. Too much stuff on the painting shelf, no idea where to start, feeling weighed down by the lead mountain looming over me, feeling like there was no point to the hobby, that I have been wasting my time, etc.

Today I've taken some steps to try and get myself out of the rut I'm in. I finished one of the fantasy units (more on these soon). I tidied my painting shelf, cutting the visible models down to one troop of 15mm Armoured Cars, a few Cruel Seas ships, one 10mm unit and some 15mm sci-fi models which I just paint when I have colours left on my paint palette. A much more manageable workload.

The other stuff is now on a box on my desk - handy, but out of sight. I'll bring out another unit when I have finished something.

I've also completed a painting chart for my 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry squadron:

And to see what this hole lot looks like (and why it was like a storm cloud over my painting desk):

This lot is a mix of Battlefront with a few PSC kits thrown in. I've a platoon of infantry for my Assault Platoon, and one small platoon for dismounted Carrier Patrol troops.

I've decided - given the types of games we play and the historical info I have, to make a 3 stand infantry troop for each of the carrier troops. One medium base (4 men) with a Bren and a PIAT, one medium base (4 men) with a Bren and a 2" mortar, and a small base (3 men) with a Bren command team. This should represent the firepower these guys had. The PIAT and 2" Mortar will be shooting options for the teams. I've lots of spare infantry figures, so this is no hassle - just more painting!

So - a cautionary tale really. I need to remember:
- Don't let yourself get disheartened by what you have to do hobby wise. You can only complete any collection one small bite at a time (unless your Dave D or Martin!).
- Know your limits, if you feel your getting bogged down or disheartened clear the decks and pick one thing to do at a time.
- Using non painting time constructively is useful, but remember the points above.

As for work - I'm trying something new out this week which I am hoping will help me feel like I'm not just burning time for the sake of putting in my hours! I have a few other options lined up if this doesn't work.

Hope everyone is staying safe and active!