Finished!: 15mm Sarrisa Precision Chateau + Warbases 15mm Haystacks

Hi folks,

Busy week last week, having finished off my German armour for now, I switched out for some terrain. My plan had been to build my Chateau and a 4Ground hotel. However, after I built the Sarrisa Chateau I realised that the hotel model is actually 10mm scale. Bugger. That's what you get for buying quickly at wargames shows. So if anyone wants a cheap 10mm MDF building, let me know...

I also dug out the Warbases resin haystacks I picked up recently and slapped some paint on them. More scatter terrain - always handy to have.

The Chateau looks a bit big in comparison to some of the other buildings I have, but I think that can be passed off just through it being a fancy building.

I have to say it was a bit of a bugger to put together, the roof especially as the parts just did not want to fit well. I ended up having to use some filler to cover gaps. Once painted though, it looks pretty impressive. I had finished, but decided to colour the window frames as only the 2nd floor was coloured grey, and i think it looks much smarter with the light frames.

The haystacks I just hit with a grey primer, US field drab then drybrushes of gold brown then buff.

Showing off as well a recent purchase:

Which is a 1/100th scale Me109 - it'll just be a good physical representation for the occasional Luftwaffe airstrike.

My next lot of models will be my 6mm UK Moderns - which have sat on the painting shelf for 12 months or so. Basing for this lot will be a task in of itself...

Army Storage

With a house move coming up at the end of this month, it seemed like a sensible time to try and sort out my Army Storage solution. While my KR multicase is bearable as a means of getting my army to the table it's not really big enough now to allow me to store my whole force. Plus, I remain a little dubious about storing painted miniatures in foam.

I picked up a few months ago magnetic and steel sheets from Magnetic Displays which have sat waiting for me to get my finger out. I had also picked up some small tupperware containers that clip together neatly and are just the correct size for infantry to stand in.

I spent most of a day lining the boxes with the magnetic sheets and attaching steel sheeting to the base of my models - and this is where having everything on bases paid off. This task was made a lot easier by the fact the adhesive that comes on the back of the sheets is pretty solid. I had images of me having to use superglue, but thankfully it all went together without it.

The infantry:

And the rest:

And the acid test...

Solid! I'm not sure I would hold them upside down, but the magnets are strong enough to stop everything rattling about. Longer term may see some soft foam for the inside lids, just to keep everything secure and protect them against any serious drops or knocks.

I've got another load of minis still to do - artillery, tanks and some other bits and bobs. I've ordered some more magnetic sheeting and hopefully everything will be safe and secure for the move!

Paint Table (almost) Saturday!

One of the objectives I had from playing YD last weekend was to use the game as a boost to my painting mojo - as such for the first time in a long time I broke my own rule about fielding unpainted models. The plan was to move the models from the gaming table to the painting table.

The targets for this little operation were the Daimlers and Churchill AVsRE. Work started on Saturday night and continued through the week. As of today, they are ready for their Army Painter coat.

I also took on board Dai's comments about the Humber LRC's dust coating being a little over the top. So I gave them a quick wash of Russian Uniform Green (Vallejo Model Color 70924).

I might need to do something about the wheels, but they are a little toned down over how they were previously.

One of the things I changed with the Churchills and the Daimlers was to start using Vallejo Model Color German Grey (70.995) instead of the usual black coat for the tracks and tyres. Other than that, these models could have been painted a lot faster than they were, but my busy weeknight schedule meant it was today before I would apply the gunmetal.

There is no shading or highlighting on these models as that is done post Army Painter coat.

Turret hatches are all open as with these being recce vehicles I feel it's fitting that they all have crew figures. The command vehicle may have 2 - space dependent.

Unlike the Bofors guns I finished recently, I have really enjoyed painting these. The models are all from Battlefront so are a mix of resin and metal. Stowage on the models has been added and is mainly from the Skytrex range of vehicle stowage. Radio aerials will be added post AP varnish.

Basing wise I'm thinking the Daimlers will fit on medium bases and the Churchills large bases. However, if they are too big I will be putting in an order from warbases again. Another couple of Churchills are planned as I would love to try a conversion with fascine bundles... I'm not quite up to trying the bridge carrier option, however!

PSC M5 Halftracks... teaser

Managed to finally get my half tracks finished, based, etc The only thing remaining is some decals to fix on my previously completed Battlefront M5 to make it fit in with the unit. No time for a full blog tonight, but I was so chuffed I wanted to put some quick pics up before a fuller blog later.

Plastic Soldier Company M5 Halftracks in 15mm

Side view of Plastic Soldier Company M5 Halftracks in 15mm

My conversion of a Plastic Soldier Company M5 Halftrack into a M5 Ambulance - in 15mm

More pics to follow!

Basing

While working on finishing off the models I've been picking away at for the last few months(...), it occurred to me that I hadn't really detailed what I am doing for the basing of my mini's. Maybe I did a while ago, but I took a pic of what my rough process is.

So I start with my standard base - either a FoW one or one from Warbases. I try to keep units all on the same type of base - so for example all the half tracks I have done have Warbases large size bases.

I've mentioned a few times my reasoning behind basing everything. A lot of the FoW models come moulded on bases and I feel that if one thing has a base on it, everything should. It rattles some internal cage of mine seeing Universal Carriers that look out of scale next to Shermans... purely because the UC are on a base.

The base also provided a better transport solution (magnets) and stops the track to track car park look. The one that one of Battlefronts 'rangers' tells me never happens but that I see on battle reports all the time.

Here's the photo:

The 'Dark Earth' is a acrylic resin from Vallejo (26.218) and is basically a dark grey colour. I apply this to a base that has been well scored in a zigzag pattern by a craft knife. Usual (recently) I have just been using a teaspoon to scoop out the amount I need and then roughly flatten it down. The nice thing about the resin is that it can be cut and trimmer as required when it's dry.

Once it's dry and trimmed, I paint it all Vallejo Model Color Flat Earth (70983). If I am spraying matt varnish around this time I will also give it a spray of that just to seal it. A tip I picked up from Paul, Davey and YD was that if you are using wooden bases you should varnish all of them - including the under side. This means if water should ever get into your mini's, the bases don't swell up and become ruined. 

For bases with infantry, I just press the infantry down, then cut out a rough rectangle that they will fit in. Superglue on the hole and then press the mini in.

Then I paint the bases of the infantry flat earth and let that dry. Then cover the top of the base in PVA and using my home made squirty bottle of static grass (a washing up liquid bottle with the stopper removed) I fire the static grass onto the bases with little puffs of air.

For vehicle bases I just PVA and static grass, then superglue the model onto the base.

The last stage is some dabs of PVA and then application of scrub bushes and flowers (currently from MiniNatur). I'm not one for piles of stones or the likes, as my men are fighting in well cultivated Normandy. Similarly I don't like ruins, rubble, etc. Although to be fair it is a bit daft when my tanks sit on a road with their grass bases - but I'm not quite at the madness of interchangeable bases depending on the tabletop terrain.....

Finished! Sherman Crab Flails in 15mm

After far too many weeks of little progress I finally got the final touches done to my 15mm Flames of War British Sherman Crab Flail tanks!



Battlefront BR132 Sherman Crab - with alternative chains

I'm quite pleased with how the two of them have turned out, although I do really need to work on my weathering techniques.
Just to recap, when I first set out I used a 20mm (1:72) scale model as a base for how I thought a flail should look. I then tried to put this into 15mm scale. Here's a comparison with a 20mm model.

15mm Sherman Crab alongside 20mm Sherman I Hybrid Firefly

Sooo... the model I started looking at was this one:

Picture from http://rctlittlesoldiers.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/sherman-flail-on-d-day.html - a fantastic blog and I only wish I could get my models to this standard! - I claim no ownership of the picture!

Alterations I have made to the basic FoW model (which looks like this):

Picture from the Flames of War website - again, I claim no ownership of the photo.

First I added the canvas cover around the gun mantlet (the cover between the turret and the main gun). I also added the storage box onto the back of the turret as it was missing from both the models. This came from some metal sprue parts I had laying around.

I added my own stowage, a mix of mine and Skytrex. I also was unhappy with the scale of the chains that came with the model (as seen above). So I purchased some costume jewellery with thinner chains and cut that up.

I did try weathering effect with pigments but failed miserably. I think I might use one of my as yet unused StuG models just to try out different effects.

Decals were care of Doms Decals.

Large (elongated) base came from Warbases who did a custom order for me for very little cash and with no issues.

Radio aerial is some 0.3mm fishing line painted black. I decided to do both of these tanks 'buttoned up' with no crew figures, as I guess sitting outside the tank might not be a good place to be when those drums start spinning!

I tried the yellow turret decals before realising they should have been red. Also these are pre basing.

Again, sorry for the poor lighting. One of the things still on my 'to be fixed' list. I still have the 'gun tank' Sherman for this platoon to do, and then it will be all done. Hopefully it doesn't take anywhere near as long.

The bases for these tanks were special orders from Warbases that were cheap and easy to order.

Custom orders from Warbases

Back from Wales and starting to thing about all these models I've got to paint! *Gulp*

One of the things that was waiting on my when I got home was an order from Warbases - a Scottish company that I have used previously for bases.

The laser cut wooden bases are the same size as the Battlefront ones, only lacking the sloping edges of the plastic ones. I try to group the bases by unit (so my artillery all uses the wooden Warbases bases, etc), so the difference isn't too big a deal.

So, my custom orders then. The first thing was that I liked the look of the plastic FoW movement template, but didn't want to fork out the money for an actual FoW one. Same with the artillery template. So I dropped Warbases an email, and this is the end result:

Warbases also offered to do these in clear acrylic for a little more, but I was happy with the laser cut wood. These were £2.50 for the measuring template and £2.25 for the artillery template. They very very kindly added the etched distances on the measuring template off their own backs.

Next came a realisation that the large bases I had wouldn't fit my Sherman Crabs (Flails). So again, a little custom order:

Behind you can see the regular large bases. I'm still waiting on the chain I ordered for the Flails, as I'm not convinced that the chain that is provided is the correct scale for the tank.

So, some great customer service, fantastic prices and quick delivery. Warbases comes highly recommended!