All go! Analogue Painting Challenge, snakes, moving and moar Shermans.

Hi folks,

I realised that I didn't do my normal update last weekend, but as I had a recent splurge of posts quite close together, I thought I'd hold off till I had something to report.

Having finished my November Challenge, I took the rest of the month to just relax and prepare for the rush that will be December. But why the rush? Well, I decided this year to take part in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.

I don't think I'll be hitting any records, but my aim is to paint 500 'points' of figures over the 3 months, and in that period I will be having 'Gunuary' in January. 500 points will be a bit of a push, given the scoring system:

15mm foot figure = 2 points
15mm mounted figure, artillery piece or crew served weapon = 4 points
15mm vehicle = 6 points

So 83.3333333 15mm vehicles will get me to target. Which equates to just under one completed model a day... I'll also probably be doing some of my 6mm:

6mm foot figure = 0.5 point 
6mm mounted figure, artillery piece or crew served weapon = 1 point 
6mm vehicle = 2 points

And possibly some 3mm... which there is no scoring system for! So 500 points will be a decent number, if I can reach it. I think Gunuary will help as I have guns, vehicles and crew figures all in my sights for my Flames of War armies. 

The challenge starts on the 20th of December, so I'm taking part in the MMM 'Winter Campaign' with a pledge to finish off my Polish Shermans before the 20th. That timetable has had to move slightly, as I'm moving house on the 17th of this month (6 days time!!!). This is a bit of a surprise change in circumstances but a fortunate event occurred and we have access to a rented house at short notice without all the usual cost. Thankfully the new accommodation has a spare room which will be a bit of a painting den for me, with a sofa bed for occasional guests. It also has a detached garage, which will allow me to get a gaming table set up!

While Amy is just please to get 'my crap' out of the living room! I have no idea how the move will effect my painting, but rest assured the excuse will be banked should I fail to make my 500 point target!

unlike most of the 'serious' entrants, I have done no prep work at all.

So far the Polish Shermans are progressing, with all 11 of the final batch painted, shaded, highlighted and with decals on (as of tonight):

In other news, whilst out and about last night I came across an actual Alien - although probably a pet one rather than an invasive one. 

This fellow was at the side of a lane in very wet and quite cold Norton (in the North East of England). As a Striped Corn Snake, this is pretty far from 'his' natural habitat of North America! While very cold, 'he' was alive. After a bit of dilly dallying I managed to get in touch with the RSPCA, who sent out one of their people to collect him and get him to a vet (I use the male pronouns but have no idea as to the sex of this snake...). While waiting I got him in a towel and into a box with a bottle of warm water until the cavalry arrived. Quite a strange turn of events for a run to the shops on a Friday night!


I also managed, the week before last, to get to the club (the Old Guard Wargames Club - meeting just outside Northallerton) and play a game of 'To the Strongest'. A good (if somewhat biased... not reflecting the true planned (not at all seat of the pants) and glorious nature of my our victory) review of the battle can be found here, on Roy's Blog. I've some pics of my own, showing my Greeks  triumphant advance against the attacking Persians!

In all honesty it was a very close game, with my somewhat reckless attack (when I was supposed to be defending) seeing us (myself and Stuart) one destroyed unit away from defeat - and Roy with a slightly healthier force. In our last turn we managed to destroy one unit and then capture Roy's camp (in a 'not at all tricksy Greek sneak attack' way) meaning we won the day (with one single one of our 'medals' remaining - having taken 5 off Roy in that turn). 

I enjoyed the rules, and the card rather than dice mechanic. I'd happily play again!

So, until next time!

Finished: 15mm British Bedford QLR Radio Truck + signallers

Hi folks,

The last vehicle/unit for my Miniature Modelling Mayhem Novelty November Challenge is done! Which means I've finished the whole challenge with time to spare. It could be argued that I didn't give myself as difficult a target as for previous MMM challenges, but given the technical side of this one I thought I had better give myself lots of time.

The 15mm Bedford QLR Radio Truck came from QRF, purchased at the same time as my 'Katy' Ambulance. The kit was easy enough to build, although the model isn't fantastic - one issue I have had is the downward slope of the rear section. this may have been due to incorrect assembly on my part, but I could not see any other way that the model would go together. I also needed to use a large amount of green stuff to stop daylight being visible between the rear wheel arches. Holes for the aerials were drilled myself based on guesswork and one image of a restored vehicle.

If I were to do this model again, I would also make an effort to blank out the cab windows, so that they matched most of my other Battlefront model trucks.

Late on in the painting, I received a pack of the Plastic Soldier Company 15mm artillery command team. I picked these up as they were a decent price and would give some options for the future. When I saw them, and realised that the radio truck on it's own would be quite boring, I formulated a plan to use both on one base. This will form a useful unit for games of Battlegroup, but will also form little points of interest in large scale FoW games. The PSC metal models are lovely, although they are a little bigger than Battlefront soldiers so I wouldn't mix them on a base. The level of detail is superb, and they were a joy to paint. These are also the first British infantry figures I have done with an attempt at the HD patch on the arm. I didn't do any shoulder flashes, but I might revisit if I can find out what they should be for a signals unit. The HD infantry regiments didn't have shoulder flashes for the most part, as the highland regiments had a tartan patch for their respective units instead. Painting rank badges is still beyond my skill level!

The truck itself has been decalled up with the markings of the 51st Highland Divisions Signal unit, hence the blue below white AoS marking with the unusual red coloured 40. I had a little bit of trouble identifying the bridging weights - confusion over which was added to thanks to pictures of an incorrectly marked restored vehicle. In the end I settled for '9', as I had no decals showing the truck and trailer weight (11 over 9 I think?).

Anyway, with this unit done, I also got the crew figures for my Churchills done, so it was time for a group shot:

Lee had asked what varnish I use for these models to get such a matt finish on them. I recently had a lot of problems with some Vallejo varnishes - the polyurethane version. Every attempt to apply it resulted in a foamy/bubbly liquid instead of a smooth liquid I'm used to. So following this, one of the chaps on the Paint and Chats mentioned using Galeria Acrylic Mediums 'Matt Varnish'. This was picked up from the art supplies section of a local UK Discount store (B&M I think) for not very much. It's a 75mL bottle and seems to be lasting well. The liquid is cloudy and thick, but goes on ok and dries clear. I had also heard about a product from AK Interactive - their Ultra Matte Varnish.

My usual routine is now: 1) Magic Wash 'quickshade' which includes acrylic floor polish, giving a shiny protective coat over which I highlight. 2) A coat of Vallejo Gloss Acrylic Varnish before Decals. 3) A coat of Galeria Matt Varnish. 4) A coat of AK Interactive Ultra Matte Varnish.

Yes, that is a lot of coats of varnish! While the Galeria matt is quite thick, it doesn't seem to go on to the model too thickly and the Ultra Matte is like milk - same colour and the same type of thickness as milk. You have to be careful with the Ultra Matte as it is so thin it will pool and leave the areas it has pooled in looking white or having bubbles after the varnish has dried. I've had some success painting some gloss over in order to fix this, but it is something you need to be very careful with. Painting the Ultra Matte directly over the gloss resulted in patches which were still shiny, whereas the Galeria on it's own is good but just not matt enough for me.

Sun tan lotion over on the right, from the 3 days this year I needed it... might be a bit optimistic to still have it out in November tho!

So now the challenge is done, my next goal will be to finish the remained of my Polish Sherman V's before the end of the year. Then January brings the Gunuary Challenge, which is a focus on artillery units. I've quite a bit of artillery to do... again. No more 25 pdrs, but I've my 5.5" unit to finish - 4 more guns for which arrived today, so 6 to do in total. Plus some German artillery, sextons, etc. I'll pick what i am going to try and finish and hopefully make some more progress. If you, gentle reader, have any artillery of any period to paint, and would like to join in, let me know!

Finished! Churchill Fascine, Churchill SBG, Austin K2/Y Ambulance

Hi folks,

A tiny little bit still to do on these - mainly crew to add to the tanks and the steel paper to put on the underside of the bases. But other than that, I'm calling these three done!

I've a couple of blog posts to do specifically showing off the parts to each kit, but initially these are all 15mm models:

Churchill conversion kits from S&S Models and Churchill models from PSC
Austin K2/Y Ambulance from QRF

I've used mainly Vallejo paints on these, with a couple of different varnishes and my own 'magic wash'.

SBG Churchill

The SBG Churchill is magnetised in order to make both the bridge and the base removable. This allows the bridge to be deployed and the tank to be moved to a smaller size base.

This tank has been decalled up as a vehicle of 80th Assault Squadron, 5th Assault Regiment,  1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers, 79th Armoured Division.

I also used a new basing technique on these following some feedback via Facebook. I applied two tracks of darker shorter static grass to the base and then applied the usual shade all over as normal. This (hopefully) makes it look like the grass has been crushed by a weight passing over it.

Really nice model and I'm really chuffed with it.

Churchill AVRE

This tank was built with a magnetised Fascine bundle, allowing it to be removed or to be carried on the tank. The front section used to hold the fascine is not removable, so the turret traverse is limited - but I think that this may be historically accurate anyway.

This tank has also been decalled up as a vehicle of 80th Assault Squadron, 5th Assault Regiment,  1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers, 79th Armoured Division. 

Another lovely model - something different, that's for sure!

Austin K2/Y 'Katy' Ambulance

This heavy duty ambulance was used is various theatres but is most commonly known for the role it played in the film 'Ice Cold in Alex'.

My version is painted up for service in NWE. It's decalled up as an ambulance of 176 Field Ambulance, 51st Highland Division (assigned to support 154 Brigade). These are the same markings as my Ambulance Halftrack and Ambulance Jeep. Somewhere down the line is a first aid station...

The weathering powder, on the ambulance especially, looks far brighter than it does on the model. Must be the way it picks up the light, or something my Camera is doing?

So, that is most of my Novelty November Challenge complete, other than my Radio Truck. It is painted, just the basing still to do. I've been held up by a cunning plan to mount some figures on the base with it and make a little diorama. Still in the process of painting the figures, but should have them done in the next day or so.

Thanks for reading - and remember you can get regular updates on what I'm working on via my Facebook page.