Not So August Progress

It’s been a slow couple of weeks around here at Arkiegamer HQ. I did manage to finish up my 251/D, and knock off a regiment of Blue Moon 18mm ACW figures for Regimental Fire and Fury, but have only now gotten around to photographing them. I had posted earlier progress work on both of these little projects here.

These panel gaps are more 1980s General Motors than any-decade vehicle of German manufacturer. Still, those MG-42s should prove fearsome to my Chain of Command opponent.

No tripod!

Possibly ahistorical placement of Panzer Lehr division marking. + Panel line gaps.

Troop compartment. I’m particularly happy with the weathered wooden slats on the benches. Not that I managed to record the recipe for future use.

I think the Hanomag turned out OK, painting wise, but I need to do a MUCH better job of modeling on the remaining two halftracks from the Plastic Soldier Company box. I’m still a bit baffled as to how I got the panel lines so off, when it came to final assembly! Better track weathering and stronger use of color, overall, are two other areas that could be improved.

Yank general’s view

The private Yank soldier’s view

I like these Blue Moon figures. They’re not particularly realistically proportioned, it’s damned hard to get three of them on a 1″x3/4″ RF&F base, and they require more cleanup than the AB figures that I’m used to, but I like them. You’ll probably see more figures of this manufacture on the blog in the future, when I finally get around to starting my Union force.

This is not my best painting job-I’m regressing! Maybe I need to invest in a pair of glasses, or just be a little more patient. They look decent on the tabletop, though.

This particular regiment appeared in last week’s game as the 6th Mississippi. They acquitted themselves quite well for a newly painted unit!

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That’s all for now-I should have a couple of terrain projects to show in a few weeks, but updates are going to be iffy in the immediate future due to real life interruptions. Bah!

Progress in Process

I haven’t completed anything new in a few weeks, but I do have a number of projects in progress, so I thought I’d show a few photographs. Feel free to offer pointers, tips, helpful links, and anything else you might think would be of value on painting small scale armor.

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PZ IIL “Luchs” by MMS. I haven’t completed the weathering. Needs antenna, but I won’t be mounting the crazy three-way antenna, as I have no idea how to fabricate such a thing (and it wouldn’t survive the wargaming table, if I did)

This PZIIL “Luchs” (Lynx) is a great white metal model 1/76 scale kit from MMS in the UK. The Luchs is such a small tank that it looks in scale with the 15mm M3 Lee I’ve been painting. Or it does until you take a look at the comparative sizes of the shovels and other accessories. There were approximately 100 of these diminutive tanks in service in the west, where they served in a reconnaissance role. I’ll be using this tank for our Chain of Command games.

I’ll probably strip this tank back down to metal and repaint it, as the model deserves a better paint job than I’m capable of giving it at my current skill level. Unfortunately, I sprayed the primer from a rattle can, and didn’t do a particularly good job-some of the fine detail of the model is obscured. I think the camo is weak, although it curiously appears quite a bit stronger in person than in these photos. My only disappointment with the model itself is that the primary gun barrel is too fat at the end. I’m not talking about the muzzle brake, rather the barrel as a whole tapers the wrong way. I should have looked around for a turned brass barrel, or something. Oh, and I lost half of the muffler, but I can’t blame that on MMS.

Another failing of this build is that I had difficulty consistently applying the Archer dry transfers I was using for decals. I need to work on my technique, particularly on tight spaces and surfaces with relief.

Interestingly the Luchs usually had a four digit turret number. There’s no way I could fit four digits of the decals I have onto the Luchs turret, and I was too chicken to try to freehand it, so this particular tank is going incognito.

PZ IIL “Luchs” by MMS.

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This is a 1/72 SD KFZ 251 halftrack by Plastic Soldier Company. They come three to the box for around $24,which is a really good deal. No decals, though.

SDKFZ 251 by Plastic Soldier Company-Only the basic paint job and the ‘chipping’ type weathering are complete.

The nature of the halftrack interior and positioning of the drivers requires that the interior be painted separately from the rest of the model. This kit fit together REALLY well during test fittings, but something was a bit out of whack when I went to fit the two hull halves together, and now the horizontal joint between the halves is uneven. It’s even worse on the side not shown. If I hadn’t already primed and laid down dunkelgelb on the whole model, I would have filled the gaps, or maybe cut the thing apart and tried again. It’s a wargaming model though, right? Does it really matter? Yes. The answer, as I stare at these photos, is, unfortunately, yes.

SDKFZ 251 by Plastic Soldier Company. It will only hold five Panzergrenadiers, including the drivers. Hmmm….
The interior here is fully weathered.

I love the looks of these halftracks. There will be lots of accouterments added to this vehicle before all is said and done.

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M3 Grant done up as an M3 Lee with the wrong markings. 15mm. Battlefront. Here the Archer transfers turned out beautifully. Household paint brush bristle is serving as the antenna.

This 15mm M3 Grant is the very first historical miniature I ever bought. I had somehow came across a Flames of War ad or website, and ended up acquiring a rule book and a 3 pack of these tanks, with some sort of vague plan about doing something in North Africa. Never happened, because I had better sense back then!

I’ve painted this Grant up as a Lee (to be honest, I’m not sure what the difference is), although the markings are entirely wrong. Pretty sure it should have a yellow star with yellow stripe around the turret. Still, this tank served as a way to ease my way back into painting armor, and I could maybe even use it with my 15mm paratroopers for a Sicily scenario. Some sort of link-up operation, maybe.

Weathering could be better (and stronger). I didn’t take photos of its sister tank, which I ruined trying to use pigments to do desert weathering. Blech. At this point, I’m a little gun shy of weathering, in general! It will take me some time and effort to come to grips with pigments, in particular.

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Puh..puh..puh..puh..peeiiigs (1/72)

Pigs are absolutely necessary for doing a proper AAR. Additionally, they can serve as amusing objectives for small skirmish scenarios centered around providing something for the pot. These oinkers need some more work, but come from the excellent Pegasus farm animals kit in 1/72. Next up, Cows!

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A Few Blue Moon Confederates

Last, but not least, I’ve been painting on a final two regiments of 15mm Confederates, because the Scarlet J is forcing me to field ‘proper’ brigades, which would, apparently, field at least four regiments apiece.

I’ve been wanting to give Blue Moon a thorough tryout. I love the gaunt look of the figures, but, gauntness aside, there is a slight problem in that they are VERY crowded at 3 figures to a 1″x3/4″ Regimental Fire and Fury base. For instance, the base is so crowded that I can’t put these marching figures side by side. Maybe not the worst thing in the world, as the resulting ragged lines of march will look appropriate for the ACW.

I had intended to use Blue Moon for my entire Union force (which I plan to start later this year), but I don’t know if I can handle futzing around with hundreds of figures that barely fit on the bases.

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That’s all for now. I’m off for a week’s travel in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains!

Whoever Saw a Dead Cavalryman?

The Scarlet J and I have another ACW game, later today. We’re going to re-play our last scenario, a meeting engagement with delayed reinforcements on one side, in which I thoroughly thrashed my poor opponent, when playing as the aggressor Confederates. We’ll reverse the situation, this time, and see how my Rebs fare as defenders. Expect a full battle report, if I win; otherwise, you’ll hear not a peep on this blog!

In the meantime, here are some photographs of what I’ve been working on for the past week. I’ve managed to paint up four stands of the mounted component of what might charitably be called a cavalry battalion. Ultimately there will be a full regiment of eight mounted stands, six dismounted stands, and two stands of horseholders. THEN I can, at looooooooong (long) last, call my Confederates for Regimental Fire and Fury complete. For now.

With RF&F basing standards, this would be 160 cavalrymen.

The officer and the sergeant carrying the banner are Blue Moon (on AB horses), the rest of the figures are AB.

Here’s the horseholder in front of the frame house I painted up this week. This is a JR Miniatures resin cast piece. I have to say, I hated this building. The casting was just horrible-pits, gaps, mold lines, soft detail everywhere. That said it was dirt cheap (as wargames scenery goes), and now that it’s all painted up, I think it’s going to look pretty good on the table. How’s that for mixed signals?

As an aside (and note to myself), don’t EVER shoot miniatures facing towards a window. It’s never going to look good. Unless maybe they’re receiving direct sunlight (which has its own problems).

The photo below is a lot closer to what they look like in real life. As filtered through the version of reality my crappy KDS monitor is showing me, anyway.

On the old workbench, drafting lamp, 10 second timer set, frantically trying to get sheets of white paper in place. Yes, the building really IS that lop-sided

 

 

The Campaign(s) Continues

No big news, but there’s been positive movement on both the ACW and 6mm WW2 fronts. Unfortunately, I’m fighting a four or five front ‘war,’ but there’s no one to blame for that, except myself.

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First up, some terrain progress with the 6mm WWII IABSM 3 (that’s a lot of acronyms. TALOA, everyone!) project. I painted up two small houses, a barn, a cottage, and a manor house, all by GHQ. These buildings paint up so easily, and so nicely-a little paint, drybrush, a sepia ink wash, and you’re set! They look even better in person, where every little flaw isn’t exaggerated by zoomed in digital camera. By the way, I discovered that if you use future floor wax as a component of your ink wash, applying Vallejo matt varnish by brush afterwards reactivates the wash, and swirls it around in a not-unpleasing, but still alarming and unintended, manner.

Cottage and Villa

This is the Villa de GHQ

Dilapidated barn and two small houses. Here’s where you see how incredibly lazy I am about cleaning up flash and mold slippage. It’s a little annoying that GHQ puts their trademark on the outside of the buildings (grey house, right side), but I’ll forgive them.

Houses and barn from above. My road is way out of scale.

I have 10 Sherman tanks about 80% done, crops to plant on the terrain board, and a few British infantry to paint up, and this puppy will be ready to go. Unless I decide to base the buildings and make little vignettes out of them. Which I might.

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On the ACW front, I’m still mired in the long process of finishing up my Confederates. I completed a couple of limbers, disored/silenced markers, wrecked gun markers, and out-of-ammo markers, but still need to paint up an ammo wagon and an ambulance. It’s neverending! I also need to base up a brigade of the famous Danish volunteers of Texas. Oh, and I have a regiment of cavalry to paint. Woe is me! Our next scheduled game is the 15th.

Is it strange that these dead horses and wounded men make me feel a little uncomfortable?

These wounded Confederates are the first Blue Moon figures I’ve ever painted, and I have to say, I really love them. The anatomy isn’t quite as good as the best of the AB, but the poses are just fantastic. The wrecked gun markers (dead horses with caisson wheels) are all Blue Moon, as well. The wrecked gun ‘diorama’ style bases are kind of bugging me, now that I’ve done them. They don’t look particularly naturalistic. I’m sure it’s a skill that will develop with application and time, though.

A better shot of the wounded.

The Blue Moon casualty pack includes a few accessory muskets, which is a really nice touch. Really, those figures made enough of an impression on me, that I plan to do quite a few Blue Moon figures when I switch over to paining Union troops. Oh, that unpainted 15mm resin house in the background is by JR Miniatures. Cheap, but it’s a real pig-bad flashing and pock marks everywhere. Maybe it will look ok painted.

Ok, that’s all for now. I’m going to try to finish up my Brits for IABSM in 6mm next week. Also, there’s some new stuff coming down the pike, that may be of interest.