In a Battlefield of their own

Happy coincidences are always welcome, especially when they produce figures which fit into somewhere the manufacturer didn’t intend.  These modern figures from Hasslefree fit quite neatly into the world of the popular game “Battlefield 3”. For a player of that game, like me, it does make them irresistable.  The figures are very similar but have a choice of two main weapons and seperate heads.  Giving them different paintjobs makes them look less similar so that’s the course I took.

These come on slotta bases, and like a lot of the smaller producers it’s a restriction which the sculptors strive to escape from. Kevin White is no different in this aspect and the miniatures feet are barely in contact with the slotta bar. As I base on tuppences having such a small area of contact between figure and base can be a problem.

Not wanting to repeat problems I’ve had before when totally removing the slotta bar I decided on a new angle and this was to cut away the bulk of it leaving just a thin strip. This gives a lot more contact area but also allows the lightness sculpted in to the piece. Worth a try and a lot quicker than pinning.

In the computer game the troops have a very loose dress code, so rather than try to replicate a scheme I decided to just go for the gneral Battlefield Casual look which they all seem to have. I’m happy with the finish althoug, yet again, the photos have me sucking my teeth at the touches of dust, the odd wrong dab, etc, which only becomes apprent at this size. Good news is it distracts me from any blurry photos.

Hasslefree are about to release another pair in this series, and I suspect they’ll be as animated, well detailed and generally brilliantly sculpted as we’ve come to expect. A must-paint.

Legion 2012 Photos

Sunday past saw the fifth year of our local games show Legion and although small it’s both perfectly formed and growing every year. Originally it was just three or four tables squeezed into a tiny room. This year saw the second year at the old Pfizers social club down on the Sandwich Road, with around a dozen games and about half a dozen traders. Sadly it lacked Fenris Games because Ian isn’t very well so collectively we all proclaim “Get Well Soon!”.  I did take quite a few more photos than those here, but have only posted the least blurry.

Die Nacht der Toten

The boy Slug has a slowly evolving nazi zombie project inspired, in part, by the Call of Duty game which features the opportunity to shoot Nazi zombies. These figures are part of West Wind Productions Secrets of the Third Reich which we picked up a couple of Salutes ago. Rather uphappily I didn’t enjoy painting these at all. The detail seems a little limited, even confused. I have a sneaking suspicion this might be why these were the ones I was asked to paints.

The bases are the 30mm DS Ruined Flagstone set from Fenris Games, and those I enjoyed working on more than the figures. Slug set the figures on the bases and rather well I think, I really liked the one with a stream trickling through it, and the boy set the figure firmly standing in it.

All-in-all an odd experience. usually I strive to paint up to the sculpt but on these the piece which demanded justice was the base…

Rubbish Grass

These are a few markers for general rubbish and grass tufts which we also use for marking IEDs.  The smaller ones are either Skale Scenics field grass or small scraps of metal folded and partially painted, The larger ones are chopped gas cannisters from the ever wonderful Fenris.  They’re all based on Fenris laser-cut ply bases. In game they’ve proved very interesting to use. In the first game we used them Daring Dan managed to set one off by driving over it in his very first move, this set a tone of wariness which has only worn off slightly as the majority of them are nothing but markers for grass or rubbish.

Troops Out… for the lads

It’s been a productive week on the Jihadistan front, bolstering the good guys with quite a selection of manufacturers and starting with this HMG from Brooks Miniatures. A very sweet support team which I don’t think my photography does justice to.

Again I’ve mounted them on a 40mm Fenris Games laser-cut ply base with various stones and tufts.

The Assault Group figures have become my favourite range for Modern Brits with a wide range even if I only use the helmeted ones. Four more have joined my ranks.

This is their prone pack with a SAW, an HMG, a bog standard SA80/L85 and a very neat sniper.

These have been painted but not based (awaiting bases) but you get the idea.

These will be finished off with the usual stones, sand and tufts.

blahHere’s the Empress Javelin Team which I’ve had unpainted for too long and it’s a handy addition to the forces.

Sadly these chaps come without weapons so I’ve added a couple of Hasslefree guns. Otherwise I’d worry about their personal safety.

The spare Javelin is a nice touch. This team comes with two other figures…

…this chap with a shotgun and a slung SA80 and another sniper. There’s something about snipers which I adore. I have far too many for a proper OoB but so what? They’re fun.

Finally a pack of Brooks Miniatures via Old Glory UK. I wanted a few more plain and simple squaddies with just SA80s to fill out the sections and these suit perfectly. I’ve painted these all in the new MTP camo, I’m not sure how accurate I’m doing it but it looks right to me and I’ve got it down to quite a rapid paint technique. Missing the big military shows over the last couple of years I’ve not had a good look at it, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Here’s a comparison shot of individual figures, TAG, Empress, Brooks, LAM German Marine, Eureka German Bundeswehr.

And one of support teams; Empress, Brooks and TAG.

Junk Rock

This piece developed from me wanting to do a Steptoe & Son styled junk yard. After some small thought I decided the scope for the use of that as a scenic was rather limited so instead tried a piece which was all junk but suitable for a whole range of periods, so from the 1930’s through WW2 to modern day and beyond.

It started with the shell of an old diecast Rolls Royce, but that might date it too much so it was time to put it on blocks and cover it with a tarpaulin. The steam tractor wheels were ripped off a diecast which didn’t fit 28mm, and the barrels are the damaged ones from Fenris. Most of the other parts are from the scraps box.

The rust is far too many shades of reddy brown, progressively mixed lighter and topped off with pastels. The great thin about pastels is how you can grab a couple of vibrant and perfect rust shades for a couple of quid and the effect is lovely. The big problem is they’re pastels.

If you haven’t used them before be prepared to get covered in them, and ready to varnish quickly before the colour spreads – which it will given half the chance. Once varnished clean everything involved including yourself but also watch out for everything you touched, like the nozzle of the varnish. Otherwise it’ll sit there waiting for you and suddenly you’ll have it on your fingertips just as you’re handling another paintjob. You have been warned!

The leakage from the barrels is a dark grey paint mixed with PVA. This has a nice gloopy quality to it as well as a fine shine.

Rocket Man

With Salute 2012 now a happy memory and a dent to the wallet it’s time to crack on with what we spent our cash on. The boy Slug beat me in the race with his Dwarves from Akula, while I’ve been slower off the mark. One thing I did manage in my consumerism was to get the rest of the Taliban, or Afghan Guerillas as they call them, from Eureka. So now I have every piece they make and I’m euphoric about them, so much so as to have painted some already.

It was good to see the Eureka gang at Salute but my being prearmed with sarcasm about the Ashes, Ricky Pontin, and many other antipodean delights proved to be a waste of time. I didn’t know that Nic from Eureka was from Yorkshire, and I’d left my Geoff Boycott gags at home. Alongside him were two seppos, and one solitary Aussie who lived in London. A genuine surprise but so cosmopolitan as to be delicious. Unfortunately Kosta Heristanidis wasn’t there so compliments galore for his great sculpting had to be tolerated by everyone else.

There really is something about Kosta’s work which I find delightful, good sculpting is only part of it -both in detail and charactor, there’s also something aboput painting them with every fold and line fitting my brush as if to tempt the paint into place. With some figures painting can be a chore, with these it’s an encouraged caress.

This piece, as I imagine you’ve gathered, is the rocket launcher. There’s a pair of loaders, the launcher plus all the bits and bobs to turn this base into a mini diorama. The launchers is eleven pieces of metal which all fit together first time, and there’s only the tiniest of mould lines on the figures. I can’t recommend these enough. However if the idea of ordering all the way from Victoria worries you try the Isle of Wight instead.

Again I’ve based this on a laser zapped custom sized base from Fenris Games, they’re a great idea well priced and give you as much room as you want. I like mine small as possible and really busy – Job Done!

Don’t get the Hump

The Jihadistani war drive continues at a good rate, bulking out the forces I have so far to make more realistic sides. This isn’t too difficult given how I mainly have infantry, lots of infantry. One thing I did want was camels for carting supplies around in a campaign. I got the pair above from the chum known as Eastern Barbarian on GWP so no real idea who makes them. They’re the first camels I’ve painted in 28mm and I really enjoyed them, but they don’t look as good in the photo as they do in real life. Shame on you digital photography!

This is an Assault Group’s Taliban firing M60, which I’ve set on a different base to the one supplied. The supplied one is brilliant, featuring a dead Terry Taliban which the gunner sets his gun across.

I’m setting all the support teams on the same base just to keep it simple. I got Fenris Games to cut these ones for me and they can supply them at exactly the size you want.

There are three figures to this set as well as a couple of spare ammo boxes. As I’m trying to keep these bases small for maximum utility on the game table I decided to base him seperately.

There’s enough pieces to a set to make multiple bases quite different. A nice touch.

Next up is a British Mortar and Crew – a delightful set which I’m looking forward to using.

I’ve painted them in the new British MTP pattern camo, but from memory as I don’t own anything in this pattern yet.  I’ve added some SA-80s from Hasslefree as they seemed a little under-supplied when it came to small arms.

One thing I would have liked would have been a box or two of shells, but I didn’t have the time to scratchbuild a couple especially as I’m not sure what they look like.

Finally the British GPMG – a neat trio which I just about managed to squeeze onto the base.

I did have a little trouble getting both the gunner and loader in place with this one.

Blimey, thanks to this photo I’ve just noticed the sugaring on the observers legs. This has set me scurrying off to check the model only to be relieved in being able to dust it off…

…God Bless digital photography!

Parachute to Kill

Here’s the Boy Slug’s latest and possibly greatest an Artizan Parachute Regiment Jeep trundling through wet ground. It’s still awaiting a little bit of matt varnish, but because it has both a water effect on the Fenris base, wet tyres and little specks of mud all over the place we can’t just spray it – hence the shiny berets. The Fenris base was exactly what we needed and found by asking Ian for what we wanted and we got a thumbs up. Saves browsing his encyclopedic and rather excellent range.

The only bit he’s not too happy with are the numbers which he hand painted because we couldn’t track down any suitable decals in time. He contented himself with painting the beret badges and shoulder patches which worked really well. The water effect was some gloop which we might review later, as a warning rather than a rave it was costly and not too bright to use.

Hopefully this will feature in a game suggested by Daring Dan who has taken delivery of a scratchbuilt Hartenstein Hotel and so the Oosterbeek Perimeter beckons – let’s hope the fog doesn’t delay it.

Tray Bon

Exciting isn’t the best way to describe the photo above, but it’s a cracking product from the ever brilliant Fenris Games, namely irregular movement trays. I’ve never used movement trays before because I don’t play the rank and file periods, and there’s not much scope in playing Nuremburg. Originally I bought these for zombie games as moving the eighty odd living dead became the biggest part of the game. On the left I’ve glued the two laser cut pieces together, and the next stage on the right was to put a little filler on it.

Now they’ve been spray undercoated in brown, PVA’ed and sprinkled with flock.

Then some longer static grass.

Finally a small sprinkle of flower flock.

Once a few miniatures have been added it’s apparant how versatile these actually are, these bases stand slightly proud because of my basing on a tuppence with a magnet on the bottom, and I’m really happy with them.

They’re also very handy for defining units, and keeping them together so games can be more about the play than the organisation -something which aways irritates me. I highly recommend them not only for price and quality but also for their damn-useful-for-gaming factor.