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.

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.

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!

I Chain, I Saw, I Conquered

A fine example of co-operation between the generations with this deadly young lad from the delicately fragrant Hasslefree Miniatures. This is one of their Juvenile range and is called Palin, they’re not the cheapest miniatures you can get but they do rate highly for their quality.

Slugs painted the figure and I did the splatter and the basing, and it proved to be one of the best results we’ve managed with the Wargames Factory plastic zombies.

Shaun but not Forgotten

A serenely delightful pair of figures or, if you like, the same figure in two stages of being. These are both from miniature mongers Hasslefree, for copyright right reasons they’re not Shaun from the zom-com “Shaun of the Dead”. Both very nice pieces, although I smoothly away what I thought was flash from not-Shaun’s shirt only to discover everyone else had spotted it as a piece of his tie flopped over his shoulder. Well mine is smarter looking as a result. Zombie not-Shaun has been given a face rip, on the left side of his face. There’s also a third figure, more dynamic in a hitting-it-for-six pose.

To buy from Hasslefree was indeed free from hassle, they even sent us a badge and a sweet which cherry topped the deal. Price-wise they’re at the more expensive end of the scale, but that’s due more to scale of production and absolute perfection by way of sculpting. There’s a couple more which are work-in-progress, and even another order in the post so expect to see more of them here.  Lastly, but no means least, I had to surrender the painting of these over to a pleading Slug, and he’s done a good job.  What do you think?