Posts Tagged ‘15mm’

Been reading a lot recently and I thought I would

share my views on some of the content.

1st The Americans at Normandy by John C.Mcmanus

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One of the best books around and a very detailed account

of what the Americans did after they got off the beaches at

the Normandy landings. This book goes into great detail about

the lives of everyday soldiers and the problems they had to

overcome at great cost. Its still unbelievable after all the

planning that went into D-Day that not a thought was given

to the bocage countryside awaiting them, which would

prove a far greater obstacle than any beach defence and cost

a huge amount of lives. Compelling reading beginning to end.

2nd WWII Diorama Art by Roy Wells

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This is the first book I have bought off Blurb and I was

extremely pleased with it. Its basically 1/35 scale models

set up in beautiful dioramas but we are talking serious,

serious high quality work. The book covers 20 detailed projects

with high quality glossy images of the superb work. You also get

an inside look towards the end on how the dioramas are built.

For me its something I just pick up now and again when I need

a bit of inspiration or want something to drool over.

3rd Painting Wargame tanks by Ruben Torregrosa & Mig Jimenez

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For those of you that recognise the name, “Jimenez” you

probably know what your going to get and your right. Lots

of painting guides using Mig paints(Vallejo) and pigments.

Lots of glossy step by step guides on painting tanks ,including

an early Sherman, Stuart M5 and a Panther Ausf G, Panzer IV,

Panzer III, SDKFZ 251, T34 and Tiger. The book is also split

up into a beginners section and advanced painter.

All in all a good buy with lots of mouth watering pictures.

4th Painting war WWII German Army by Heresybrush

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I found this book on http://www.breakingwar.com and also on

http://www.heresybrush.com and its a lovely painting guide on

WWII German soldiers. What makes it really specially is that

includes step by step guides on different size models so

even 15mm is catered for. Once again the guide is Vallejo

paint only but this seems to be the norm in most military

painting these days. This is a very detailed guide and on

looking at the contents covers just about every German uniform

going and more. A must for any miniature German soldier painter.

……………………………………………………….

I hope you liked my reading material and the very quick reviews. All

four were good value for money and are very well presented books.

More soon….

Below is a final tally of what I got finished in 2014

to the best of my knowledge. There are quiet a few things

I have left off because they are too small to mention and

I`m sure somebody will remember something else that I have

just plain forgotten about. Lots of things just don’t make it

onto my blog, especially refurbs and smaller projects.

At 1st glance it looks a lot but just remember all the 28mm

stuff and 15mm will each fit onto a single 2×2 board apart

from the larger bits of terrain.

28mm

  • 4 x Blood Angels Command team
  • 1 x Space Hulk Cat
  • 1 x Black Legion rhino
  • 3 x Blood Angel vehicle crew
  • 5 x Blood Angel scouts
  • 5 x Death Wing Terminators
  • 1 x Large Ork Fort
  • 5 x Blood Angel Terminators
  • 24 x Black Legion Choas space marines
  • 5 x Orks
  • 1 Kromlech Ork cannon
  • 3 x Salamander rhinos
  • 1 x Salamnder Landraider
  • 1 Gothic Church battle board(2 x 2 feet)
  • 10 x Orks
  • 5 x Ork Glyphs
  • 1 X Khorne Berserker
  • 1 x Blood Angel Space Marine
  • 1 x Death Wing Terminator old style
  • 1 x Ork Nob
  • 1 x Ork Copter
  • 9 x Gretchin
  • 5 Ork Nobs
  • 12 x Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marines
  • 1 Iron Warriors Rhino
  • 1 Iron Warriors Warsmith
  • 12 x Imperial Guard & 1 Mortar team
  • 12 x Orks
  • 1 x 40k Statue
  • 2 x Imperial Guard Heavy Weapon teams
  • 2 x Iron Warrios Chaos space marines.
  • 1 x Iron Warriors Terminator
  • 1 x Chaos stone bit of terrain

15mm

  • 5 x Panther tanks
  • 3 x Firefly tanks
  • 10 x T26 tanks
  • 1 Horse drawn ambulance
  • 5 x explosion markers
  • 2 x BT5 tanks
  • 1 x Battle board(2 x 2 feet)
  • 1 x Jagdpanther
  • 1 x SU76
  • 1 x Fuel dump
  • 1 x Command bunker
  • 1 x ISU 2 tank
  • 1 X ISU 152 TD
  • 5 x wooden bunkers
  • 1 X Opel Blitz truck
  • 5 x Sherman tanks
  • 4 x Battle Boards(2 x 2 feet)
  • 5 x Cromwell tanks
  • Loads of bocage sections for battle board
  • 37 x British infantry
  • 2 x Sexton guns
  • 3 x Bren Carriers
  • 6 x Universal Carriers
  • 3 x 6pdr guns and crews
  • 1 x Matador truck
  • 8 x British MG teams
  • 13 x British Infantry
  • 1 X Normandy Farm complex
  • 4 x M10 tank Destroyers
  • 1 M18 TD
  • 1 Orchard terrain piece
  • Normandy signs and telegraph poles
  • 2 x Sexton guns
  • 1 x Normandy bridge terrain
  • 3 x Daimler Dingo scout cars
  • 1 x Staghound Scout car
  • 2 X Daimler armoured cars

My plan for 2015 is as follows but I`m bound

to deviate.

1. Lots more tutorials(step by step guides).
2. Lots more terrain.
3. Space Hulk stuff.
4. Infinity.
5. More book reviews.
6. Battle reports.
7. Reports from Wargames shows and museums.
8. Getting to grips with an airbrush.
9. Don’t paint as much stuff as 2014 and concentrate
on the detail and technique.

Finally I have left the piccies until last and

wish to thank everybody who has viewed or commented

on my blog.

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I seem to have slowed down as Christmas is crept up

and concentrated on the small bits of detail needed to

bring the battlefield to life.

More walls(you can never have enough walls), a water trough

and pump by Hovels, a well from Hovels, a barn from a cannot

honestly remember(I buy things and they sit in boxes for ages

and then I remember them but for the love of.. I cant think

where I bought them from !) and some crafty animal water troughs/

feeders which have come from a new spring of battlefield goodies

I discovered recently. The spring of goodies is the world of miniature

dolls houses and farm equipment and its huge and full of 15mm/20mm size

objects 🙂

Anyway I bought a couple of cow looking troughs and stuck them to

side of the building and a wall and filled them with Scenic realistic

water(I tried E-Z water 1st but was not happy with the result). Add on

some foliage and Bobs your uncle. I also scratch built a tap on the side

of the barn to feed the trough.

None of its actually finished yet but nearly there.

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Finally just got to say to everybody, “Have a wonderful

Christams and I hope Santa brings everything you want“. Failing

that do what I do every year,put your own presents under the

tree lol

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Its just been released today specifically for people playing Flames Of War.
Basically its an online army generator saving you the time and effort to
work out what you can and cannot field on the table.

Here is the official line :

Forces Of War gives you the ability to prepare and refine army lists effortlessly.
This website is an automated tool which lets you trial endless combinations of platoons
and options from Flames Of War Intelligence Briefings until you find the ideal design
for any points level or model collection. Not only does it allow you to build the perfect army list,
but also print it out in an attractive, easy-to-read format, including the appropriate
Arsenal data and Special Rules for your force
.

Beware there is a cost involved but its a lot cheaper than buying all the books.
Rough costs work out at $16 an online briefing compared to a $50 book.
You can also have smaller briefings at a $1 a go. Its also only in ipad format so far, I think ?

Follow the link below : http://forces.flamesofwar.com/index.aspx

A big plus for this as I see it is that its much easier to have a tablet on your
gaming board with all the rules, lists and info than half a dozen large books.
The storage factor is also a large plus as I have shelves of books going dusty.

I will be giving it a go later and will report back.

As the end of the Year is just round the corner I

decided to go for a group shot of my growing British

forces which are being assembled to take on my Panzer

Lehr sledgehammer.

Just click on a picture to enlarge. Be aware these

pictures are quite big 🙂

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Plenty more room on the table so best get painting.

I think some aerial power is required ?

Everybody needs something to stop the Panzers in

their tracks and these babies could do just that.

17pdr guns that had better performance than the

German 75-mm (long) or 88-mm counterparts.

All four are made by Battlefront and I have chopped

and changed the crews to make them as British looking

as possible. Out with helmets and in with the berets and

pipes. The vehicles have 75th Anti-Tank Regiment markings

which once gain fits nicely into the 11th Armoured Division

tree.

Click on an image to enlarge 🙂

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Continuing with my British forces I decided to add

some much needed recon starting with an Armoured

Car Platoon. I have started with 3 Daimler Dingos

by Battlefront,2 Daimler Mk1 Armoured Cars by

Battlefront and a beefy Staghound by Skytrex. I

already have a Carrier Platoon so I can mix and

match as required in the reconnaissance role.

All the vehicles and markings still fit into the

11th Armoured umbrella with the “44” being the

Inns Of Court Regiment

I have added some extra stowage and changed a

few of the crew. I also added aerials which are

essential for a recon vehicle to report back what

it can see.

Click on any image to enlarge 🙂

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Sorry if you thought I was done but I needed

another two boards. Specifically I wanted a

river/stream, a bridge, trenches and just a bit

more bocage.

To save time I borrowed two old flat terrain

boards from the shed and started converting

them. I have made and painted the bridge and

found a pillbox going spare which will look

right at home hidden in undergrowth.

Click on a picture to enlarge :

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The two boards look a bit rough but bare with

me because as mentioned they have been re-used.

The first board sits on the left and contains the

trench system I am currently building out of balsa

wood. Its raised ground so will be able to cover

and arty spot all six boards eventually. It will

also be buried under bocage and have a stream

running above it as marked by the stick.

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The trench will go under ground at the right hand

side of the board and reappear on the next board.

This way the join marks are nicely concealed 🙂

The board on the right has two artillery emplacements

either side of a road with the stream running in front

of it with a bridge.

The trench system comes in from the left side.

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Sorry if the pictures are hard to understand,

but all will become clearer shortly.

The hidden enemy

Posted: November 12, 2014 in 15mm, Uncategorized
Tags:

I do most of my terrain building in my trusty shed

and this morning on entering I came across a scene

of utter disaster. A rodent of some type had eaten

through three(yes un-freaking believable) 5 ltr plastic

oil holders. One 5ltr bottle of chainsaw lubrication of

a blue colour on a high shelf allowing to drip onto a worktop

and lots of power tools. One 5ltr bottle of red coolant that

then leaked through a wood pile,soaked into an mdf shelf

and caused it to bend and collapse. Also one 5ltr container

of 2 stroke engine oil which leaked into a tool chest.

Anyway after a couple of hours cleaning and cursing

I have prepared the shed and its looks like a scene from

predator where Arnie is waiting for it to get him 🙂

But just in case my prey is not quiet that big I have given

Hauptmann Tom a special mission . Operation Watch on the

mdf worktop.

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Jerry watching Jerry ? 🙂

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First time I have done a tutorial so go easy on

me 🙂 This is an simple tutorial on how to

assemble the Najewitz Modellbau Normandy

farmstead,add a few extras and paint it all up.

Just got to mention before I start that my

inspiration for this was a thread by somebody

called “raphaeloudsen” on DakkaDakka

who for reasons unknown is un-contactable and thus

I was never able to ask him how he did his masterful

work which was a lot better than mine.

For 45 euros you get a house, a barn , a sort of a hay

loft, an out building , a large gate with roof and a

large section of walls. You basically get a bag of bits

that look like this.

Click on a picture to enlarge it.

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Step 1: As with all resin kits it has small amounts of

flash on it that will need to be removed either with a

sharp craft knife or small file. Once its all removed I

washed all the bits in warm water to ensure it was clean

for assembly.

Step 2 : Before gluing I cut out floors(made from balsa)

to go inside the buildings. This way you can have two

floors for figures inside the buildings.

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Step 3 : I now glued the buildings together using small

G type clamps. When the glue was dry I glued in supports

for balsa wood floors. I used a mixture of balsa and

plasticard(its hidden so nobody will see). Once dry

glue in your floors(leave top floor un-glued). Fill

any gaps in the buildings with green stuff.

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Step 4 : I wanted the farm not to be fixed to my

terrain board for storage and so that it could be

moved around. To solve this I decided to fix the

entire farm to a plasticard sheet. The idea was to

fix the walls and gates permanently but leave the

buildings free. I used a standard 29.5cm x 20.5 cm

white plasticard sheet and about 3cm depth. Before

any painting I marked out where my buildings were

going to go on the plasticard and especially

important how the walls would all connect. One

small problem I noticed was that the gate is too

small for a tank so I left an opening in the wall

system for tank access. At this point you should

have glued all your walls together(they come in two

parts) and cut them to size to fit the base.

Step 5 : Painting. I used a mixture of GW , Vallejo and

P3 paints but anything will do. The colours of Normandy

buildings vary so don’t get the idea that my colour scheme

is the only one you can do.

The list below is just for walls, not the roof, windows

and doors. I tried not dry brush over the same areas thus

giving different colours across the brick work.

1. I base coated all the buildings and walls GW Chaos black.
2. I dry brushed everything Vallejo Flat Earth.
3. I dry brushed everything GW Dawnstone.
4. I dry brushed everything Vallejo Stone Grey 884.
5. I dry brushed everything P3 Troll blood in wavy lines.
6. I dry brushed everything GW Steel Legion in wavy lines.
7. The next painting stage consists of picking out bricks. Basically
paint a couple of bricks here and there is a random method. So first
up I used Vallejo Red Leather.
8. GW Tallarn Sand brick picking.
9. GW Mechanicus Standard Grey brick picking.
10. GW Gothor Brown brick picking.
11. GW Agrax Earthshade wash over all the brickwork.

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Doors: Wooden doors and shutters were painted GW Loren Forest.
Window Frames : GW Bleached Bone.
Window and Doors Sills : GW Baneblade Brown.
Drain Pipes : P3 Traitor Green.
Other Doors : Vallejo Flat Brown.
Doors, shutters & sills GW Agrax wash.

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Roof: GW Aldorf Blue dry brush.
Roof: GW Agrax Earth shade wash.

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Step 6 : I now glued the finished walls to the plasticard

base in the carefully marked out locations. I also glued the

gate in place.
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Once dry I used light household filler to

build up the ground to the walls and normal base scatter/grit

for the farm yard floor. The farm floor was drybrushed Flat Brown,

then Baneblade brown and finally Dawnstone.

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The wooden fence at

the rear was scratch built from balsa. The hay is made from

door mat bristles.

Nearly forgot I used green stuff to fill in any gaps in the

walls and then painted as described earlier.

Step 7 : Foliage. I now added foliage as desired . Most of

the foliage is from Treemendus and is stuck on with PVA glue.

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Step 8: The fascia boards(roof edging) were made from

Plasticard right angle and painted Loren Forest. Simply stick

on with glue. I also played with the idea on using artist

foil on the top of the roof but never got round to it. It

looks just like lead when painted up.

Step 9 : The telegraph poles are from Foreground(concrete

style) and were stuck down with filler and blended in with

foliage. They were painted black and then dry brushed Dawn

stone. The telephone wire is Oasis galvanised hobby wire

(30G x 7) and is cunningly attached. There is a scratch

built joint on the side of the farm house and the wire is

not glued to the telegraph pole but has enough tension to

easily be clipped to the pole. In the picture below the

wire is glued to the house wall(right red arrow) and goes

through the joint and then rests on the telegraph

pole(left red arrow) looking for all intense

purposes to be joined.

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I used the same method at

each end of the plasticard base so you can lift the

plasticard base up and you don’t rip the poles out.

In the picture below the red arrows are where the wire

joins. Its not glued in place but just resting. Its glued

at the poles left and right of the arrows so the plasticard

can be easily lifted up.

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The wire

basically has enough spring and tension to hold itself up.

Where the wire is attached I used good old super glue.

I`m sure there are a few bits left out so feel free to

ask any questions and I hope it helps 🙂