An A-Peel

Hello There. After posting on this blog for over a year now I have been able to post on a number of subjects related to war gaming and covered a number of periods and types of game. I have now started some construction themed posts in support of my latest project and progressed with the Skirmish project involving ACW figures and Napoleonic Peninsular Wars.

Now:

I would like some feed back concerning the blog and to see if I am just posting to a wilderness. I have had some likes on the Facebook page and Twitter but very little feedback or comments.

I am not after a 'bunch of flowers' for just doing my hobby but I would like to have some feedback and to actually know if there really is someone out there!

Information such as any help concerning painting tips, requests for what you may like to see, constructive comments on the sort of details you may be interested in a particular blog and so on.

Well looking forward to your flood, (!), of comments.

Many Thanks

Stephen   

What is 'White' is not always 'White'

Hello There! This completed unit is part of a feature for WSS and will be followed by a unit of British infantry and Spanish Dragoons.

I have always been interested in the 1809 campaign and the Austrians in particular but never had the chance to paint any. After a lucky chance to buy a large quantity of Frontrank figures I decided to start painting some.

This is the 17th Ruess-Plauen Regiment. They have an ochre facing and this is the 2nd Battalion. I like the Austrian infantry Raupenhelm and although some regiments had the newer shako all my units will have the older headgear.

This figure was part of the Wargames Foundry command set and as I was making unit in a march attack pose he was superfluous but I still wanted to use him. I decided to use him as a casualty marker and he has come out very well. The base came from Warbases here.

Next up is the Colonel. He is a Perrys, I think, and was not present in the original purchase I made. After looking up the horse furniture and shabraque I added the checquered edge but there is also supposed to be two gold or yellow stripes either side of the Black. I declined from doing this but have ordered some fine pens so this may get added in the future. I followed the stripes as moulded on the figure however their thickness seems to have varied and most of the contemporary examples I have seen show thinner stripes but I am not going to lose any sleep over that as I appreciated the extra help from the figures moulded line on the day.

There was a simpler version used of plain gold edging and a black sheepskin saddle cover but this was not moulded on the figure.

I tried a few alternatives to paint the officers black and gold/yellow sash. Gold seemed to look very 'unreal' as the metallic paint seemed too overpowering on the figure. I used a vallejo 915 deep yellow and a wash of thinned black paint. Then I went over some of the yellow again. This has come out very well.

Here is a close up of three of the infantry bases. I intend to use a slightly modified version of Shako II rules so the Austrian battalion has four bases of six figures.

The uniform research came from the Osprey books on the subject but more usefully the offering from here. W J Rawkins owned a bookshop in Norwich in the 1980'sand always had a great selection of books 0n offer. I purchased one of the original publications on the Austrian Army but the latest edition is a massive volume and is a one stop for the Austrian army and its uniforms. 

POST SCRIPT: The original idea for the method of painting this white came from Issue 298 August 2012 of Wargames Illustrated. A feature written by Matt Parkes used Vallejo paints,  837 London Grey, 989 sky grey, (thinned), 951 white, (thinned), and 951 white neat, (small area). This is more suitable for  white trousers on French troops etc.

For these Austrians I have used 837 Pale sand, Army Painter soft tone, 837 pale sand, (thinned),

a thin wash of either 918 ivory or 820 off white.

  

Construction: SHQ Scammell Artillery Tow

Hello There! Here is another construction post. This is similar to the last one but is the SHQ version of the Scammell Artillery Tow.

The body of the vehicle is in one piece and was cleaned up primed and painted Vallejo 976 buff. The rear axles were fitted and checked for squareness.

Construction: Airfix Scammell Tank Transporter

Hello There! Here is the next in the series of construction posts. I have a boxed model of this and another which has been made but not painted. I thought that I could use the one that had been made as a profile for the one I could make which would solve any problems that I may have making it and then I would have two transporters done.

After some scrabbling around looking for the missing wheels on the ready made model I then started on the boxed one.

The cab went together very easily, great considering it is a 40+ year old plastic cast! I then painted the interior with white enamel and then Vallejo 976 buff.

At the same time the driver was mounted on a piece of brass wire and painted.

The front axle was fitted next and as it was going to used as a wargaming model I packed the joint with milliput. I used a set square to ensure it looked right on the model to find later that I had fitted the axel the wrong way round, (ie back to front), so the locating holes for the steering beam could not be put in place  but it was also slightly out of alignment. Both can easily be dealt with. The model will be on a base, so a rock can be put under one tyre, making it look right, (I like to make the models interact with their surroundings so this will make it look like it is driving over a rock and will work well), and I can adjust the steering beam and just trim the locating studs.

Construction: SHQ Ruxtall Tank Transporter

Hello There! Here is the start of the first of my construction postings. This model was purchased from SHQ, (at a Salute about three years ago!), and has finally been rescued from the lead mountain.

I started with the main chassis and the cab. As it is done so often lets takes it that I 'removed the flash' as it has to be done. Also a dry fit is always carried out as this saves so much rushing try to clean a casting having just mixed some epoxy glue and found the bit in question does not fit in the first place! Lastly the pieces were degreased in methylated spirits to ensure there is no grease on the surfaces before gluing and painting

The cab was integral with the chassis and has had a layer or white Humbrol enamel paint, (in this case two layers), and the front fenders fitted in place with super glue.

In the past I have found that superglue while suitable for holding headlights and similar small parts in place is no good for larger assemblies, especially over a long period of time. Here I glued the fenders in place with super glue the when dried I added epoxy adhesive to the recesses under the model between the chassis and the fenders.

You will see the epoxy adhesive is discoloured. This is because I added the glue then realised that I had not degreased the assembly before hand. I let it dry then immersed it in methylated spirits and allowed to air dry. this caused the epoxy adhesive to discolour. I cut the excess adhesive off with a scalpel.

The bonnet was then fitted with epoxy and the cab interior painted with Vallejo 976 buff. I had to hunt for a driver which I sourced from SHQs pack of drivers in their Mediterranean range.

For simplicity I fitted this figure and the other drivers I need for the other vehicles I was making  to a piece of brass rod. This makes it easier to handle and paint. Due to the shape of the figure I did not have to drill into the figure but glued it in place with contact adhesive. It does not matter what the lower part of the figure looks like as it will not be seen.

Next the side storage bins were fitted, The were covered in flash so I trimmed them down with a scalpel first, then a flat file and this still was very rough. So I placed a sheet of  180 grit sandpaper on a flat chopping board and rubbed the sides of the storage boxes down. This still left a grainy surface so I did the same with a sheet of 1200 grit which left a nice flat shiny surface.

The dry fit of the bins to the chassis was poor so I had to file the locating pegs on the chassis down and then a small bit off the bins themselves. Before gluing these in place holes had to be drilled through the back of the bins and the chassis to locate them in place. I managed to do this, with a bit of difficulty and hacking at the bottom surface of the chassis with a craft knife and then glued both bins on with epoxy followed but the bin lids when they had dried.

As this was drying I started to clean up the wheels. The wheels were made up of separate tyres and wheel hubs As the casting of these two items was slightly offset I have too clean out the inside of the tyres and the outside of the hubs. First using a scalpel and then a flat file on the outside surface of the hubs. They finally fitted then I used epoxy again to glue them.

It was during this point that I was using a fresh blade, as if a blade is ever going to jam or slip it will be when it is blunt. Just to prove me wrong this fresh blade slipped majorly and went about 3/4" into the end of my right thumb. It was one of those times when you think 'In a bit that is really going to hurt!' and it did. It took about an hour to stop bleeding and brought any painting or model making to a close for the night.

Later I started again and cleaned up the winch on the back of the flat bed then glued an end of thread to one end of the winch drum, with contact adhesive, then when dry paint PVA along the drum and wind the thread over and along the drum. leave to dry again.

I then fitted the flat bed but found it was slightly out of alignment to the side bins so a slight adjustment to the underside of the bed and it was glued in place with epoxy again. I cleaned up the joints after this assembly was allowed to dry.

I painted the tyres by mounting them on cocktail sticks, pushing them down hard so they stayed there by friction. They were then under coated and painted. The desert yellow colour was Vallejo 976 Buff and the tyre shading done by using 950 black, then drybrushinzg 862 black grey, 994 dark grey and 991 dark sea grey.

Before I fitted the wheels to the body ot the truck I primed and painted the underside to limit the chance of me messing up the tryes later.

Before fitting the cab roof I painted the inside and the driver. After fitting these and the steering wheel I also glued a cut piece of acetate and using PVA glue fixed a widscreen to the inside of the cab roof. PVA dries clear so will not be seen later.

To make handling easier I glued the model to its base. I base my vehicles which helps handling while painting, makes storage easier and gives gamers an option to pick the model up by the base so preventing any damage.Here the model has been assembled and painted. The spare tyre is stored on the front of the vehicle set against the front grill, seen next to the tyre.

All vehicles are stored on a sheet of zinc plate steel kept in a 'really useful box'

You can also see the thread attached to the winch drum before the chain is added.

The vehile was completed, chain added, washed in Army Painter quick Shade soft tone, pigments applied, varnished and base 'gunged up' flocked.

The completed item can be seen in a separate post above.

Tank Recovery Wargame

Hello There! I am always looking for the opportunity to play wargames that are different to the usual scenarios of lining up opposite each other and blasting away at each other. Although these games have their place and can provide a lot of entertainment, because after all wargamers like nothing better that to 'shoot' at targets and blow thins up it is nice to do something different for a change.

While watching the episode of the World at War about the desert war I saw the recollections of a Desert Rats veteran who recounted that the Germans always seemed to remain on the battlefield and have the opportunity to recover their knocked out vehicles so helping to maintain their tank and vehicle strength despite their poor or intermittent supply situation.

I mulled over this statement for a while and thought if I could make some sort of game out of this scenario. On searching the internet I found that not only did this happen but the British also tried to recover their vehicles and if not able to do so immediately they would take the co-ordinates of the wreck to return at a later date to recover it, depending on how useful it could be later. Even badly damaged vehicles could be taken back to base workshops to recover parts.

Also British troops also made a point of destroying German vehicles, usually with satchel charges to make the tank a total loss so unrecoverable to the enemy.

This work of maintenance and recovery was part of the LAD, (Light Aid Detachments), and RASC attached to brigade or divisional formations on the British side and of the German equivalent. Each made use of their own and the oppositions vehicles during the desert war which makes for an eclectic mix of vehicles and figures.

The rules used will be 'Rapid Fire' but played with very few troops so that casualties will be kept to a minimum and each side could be given game orders to recover certain vehicles or parts.

Also each side could be tasked with destroying other vehicles to deny them to the enemy or recovering enemy vehicles for their own use.

Some normal armed troops could escort the mechanics and even some limited visibility could be included in the game as this was often carried out at night.

The figures can be sourced from existing sources as SH have some mechanic figures and the ubiquitous Luftwaffe Ground Crew from Airfix can also be used.

The vehicles are also easy to source as the plastic model market provides some useful models as does some metal model supplies.

Off the top of my head their is:    Airfix Scammell Tank Transporter, British

                                                          SHQ Ruxtall Tank Transporter, British

                                                          SHQ Kublewagen Light Engineer car, German

                                                          SHQ Motorcycles and Sidecars, German

                                                          IBG Scammell Tank Transporter, British

                                                          IBG Scammell SV/2S Heavy breakdown, British

                                                 

Also some simple conversions can also be done to make some gantry vehicles for the LADs

So there are the targets for this project. Fortunately I have some of these items including a now long out of production Trux SV/2S breakdown vehicle. There is little detail on this model but with an IBG Scammell Heavy Breakdown as well I can make that then use it as a copy to make the Trux version.

Also I would like to add some posts which show the construction of some of these models, 'warts and all' as I will certainly make a few mistakes along the way and will include how I can rectify them as well. These posts will be continuously added to until completion so will be growing as the work is done.

Hope you like!

Some More Casualities

Hello There! I have a number of projects and written features I am working on at the moment which has meant I am working a lot but not completing much at the moment.

Here are some casualty markers for the American Civil War. I saw these in the 'Great Escape Games' 'Dead Mans Hand' range.

I intended to make these horses either piebald or skewbald but after painting them white I felt they looked so good I did not want to change them from how they looked.

To cut down on the glare from the direct sun and show the subjects up a bit clearer I placed the subjects on a sheet of blue paper.

I have something a little different planned for the next few posts and if I have the time I will be able to start that soon.

Scenic Back Drop

Hello There! I have been asked to try and take some photos with a scenic background for some photographs required for some features for WSS magazine. The usual background I use is at the wargames club I usually go to, all locked down so I decided to make my own.

I purchased a thick board from an art shop and some sky blue paint and set to work.

The exact colour of 'sky blue' is open to discussion as every time I managed to mix a colour I thought was right it either dried too grey or too dark.

Eventually I got the shade I was happy with and painted each side of the board, one at a time, with two coats of paint to get an even covering.

I looked through the internet to see what I was aiming for then roughly sketched the area on the board I wanted to cover. Next, with some acrylic paints and some sponge I started to dab the white around the edge of the clouds, trying to blur the edges, then began to fill the area with a mixture of white and different greys to show a number of shades in the clouds. The illustrations I was working to had greys in the middle with lighter shades and even white around the edges,

This is one of those jobs you just cannot rush. If you drag the sponge then you get lines in the clouds that you just don't want. If you make any mistakes then just dab go over them again.

Also be sure to mix the grey shades that you are using as otherwise you get random dabs of pure white or black over you clounds. If your sponge is producing the same line or shape revolve the sponge so this does not stand out. Remember you can always dab over these shapes anyway.

In the picture above you will see I have the paint on a plate on my lap then some folded kitchen towel within easy reach. Dab the sponge in the paint and push any excess out on the plate. Then dab further excess onto the kitchen towel. This will stop you using too much paint which will make the cloud look too dense  and unrealistic.

After one side was finished and dry I did the same to  the other side.

Here is the end result, which I am quite pleased with. The lower picture has more subtle grey shades than the more stormy picture.