Architects of War Scenery

A few weeks ago in a fit of feeling less poor than I am I purchased a pair of the minefield sets and another machine gun nest to add to my slowly growing scenery collection.  They painted up nice and easily and I think that they look alright, I'm steadily growing to love the effect achieved using my Static Grass Applicator.

One thing's for sure, I really can't do freehand signwriting!  When I get round to it I will make a decal to improve these signs somewhat.

More Zombies

I dug out the first batch Wargames Factory zombies that I'd painted a fair while back and based them up to match the new ones.  Two things are definite, firstly my painting skills have improved since I did the first batch and secondly, the original heads that come from the wargames factory aren't a patch on those from Mantics!

I wouldn't want to run into this lot though!

Private Pooch

The other day I was trawling around the web instead of actually getting the lead mountain reduced and came across this pack from Warmacre Games.  The picture wasn't that promising but I really liked the idea of a patrol dog & handler for my 1938 collection.  The pack was down to £2 + £1 delivery so I thought what the heck.

It seems that this is yet another miniature company who isn't showing their products off to the best as it looked a lot better when it arrived than on the website.  There was a slight miscast on one of the dog's legs but that only took a few moments with the green stuff to fix; the face and hands are brilliantly sculpted and cast well but the sleeves and front of the tunic are not so good.  I might well try some of their other miniatures in the future, especially considering how quick the delivery was!

Zombies!

In a fit of procrastinating over delving back into the Zulu horde I found a pack of Wargames Factory Zombies at the back of the vanishing cabinet.  I had previously built another pack of these and been rather dissapointed with them, largely because of the rather poorly sculpted heads/faces.  So this time, whilst a little bit tipsy I decided to try to improve them using various heads and a few other pieces that I had lying around.  The bulk of the pieces are left over from various Mantic Zombies that I've built, painted and subsequently sold on.  It's left me a lot happier with the miniatures, even if I have stuffed up some of the necks!  I decided to use a more dried out looking grass than normal for the bases.  I'm not entirely sure why the zombie apocalypse would cause all the grass to die, I think it is more that I am getting a little bored of my standard mix!  Anyway I wouldn't want to run into these guys on a dark night.  Or a bright day come to think of it!

The Horns of the Buffalo - Part Fourteen

I realise that this particular piece wasn't present at Rorkes Drift but there were a pair of them at the Battle of Isandlwana and it is theoretically possible that one might have escaped back to Jim's place.  Also, I'd like to think that I might get to eventually play something other than Rorke's Drift.  Oh and I think that this is a lovely set that is made that bit better by the marvellous base from 4Ground.  I realise that you can get this set for 10% less from other places but I quite like the 4Ground idea where it comes at the RRP but with a specific base.

If I had to find fault it would be that the figures end up a little too far away from the gun itself but they're fine for gaming purposes.  I'm reasonably pleased with how these guys turned out.  Anybody who's seen my BUF forces for 1938 VBCW will know that I struggle with black uniforms.  The Sergeant's stripes were a little fiddly for me, I struggle to paint straight lines like this freehand so ended up using Baal Red wash to attempt to capitalise on the detail.  Anyway, here's the biggest gun of the Anglo Zulu War that I've painted yet.

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Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Who let the dogs out? And why are they so darned shiny?

I've been having a bloomin nightmare recently with my matt spray varnish.  It is proving to be anything but matt.  This is shown off really well by my latest canine additions. 

They're not new, I found them in a random box of old lead in the garage with the remnants of an old paint job on them.  I think that they're from the Lord of the Rings range by Games Workshop, something to do with the Shire if I recall correctly.

I reckon that these will make a fun addition to my VBCW collection, either for use by dog handlers or as a GM controlled inject to liven up the game a little.

Down Boy!

I'm sure, well I hope, that I'm not the only one that sees a beautiful miniature and buys it with out really thinking about how it will be employed or whether I can actually afford it.  This chap is rather lovely and is from the Wulfen SS set by Warlord.  I'm still working on Frau Growler who is just not looking right yet.  I had various plans to spend ages on the Werewolf but after an intense 15 minutes I realised that it was looking alright and I'd probably only make a mess of it if I spent longer on it.  Anyway, enough rambling, I'd not like to run into this chap on a dark night.

Scottish Republic Mounted Infantry

The Scottish Republic Infantry are rapidly approaching 3 sections and a small platoon HQ.  However I got wondering what cavalry I could use so posted a little thread on GWP.  Mick A had some Reiver mounted Scots that he no longer needed so he sold them to me at a most agreeable price.  They arrived yesterday and I've spent more time than I should have done in the vanishing cabinet this weekend.  It means that I haven't got any of the garden chores done that I meant to.  However, it does mean that I have another unit of cavalry or mounted infantry completed!  I just wish that my current can of Army Painter Anti Shine Varnish actually did it's job rather than adding shine!

Scottish Republic Infantry

A while ago I was lucky enough to pick up a job lot of Musketeer Miniatures at a complete bargain price.  In among this lot were a load of the Black & Tan miniatures,  they're lovely miniatures and I think that they've turned into a fairly reasonable representation of troops from the Scottish Republic in 1938 VBCW.

Next thing is to plan the rest of the force.  I'm thinking of adding a couple more sections of infantry, possibly the Highlanders from Musketeer.  There'll be cavalry, not sure where from though.  Probably either Renegade or Reiver.  I need to come up with some vehicles or other units.  No ideas yet though.

Blimp by Tobsen 77

Recently the Gentleman's Wargames Parlour had a thread about monowheel vehicles in which somebody reccomended the products of Tobsen 77.  I would credit the person who reccomended this great manufacturer but sadly GWP seems to be down again today.  I rather liked the Monowheel but positivly loved the Blimp and impulsivly ordered one with the Driver figure too.  It arrived from Germany about 3 days later, brilliantly packed.  There was a small amount of flash etc to be removed but very little and the quality of the resin casting was excellent.  The propellor delivered was slightly different from the one on the picture on the website but I actually prefer the one that I got as it has a more home made look that supports the idea of this being built by a gifted ameteur in his garage for deployment by the LDV. 

Anyway, painting was an utter joy after very easy assembly although I was realy dissapointed as my undercoat spray went grainy as you can see in the close up; I really hate it when that happens, it's almost as annoying as when the varnish goes cloudy.  I used a slightly larger base than the supplied flying base as I wanted to add a little more stability on the battlefield.  I really enjoyed painting this piece today and I'm really pleased with the results.  I don't know why it looks so shiny in the photos as it's been coated with army painter matt varnish, but I think that it still looks nice.

Walls by 4Ground - Part 2

Well it's taken bloomin ages but I have finally nearly finished my walls by 4Ground.  I am really rather pleased with the results.  I've added some little puddles to some of them but here are a few images of the finished items.

Yes, I went completely to town with the Army Painter and Woodland Scenics items!

Just to give you an idea of scale here's something from the AZW and something from VBCW:

I'd definitly reccomend these items, they take a fair bit of work to finish but the results are rather pleasing IMHO.

Walls by 4Ground - Part 1

The Gentlemen's Wargames Parlour

Is it just me or is there a problem on the site at the moment?  I haven't been able to get on there all day and it's worrying me as I keep getting lots done instead of whiling the hours musing the benefits of powering a tank with coal and various other topics that are more important to me than cutting the lawn or cleaning out the fish tanks.