4Ground European Windmill for Bolt Action

Have a look at this fabulous 4Ground kit, the European Windmill! Windmills played a part in the Second World War, particularly in the Netherlands, as shelter for refugees as well as look-out posts for the Wermacht. Here a group of British Commandos aided by a Daimler MK1 armoured car use the windmill as a base of operations to launch their attack.

Some Resistance groups used the sails to send signals to warn the locals of impending Nazi raids and some were used by the Allied forces as radio outposts.

This is another great kit from 4Ground and probably the trickiest to build so far. Fortunately the full color step by step instructions help a lot. Refer to them often during the building process.

This multi-level kit can be used for snipers or spotters during your Bolt Action battles.

The roof cap can be spun around the building...

and does lift off.

The sails are mounted and spin on a magnet too.

It's a grand unique piece for any table top battleground!!

Have a Great Battle!!
The Old Crow

Early WWII Polish Army For Bolt Action with Trenchworx Transport

Finally getting a few moments to assemble and yes, paint a few figures. Next on the list is the Polish Army for early war campaigns. These were some of the first models we purchased from Warlord Games for Bolt Action. However the Cromwells and Firefly of 11th army Black Bulls and subsequent British forces delayed their start.

Here is most of the Polish support units primed and ready to go! Everything from a light AT gun to the Polish 7TP Tank. One with a canon the second with the twin turreted machine guns!

We started painting with a unit of infantry and a hastily commandeered transport as they desperately try to stave off German attacks. A Trenchworx Crossley Tender. We imagined the Poles grabbing for anything that would move. These guys couldn't find any horses!

The Crossley is a nice resin kit, little flashing and it went together easily. Here are all the pieces ready to assemble.

And the assembled transport.

Add a squad of Warlord Games Polish infantry and off they go.

We wanted an old well used look with plenty of wear and tear with lots of dirt and rust.

Have a Great Battle!!
The Old Crow

4Ground Ruined House Model for World at War!!

OK, let's have a look at another wonderful 4Ground model kit, the Ruined House. There are several ruins and damaged house options to choose from, this one is 28S-WAW-108, Ruined House 01! Here you can see what it looks like when completed with the 4ground Pegasus bridge in the background. The British Commandos are launching their attack!

Like most of the foreground smaller kits, it comes in a ziplock bag with everything you need.

Inside you will find a detailed instruction sheets, and 6 tile boards with all the pieces needed.

During the assembly process we use the clothespins to hold the walls together as they are drying. All of the larger kits come with several clothes pins and large rubber bands to wrap around the bases

The interior walls just like the exterior are printed on the outsides and sandwiched together. Here we have them clamped and a rubber band to pull the pieces together while drying

Once the walls are set in place you can start adding the bricks along the top, once again they are two pieces sandwiched front and back

You can see all the bricks added to the tops of the walls.

Now we'll look at the details like the front door and window. The windowsill is already in place here.

As the building is ruined we decided to do the same with the doors and windows here's the pieces that we wound up with, as you can see we made a cut along the door and then snapped all the pieces off to use for debris.

And there you have it one ruined house ready for action.

4ground also provides you with extra brick bits and a few broken boards. We broke off pieces from the leftover sprues, anything that was thin enough to look like boards.

The rear view.

And here we have the Americans moving through the finished 4Ground Ruined House ready to Ambush any German armor that might come up the street.

These really are great kits and if you haven't tried building one yet, we recommend you do it soon!

Have A Great Battle!
The Old Crow

Miniature Photography and Photoshop Fun with Bolt Action

Having a collection of miniature vehicles, infantry, buildings and scenery allows us to take some pretty nice photos of all the above. We recently had Josh Henderson available and decided to let him have at the above mentioned vehicles and scenery to photograph and prepare for some Photoshop action. Here is a fine example of his work, so let's take a closer look at what he can do.

With minimal lighting and a creative mind Josh began with a 4Ground cityscape located somewhere in northern France.

With a few tweaks and a couple layers in Photoshop you can go from this to...

this in a very short time.

Here is a nice clear shot down the scale street with good depth of field but needing atmosphere.

Bring in the atmosphere, a tighter angle and now you have the tension of a looming engagement in the image.

Now take it into Photoshop, working with some layers, color and contrast adjustments and filters, and POW there you have it. This one is a simple example of building on a decent photo, but there are those that think they can do the same in Instagram with a filter pack. That may be true, but lets look at some things you can't do there.

Here we move to the Russian countryside where a T-34 and an outdated T-28 are attempting to stem the German tide. Again we have enough ambiance but need a little more.

Simple color correction and the addition of mountain range in the background gives life and depth to the photo.

With the same two Trenchworxs models and scene we see that Josh changed the angle and brightened the lighting.

Again a simple color correction, some additional haze and a skyline in the background bring emotion to the photo.

We personally love this shot with the old Soviet T-35 land battleship plodding along, infantry in close support and a modern T-34 providing support on the hill above. The tank riders are from Warlord Games.

Josh provides a crisp dawn blue sky and a powerful muzzle blast from the T-34. Additional mist, color corrections and retouching provide us a finished image of the Soviet early morning counter attack!

One last image to show you how our intro photo started. Working with the lighting and adding a few directional spot lights Josh created a dynamic well designed image.

But once again he finished with a fantastic, well composed and action packed image.The muzzle flashes, blast debris and bullet tracers give this final photo a story all its own.

For Josh's other real artwork, check out his website at Joshlikesdrawing.com

Have a Great Battle
The Old Crow

Warlord Games German Panther for Bolt Action

Just a quick post to show off some German armor from Warlord Games Bolt Action line. This Panther comes in the Tank War box set and the buildings are from 4Ground. We've been having fun with Photoshop too! There is a lot more to post, hopefully in the next day or two.

Have A Great Battle!
The Old Crow

4Ground Polish Rural Dwelling Model Kit, The Eastern Front

4Ground produces great model kits and this Polish Rural Dwelling kit is another grand example. We showed you the Two Story Terrace and Ox Wagon, and now we'll move on to models we're planning on using on the Eastern front!

The kit seen here contains many swell components.

One of the interesting features on this particular kit is the cracked missing daub portions along the lower sections of the walls. The dwellings were built using woven sticks like wattle fences and then covered with a mixture of materials usually made of a combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw.

Here the mud daub pieces are removed and wattle pieces placed inside.

The interior is divided into two spaces. in the main area there is a fireplace made of the hearth and stone back wall.

Two additional layers build the depth and then a face and side plate go over top of them to finish it. A second stone hearth for cooking is added for a final touch.

Doors and windows have a nice blue trim and a variety of shutters are included.

The porch and roof have a nice wood grain finish and blue accents again finish off the roof.

For thatch, fur is included in three pieces. One for each side and a third for the ridge line.

Here they are in place.

Using PVA glue watered down, you can brush it on to give the thatch a more natural appearance. A stone and wood capped chimney adds the final touch.

Here are a few parting shots of this jolly good 4Ground  kit.

We continue to be impressed with the attention to detail 4Ground gives these model kits.

Have a great battle!
The Old Crow