Afrika Korps - Vehicle Painting Guide.

After several weeks away finally some time on the brushes and some German vehicles for the Western Desert. These take me right back to being a kid with Airfix and Matchbox figures, playing out Commando Comic stories.

There are plenty of Afrika Korps Painting guide out there on the interweb so here's my take. Transported from Western Europe many of the vehicles retained their dark grey finish before being given a paint job of dark yellow sand, the harsh conditions often meant that the yellow oaint chipped off which showed the grey colouring at the points of wear.

In the interest of time I undercoated them with a Army Painter sand followed by a light spray of Army Painter Skeleton Bone to give the vehicles some shade.

Once dry using some foam from the various blister packs I dabbed a black grey mix on the areas of most likely wear and tear, the edges of the hull and front and sides in particular, this gave the vehicle an in campaign feel.

At this stage it looked like I might have over done it.

But the addition the of decals in some cases on the grey patches and the adding in of the details such as spare fuel or water tanks, entrenching tools etc. I opted for a brown for the tracks with a metallic dry brush to give it that worn feel. 

Once dry the entire vehicle gets a flesh wash with a 70/30 water mix to give some areas a little more density, adding in some strong tone to the mix when it comes to the track areas. These was to give that dusty feel, once dry with a large paint brush and a very limited amount of Vallejo dark sound mixed with white I dry brushed the entire vehicle.

All done.

Really pleased how these turned out, the 251/10 was from Warlord late war with the tire on the front, but it fits the bill, the 222 was from the Gentleman's War Starter Set which is a lovely piece of kit.

Now to get them on the table.

Undaunted - Hot and Cold.

Gaming and painting time has been a thin on the ground of late. I really need to pick up the pace with the Cotswold day just 6 weeks away and I still have a bunch of Western Desert stuff to finish.

The gaming room has been captured by the family using it a dumping ground for 'stuff'. I need to wrestle back the space, which is surely a cue for a big game over a few nights. While I mull over the options, I have played a couple of Undaunted games which are surprisingly challenging for a board game/deck builder/war game.

I don't play many board games but this has a very good feel to it and could easily be turned into a tabletop encounter. We mixed it up with an outing in the Western Desert as the LRDG attack an Italian Airfield looking to blow things up while the defenders looked to stop them.

The game was close with the plucky Brits managing to sneak a win destroying the plane, lorry and fuel dump, that will slow the Axis forces.

Meanwhile a second outing and this time the Stalingrad variant, things have definitely come on a bit, with a nice campaign sector where cards are swapped in and out for wounded and experience. The Pic below is the opening scenario with a Soviet push for the main square as the Germans and their LMG teams sweep the main approaches.

The Russians were able to swamp the left hand LMG team were defeated in a foolish rush across the street, damn you Fog of War cards......

Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours,,,,, both games give a good feel for the period, the mechanisms work well the Stalingrad scenario book is particularly nice with an interesting linked scenario format.

Anyhow enough rambling those mini's won't paint themselves.......

Dispatches from the front XXI - The Butterfly Awakes.

A few weeks since the end of the holiday period and a couple 'additional' purchases that did not appear from the Christmas wish list.

I am not sure if it's the time of year or the fact that I am coming to the end of the Pony Wars Project with all the metal based and undercoated if I get them complete and the buildings by April I will have completed the entire project in 12 months now that is a record for me.

I have been distracted by thoughts of several fresh projects...... Idle hands and a Paypal War chest? ;-)

It started with the unboxing and a couple of games Undaunted: North Africa a cracking game and really well balanced, you need to apply the specialists in the right roles to ensure proper tactics pay off. Unlike the Normandy version this one is based on single figures and of course it led to the inevitable conversation about converting it to miniatures, after all I was looking for an opportunity to use my desert terrain a little more and Perry Miniatures have some lovely castings.

Game 1 - The scout was quick to clear the tiles ahead opening up the board for the demolition expert to destroy the plane and lorry before the Italians could stop them although there were some hairy moments when he was pinned on the open runway trying to plant the explosives.

Game 2 - The LRDG faced the might of the Italian Armour and the Boyes Rifle simply did not have the punch to kill the damn thing. The fascists were soon stripped of their supporting Infantry but the Allies had a risky time trying to dodge the mobile pill box as they attempted to destroy the fuel dump.

I could seriously be tempted in some figures for this especially as the figure count is rather low.

I picked up a copy of Silver Bayonet designed for Napoleonic monster hunting convincing myself that I would not any further figures (who am I trying to kid) as I have French for both Haiti and Egypt both regions lend themselves to monster folk lore. Could Claude Canard make a come back?

The rules are well produced and well polished in a format similar in style to Frost/Star Grave.

Next thing you know I am thinking about Russians and pinching some of the elements of the faction for the Russo Japanese War, which allow me to utilise some of my Water Margin collection besides who doesn't everyone need a hopping Vampire?

A restock from Foundry they were advertising a range of discounts on orders over £50 unfortunately paints were excluded which was a shame as I would have topped up the order to bring up to the first threshold so for once held back on knee jerk purchases :-)

Expensive postage and duty aside, I picked up an excellent Brain Bug for Starship Troopers. The Mongoose original has being going for in excess of £75.00 so this variant on Etsy was a great proxy. 

Good communication from AlieCatCraftsnStuff who scaled it down to 25mm scale.

Meanwhile as Covid starts to retreat again, it was nice to get some club time in.

I had an outing over to the Wyre Forest Club and had an excellent game of  Blucher, thanks to Neil for putting the game on and and Daniel my French opponent. A close run thing down to the very last turn.

On the right flank my Austrian Cavalry Corp ran into French Infantry which were surprisingly tough to drive from their defensive positions.

Meanwhile the French cavalry rode down the Austrian guns before exhausting themselves on the massed ranks of Austrian Line.

A great game mechanism and allows for some great master strokes across the table.

Over at the Wyverns another Arthurian outing using Song of Blades and Heroes this time Romano Britain's looking to turn back the Saxon raiders.

Quite the battle with a number of gory deaths messing up both sides formations and massed archery felling several of the armoured Britain's.

Until next time....