Beginning of a US Infantry Platoon

I completed my first lot of US Infantry today. These fine fighting fellows were bought for me by the lovely Lady K, and so I have enjoyed painting them up and sharing the experience with her. 

I am building my platoon to the guidelines in I Ain't Been Shot Mum, so three squads of ten men. These squads are made of two big bases with four men each, plus a small base with two men. As you can see I am a little shy of the full platoon at the moment, the six two man bases are on the desk and getting attention. Once done, I will do a proper shoot of the whole platoon.  

I like the way they troops look and I am pleased with the basing scheme. These chaps will eventually land in Sicily and fight their way through Italy. Of course opposition will need to be purchased, but this project is not very high on the priority list and painting these figures is more a labour of love for me. 

Mid-War American Infantry Test Scheme

I painted up a quick test base this morning, just to get a sense of how they will look and what painting time is likely to be per base. I'm building a company of American infantry given to me as a gift from Lady K, for the Allied invasion of Italy, starting with Sicily. As a basis for my plans I am using Robert Avery's excellent Sicilian Weekend supplement for I Ain't Been Shot Mum.

After a quick ink wash these chaps look a bit drab.

As such, I am aiming for a nice arid looking base and those lovely washed out brownish American uniforms of the period. It took me almost no time to paint up this base, the only impediment is waiting for the shading wash to dry. After which the fellows were given a quick highlight using the same colours as before. Actual brush time for these guys was less than an hour. Now that the method is nailed, I'll be able to crank these out at pace.

A quick highlight makes them pop.

I'm satisfied with the result. However, I do think that I shall rebase the Big Men from Flames of War rectangular bases to circular ones so that they are more immediately apparent. I did this with some of my Soviet Big Men, and I think it works well. Basing isn't complete, A bit of dry grass and some paint around the edge will finish them off neatly.

In due course I'll pop a tutorial on here for those who might find it useful.