30mm Base Guild Competition - Soviet Dshk

Dakka dakka dakka

This was painted as an entry for the 30mm base competition at the Guild. 

I'm note entirely sure when I'll get to use this, but to be fair - that's never stopped me before. 

The Elheim castings are very clean and I'm happy with them. Everything went together with the minimum of fuss. 

The muzzle flash is some Woodland Scenics clump foliage that I painted red and then dry brushed yellow. It's not a material that takes paint particularly well and I think I might have to wait a little longer and drybrush some additional yellow, but on the whole it's not so bad. 

They are not particularly to scale, but I added some chopped brass rod shell casings as well. I think they liven the base up a bit. 

Now off to do some real work. 

30mm base Guild Build

Cut the base from plasticard - check the measurements

The Guild runs what they call speed builds every so often. It's a silly thing really, you put a model together in order to satisfy some arbitrary criteria and you get a little medal ribbon for it, but it is fun. I always seem to forget these things, but I was determined to try and get something done in the two weeks assigned for this one. 

Crew assembled and undercoated

I chose an Elheim Soviet Dshk because I had one lying around, though curiously enough I can't seem to find much evidence in the TO&E of them being used in Motor Rifle Regiments, though I shall have to go looking again. I'm sure would use them as they're too useful not to have around, but how exactly seems a little sketchy. 

Almost finished product

A little more work needs to be done, though it was done rather quickly. I'll think of something. 

One for the album

Squad One

In preparation for a game last week, I finally finished off my Elheim Soviet Motor Rifle Platoon. The BMP-2's were painted by Krisztian, but the figures are all me. I took the TO&E from the "From Kabaul with love" scenario in the Cold War Gone Hot book, though given that my year for the balloon going up is 1979, they are a little late. I shall have to take a PKM and a grenade launcher out of each section to make them right, but that is no particular hardship.

Squad Two

The officer chap with the pistol would actually be carrying an AK, but this makes it a little clearer. The Soviets only had one manpack radio at the platoon level, relying on the radios in their vehicles. One other issue that came to me was the lack of an obviously NCO figure in the soviet packs, a chap pointing or generally looking bossy would be rather good.

Squad Three

I have some decals and weathering to add to the BMPs, but we're ticking along. 

Group Shot "Sergei, stop pulling faces, this one is for the album."

Soviet Shermans III: Disaster!

I varnished my Soviet Shermans this morning and saw most of my hard work disappear. This is the result. There is still some sign of the pigment, but it has darkened rather spectacularly and has almost become invisible. 

I was sent a link to this tutorial done by Piers on the Guild. He recommends using a pigment fixer rather than just mixing them with water. So the trick appears to be, varnish, add fixer, then add pigment. I shall know for next time. 

Sadly, none of the local hobby shops appear to have fixer in stock, so I think it may be a while before I get a chance to rectify my mistakes. However, it's been a learning experience and I'm glad that I at least gave it a try. However, this being sick nonsense is really beginning to get on my nerves. 

Soviet Shermans II: Weathering

After posting some pictures to the Guild - I got some advice on how to approach weathering.  The lads thought that I had put things on a bit heavy handedly and that the best thing to do was wipe away most of the pigment with a cotton bud.  

This I think you'll agree has improved things immeasurably and the tank looks more like a weathered and beaten war horse and less like something that's been through the second and third days of Glastonbury. 

I was particularly pleased to see how the detail that I painted on the tracks and road wheel remerged from under the deluge of mud. Things are looking a bit better.  A quick spray of matt varnish and I think they should be ready for the tabletop!

Soviet Shermans

It's all gone a bit Scutari really

I'm at home at present, sick in bed and thoroughly browned off with the whole experience.  The local sawbones says I should be back in action shortly, but it's very irritating.  In the meantime, I've done some work on two Armourfast Shermans that I dug out for the Kursk game, before Donogh came to the rescue with his T-34's and I realised that there weren't any Shermans at Kursk. 

These are common or garden Sherman M4s with a 75mm gun. They were sprayed with a Tamiya spray for Russian armour and then given a slight highlight. Tracks were painted a dark grey, mixed by hand, as I couldn't find anything suitable from my paintbox. 

Decals were by the redoubtable Plastic Soldier Company from their Russian decal range. I am new to decals and I find applying them a nerve wracking business, but these seem to work alright. I only tumbled to the dodge of adding gloss varnish first after watching this video tutorial.

I have tried adding it to the blog entry, but Youtube doesn't seem to be co-operating. 

I must thank reader Mr E for his kindness and patience while teaching me the rudiments of applying decals. 

The other new departure was trying out some pigments for weathering. I added MIG Black Smoke to the muzzles of the guns, which seems to have worked somewhat. The MIG European earth, which I mixed with a few drops of water and then dabbed on doesn't seem to have come out as well. I haven't varnished the tank yet, so perhaps that will darken it somewhat. I know some painters use gloss varnish as a medium, so I might give that a try. 

Lastly, I also tried some chipping though I think I may have been a little too cautious about it as I don't see it in any of the photographs. This essentially was trying to represent areas of chipped or worn paint by dabbing grey onto the tank with a sponge and then highlighting with a pencil. 

I'm still not sure I'm happy with the weathering, but we shall see if it is improved by a coat of varnish. I fear that once I've added this much detail to some of my tanks, I'll have to do the lot. 

A plethora of Russians

Ivan and...

It's been a heavy few days in work and there's been little time for distraction - but I have managed to get some very necessary work done of the Soviets I'll need for Leprecon. These troops were based for Warhammer Panzer Battles, which should I think give you some idea of how long ago I painted them. They're perfectly serviceable however and I'll be using them for my Memoir '44 game at Leprecon this weekend. 

...his little friend

I finally got around to basing the Plastic Soldier Company guns. While I'm not particularly happy with them and I'd like to add some weathering, shell casings, etc to the bases - they will do for the time being. They are lovely little models really and I just wish I could do a better job with them. Needs must where the Devil drives. 

Soviet Heavy Metal with fancy rear firing MGs

Leprecon sort of crept up on me this year - but I actually think I'll have everything ready. There was a mild panic when I realised that about half of the thirteen T34's that I had were actually T34-85 and therefore rather out of period for the Kursk game I was hoping to run. The Soviets will therefore be fielding a rather motley assortment of Lend Lease material which I had already made, but not painted. 

The KV-1's above will be representing Elite Soviet Armour at the game, though marketed as "fast builds" - they're a little more complicated than Plastic Soldier Company and a lot more complicated than Armourfast. I got so frustrated with the construction of the wheels that I chopped most of the tabs off and jammed everything in with extra rations of glue. 

That said, once together - they look OK and they are currently sitting under their first coat of spray in the shed. 

At last some properly dressed Russians 

Customs have seized my copy of Command & Colours Napoleonics: Russian Expansion for tax. Not only do I have to pay E9.38 in tax, but also a E6 handling fee.

Adding insult to injury,  they would only accept a personal cheque (which I don't have) or a postal order as payment. I would have been less surprised if I'd been instructed to hand deliver payment in groats in a horse and cart.  The postal order cost me an additional E2.10. Bother!

Cold War News

Captain Rupert and his trusty radio operator, Digby looking for trouble on the outskirts of Hanover, August 1984. (click to embiggen)

(Liberation miniatures with some green stuff additions, painted by Conrad Kinch)

Digby's getup is based on this iconic image of the Falklands war. I'm still trying to find the correct attribution. Could you drop me a line if you know?

Soviet Motor Rifle troops moving through the suburbs of Hanover, August 1984

(Elheim miniatures painted by Conrad Kinch, building by Conflix)

(click to embiggen)

Hmmm, is that fellow behind the window the section corporal?

(click to embiggen)

Maybe it's the chap posing for the Komosol poster

(click to embiggen)

I've been painting Cold War figures for Force on Force, though I think the buildings are going to present more of a problem as you need quite a few of them. I'd like to do something specific to the period and not re-use my Second World War stuff. This is not an issue that is going to vex me much as I have bigger fish to fry. I have two projects due in October, a LARP based on Space 1889 by Frank Chadwick and a large scale Command & Colours: Napoleonics game with multiple players. These are projects that come with a deadline and I'm really going to have to get my finger out designing scenarios and adding polish to what is already a relatively good looking collection.