Slowly getting back on track.....

Finally had a slower weekend this week and actaully managed to get some hoby-related activity done.


I've glued down a big chunk of my Cannon Fodder militia, plus some of the Flashpoint US and insurgents. I need to trim down the bases on some of the Flashpoint figures as they're a little thick for my taste. I've purchased a rotary tool for the task, and I'm looking forward to giving it an outing.


The whole lot got an undercoat yesterday, along with some Peter Pig Vietnam snipers which I'm planning to use as snipers for AA, since no-one seems to make modern US snipers.


Here is the very blurry pic:

I also put together the 3 QRF Miniatures Humvees that I have, but I think I've ruined them with my impatience and the wrong type of paint for undercoat. I accidentally ended up using a Gloss spray, which has run in and filled all of the detail. Also I'm not sure how things are going to go with painting over the top of it. I'm letting it dry properly for a day or two, and I'll see how it holds paint.

Easter DPM attempt

I didn't get a lot of painting done over the Easter long weekend.
I took some figures and paint to my in-laws, but found I wasn't in the mood for painting most of the trip.
I did, however, get to try out painting some DPM uniforms on some of my insurgent leaders.
I'm still getting the hang of it, but I'm not dissatisfied with the results.  Particularly the trousers on the right.

QRF HMMWVs - M998

I wanted to get some HMMWVs for my US forces for my Day of the Ranger games.
I needed some unarmoured M998s and the M1025 weapon carriers, rather than the newer M1114 up-armoured HMMWVs. QRF has a wide range of Humvee variants, so I ordered an M998 along with M1025s with a .50 cal and the Mk19 AGL.
Here is the M998 (temporarily stuck together with BluTack):

This was the generic troop carrier variant. Here are the bits you get:

Some more shots (click for the full size):


As you can see in the pictures, the model needs a bit of a clean-up; particularly around the windows.

And finally the comparison. I think I might need to base them up to get the height right vs the figures. It would mean less wear and tear as well, I guess.

M1025 pics coming soon...

Old Glory WMIKs

Here is one of the Command Decision WMIKs from Old Glory.  I've stuck it together with Blu Tack (although it's orange) at the moment.

I thought the model was quite nice, with plenty of moulded-on extra details like netting and ammo boxes.
Here are some more pics assembled, trying to show that detail.

And here's all the bits you get:

There were also some extra wheels, I think there is enough to mount a spare for each of the 4 vehicles. I only got 3 of the LMGs, but since the crew come with a pose including an LMG, I didn't really need any.
And finally a comparison shot with a range of figures:

Left to right : Irregular US, QRF modern British with SA80, Peter Pig militia, and Cannon Fodder militia

Militia Leaders : Work in Progress

I'm currently painting some Cannon Fodder African Militia. Some of these figures are better equipped in terms of uniform and Webbing, so I've chosen to use them as the Leader figures for my Ambush Alley Games.
I wanted to have the militia leaders wearing camouflaged uniforms, as compared with jungle greens and civilian clothing for the lesser militia.
I found some pictures in William Fowler's Operation Barras book showing Sierra Leone soldiers. Most of the uniforms appeared to be British woodland DPM, but one picture showing soldiers on an assault course seemed to be a different scheme - a really interesting mix of browns and oranges with a touch of green.
So I started trying to paint this scheme.



I wasn't happy with the outcome, so I was going to work it up again. I went to scan the image from the book so I could show what I was aiming for....and the picture that came out was British woodland DPM! The image in the book must be colour shifted, and the scanner has shifted it back in the other direction so that now I can see it is DPM. Sooo....
I think I'll be trying to paint DPM, or maybe US woodland.
Either way, this figure needs to be scratched and I start again.

Cannon Fodder Afghans

I recently purchased some more Cannon Fodder Africans and Afghans.
I've previously used the CF Africans, but I never had any of the Afghans.
Here area a couple of pictures with different light trying to pick out the detail.

The figures are quite nice.
My intention is to use them for Operation Enduring Freedom scenarios, and also for the earlier Russian occupation.
I have some QRF Russian Naval Infantry and BTRs (60, 70, 80) that I've wanted to use for a while.

A Game....Finally!

Brad came over on Sunday afternoon, and we managed to muddle our way through the first scenario (Contacting Trouble) from the Ambush Alley rules.

Play was slow and painful with many rules missed and dropped along the way.

Insurgent player managed to pull of some excellent reinforcement roles that saw 8+ Insurgents blocking each of the escape routes for the Marines and Contractors.The US won, but suffered high casualty rates, and we weren't sure in the end if they should have made it out of contact with the number of casualties they were carrying.

I'm clear now that I have a lot of reading up to do. The interruption rules that seemed so straight forward when I've read them previously became confusing on the table. The biggest problem was that I hadn't looked at the rules for a couple of months, and 10 minutes read beforehand was inadequate.

I'm planning to trying the single player variant rules over the next few weeks to firm up the mechanics before I unleash the game on anyone else.

Took some pics at the end of the game of last mauled US fireteam escaping off-board:

More Cannon Fodder Militia done

I've painted up more of the same pose.

I am reasonably happy with how they are turning out.

I have the additional US figures to complete the ranger chalk now, and I've picked up a camera crew for a future scenario.
I'll post pics later.

The brighter paint on the militia seems to be working out, and I'm now using a different technique on the skin. The hands still don't have enough contrast against everything else, but the faces are working better now.
Time to try the technique on some others now - I think I'll be painting some of the Peter Pig figures next.

First Militia

Painted the first Cannon Fodder figure today.

A little rough, but not too bad. Worst part is the flesh - it's difficult to get contrast. Might need a lighter drybrush, but my I'm not sure my feeble painting skills are going to be up to the task.

Update

Well, despite my best intentions, the blog has been quiet for a little while.
I have been doing some things in the background. The 6mm stuff hasn't progressed at all, but I have gotten copies of the Ambush Alley Rules and expansion books. I'm taken with the scenarios, so that game has been receiving all of the focus.
Re-basing my 15mm AK-47 figures has been the main focus.
I'm still trying to get a fix on it, but I've gotten a few done now. Just need to get on with the painting!

What I've done is glue the miniature to a washer, then backfill with acrylic filler. Having done this for a few figures now, I think the best way to go is simply to use the filler (or a thick glue) to attach the miniature to the washer initially, rather than backfilling.

The use of masking tape on the bottom of the washer was a relevation I picked up from the web - I used cling wrap when I was glueing the figures to the washers, and it wasn't very successful. I had to make sure that I separated it before the bond got too strong. The tape however seems very good.

I'll need to look at other options for the filler material; the filler is still tacky 48h later!

Cheap Chopper

Found this matchbox helicopter at my local Coles grocery store, for AU$3. It's part of a series of aircraft that look to be about 1:400? I believe it's the Sky Buster's MBX Metal range, but the specific model isn't listed on the Matchbox website.


Here it is with some 15mm figures from Peter Pig and CannonFodder.



Needs a new paint job, but should come up just fine I think.