Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Second World War => Topic started by: Nysse on 31 March 2014, 02:22:08 PM
-
To combat my ever growing pile of unpainted lead I decided to start themed months to get projects done. To kick this off I present Airborne April! I'm planning to tackle two airborne forces for WW2 in two different scales. Red Devils in 28mm and 101st Airborne in 15mm. The 101st is already about half done and I'm planning to get the support sections done during April. The Red Devils are completely without paint except for a few minis that I've painted a few years back when I originally wanted to start Bolt Action :)
So the plan for next month is to get all of these guys done. Hopefully the shame caused by failure to deliver will inspire me to actually get them painted :)
101st in 15mm
- Mortar Platoon - done
- 57mm Antitank platoon
- Glider Field Artillery battery
- Jeep Recon platoon - done
- AOP post
- Command stands - done
Red Devils in 28mm
- HQ with medics and forward observers - done
- 2 Airborne Squads - done
- 2 Recon Jeeps
- HMG team - done
- PIAT team - done
- Sniper team - done
- 3 inch mortar team - done
- 6pdr anti-tank team
- Flame Thrower team - done
As a sneak peek I've got most of the Red Devils more or less based and waiting for basecoat. I'm going for the slightly cliche Arnhem theme to try my hand at making rubble bases.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4PsWEhmHHHg/Uy87soKOmcI/AAAAAAAACQU/T00x3ka3WHM/s1600/red_devils.jpg)
So stay tuned! Starting off with some Flames of War stuff to get a good painting flow going
-
Great stuff. Ill be doing more of my Red Devils in April as well. You have a made a better start than me though as your guys are all based :)
-
I'll be following keenly as my Red Devils need painting also. Mine aren't based yet. (In the mail). Hopefully this will motivate me.
-
Looking forward to this, great start on those bases!
-
Thanks guys! flags_of_war & Johnno I'm looking forward to seeing your Red Devils too :) Nothing improves efficiency like a bit of sparring
Got the first stuff done. These guys have been sitting on my desk with only a basecoat for what seems like ages. And embarrassingly they have grazed far too many battlefields without paint on.
I finally painted my company command with their bazookas and the last three rifle/mg stands to take my infantry platoons to full strength. The resin bases are from Kerr & King. Nice way to add a little character to the minis. They are definately not the best quality though as all of mine have quite a few blowholes and other problems. Luckily most of it can be fixed rather easily as most of the detail is just ground or rocks, so it's not that big of an issue.
I also tried to paint the insignia and the national flag on them again. Makes the guys pop out more without too much extra work.
Bit more on the blog for those interested. (http://engineered-gaming.blogspot.fi/2014/04/101st-company-command-and-infantry.html)
Next up the Jeep platoon.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NkzEnTFKQPI/UzvxuZYHX3I/AAAAAAAACVE/0qKK1yRCEGw/s1600/IMG_1089.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zYtmH869oGI/UzvxudnV4iI/AAAAAAAACVA/Kv0oKWfKmMQ/s1600/IMG_1093.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UF-rb58EemI/UzvxvQuJhBI/AAAAAAAACVU/yeMReB4BygA/s1600/IMG_1103.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q6g55nYo9Pc/UzvxuxMuSJI/AAAAAAAACVo/16BxnOsqC2g/s1600/IMG_1100.jpg)
-
Good work; I look forward to seeing the 28mm stuff next... :)
-
Thanks warburton! No 28mm yet, but at least now I've got some of the brits started so maybe I'll have them done soonish.
I quickly finished the recon jeeps for the 101st. Decided to go with the armoured version as the battlefront kit doesn't really work that well without the armour plates even if it's not historically accurate. Quick paintjob with a green basecoat followed by a dark yellow highlight all applied with an airbrush and then followed by edge highlights. After that only the uniforms and tires were really left along with some grime streaks. I didn't have any US decals available and all the local stores seemed to have them only on mail order so no stars on these guys.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zrH1TUhKiuY/U0J9NeSU3_I/AAAAAAAACWU/Y7QDHFUbIvI/s1600/IMG_1107.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pdUtOC6UGp8/U0J9NXE3onI/AAAAAAAACWY/XDbV_JSDj2Q/s1600/IMG_1108.jpg)
-
Great stuff Nysse! :-*
So what's the plan for May? Monster May? :)
-
They look great! And you can always add stars later ;)
So what's the plan for May? Monster May? :)
Perhaps Magyar May? :D
-
So what's the plan for May? Monster May? :)
Actually Monster May is high on the list for possibilities :) I've got a few Warhammer monsters begging for paint. Though I did finally get my Empress Kickstarter goodies a few weeks back. Some other folks at my club have them too and there have been plans for a pacific themed Force on Force campaign in the summer, so I might have to go with Modern May :D Terrible choices that a man must make in his life...
Perhaps Magyar May? :D
Don't tempt me! :D Must resist urge to buy more FoW...
-
... so I might have to go with Modern May :D
Now, come to think of that, it might be my destiny for May as well ::)
-
Well I managed to finish the first Red Devils squad finally! Next up the command teams and some support weapons as the final rifle squads have been trying to make their way to Finland for roughly two months already. Though a local store has Warlord boxes going for -50% and there's a bunch of the Red Devils boxes just waiting for someone to pick a few up... I don't have any need for more MG's, mortars and PIATs, but -50% is quite tempting :)
Anyhow a fairly simple paintjob with the uniform receiving base colours and one highlight followed by a wash to add depth. The berets were surprisingly hard to paint though as getting any depth and colour variation without having them look shiny was really difficult. Flat cloth surfaces are always a bit annoying in this way. Or then I need more practice :P
I didn't add any insignia on these guys as I'm still waiting for Warlord decals that I want to try to see how well they work. Would save me a lot of time and eye strain if they look good enough :)
The bases are still a bit WIP. I'm not 100% satisfied with them, but can't really figure out what more to put on them. So any tips on urban rubble basing is welcome :) Especially the ones with only bricks look a bit bare at the moment, but I'm not sure if I should add a bit of foliage and grass or just more rubble.
Anyways a few more pics on blog for those more interested: http://engineered-gaming.blogspot.fi/2014/04/red-devils-rifle-squad.html (http://engineered-gaming.blogspot.fi/2014/04/red-devils-rifle-squad.html)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZQSQxmCddD4/U0lRfH1nlmI/AAAAAAAACWs/TTk6NQ2EPZo/s1600/IMG_1112.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fZctmvgkQYU/U0lRfEdvtsI/AAAAAAAACWw/cwDax23qOK4/s1600/IMG_1114.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6J5WAREZBf0/U0lRfg3xSEI/AAAAAAAACXM/wHIIFoay2Lc/s1600/IMG_1117.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-US685gQJ9_4/U0lRgJrfEZI/AAAAAAAACXE/sbrJV1jqjPM/s1600/IMG_1124.jpg)
-
28mm loveliness! :)
Looking great,keep it up!
-
Thank you paleskin!
-
They look great!
About the bases, perhaps some broken glass? Spent shells? Wood in some different colors?
I'd avoid foliage, might look weird.
-
Oooh, and some newspaper scraps...maybe some ditched para-gear (bags and such).
-
Thanks for the tips! Spent shells should be easy to add and adds at least some colour variation. I guess the main issue I have with the current ones is the slightly monotone look. Any ideas on creating the broken glass? Some old cd-cases might work but they are a bit thick.
Newspaper scraps and discarded equipment is actually a brilliant idea. Have to try that too! A brilliant excuse to buy some more plastics to get extra weapons to use on the bases too :P
-
Great looking chaps you got there Nysse!
How about just using blister pack plastic, sturdy enough, yet easy to cut... and should be quite cheap :)
-
How about just using blister pack plastic, sturdy enough, yet easy to cut... and should be quite cheap :)
Yup, that's what I'd suggest too :)
-
How about just using blister pack plastic, sturdy enough, yet easy to cut... and should be quite cheap :)
Silly me, should have thought of that :D
Anyhow here's the next batch. A Vickers HMG and a PIAT team. I didn't add anything extra to the bases yet, partly because I haven't had the time to go get thin brass rod and I was a bit lazy in collecting suitable propaganda posters etc to have as torn paper. And these bases work a bit better too as they are more "busy" without as much empty space.
The faces turned out a bit better this time too. I normally use a sepia wash after the base colour to add shadows, but I decided to to paint these guys with a light brown basecoat on their skin. A bit less contrast, but gives a slightly more realistic end result. Though I seem to botch the photos a bit all the time by overexposing the brightest areas. I might still have to go back to these to add some stubble so that they seem like they've been fighting for days. Seeing Cubs's (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=57756.30) excellent red devils really didn't help either :D Clean shaven just doesn't seem to cut it anymore.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iqjPPruyl1g/U1TFfTPctpI/AAAAAAAACeA/gbG-OCIIG9A/s1600/IMG_1128.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CsNqrVKz7i8/U1TFfche7II/AAAAAAAACeE/mNMvLe3afUs/s1600/IMG_1129.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RjBrqBLm7_8/U1TFgsL5-rI/AAAAAAAACeI/oEuqUT7IPJk/s1600/IMG_1134.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dKQIDtfT_p8/U1TFsBEpT_I/AAAAAAAACeU/xkcZT1SCSm8/s1600/IMG_1131.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SEA3j0lAoUY/U1TFgOl_WWI/AAAAAAAACeQ/YiS4MPEIEFg/s1600/IMG_1132.jpg)
-
Lovely stuff.
Stubble up, man! Keep it thin though, because for some reason it always seems to dry a bit darker than it went on.
-
Lovely stuff. Can I ask where you got the multi figure round bases from?
-
If you are after more basing ideas, what about a section of wooden flooring (just a few painted up coffee stirrers,cut to size perhaps) to give the impression that the rubble was once houses?
Maybe seek out some photos on the internet of paras in action for further inspiration.
Keep up the good work :)
-
Thank you guys!
Lovely stuff. Can I ask where you got the multi figure round bases from?
The multiple bases are Sarissa ones. They make three different sizes of weapons bases which are quite handy if you want casualty removal instead of casualty markers.
If you are after more basing ideas, what about a section of wooden flooring (just a few painted up coffee stirrers,cut to size perhaps) to give the impression that the rubble was once houses?
Yeah I was actually thinking of doing one rifle team themed as being inside a building. Maybe when the lost package finally arrives after being on the road for a few months.
-
Thanks for the info :)
-
No stubble on anyone yet, but another finished platoon for the 101st. This time a mortar platoon to smoke all their opponents into oblivion. The scenery bits are from Peter Pig.
In hindsight I guess I was a bit overly optimistic about my painting speed with quite a lot left unpainted still. Though quite a good effort considering that I've been on two vacation trips this month which cut over a quarter of my painting time away :) After these guys I have about 15 Red Devils 90% done and their Jeeps needing stowage and weathering. So hopefully I'll still finish of a few more before May day celebrations start and I'm more or less out of order for a few days :P Luckily I don't have to party for a few weeks like when I was still studying... Also an Airborne antitank platoon for the 101st is more or less underway, but that is definately not going to be finished during April.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kkbkYWW2gQ8/U15UNTwZLzI/AAAAAAAACfE/5nDGOjCS3zM/s1600/IMG_1136.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5pxP2c-3PMY/U15UNZLu-uI/AAAAAAAACe8/X4QkViJSk4U/s1600/IMG_1140.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nz6WuvxhbMQ/U15UNr1p32I/AAAAAAAACfA/kJvTPETn4AM/s1600/IMG_1141.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1wk1-_Ywy74/U15UOfba7rI/AAAAAAAACfU/g8WcmBcF-o0/s1600/IMG_1143.jpg)
-
And I just managed to finish a bunch of Red Devils before the end of the month. All in all 29 Red Devils and 55 101st minis painted so a pretty good effort for the month even though I missed my goals miserably :D
And now that April is pretty much finished it's time to announce the next project! Modern May (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=66316.0). Slightly less ambitious this time so hopefully I'll get everything done :)
Anyhow back to the minis! This time I tried painting stubble on them (and added it to all the previous ones). Results are a bit varying. Maybe a bit too dark on most of them even though I went with only one coat. The paint mixture was Army painter dark and strong inks with some GW Asurmen Blue ink mixed in. I guess I should try adding some skintone colours to lighten it up a bit more. Next time then.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-46K9stR2YEc/U2C7ltJjqPI/AAAAAAAACfk/Fg1E10o1t84/s1600/IMG_1145.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VAtq_tRDRNE/U2C7lmZHMZI/AAAAAAAACfo/-eIc8A_XHcA/s1600/IMG_1146.jpg)
These guys are from Artizan Designs. Great sculpts with plenty of character. Though the faces are a bit cartoonish with the super heavy jaws etc. True manly men. A few casualty figures and captured german equipment on them to add variety to rifle squads and then two officers to lead my forces. Love the umbrella toting guy. Never go to battle unprepared!
Would be interesting to know who was the role model for the Scottish officer. I doubt that there were that many paras going to battle wearing a kilt. So i anyone has any ideas, tips are welcome! Or then it's just the imagination of the sculptor :)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VJ-HrF4CIjQ/U2C7mJrqWJI/AAAAAAAACfw/K1fWlwV9POQ/s1600/IMG_1148.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jxBNilctadk/U2C7mlNNM8I/AAAAAAAACf4/7o56TUqOHZk/s1600/IMG_1150.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0yUCAmhlPqI/U2C7nCtPZQI/AAAAAAAACgA/zq67Wey50L8/s1600/IMG_1151.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EWMKXdiHstc/U2C7nQlse-I/AAAAAAAACgI/iNOJCEo1AxM/s1600/IMG_1153.jpg)
And this is what I have nearly done. The Jeeps need stowage and wheels painted and then some weathering. The AOP is missing identification stripes, windows and weathering. I've also got an Airborne Antitank platoon for the 101st with bases done and a basecoat on the uniforms done.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0PMOXUxC7u4/U2C86Qzo1LI/AAAAAAAACgc/rJVEpG69JZg/s1600/airborne_april_wip.jpg)
-
The dude in the kilt is meant to be Cpt James Ogilvie, of the Glider Pilot Regiment (Airborne, but not Para inotherwords).
(http://www.warcemeteries.nl/Ogilvie02.jpg)
He held a commission in the Gordon Highlanders before joining the GPR, so that is probably the tartan. He was at Arnhem, led his men in the breakout and was wounded in the shoulder, later to drown trying to swim the Rhine.
-
Those para chaps do look dashing Nysse! Great work. I think the bases with bricks and wood parts look already much better than mere bricks. Maybe add an odd fence post here and there, smaller wood splinters and broken bricks etc to liven up the bases more if that's what you are still looking for?
-
The dude in the kilt is meant to be Cpt James Ogilvie, of the Glider Pilot Regiment (Airborne, but not Para inotherwords).
Thanks! Might have to repaint his kilt to fit the Gordon tartan. I just painted him to match what Artizan Designs had.
Those para chaps do look dashing Nysse! Great work. I think the bases with bricks and wood parts look already much better than mere bricks. Maybe add an odd fence post here and there, smaller wood splinters and broken bricks etc to liven up the bases more if that's what you are still looking for?
Yeah I've been adding to the previous minis already. Some spent shell casings etc. I also added some torn propaganda posters, but no pics of them as I'm not sure if they are allowed here due to the German laws. I guess adding a few signposts here and there along with some fences on a couple of the bases would make them pop out more. Still the 25mm bases are a bit difficult as they do seem to get a bit crowded really fast. Couldn't get the test ones to look balanced. It's a helluva lot easier on the big weapons bases.
-
It's not inconceivable that there were other ex-Highland officers there, just wearing a plain kilt. There does seem to have been an awful lot of laxity as regards uniform and equipment for officers - see Major Tatham-Warter with his umbrella!
-
Well it's not really April anymore, but I ran out of bases and haven't finished any more moderns so I went back and finished of a bunch of Red Devils again. 16 fellas, including a full squad, a FOO team and a few extras.
This time the stubble worked a lot better as I added far more of the base fleshtone and watered it down even more. After about 3 layers it looks quite nice.
The Red Devils also had their first outing against German Fallschirmjäger and easily came out on top with only two casualties. Focusing their fire and using cover to it's maximum effect really worked out well. You can see the AAR on my blog: http://engineered-gaming.blogspot.fi/2014/05/bolt-action-aar-red-devils-vs.html (http://engineered-gaming.blogspot.fi/2014/05/bolt-action-aar-red-devils-vs.html)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VZoAOy7q3YE/U33d7zlbyqI/AAAAAAAACn4/lxssNMsOMBI/s1600/IMG_1206.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oJKsWx9oltA/U33d712pa3I/AAAAAAAACn8/7gZYSAR3Op0/s1600/IMG_1209.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LKE3TrJ1vmw/U33fctZ_NwI/AAAAAAAACok/wfpaa3t0coU/s1600/IMG_1216.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sGCU1SaMYY0/U33fcmfddHI/AAAAAAAACoo/8sJB7wRrueg/s1600/IMG_1215.jpg)
-
After seeing the article in WI by Cubs I gathered up the motivation to finally paint the last (or nearly the last) parts of the Red Devils project. Not quite in April, but still not too bad :) I still have a 6pdr to paint up, but other than that I have pretty much everything done finally. I guess I should really do a group shot of the whole bunch sometime too.
I ran into some problems painting the Tetrarch as paint came of in huge batches from the tracks and running wheels which were some weird rubbery material and not the normal resin that the rest of the tank was. Luckily it wasn't too hard to mend in the end.
The Jeeps and the Tetrarch were basecoated with dark green and some colour modulation was added with a lighter green and tiny amount of dark yellow in the hopes of adding some interest to the otherwise monotone green surface. After that I used Ammo of Mig products to add a wash and then some streaking effects on bodies. The mud stuff is a product called "Easy Mud"
A bit picture heavy, but for those who seem to think it wasn't enough there are more on my blog (http://engineered-gaming.blogspot.fi/) :)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eYcqz64BT0c/U7L6wiMZ9hI/AAAAAAAACxU/XkRqxHah3T0/s1600/IMG_1276.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lFAJHvquf1w/U7L6wqocOFI/AAAAAAAACxY/0zjI_MWVLFs/s1600/IMG_1277.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6xe0-f-NG94/U7L6xC6kXQI/AAAAAAAACxc/PxBpse-BQs0/s1600/IMG_1279.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GYpH1eEMhcY/U7bf5UhHUhI/AAAAAAAACyE/iy-1Pi2zDf8/s1600/IMG_1281.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cYtmSpGvW5w/U7bf5ceT0KI/AAAAAAAACyc/qq1e1mio62k/s1600/IMG_1282.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-goO3VwHUJMM/U7bf52n3CXI/AAAAAAAACyM/BxPYwADm54E/s1600/IMG_1284.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xtxWUPXo7Tc/U6a8Zf2-PcI/AAAAAAAACwc/xA_-8_knjqA/s1600/IMG_1271.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pv14WzRWdu0/U6a8Zw2_67I/AAAAAAAACwM/GEEEWYjKlj4/s1600/IMG_1273.jpg)