15mm... Road to Normandy... with a 20mm detour

[Seb]

A bit of progress on the Sicilian front. At least in terms of money spent on toys.

Repainting Tiger after the wash is a bit chore, so I switch to doing other things as a break. So I started to do my US troops for the Sicilian summer of '43.

First, UM M4A1 Sherman. I will be honest, if one is not interested in building scale models, do not ever bother in getting this one. It will simply drive you mad. Overall it is a very nice kit. There are a few bits that are not perfectly matching. So a bit of work is needed. Plus, as one could expect, there are some really, but I mean really small parts, that are tricky to stick to the model.

I can't say how accurate it is, but it looks like a decent job for me, altho some reviews were a bit critical about tracks width... Beyond my knowledge so can't comment on that.



For infantry, I dig up some Italeri and PSC minis. The Italeri set is great, with amazing details, sadly no "shooting" poses. The PSC is a good set, but I would say it is a bit less sharp in detail. I primed the first batch some time ago, so it should be easier to batch paint them.



Till, next time.

Cheers,
Seb

[Seb]

Wow, six-month since I last time updated this topic.

Anyway, there was some work done. With the limited time, I focused more on painting than posting.

Because focusing on one topic is too hard, I'm in a state where I'm painting ww2 mins in 15mm, 20mm, and some 28mm... because what not?

The second batch of US GIs (20mm) after I went a bit heavy-handed on the first one with matt varnish:



Tiger - repairing the wash is a bit of paint in the back, so I'm planning re-paint it and use enamel wash.



Sdkfz 251 - I was a bit experimenting yesterday. After noticing that Tamyia panel liner can react with plastic, I decided to follow the path of the scale modellers. I dig up the bottle of white spirit, put a layer of gloss varnish (I have a full can of it as I bought the wrong one last year) and give it a go.



I thought it would be a lof fuss, but it's not as bad. And to be honest, the ability to tidy up the wash, especially on flat surfaces, is convenient.

15mm Fallschirmjagers - Old Battlefront's Luftlandesturm Platoon. Crete 1941 is the aim... at some point


So, yeah, a bit of work done. I'm trying to focus on the 20mm US GIs as I'm going to have a game of CoC next month - huzzah!.

Cheers,
Seb

[BeneathALeadMountain]

I do love a fallschirmjaeger force, my late war (Normandy) chaps are reheaded, converted or added to and based, but painting the range and variety of camouflage patterns I had planned (and sheer number of chaps) panicked me slightly and I started working on other forces which were easier. I must return to them.

Looking at your Tiger it makes me think I have a few models that I’ve painted numerous times. It helps me build confidence, try out techniques and often just find my painting groove. It’s especially helpful as I’m usually quite attached to my planned project models so having ones I’m not worried about that I can mess with can help me beat my creative block (sometimes ). The panel lining you’ve done is spot on, subtle but effective. I was slightly hesitant when starting to use scale modelling techniques and materials like panel liners, filters, pigments and the like but my experiences so far have all been good and you can get some great effects. The hardest thing is the balance between actually being able to see the intended result and not overdoing it (at which point it looks awful instantaneously to my eyes).

Envious that you’re going to get to play soon, please take photos so I can continue to live vicariously through others work.

Keep up the good work,

Andrew
BALM

[Seb]

I do love a fallschirmjaeger force, my late war (Normandy) chaps are reheaded, converted or added to and based, but painting the range and variety of camouflage patterns I had planned (and sheer number of chaps) panicked me slightly and I started working on other forces which were easier. I must return to them.

I do have a set of 1/72 Italeri fallschirmjägers in tropical uniforms. I will start work on them after I finish the GI, as I like to have two opposing forces. But this is one of the drives behind my Sicilian project, the variety of units and equipment used during the Husky.

Looking at your Tiger it makes me think I have a few models that I’ve painted numerous times. It helps me build confidence, try out techniques and often just find my painting groove. It’s especially helpful as I’m usually quite attached to my planned project models so having ones I’m not worried about that I can mess with can help me beat my creative block (sometimes ). The panel lining you’ve done is spot on, subtle but effective. I was slightly hesitant when starting to use scale modelling techniques and materials like panel liners, filters, pigments and the like but my experiences so far have all been good and you can get some great effects. The hardest thing is the balance between actually being able to see the intended result and not overdoing it (at which point it looks awful instantaneously to my eyes).

Yeah, there is a lot of interesting stuff there. But I do understand you. I try to keep my "workshop" simple. It is overwhelming when you sometime see what folks can do or that one must have 100 types of super glue... So, some time ago, I cut the number of tutorials/youtube and similar stuff to a minimum (I find it overwhelming and often demotivating) and simply decided to enjoy my hobby. 

That said, the enamel washes are ace! As they allowed me to work on the model in small steps that stretch over a few days/weeks, as my hobby time is very limited 😂

I will try to remember and post some pics!

[Seb]

Summer is over, and so far, my progress stalled like Barbarossa in 1941

But there is a bit of work, mostly test pieces, as I trying to find a way to paint different camo in a 15mm scale. Here are two tests:

15mm baddie from FiB:



And here is the 15mm Para (also from FiB)



The last one is one of the summer projects I started. The classic DAK set by Airfix. I must say I love this set. Amazing minis with great poses, and it was all done in the 70s. I don't think there are many sets that still look so fresh after 50 years.



Now, let's see if I manage to paint more this month

Cheers,
Seb

[BeneathALeadMountain]

Hmm for some reason I can’t see any pictures but sometimes iPads are quite temperamental so it may well be me.

BALM

[CapnJim]

Well, luckily, I can see the pics.  And they look pretty darn good to me.