The Garrison of Radabad - 28-6-2011: Officers and other vultures

[Westfalia Chris]

Finished the first troopers, a half section with Lewis LMG.



The Woodbine figures are really nicely sculpted, and the separate heads quite easy to use. I like the variety you can produce that way.

Another pic with one of the Copplestone characters:



There, however, the size difference is more noticeable than I thought. I am not sure if I should consider it critical or not. All in all, it is not too bad, but you spot it instantly. I'm in two minds on that, somehow.

Also, I'd welcome suggestions for adding some flora to the bases. Thinking about some grass patches, maybe not too green, although from what I gather, Kashmir, Swat and all those areas have some quite lush spots. Still, if I want to go for a "stereotypical" NWF look, I think I should rather use some lighter/parched variety. I'd welcome comments on that one.

[marianas_gamer]

Chris,
I think that your scale concerns need to be viewed through the 3 foot rule.  Yes, they are noticable in a close in photo but will they be nearly so noticable when viewed at an oblique angle on the gaming table 3 feet away.  I think not.
LB

[koz10]

Also, I'd welcome suggestions for adding some flora to the bases. Thinking about some grass patches, maybe not too green, although from what I gather, Kashmir, Swat and all those areas have some quite lush spots. Still, if I want to go for a "stereotypical" NWF look, I think I should rather use some lighter/parched variety. I'd welcome comments on that one.

I've seen some very nice effects with static grass. The center of a patch of grass is green surrounded by a circle of yellow/brown static grass. I've seen this for Africa but think it would work for the Kashmir as well or, at least, what my mind's eye would think.

[Johnno]

Give your officer a nickname like Sir George "The Giant" or Sir Leonard "The Large".
Problem solved 

I think that your scale concerns need to be viewed through the 3 foot rule.  Yes, they are noticable in a close in photo but will they be nearly so noticable when viewed at an oblique angle on the gaming table 3 feet away.  I think not.

I agree

[khartoum2]

Really nice work Chris - love the armoured car/truck - as good as anything on the market ready made

How are you finding the Woodbine English - thinking this may be my net addition.

Only thing holding me back was wether they would be Khaki in colour or have a sand unifomr - from the look of your s I now have a good idea although I think both may have been in circulation at the time

[Mark Plant]

Also, I'd welcome suggestions for adding some flora to the bases. Thinking about some grass patches, maybe not too green, although from what I gather, Kashmir, Swat and all those areas have some quite lush spots.

Naturally it has lush spots, but those "spots" are really very large areas.

This is a personal peeve of mine, but green grass does not grow in clumps in amongst dirt and sand, no matter what wargamers put on their bases.

Green grass might alternate with less green grass. Less green grass alternates with shrubs and tufty grass. Shrubs alternate with bare earth. If there is enough water to make the grass green, then it will cover the entire surface, however patchily.

So for the "dry" look I prefer bits of scrubby bush and tufty grass to vary the bases.

[Westfalia Chris]

Naturally it has lush spots, but those "spots" are really very large areas.

This is a personal peeve of mine, but green grass does not grow in clumps in amongst dirt and sand, no matter what wargamers put on their bases.

Green grass might alternate with less green grass. Less green grass alternates with shrubs and tufty grass. Shrubs alternate with bare earth. If there is enough water to make the grass green, then it will cover the entire surface, however patchily.

So for the "dry" look I prefer bits of scrubby bush and tufty grass to vary the bases.

You're right there, I guess. I use a mix of various static grasses anyway, but the one I've currently got is indeed quite greenish. I'll pop into a couple of local shops tomorrow to see if they've got some of the "summer grass" or "parched" variety.

How are you finding the Woodbine English - thinking this may be my net addition.

I'm quite fond of them. I have to admit I bought them somewhat in the spur of the moment, as I wanted to take something along those lines home from Partizan and could not believe there were practically NO Copplestone figures to be found anywhere.

As written before, the sculpting is quite clear, and the casting is decent to good (some mould lines on the heads, though, although it is manageable. The heads are better sculpts than those of their Scifi range (which are the only other Woodbine figs I have). The Enfield rifles look quite good, too. Overall, I like that they are a bit more slender than the usual 28mm stuff (and CC in particular), but not as spindly as, say, the RifRaf Spanish (of which I also got a platoon, and which are superb figures in their own right, but alas so incompatible with almost all other ranges).

I've got some British Infantry, Indian Infantry and Machine Guns and will receive a couple more Brits and an artillery set from a swap soon. The stuff I already got is quite good. Quality-wise, I would recommend them, although I recommend making some comparisons to existing minis prior to purchase (I seem to recall your collection being predominantly Copplestone, so they might be a bit on the smallish side).

Only thing holding me back was wether they would be Khaki in colour or have a sand unifomr - from the look of your s I now have a good idea although I think both may have been in circulation at the time

At the risk of offending the more historically-inclined, I'll admit that I went with a "feels right" khaki tone for those rather than doing in-depth research. The base is Vallejo Model Colour English Uniform 921, washed with Smoke 939, then successively highlighted adding Khaki 988 to the mix, with a shot of Beige 917 added to the final highlight mix. There's a quantity of English Uniform in all layers, and I think it helps tie the various steps together.

[Plynkes]

It could be either colour. The serge uniform was thicker and warmer than the Khaki Drill one so would often be worn in cold weather (Khaki Drill is the sand-coloured one and serge the darker, brown one, rather than vice-versa as suggested by khartoum2, though you could easily call either 'khaki' as it is such a vague term). During the Great War you can sometimes see elements of both uniform on a single soldier (e.g. KD shorts and a serge jacket), in places like Palestine where it got cold in the winter.


These two pictures are from the same regiment in the same region in the same year (NWF 1920):


Serge.


KD.

So you have your choice.  

[Westfalia Chris]

A quick update: I am painting the second half-section of British infantry, and have finished converting the trucks I bought today.



(Solido 1/43 1930 Citroen C4s, but to my mind, they look generic enough to work)

[Mancha]

What are those holes on the back, Lewis gun mounts?   

[Westfalia Chris]

What are those holes on the back, Lewis gun mounts?   

Those little rings at the rear of the cargo area are lower hinges for rear doors. The trucks originally came like this:



Not visible in the picture is a pair of working rear doors. As the box body didn't fit with the intended purpose, I removed it and the doors (the plastic box came off easily enough).

I left the lower door hinges on, primarily because I don't have a proper saw at hand, but also as I may still add a chain or a rear flap after painting. As for the larger ring in the centre of the cargo bed, this is a screw mounting; incidentally, this one I will indeed paint as (painted) metal, to add a pintle Lewis if the column should fight Bolsheviks, Japanese, or some other unpleasant folks with access to aircraft.

[Ignatieff]

On a roll Chris, on a roll!

[Remington]

Hell yeah, what a cool thread! Amazing work, Chris! Love your conversions.

[Johnno]

Great work. 

[Westfalia Chris]

New pics!

The finished infantry section:



A machine gun section (Vickers):



The motor pool:





And a group shot of what I have finished since Partizan weekend:



Next up: A section of Sikh infantry, and an 18-pounder field gun with crew. May take a couple of days, though.