Some recently painted stuff... Black Seas and Warlord WW2 Americans...

 

Hey all!

Got the lights set up, thought I'd take a few photos.  First up, some of the nearly finished Black Seas ships...

I'm also working on a nearly complete sprue from a recent Wargames Illustrated... some WW2 Americans I'm painting up while I watch Band of Brothers.

The Workbench...

Hey all!

I know I've been bad about keeping everyone updated on the actual WORK I am doing, and only sharing final bits and pieces...

So here are some WIP shots!

At the top are three units of 6mm samurai that I finished up.  I've decided to do one unit of each type in the colors of my finished daimyo, to indicate the biggest and most powerful clan.

I've also redoing the basing for my son's Romans.  For a little kid, you want to be able to hold and play with each soldier individually.  So I went with some Litko bases; not cheap, but worthwhile.

Anyway... more on the way!

The Workbench

Hey all!

Well, I finished my last line unit of infantry for my "Retreat from Moscow" collection... now I just have this tray of light infantry, and I am done!

I should have them done soon enough.

And then... that's it!  I might do a single tray of officers for it, and I MIGHT do the Napoleon-on-his-sled from the Perrys, because... well, you know: Napoleon!

The Workbench

 

Hey all!

Well, I've got a few things on the workbench...

First up, I am working on the last unit of line infantry for my "Retreat from Moscow" project.

Second, I've started doodling around with those fantastic 15mm Dwarves I picked up at Fall In... and I've thought up another new project, too!

So stick around and see how they turn out!:)

Thanks for coming by!

The Workbench...

Hey all!

Well, my Bloodbowl team is nearly complete... the tray is 85 percent done; just need to do the signage, scoreboard, and some other knick-knacks.  Overall I am pretty happy with how they look!  I'll get some real photos when I am done with them... still got some touching up to do!

And, when I was shutting it down for the night, I happened to be standing right here with the camera, and I liked the lighting and all that, so thought I would take a shot!  I DID add a new shelf to each cabinet recently... more on that soon!

The Workbench

Hey all!

Well, I've got a few things near completion on the bench at the moment...

First, two stands of skirmishers for my Perry "Retreat from Moscow" army.  Basecoats are done, and washed... now comes the highlights and maybe a few extreme highlights, then based, then done!  Looking forward to it... this addition makes the army really feel like it is coming along in terms of variety of units.  With these two stands, it starts to look like an army.  Next up?  Hm, I suppose I need to do another unit of line infantry.  Then one more skirmisher stand, and I think I am done!  Well... until I do my Napoleon in his sled;)

Next up will be two Blood Bowl guys, both potential Star players, for my Talagaad team.  All they need is grass on their stands and one or two other touches.

Thanks for coming by and taking a look!

The Workbench; more "Retreat From Moscow" stuff

Hey all!

Thought I would catch folks up on the workbench!

I've started getting back to painting a bit.  I've been spending a LOT of leisure time playing video games, and it occurred to me that it is rarely as satisfying as toy soldiers.  So I am making a concerted push to work on toy soldiers more.  While it might not be as mindless as video games, I think it is a bit more satisfying:)

Anyway... here are two stands of skirmishers for the Perry "Retreat From Moscow" project... working on the base coats right now.  These guys have a LOT of colors... so many random little bits of cloth and scarfs and the rest... it takes a while to pick it all out!

So that's what I am working on.  I finished a few new Armada ships, and I'll get them up shortly!:)

Thanks for coming by!

The Workbench: The First "Retreat" Sled

Hey all!

Well, I finished up the second unit of French infantry for my "Retreat from Moscow" project... they are getting some varnish right now.  But I got started on the first of the two sleds for the army.   There's a lot more to do, obviously, but I've got the basics down!

Oh, and here is the workbench itself, desperately in need of a cleaning... but the garage gets cleaned first!:)

Second "Retreat from Moscow" Perry unit nearly done...

Just thought I would post an update... just have to do the sand, and then paint the sand white and put down the snow!  Overall I think they look fantastic!:)

Finished paint on unit #2 of "Retreat From Moscow"

Well, the basic paint is done... time to get finishing!  These guys are a real challenge to paint; SO many different colors and cloths and all sorts of random bits and pieces.  Plus, they are a crazy mix of infantry, cavalry, and random civilians, so uniforms are a nightmare.  Thank you for huge, covering blankets and the like.  Next up, I reward myself with a sled, and then maybe two stands of light infantry.

Fun!

Some paint on the next Perry "Retreat from Moscow" infantry unit

Hey all!

Got some work done on the base coats for the next Perry "Retreat from Moscow" infantry unit!  Trying to keep the colors somewhat limited, so it doesn't get overwhelmingly colorful.  The figures do take a lot of work to paint up... they have SO many random cloths and stuff wrapped around hands and feet and faces and guns... tough to get them all on the first time through, or second time through, or even the third time through!:)

The Workbench

Hey all!

Well, here is the next group on the workbench... a unit of Continental militia, for my son's upcoming AWI present!

I'll get some paint on them soon, and share a bit more!

Also, coming up, I picked up some GREAT Star Wars figures for my son for his birthday, and of course did a little touching up... I am sure everyone will get a kick out of them!

The Workbench - 40mm AWI Grenadiers

Hey all!

Well, here is another WIP of my 40mm AWI British Grenadiers for my son for Christmas!

A little more work to do on them, but I'd say they are 90 percent done.

The Workbench

Hey all!

Thought I would share... working on the next unit for my son's Christmas gift!  This is a unit of grenadiers.  These guys will take a bit longer than the other units... a lot more random stuff (packs and the like) and I will have to look it all up... I don't know what they all have to look like.  But at the end of the day this is for a four year old, and I am all about simple paint jobs, so if something is a touch off... what can you do?

I am planning on starting a new table soon... for naval games.  I'll share when I do!

Thanks for coming by!

The Workbench: 40mm AWI militia

Hi all!

Well, this is the next 40mm AWI unit for my son's army... A unit of six militia.  I did include a woman, even though I know that isn't very historical... But I want him to at least have ONE female figure!  I did a bit of green stuff work with her, adding a long ponytail and some hair strands in front of her face.  Hey, if he is going to have a girl figure, she should at least look nice!

This unit is actually almost done, so I'll post final photos in a day or two.

Thanks for looking!

The Workbench: Napoleonic Prussians

Hey all!

Well, here is what is currently on the workbench... some 1815ish Prussians!  I'd like to combine the two tables and do Waterloo, so I have a few figures to paint, and some buildings to build... namely, the various chateaus on the battlefield, and some buildings for Plancenoit.  I'll have more as I work!

These guys just need a touch more paint, some basing, and that's it.

The Workbench

Hey all!

Well, I've got a few things on the workbench right now!

First up... I decided to change up how my vikings are based.  So I took the archers off of the two infantry units and am using them to create a dedicated archer unit.  I have to build three regular infantry to take their spots, and then also had to make a fourth archer to fill out that unit.  I gave him a no-helmet head, to show that he is a leader.  The base is all made, and these guys should be done today!

I also have some more Y and A-wings ready for Armada!  They are SUPER fast to paint up, so I should have them done in a day.

WIP for the next three survivors...

Here you go!  A bit more to go (more on some than others) and obviously basing, but they are coming together I think.  When they are finished up I'll post more detailed shots, including of the guy on the left's shoulder tattoo!

10mm Forests How-To

Hi all!

Well, I thought I would post a quick "how to" for the 10mm forests I just finished!

Before I get started, let me say that I stole this idea from a mixture of two places; a little bit of Architects of War, and a bit more of the fellow over at 6mm ACW (whose name I forget but who is a very nice guy!)  So if you want to see some nice forests, go check theirs out!

So... first up, get yourself some black foamboard, and cut it out in roughly the shapes you want, like this:

I angle cut the sides as recommended in one of the "how to"s I read.  I also colored them black with a black sharpie so the GLOWING white doesn't show through!

I bought three times of foliage clusters at Fall In from the Architects guys... a dark green, a mid green, and a light green, and I tore it into clumps.  Remember; height doesn't matter that much, so you can make them THIN... but try to give them a little vertical variation in depth... after all, trees don't have flat tops:)

Then, using a hot glue gun, I glued clumps first around the edges, and then I filled in the middle.  I went through a LOT of hot glue in this phase:)

I then got some nice, flat-headed 1.5 inch roofing nails.  I flocked their bases...

... and then stuck them in the base of the forests!  It took a little experimentation to get them all level... but once they were (adjusting one at a time) I glued them in with a drop of Zapgap.

I then glop-painted them with some brown cheap paint to give them a little bit of texture, and then did some horizontal lines on them with a brown-grey mix to break them up a bit.  While they might not look AMAZING in the above closeup, you don't even really SEE the trunks when you are playing... the woods are simply too short.

So!  That is my woods:)  Guys DO fit underneath, and overall I think they bring a nice feel of scale to the table!

A few more 10mm forests sort-of-done...

A few more woods done and on the table for a look-see... overall I think they will look very solid.  I will make a few larger ones, and I still have to paint the tree trunks, but so far, so good.  I might need to buy a few evergreen trees to sprinkle them in the mix there too, though...