Zvezda's - Kit 6105 - German Infantry 1939 - 1942

Good day everyone!

Last night I finished painting some marching German soldiers, that I got from Zvezda's kit (#6105 - German Infantry 1939 - 1942). I think I got the right 'Field-Grey' colour for them, and no, I am not talking about Vallejo's VMC 70.830 German Field Grey, but Vallejo's Panzer Aces Paint #335 [German Tankcrew II (Feldgrau)], which is as Grey as the Germans should be in reality (I was reading a lot of comics as a youngster, and I always thought of Germans as dressed in a 'grey' uniform). :-)

Even though they are not very suitable for wargames purposes, I need them for some terrain pieces I want to make. The next tutorial will be about one of them, that I am about to finish (probably tomorrow or the day after).

So in the meantime, while I am preparing it, look at the photos of the figs, and stay tuned for the next tutorial. :-)

If you want to see more photos of the terrain pieces who stand in the back of the figures, you could see this post and this post as well.

I hope you like them.
T.

AB Figures BLA12 Platoon Officers

Good day everyone!

Last night I finished painting some additional figures I purchased from AB Figures some time ago.

These were the (BLA12) Platoon Officers, who I intend to use for my Tommies who fight in the hedgerows.

As usual, I painted them with the distinct(?) yellow wyvern of 43rd Wessex Division, inspired by Jacksarge's excellent blog. 

If you want to see more photos of the terrain pieces who stand in the back of the figures, you could see this post and this post as well.

I hope you like them!

T.

Artillery Battery HQ Tent

Good day everyone!

Hope you are all well. 

A couple of days before my holidays, I have finished a small terrain piece for my British Artillery battery, I am making for quite some days now. In some of my previous posts, you've seen the battery's HQ Officers, talking and bragging about the guns usage and their effectiveness on the front (of the guns, not the officers - we all remember how Operation Goodwood turned out). 

When painting them, I came up with the idea of making a small tent for them, so as to have a proper space to work on their missions.

The construction of it was rather simple, in terms of materials needed. I used a small piece of a vinyl tile for the base, some bamboo skewers, a small piece of an old t-shirt - for the tent (sprayed in green and brown) and finally some thread alongside with some pins (below you will see why I needed these last two materials). After that, it was simple painting on the base and after that, the addition of some greenery on it (same thing I did for my FOO & Radio operator, with some new goodies I bought recently).

I don't know how well it looks in terms of accuracy, but, to be honest, I like it just the way it is. I am sure that while on front, many things were bypassing protocol regulations. This is what I remember while doing my service in the Greek army.

Below you will see the pictures of the finished terrain piece, with some sandbags on its corners for some better protection.

I hope you like it!

C&C are as usually, more than welcome! :-)

T. 

100.000 visits!!!

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all well. I have returned and my batteries are full (for a month's time at least). :-)

Ohh...such a nice thing, holidays they are. Too bad they came to an end. But, nevermind, I have plenty things to do this year.

I reopened my laptop today, and I came across with the chart showing my blogs' total visits. The number of the visitors have exceeded 100.000! 

Most of the visits have been done, by people I know (from other blogs) for which I thank them the most, and of course many other people have offered their part to pile up the total numbers for this blog. To them, I feel obliged say a mere 'thank you', that doesn't reach the level of gratitude I feel for them and their contribution they had for this, let me say, in personal terms, success.

So, a great THANK YOU to you all! :-) :-) :-)

I really hope to continue running this blog and by that, to keep you in my life, whereas you are a good part of it for quite some time now, and you enrich it with great value. :-) 

Cheers to you all!

T.

Holidays!!

Hi everyone!

Hope you are well! It's been a while since my last holidays (well more than a year to be honest). I will be off my computer for sth less than a week. I will make it up to you in my next post. I am sure you're going to like it. :-)
In case you are in the same state with me, I hope you have a great time and fill up your batteries for the forthcoming winter, in case you are in the northern hemisphere. If not, be patient, your summer is on it's way! :-)
See you all soon!

T. :-)

Sandbags making and painting tutorial

Hi everyone,

While waiting my reinforcements from post to come home and help me complete my 5.5’ gun Battery, I thought of making some small terrain pieces that would complement my unit. In my previous post you’ve seen some photos of the command troops that would be responsible for directing the fire of the guns, by taking coordinates from a forward observer and his companion radio man.

These men, would normally be protected and covered. With this in mind I thought of providing them the cover of some homemade sandbags (I have another special one-of-a-kind, but it’s not yet finished – stay tuned for the forthcoming post).

For this reason I bought a box of Milliput’s Standard Yellow-Grey epoxy putty and begun playing with it.

After combining pieces of the two pieces provided (Yellow & Grey), I rolled a ‘’sausage’’ of some millimeters (I can’t remember its width – sorry for that – you can always use the standard ‘trial and error’ method, depending the size of figures you are using), and then begun cutting with my modeling knife small pieces, one sandbag at a time. 

I then put them side by side (no need for glue, as the pieces can bond together on their own) and made these four piles of sandbags. When putting one next to the other, you need to press gently their edges with you fingers, as if they are sewn, as they are in reality. Be careful not to overdo it though! While drying, I drew some marking lines on the sides of the sandbags, with my modeling knife, in order to represent their seams (as if I hoped to!). 

You need though, to keep your hands moist, ‘cause this putty tends to get sticky if it’s not applied quickly. For this reason you need to have a small bowl with water next to your working space.

It took me almost 2 hours to make all these four ‘’corners’’, so be prepared for a rather time consuming task.

I then let them aside to dry (some hours are required – I begun painting them the day after). While waiting you can always paint something you’ve been neglecting for a while (come on admit it, we all do things like that… ;-) )

While searching the web I came across to this page where a tutorial of how to paint sandbags is being given. Nice page, wouldn’t you say? :-)

God, I love internet! 

The painting procedure I followed for my piles of sand (I didn't follow all the steps the page was suggesting to, but, it's up to you what painting method you want to use):

1.       White Primer.

2.       Devlan Mud wash.

3.       Brown paint (diluted in water) wash.

4.       Beige and White drybrush, to give that dusty look.

5.       Devlan Mud wash (light).

And that was it. Easy peasy!

You don’t have to pay money for buying ready made pieces of terrain.  You can always make them on your own! :-)

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Have a good w/e everyone!

T.