First buildings for Kleinstadt

The first four buildings for Kleinstadt are finished.  All are N scale railway buildings that I have painted (with the excpetion of that wonderful frescoes and the patterned tiled roof on the tower).  I have also weathered t hem using a combination of techniques.  I've learnt a lot and really enjoyed doing these.

No basing yet as this will be done once all buildings are done for the town and I can work out what bases are needed where.

 

Preparing for Christmas

Don't worry, this is not going to be the first sign that Christmas is coming in the shops (if you can even get to the shops at the moment).

No - I have decided to spend the next three months in the lead up to Christmas finishing off the various painting tasks that I have started and not completed over the past few years.

They sit on trays and shelves around my desk - cluttering up, occasionally falling and breaking something and generally staring at me and causing great anxiety :)

I spent last night moving various 'unstarted' ideas back down into the basement and cleaning up the desk.  Then I went around the room and made a list of all of the groups of things that I have started but not completed.  The list is comprised of 48 mini projects - ranging from two 10mm buildings through to 36 Italian Wars pikemen.  A few more ideas on the variety:

• scales / sizes - 6mm, 10mm, 20mm and 28mm
• terrain, vehicles, aircraft and figures
• Napoleonics, Italian Wars, WW2, Ancients, WSS

First up will be making the last touches on the first four buildings of Kleinstadt. 

A bit of spraying for Kleinstadt

Nothing too exciting but I am trying to get back into the habit of posting more regularly.  

It was a beautiful day - if a little cold once the sun went behind the trees, so I took the oportunity to locate outside and use the bigger compressor and Iwata spray gun.  I was also using Tamiya colours with the lacquer thinner so it is much better to do it outside with a lot of air movement.

I basecoated in a dark brown to give some shadows, then put a first coat on the roof, a dark red base to the hald timbering and a mustard to the plasterwork.

    

I am basing this building on this and plan to have it just inside the gates on my town.

Also put first coat on the stucco part of the tower and the small church.

And a few pieces for another two models that I have started before I finished the ones already started .... and I wonder why i get very little finished.  

The making of Kleinstadt

I'm starting the building of a walled town set somewhere in south-eastern Germany / Bohemia.  It will be used with a small but growing collection of Thirty Years War in 10mm as well as WSS (which is a much longer term project).  They are both being built with the excellent figures from Pendraken.  

I know I will stretch some of the architecture in terms of period - but it is the look I am going for.

I have been getting great inspiration and learning from panzerfaust200 over on the Wargamers' Forum as he builds his 1/72nd scale town of Neustadt. 

On a family holiday to Europe (when we Australians were allowed to leave our country) 4 years ago, we spent some time in the stunning town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber where I was blown away by the town walls and the architecture (it helped that it was winter and they had a lot of places selling Gluwhein).  

So this will be a walled town with various half timbered buildings as well some later more Baroque looking ones.  I have kits from Faller, Vollmer and Kibri.

When I saw the pictures of the town hall in Lindau I knew it had to be a centrepiece for the town given the painted roofs and the frescoes on the frontage.  I built this over the past few weeks and still need to place the finer pieces of decoration on it and do some weathering. 

Next up was a half timbered market building from Kibri.  It was only after ordering a number of the Kibri buildings that I realised that their half timbering consists of a sticker that I am meant to cut windows out of and stick to the outside of the building.  I contemplated that for a little while as I think it looks cheap and nasty.  

So I have embarked on creating my own version of the timbering that I hope will give it some relief and allow me to paint and weather in a way I could not with the sticker.  I photocopied the sticker onto ordinary paper, glued that onto 0.20 plastic card and then began the laborious and fine process of cutting my own. 

All done and now the process of sticking it on before I can undercoat.

Hopefully more as I progress.

Mausman memorial build

Finished this in the nick of time.  A memorial build of a tank and crew for John Dowman who as I said in the previous post provided years of inspiration and support to those of us on the Wargamers Forum and prior to that on the Guild and prior to that on .... etc.

Mausmann Memorial Build

Over the the Wargamer Forum there is a group build underway in memory of one of the forum’s driving forces who suddenly passed away earlier this year. 

While i never met John in person, his encouragement to me and many, many others was constant. His work - both quality and quantity was a great source of inspiration.  

The theme is a tank and figure. What better tank than one of the true big ones.  This has sat under coated for more than five years. Sprayed the pattern on it yesterday and done some filters and decals-as well as tracks and tools tonight.  Tomorrow will be more pin wash and more weathering. 

A gathering and a game

There has been some easing of restrictions in NSW. So a few of us got together this weekend for a meal and game.   Four of us met on Saturday for a few drinks, very nice dinner and humorous game of Impetus 2 after dinner (and drinks).

Next day a few others joined for a few more games.  After playing Basic Impetus for a number of years we were very keen for a return to the full rules with Impetus 2.  So more as a learning experience we put quite a bit out on the table .....

The table with Carthaginians and their Gaul allies on the right facing off against six Roman Legions

We gathered at a friend’s house in the Southern Highlands of NSW - an absolutely beautiful area at any time - but especially in Autumn.  A view out from the back of his house.  

Something for Berlin

My latest build from the "pile of plastic" is another ACE kit - the Geschützwagen 638/18 SF Ardelt Waffenträger.

There was an almost absolute need to replace the barrel as the one in the kit had quite a bend in it.  I have another 88mm ACE kit downstairs (PAK 43) and it also has the same bend in the barrel.  I replaced it with one from the armorscale range (and luckily I have another one in the stash for the other ACE kit).

The tracks on this one are link and length with each side made up of 25 separate pieces ... aaargh.  But it is done now and I think will paint up to be a great kit.

More German builds

I have continued with the current spurt of building effort - all of which I am enjoying immensely. Even though many of the models built are from ACE, the building is a great break from what is an extremely busy period at (home) work.

So a few special pieces that I have been working on.  First up is an ACE Citroen car which I have needed to do some surgery on to open the door so that I can recreate one of the iconic photos of my favourite battle (and also featured in a favourite supplement guide).

Does anyone know where I can get hold of a dead German officer for draping?

Then this wonderful model of a Vomag 88mm Flak from Roden.

Still need to select a crew as well as put various bits of stowage on the back of the vehicle.

Lastly, I have started one of a few pieces that I have been collecting for a few years after reading of the action at Rethem in the wonderful book “No Triumphant Procession” by John Russell.

ACE’d it

I have continued on a building spree - a great way of relaxing with work so busy.

First up is the completed ACE RSO ambulance.  I have left it in pieces until undercoated.

I have also done an IBG Mack truck for my US forces.

I’ve also pulled another ACE kit out and managed to get it done.  It’s a French truck commandeered as a German ambulance.

And lastly for the moment is a beast of an anti-tank gun.  Again an ACE kit.   I had been warned the guns are particularly hard work and that was pretty true.  Will look great with some paint and based.

There a few other pretty special things close to finished. Perhaps in the next day or two and then I’ll paint them.

ACE 20mm WWII Kits

A year since the last post ......

Anyway ... onwards without any promises :)

I was in the basement a few weeks ago and opened a large plastic storage crate and was transported back 7 or 8 years ago to a period I was accumulating a lot of 20mm WWII gear.  As I rumaged through the box I came across a number of kits from ACE.  I have always been in fear of these after hearing terrible stories of how hard they are to build ... after I had bought them.

These ACE kits were among many I found in a storage box in the basement 

So I thought what better way to start again than to dive head first into them.  I started with a late war ambulance based on the RSO chasis.

Didn't take long to need a drink

Among the wonders in the kist are photoetched tracks.  These are fiddly.

But when installed look pretty good.

Work has been incredibly busy and all consuming over the last few weeks.  So I didn't get much time to work on this - but have managed to finish the build this weekend.  It is still in three components until it gets undercoated and possible basecoated.

I have also spent some time on a few other models that I rescued from the basement.  More of those in the next couple of posts.