Finally some Huns done

I know they are not based - but in my excitement at getting some finally finished I wanted to get a photo up.

So first Huns - they were started back in April of this year.  Progress on more should be fairly quick - although I think I might leave basing until I get a few to do.

New project - Huns for Impetus

Yes I've been away from blogging for a few months.  Happy to say that most of the reason I have been away have been very pleasant.

But back now and after having a few games over the past year with the great guys at the Goulburn Valiant Stormers, I have been drawn into Impetus and have chosen to build a Hun army.  A period that I knew (know?) nothing about and a rule set that I am learning - but getting great help from a few.

So here is the bags unpacked and divided into units.  Figures are mainly from Foundry (with one of the various pack deals they have had recently) as well as Musketeer Miniatures.

First bases should be ready by end of the weekend.

Target is to have a 300 point army ready for end of January for an Impetus tournament at Cancon.

Big weekend of activity

This has been the most productive weekend of many, many weekends.

Firstly, I have finally finished the bookcases that have been being built over the past 4 months.  Painting all done and have started sorting the books and putting them onto the shelves.  SWMBO is taking great delight in telling me on the hour every hour that she does not think they will all fit.  We'll see :)  At the moment I am warily checking the walls of the room and the walls / ceilings of the room below given the weight that will be mounting as all the books are loaded.

On the minis front, I have cleaned up, undercoated and sprayed parts of 15 * 20mm resin buildings.  These are a mixture of Hovels and Shell Hole Scenics and are all town buildings for making cities.

Work has also been progressing on a new Waco glider that will have the nose open and a jeep on its way out.  Interior being finished tonight and will then be put together so I can undercoat and spray olive drab next weekend.  Markings to then follow.

Finally, 30-odd discarded parachutes have been base coated and are waiting for their highlight colours. 

Right, back to work - more books to arrange and load so I can get to the Waco and chutes tonight.

Photos of each and all over the next days / week.

US Paras

Just discovered that I put up a lot of photos of them being painted 2 years ago, but never a photo of them completed.

Will follow up over the next few days with some closeups.

Regimental HQ
3 * Para Battalions
2 * 57mm A/T Btty
2 * 75mm Howitzer Btty with FO teams
1 * 105mm Howitzer Btty
Pathfinder Coy
Engineer Coy
and a few extras

Photos from the old Hartenstein Museum

These ones are from the basement of the old Hartenstein Museum before the renovations were done - also taken in 2007 I think - or it may have been 2009.  Anyway, some nice lifesize dioramas. 

Now if only someone would make a model of the dozer in 20mm !

 

 

 

 

Carentan Military Vehicle show 2007

Seeing a post on a forum I frequent of footage of an Achilles and Coment reminded me of a trip on June 7 to a military vehicle show at Carentan in Normandy.  Lots of great vehicle you could walk around, lots of renactors also.

Here is a few of the nicer shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a special treat for those interested in captured French equipment - not at Carentan but in front of the US Airborne musuem / shop at Dead Man's Corner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress on the Military History Library Annexe

Things have been quiet around here on the blog front and the painting (miniatures) front.  The main reason is that I have been labouring away with the DIY bug on building the bookcases for the military history annexe to our library.

You may recall from my post at the beginning of March that we had quite a bit to repair after the old builtin wardrobe was removed.  So after gyprocking, searching for a matching cornice and struggling with out of alignment and damaged wall, I can happily report that the room once again looks like a whole room.

 



Might not look like much to you, but when I consider this is how it looked in March when the wardrobe was removed, then I am happy.

I have also started construction of the bookcases and yesterday installed the bottom cases.  This is just the carcase - there is still a shelf, then much higher carcases to come on top and then a nicely detailed face frame.  The wood is all cut for the remaining carcases - just need to rip down to size a thick piece of MDF for the shelf. 

It has rained heavily here most of the weekend and so I have been curtailed as I need the heavy saw setup in the garden to proceed.  Next weekend is a long weekend so I have great hopes and plans - as long as the rain holds off.

Despite the workload on the construction front, I have found time to continue the search for new and old interesting books and I am glad to inform you that more have been acquired.  Don't know yet whether the bookcases when finished will be big enough.

US Heavy Lifting

A couple of specials which are more 'eye candy' than useful on the table.  But I like this stuff because 1) they are different and 2) they are BIG. 

First up is a Cromwell models Dragon Wagon. It was a beautiful resin kit that went together well.  I got it second hand (but unmade) and a few bits were missign or broken so some (minor) scratchbuilding was required to repair it.

Next up is a Retrokit Ward La France wrecker.  Quite a lot of work to put together - but very well cast and I think makes up a beautiful and different model.  Adding the thread for the cables is always difficult - especially to get it lookign taught.

A few more US tanks

Finished the ones posted a few days ago. 

Something special to post tomorrow.

Hun horses - basecoated waiting for oil rub

These are about half the horses for the Hun army (I'm not going to give accurate numbers incase there are spies about).

Primed and then coloured with various Humbrol emanels to form a good base for the oil rub tomorrow night.

Will do the horses all at once and the riders 12 at a time. 

Huns - the beginning

OK, finished off my US armour this evening (pictures to come tomorrow), cleaned the desk down for space and pulled out the recently purchased Huns with some of their Germanic helpers. 

These are a mixture of Foundry bought on their last special and Musketeer Miniatures for the Germans. 

Bases were ordered from Litko some two weeks ago - but they are still showing on their site as 'In production"

They are going to be painted and based for Impetus using their beta lists from the website. 

This is all quite foreign to me as it will be my first Ancients army - but I am loving playing Impetus so wanted to get one.

I am going to attempt quite an aggresive schedule for these - but I am not putting it into writing publicly lest I fall short and have to take stick for not getting it done.

WIP on next batch of US stuff

Nearly finished these.  Need to glue back on all the broken bits, then a little bit more painting on details and then it is to the matt varnish they go.  Hope not to loose too much pigment through varnishing.

Sorry pics are so poor - but just a quick shot to show that I am not sitting around doing nothing.

More US armour - with heavies this time

Here is a bunch of US armour that was put together around Christmas time.

 

They are all Milicast vehicles with AB and Battlefield crew and a mix of resin and metal stowage.

 

 

 

Construction of a heavier type



Sorry for the tardy posting, there will be a miniatures related post along in the next few days.

 

Having been pretty happy with how the games room turned out, I have started the next phase of the remodelling of our house to accomodate this crazy hobby.

 

Our whole family loves books, and we are lucky enough to have a library installed in a spare bedroom.  Unfortunately, the lure of Amazon and AbeBooks (and others) is too strong and we long ago outgrew the library.  So something needed to be done.

 

So last weekend I started my project to build the Military History Library Annexe.

 

The room I use for painting and where the computer etc is located had a very questionable built in wardrobe installed when we moved in.  The wardrobe has worked well as a place to store (hide) many of my painted and unpainted stuff over the past 10 years. 

 

First few hours work was removing the wardrobe and all of its paraphenalia. 

But it is never as easy as you think when doing DIY.  Turns out that the wardrobe was installed before the room was covered in plasterboard and carpet - hence the bloody thing is built like a brick sh**house and constructed into the frame of the room.  This also means that the plasterboard and carpet have a gap in them where the frame attached to the walls, floor and ceiling.

So this morning a trip to the hardware store was in order to get a crowbar and the fun started.  Two hours (and a very sore back) later all is removed and I am ready to get new plasterboard to fill the gaps.

Big model build

Have spent most of the last 3 days in a big build effort so I can get base coats on a load which I can then work through over the coming month or so once I get back to work.

A range of Shermans with a brace of Chaffees and an M39

Then a range of "specials"

And the hardest model I have ever made (and its not yet finished)

Finally something that i have wanted to put together for the year or two that I have had it in the cupboard