Camp life ACW style

                                Camp life American Civil War Style

I built a couple of bases for my ACW collection a few years back, so after finishing up the Union Artillery that sat for a couple of years half finished it inspired me to start taking an interest in previous projects. 

The tents are from Renedra which is really what inspired it all, I added the pole on the tent with a open front. I may possibly of converted the opening slightly but it that's long ago I honestly cant remember. The canopy over the cooks set up is foil strung across cocktail sticks, I added a lot of converted bits and pieces. 

I used some resin parts I picked up ages ago, they are mainly the sacks, crates and barrels. I tried to add bits for realism, the spares canteen hung up. The rope and even some fresh carrots to help feed the troops. Pots, pans and cooking equipment are from Dixons wild west range. The figures are all Dixon Miniatures, some conversions are mixed in to try and add a bit of realism and movement to the scene. 

The view from the back of the tents! 

Cook serving up coffee, the figures suit the scene perfectly. The cooks had a head swap just to add that bit more Civil War feel. The metalwork over the fire is bent copper rod, the fire itself is from the Renedra tent set. The wood pile is cut up bits of balsa wood with a plastic axe added for good measure. 

Not the best photo but the guy stood with the rabbit is yet again a conversion. The fire is scratch built from small stones and the good old balsa wood off cuts. The drum is from the spares box and the folded up shell jacket is a green stuff addition. Boxes, barrels and crates! What kind of camp would it be without these items. There are lots of bits and pieces that have come together to try and add that bit of extra interest to my collection. 

There are still bits I want to add but only time will tell if it happens! 

So thanks for looking 

   Cheers for now Russ

Dixon Miniatures Union Artillery

                     Dixon Miniatures ACW Union Artillery 

These figures have sat half finished for longer then they should of, despite thinning my collection is still have a few bits and pieces laying around either painted, half painted or organised into regiments waiting to be painted. 

Artillery is something I've always avoided painting, the same with guns and limbers. It could be me just been lazy and avoiding it, but finding these half painted pushed me towards finishing them. The guns are the plastic Perry ones, my wife picked up a box for me a while back. The scaling is 25mm for Dixon and 28mm for Perry so the Guns are head and shoulders above the Dixon minis. I figured that despite this with a bit of clever basing I might just get away with it. 

I raised the front of the bases up so the crew actually stand on ground higher then the guns. Its not a perfect solution but it works! Well in my eyes I've got away with it. 

Its hard to tell from the photos that its raised ground but thanks to a Cork tile cut and shaped its given the desired effect. There as always a couple of conversions, it wouldn't be right not to have at least one. 

I still have the Command base to complete and using at least one of the limbers from the plastic Perry set, will hopefully tie it in nicely to the Artillery pieces. 

All 3 pieces ready to give much needed support. 

Despite only finishing these guys off I'm rather pleased with the outcome. I've painted hundreds of Dixons ACW figures over the years and the buzz is still there. Finishing off the remaining bits and pieces maybe more fun then I expected. 

Thanks for looking, feel free to comment and I will hopefully update my humble blog sooner then later. 

Cheers for now Russ

Empress Vietnam conversions

                      Empress Miniatures 28mm vietnam conversions

 It's a while since I last posted, lack of time is a big contributer and not really having the motivation is another factor. Hopefully what I'm about to post helps make up for the lack of postings. I've always loved converting figures and probaly always will, I suppose you could call me a frustrated sculptor. Creating individual figures is a real buzz and using different parts from various manufacturers is a easy way of doing that. My wife picked up a box of Rubicon US marines for me a while back, bless her she does treat me well. My collection is mainly based around the Empress Miniatures range and I can be a tad OCD about things so I not wanting to waste the gift my wife got me I devised a way of incorporating them into my collection. The parts don't quite match perfectly but they are close enough for me. There are couple of figures which are just stock figures, although to be honest they may have slight bits of detail altered with greenstuff. I was lucky enough to get some figures from one of the lockdown deals and the figures got to be put to use. 

                                       The finished figures 

The lock down deal figures included some character models, Dale Dye and "Joker FMJ"

Dale Dye

I struggled with ideas to start with, the figure really need to look different from the original. Greenstuff and plastic parts to the rescue.

Joker FMJ

Joker another figure which stands out and needed a tad more attention, the head and body needed to part ways just to help change the figure as much as possible. I removed the camera and cut and reshaped the left leg to add a more dynamic pose. Hopefully I've done enough to change the figure enough.

The classic helmet in hand pose

This one again required abit more green stuff and plastic parts. The pose made it slightly challenging. 

Jokers head 

Jokers head needed a body and after altering the leg on Jokers actual body it only seemed fair to give his new body a more dynamic pose. Green stuff ammo bandolier added just to make it look a bit more different from the stock figure. 

Walkie Talkie officer 

Another challenging conversion, the walkie Talkie and head is removed from another Empress figure and with a bit of green stuff and manipulation it fits. 

There is something very satisfying about converting figures, it not only adds unique figures but helps use bits and pieces from the spares box. I'm no sculptor but I reckon once painted they blend in nicely, hopefully they add a bit of interest to my collection. Fingers crossed it wont be quite as long before I post again. 

So thanks for looking, feel free to comment 

All the very best Cheers Russ 

Back in country

                                           Vietnam New additions 

  Despite becoming side tracked with other bits and pieces I've finally managed to get some more figures finished for my Vietnam collection. I've a real soft spot for Empress Miniatures so what other figures could I possibly add to my collection. 

  I've added a few more civilians and of course one or two who are willing to pick up guns and fight for their way of life. Empress make both armed and unarmed versions of the same figures, so picking up arms and fighting is easy to do with these guys. 

                   The first pack of civilians 

I've only painted the two kneeling figures from the pack and the two matching figures from the armed pack 

The painted versions below

The bases are done so the figures are paired but I decided to make the civilian one more interesting.  The bits and pieces are from various  manufacturers, some I can name others I could hazard a guess. 

The next figures are just the civilian pack the armed versions will be a later addition. 

I love the expression on the kneeling figure, it's not so easy to see but once painted he sprang to life.

Once again I wanted one of the figures to look more at home in the Village, I'm not so sure of the chickens fate! 

Last but not least a small conversion, the figure on the right is the original figure. 

Not the most complex of conversions but I'm pretty happy with it. 

So my village now has a few more inhabitants, the buildings are awaiting a couple more to finish and a third still to be constructed. I've still got more to do but in what order I'm really not sure about so anything could follow next.

Well that's another post done, thanks for looking and all the very best.

   Cheers for now Russ 

 

   

     

German winter camouflage

OAK LEAF WINTER CAMOUFLAGE (my version)

OK so I posted my version Waffen SS of the New Fallschirmjagers miniatures in winter uniform and got asked if I could share my recipe for the camouflage. It's been a while since I did a "how to" on how I paint figures. I'm no expert and I'm more then willing to admit it, it's close enough and it's fun! is good enough for me. This focuses on the uniform element only. 

So on to the "how to" hopefully it helps someone in some small way. 

The figure ( a kit bash Waffen SS made with help of the bits box)
 

 Basic figure built and ready for undercoating 

White undercoat (no particular preference)

Gorthor Brown basecoat for uniform 

Watered down Agrax earthshade 50/50

Dry brush Gorthor brown 

Mix in a small amount of Pallid Wych flesh to the Gorthor Brown and dry brush to build up the detail. It's easy to over do it which is one of the reasons why I use an off white rather then just white. 

Using miniature paints Umber start to add the darker blotches of the camouflage. I use basically use a cloud shape, using a series of dots that overlap and make larger patches of solid colour. 

Now using Miniature paints Rust to start layer up the brighter colour on the camouflage areas. Once again using a series of dots that overlap, try not to cover all the Umber colour. This creates the first layer of the brighter colour. 

Add a small amount of Pallid Wych flesh to the rust to add highlight to the rust blotches. Once again it's a series of dots, some will be stand alone dots that don't merge into the larger block of the Rust colour.

The trousers

The trousers are a slightly lighter version or faded if you wish version of the camouflage. The base colours are the same but the camo blotches are a lighter colour. 

Using Dryad bark start adding the darker blotches of the camouflage. This is lighter then the Umber so you can if you wish add another further dry brush of the Gorthor Brown mixed with more Pallid Wych flesh over the trousers. 

Now add Pallid Wych flesh to dryad bark to add the highlights to the darker patches of camouflage. A series of dots that merge into each other but once again some stand alone dots.

Now add the lighter blotches of the camouflage with Minuature paints leather brown, then add a tad of Pallid Wych flesh to highlight. The leather brown is more toned down then the Umber so a lighter colour blotches works better. 

It's a quick guide to the camouflage, it's perfect for a table top standard. You could argue that it's not 100% accurate but it ticks the boxes for me. Hopefully this will help, so happy hobbying everyone.

The full 10 men and the Fallschirmjagers kit that donated the parts.

Keep looking I will keep posting 

   Cheers Russ 

Dixon Miniatures Confederates

                                     More goodies from my ACW collection

My collection spans quite a few years, I would show my age if I admit I started collecting these guys when they first came out. I still think they look as good today as the day they first arrived on the market. 

Over the years I have converted and messed with figures to the point that I honestly can't remember all the conversions I've done. I started off with little bits like blanket rolls and ended doing major surgery and hacking figures into pieces. 

                      Maryland Guard Zouaves

It made a change painting a Confederate regiment in blue but these guys turned out rather nicely. Blue and Red do look good together and hopefully it shows with these guys. 

Dixon miniatures offer quite a bit of variety in poses and I've always been a fan of mixing the poses within a unit. 

Texas troops 

These guys were painted more to represent a generic regiment, the black facings seem more commen in the later years and I reckon they look so much better then sky blue but that's just my opinion. 

Once again they are a mix of poses which I think makes the regiment look much more life like. It's strange to think I've spent more then half my life collecting and painting these guys. 

These guys have brought me so much pleasure over the years, and hopefully sharing the pictures will pass some of the pleasure on.

So thanks for looking and hopefully I will post again sooner rather then later.

    Cheers for now Russ