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

Latest additions for NAM

 It’s took a while to get some more recruits completed but here they are, I decided to make scenic bases. I also decided to add a few bases with multiple figures which is something I've not really approached before. Hopefully they will add a bit more variety to my collection. 

                                                     The three bases in all their glory 

   

I'm hoping they have the appearance of just about to engage the enemy.  The figures mix nicely on the bases, the range of figures from Empress Miniatures gives the options of everything from M16s, M60s, Laws, bloop guns, radio operators, command figures, medics with causalities, the range is enough to field a good mix of troops and support weapons. 

The bare metal from Empress Miniatures 

NAM 7

                                                                           NAM 6

NAM 15

As always the figures are superb, very little clean up required, the fact you can get different packs of figures armed with M16s with a mix of figures that are prone, kneeling, advancing, firing you also get options with the M60s and other weapon options. 

The radio operator is a small conversion, I added short sleeves rather then bare arms that the figure comes with.  

The branches are literally just picked up from the garden and hopefully look the part. I've still the aerials to add to the radios but other then that they are finished. So my collection is growing and there are so much more to add, the Ontos is finally taking shape so hopefully it will join the guys sooner rather then later. 

So thanks for looking, figures crossed it will be sooner rather then later when I get to add the next lot of figures.

So thanks for looking 

            Cheers for now Russ

Dixon Confederates

 Thinning out the collection

My ACW collection is something I've worked on for I'm not quite sure how many years, I'm now starting to have to start thinning it out and making some room, storage is always an issues. The figures are all Dixon with what I can only describe as being a labour of love, many figures are converted but I did so many I can't remember which are conversions and which aren't. 

     The 43rd North Carolina (painted to represent)

These are one of the very first units I went back and brought up to the standard of the later additions in my collection. I know Dixon miniatures are not to everyone tastes but they brought the ACW to life for me.

The 8th regiment of the army of northern Virginia (painted to represent)

In some respects it's quite sad to part with any of my collection but needs must I'm afraid, I feel quite nostalgic to get the guys out and photograph them. I'm not sure how many happy hours I've had painting these guys but I enjoyed painting every single one. These guys will be going up for sale on the miniatures page shortly.

All the very best Cheers for now Russ 

  

   

Vietnamese Civilians part2

Christmas and the New Year brought me a few days off, thankfully my wife is very understanding when it comes to my hobby. I love Christmas, it's probably because I've never grown up. The time was split between the usual Christmas festivities and hobby time. There are a lot of things I've got on the go but the next round of civilians made it to the front of the que. Despite the fact you can get both armed and unarmed versions of the same figure I didn't want them all dressed in black and looking very obvious so like the first batch I chose more civilian colours! If that's such a thing! 

                                                         The Raw recruits

The figures are again from Paul Hicks talented hands, I'm pretty sure this guy could sculpt absolutely anything. The style suits the figures down to the ground, I know the style of figures can be a personal thing but in my humble opinion they are the best Vietnam figures I've come across. 

So on to the figures there are two packs one armed one unarmed, they are nicely detailed. Very little clean up required which is always welcomed, the metal stands up well against knocks and drops. I wouldn't drop them on purpose but on the odd occasion its occurred they have proved no problem at straightening parts back into shape. 

           

There's no mistaking which is which one, the legs, body and head are the same it's mainly the positions of the arms. The weapons are a good mix and not just Ak's, some of the weapons have definitely seen service for quite a few years. Some are more odd then others but they sit nicely with the figures, the background of some the weapons may be questionable but I'm pretty sure a relic of a weapon is better then no weapon. Afterall they are the peoples army,  hit and run or self defence either way they look the part. They look the part to just blend back in and disappear 

The Finished figures

The old women in red snook into the last batch I painted but she had to appear again to show the full set. My plan is to mix up the colours as I go along, so hopefully once they are all finished up they look well like civilians. 

The turban on the left hand side of the photo threw me a tad, I know that all coolie hats would look wrong so it's a nice addition. Plus the lady in the Red top with her hat pushed back, I think its a nice touch it makes her look more engaged at spitting lead at potential foes. I'm not sure the Red star on the belt buckle works or not, it wasn't the easiest part to paint and my eyes are only getting older and less forgiving at times. 

I will finish up with a few photos just to round things off, so thanks for looking, feel free to comment and I will post again hopefully sooner rather then later. 

                      All the very best Cheers Russ