Bolt Action Btitish armour

I have over the years swapped and changed what I paint and collect more times then maybe I should,  but I'm very butterfly minded I'm afraid and sometimes the smallest spark could start a major new project! My main interest is the ACW although to be honest I have neglected it of late, so a few years back I indulged in a side project. Nothing big nothing fancy but a few bits and pieces for WW2 from Warlord Games. Now several years later and the so called side project snowballed into something I didn't expect. My British collection is mainly "The Red Devils" with a smattering of Commandos thrown in for good measure and some bits of armour.

I have a few  more bits beside my tanks but I figured I would show off my tanks for a change. I originally started off with a few kits from Hobyboss and Tamiya but I slowly started to collect the proper BA vehicles from Warlord Games.

The Armour from Warlord Games

 I figured Sherman's were a good starting point and I must admit once I started adding all the extra details what started off as a easy build Wargames tank soon became something better. 

 I also decided to add a Cromwell for good measure,  to start with they really didn't look very inspiring but with a bit of time and extra detailing its amazing how much of a difference it can make. 

 I've always fancied having a churchill tank so I may end up adding even more to a very small so called side project of a collection.

Thanks for looking feel free to comment and catch you all again soon 

  Cheers for jow Russ 

Lord of the Rings dark forces

I'm undergoing a tidy/clearout and came across my LoTR forces of darkness. Orcs and Uruk-hai to be precise! I was a huge fan when the films came out and I still am, but I lost I interest in the Miniatures, there are several reasons why but the main one was scale creep. Everything started off in scale but the then they started to become a lot larger models. I'm abit OCD when it comes to collecting figures and such, so I'm afraid the scale creep kind of killed the joy to a degree for me. I collected pretty much all the figures I could lay my hands on. Good, Evil it didn't matter I snapped up everything I came across. I've always liked collecting both sides although sometimes one side does slightly outweigh the other.

     Urak-hai scouts

The scouts were the first Bad guys that really captured my imagination, they looked mean, moody and nasty with it.

 Now me being me, I decided to do abit of conversion work. I wanted each to look different in some way and just painting them slightly differently wasnt quite enough. 

 so some had weapons swapped or added, so some guys are carrying two blades instead of one and I also messed about with the shields to a degree 

 I think out of all my forces of evil the scouts stand head and shoulders above the rest. 

Morannon Orcs 

These guys I wasnt sure about at first, a force of darkness that seemed to be almost uniformed in appearance! Once again I decided that I didn't want two figures the same so out came the greenstuff cutters and glue. 

 

 I reckon by the time I had finished with these my interest was still peaking, although if I remember correctly I was ready to move onto the forces of good. 

Mordor Orcs 

How could i have a collection of dark forces without these guys, they pretty much formed the backbone of the army. Unclean, undisciplined and fowl smelling. 

 once again I found myself cutting sticking and green stuffing my way through a box of these guys. 

 parts were swapped, added or removed. 

 

 

So there we have my forces of darkness from the LoTR, I know I have more but so far I've yet to come across them. Character models are missing and so are the normal Urak-hai. Siege troops, bezerkers are also yet to be found! But I'm sure they will turn up at some point. 

So thanks for looking, stay safe look after yourselves and I will post again soon 

   Cheers for now 

                Russ 

Bolt Action SAS

I've been planning on making some SAS for ages, and what better place to start then in the deserts of WW2. These have been made for a friend who asked if I could build a small unit of 8 men. Now I will be making more for my own collection but here are the results so far.

                            8 Man Squad

   

 

The squad consists of (5 x SMG's one looted MP40) 2 MMG's and one medic. The mix of parts seems to work well and gives an impression of  what I imagined they should of looked like. They are cobbled together from parts from so many different sets! The parts box really came into it's own for making these guys, the mix of parts from Panzer Grenadiers, Blitzkrieg Germans, Commenwealth infantry, British infantry and parts I honestly cant remember which set they came from.

 

So that wraps up another post and hopefully it's been worth while the visit, I'm not a gamer just a passionate painter and collector. 

So thank you, keep looking and I will keep posting 

Cheers Russ 

Wargames foundry Old West

There was a time when Wargames Foundry was a much more commonly mentioned company, wargame magazines had plush pictures of their latest additions and in full colour! The world of Miniatures as changed and developed massively in the last few decades and we as gamers and collectors we have never had it so good IMHO.

So on to the figures, the Old West

This guys are slightly smaller then the more modern figures we are getting used to but they still stand up well against some of the newer figures.

     

 some of these guys look familiar but maybe that's because I've watched more Westerns over the years then I should of.

 the undertaker on the right looks like he might be in for quite a bit of business! 

 I'm pretty sure some of these guys could easy step in as Pickerton men. 

 a splash of colour here and there just to break up the greys and browns. 

 most of these guys would definitely look at home on the streets of Tombstone. 

So thanks for looking, hope all you guys are staying safe in this weird time. It feels kind of surreal with everything happening in the world but stay safe and look after the ones you love. 

Al, the best cheers Russ  

Back to the desert

I decided to return to my Afrikakorps and added a couple more squads and another mortar team. It seems weird painting stuff like this while the season here is the exact opposite, least I've morries about getting a suntan or heat stroke. The infantry are Warlord Games plastic and the mortar team is part of the metal support box.
                                 
                                                             First Squad

I've added my usual mix of uniforms and mixed in parts from the Panzer Grenadier set. There is something missing if a few figures haven't got rolled up sleeves and a mix of parts from the other sets.

 

So all in all I'm pretty happy with the outcome, they may not be 100% accurate but im happy with them. The spares box is growing but the way I mix and match parts from the plastic sets it's not very often a part doesn't find a new use or purpose. There are always nice bits and pieces that can be drafted into use even if there not designed to be used as such! But Hey that's the beauty of plastics! Cut, stick, saw and drill it's much easier when using plastic parts. 

 Second Squad 

 Once again parts used from the spares box include bits from the panzer grenadiers set. I did find the arms that come with the Afrikakorps a bit repetitive but with a bit of imagination and cutters, glue and spare arms, quite a lot can be achieved relatively easily. 

Mortar Team 

 These guys are just cleaned up and painted, I've no greenstuff at present so head swaps haven't been an option. I Normally have the compulsion to cut off a few heads and swap them about on metal figures.  Even mixing in a few plastic heads if they look right.

So that's about it for my latest post, I'm getting back into my stride hobby wise and hopefully it wont be long before I'm posting again.

  So keep looking and I will keep posting 

  Cheers for now Russ 

Night Goblins

I've always liked Games Workshop stuff so a few years back I picked up some Goblins, I think it was the battle of skull pass boxed set! Over the years I've painted bits and pieces up from the set but never really got to grips with them. I painted some up and then got side tracked with other projects! Then I strayed across the goblin Fanatiks box set! Cracking little figures and built up and painted up look the buzz.

So to the figures
              The rank and file, with the boss up front with his pet

The Fanatiks 

New and old figures 

The new Fanatiks have quite a few little bits and pieces to decorate the bases, and if nothing else it gave me a chance to have a crack at mushrooms. 

So there we have it my Goblin force in all its black and green glory.

So thanks for looking, keep looking and I will keep posting

 Cheers for now Russ