Hi Chaps,
Please all have a relaxed and very merry Christmas. Meet family and friends, drink and eat too much and generally savour life.
I appreciate all your posts, they enrich my life and help me enjoy this gentle fantastic hobby.
I wish you all happiness and success in your lives and this little hobby of ours which makes a hard day worth fighting through.
Keep blogging Chaps!
Saturday, 24 December 2016
Friday, 23 December 2016
Grubby tanks FV432 and WMIK (WIP).
Hi Chaps,
Just thought I would drop a brief update onto my blog before all this Christmas nonsense begins (humbug!).
These models are from Grubby Tanks whom I heartily recommend for their service and above all their cheapness! Grubby is definitely the cheapest 20mm supplier that I have come across and the models usually arrive within a few working days. There are a few air holes in the resin and if I was bothered then I would just fill those in with greenstuff...I have seen expensive resin with the same problem so this "flaw" is common to everyone.
I have three "companies" of 8 figures complete now with transport...they are a work in progress but nearly there! A few more Lesney land rovers should see my soft transport needs complete but I do not think that a miniature army is ever finished! (The HQ and mortar FV need to be ordered)
In the new year a new project will start, this time 20mm WW2 Germans and yes the tanks I order from Grubby for this will have any imperfections filled with greenstuff.
Keep me posted on your new projects Chaps-I need your enthusiasm and your ideas as fuel for my games!
Just thought I would drop a brief update onto my blog before all this Christmas nonsense begins (humbug!).
These models are from Grubby Tanks whom I heartily recommend for their service and above all their cheapness! Grubby is definitely the cheapest 20mm supplier that I have come across and the models usually arrive within a few working days. There are a few air holes in the resin and if I was bothered then I would just fill those in with greenstuff...I have seen expensive resin with the same problem so this "flaw" is common to everyone.
In the new year a new project will start, this time 20mm WW2 Germans and yes the tanks I order from Grubby for this will have any imperfections filled with greenstuff.
Keep me posted on your new projects Chaps-I need your enthusiasm and your ideas as fuel for my games!
Thursday, 22 December 2016
20MM Revell British and TV crew
Hi,
I thought I would share a few pics today of my cheap and chearful Revell Modern British troops. They have painted up OK and I now have three companies of 8 figures and two HMG units. I also squeezed a command group out of the box but did use an Israeli officer on that stand (maybe he is on an exchange visit?).
The Brits are pictured next to an Under Fire Miniatuires rebel and a Britannia miniatures contractor, The Plastic Revell figures did feel small to paint but in the pics and certainly on the table it is hardly noticeable.
Grubby tanks are fast becoming my go to manufacturer for modern 20mm. I recently got an order which had taken a few days longer than expected and a free Land rover was inside! The customer service is amazing and very much appreciated. In the new year I intend to start a WW2 German army in 20mm and I will be using Grubby tanks for the transports and recce vehicles for sure.
The last pic is of the Grubby tanks TV crew-a must have so that I can record the exploits of my 20mm heroes! The crew are transported using a repainted toy of no brand , only"made in China" on it! 20P from a car boot sale....
Keep blogging Chaps, FV432 pics and WMIK pics incoming on the next post.
I thought I would share a few pics today of my cheap and chearful Revell Modern British troops. They have painted up OK and I now have three companies of 8 figures and two HMG units. I also squeezed a command group out of the box but did use an Israeli officer on that stand (maybe he is on an exchange visit?).
The Brits are pictured next to an Under Fire Miniatuires rebel and a Britannia miniatures contractor, The Plastic Revell figures did feel small to paint but in the pics and certainly on the table it is hardly noticeable.
Grubby tanks are fast becoming my go to manufacturer for modern 20mm. I recently got an order which had taken a few days longer than expected and a free Land rover was inside! The customer service is amazing and very much appreciated. In the new year I intend to start a WW2 German army in 20mm and I will be using Grubby tanks for the transports and recce vehicles for sure.
The last pic is of the Grubby tanks TV crew-a must have so that I can record the exploits of my 20mm heroes! The crew are transported using a repainted toy of no brand , only"made in China" on it! 20P from a car boot sale....
Keep blogging Chaps, FV432 pics and WMIK pics incoming on the next post.
Monday, 19 December 2016
Who bought my 20mm French?
Hi Chaps,
Bit of a long shot this but I sold some 20mm French infantry and artillery-all plastic WW2 on ebay earlier this year. I was really happy that they sold and contacted the seller to tell him that I had some spare unpainted Germans he could have.....
And this is where I made several errors! I put the figures in a padded envelope labelled up like a pro ... and then move house, got married and had a baby....today I looked in a box and saw the envelope! Alas no label was attached!!!!
Ebay will not let me go back far enough on my messages to retrieve the guys address which I think was New Zealand.....if someone knows of a gamer who bought some French off a dick who forgot to send him the extra figures could you please contact me? I have some plastic Germans to send to the man and as a gentleman I feel obliged to keep my word.
Maybe the power of the internet can solve this.
Keep blogging Chaps.
Bit of a long shot this but I sold some 20mm French infantry and artillery-all plastic WW2 on ebay earlier this year. I was really happy that they sold and contacted the seller to tell him that I had some spare unpainted Germans he could have.....
And this is where I made several errors! I put the figures in a padded envelope labelled up like a pro ... and then move house, got married and had a baby....today I looked in a box and saw the envelope! Alas no label was attached!!!!
Ebay will not let me go back far enough on my messages to retrieve the guys address which I think was New Zealand.....if someone knows of a gamer who bought some French off a dick who forgot to send him the extra figures could you please contact me? I have some plastic Germans to send to the man and as a gentleman I feel obliged to keep my word.
Maybe the power of the internet can solve this.
Keep blogging Chaps.
Friday, 16 December 2016
Painting and thinking of the past...
Hi Chaps,
I don't really do the reminiscing thing too often just in case I come across a painful memory that I become stuck on but today seemed to be an exception.
Since the birth of Victoria I have had less painting time than usual but today was a great opportunity to start a new army. For two hours I had the painting table to myself and I beavered away at some Caesar WW2 French. Many years ago Matchbox released the Char B1 and the Ft17 as a kit and I loved it...I bought the only box in my local toy shop (Mrs Heinz's in Bamber Bridge) and then engineered a way to buy another box in the metropolis of Preston. The 1970's where a strange time for us oldies!.
The urge to gather a French force was fueled by Gavin Lyall's "Operation Warboard" which I read until it fell apart in my hands (but still kept as one would a sacred book). I wanted an army to fight my Matchbox 1/76 scale Germans...painted with Humbrol enamels and based on card...
Well shaking my head and it now being 35 years later here I am painting 1/72 scale French to fight some plastic Germans though this time using Bolt Action as a rule set. I wonder if Mr Lyall would be smiling at what he started all those years ago? There was no Xbox or even in my house a colour TV, maybe this contributed to my using my imagination to create a world that I could control??
Have a read at the reviews if you are curious or once had a copy....
http://lonewarriorswa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Review-Aird-Operation-Warboard-Lyall.pdf
Probably the best war games book I owned until Richard Marsh and Colin Rumford stepped up with Rapid Fire...succeeded by Alessio Cavatore, Rick Priestley with Bolt Action. In a nutshell my history of war gaming for the last 40 years! I do hope that I have stirred some memories or encouraged anyone younger than 30 to glance at our war gaming heritage.
Keep blogging Chaps, our today will soon be history!
I don't really do the reminiscing thing too often just in case I come across a painful memory that I become stuck on but today seemed to be an exception.
Since the birth of Victoria I have had less painting time than usual but today was a great opportunity to start a new army. For two hours I had the painting table to myself and I beavered away at some Caesar WW2 French. Many years ago Matchbox released the Char B1 and the Ft17 as a kit and I loved it...I bought the only box in my local toy shop (Mrs Heinz's in Bamber Bridge) and then engineered a way to buy another box in the metropolis of Preston. The 1970's where a strange time for us oldies!.
The urge to gather a French force was fueled by Gavin Lyall's "Operation Warboard" which I read until it fell apart in my hands (but still kept as one would a sacred book). I wanted an army to fight my Matchbox 1/76 scale Germans...painted with Humbrol enamels and based on card...
Well shaking my head and it now being 35 years later here I am painting 1/72 scale French to fight some plastic Germans though this time using Bolt Action as a rule set. I wonder if Mr Lyall would be smiling at what he started all those years ago? There was no Xbox or even in my house a colour TV, maybe this contributed to my using my imagination to create a world that I could control??
Have a read at the reviews if you are curious or once had a copy....
http://lonewarriorswa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Review-Aird-Operation-Warboard-Lyall.pdf
Probably the best war games book I owned until Richard Marsh and Colin Rumford stepped up with Rapid Fire...succeeded by Alessio Cavatore, Rick Priestley with Bolt Action. In a nutshell my history of war gaming for the last 40 years! I do hope that I have stirred some memories or encouraged anyone younger than 30 to glance at our war gaming heritage.
Keep blogging Chaps, our today will soon be history!
Tuesday, 6 December 2016
Lesney Snatch Land Rovers Complete
Hi Chaps,
Just as an update, these are the snatch Landrovers complete. Obviously the panels on them are not correct and the wheelbase may well be too long but these cost around £4 for the pair as opposed to actually buying a resin vehicle which would have cost more than double the amount.
If I ever come across these little models at car boots etc I will buy them as stock for a rainy day as there are plenty of options to carry out more conversions. I really should attempt to build an ambulance out of one as I used to drive one for HM! Also the fitted for radio short wheelbase version is on the cards but for the WMIK I have gone for the easy route and ordered one from Grubby tanks.
Anyway here are a few more pics-if you own a Dremel or similar a cheap cutting tool kit can be bought for around £6 and should last for hundreds of die cast alterations....have a go and good luck!
I must ask what is the Lesney armoured car based on (if anything?). Maybe the Ferret or Coventry armoured car? Either way I now have two painted up in British army livery....at just over a pound each I could not resist.
Keep blogging Chaps I need your ideas.
Just as an update, these are the snatch Landrovers complete. Obviously the panels on them are not correct and the wheelbase may well be too long but these cost around £4 for the pair as opposed to actually buying a resin vehicle which would have cost more than double the amount.
If I ever come across these little models at car boots etc I will buy them as stock for a rainy day as there are plenty of options to carry out more conversions. I really should attempt to build an ambulance out of one as I used to drive one for HM! Also the fitted for radio short wheelbase version is on the cards but for the WMIK I have gone for the easy route and ordered one from Grubby tanks.
Anyway here are a few more pics-if you own a Dremel or similar a cheap cutting tool kit can be bought for around £6 and should last for hundreds of die cast alterations....have a go and good luck!
I must ask what is the Lesney armoured car based on (if anything?). Maybe the Ferret or Coventry armoured car? Either way I now have two painted up in British army livery....at just over a pound each I could not resist.
Keep blogging Chaps I need your ideas.
Old Lesney Cars
Hi Chaps,
Baby duty has had me so busy lately but I am really enjoying this, it is an amazing experience.
On the gaming front my son and I have had a couple of games of Deadzone but most of the figures and all of the terrain remain unpainted, a project for next year I think.
For painting I have been surprisingly busy and it has been 20mm. The level of detail seems perfect for the limited time I have and the cheapness of it all is really helping me out. As an example I have used 30 figures to make an Able Archer (now on version 2.9 and a work of genius) British battalion. The box cost 7.99 so my used figures cost around 26P each and a base around 4P......a painted figure based for 30P is cheap even for my scrooge like approach to the hobby.
Vehicles have also been worked upon, two old Matchbox Land Rovers have been converted into the Snatch variant-an idea I "stole" from someones blog but I am afraid that I have lost the link. I will be working on a few more of these models to produce the FFR (fitted for radio) variant and a bomb disposal vehicle.
Above is the process I went through to get the shell of the vehicle which has now been painted but alas no photo's yet. The Revell Modern British are possibly the smallest 20mm figures that I have ever painted and I almost gave up on them but I have eventually churned out 3 units of 8 men that look passable.
The pic above shows the guys and the paints used, they are so small you can't examine them closely on the table anyway.
Back soon with Land Rover pics and armoured cars-all ex toys that cost pennies but will pass first glance in a game.
Keep blogging Chaps, got to go baby crying!
Baby duty has had me so busy lately but I am really enjoying this, it is an amazing experience.
On the gaming front my son and I have had a couple of games of Deadzone but most of the figures and all of the terrain remain unpainted, a project for next year I think.
For painting I have been surprisingly busy and it has been 20mm. The level of detail seems perfect for the limited time I have and the cheapness of it all is really helping me out. As an example I have used 30 figures to make an Able Archer (now on version 2.9 and a work of genius) British battalion. The box cost 7.99 so my used figures cost around 26P each and a base around 4P......a painted figure based for 30P is cheap even for my scrooge like approach to the hobby.
Vehicles have also been worked upon, two old Matchbox Land Rovers have been converted into the Snatch variant-an idea I "stole" from someones blog but I am afraid that I have lost the link. I will be working on a few more of these models to produce the FFR (fitted for radio) variant and a bomb disposal vehicle.
Above is the process I went through to get the shell of the vehicle which has now been painted but alas no photo's yet. The Revell Modern British are possibly the smallest 20mm figures that I have ever painted and I almost gave up on them but I have eventually churned out 3 units of 8 men that look passable.
The pic above shows the guys and the paints used, they are so small you can't examine them closely on the table anyway.
Back soon with Land Rover pics and armoured cars-all ex toys that cost pennies but will pass first glance in a game.
Keep blogging Chaps, got to go baby crying!
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