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!

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.

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.

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!

A Good Wife and an improving Games Workshop.

Hi Chaps,

I have been busy on the hobby front mopping up bits and pieces before embarking on any new projects. There are still a few zombies left to fill a few painting hours but the last of the Space Marines and 20mm Taliban have been completed (actually that is a lie I have around 20 left but they are not undercoated).

This led me to begin thinking about my next project and to my own shock I am thinking of buying the Age of Sigmar handbook. Games Workshop impressed me earlier this year by providing free online rules and army lists and the book now makes this whole "thing" seem even more attractive. Indeed the starter set may follow the book purchase-Games Workshop have really upped their game as far as I am concerned......

....which also led to me buying some Conquest Normans and infantry (hence the Good Wife) just to fill out my medievals -these will be OK for Lion Rampant and Age of Sigmar. Playing solo has the advantage that no one cares what a Bretonnian in my house will look like!

As you can see my desk is a bit random at the moment-the Marines are just odds that someone had painted very thick black-in future any of these odd figures will be painted in this colour scheme to remind me where they started from. It is odd but I seem to end up with a few GW Marines every year?

The motorcyclist is from Grubby Tanks which is a fantastic company-their products are instantly recognisable and full of character.

Well, I hope that Second City (from whom I ordered the plastics on ebay) have just as good a delivery schedule as Mr Grubby.........if so next week will be better than expected.

Keep blogging Chaps!

Moving Home!

Hi Chaps,

It seems I may well be moving home (again), offer accepted, surveys and solicitors etc you know the drill. Hopefully this will be the last time before retirement. Of course the new spot has a larger room just waiting for a war games table....

In the meantime I have been painting the medieval troops that I bought last week....always try to have spare figures to paint Chaps as running out is almost physically painful.

Whilst basing the crossbows my friendly postie arrived with a couple of parcels, one from the amazing Grubby tanks containing some 20mm bad guys and a technical and the other a box of Orion Israeli troops. Such a relief that they arrived as I can now crack on with something modern. Too many bows and shields drives me mad I want to paint something that I can make a bang noise to as I roll the dice!

Thanks for looking, keep blogging Chaps.

20MM Buildings from Cheap Foam.

Hi Chaps,

Due to a run on the Solo Wargamers pound I have had to improvise in order to get any hobby time in this week. My 28MM zombie project is done and sat proudly in my cabinet and so it was time to look around for a replacement period........until I checked my bank balance and then a rethink was in order!

20MM certainly helps the financially challenged to overcome the costs involved in the hobby-if you have the eyesight it is a great scale. So-after checking I could still see these little guys- I ordered a box of Orion Israeli infantry and a few Grubby tanks packs and began to wait.

Whilst waiting I gathered some extruded styrene and a few pizza bases, tacks, cheap childs white glue and other odds and ends found around the house. An internet search of Pakistani city pictures gave me a clue as too what to build and it was Blue Peter time!

These buildings are far from finished as they need air con units (does anyone make these?) and a lot of signs, dangling wires and more rubbish! I have a longer row of even slummier buildings planned but for now I will take a break....who knows the figures may arrive?

Keep blogging Guys I need your ideas!

Plague hits Leyland....WIP

Hi Chaps,

There has been a pause in transmission from my end due to a tummy bug. I cannot complain too much as I am lucky re health but this bug was the real deal, thankfully now destroyed by my immune system (I owe you one for that buddy!).

Hobby wise not much has been happening but I have recovered enough strength to tidy my work area and snap a pic or two of the work that I did complete.

This handful of Airfix Brits were painted because they came with the Landrover and Jackal kits. The kits themselves remain unmade but are definately on my to do list....so many parts.

Please ignore the chaos of my desk-it is now back to normal with very little to be seen on it! The tanks are from Grubby and again are on my to do list. Mr Grubby also sent some free drivers and passangers which was very kind and thoughtful. I recommend this company if you need anything in 20mm.....I also have some of their 28mm figures for Somalia which are great as well.

Lastly a couple of Armourfast T34-85's these are easy to put together but I still manage to make it look hard...in my enfeebled state I just wanted to splash some paint around without being too worried about the result, after all these are just targets for my Germans....

Thanks for popping by, hopefully I will have a more meaningful post soon as I am expecting an order from Warlord Games any day.

Keep blogging Chaps.

Valiant German Work in Progress and an odd box of Valiants

Hi Chaps,

I opened my recent Valiant miniatures order yesterday and began assembling the troops (literally) into their companies to form a Rapid Fire Battalion. I do enjoy this aspect of war gaming and it takes me back to not only "my day" but also to endless hours as a youth writing lists way befor Rapid Fire was born. Any one remember "Operation Warboard"?

The first box was actually forming my second infantry battalion at this scale and I really was only going to use the other box to make one more company and some random figures....which is just as well! See if you can spot anything strange in the photo below?

Did you spot it?

Luckily I need only one sprue of Germans....I have no need at the moment for any Americans! These must have been packed in a rush and I will not bother to send them back or complain, it is slightly amusing, maybe somewhere out there is a box of US troops with three sprues of Germans?

Speaking of Germans here are the lads in the undercoat....

This is a Rapid Fire Battalion-a handy sheet comes with the box set which I have to say is my favourite German set on the market. A couple of Stugs and a munitions cart came with the Valiant order, I have only made one of the carts and they will all be undercoated dark yellow.

Finally "The Other Guys" despite being extremely hard and maybe winning WW2 I cannot warm to them (step up Colin Rumford and make some Russians). I will paint these as and when I feel like it, probably to break up the Germans.

This coming few days should see my transport arrive from Grubby, this will fill out my little battle group and give it some character.

Having had my sight restored by the miracle of lenses has been great and if my attempts at scenery are successful I will sell my 28mm moderns (which I love painting) to build up forces in 20mm.....Elhiem are just too good now that I can see them!

Keep blogging Chaps!

Valiant Order Arrives!

Hi Chaps,

If you have been a wargamer for a few years you may remember the dark ages of poor customer service. Happily I will now forget forever the entire tedious waiting for the post thing for weeks on end! Thank you Valiant!

Valiant just went beyond good customer service. I ordered just before a bank holiday and yet I received my order on Tuesday morning! I have no idea how they managed to package and post it so quickly! A new winner for speedy service with an honourable mention to Royal Mail as well.

As you can see the package contained a late war German battle group and cost under £25 which is extremely good value. The two Stugs have been built and are awaiting undercoat and the first company are on their bases. The cart is a little fiddly but will be a great item to have following my battalions around the table causing mini traffic jams. The link for this and other sets is here.

http://www.valiantminiatures.com/product/german-late-war-battlegroup/

Some people criticize the size of the Valiant infantry and they do look like giants stood next to my Russians but I don't mind as they are easier for my old eyes to paint. Also if they are ever next to each other on the table it means that something has gone badly wrong (for one side at least).

Keep blogging Chaps I will post work in progress pictures soon.

Zvezda and Italeri Artillery

Hi Chaps,

Just a quick update on my progress regarding 20mm WW2. In my absence from this scale a new (to me) manufacturer has appeared called Zvezda. This company is from Russia but my local model shop carries a lot of there kits and availability does not seem to be an issue.

http://www.zvezda.org.ru/

For me the small boxes containing an artillery piece or weapons team are really useful and the kits are detailed and high quality. My huge man fingers always seem to struggle with the smaller parts but I have never claimed to be a model maker.

At £3 per kit these are hard to ignore especially if you are watching the pennies like myself. The kits can also add some variation to your units as the poses are rather different-I have never seen a mortar being carried (that base plate is heavy!).

Later this week I expect an order from Valiant and Grubby tanks to arrive which will complete my own miniature battlegroup, lots of transport and a couple of Stugs but no tanks yet.

Thanks for looking, hopefully I will soon be able to parade all of the lads together.....along with their Russian opponents.

Keep blogging and have a good bank holiday.

20MM Pak 40

Hi Chaps,

Today I got a couple of hours to begin work on half of my anti tank company. This is a plastic box from Italeri and costa around £8. The quality is astounding and everything in the box is useful, It includes two guns each with five crew. The plastic is hard and can be glued and the detail is chunky for plastic and easy to paint.

I have attempted to give the figures the "Plain Tree" (?) cammo jackets but it does not really come across in the pictures. The anti tank company will be easier to ID because of this but as I only have a Marder 3 and crew left to paint to complete it I needn't have bothered I suppose.

The figures are on the large side and are not a bad mix with the even larger Valiant guys without too much difference. Tomorrow if I get up an hour sooner I will start on my little plastic pile of Zvezda mini's which are a motorcycle and side car and a mortar team,

Hobby wise this is a very exciting time for me. New spectacles (god yes-I am that old) mean that I can see these little guys clearly for the first time in years. Add to this the cheapness and plethora of models available and it becomes an opportunity to take advantage of. Speaking of cheapness I just ordered the Valiant Miniatures German Army Battle group....

http://www.valiantminiatures.com/categories/limited-period-offers/

Probably more infantry than I could ever use at once but this should be a great start too which I intend to add some resin vehicles from Grubby Tanks.

http://www.grubbytanks.com/product-category/britannia-miniatures-unpainted/20mm-world-war-two/

No company will be planning a holiday home on the back of my orders but I am getting value for money...I just need Valiant to start producing some Russians! Colin Rumford come on buddy Valiant Russian infantry please!

Keep blogging Chaps and Chappesses I need your work to inspire me and to copy from!

Valiant Miniatures 20MM German

Hi Chaps,

It has been a slow hobby week due to being back temporarily as a single parent but a few models have been painted.

The most rewarding-and surprisingly quick to paint were some Valiant Miniatures German infantry. just lately I have been painting almost all 28MM but I often wonder if I should have stuck with Elheim moderns in the smaller 20MM scale. I may even unload some figures to commit the worst war gaming sin of all.....the same period in two different scales! It's the damned tanks-in 20MM I can actually field some without placing them back in a safety deposit box after use.

The Chaps at Valiant need to produce some Russians because my old Italeri look tiny compared to these huge Aryan warriors. Maybe it's the free time I have but I keep looking at the Plastic Soldier Company website and making lists....then go to Elheim and Grubby Tanks and do the same.

Hopefully by the weeks end there will be several new Taliban completed, The Assault Group politicians are almost complete, there is a dude in traditional arabic garb but he is still awaiting a white undercoat.

Now I am off to cost out the price of a Russian tank battalion in 20MM. Or maybe a Modern Brit Battalion from Grubby....great problems to have!

Keep blogging Chaps.

20mm German Section for Bolt Action

Hi,

This is just a quick update on the Valiant miniature Germans. These hard plastic figures are super easy to paint and full of detail and now I am beginning to care even less if they are over sized. In no time at all I will have a Rapid Fire battalion ready...so in Bolt Action terms that could be....? I will work it out later!

The helmets are now painted (some had been missed on these pics) and the odd base now has a few flowers! A mortar stand and the HQ Company are on the work bench-these are very easy to paint and it will be interesting to see if the Italeri Russians will be as co operative!

Keep painting Chaps !