Yorkists

I've had a couple of frames of the Perry plastic WOTR archers set lying around for a while. So, I thought that that I would have a go at some minor conversion work. It's sort of a diorama but sort of isn't if that makes sense. I very much like the trend for a lot of figures on a base rather than the ubiquitous 'single figure on a round base' that is very popular. Anyway 8 Yorkist foot soldiers providing close protection to a banner. Conversions were pretty simple and mostly involved cutting arms to remove longbows and adding pole arms. It's on eBay at Perry 28mm Wars of the Roses Infantry if you are interested:

Wrong

A recent commission did not go terribly well. Some fair criticism from the  client and I hope, everything sorted out amicably.

Now I know that its wrong to blame the figures but try as I might I just couldn't get them right. These were 18mm SYW Prussians and the blue was awkward, the red patchy and the white shaky. Having recently done their Austrians and French which came out perfectly (he said immodestly) I began to wonder what had changed. Nothing. I tried several sample figures and they refused to work.

I recall having a similar problem with some 28mm Prussians (Artisan I think) and prior to that some Front Rank samples. I've come to the conclusion that its an era I should keep away from. Is it me or is there something more mystic going on here?

Oh and by the way, its the first time somethings gone wrong. Don't let me scare you off! 

Ligne

It has been a busy few months so as light relief I've been working on these:

Perry figures as usual and a mix of 8 metal and 16 plastic which seems to work well. They are for sale so if you are interested then drop me a line. They will of course come with eagle and standard. 

PaintingWar

Seen this? If you haven't its 80 pages of how to paint French Napoleonic figures from a Spanish concern called 'Proyecto Cruz'. Its the work of Senor Rafael Perez who is one of the seemingly endless line of talented Spanish painters and whose collective master works can be found across the blogosphere. Oh and if you live in the UK it will cost you GBP 20.70 (inc p+p). I hate to think what those across the pond might be asked to contribute.

Is it worth it? I put it in these terms rather than 'Is it any good?' because to my weary eyes it is a splendid product. The figures look great and there are plenty of new ideas for Vallejo triads - I have to confess I am a sucker for these. If someone says you can mix Hull Red with Dark Grey Blue and then lighten with the ubquitous Iraqi Sand  to recreate French camouflage at Dien Bien Phu then I am the first to copy the idea (obviously this is a made up reference, try it at your own risk. It may or may not work). This alone had me hooked as I worked my way through the line infantry, the gunners, the cuirassiered miner, the cavalry and finally the Emperor himself.

Lots of good ideas and some nice pictures, what more could you ask? Pedants will no doubt find the curious Spanglish grammar somewhat challenging but any painting guide that includes the word 'neophyte' in its introduction has got to be worth a look. And anyway you know what they mean and if you cannot work it out then perhaps you might have tried a little harder at school. Except in the case of 'neophyte'. I'm still unsure.

Let's face it, when you trust your investment to the Spanish postal service your hopes are not high. But ola, the package arrived in 4 days. Yes it did. So all in all I was happy.

But is it worth it? You'd spend the same on a box of plastic figures wouldn't you? It would get you around 18 metal figures and you wouldn't think twice, would you? But £20 for a magazine?

Varnish and Spanglish

I'm normally pretty diligent when it comes to varnishing a figure. Gloss is no problem - the Humbrol enamel is easy to apply and dries quickly enough (although it does tend to become unworkable after I've used about half a tin and end up chucking it away. The challenge comes when it is time for the matt.

I use the Winsor and Newton galleria range. It's very good and dries flat. No sheen or satin finish with this lot. But can I get full coverage of the figure? I put on two coats and then leave them to dry. After which I'll check the figure and touch up any gaps where the gloss is still showing. Then I repeat and repeat and repeat. No matter how often I check the figure there is always a greater or lesser shiny piece winking at me. 'Where did that come from?' I cry. It wasn't there previously but I suppose it must have been. Any hints or tips out there on how to ensure that this doesn't happen? 'Try harder' is not helpful.

I splashed out the £20 necessary to buy the Painting War booklet on how to do French Napoleonic figures. Not cheap. I haven't had the time to properly read the thing yet but will do a small review once I have. The text is however an idiosyncratic form of Spanglish which keeps the reader entertained. The front cover has a logo which looks like a footprint with the words 'In campaing' stamped in the middle. Go figure! Some very nicely painted models though.

Falklands 2

I put some Falklands photos on the blog recently and they seemed to go down quite well. So here are a few more. I thought I had more but will obviously need to spend more time in the attic. I should stress that these are all from November 82 but the major clear up had not really started. It does give you an idea of the mess.

Derelict Argentine helicopters on the racecourse which was just to the west of Stanley. I gather that an intact airframe found its way to a new paint job in Hereford. Urban myth?

The runway at Stanley airfield. For an old photo it makes the place look terribly bleak. It was!! I remember taking this and goodness it was miserable. Some C130's can just be seen lurking to the left. Shortly afterwards a Phantom took off and seeing the blue flame coming out of its engines was very impressive to a very young infanteer.

The airstrip at Goose Green with a couple of Pucara ground attack aircraft. It gives you a good idea of how flat the ground was. When you read that it was like a billiard table I hope this shows how good an analogy it actually is.

Crann Tara

Not a great picture but I've just discovered the Crann Tara range of Jacobite Rebellion figures. This man is the test run and its the first time I've done tartan in ages. Notwithstanding the painting these are a great range of figures and are without doubt the best clansmen I have come across. I'm aiming to do a few samples to build an 8 man stand. It will take me 100 years.