Saturday 28 March 2015

WorkBench Update ( or if you prefer, what the hell is he up to now!!!!)

Well now, its like this right now, yes I am still working!!


Still busy painting Spanish Civil War nonsense, and for me, this is quite remarkable, as I have managed to stay on one thing, for an extended period of time :-)

So, who is loitering on the desk? Well to the left, and where else would they be, the Anarchists from the FAI/CNT, and on the extreme right, and feeling decidedly fascist, are the Legionarios from the Spanish Foreign Legion .
I'm furiously painting these models, so I can put on a Chain of Command game over at New Buckenham. Its good to have something to aim for, as it focuses my mind a bit more. There is a bit of forward planning going on here, as I intend to use both of these forces in a forthcoming project, more on that another time, as the best way to tell you about it, is with yet another "stunning" video production on La Tierra TV.

Lets have a closer look at both sides, first up

The Anarchists


On this side of the bench, it really is just a case of making up numbers. Fielding any kind of militia force in Chain of Command, means you will require a good few figures, I have a lot of militia types already painted, and can throw in a few Peninsular Army, and Assaltos figures to make up the hardened militia. Once again the car appears, and this time I am determined to produce the finished article. The crew figures are just about done, so its really just the car to finish off.
Will also try to make up a Pins marker, using the casualty figure, not many casualty figures around for the SCW, so I was forced to look elsewhere. This fellow is a Perry Miniatures Sudan range model, and with a little bit of jiggery pokery, he's just about spot on..

The Legionarios


Over on the right, the Tercio gets some more Legionarios to throw forwards in a do or die attack, "Viva la Muerte"
Bloodthirsty bunch they are!! Most of the figures are just filling out the sections to make a full platoon, but the front few figures, will be used to make up some of the additional "extras" you can buy from the support lists. 
From left to right, a medic vignette, a wounded legionario, getting a bit of TLC from the platoon medic, then next two figures will be used to make up a moving 50mm mortar team. The basic platoon requires two mortar teams, I have one team already, just need something a bit "different" for the other one. The last two figures will be Legionario Observer Scouts, just a bit of converting required to get them where I want.

And The Other Gubbins


I have one of these, a Schnieder CA1,been doing a bit of work to improve the basic model, the MGs have been replaced with more sturdier brass rod scratch built ones, and it needs its sewer cover armour added on the front.

So, to paint this,I get to break out.....................


ahhh, the joys of blocked jets, splattered paintwork, and the malodorous smell of thinners in the air, all accompanied by the vast selection of sweary word, that litter my limited vocabulary

because I want my tank, to look like this tank


Not that difficult eh folks!!!

I shall replace the POUM markings with FAI/CNT ones, so it fits in better with my militia force.

So, to help me in my quest, I have invested some of my hard earned pesetas in some new "painty" stuff



First of all, colour modulation paints, now this is a fairly new painting technique, and something I have not tried before, the second picture shows some filtery, washing, wotsits, that should help me get that dirty and battered look I'm after. been a while since I worked on any vehicle models, so  I did a bit of learning, by watching YouTube, and found a decent video that shows a lot of techniques, well worth a watch.


I am in the fortunate position of having  a week off work, so I can crack on, and get some bits sorted, of course there will be the obligatory pictures of the mess I produce.

I shall also be working on yet another epic video production, or two. I like the combination of posting  a shedload of verbosity, and crap photos on here, coupled with the wobbly camerawork on the La Tierra channel, so I guess you poor sods will have to put up with a bit more of this from me.

Oh yeah, for any of you that are interested in the Spanish Civil War, may I suggest a couple of blogs that are worth having a look at.
For any one contemplating painting some buildings, here is how an expert does his


and if you want to see how Chain of Command looks, and read some very entertaining after game reports
Then hitch a ride over to 


well worth a visit 

So until next time


Try not to shove too much chocolate in your face.










Thursday 12 March 2015

Just a Teeny Tiny Project......

I read a book, I tend to do that sometimes, this book was about a chap who served with the Spanish Foreign legion in the civil war. In one section of the book, he was talking about an annoying Republican armoured train, that kept trundling down the railway track from Madrid, shooting up their  positions, and then buggering off back to Madrid.
I got thinking, thinking is dangerous, thinking makes you go Googling, and you find this

http://vehiculosblindadosdelaguerracivil.blogspot.com.ar/search/label/TRENES%20BLINDADOS

Uh Oh, more Googing required, to find some suitable model railway gubbins.

Woooooooo Woooooo




I worry about myself sometimes :-)