J.O.E. Vandeleur

Every Flames of War army needs a commander and Lt Col Vandeleur has got the job of leading my mixed force of British armour and US paratroopers into the fray.

Simple paint scheme:

•  Russian Uniform
• Black ink wash
• First dry brushed highlight -Russian Uniform
• Second dry brushed highlight 1:3 mix of White and Russian Uniform.

All paint Vallejo the ink was Citadel's Nuln Oil.

Model is Battlefront

Ork Deff Dredd

Confession time on Khaki Drab -I've always had a thing about 40K Orks. They're green and they're mean and in the bleak war of the far future the only source of slapstick.

I've been collecting them right from the first Space Raiders box. This is the latest addition to the collection a mean ripping, blasting machine. Should really get back to work on that Stompa! Maybe one day it'll turn up on these pages.

 

Chaos Terminators

More reinforcements for the forces of corruption. These like my previous Word Bearers have been finished using a combination of Army Painter base coat, the darkest of the dips and highlight using Citadel paints.

As before I left the gloss varnish finish, I doubt the fallen much care about camouflage as the Long War enters another millennium. Soon the 13th Black Crusade will sally forth from the Eye... and invade some green flocked polystyrene tiles in my spare bedroom.

 

All figures are Games Workshop.

T-34s

The last of the Soviet tanks rolls of the production eh... desk. These Plastic Soldier Company models have been sprayed with Battlefront's Soviet Armour paint then given a black ink wash followed by two light drybrushes of Vallejo's Russian Green and Russian Green in 3:1 mix with white. Not my best work by any means but repeatable and quickly onto the war games table to deal with all those Stugs.

The Final Huguenot Foot Regiment

This is La Meloniere's the last of the three Huguenot foot regiments that fought in Ireland in 1690. Ready just in time for a League of Augsburg weekend in Derby. Wonder how they will do...

The whole army is going...

But the project doesn't finish there, a cavalry regiment of Huguenots Schomberg's French Horse also fought in the campaign. A test piece is below.

And to keep things interesting I'm adding a cannon or two...

 

All miniatures are Warfare.

Kellerman

This is Perry's version of Kellerman from their 1815 range. Like many other figures he's been languishing on the old desktop for some time and only recently got daubed whilst I was contemplating what to start next.

I recently made a list of everything I'd bought and had yet to paint. I don't recommend doing this, it was depressing in the extreme.

Finished Unit - Lockheed P-38 Lightning

This was an impulse purchase (so many are) but I've always loved the look of this aircraft, maybe it's the twin fin novelty. This is the Battlefront model and will fit in with some of the forces in the D-Day books.

Painted in a very similar way to the Sherman tanks:

1. Black undercoat.
2. Russian green (Vallejo) base coat.
3. Nuln oil (GW) ink wash.
4. Russian green highlight. 
5. Russian green/green grey edge highlight.

Finished Unit - Huguenot Brigadier

Taking a break from large units and on to the officer class for a while. Probably already have too many brigadiers for the size of my BLB force but I do get through them at a reasonable rate!

Finished Unit - La Caillemotte's

The second foot unit for my Huguenots. Will they make Derby in October 2013…


All figures and flags Warfare

Next unit in R&D…

What I’m Working on Now…

Still getting those good old Huguenots together in the hope I can parade them around Derby in October.

Which October is debatable but we can but dream! All Warfare Miniatures.

Finished Unit - Chaos Dreadnought

The Word Bearers get a new toy with which to destroy the works of the false god-emperor. Gee these guys need to take a holiday, 10,000 years of perpetual hate can't be good for the stress levels!

Used Army Painter spray can as an undercoat followed by details using Citadel paint. The whole model was then dipped in Strong Tone. Highlights then applied. In keeping with my other Word Bearers models I've kept this one with a gloss look, just to be different from my preferred matt finish.

Its all GW's finest of course...

 

 

STUG Comparison – Plastic Soldier Company v Battlefront

So how do 15mm plastic Battlefront, metal Battlefront and Plastic Soldier Company STUGs compare? Do they get on well enough to be in the same unit or even the same army?





In all of the pictures the left hand vehicle is from the Battlefront Open Fire box set. The middle one is Plastic Soldier Company and on the right is a metal/resin Battlefront.

As ever the metal/resin feels much more substantial and looks a bit chunkier but overall I think I like all three. I remember being a bit disappointed when I did a similar comparison with T-34s and the PSC ones were noticeably smaller and a bit less detailed (though much, much cheaper if you’re a gamer and that won out for me). With these I think you could get away even with a mixed unit. Certainly from three feet it’s difficult to tell which is which (though that old garish hand painted job on the metal/resin ones is a dead give away – anybody need a repaint?).

Finished Unit – STUG Assault Guns

These ones are from the Plastic Soldier Company and I’m reasonably pleased how they turned out. As with the previous ones these have been airbrushed middlestone followed by reflective green and chocolate brown. They were then given a black ink wash to try and bring out some definition and then dry brushed highlights. All colours Vallejo this time.



It’ll be interesting to see how these compare with the next batch of German tanks in the garage, these will be completed with Vallejo Model Air colours instead of relying on my ham-fisted, random mixing!

Finished Unit – BLB Commanded Shot

This is a combined grenadiers unit meant to represent the Huguenots in Ireland around 1690. I reckon I’ve made the uniforms a bit more colourful than they were but there’s nothing definitive out there and I wanted something to break up all that grey!
They also fit in with the flags produced by Warfare to complement their figure range.


All figures are Warfare. The buildings in the background are actually 15mm Battleground from Flames of War. The hill and wall are Games Workshop.

What I’m Working on Now…

Tanks… lots of tanks…

T-34s Plastic Soldier Company.

Shermans from Plastic Soldier Company

A stack of Plastic Soldier Company Stugs

Plastic Soldier Company Tigers and some Battlefront APCs

Bolt Action Tiger with Battlefront APC for scale.

Finished Unit - 88

Battlefront 88 AA guns – let’s see how cool that Russian air support looks now!

Battlefront

What I’m Working on Now…

Combined Grenadiers to represent commanded shot in Beneath the Lily Banners.

All figures are Warfare.

Finished Unit – Pak 40

Again from the Open Fire box set. Grey undercoat for these followed by equipment highlight and a black wash. Guns Middlestone undercoat then a  black wash followed by a Middlestone highlight.

Finished Unit – STUG G Assault Guns

These are out of the Open Fire starter set. They’ve been undercoated in middle stone and then air brushed with reflective green and chocolate brown (Vallejo colours). The tracks etc are then highlighted and everything given a black wash to put in some definition. Not my best work but relatively quick from box to table (at my pace anyway).

Finished Unit – French Infantry 17th Line

I used to play a lot of Warhammer and for some reason I see the French in Napoleonic times as pretty much like the orcs (albeit not green and scaly) – you simply can’t have enough of them. This little lot are meant to represent the 1st Battalion of the 17th Line who were part of the 2nd Division of the 1st Corps at Waterloo.
All miniatures are a mixture of metal and plastic Perry, flag GMB.



These were completed using Army Painter – a combination of grey undercoat and the mid-tone shade. Not too sure it works with blue but reasonably pleased with the effect on great coats.

Wargames Illustrated Issue 308

Just received this through the post and was delighted to find an article about one of the wargames weekends I’d attended with the League of Augsburg in Derby. The article is entitled ‘A Pair of Kings’ and I’m even mentioned in passing (the clue is Huguenots!).
More information on these weekends can be found over at the League of Augsburg site.

More Huguenots!

Beneath the Lily Banners has rules for commanded shot, small units of single models which set out to disrupt the big battalions. Gamers beware - in the original rules they were a bit on the powerful side but in recent games this has been paired down (which is good as I used to find them annoying little bleepers).

This chap is supposed to represent Captain of Grenadiers de St Sauver from La Meloniere’s battalion. He was sent with some 200 men as part of reinforcements for Sligo in October 1689. They got into a bit of a barney with some Jacobites...

Finished Unit– Cambon’s Foot

First unit of Warfare miniatures complete. This one represents Cambon’s foot regiment which consisted of Huguenot’s and other disenchanted French. Fought round Europe including in Ireland 1689-1690 where the League of Augsburg weekends are set.

Finished Unit – WWII King Tiger

Just what those Shermans don’t want to see down in the woods today.

Random impulse purchase of a Battlefront model.

Airbrushed then doused in GW Badab Black ink and a few highlights applied

What I’m Working on Now…

More Huguenots…

Finished Unit–Chaos Marines Word Bearers

Another inroad into the plastic mountain. The figures are Citadel as is the Chaos Temple in the background.

This was the first unit I had tried using the Army Painter method. I was pleased with my test piece:

But I clearly didn’t mix the dip well enough before I used it on the others as they came out brighter and with less definition which was only partially remedied by ink and paint:.

I did like the gloss finish it made them look very different from my matt Imperial marines.
For reference I used the guide available for download from the Army Painter web site. I will be trying again, hopefully practise will make perfect (or at least acceptable).

Finished Unit – Huguenot Command Stand ‘The Notary’

Rightly or wrongly this command vignette illustrates the  most notable aspect of my wargaming with the League of Augsburg. Another brave officer lies slain probably during some foolhardy charge. His replacement has decided that he’d better get a will made before the next turn comes round…



All miniatures from Warfare