VBCW Armoured Truck

I had a crack at scratchbuilding an armoured truck yesterday using a Days Gone By removal van and lots of plastic card. I'm not very happy with the results as it looks a bit funny and needs some mudguards or something to sort out the front end. I also need to add some strips and rivets to cover up all the dodgy joints.

If I add a turret or gun mounting of some sort it might make it look too tall as it already towers over the other unarmoured lorries I have painted up. It's been in and out of the box several times as I can't make up my mind whether to chuck it or save it. At the moment I haven't quite decided if I'm going to finish it off but may well have another go later on today.

VBCW Red Workers Militia

As I've virtually finished the BUF I was wondering about some opposition for them. However, I had put off doing anything as I want to get back to the MiG Alley project so that I can get it done by the end of May.

I was rummaging around in the various boxes, trays and packs under the desk last night and found a rather neat HLBS FT17 tank that I bought years ago for the Back of Beyond, assembled but didn't use, as it was too tiddly when placed next to the Copplestone Bolsheviks, which are large 28's.

So, having found it again and checked it out against the Musketeer BUF figures I thought about using it for them but then, in a moment of recklessness, decided to use it as the basis of a Red Workers Militia force for VBCW.

I've now gone and ordered some packs of militia and IRA from Musketeer and a SCW Republican LMG pack and command pack from Empress. There will be about 25 figures in total plus a few extras from Artizan that I have stashed away somewhere, assuming I can find them that is.

When I get round to this I don't now but it's another box of stuff to add to the pile.

Tau Codex Thingy

I picked this up on Ebay the other day for a couple of quid. After following the advice of the collective Dads (thanks chaps) I have been searching around on ebay for bargains and reckon I could get a decent force of Tau up and running for much less than the official GW cost.

I'm on the look out for some of the basic infantry types as a starting point. If I can use them as non 40K opposition for my Em4 troopers, I'd be killing two birds with one stone. They're very hard sci-fi to look at and if I painted them up in camo patterns I think they'd look pretty cool.

BUF Lorries Finished

I spent a couple of hours finishing off the lorries for the BUF flying column this evening and managed to get them wrapped up in one go. I decided to ditch the van as it didn't look right next to the trucks and I couldn't be bothered to paint it so that it did match.

Anyway, the trucks got the three stage Foundry Phlegm Green drybrush, followed by some judicious Foundry Rawhide weathering to finish off the overall scheme. The flatbeds were painted with a base of GW Calthan Brown and three layers of Foundry Chestnut. Finally, the tyres were painted in Foundry Charcoal Grey and the headlights with a black basecoat and then highlights in Foundry Sky Blue.

I added some decals from a set of 40K transfers as they look similar to the BUF flash insignia and were quick and simple to use. They could do with some number plates and unit marking for the mudguards but I think they look OK.

Next up are the bases for the vehicles and the texturing for the figure bases, which I'm hoping to wrap up tomorrow night.

VBCW in 15mm?

The more I think about this the more it makes a lot of sense, which is unusual for me at the best of times.

There's a variant of second edition AK47 for the Spanish Civil War called 'Mexicanski 36' and another variant for the Russian Civil War, both of which have additional rules for things like armoured trains, improvised armoured lorries, commissars and so on. It would be easy to cherry pick the necessary extras and build them into a ruleset that would cover what's needed for a Very British Civil War.

http://mr-home.staff.shef.ac.uk/rules/mex36.html

The only thing that would need to be produced from scratch would be the lists for the various factions and the political flowcharts but there's plenty of information in the 1938 VBCW source books to develop these. This would actually be quite good fun as you could really push the boat out with lots of faction specific events.

For figures, the Peter Pig ranges cover everything needed using the WW1, WW2, SCW and RCW ranges providing plenty of infantry, artillery crews, civilians and characters. The vehicles can also be easily sourced from Peter Pig, QRF and Minifigs, together with some scratchbuilding.

Even the terrain is straightforward as any 15mm buildings could be used that look suitable for a UK location, from half timbered medieval and ECW houses through to industrial factories and terraced houses. A lot of N gauge or TT model railway stuff could also be deployed.

This could be lots of fun. It's a shame I can't start anything new this year as I quite like the idea of AK47 in 1938, although it would need a new title. How about 'Brumgun 38' ?

BUF Lorries

I had a crack at the lorries for the BUF tonight, starting with a three layer wet and drybrush of Foundry Phlegm Green. The shade layer went on OK but the mid and top layer ended up a bit slimy, as for some reason this particular pot is very liquid and the satin black undercoat wasn't a good base layer as a result.

So, I left them for a bit then came back and had a go at one of the lorries to clean it up and try out some drybrush weathering. I gave it a light coat of GW satin varnish to dull it down and create a good base for painting. I also added a little GW Camo Green highlighting then got stuck in with a bit of weathering to the chassis using three layers of Foundry Rawhide. Finally, I had a go at the flatbed with some Foundry Chestnut shade but this ended up a bit slimy, so I left it at that.

You can see the three stages I went through this evening in the picture.

There's still a lot to do, including the flatbed, the headlights, tyres, decals and extra highlighting, but I'm not too unhappy about the progress so far. I'll crack on tomorrow to get the other lorries up to this stage and the other one finished off, if I get the time.

I need to get them done as they're going to be deployed for a game next Tuesday against Jon's Anglican League local yokels down in deepest darkest Dorset.

BUF Convoy

I started on the lorries for the BUF this evening but didn't get much done as I only had an hour to spare. I glued some aluminium mesh over the windows so that I didn't have to paint the cab interiors and so the grenades bounce off (in theory at least).

Other than that it was just a case of a couple of coats of spray satin black (I've run out of matt black) and a then a brushover of Foundry Charcoal Black Shade to cover up any gaps and take the shine off the surfaces.

Once the paint has fully cured I'll be giving them a three stage drybrush of Foundry Phlegm Green so that they match with the CV35 tankette, although they'll also need some drybrushing and weathering to add a bit of contrast, as well as having the flatbeds at the back painted up in a nice wood effect. I should be able to get a fair way along with this tomorrow evening.

BUF Painting Finished

I was lucky enough to get a few hours or painting in today, which is pretty rare for me as I'm usually tied up at the weekends with the kids and/or DIY, ironing, work etc etc.

Anyway, the BUF have been pretty well finished off which means that I hit the deadline spot on for this mini project. The figures had the rifles painted in GW Dark Flesh then washed with Flesh Ink. I think I'll add another highlight to the rifles but they don't look too bad as they are. The Vickers and Lewis guns were painted in three stages of Foundry Phlegm Green whilst the Bergmann trench brooms had a single drybrush of GW Codex Grey.

After that, the epaulettes were painted in GW Enchanted Blue and highlighted in GW Ice Blue. To finish off, I painted the hair in various shades of brown and grey, with an ink ash to add definition. The boots and leather holsters were painted in Foundry Chestnut Brown with a wash of brown ink. A few extra bits of detailing including shirt colours, ties, belt buckles and so on, and they're done. The flag in the photo is a temporary effort and will get sorted out later on.

I also painted the tracks, wheels and flame fuel hose on the CV35 which now looks less like a little green box and more like a tank, even if it's designed for spagetti munching fascist midgets.

I need to varnish the figures then texture the bases before painting them, which is the plan for tomorrow. I also need to get the lorries done, so they'll get and undercoat tomorrow and a couple of layers of drybrushing if I have the time.

Warhammer 40K

I bought my eldest son a 40K starter set the other day after he convinced me he really, really wanted one for his birthday. It's not until June but, having considered buying him just a few individual boxed sets of figures at exhorbitant GW prices, I thought the Black Reach set would be a much cheaper option in the long run, relatively speaking that is.

We spent a day last weekend putting the space marines together and undercoating them. I say we but Alex actually did most of it himself and quite well too. Anyway, he's now going on and on about painting them up so I'm going to see how he gets on tomorrow with a simple base coat and highlight. He wants to paint them green, so they're going to be Salamanders (apparently).

To be honest, what I know about the 40K megaverse wotsit could be written on the back of a very small postage stamp, so I'm a bit in the dark when it comes to space marine chapters and paint schemes. I guess we'll just look at the piccies in the rulebook and do something similar.

Now, on the other hand, I quite fancy getting myself a 40K army of some sort to paint up and use for a few simple games against the space marines. I think I'd go for something quick and easy to paint so Necrons, Eldar or Tau look like the best options. I've never really been interested in 40K but, if I'm going to get my money's worth out of Alex's new hobby, I should really give it a try I suppose?

Any suggestions?

Charlie Don't Surf (again)

An interesting interview with Rich Clarke about the thinking behind Charlie Don't Surf. Well worth a read. I think the rules are due out sometime in the next week or so:

http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?page_id=142