This weeks challenge

17/06/2013 1 Comment

So, my BoB Big Game is on this coming Saturday, which will provide plenty of eye candy and good conte.

Slight problem – here’s the pile of lead and resin to paint by Friday 6pm (after which I’m down the village hall setting the tables and scenery up):

  • 1st Corps buildings x3, only one has had a lick of paint yet
  • Ruined farmhouse multi part kit, and the interior is detailed, barely undercoated
  • two mortars and crew base coated only
  • two HMGs and crew base coated only
  • mounted command x3 not even assembled
  • large command group requring final coat
  • Lewis LMGs x2 (ditto)
  • Austn Putilov x2 basecoated only
  • Garford-Putilove (ditto)
  • Erhart, undercoat only

This is a monster of a building, I believe by Moon Dragon that is now OOP.

Oh, and in between all that I now find I am chairing the Group Parish Council meeting on Tuesday (3 Parishes), which has some tasty contentious subjects to resolve, and on Thursday the Village Hall Committee AGM, where the chairman stands down.

No pressure.

Filed under Painting, RCW / BoB

Missed Milestones

13/06/2013 Leave a comment

Having been busy painting and planning Big Games this spring has resulted in me missing reporting on three milestones for this blog:

(1) I’ve been running it for a year;
(2) There’s been over 400 posts (and two dozen pages);
(3) It’s had over 20,000 visitors.

Are any of these important ?

Only no.3

There’s no point in doing a blog that no-one looks at. With an average of 50 views per day I think that’s adequate feedback that some people like this blog.

What have I learnt ?

(1) You need good content;
(2) You need good content;
(3) If you want a lot of hits, hit the forums !
(4) You need lots of good content;
(5) Get a good camera;
(6) Take picture of…good content…
(7) WHFB is the biggest draw, not historicals.

Actually I don’t hit the forums more than about once a month. It really does feel like pimping yourself out.

What have I achieved ?

(1) A repository of my group’s gaming events, which was the principle aim.
(2) Recruited new people to the group.
(3) Advertised my favourite manufacturers.
(4) Maintained my web master-y skills.

For the future:

(1) Get more good content;
(2) Improve photography skills
(3) Get more good content…

As a sign off, ~I won’t compromise the content, for the number of hits I get.

Filed under Uncategorized

BoB/RCW: 1st Corps buildings, painted

12/06/2013 Leave a comment

I painted the first o0f the 1st Corps buildings, just as the second batch arrived in the post.

Just to check my sanity, I double checked how wood ages and its colours:

Looks a good match. I used Foundry Granite Shade and Bay Brown Shade, washed with Citadel Biel-Tan green wash and then did a strong drybrush of Foundry Granite light.

For the logs in the porch, I used Foundry Dark Leather, with a Boneyard drybrush.

The three pieces.

The shutters are painted green and then weathered, doesn’t show so well in the photo.

And I had a go at the interior – my sources confirmed my hunch that it would have a whitewashed interior.

I didn’t spend much time on the interior, as these buildings are being painted for a Big Game w/e after next, but they are very crisp and the detail is as good on the interior as on the exterior.

Filed under Painting, RCW / BoB, Scenery Tagged with , , , ,

BoB/RCW: At Last

09/06/2013 4 Comments

At last, I have completed all the Cossack cavalry:

A double sized GW Case completely full of cavalry….

Yup 80+ Cavalry…

I oped the box after nearly 10 years of ignoring it, and have spent three months finishing painting the contents.

Just in time for the contents to fire up the BoB game I am sorting out in two weeks time.

(NB: MIssing figures are being varnished currently)

Filed under Painting, RCW / BoB Tagged with , , , , ,

BoB/RCW: Stuff

08/06/2013 Leave a comment

Repainted standards, some Cossacks…

…and three Musketeer Junior Officers (Messenger, NCVO and Junior officer).

Should have been much more to photo today…

Filed under RCW / BoB

BoB/RCW: Conversions

08/06/2013 Leave a comment

After the Spackle incident, a visit to Rich’s Pinning Service was more productive.

A simple head swap on a Copplestone White Russian HMG crew will help variation of these units – paint jobs only go so far !

This means I have:

  • straight up White crew with field caps
  • ditto, in colourful white regiment colours
  • ditto, with Plastoon Cossack breeches (blue)
  • crew with fur hats

Seeing as I am providing four armies later this month, that’s a unique HM crew for each. :-)
Sad I know, and I’m also planning on mixing in Musketeer HMG crew with Copplestone and vice versa to make another three HMG stands all of which will be unique.

The second mortar crew – with fur hats to distinguish it from the first lot. As I also have the Musketeer HMG crew, they may well be swapped into this unit. as well.

These units are all well advanced on the paint table and should be pictured shortly.

Filed under RCW / BoB Tagged with , , ,

Spackle…FFS…

08/06/2013 Leave a comment

I sprayed the figures from yesterday with varnish…a warm summer’s day, no moisture, and yet whilst the 9 infantry were fine, the two mounted standard bearers developed spackle:

Arrrggghhh…

So I am now sorting them out rather than finishing off the last 8 Cossacks I have on the table.

Grrrr

Filed under Painting, RCW / BoB

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 29 other followers