About Me

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London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
A mythical beast - a female wargamer! I got back into wargaming in the summer of 2011 after a very, very long break and haven't looked back since. I must admit that I seem to be more of a painter/collector than a gamer, but do hope to correct that at some point in the near future. My gaming interests span the ages, from the "Biblical" era all the way through to the far future. I enjoy games of all sizes, from a handful of figures up to major battles (see my megalomaniacally sized Choson Korean and Russian Seven Years War armies).

Thursday 31 October 2019

Finished: 28mm British Paras Batch 2 - Supports


I got the varnishing done on these this morning, so I can declare the second batch of British paras complete (apart from the basing, which will be done when the third batch are finished). This batch contains various support weapons and some Jump Off Point markers.

Jump Off Points






"That was the bleedin' General"





Snipers





PIAT Teams





Major Robert Cain of the 2nd South Staffs


Vickers MMGs




I'm going to be rebasing these on 50mm round bases so that the loader is actually feeding the gun!


3" Mortar



I'm also going to rebase the mortar and the chap with the mortar bomb onto a single base.


6-Pounder Anti Tank Gun





75mm Pack Howitzer




I have a sneaking suspicion that the 6-pounder is slightly oversized and the 75mm pack howitzer is slightly undersized.


The figures here are mostly Artizan, with some Crusader (the General) and Foundry (one sniper, one PIAT gunner, one PIAT loader). Two of the Artizan snipers are from a NW Europe Commandos pack.

Wednesday 30 October 2019

Wednesday Workbench 30 October



Progress has been grindingly slow over the past few days as this lurgy keeps coming and going. I've also had to spend a fair bit of time visiting various pharmacies to see if they are able to get hold of one of my prescriptions - without joy as it seems that none of the suppliers have any in stock for them to order in. I'm currently waiting for my GP to get in touch about amending my prescription; hopefully they won't take too long as I'll be running out in less than two weeks.

However, I was able to combine my search with a bit of shopping and found these chaps in Poundland:


They should make some useful terrain for fantasy or pirate games.

But back to the workbench!

I've finally finished painting the support weapons for my Paras; I'll be doing the varnishing tomorrow and gluing the Vickers MMGs onto the gunners' bases:


I've also textured the bases of the Foundry Paras I had bought at SELWG, assembled the hand carts, added some extra details to the jeeps and trailer and a 2" mortar to one of the paras:



Hmm, seems I missed a bit of mould-line on the beret...

Here's a slightly better look at the dragoons, lizardmen and combat droids:


I've also finished prepping the barbarian horde. The infantry and one mount have been glued onto bases:


A couple of the infantry needed pinning. The cavalry are also prepped, but I need to order some 60x30mm oval bases for them as they are slightly too big to go on 50x25mm ones. I've also ordered a few more figures to make up the units to the correct numbers for Dragon Rampant - I should end up with plenty of options for games.

As I have the spray booth out to do the varnishing tomorrow, I'll probably leave it up afterwards and get  all of these primed.








Sunday 27 October 2019

Sunday Update 27 October



Despite my grotiness slowing things down, I have managed to finish painting the next set of Paras - just the support weapons themselves to paint, which should be a pretty quick job to do tomorrow. All of the figures and weapons will then get varnished on Tuesday.

I've also been prepping my SELWG purchases:


The stuff on the rear two boards is prepped, the figures on the front board are being prepped (I should finish them tonight).

I've realised that I need to buy a few more figures from Battlezones for my barbarian warband. I've also had a slightly mad idea that will see some other purchases for this army, but I'm afraid I'll have to leave you in suspenders on that for now!


Wednesday 23 October 2019

Wednesday Workbench 23 October



Not quite as much progress as I'd hoped for - I didn't get any painting done yesterday as I was feeling grotty. I was still feeling grotty this morning, but have since knuckled down and got the highlighting and detailing on the next batch of Paras done. I just need to paint the bases, but that can wait until tomorrow.



I've also been doing some prep:


The tiny figures are some 10mm lizardmen that I bought a long time ago - they are for a special project, but more on that when I start work on them.

Tuesday 22 October 2019

Paint Scheme for my WW2 British Airborne

I thought it might be helpful to post my painting scheme for the British Airborne, so here you go. All paints are Vallejo Model Colour unless otherwise indicated. Most base colours will need two (or three) thin coats to cover the black primer.

Primed black

Base Colours (and some highlights)

Flesh - Beige Red base coat; Vallejo Flesh wash; highlight with Beige Red mixed with increasing amounts of Basic Skintone
Hair - various browns and dark greys
Cuffs and scarf: Brown Violet
Helmet - Camo Olive Green (or Olive Grey); if it has scrim, drybrush Khaki
Beret - Black Red shadow; Black Red and Burnt (Cadmium) Red base; add some Red for broad highlights; Red for refined highlight; Red plus a little (not too much) Sunset Red for highest highlight
Black Leather (boots, beret band, scabbards) - German Grey
Denison base (yellowish) - German Camo Orange Ochre
Denison Base (greenish) - German Camo Beige
Collar Lining - officers = Stone grey; other ranks = Khaki
Scrim - base all with US Field Drab
Brown patches - Mahogany Brown
Green patches and half the scrim - Flat Green
Water bottle and trousers - English Uniform
Webbing (green) - mix of German Uniform and Intermediate Green
Green Metal - Reflective Green or Olive Grey
Straps, weapon slings - Khaki Grey
Bandoliers - Tan Earth
Toggle Rope - Iraqi Sand
Helmet chin cup - Reflective Green

Washes - Army Painter Dark Tone over black leather and dark grey hair; Army Painter Soft Tone over everything else (avoiding the flesh)

Highlights

Cuffs and Scarf - Brown Violet plus a little Dark Sand
Helmet (where no scrim) - base plus a little Russian Uniform
Black leather - Black Grey
Denison base (yellowish) - base plus a little Dark Sand
Denison Base (greenish) - base plus a little Deck Tan
Collar Lining - base plus a little Pale Sand
Brown Scrim - Green Ochre
Brown patches - Saddle Brown
Green patches and scrim - Intermediate Green plus a little Flat Green
Water bottle - base plus a little Dark Sand
Trousers - US Field Drab
Webbing (green) - base plus a little Dark Sand or Deck tan
Green Metal - Reflective Green; Russian Uniform; add Dark Sand for high highlights
Straps, weapon slings - Dark Sand plus a little Khaki Grey
Bandoliers - base plus Pale Sand
Toggle Rope - Pale Sand

The Rest

Wood - Flat Brown base; first two highlights add a little Orange Brown or Beige Brown; glint highlights add a little Pale Sand. I then glaze it with a mix of 2 parts Flesh wash, 1 part Red wash and 1 part Sepia wash (which can also go into the gaps between fingers).
Grey Metal - Black base; Black and Gunmetal; Gunmetal
Cap badges - Black base; Gunmetal or Old Gold
Mugs - Beige Brown for outside adding Dark Sand for highlights; for inside Pale Sand base, Ivory highlight.

Where I've changed colour between the base and the highlights, you could mix the base with a little Dark Sand or Deck Tan.


There you go - my paint scheme outlined for you all to take and adopt/adapt for yourselves. Some of the steps (for instance on the beret) could be skipped, particularly if you aren't working over a black primer.

Monday 21 October 2019

SELWG 2019: The Games

As promised yesterday, here are the pics I took of all the games at SELWG this year. Comparing the programme to what was actually there, four of the listed games were missing, but there were six games present that weren't on the list.

The pics:


Tunbridge Wells Wargames Society: Lissa 1866 - Ironclads at War





Cheshunt Wargames: Mosquito Strike Norway (won Best In Show)



 SEEMS: Terminator - The Fight Back




Essex Warriors: What A Tanker!




GLC Games Club: Lamenting Pikemen



Gravesend Gamers Guild: WH40K Kill Team



Real Time Wargames: 6mm North West Frontier action




Society of Ancients: Hydaspes 326BC




Fire When Ready/Emotionally 14: Star Wars Legion

The AT-AT was playing the Imperial March when I took the photos



Milton Hundred: Kings of War Vanguard
 




Warlord Games: Black Seas




Shepway Wargames Club:  WW1 game set in Belgium (won Best Scenery)





Crawley Wargames Club: Aztecs vs Conquistadores (won Best Participation Game)



Deal: Invasion of Elba 1944 "The Real Guns of Navarone" (won Best Demonstration Game)




Tonbridge Wargames: Boxer Rebellion




Simon Miller: Mancetter (To The Strongest)




Gravesend Wargamers Club: "Get Me To The Church On Time" (Chain of Command)
 





Newbury & Reading Wargames Club: Romans vs Persians





South London Warlords: Dark Side Of The Moon



Friday Night Fight Club: Dino Hunt




The Pit Gaming Shop?: Kings of War Vanguard



Maidstone Wargames Society: Aerial Combat



British Model Soldier Society: Battle of Tet el Kebir (54mm)



Robert Dunlop: 5mm WW1 Eastern Front - Battle of Gnila-Lipa 1914


 


Wargames Collection Calculator: Battle of Little Bighorn (6mm)

There were three tables for different parts of the battle

Phew! That's the lot!