WW1 Late-War British

One of my many longstanding projects is a late-war WW1 British infantry platoon. I'm aiming to have 4 sections completed in the coming months, consisting of around 7 men each. As the platoon will be late-war each section will contain an array of different specialist troops, reflecting how the British army adapted towards the end of the war through experiencing the trench warfare of the Western Front. 

Each section will be led by an NCO, and contain a mix of riflemen, bombers and Lewis gunners. The miniatures I've used are taken from the Woodbine Miniatures British WW1 range, which can be found here: http://www.grippingbeast.co.uk/British--category--228.html 

So far I've started work on the section riflemen and once these are completed I'll be moving onto the NCO's. 

The WDC British riflemen come in a pack of ten metal miniatures with the option of different head sculpts; Service Caps, Gas Hoods, Bareheaded, Wolesleys, Lemon Squeezers, Gor Blimeys, Slouches, RND's.

The miniatures pictured here are kitted with Brodie Helmets, which were standard issue during the later stages of the war. 

The rifle section comes in a set of ten different poses, all equipped with Lee-Enfield rifles with bayonets fixed. One issue with the miniatures is the softness of the lead in areas such as the bayonets, which are prone to bending and snapping. The miniatures also come with a small metal base attached to their feet which assists in stabilising the miniature on the whole, but unfortunately inhibits more elaborate basing opportunities. I'd initially planned to have some of the riflemen standing on wooden planks but have had to opt for the mud of no man's land instead. 

Mantic: Deadzone and Warpath

Warpath: Corporation Troops

 Deadzone: Survivor

 Deadzone: 1st Gen Mutant

The Mantic Plague Zombies kits comes with enough parts to make 20 figures, with plenty of spare parts left over for conversions. For example, I've used spare torsos from the kit to create extra zombies for my games. Using a leftover GW Crypt Ghoul head and a Mantic torso I've constructed a legless zombie emerging from rubble. The good thing about zombies is it's not unusual to see them limbless and bloody, adding narrative to your force. The rubble is made from sprue clippings, pieces of cork and sand. 

Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf Review (Re-upload)

Having recently started building a Space Wolves army I decided that for a HQ choice I would need a centrepiece model that looks and acts the part. Unlike my Imperial Guard army, where the force was lead by a squad of average humans, Space Wolves players have a variety of mean and brooding characters at their disposal.

 

After some deliberating I opted for a Wolf Lord with a Thunderwolf mount - because what looks more imposing than a 7 foot Space Marine riding a car sized wolf?

When I was buying the model I was made aware of an upcoming painting competition at my local GW that was open to any character model from Warhammer 40k, so obviously I would have to paint up my Wolf Lord and use him as my entry.

The model itself is beautifully sculpted and posed, but the one glaring problem lies in the material the model is made from. Citadel’s Finecast range is something that I am new to – I have been fully aware of its existence over the years but circumstance meant I had never purchased a GW product made from Finecast resin.

It is clear that many of the finely sculpted details have been lost in the process of converting the sprues to resin, with fine points such as vents on the Wolf Lord’s backpack bubbling and splitting, as well as the one major problem with the model being the wolf’s back right leg, which was bent out of shape. Despite spending a lot of time trying to rectify this the wolf’s leg is still slightly curved, but thankfully after having based the model it is not too noticeable.  

Ignoring the few minor negative points, the model is very straightforward to assemble (I used Citadel Thick superglue to ensure a tight fit) with the resin proving very easy to cut and shape as desired. Once assembled and placed on the base you are left with a piece of scenery in the form of a limbless Thousand Sons Chaos marine. This addition to the base adds a lot of character to the model itself and injects menace and narrative into an already powerful and lively character. The Wolf Lord is posed with a frost axe raised high, a stormshield held tight to the hide of his mount and a cloak billowing behind him. The wolf itself is leering, its teeth bared and legs set in motion. The combination of both characters posed in unison encapsulate a moment of swift attack and ferocity that will look perfect on the battlefield.

The Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf is a model that I would highly recommend; despite certain design flaws it is a characterful piece that is an embodiment of everything Space Wolves and once painted up is the perfect centrepiece for any force.

Snowy Base Tutorial (Part 2)

The next and final part of the base will be painting and the snow application. 

You will need:

• Paintbrush
• Model paints
• Baking soda
• PVA glue
• White paint

First, I give the base an undercoat of Chaos Black spraypaint. Once this has I dried I applied a basecoat of brown - the shade is entirely up to you, here I have used Citadel's Mournfang Brown. 

Once the basecoat has dried I gave the whole base a heavy drybrushing of a lighter brown, in this case XV88.  The bird grit should then be painted a dark grey to represent small stones. The grit could be left brown depending on your preference, but the brand I have used are too round to look realistic enough as representations of wood/bark. The extra grey colour also adds variation to the base and avoids a monotonous look.

Next I gave the cork pieces a wash of Nuln Oil and highlighted the stones with Administratum Grey. I also added pieces of coloured foam to represent small clumps of foliage.  This step is not entirely necessary but I think it gives the base an even more realistic look and provides added texture as well as something for the snow to cling onto. 

The final stage is the application of the snow. To make the snow you must mix together two equal parts of PVA glue to white acrylic paint. Next, take your baking soda and add to this mix in small amounts one part at a time, mixing the three substances together after each new addition. Continue this process until the snow reaches a texture that you are happy with. Here I have used about twice as much baking soda compred to the PVA/paint mix. Once this mixture is ready use your paintbrush to apply the snow to the base as you see fit, trying not to cover up too much of the detail you've spent time painting!

Paint the rim of your base to match the rest of your army and there you have it! A great looking snowy base that's quick and easy to make.

Snowy Base Tutorial (Part 1)

I've had a few questions as to how I base my Space Wolves so here is a tutorial showing you how quick and easy it is to achieve my melted snow effect like this one here; 

You will need: 

• PVA glue
• An old paintbrush
• Cork chippings
• Bird cage sand
• Bird cage grit

First take a plain base. I've used a standard 40mm but like in the example above any size is fine. Coat it in pva glue; I like to put it on thick to get a good grip on the larger basing pieces.

Next I use pieces of cork to create the effect of large rocks, but these pieces can also be effective as chunks of bark/wood depending on how you paint them. I use Army Painter's "Battlefield Rocks."  Place the cork pieces wherever you like on the base whilst making sure your miniature still has room to stand. I would recommend only a couple of pieces as you don't want to crowd the base.

Next I use the bird cage grit to scatter closely to the cork chippings - these pieces are smaller than the cork chippings but large enough to be set apart from the sand. This variety helps the transition between the larger and smaller basing pieces and gives the base a more natural feel.

The final part of the basing is the easiest - filling any empty gaps with sand. Fine grit sand is best. I'm using bird cage sand here as it gives an even surface. 

Leave this to dry and you'll be ready for painting. Give it a couple of hours to make sure your brush strokes aren't knocking off any of the larger pieces before they've dried.

Welcome to 6PlusPainting

A blog for miniature painting, historical musings and museum reviews. I'll be updating the blog as often as possible with pictures and dialogues about my hobby projects as well as anything I've found interesting through my many readings.