Halt! Who goes there?

I am slowly building up a few Malifaux figures (okay I have built a number, painting them is another matter).

Here is the first Guild Guard in playable form.

The figure was first undercoated with Citadel Chaos Black spray, followed by Citadel Mornfang Brown spray.
The duster coat is Vallejo German Camouflage Black Brown.
The trousers are Citadel Incubi Darkness with Vallejo Blue Grey highlight and trim.
Leather work is Vallejo Hull Red.
Shirt is Vallejo Blue Grey shaded with Vallejo Field Blue.

 The hat is Mournfang Brown (from the undercoat).

The hair is Citadel Rhinox Hide, washed with original Citadel Flesh Wash after dry brushing.

The base was first washed with Citadel Gryphon Sepia wash the Agrax Earthshade. It was the dry brushed with Citadel Golgfag Brown Dry brush paint. A final dry brush with Citadel Terminatus Stone was followed by another wash with Gryphon Sepia.

There is still some tidying up to do, stuff that to me is only visible when the figure is magnified in the photographs (and then is blindingly obvious on the model).

Rubicon M5A1 Stuart VI work in progress - Lift Rings

So, after a discussion on the Rubicon Models forum, and purchasing some 0.7mm brass rod, I went about replacing the lift rings on the glacis.

First I cut off the strange moulded "handrail".

Then I drilled two holes, one at the top of the "handrail", the other at the bottom.

Unfortunately I used a 1mm drill (intending to use 1mm brass rod). With the tools available I was unable to achieve a suitable ben in 1mm rod, but managed it with 0.7mm rod.

If I had started this before assembling the kit, I would have used the handrail jig (an etched brass sheet with holes for bending model railway handles - for 28mm models I tend to use the 7mm scale jig).

On the bright side, it did mean it was easier to get the lifting ring into the holes ^___^.

Having fitted the ring, I then used liquid poly to fix it in place, applying it to the ring so it would flow down and fill the hole (but possibly the ring as well).

It does look like the ring has been filled here, so needs to be reamed out a bit.

On the plus side, it did not flow all over the glacis.

"If you're not ill, it will fix your car..."

Well I painted the stuff I got from Big Audio Dynamite over the Hetzer and the spots have begun to clear...

The problem is making sure the spots are covered but getting a smooth finish.

Spots...

I think I got carried away...

I am probably going to re do this.

Bolt Action M4 Sherman I Lift Rings

A very simple upgrade to the Bolt Action M4 Sherman model is to drill through the front Glacis Lift Rings.

Before:

After:

Drilled with a 1.2mm drill in a pin vice.

The ones on the rear deck are more complicated.

Did not do the research part 94...

The ongoing saga of the Rubicon M5A1 has hit a snag, due to my research failure.

When I initially assembled the kit, I was not going to add the sand shields, because none of the pictures I could find of Guards Tank Division Stuarts had sand shields. Unfortunately I had not removed the pieces that were attached to the hull, so decided to fit the shields.

Below is a detail shot of the glacis. What is noticeable is the gap between the bottom of the glacis plate and the support for the mudguard/sand shield. You might be able to see that the top of the glacis projects above the deck (covering a gap).

I decided that the support should be in contact with the glacis, and the glacis more or less flush with the top of the deck - the distance being about the same.

So with a bit of trepidation I used a scalpel to remove the glacis plate, cleaned up and re-fixed the glacis in the new position. This left a gap (between the hatches) where the deck met the glacis. I used some micro strip to fill the gap (the white line in the picture below).

Ignorance can be bliss. I was looking for some pictures of the track of the M5 series light tanks when I found a picture of one with the sand shields. There is a gap between the glacis and the support, so the upper shot is correct.

Unfortunately, as you can see above I have inserted pegs to support the stowage I will be adding.

Ho hum.

Oh, and here is a detail shot of the track.

Modern British Electronics Specialist.

So, the figure is now "finished".

The Multicam was painted using Citadel paints, mainly because the amount of paint needed was small and I had bought some a few years back just for Multicam.

The first colour was Steel Legion Drab. This was applied as horizontal (-ish) lines across the figure's clothing (so the lines are actually almost vertical on the right forearm etc.).

The second colour was Death World Forest. This was applied roughly parallel with the Drab but slightly deeper. The contrast with the Vallejo Khaki (shaded with Citadel Agrax Earthshade) and the Steel Legion Drab is actually rather low, I am not sure if a different (darker) green would have been better.

I also used it on the rifle and the helmet straps.

The next colour was Rhinox Hide. This was applied as thin squiggly verticals.

The final colour for the camouflage was Karak Stone. This was applied as small splodges.

 The pony tail at the back was painted Vallejo Dark Sand and then inked with my ancient Citadel Flesh Wash (the one with the blue lid and hexagonal body).

The base was  first coated with Woodland Scenics fine Cinder ballast and then, after initial spray painting,  painted with Vallejo Burnt Umber. It was dry brushed with Citadel Terminates Stone and washed with Citadel Agrax Earthshade followed by a Citadel Gryphon Sepia wash.

Static grass (straw, short) from The Grass Masters and Woodland Scenics Burnt Grass Coarse Foliage and turf  were then added.

Some Assembly Required - A.G.E.N.T.S.

Sometimes "Talented" assets need additional boots on the ground and covering fire.

Chloe is supported by two troopers to provide additional firepower while raiding a disused warehouse.

Crooked Dice X-Commandos with helmeted heads and Hasslefree's Ekaterina.

Evil Bear Panther

Evil Bear produce a range of 1/50 resin and white metal vehicles and 28mm figures (powered armour mainly) suitable for modern and ultramodern gaming.

The first one I am putting together is the British Army Panther Command and Control vehicle.

The kit went together easily (I have not added the front wheel arch armour as it interferes with the front wheels for painting etc.). It is as good as an Empress kit, and to the same scale (i.e. actually too large for 28mm scale which is 1/56).

Initially I was going to paint it with PSC British Tank spray, but due to a fortuitous accident I used PSC Field Grey. As I am going to use it for transport for Time Lift Security, the different colour looks good, not sure about what I am going to use for decals.

Modern British Electronics Specialist

Empress Miniatures produce a British Army Specialist pack comprising a dog handler and dog; female medic, mine detector operator and a 51/60mm mortar operator.

I suspect the medic might have been inspired by the BBC series "Our Girl".

However, my inspiration was another BBC series "Bluestone 42" about an EOD team, whose Electronics Specialist is also female (and the brightest in the team).

So, to make the figure different, I drilled the backpack and added a piece of brass rod as an aerial.

So here is the basic figure, undercoated with Citadel Chaos Black spray then base coated with Vallejo Khaki. Skin areas were painted with Vallejo Panzer Aces flesh and shaded with Citadel Rhinox Hide. Shading was added to the Khaki with Citadel Agrax Earthshade.

Next will be the Multicam camouflage.

Rubicon M5A1 Stuart VI work in progress

Okay, a bit glacial.

So after discussing the subject of sand skirts on the Rubicon forum, I attached the sand skirts.

Some filling will be required on the rear part of the skirt (have a look at the rear view later).

One thing to note on the above photographs is the position of the Glacis plate. I glued it on far too high, there is a large gap between the bottom of the plate and the sand shield/mud guard fixing. So I had to remove it and re fix it nearer the correct position. Unfortunately this left a gap at the top. I used a piece of micro strip to fill in the gap at the top (the white line on subsequent pictures).

I then drilled locating holes and added armatures (square section plastic rod/tube) and fixing points for stowage. I also added two Bolt Action British helmets, hanging from the turret lifting rings. I think that they should be proper tanker type helmets, but they are not available ready made.

The driver is not very popular, his pack is hanging on the front (the other packs are on the turret), though it does provide him with an incentive not to drive through too many puddles.

The mounting points on the rear of the hull project through (sort of) the first tarpaulin to provide a fixing point for subsequent soft stowage.

Warlord Games Panther A

Well, I have finally "finished" the second Warlord Games Panther A tank. It probably needs a coat of matt varnish to remove the slightly "wet look".

The skirts were not fitted before the Citadel Chaos Black undercoat but were sprayed separately. They were then fitted and the whole tank sprayed with Plastic Soldier Company Late War German Tank paint from a can.

Camouflage was added using Vallejo 896 Extra Dark Green and 822 German Camouflage Black Brown. The track and spare links were painted a mix of Vallejo Black and Vallejo Hull red. Metal tools and the AA ring were painted with Vallejo Black Grey. The handles of the tools and the block for the jack were painted with Vallejo Old Wood. Straps were painted with Vallejo Khaki.

Track links were dry brushed with Citadel Ryza Rust. The AA ring was highlighted with Vallejo London Grey. Chips were added round the hatches using Vallejo Black Grey and London Grey. The exhaust ports were painted using a Vallejo Hull Red and black mix then dry brushed with Citadel Ryza red. Citadel Nuln Oil shade was used for exhaust and powder effects.

The vehicle number is from the Rubicon German transfer set (the Tiger specifically) and the Balkenkreus from Warlord Games. Each was placed and then varnished. One of the Balkenkreus used four transfers before I got it right (the joys of zimmerit).

 Detail of the spare track links.