I reinstated the sigfeeder banner link up that appears on the forums that I visit. This required that I start a new banner, but what are you going to do. Hopefully I won’t have to do this again anytime soon.
Brushthralls going away?
http://www.brushthralls.com/
It sure seems that way. Brushthralls is a collective of very talented miniature painters who’s site has provided some amazing tutorials, and inspiration for the masses. Their focus has been on Warmachine miniatures, and had a relationship with Privateer Press for some time. They don’t go into to much detail as to why they are ‘retiring’, I have no idea what the big ‘C’ is. Take a look at their site while it is still up, especially their excellent tutorial section. They will be missed.
Panzer IV Platoon Finished
These have been done for about a week, and have seen several games already. I am only now getting around to posting images because of a painting tutorial that I am working on at the moment (stay tuned!) (Note: I discontinued this tutorial because I realized that there were a million tutorials online about how to paint late war German camo. Check out the painting section of the community forum at www.flamesofwar.com for some great examples). I am pleased with the way that these came together. The methods that I used on my StuG IIIs worked well here too.
Full Platoon
Command Tank
Panzer IVh
Panzer IVh
Panzer IVh
Inspiration : Chinese Demon
http://www.coolminiornot.com/206961
This is a very cool model!! Some of the Helldorado minis are incredible. This is gives me some inspiration for my WFB Djinn for the Undead of Araby project. It captures the way I wanted to model the smoke that the Djinn is materializing from very well.
There is so much good stuff out there these days!!
Flames of War page reorganization
One of the first posts that was created for this blog was a page that had a tutorial on painting DAK vehicles for the WWII table top game Flames of War. I have decided to use this page as a holding area for any articles that I create regarding painting, modeling for, or playing Flames of War. The original Painting Afrikakorps article is the first entry into this section of the site. Future articles will include more painting step by steps, as well as tutorials on sculpting, and making terrain.
Work in progress : Panzer IVh platoon
With a bunch of time off of work for Thanksgiving, I actually had some time to make progress on several of my projects. In addition to the Tiger tank in the previous post, I also was able to make some headway on a platoon of Panzer IV tanks.
I used these very effectively in a recent game, and I think that they will be common when I run panzer companies in Flames of War. It will be nice to have them fully painted the next time that they see the field.
The scheme that am using for these is essentially the same as the Tiger, and the StuG III tanks. I tried some different ways to layer the camo, and really came to the conclusion that whatever gives me the best pattern, and simplifies the process of painting is the best method. After painting the camo shapes, the next coat of dry-brushed Vallejo Middlestone paint really ties the paint work together.
The next step with these tanks is to give the highlights a final pass to pick out detail. This is done by painting over detail areas with slightly watered down Middlestone + White. Less is more with this, and thin lines get the edges of the vehicle, and its detail to pop. Thicker lines tend to look sloppy.
Following highlights, the tracks, details, and possibly some camo-netting will be next!
Tiger Tank
My German Flames of War army is evolving in such a way that I have several units that I can use in different armies. This Tiger tank that I finished up last night is a good example of this. I can use it to add some muscle (and distraction) to either my Fallschirmjager force, or my Panzer company.
This model is also the test bed for several new techniques that weren’t used on the StuGs I had painted earlier. This started the same way with an undercoat of Vallejo Green Brown, and then a base coat of Middlestone. After this I added a wash of Middlestone (60%)/Black(10%) /gel medium(10%)/water(20%). Once this wash was dry, I picked out detail, and did some dry brushing.
Camo, and battle damage was done the same way as the StuGs. The camo brown is a bit different on this model.
This is essentially the method that I intend to use on my entire Panzer Company.
Fallshirmjager WIP quick shots
I am getting near the end of the work on the main body of my Fallshirmjager army. I have learned a lot from painting these models. If I were to have the opportunity to re-do this army, I would have made some color changes, and would have worked on fixing up some of the models that have casting issues. Painting 15mm infantry requires different techniques than larger models. Blocks of color that define the details are more important that getting tones to blend well for example. I think that I am going to try some new techniques when I paint my US troops. All things being equal, I am happy with the way that these turned out, especially for table-top use.
Here are some quick and dirty photos that show where the army is at the moment. I still have some basing to do, and some touchups on some of the paint. The 4th MG 42 team needs to be finished as well. I am excited to almost have this army wrapped up.
Combat Platoons
Whole army not including Armor Support
Light Artillery Unit with recoiless guns.
HMG platoon
Combat teams
Combat Platoons
There are a few units that I would like to add to this army in the not distant future. I have some Pak 38 (or 40… I can’t recall) guns, and I would like to expand the Light Artillery battery to 4 guns. Some Panzershreck teams for the command platoon are in the works as well.
War is hell, and Tanks are dirty
These are the first examples of completed armor for my late war Germans. This collection originally started as simply a StuG III platoon that I wanted to use as support for my Fallshirmjager army, but as I am a true tread-head, I decided to branch off into creating a Panzer Company as well. The panzer IIIs are the first proper tanks that I have done in this scheme.
Finished late war armor to date
Panzer III N tanks
StuG III Platoon
These are several of the StuG IIIs that I originally picked up as support for my paratroopers. They will still serve that purpose, but ultimately turned out to be a stair-step unit for a full blown Tank Company.
StuG III
StuG III
StuG III close up
The dirt layers were built up on top of the camouflage initially in addition to the decals. Once the these layers were done, I applied another dirty gray/brown wash, and added white lines to cause scratches and chips to pop out. Small amounts of gunmetal paint and rust drips were added at the very end before sealing with flat-coat.
Next up, after I finish basing my FJ company, I will be getting into two Panzer IV platoons, and a Panther platoon.
Flames of War Work in Progress
Recently I have been going on a Flames of War painting bender. I have been working on a Fallshirmjager company, with some supporting armor units. I am in the last stages of wrapping up two large combat platoons in addition to an HQ platoon, HMG platoon, and some light artillery.
Platoon Command Team
MG team
A portion of 1st platoon
StuG III platoon
The stug tanks are coming together pretty well. There is some more weathering to do, in addition to applying decals, and then detail painting.
