Great news today as HAT have released their 8103 French Light Ambulance and 8108 French Pontoon sets in the UK, although I have not seen them yet.
These two sets have taken years to produce and to get here, but I think the wait will be worth while.
As we come to the end of May already, my spending has slowed down but I have now spent over £100 so far this year. This is only due to the figures being available now in Model/Toy shops, which seems that I have been waiting ages for. More on this later.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Table Top Teasers Vol 1
Table Top Teasers Vol 1
Published by Battlegames 2008
Pages 76
These Table Top Teasers first appeared in “Battle for Wargamers” in February 1978.
I have played a couple of these at the old CWA on club nights and found them very interesting in the way the outcome was always different. So this book was a must.
I brought this book at Salute 09 for £10 and started to read this once I got the opportunity too do so.
There are 12 Table Top Teasers in this volume and they are mostly written by Charles Grant. The 12 scenarios all come from the Battlegames magazine from the first 12 issues.
The book is full of colour pictures and maps and if you are a solo wargamer then this book is for you, although some of the games can be played with two or more gamers.
Each of the scenarios are well detailed and will take you through step by step on how to set up with figures and scenery and how to play the game with information and maps. There is also a report of the game after each one.
There will be something there for everyone where ever you want a big or small game. This is the first special and I can not wait for volume two.
Published by Battlegames 2008
Pages 76
These Table Top Teasers first appeared in “Battle for Wargamers” in February 1978.
I have played a couple of these at the old CWA on club nights and found them very interesting in the way the outcome was always different. So this book was a must.
I brought this book at Salute 09 for £10 and started to read this once I got the opportunity too do so.
There are 12 Table Top Teasers in this volume and they are mostly written by Charles Grant. The 12 scenarios all come from the Battlegames magazine from the first 12 issues.
The book is full of colour pictures and maps and if you are a solo wargamer then this book is for you, although some of the games can be played with two or more gamers.
Each of the scenarios are well detailed and will take you through step by step on how to set up with figures and scenery and how to play the game with information and maps. There is also a report of the game after each one.
There will be something there for everyone where ever you want a big or small game. This is the first special and I can not wait for volume two.
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Painting
Once you have cut off the figure from the spur/frame by a craft knife, clean them up by removing any flash that remains on them from the moulds and then give the figures a good wash is soapy warm water for a few minutes to take any grease off. Once dry you are ready to paint.
I have never given any of my figures an undercoat of paint, although a lot of wargamers do. I think that the paint will still stay on and it will take you even longer to paint your army. But saying that, I do give the flesh parts a splash of undercoat with white, depending on the colour of the plastic.
Acrylic or Enamel Paint
I have been using enamel paints since I have started to paint my Napoleonic armies, which has been for many years and they have always given me great results. Well for me anyway. The main company then back in the old 70’s was Airfix. Now I use either Revell/Humbrol.
But there are some colours that you can not get hold of now in enamels. This is where I have had to turn to Acrylics i.e. for British crimson and violet colours and no doubt there will be many more in the future. Always make sure that you shake the tins well before painting and if need be, use a match stick to stir up the paint at the bottom of an old tin.
Brushes
Painting your little 20mm army means that the paint brushes do not have to be big, so you do not need to go out and buy every size of brush that you can find. If you look around in Stationary shops or craft shops, you can find little bargains here and there.
The only ones that you would actually want is a size 1 to do the main paint jobs like coat, trousers, hats, horses and the stands. To do the finer detail on the figure you will need 5/0 fine line brush. Always remember that after each colour to clean your brushes properly. That way they will last you a little bit longer. If they do start to fray at the tips and you need the point back again, cut the ends off and reshape the tip of the brush.
How to paint your figure
The way that I start my painting is to start from the inside and work outwards. In other words paint the biggest parts of the figure first i.e. coat/jacket then trousers or horse colour. Next step would be for backpacks, knapsacks or saddle cloths.
3rd step all the fiddly things like belts, boots, muskets, straps, hair, coat/saddle trim, hats. 4th step flesh and the last thing the stand.
What I have learnt from painting over the years is to do as much as you want. When you consider that you will be seeing the figure on the table about 3 feet away from you? Do you really need to see his eyes? The other thing is that once you have painted a few regiments, your confidence will improve and you will then want to paint more things on your figures, like buttons and medals for your officers.
Everyone has their own style of painting so do not be put off with your end result with what other people in the Wargaming World do with theirs. After all it is YOUR army so paint them as you see fit. Good luck
I have never given any of my figures an undercoat of paint, although a lot of wargamers do. I think that the paint will still stay on and it will take you even longer to paint your army. But saying that, I do give the flesh parts a splash of undercoat with white, depending on the colour of the plastic.
Acrylic or Enamel Paint
I have been using enamel paints since I have started to paint my Napoleonic armies, which has been for many years and they have always given me great results. Well for me anyway. The main company then back in the old 70’s was Airfix. Now I use either Revell/Humbrol.
But there are some colours that you can not get hold of now in enamels. This is where I have had to turn to Acrylics i.e. for British crimson and violet colours and no doubt there will be many more in the future. Always make sure that you shake the tins well before painting and if need be, use a match stick to stir up the paint at the bottom of an old tin.
Brushes
Painting your little 20mm army means that the paint brushes do not have to be big, so you do not need to go out and buy every size of brush that you can find. If you look around in Stationary shops or craft shops, you can find little bargains here and there.
The only ones that you would actually want is a size 1 to do the main paint jobs like coat, trousers, hats, horses and the stands. To do the finer detail on the figure you will need 5/0 fine line brush. Always remember that after each colour to clean your brushes properly. That way they will last you a little bit longer. If they do start to fray at the tips and you need the point back again, cut the ends off and reshape the tip of the brush.
How to paint your figure
The way that I start my painting is to start from the inside and work outwards. In other words paint the biggest parts of the figure first i.e. coat/jacket then trousers or horse colour. Next step would be for backpacks, knapsacks or saddle cloths.
3rd step all the fiddly things like belts, boots, muskets, straps, hair, coat/saddle trim, hats. 4th step flesh and the last thing the stand.
What I have learnt from painting over the years is to do as much as you want. When you consider that you will be seeing the figure on the table about 3 feet away from you? Do you really need to see his eyes? The other thing is that once you have painted a few regiments, your confidence will improve and you will then want to paint more things on your figures, like buttons and medals for your officers.
Everyone has their own style of painting so do not be put off with your end result with what other people in the Wargaming World do with theirs. After all it is YOUR army so paint them as you see fit. Good luck
Monday, 20 April 2009
News from the Front
Over the last couple of weeks new figures have been hitting our shops.
In February I reported that Italeri was going to make a new set of French Imperial Guard Artillery.
Well the set is out but it is the same set that Esci brought out years ago. This is a great shame as we do need a really good set of these.
Also WATERLOO 1815 (Set 028) have released their Napoleonic Mounted Line Officers set. This set was going to be all English officers mounted but it appears that there are also some French mixed in. This is not a bad thing and I am really thinking about adding this set to my shopping list.
It is now well into April and I am still waiting for the Pontoon set from HAT. The set was supposed to be in the shops at the start of the year.
On the painting of the Horse Grenadiers work has stopped on these as I have not been able to pick up my brush for a while now. This means that I am now well behind with my painting schedule for this year as now the warmer months are near and the garden now needs attention.
In February I reported that Italeri was going to make a new set of French Imperial Guard Artillery.
Well the set is out but it is the same set that Esci brought out years ago. This is a great shame as we do need a really good set of these.
Also WATERLOO 1815 (Set 028) have released their Napoleonic Mounted Line Officers set. This set was going to be all English officers mounted but it appears that there are also some French mixed in. This is not a bad thing and I am really thinking about adding this set to my shopping list.
It is now well into April and I am still waiting for the Pontoon set from HAT. The set was supposed to be in the shops at the start of the year.
On the painting of the Horse Grenadiers work has stopped on these as I have not been able to pick up my brush for a while now. This means that I am now well behind with my painting schedule for this year as now the warmer months are near and the garden now needs attention.
Monday, 6 April 2009
How Much do we spend on our hobby?
Well this year has really been good to me as I have found a good supply in Norwich and now with Modelzone in London, Holborn have re-stocked their Hat figures. This has enabled me to find the figures that I have longed for on my shopping list.
As we entry the fourth month of April 2009 here is what I have spent on my hobby so far
As we entry the fourth month of April 2009 here is what I have spent on my hobby so far
- PAINT TINS 4 £4.35
- SUPER GLUE 1 £1.00
- FIGURES (Boxes) 8 £40.18
- SHOWS (Entry Fees) 1 £11.00
- BOOKS/MAGS 2 £32.50
- CONTAINERS 1 £1.99
TOTAL £91.02p
Although I have spent quite a bit now, over the next few months it will be just Paints, as I have enough figures to keep me busy. I have over 40 boxes yet to paint.
On that note my painting has not been doing too well as I have hardly had time to continue with the Horse Grenadiers. I have to date, two lots of horses painted and nearly the first batch of troopers. I hope to get them finished by the end of Easter.
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