More rework

Some flak to deal with all those pesky Jabos, Gun crews now added.

it's interesting to see the colour differences with vehicles painted at different times. The one at the back is from when Humbrol outsourced its manufacturing to China and lost control of the process. I didn't notice as it was a gradual change and the vehicle fits in with its unit painted in that era.

Models are Edai at the back and Hasegawa at the front. The crews are sourced from various figures passed onto me from Peter B.

Soviet Shermans

I've tidied up the Soviet Shermans that I acquired at Bovy. I sanded down and refilled the front differential housing and added a missing crewman and stowage. The paintwork was touched up and finished off by drybrushing

As for the source of the models, I suspect they are Matchbox Sherman Fireflies mounted on Airfix Sherman track units. They are a bit low as an accurate model, but fine for gaming.

A bit of rework - panzer commanders

One of those jobs that always seems to be neglected, adding commanders to tanks. I had left the hatches open on quite a number over the years always intending to sort the commanders out, but... So a bit of effort and they are re-crewed along with a couple of SP and flak guns.

AWI American Commanders

Hurrah!! The end of my Tricorne rebasing project, I have rebased all the American Rebel Commanders and added extra figures to the bases.

Most of the commanders are the old Airfix figures with a few Revell mixed in. The Infantry are Revell/ACTA


Typically I have spotted a couple of places where old paint has flaked while basing

First SYW Hanoverians

Now managing to produce some output despite the warm weather, these were started at the beginning of the month while staying at my daughters, but not much got done until the last week. They are the Redbox British Infantry from their Jacobite range painted as Hanoverian infantry regiment 13A Halberstadt (Project SYW link)

Latest arrivals

The postie called yesterday with a big box of goodness. Most of the latest Strelets and Orion arrivals plus a few other bits. The duplicate sets and the USA tank crew are for my friend Andy.

I'm not sure quite when they'll hit the painting table but the broad plan is

• Boost my French Colonial forces and their opponents such as Rifs
• The Cossacks will provide either allies for the Russians or Poles or act as a force on their own
• Turkish Delis - you can never have enough variety in an Ottoman army.
• WW1 French expanding a small force. The 155mm has a wide range of users so I'm not sure exactly how I will use it yet.

Bovington show

I travelled down to Bovington to the resurrected show on Saturday. It was not as big as in its previous incarnation, but there were some nice games and traders presents. Some pictures of games that caught my eye.

The real guns of Navarone (assault on Elba)












Battle of Statlohn, Thirty Year War in 15mm (I hope to do something similar in 20mm)


Operation Splendour 1942 ( I spent a while chatting to Don, Alan and Ian)




Another desert game from the Pikeys




Sword beach 1944








Another WW2 game


The booty - limited, but the four kit-bashed Russkie Shermans only cost a fiver, so expect to see them in a "Fall of the Reich" game some time soon.

On the Workbench - July 2019

Life continues to get in the way of painting, but gradually I'm getting though my annual plan, hopefully this month, I'll work on:-

• Three SYW Hanoverian battalions - I've got started
• rebasing my AWI American Rebel Commanders plus extras - this is underway, but all the extra individual figures will have a different uniform so not a quick job for the number of figures involved.
• Various colonial odds & sods, oxen, etc - all underway
• Various WW2 German tank and vehicle crews that I've missed adding over the years
• Napoleonic Russian Pavlov Grenadiers - a couple of old Italeri battalions again that I seem to have missed.
• Tidy up my Napoleonic French Artillery - I should have acquired enough cheap limbers, etc now to work on this.

The high point otherwise is visiting the wargames show at Bovington, the downside is that I miss out local show Gauntlet at Broughton, Chester this weekend. Have a great weekend guys!

Half year progress against plan

Up until my prostate problems I had been making great progress with my annual plan. Since then progress has reduced substantially. The final result was 1,167 only 357 more than the 810 items achieved at the end of Q1. I can't just blame medical problems, I had a month away, mostly on holiday, and then the garden needed serious attention, all eating into valuable painting time!

Year to date progress is made up of

AWI	641
Revolution	230
WSS/9YW	133
WW2	60
Colonial	55
ACW	36
SYW	9
WW1	3

Progress against plan

• Continue tricorne rebasing (just AWI now) plus extra/replacement cavalry units - almost finished, only the AWI American Command stands to finish
• Medieval – More WOTR longbow/bill units, mounted archers, cavalry, Scottish cavalry , extra Crusader foot - not started
• Renaissance – Russian Stoldatski, etc. using up the Strelets bonus figures plus Galleys - not started, although I have managed to swap some to make up suitable units
• Revolution – doubling up my French and British forces in Egypt. One Additional Austrian line unit plus another in Austrian style uniform (Baden?), Maybe replace Springwood grenadiers?. - French and British complete
• Napoleonic – work on the Spanish, continue the cavalry, acquire more early infantry, Tidy up French artillery, especially limbers, Pavlov Grenadiers - not yet started, but extra limbers purchased
• WW2 – bits and pieces (I'll try to avoid buying more), but I will buy and work on some Free French for Bir Hacheim - Free French completed
• Interwar - Rifs and more French Foreign Legion - not yet started, I'm waiting for Strelets next releases!
• SYW – Hanoverian Infantry Brigade, more (French?) Cavalry, British guns - not yet started
• WW1 – increase/rebase British - not yet started
• WSS – French Infantry (Mars)- completed
• 28mm – “skirmishing” WSS figures to provide some opposition for my pirates - figures completed alog with some artillery to accompany them
• Terrain – more buildings, wadis, vines, etc- not yet started