Don't Tread on Me!!!

Working out basing for AWI

 Here is a few quick shots of me trying to work out a good base size for my AWI project. The rules I will be using are the Bonnie Blue Flag rules for the ACW but obviously with a few range tweaks etc.

 It's a toss up between having three to a base or four and still using my bases cut for my ACW collection which are 30x45mm. So basically, three with a 45mm frontage or four figs with a 30mm frontage. Both have their strengths... however, I know that the author of the rules mounts his four to a base and numbers are always good so I will probably go with the four to a base. In BBF it is recommended that units are six bases strong for a regiment. This works out well for the Continentals with the Brits having seven bases with the Grenadiers included.

 I will be using 'Loyalists and Patriots' rules for the regiment strengths as this is a great place to start for unit composition for new comers.

 The smaller 30mm frontage will help with getting more units on the board with the extra bonus of a slightly higher head count too. One of the things I like about BBF is it's use of skirmishers that can screen units and are an active part of the regiment. For my AWI collection I plan to have a base of three' light' figures but also three loose, single mounted figures that can skirmish. I love the look of this. Having a solid base of light bobs also means I can put light bases together to form converged units.

The Black death sweeps American in the late part of 1775.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I am 47 this year and after a life time of drawing and painting for a living, my eyes are really starting to fail me big time. I recently bought some Old Glory AWI figures and was horrified to find that even with my painting glasses on I was struggling to see the detail. The results were disappointing  and have lead me to buying Front Rank miniatures which are a delight to paint with nice big details.

However, one stroke of luck was the discovery of this light with a magnifier glass inside. It really helps see the detail and after a while I am getting used to painting under it. It can be a little tricky but I think I am getting there. Painting is slower which is annoying but the results are better.

In the old days I would take pictures on my i phone and blog them, only then seeing them close up would notice mistakes and go back and fix them.

Another eye test is on the cards too I think, joy!

American ground cover flock for basing ACW / AWI

Above is my old flock with various leaf scatter added for a bit of extra colour and pop to the base.

 Lately I have been making some tweaks to my American ground cover. Those of you have seen my basing ACW post will remember to save time I just flock my bases with various colours to save time with basing. The Blended Turf colour of 'earth blend' was my first layer as this was a nice dry looking base colour to build up from for the American continent.

 However, while making Birch and Aspen trees for my ACW collection I realized that I had buckets of tiny tree 'sponge' left over in piles around the table. These autumn colours said 'American woodland' to me, so I scrapped them up and added them to my earth coloured flock. The tiny oranges and yellows really give a sense of fallen leaves. I'm really looking forward to using this new base blend on my AWI project where stalking through Autumnal woods is all part of the atmosphere and look of the war.

 So far the early tests on my rail fences seem to be good. This tree scatter foam stuff is very satisfying to work with and I found myself sprinkling it all over the tree bases to act as leaf fall. Also rather than just use one colour on the actually trees, I found the best results were to mix the different colours to produce trees that were just beginning to turn.

 Aspens are very yellow in colour and say American woods more than anything else.

 large boulders offer a little more protect against musket balls... Also my old trick of using mixed herbs from the Supermarket as bracken and dry leaves also comes into it's own on these tree bases. Cheap and very effective...tasty too.

 It's worth saying that once done I give the whole base and tree a good covering in watered down wood glue from a spray bottle just to set everything and make it gaming proof.

 Here are the bare trees before they get any flock, quickly sprayed with various spray paints to produce a basic Birch colour. To this I will add tiny black brush strokes to create the Birch bark look.

This idea of basing tiny trees on tiny scatter bases is new to me but one that should work well. I bought these birches from eBay for a very good price. They should work well scattered in amongst fences and around building to break up the terrain..

ACW/AWI fences Emperor Toads Emporium

 I treated myself to another set of American fences from the model maker Emperor Toad's Emporium. I think I paid £26 for 16 fences from eBay. The strength of these products is that most of the heavy lifting has been done when they arrive. You are meant to use straight as they come, but I like to spend a little time and 'jazz' them up slightly.

 I started off by digging out an old tube of Raw Umber paint and coated the whole lot with a big brush. I added a few more pebbles to the bases with hot glue to add to the look of the fences. ( My god that glue is hot, my fingers and thumb are still hurting today).

 I then dug out an old pot of Tamiya grey paint from my 'bits' box. I wet brushed the fences with this, the brush too was an old one and had split into many points, this was great as I used the feathered brush to create lots of tiny lines on the rails. They ended up looking like birch trees quite by accident.

 These bases also gave me the opportunity to use my new American ground flock I have been working on for my new AWI project and my ACW collection.

 To this ground flock I also added some lighter flock and some mini bushes to grow up the old rails. It was worth doing and the extra effects took me about three hours. I had been looking forward to getting these fences for a while and once tweaked I am really happy with them. Not having much time to create scenery these days I love any short cut I can take.

 Union troops take cover behind the new fences. Now the question is...what is a fence like this counted for as cover. In Bonnie Blue Flag rail fences get no cover bonus but with these having a small wall of large stones pulled from the fields at their base, I may have to rethink that, maybe a +5 modifier.

When I get home tonight I might add a green wash to some of the rails coming from the ground and put a brown wash on some of the boulders. I had a good time doing these last night, I have got into the unhealthy habit of watching people paint on YouTube rather than do it myself. Although this is a great way to past a late evening after work It means you get nothing done yourself, so last night was a blast.

African adventure

 Love this illustration, this inspiration powered me through my unit of red coated regulars.

 I know it's not quite right but I couldn't wait to see what my new painted Zulus looked like on mass.

Speed painting British 1879 Infantry

 This is a plastic Perry figure. Very nice it is too, I do like the helmets on these sculpts.

Spray black and paint in the belts with a can. I then highlighted the canvas with an off white colour.

                  
 I used burnt red for the base of the tunic and then highlighted with bright red. I gave the red a wash of dark brown when it was dry too just to pick out some more detail.

 Foundry Drab B is then used to paint the helmet. This is then given a wash with brown ink to shade it. Job done! It doesn't really need any more. I think I might of added some black ink around the band on a couple of figures but that's it.

 Royal blue from Tamiya was used for the trousers, this was then washed with black and highlighted again with the same colour.

 I gave the trousers quite a good dry brushing of drab colour to act as dust. Details like the cuffs were added last. White is always tricky to paint but these British troops painted up quite quickly with only the Austrian knots on the arms causing any real concern.

 Perry plastics with Artizan metal Afghanistan British. The figures fit well together.

The belts and bags were given a wash with brown ink again to add some weathering and a campaign look.

the Perry plastics painted up well and I loved the fact you could have fun with the posing. I liked the idea of having a few looking down at their rifle as if they were having trouble loading it in the panic.

Let's Paint Zulus

 Getting there now and they are starting to look finished. I painted all of the weapons a darker shade of Burnt Umber. This looked good and I didn't need to paint any more than this on them, apart of course from the metal of the blades.

 One trick that really helped with these figures is to keep them stuck on their cereal packet strips. By bending the card I could reach all of the details without cutting the figures into separate pieces. This saved a lot of time picking up figures and speeded the whole process up loads. Also each strip got its own colour loin cloth which also speeded things up when painting colours.

 Always make notes of your colours and techniques as you go in a note book, can't stress this enough. It is a life saver if you ever need to return to a project a year later.

 Young unmarried Zulus of the horns of the Buffalo.

 These Perry plastic Zulus are great and I think they are some of the best on the market, I'm glad I waited. Lovely and simple to paint!

I did struggle to work out how to base these guys, but in the end went for separate bases. This is good for men who would be kings and could lead to some great looking formations. Multiple figure bases would be easier but I don't mind the idea of moving hundreds of figures around by hand...quite looking forward to it.