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Friday, August 29

The Cowboys are finished - Well almost I have still got to varnish them. But here are three of them.




You can see more pictures on my web site at

members.lycos.co.uk/lastbunny/artizan.html

Wednesday, August 27

One Project Completed so on to the Next



The Cavemen and Archaeologists are finished and I am pleased with the results.



Pictures of the rest of these figures can be seen on my web site at members.lycos.co.uk/lastbunny/copplestone.html

I have been trying to improve my photographic skills and this graduated blue background is the latest development. I think it aids the presentation of the figure. All I have to do now is work out how to get the lighting better!

The next project is moving on. The Cowboys are nearing completition and I will be able to begin to base them up tomorrow.

I have a medium sized library's worth of reference books on all areas of military history and uniforms but I found I was missing information on Napoleonic French Generals of Divisions and Brigades. So I have ordered an Osprey on Napoleon's commanders and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. This means that the Perry Generals haven't progressed much.

On the other hand I have no such excuse for the Persians. They are plodding along but I will try to move them up the priority list for the rest of the week.

Wednesday, August 20

Next Projects

As the cavemen and the Alexandrian Imperial army are very nearly complete I have started to think about the next projects. At Britcon I purchased some 28mm Artizan cowboys and some Perry Miniatures French Napoleonic Generals.

These are now undercoated on my painting table.

Alongside these I will also have a go at a Later Achaemenid Persian DBA army using 15mm Xyston Miniatures. I have painted this army before and was very pleased with the outcome.

Monday, August 18

Britcon has come and gone so what's next

Another very good weekend of gaming. 6 good games - but not many points unfortunately.

So as we get home thoughts start to turn to the next event. There are a fair few to choose from - Roll Call in High Wycombe, Derby and Warfare in Reading are coming up and there are likely to be several more.

I will have to re-think the Canadians - their 'trained' status , the relatively small size of the platoons and their lack of decent infantry anti-tank capability are a bit of a problem!

For a brief report go to my web site at

http://members.lycos.co.uk/lastbunny/Britcon08.html

Thursday, August 14

Work in Progress

Here are a couple of work in progress shots of the cavemen.

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Wednesday, August 13

Painter's Progress

The cavemen are now painted and I am reasonably pleased with them. They still need basing but I need to get some slotta bases to finish them off. I will be at Britcon in Manchester over he weekend and hope to pick up some while there.

Even the Archaeologists are nearing completition and should be finished tomorrow.

The Alexandrian Imperial DBA army is also completed and I will base up when I do the cavemen - so all being well I will take some pictures shortly and then put them up on eBay next week.

Britcon

I will be competing in the Mid War Flames of War tournament using the Canadians again. This time it is 2000pts so a some what bigger force than I am used to. 6 games spread from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. It should be a good weekend.

Saturday, August 9

Trying Something Different

I have decided to try my hand at painting 28mm figures. It's something I have done before but many years ago.

So I have invested in some Copplestone Castings figures. I have a pack of 'Armed Archaeologists' and two packs of 'Cavemen' from the high adventure range.

The first thing to say is that the service was good. The figures arrived in a couple of days.

I knew from the pictures on the web site that they would be nice but I was very impressed when I looked at them in detail - particularly the faces. I have a small quibble - I don't think the hands are always as well sculpted as the rest of the figure but I don't think this shows too much.

One thing I was unprepared for was the amount of 'thinking' time I was going to need.

It's to do with colour choice. The bare flesh was no trouble - I used the vallejo paints I now use for my 15's but with a couple more layers. No it was the clothing - animal skins for the cavemen and civilian or proto-military gear for the archaeologists. It is not straightforward and often each garment(!) needs careful consideration. I am still pondering on the jacket and waistcoat for the middle eastern character and that's been a couple of days so far with no progress.

However, I had fun today painting a pith helmet, but even this took a bit of research on Google to see what colour it should be. Fortunately the end result looks ok.

One consequence of this process is that I mix colours to get a shade I like. This is ok as a one off but should anyone ask me to match them in the future that would be rather difficult.

When I do commissions I have taken to writing out a paint mixing sheet for the main colours so at least I have a chance of getting close without too much trial and error. I just wish I had thought to do this several years ago!

While I ponder these important painting questions, I switch over and paint a few more 15's. I have a Alexandrian Imperial DBA army nearing completition and I expect it will be ready to sell on eBay in a week or so.