Some 28mm things that were recently "fettled" (courtesy of the Warlord Wargames sprue sale)

First their came a sprue that was supposed to be in the back of a German 251 half-track (see below, Fritz and Hans are having fun with an 81mm mortar): 

Then came a merry bunch of AWI 28mm artillery crew with an excited General Officer and "Mo;;y Maid" (see below, if truth be told I found out that I have another two to be made too, already "in the loft"!): 

Finally the supporting arm (artillery) to my strange 25-28mm Malburian "late horse and musket" period army (or should that be plural) I have acquired (see below, I liked what I saw so much from these folks I put a second order in to Warlord for some more to "finish" (ha, if ever) the OoB off): 

Slowly eating away at the 28mm plastic pile of stuff needing to be put together before its wargaming destiny can be fulfilled.

"We The People" (or AWI revisited)

I find myself taking "up arms against the King" in defence of his subjects against the misguided  
rule of administrators and beauracrats intent in lining their own pockets with the hard earned monies of loyal subjects. [Editor's note: It is early AWI.]

Until this injustice is resolved and his Majesty comes to his senses I am tasked with the destruction of a small fort, called George, and the capitulation of its garrison. The "operational committee game" will provide scenarios for "others" to tactically follow through with the "Higher Cmmand's" (three undiscovered great minds of the enlightenment) lofty instructions.

Naturally this means time to go straight up into the loft to the tin marked "AWI" which reveals the Perry AWI British Infantry project .. see previous AWI work.. only one of which is painted though (see below):

These being the "Badies" temptation rests on my shoulders to go get a box of "Goodies" but only if I complete the British Project first .. talk about carrot and stick.

AWI Brtish Infantry "Rethink and then Repose"

Well I have been looking at the Perry AWI British Infantry on my bathroom shelf (my prime 'painting project viewing' position, despite the wife's protestations) for quite a while now and I have come around to the unsavory conclusion that I did not like the back rankers "poses". They were a little too lackadaisical for my liking. A bit 'camp' Boy Scout not really meaning anything, just lumbering along holding a musket in one hand. Luckily the Perry box has a huge amount of variant poses, so after a few surgical 'arm breaking' they were recast with more menace (see below):

Looking at the spares still left in the box and I see that I can do the same again for the other regular line unit, maybe short by one pair of arms (the six lights in forage camp were already advancing menacingly). All-in-all still worth the faff for the end result, especially as I will have have to contend with Renko's elite 'well painted' troops when I finally get round to playing agame of Muskets and Tomahawks.

One Man in Red the rest in er, Grey?

The WIP "group photo" (see below):

The Airfix Grey Primer has been applied to all the "tri-corn" hats (14 lads in total, excluding the casualty figure)

British "Bob" (Part 4) Wait Until You See The Whites Of Their Eyes!

Facing front (see below):

Facing rear (see below)

Done (bar the basing)!

Notes to Self: 

The musket got the traditional three brown treatment (Vallejo Game Colour: Charred Brown shade, Beasty Brown base and Leather Brown highlight). I also painted his canteen strap (something the tutorial didn't do but was on the Perry's painting description) Vallejo Game Colour: Beasty Brown and highlighted with Leather Brown. The musket strap was painted Vallejo Game Colour: Stonewall Grey and highlighted Dead White.

I then used Anita's Acrylic "Metallic Black" (a versatile oily smearing colour) paint the musket, bayonet and where the buttons were (never done buttons before!). I used Vallejo Gun Metal for the metal bits. Now for a bit of Brass. The water bottle brass bits, the musket brass bits and the bayonet sheath. A tip here was to first paint the area with a mid-brown (Vallejo Game Colour Beasty Brown) then paint the metallic on top of that. Anita's Acrylic "Classic Gold" with a dab of Anita's Acrylic "Silver" to highlight was placed on these areas (including those pesky buttons).

Returning to the face I "dotted the whites of the eyes" (he is 28mm after all), Vallejo Game Colour: Dead White, Imperial Blue (Iris) and Black (Pupil) not that you would necessarily notice! Then a few touches of Vallejo Elf Skintone to highlight and touch up any mess.

Next Step(s): 

Now I have to figure ways in which to increase the production efficiency as I need to paint another sixteen figures for my basic "Muskets and Tomahawks" force but my current three hours a figure is not going to work! The timescale for this project is the end of February and I do have a life outside wargaming ;)
 
I do like the instructional videos from Wargames Strategy and Soldiers, I an eyeing up their "How to paint a British Cromwell Tank" next

British "Bob" (Part 3) Perry's AWI British Infantryman

Facing front (see below):

A look from the rear (see below):

I thought he was looking "too neat" in the trouser area so I gave him a Vallejo Brown (Umber Shade) Wash. Following the painting tutorial I gave "Bob" a "Royal Blue" set of facings (Vallejo Game Colour Imperial Blue, highlighted with Vallejo Game Colour Magic Blue) and trimmed with a bit of nice white lace (Vallejo Game Colour Dead White).

The cartridge box, water bottle, shoes, bayonet sheath and hat got a basic Vallejo Black. To this Vallejo Game Colour Stonewall Grey was mixed in and lightened with with for highlights. The bedroll on "Bob's" back started as base colour of Stonewall Grey and was lightened again with white. I put a little white lace trim on his hat to make him look the part.

Redcoat Tutorial
Currently 13:41 through the 17:13 video

That leaves the gun, buttons and small other shiny bits to contend with .. to be continued .. one more session I think. My only negative thought is that he looks to Xmas decoration Nut Cracker Suite and may need a matte varnish?    

British "Bob" (Part 2) Whites and Reds

Again trying to religiously follow the YouTube tutorial instructions, but subbing in equivalent paints from my collection, (for tutorial see previous post) the 'Whites and Red' were added. Though if I am honest, I am not sure I have mastered the layering of (diluted) white paint yet (in my case Vallejo Game Colours and Anita's Acrylic White) so I may fall back on another 'brown wash and then white highlight' to try and add some more depth and tone (see below):

The 'reds' were a three layer Vallejo Game Colour classic: shade (Gory Red), base (Bloody Red) and highlight (Hot Orange). So far I think he looks a tad bright (see below):  

The only other paint used was Vallejo Game Colour Bone White to differentiate the side slung linen bag from the white trousers, adding a touch of white for a tiny highlight. So far 09:15 minutes through the 17:13 minute total.

PS: For all WW2 fans I am itching to start putting together Matilda "number nine"

"British Bob" (Part 1) the Perry British AWI Figure is Primed and Ready to Undergo the YouTube "Painting Tutorial" (WS and S)

Primed with Airfix Matt Grey Primer (see below):

Painted up to the same level as the start of the Wargames Soldiers and Strategy painting tutorial on YouTube (see below):

Painted the flesh in my classic three tone (aka GW fantasy) schene using the Vallejo Game equivalents (Dark Fleshtone, Dwarf Skin, Umber Shade Wash, Dwarf Skin, Elf Skintone) and the hair white (Bonewhite and Dead White).

Note: This is my painting scheme, I intend to revisit the Wargames Soldiers and Strategy tutorials to see how they do "flesh"

This takes me to 2:57 of the 17:13 minute long video .. to be continued

What Next Project Wise: French Indian Wars (FIW) ... Really(?) 28mm (Plastic)

Well another new project, there is however a certain level of perverse logic to it (honest, there is if you look hard enough).

"Somebody else started it first " (a kind of "big boy did it and ran away" excuse) at the local club. It being the French Indian Wars (FIW) using the "Tomahawks and Muskets" rules  (recommending them very, very highly as a 'must play' game in the process) AND I can also recycle or promote the recently acquired AWI troops for the (long, long) way off AWI Project, aka the (Perry) British Infantry figures I impulsively purchased. These are "good enough" (i.e. Red Coats with Triangular Hats and Forage Caps etc) so be a ready to go starter without having to do a botched conversion job. The AWI project, rightly enough is still deemed long term, requires formations, whereas FIW is individually based "skirmish warfare" so at some point of time ahead I might curse myself with a "re-basing job". However I will have some short-term fun. Ultimately I will have Indian, Militia and French troops too, but we'll start with the traditional British Redcoats.

;)

Troop Formations:

• Line: 8-12 Figures
• Grenadier: 8-12 Figures
• Light: 6-12 Figures
• Officer: 1 Figure

There are 38 Figures in a box but this includes two casualties, a drummer and one (or possibly two) standard bearers (although with all the spare parts included these could easily be fixed up as simple troopers). This implies about 34 useful combat figures. Therefore formations of :

• 12  (Line ) + 12 (Line) + 9 (Light) + 1 officer  = 34 combat troops!

The Drummer and Standard Bearer to somehow fit in too.

Note: No Grenadier types are includes with the basic Perry Plastic, so I have two Regular Line and one Light Infantry formations. Handily there are three types of head gear, one suitable for light, two for regular so this is a nice trick for distinguishing different units on the tabletop.

All the above is a good enough excuse to assemble these goodies into a post-Xmas "2015 Biscuit Tin Project Box" (see below, for this previously unheard of level of organisation and planning or rather the ability to do a quick clear away when the wife comes home unexpectedly with the shopping, with everything looking much more tidy than usual):

These troops will be individually based and painting "Redcoats" of any period is a step into the wild for me, a "free from fear" bit of experimentation (hopefully)! Though I am not expecting this to be a "fast project" but a January and February (perhaps even into March) diversion ;)

Thoughts on an AWI Project: Part I

Source of Inspiration:

Recently caught the last hour of Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" on television and was impressed with the look of the 'brown coated' militia and the blue-coated American militia in the battle scenes. That "twitchy painty" feeling started tingling in my bones. What to do? What to do? Wait and see if it passes? I can at least gather my thoughts ... and ask for advice from fellow bloggers.

Potential Rules: 
http://legio-wargames.com/#/loose-files-awi/4537113783
http://www.caliverbooks.com/Partizan%20Press/partizan_BG.shtml

28mm Figure Ranges: 
Perry's AWI Hard Plastics

Reference Material: 
Mark Urban's: Fusilier (reading at present)

References for other introductory books appreciated?