Is it Wednesday yet? Italeri Italian 90mm AA gun

About a month ago I meant to post these. I used the "dip" method and oh man, what a disaster. Too dark. My African front Italians turned into east front Russians. Somehow I like the shiny look of them and these may get pressed into service as Russians if the need arise ( that's right!)..

I base coated the Italian crew then ruined them with a too dark "dip" which left them with a taste for Slavic music

Wire ! Wire !, Everywhere and all the boards did shrink

Almost ready to deploy

More wire, three more sets of 6, thats 18, Yes those are match sticks.

The boards on my painting table are really starting to get loose. The fire pit is only feet away.

File photo

The finished product.

Barbed Wire 20mm 25mm 28mm (6) 1/72 1/48 40K

 Part of this weeks Terrain frenzy, these were finished last night but had to wait until the light of day

These wires were the first tip I learned from the internet  and the secret involves.... oh I'm not that easy.... your going to have to take me out to dinner and buy me things for me to put this secret back onto the internet. Actually theres no real secret to it at all as all of the usual suspects are there. Paint,  hot glue, glue, flock, sticks, wire, sand.

I really do like the way the wires look. The rolled effect of the wires themselves give a false look of actual barbs. Pretty cool if you ask me, but why ask me? I'm telling you..

From the front.  Those are 1/72 scale plastics on the left and a 25mm battle honor on the right

Roads Roads Roads!!!

Well so much for springtime in Arizona. The heat has arrived.Production on roads is continuing and the latest project, a 1/72 scale mock up of the Bin laden 'hidey hole', will go to the back burner ( no oven could have as many back burners as I would need). Here are some pictures in no particular order of the roads completed thus far

2.5 inch road with regular flocking

2.5 inch'ers baking in the hot Arizona sun

3.5 inch road with figures of three scales moving on it. 2 battle honors 25mm WWII Americans break right in search of trouble while 3 1/72 scale modern Americans with Bradley back up a Soviet 5 man WWII flamethrower team by Battlefront.

I have really started to like the die cast models like that Bradley in that picture just above that are on the market and would really be interested in trading retail value for retail value with anyone that has any for trade. I would also be interested in 20mm 1/72 scale, WWII or modern metal or plastic.

Roads, roads. Marching to the sound of war and Spring time in Arizona

Production is in full swing on a massive set of roads to be broken into smaller sets. I am working on two sets. a 2.5 inch set and a 3.5 inch set along with a few pieces  to join the two sets and allow them to be used together. Pictures soon. Seen here are some completed 2.5 inch roads. and some that are waiting to  be flocked. The the weather in Phoenix has been unbelievable. This is the first year in many years we seem to have had a spring.

a War Gamers flower Bouquet

 Those Russians are going to be getting 'the dip".

   I was out back today with the airbrush. My 'pin cushion' had the look to me of a flower bouquet. I ran out of nails and have resorted to gluing units to wooden matches. The center piece is a  Italian 90/53 90mm Anti-Aircraft gun,  By Italeri, kit no 6122. It went together very easy and looks very nice  The crew is not present here but some plastic Russians by plastic soldier are there, as are some Arab insurgents by Ceaser and a couple of  German motorcycles from Italeri, once again. I don't like using bases too much but the motorcycle needs it if it is to stand up at all.  

   I finished the gun and gave it its clear coat. I forgot to take pictures of it. so I will post them Wednesday. The gun turned out so nice in fact, that I think the crew will get painted Wednesday as well. 

Small marsh-bush strips.

OK before I do a set of rivers, I'll do something smaller to get used to the idea of showing people what it is I do and how I do it. Some asked me why would I show people how I do what I do and open myself up for jokes from those with more skill or for that matter, far less. Well to sum it up,  it comes down to one thing... Are you a Giver or are you a taker? Many of the things I learned in the last 10 years, I learned from the internet, from other people who "put it out there" and shared. After watching  Kamloopian explain why he shows how he does what he does (good luck with that last sentence) and seeing his quote "share and share alike"  it burned into my head.

  As far as jokes go, it appears to me the community has been very well behaved and respectful so I have no doubt I will be well received or at the very least well treated.If anyone ever sees this blog that is ( how do you get people to look at these things?).

  So this is all new for me so on with the show.

The not quite so Finished product. They only await the final polyurethane gloss.  That Russian  rifleman by plastic soldier 1/72 scale  has just been dipped and is sitting at the tip of a wooden match 'drying out' ( get it?).

Today I will be making 1 marshy strip and finishing 3 others that will look nice in places near rivers, lakes, woods, graveyards, or just about anywhere something needs to be.

The base is tar paper and I will be using play sand ( I didn't actually use that sand in the picture), white glue hot glue and some twine.

Wear gloves or something. even the thin surgical gloves help. Hot glue burns. Put a spot anywhere and place the twine. I bend it even into a "V " shape then glue it down at its bottom. The bush on the left actually has two pieces laid out across each other like a + then bend up and distressed.

  So To begin with I already had three primed and ready to go. I decided to add a fourth section in order to show the process. The first step is to place a dollop of hot glue where you want your bushes to go. Distress the ends of the twine by your favorite means and spread it to look like a bush. This can be done later if you like.

Glue around the edges where the surface will be and then you know what to do.....

I needed coarse sand to match the other already primed bases

Well there is it primed black in the foreground. The already primed+brown coated ones in the background. Thats a Soviet 76mm gun on the right.. 

I used the airbrush to paint the entire first two coats black and brown.

Then I painted the water areas green

First and second dry brushing, honey brown over the brown over the black then light tan over all of that.

After flocking. Lipton tea, Woodland Scenics blended turf and Games Workshop static grass

  Now for the finished product.

After the addition of polyurethane gloss on the water areas

 I just realized I left all the needed paining supplies out of the first picture. Hey.... 

Well thats it for today.

14 Feet of River

Here is my latest project in all its glory. 14 feet of river sections and an additional 3-4 feet of Stream. I didn't think to take pictures as it was created.  I used all the usual suspects. Tar paper, sand, glue, paint but this time I added some twine and hot glue to make the bushes..

I decided to get crazy and make an island. ringed by rocks twine and tea, yeah........tea....Lipton. Don't ask why there is a tank crossing the river. The figures are 1/72 scale. The tank (pzII) is 1/144 scale



At this angle you can see the water surface quite well..



Instead of explaining what I did here, I think I will create another set of rivers and document it a little closer with the camera. I like step by step instructions and will be posting those for anyone interested in knowing my secrets.

Hello Hello

  Well, this is my first Post on here and I hope I can post something eventually that someone might find interesting. I've seen some incredible blogs and websites by some gamers/terrain makers that really look like they are having fun. The extensive  Kamloopian videos, the videos of wargamer Dave and one group calling themselves the ATF, particularly inspired me to post.  I would like to give a quick nod to the person who got me started- Gene McCoy (I saw a copy of wargamers digest in the hobby bench at the mall back in 1980  bought it and the rest was history).
  I see so many people who have armies that are painted far better than I could ever hope to paint myself. Then they post pictures of the battlefields they fight on and MY jaw hits the floor.  Books for hills, masking tape for roads or rivers, green felt forests and light green woods, pencils for walls. Eye yi yi this has to stop.
  I've been getting nostalgic for 1/72 scale figures again and seeing the sets put out by Plastic soldier, Pegasus and Ceaser I decided to move from 15mm FOW to 1/72 Skirmish warfare.
 This website will partially document that move. I say partially because terrain will quickly become and remain the focus. Scales of 15mm ,1/72 and 25mm will be the main focus

I do not blog anywhere else so I am going to try my best to keep any Political views and other non wargame related material out of the blog.

So here we go.
Kevin