Home Guard - First Section

 "So who do you think you are kidding Mr. Hitler..."

I've been planning to build small Bolt Action forces of various sorts, mostly associated in some loose fashion with the 2nd NZ Division in WWII.

The NZ 5th Infantry Brigade, the second of the three echelons of the Division, was diverted to England in June 1940 instead of joining the first echelon outside of Cairo. The final third of the Division also ended up in Egypt in September, but the 5th Brigade remained in England as part of the anti-invasion forces until January 1941.

When Warlord released their Operation Sea Lion book I picked it up thinking that I might build an NZ 5th Brigade force, perhaps in conjunction with a Home Guard platoon.Growing up in the '70s Dad's Army still conjures considerable nostalgia and the theme tune evokes childhood memories.

I initially picked up some of Warlord's Sea Lion offerings, along with a BEF section, but after a bit of to and fro purchased some Home Guard figures from Foundry. A packet each with helmet and field caps, along with their heavy weapons provided sufficient figures for two sections with some left over to accompany officers.

Using Vallejo paints I primed the figures with a Leather Brown, and then base-coated them all over with a 50:50 mix of English Uniform and Brown Violet, which despite its name is greenish. The Home Guard denim uniforms were rather more green than British wool serge, and the mix of English Uniform and Brown Violet provided a greener colour that contrasts with the serge field service caps

After the green-brown base-coat all of the flesh, wood, and leather areas were over-painted with the brown primer.

Field caps were painted with unmixed English Uniform, and the webbing and haversacks with German Camo. Beige.

The Brodie helmets were painted UK Bronze Green, and the gaiters either Khaki (for cloth) or a dark brown for leather.

All parts were washed with GW Agrax Earthshade and the highlighted with the base colours. After being sealed with AK Interactive Ultra Matte the bases were decorated with static grass and rubble from Warlord and small Army Painter lowland shrubs.

Basecoat Colours

Item	Colour	Paint
Field Service Cap	Khaki	VMC English Uniform 70.921
Brodie Helmet	Green	Vallejo Surface Primer UK Bronze Green 70.607
Denim Uniform	Khaki-Green	50:50 mix of VMC English Uniform 70.921 + VMC Brown Violet 70.887
Webbing, pouches, and haversacks	Beige	VMC German Camo Beige 70.821
Leather Belt	Brown	Vallejo Surface Primer Leather Brown 70.626
Cloth Gaiters	Khaki	VMC Khaki 70.988
Leather Gaiters	Brown	VMC Flat Earth 70.983
Boots - Officers	Brown	VMA US Flat Brown 71.026
Boots - Soldiers	Black	VMA Black Grey 71.056
Gun stocks and handles	Brown	Various browns
Gun Metal	Black/Metal	VMA Black Grey 71.056 lightly dry-brushed with VMC Oily Steel 70.865
Bayonet scabard	Brown	Vallejo Surface Primer Leather Brown 70.626
Skin	Flesh	Reaper Tanned Flesh + Reaper Flesh Wash
Hair	Bown / Grey	Various browns and Reaper Stone Grey

Finished miniatures

 

The section sargent with Tommy gun and private having a sneaky smoke.

Lewis gunner and ammo carrier.

Rifleman showing rear detail and older chap with a Molotov.

More rear detail, helmets, and a red banded 30-06 rifle.

Still to go: second section, old soldier section (using BEF figures), officers and assistants, an MMG team, and a Northover projector... along with some special Dad's Army guest stars.

Cadian 287th - Veterans

The lads and their Taurox

 Motivation for painting is still somewhat elusive, and pesky actual work is leaving me tired and rather unenthusiastic by the time I get home.

All I've managed so far this month is to get this one small unit completed.

Back in May...

I decided to start with this squad as four were mostly done as part of an earlier test-run, and the group's equipment and colours were already sorted out.

I had to make a few changes for 8th edition - dropping out Sgt. Harker with his Heavy Bolter as his "Catachan" keyword wasn't going to fit with the Cadians.  The new Sergeant started out as an attendant for an officer - a "look out Sir" figure - with his arm in a sling to suggest he'd already taken a hit for his boss previously. With these bodyguards going away the figure was freed up and the only conversion was replacing his Laspistol with a plasma pistol to give him a bit more punch. At the same time a test figure I didn't like much was replaced with a Forge World figure armed with a meltagun for the squad's third special weapon.

Trooper with shotgun, Veteran Sgt. with plasma pistol, and vox-caster.

The paint scheme isn't far off my SAS/LRDG troops for Bolt Action, other than the uniforms being base-coated in Iraqi Sand. The flak armour has been treated as though it were a WWII leather jerkin, and the anklets painted to match.

Troopers with shotgun, meltagun, and heavy flamer.

To help emphasize the veteran status of this squad there is a range of heads: a few bare, a few helmeted, and some in Arabian style Keffiyeh.

Troopers with shotgun and meltagun

 The shotgun torsos and some of the heads are from a Forge World upgrade pack of Cadian Hardened Veterans and add quite a bit of character and individuality, while this meltagun trooper is from the Cadian Command HQ squad pack.

Troopers with shotgun and meltagun, both in Keffiyeh

The Keffiyeh were formed from green stuff, and moulded over bearded heads kindly donated by some Warhammer Imperial soldiers.

Detail of weathering

After painting the figures were given a coat of varnish and then weathered with an AMMO of Mig Jimenez ochre filter and AK Interactive dust effects.

Veteran Sand Scorpions

So, that's one squad done.  I'm planning to alter the colour scheme a little for the regular troops to again help distinguish these as hardened veterans. It won't be anything dramatic, perhaps just a little less of the Flat Brown and more Khaki or Camo Beige - less "leather" and more "cloth" in effect.

Now to try and find some more enthusiasm for painting...

Cadian 287th - Work in progress

May hasn't been a good month for getting any painting done, but I still wanted to make one post this month.

I picked up a copy of the 8th edition Imperial Guard codex and made various alterations to my rather neglected in-progress 8th Army-inspired "Cadian 287th Heavy Armoured" force.

It's been in-progress for rather a long time - I'd previously designed it as legitimate back in 5th or 6th edition - so some changes were needed to fit with the new 8th edition organization (in order that the force be battle-forged).

This was always intended as an armoured force so infantry had been kept to a minimum and the first change was scratching together a second infantry squad, now that veterans are Elite.

Core infantry plus Officer and Command Squad

Fortunately a couple of lads came free (officers no longer have bodyguards), and adding these to a spare heavy weapons team and a box of five easy-build Cadians it wasn't too hard to get the basics: one officer, one command squad, and two infantry squads.

The heavy weapon teams have GW weapons and crew, but the gun carriages are from elsewhere, part of a Kickstarter I backed several years ago for steampunk SF artillery. The guns didn't fit well with the Cadians (though they'd probably look great with Praetorians).

Magnetized heavy weapons

The autocannons are magnetized so I can swap to a different weapon, but for now these seem a good fit. The crew are fixed to small round "Perry" bases, also magnetized to the Workshop 60mm team base. As the gunners don't fit comfortably at the rear of the carriage I modified their grips into something like a game controller, suggesting that they can fire the guns remotely.

Officer and Command Squad

A Captain for the necessary command slot, and the reduced 4-man Command Squad, with vox-caster, standard bearer, and two grenade launchers as an Elite choice.

The banner isn't exactly Imperial Guard standard, as it was originally intended for Forge World's "Red Scorpion" Marines. I thought however that the red and white scorpion emblem and decals were an excellent fit for this army - reminiscent of the 8th Army's red and white "desert rat" insignia, and nick-named the 287th the "Sand Scorpions".

Veteran and Taurox

A squad of disreputable looking Veterans with a modified Taurox form the second Elite unit: Veteran Sgt. with plasma pistol, vox-caster, heavy flamer, 3 melta-guns, and veterans with shotguns.

Command and Squad Chimeras

The Command Squad gets a Chimera, as does one of the two infantry squads. I may get a Chimera for the second squad as well, though there will be a Valkyrie available, so no-one will have to walk. (The Valkyrie itself is still in lost of pieces - so that the inside can be painted - and doesn't have a photo.)

Sentinels and Manticore

Three scout sentinels give the force some fast moving units, and the Manticore provides long-range indirect fire. The launcher on the model is magnetized to allow either the Storm Eagle rockets or for the vehicle to mount a single Deathstrike missile.

Tank Commander

A second command slot is filled by a Tank Commander - something that wasn't an option back when I first began preparing this force - a selection that fits very well with the type of armoured force I wanted.  He could potentially end up as "Knight Commander Pask".

Leman Russ squadron

Three Leman Russ should provide a solid core of firepower - all have magnetized turret, hull, and sponson weapons, and two have detachable sponsons as well. The crew are also attached with magnets.

Drive me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!

Most of the crew are sensibly posed, one hand on the cupola, the other gesturing (to whom exactly?) but I couldn't resist re-creating one 40K meme.

Hydra flak-tanks

 Two Hydras round out the Heavy Support selections and should provide air cover (and some extra ground level firepower if required).

Shadowsword Vox Dei

Finally, a Lord of War - the mighty Shadowsword tank "Vox Dei" (Voice of God). The tank commander is a Forge World commissar (though he has no special abilities in this army list). It was just a notion that appealed to me, a commissar taking over the tank when the previous commander suffered a, err.... crisis of faith... and had to be relieved of command.

I've no doubt that knowing the commissar is in the Shadowsword steels the nerves of the Leman Russ crews.

So, that's the army - less the Valkyrie in bits - now to get on and actually paint it.

Pike & Shotte Scots - Painting complete!

Done! Complete! Finished! Well... except for the bases, which are a special order and not yet available.

The plan was for a Scottish pike and shot regiment in the army of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, the unit based somewhat on Mackay’s regiment. This was a well established regiment, and although they'd probably have a few raw new recruits the bulk of the regiment could be expected to be in continental dress rather than any Scottish garb.

After an initial experiment to settle on a palette and getting some feedback online I added a soft grey as a third coat and pants shade for their kersey "uniforms", plus a bit more variety in hair colour, but otherwise continued with the initial range.

The first shot sleeve rank up.

The musketeers have a bit more detail on them to deal with in the form of bandoliers, pouches, apostles, and powder horns, but are otherwise similar to the pikemen.

Second sleeve of musketeers.

After completing the first sleeve a command group was added, and once my Flags of War package arrived the Ensign got a brass pole and a nice green and white saltire.

Bases are still a ways off, so I cut some cardboard to the intended sizes to check that the units will look OK when based.  The plan is to use 120mm x 60mm for the double rank musketeers, and twice that depth for the three ranks of pike, leaving quite a bit of space at the front of the pike bases so that lowered pikes don't overhang in an inconvenient (and somewhat dangerous) manner.

The end result should look something like this - but with slightly irregular edged MDF bases with suitable greenery, rocks, etc.

So, one regiment down... two more to go for the center... then cavalry wings, reserves, commanded shot, artillery, commanders...

Perhaps something else for a bit then... what do I have lying around that's shiny?

---

ANZAC Day 2018

 

Pike and Shotte Scots - Command

Continuing on from my uniform experiment for Scots in Swedish service I've completed he rest of the pike block and the command figures sans a flag which is on its way from Flags of War.

The plan was to have command that reinforced the Scottish nature of the regiment, but were in continental dress as the troops aren't red shank recruits. The Ensign and musician are in colours richer than but still similar to the troops. The Sergeant (who I fancy is something of a rogue, and perhaps a former border reiver) is more elaborate, and the commander has touches of brass work to emphasize his relative wealth.

All of the command are from Warlord Games, from a variety of their packs.

The besotted Ensign (who'll be getting a green flag with a white saltire), from Command group 3, and Sergeant in a burgonet helm from Command group 1. Quite a few of the Warlord figures are wearing sashes (far more common I understand in the ECW than among the Protestants in the TYW). In this case turning it into a bit of plaid that he's kept as a blanket or cloak seemed appropriate.

The regimental commander, a Scottish Laird who's kept his blue bonnet and chief's eagle feather, and his trusty piper, from the Covenanters box set.

Bases are still a ways off - the plan is for a single base for the unit, after getting inspired by David Bickley's awesome Italian Wars project, but very approximately the block should look something like this.

The pike block will be 5 x 3 as the Swedish blocks had fewer ranks than earlier formations, while the wings of shot will be 2 ranks deep.  The pike are planned to be on a 120mm square base (with a lot of empty space at the front to accommodate the pikes), while the shot will be on 120mm x 60mm.  At 5 ranks wide there is no need to reform for column (once the four ranks of muskets are behind the pike, resulting in more rows than columns).

Next up are probably the shot... unless I get distracted by something shiny.

Pike and Shotte Scots - Painting Experiment

I've been wanting to start on my Swedish Pike and Shotte army for a while and decided to try an initial painting experiment using some Scottish pikemen based on Mackay’s regiment.

From the Osprey book on Gustav's infantry the regiment were given kersey cloth for uniforms when they entered Swedish service. Records state the cloth was blue or grey; the author suggests that given the prices listed much of it would have been undyed hodden.

I wanted to try a fairly simple palette that would lend itself to painting up lots of troops (well lots to me, since the recently completed LRDG / SAS force has a total of 25 odd figures, and Pike & Shotte can have 40 per regiment!)

 After consideration I chose a blue and a hodden not-brown not-gey as the primary colours, along with two colours each for leather items, shoes, and pikestaves, which were mixed-and-matched on the figures to give a (hopefully) unified but not uniform look.

Item	Colour	Base	Highlight
Hodden (Kersey)	Grey/Brown	VPA Track Primer	Add off-white
Blue (Kersey)	Blue	VMC Luftwaffe Blue	Add off-white
Skin	Flesh	MSP Tanned Skin	Add MSP Fair Skin
Leather 1	Mid Brown	MSP Oiled Leather	Add off-white
Leather 2	Light Brown	MSP Tanned Leather	Add off-white
Shoes 1	Red Brown	VMA Armour Brown	Add off-white
Shoes 2	Black	VMA Black Grey	None
Shirt / Stockings	Off-white	MSP Splintered Bone	Base
Bonnet	Blue	MSP Soft Blue	Add off-white
Field sign	Green	VMC Luftwaffe Camo Green	VMC Refractive Green
Pikestaff 1	Brown	MSP Muddy Brown	None
Pikestaff 2	Brown	VMA US Flat Brown	None
Metal	Blackend	VMA Black Grey	VMC Oiled Steel
Hair	Various	Light browns	None

After priming with Stynylrez grey, the figures were basecoated as shown above, and then all but the flesh was washed with Army Painter Strong Tone ink. After that was dry the areas were dry-brushed or highlighted as shown. Final step was varnishing with AK Ultra Matte.

I've had a few problems getting good photos - not sure why - but they're enough to get the general effect.

So, outcome of the test?  Well, I'm still not sure about the Track Primer hodden, but I do like the Luftwaffe blue and the mixed uniform effect from using a couple of colours for each item and switching them on different figures. Overall I think it's working for a regimental scheme. I'm also thinking I'll work a little more green into the command group.

Now of course I'm obsessing about basing. The original plan was 40mm squares (very much like most of the Warlord reference shots) and grouped on movement trays. (The ones above are from Warbases - and are rather nice).

But since then, and looking at some of the spectacular scenic bases that others are using I'm wavering. I'd suggest checking out David Bickley's excellent Italian Wars project on his blog. David's beautiful 100mm wide group bases are making me rethink my plans.

LRDG & SAS Platoon finished

 

Although the second section made for a legitimate Behind Enemy Lines force it was rather small and some support options were needed to fill it out: an MMG team, a sniper team, and a forward air observer join the two sections and armed trucks.

While the British get a free artillery observer it didn't feel right to use one with this list as they're likely miles behind the lines blowing up an airbase or an ammo dump.  I'd picked up the Warlord figure of Flying Officer CFC Lee, and decided to give him the Company B Blitz Buggy as a "counts-as" Jeep for transport. The buggy model had a few problems; the wheels attach directly to the body without axles, which is OK on the rear, but difficult at the front, and the resin had a fair bit of pitting on the surface.  I built a couple of axles out of pipe, and coated the surface in thinned PVA which helped with the worst of the effect.

The machine gun team was interesting as I hadn't built a team weapon before. I'd seen some examples with removable extra crew magnetized to a larger base and wanted to try that out. I attached two of the crew to small round (Perry) bases drilled for magnets and matched these up to the base. Bits of another base were used to lift the gunner to the same height. The coolant pipe is a piece of paperclip wire.

The base was puttied up with some Green Stuff, and I built a bit of stowage for the rear of the buggy, using some foam board to lift some Rubicon bits and pieces.

The figures were painted in the same way as the other SAS and LRDG troops, though I'd refined things a little this time by base coating VMC Dark Sand with the air brush. It's the majority colour on all of the figures - I don't know why I didn't do it earlier. I also stopped fussing around with adding green to khaki for some pieces and just used VMA US Olive Drab.

The Blitz Buggy was painted in a simple single colour of UK Light Stone and weathered like the previous vehicles.

Sniper in a tropal coat, with his spotter.

Vickers Medium Machine Gun team with the extra crew magnetized for removal as casualties.

Forward Air Observer and his assistant with their transport.

Army List

 Built using the excellent EasyArmy.com, a 1000 point Behind Enemy Lines list.

Officer
Second Lieutenant		Veteran	78
1	Second Lieutenant
1	Infantry
Infantry Squads
SAS Infantry Section		Veteran	195
1	NCO with Submachine gun
2	Infantry with Rifle
4	Infantry with Submachine gun
1	Vickers K LMG (requires loader)
	Entire squad equipped with anti-tank grenades
	Who Dares Wins!
	Behind enemy lines
SAS Infantry Section		Veteran	212
1	NCO with Submachine gun
2	Infantry with Light Machine gun (requires loader)
5	Infantry with Submachine gun
	Entire squad equipped with anti-tank grenades
	Who Dares Wins!
	Behind enemy lines
Forward Observer
Forward Observer (Air)		Regular	85
1	Air Force Forward Observer
1	Infantry
Machine Gun
Machine Gun team		Regular	50
1	Medium Machine gun team
Sniper
Sniper team		Veteran	50
1	Sniper team
Armoured Cars
LRDG Armed Truck		Veteran	54
1	LRDG Armed truck
	Forward facing MMG
	Rear facing MMG
LRDG Armed Truck		Veteran	54
1	LRDG Armed truck
	Forward facing MMG
	Rear facing MMG
LRDG Armed Truck with 20mm light autocannon		Veteran	89
1	LRDG Armed Truck
	Forward facing MMG
	20mm light autocannon
	Pintle-mounted HMG
Transports
30 CWT Truck		Regular	35
15 CWT Truck		Regular	31
15 CWT Truck		Regular	31
Jeep (Blitz Buggy)		Regular	21
		Points	1000

And that's that.

So... another platoon, or a new project.  It might be time to pull a few half-finished Ogres out of storage, or there's British Airborne... or 2nd NZ Div in the desert, or in Italy, or the Home Guard, or Plague Marines... oh dear.