USMC WIP 2

I've just textured the Marines' bases and thought I'd do a quick update. It took me about half an hour to texture all the bases with tile grout which I didn't think was too bad considering I'd never done it before! I think they're looking good so far and can't wait for them to dry so I can crack on with the painting. It takes around 24 hours for the grout to dry hard so I've got a bit of time to wait but once dry, I will make sure all parts of the model are painted black before dry brushing some grey onto the areas I want to be black/dark (guns, flak jackets, webbing, etc) before focussing on the flesh and camo.

This is the black tile grout I bought on the recommendation of David Imrie (Saxon Dog). He didn't recommend this specific brand, merely that it be black tile grout. I picked up this large tub from B&Q for around £10 which should last me a long time! I hope the fact it's 'waterproof' doesn't affect the glueing of sand and dry-brushing of the base later in the process.

This is the tool I used to apply the grout. It is part of the modelling tool kit sold by Wargames Foundry. I used the larger 'spoon' end to pick up a pea-sized amount of grout and then spread it on the base. I used the pointy end to add some texture or spread it around between the legs where necessary.

This is a close up of the 1st Squad Sergeant showing the basing and fantastic detail put into every Peter Pig model. Once the model is fully painted, patches of fine sand will be glued onto the base and then dry brushed with various colours. Once this is dry, static grass and silflor tufts will be applied to bring the base and the model to life.

USMC WIP 1

As part of my Ambush Alley/modern project I want the main Western force to be the Americans (not sure which period/uniforms to go for yet). I have quite a large number of figures and more than enough to create an entire platoon. The figures below represent the 1st Squad of that platoon which is made up of Fire Team Alpha, Bravo and Charlie and a Sergeant (top). 1st Squad will be mounted in three Humvees which I'm currently waiting on Irishserb to deliver.

I've realised it's cheaper to mount the 15mm figures on real money as opposed to wood or metal washers so I've based these on English pennies and undercoated them in black (this needs a little bit of touching up in some areas). I also plan to use a black putty filler on the bases before I begin to paint the marines.

The keen eyed of you will notice that I've added another two figures and they are the two AT4 gunners at the front. As this Squad is large enough to game with when finished, I wanted a few heavy weapons to be able to be interchanged into various fire-teams based on the scenario.

Ambush Alley allows each player to only field a handful of troops for each game which makes it perfect for a non-prolific painter like myself! So, my primary aim is to finish these Americans and their mounts before finishing off the technicals and a rebel force to wage war against!

New project - 15mm Moderns

Just thought I'd update you on a new project I'm working on. I picked up a few packs of Peter Pig 15mm moderns a couple of weeks ago and am going to have a crack at painting them up. I've never painted anything smaller than 28mm before so this could be interesting! However, if all goes well, it could open up a whole new world of wargamming and finally allow me to recreate larger engagements such as the American Civil War and Napoleonic conflicts on a scale large enough to do justice to the immense nature of the conflicts.

Here are a few Toyota 'technicals' which I plan to play around with and do a bit of conversion on.

Here's the current WIP of the cars in the 'shop' as the Americans would say! Glue drying and 'green stuff' setting are just some of the things that can be seen in this pic. I've converted the car on the right to have a different gunner on the back and have changed the angle of the MG to suit the figure. The car on the left will have a number of troops mounted in the back hitching a ride and firing as they go. It should be an exciting project and one which can include a lot of character and personality.

After these are completed, I'll work on a few of my Americans. Make sure to check back of the next few days to see the progress.