Painting like Mad for a BG WWII game set in 1945...the British this time!

 The game is loosely based off of events set described in the book, "No Triumphant Procession" where a company sized British force is facing off against a German Kampfgruppe somewhere in Northern Germany in March-April of 1945. The British have had, until now, an easy advance, and this small German force, holding a bridge over a minor tributary of the Wesser, isn't welcome to a lot of war-weary British troops who would just like to get the whole thing with over already.

 So, the painting is going well, and I am churning out about 5-10 figures a day, a mix of FAA and AB to complement the mix of British I have already from Platoon 20, Hotspur, and MLR. Ironically, this will be the first game most of the British have seen, as most of my games have been with the Russians, so this will be a nice change of pace, and we'll see how the British do in FOTR. I suspect they'll bring a bit more finesse to the party, and bit less close range firepower.

 The Germans are a mixed force, Volksturm, Volksgrenadiers (playing the German 2nd Marine Division, who didn't by this point, look a whole hell of a lot different from the rest of the German Army, or at least that's what my research found, and it's given me an excuse to paint up my Hungarians for future games, as a battalion of Hungarian infantry trainees was apparently attached to the division!) There's also reinforcements from some local SS Panzergrenadiers, and some Fallschirmjager, but not too much, and the usual mix of ironmongery the Germans might want, if it's morale holds up, and it doesn't run out of gas!

 Needless to say, I am pretty excited about this. I am running it for my birthday, and I do this every year, run a big game for my friends. It keeps my hand in and it gives me an excuse to paint and play (and keeps my wife from letting me go nuts, thanks Honey!)

 So, on with the WIP pics, some could be better, as I am still getting better at the whole miniature photography thing.

Admittedly the light could be better on some of the pictures, but I was pretty happy with the results of my painting sessions. I used a mix of sources, first, I used my go to for most WWII projects, Mick Farnsworth's Painting Guides he worked on for Artizan and Crusader. I was pretty happy with the results for the regular British infantry..not so much for the British Paras...I was just not feeling it. Sorry, Mick, I tried. But I found this PDF guide that was very helpful! 

But, in the interest of completeness, I will list the colors and techniques I used:

I hit them with a matt black Rustoleum primer to start..never again. It dries too slow and is a bit tacky for at least a day after use. I then used the PSC English Uniform Spray, BIG TIME SAVER that, but it doesn't exactly match the Vallejo color..more on that later. 

After that, I used Vallejo 924 Russian Uniform for the details like webgear, helmet covers, gaiters, and rucksacks. I tend to blockpaint and wash, but you can use whatever method you like. For uncovered helmets, like on some of the FAA figures, 

I used Russian Green 894. The boots for EMs, I did up with P3's Thamar Black, but any black will do. I used a mix of Flat Brown 894 and Chocolate Brown 872 for all the wooden parts. Jerkins for the officers got the same Flat Brown, as I have really fallen in love with that color. Metal parts for the weapons got P3's Pig Iron, which I like as it's a oily, black looking color. It looks the business as a weapons color. Bit shiny, but a good wash will tone it down. Officer boots were done in 874 Tan Earth. Hands and faces were done in a mix of the following, with the basecoat being P3's Midlund Flesh, then followed it up with P3's Flesh Wash. Finally, I used AK 3013's Highlight Flesh to hit raised areas and make the flesh "pop".

As for the Denison Smocks for the Paras, I used 914 Green Ochre for the base, 983 Flat Earth, and 890 Reflective Green for the other colors of the smock. It looks good, not great, but good enough for three feet away!

I followed it all up with this Magik Mudd Black Wash, which I found on eBay of all things after the suggestion of a friend. It's one of the better washes I have used, and I rather like it. I may have to do some highlighting to cover up some places where the wash congregated, but overall, it worked. 

The hessian tape on the helmets of the AB figures is a bit problematic, I tried Flat Brown and Chocolate Brown, but still don't like it, any suggestions out there?

But all in all, pleased with the results and it's giving me gameable figures at the rate of 10 a night in three hours. Ought to be done with them all in a couple of days. 

Been a Lot Going On, and I Simply Had to Post This Painting Tutorial, and Also a Look at Good Places For Tutorials All Around.

It's winter in most of the Northern Hemisphere these days, and with thoughts of such things, we're staying inside more, painting a lot of figures and getting ready for 2018's "campaign season". So, with that thought, I thought I would do this short post on something I found on Warlord Games's site.

This just, well, gorgeously illustrated and well laid out tutorial on painting their new Winter SS line. To be honest, even if I do 20mm, I think this is still very, very useful indeed. It makes the figures really pop and is useful for late war SS from Budapest to the Bulge.

But I also wanted to mention, Warlord puts out other tutorial PDFs, free of charge, which is a really nice thing for all gamers, and they're pretty well done IMHO.

But they aren't the only show in town...another good place to look for tutorials is Artizan Designs, their guides are VERY exhaustive, and they even have bibliographies, a plus for this history grad.

Again, it's meant for 28s, but I have done many of my 20mm Russians in the colors suggested, and I have more than liked the results I have gotten.

Some other great tutorials, which are more...20mm focused can be found on Guild Wargamers (need to be a member of the forum to access, it's free, so join if you can!). The "Work Bench and Resources" section is simply full of ideas, including a large number of tutorials (I have borrowed many of their ideas).

And hey guys, reach out with your own "must see" tutorial sites for painting 20mm WWII or even if it's not 20mm, if it's proven useful to you, chime in and let us know!