Stu's Painting Challenge!

Call me crazy, but I've decided not only to take part in Stu's painting challenge, but I'm also going to attempt to build a portable gaming table at the same time, complete with scenery!

I've got off to an early start, but thats only because I haven't primed everything yet like Stu has...

All going to plan, my Brit Airborne Army and my Normandy table should be completed within the next 3 months....

Stay tuned!

British Parachute Company

Company HQ 65pts
• 2x PIAT Teams 40pts

Combat Platoons:
3 Rifles Squads 240pts

Weapons Platoons:
Mortar Platoon: 2 Mortar Sections 165pts

Support Platoons:
Royal Engineers 125pts

Divisional Support:
Royal Artillery: 2 Gun Sections 140pts
Armoured Platoon: 3 Sherman Tanks 200pts
• Add 1 Firefly VC Tank 80pts
Commando Platoon 220pts
Air support (Priority) 220pts
1495pts

So thats how I'm gonna construct my Late War British Parachute Company. The Air Support is essentially just a way of not having to purchase any more figures. The bold teams are ones already finished.

Now, because Stu has declared a painting competition, I have to select 600 750 points to paint, which is pretty much EVERYTHING else.

Three months to finish off my army, it's going to be a tough ask, but I'm gonna give it a go, and keep track of my progress right here!

And seeing as Stu has put up a prize for the winner (which he could end up winning - how nice for him) I've decided to put up a prize for the winner as well (BBC Documentary Series DVD: Great Raids of World War II) and am going to suggest that everyone who enters puts up a prize of some sort!

The Big Project: The Gaming Table

Ok, so I’ve started painting my second Flames of War army – despite not actually finishing my first! – and managed to order some scenery from Kreative Scenery, so now I should really start planning how I’m going to do my gaming table.

Whilst I love the concept of Stu’s North African table, I’m heading more towards the grass gaming mat and randomly placed scenery of Aaron’s ever-changing gaming table.

My biggest issue however is not having the luxury that both Stu and Aaron have: a dedicated gaming area where a table can be kept permanently. All the components of my table have to be able to be packed away and kept under my hobby table.

The basis for my table will be a sturdy, fold down trestle table that can be kept my slightly damp garage without ruining it too much, so what ever I make has to fit securely to this.

So this is what I’m thinking: 3 x MDF EASIPANELS (1200 x 600mm, 9mm thick), braced too keep them from warping, and then have holes drilled through the bracing so they can be lightly bolted together when gaming so they don’t move around. The middle panel will have a couple of brackets attached to keep the whole thing from sliding off the trestle table.

Then you just roll out the green grass gaming mat, place the scenery down and you’ve got an instant Normandy gaming table!

And one that should fit with ease into the back of the Chariot so that when we get 4 or more people around at Aaron’s, we can have two tables set up!

Well, that’s the initial plan. Might take a while to instigate ;o)

Replacements

I recently emailed Battlefront with some replacement requests for broken and missing pieces. I photographed the broken pieces, one of which I wasn't sure what it was. It looked like a dude carrying a rather over sized land mine on his back, but his gun was stumpy and 'obviously' broken.

Imagine my surprise when my replacements arrived, and th two mine carrying dudeds were identically broken.

I decided to photograph them all together to email to Battlefront when I noticed that they all had tubes running from the 'mine' to the end of the 'broken' gun.

That looks like some crazy donut shaped flamethrower I though to my self. But surely not, I'd seen nothing like it before.

Google was the answer.

The Flamethrower, Portable, No.2 (nicknamed "Lifebuoy" from the shape of the fuel tank, and not after the popular brand of soap), was a British design of flamethrower for infantry use and was used extensively in the Second World War.

Ooops, sorry Battlefront, honest mistake. Now I'm gonna have to look at D Minus 1 to see if I can find a use for 3 flamethower dudes.

Victory!

Played a 1,000pt game of FOW against Stu at Aaron's place tonight and achieved my first ever victory! Though to be fair to Stu, he did have some terrible rolling for his reserves and I did get some excellent advice from Aaron from time to time.

The Germans Don't Know DAS!

It seems like an old post of my has been inspiring some German FOW players, but the only problem is they don't know what DAS is....

Hallo und guten Rutsch zamme!

hab mal ne frage, als totaler anfänger. Was für knet/spachtelmaße nehmt ihr für die Basegestalltung? Ich find das hier sieht nich schlecht aus, http://flames-of-war.blogspot.com/2007/0...th-my-arty.html
aber was dieses "DAS" sein mag...?

Brit Airborne So Far...

Painting Madness!

In 6 days I've managed to get a whole set of figures (18) painted and inkwashed! This might not sound like much of a feat to many war gamers, but this is the type of thing that normally takes me a month or two to achieve!

The Holidays have helped, though I was at work on Thursday and Friday, but coming home and being able to put a quick coat of paint on before heading out to do some gardening (the payoff) has seen my painting time increase substantially.

No doubt next week, with work coming back online full time, things will slow down on the painting front!