Highland Miniatures Sons of Ymir Dwarfs(32mm)

“And now for something completely different”. I have as of late been reading the wonderful,” Talking Miniatures” book about the early days of Citadel Miniatures and per chance spotted and bought an old Citadel “Warhammer Armies Dwarfs” book at a local car boot sale. This got me all nostalgic for my first adventures into the old world of Citadel back in the late 80s when I was lucky enough to have been working in the Nottingham area in the UK.

 Armed with these pleasant memories I decided to dig up the past and delve back into the fantasy world with a random selection of anything going cheap. So, first thought was dwarves and wow the prices these go for on fleabay are amazing. While I waited on numerous auctions to get a bargain, I stumbled on a thread on facebook dedicated to Warhammer the Old World and Dwarfs. I discovered that during the vacuum of models made after Warhammer abandoned the Fantasy world a new force had appeared on the scene. And no its not the “ Age of Sigmar” ,but a sideways move into the 3D printed world in an attempt to catch up with the creeping size issue as models get bigger and bigger.

I found a range of dwarfs by Highland Minatures called the Sons Of Ymir. These are beautiful printed 3D models printed in 32mm or 28mm. I choose the 32mm to deal with the size creep and as something a bit different. The range is still growing and covers most dwarfs and then some extras so plenty of options for a large army build. As 3D printed models go not a single bit of flash to clean off, just an arm and a shield to glue on and ready to prime. No bases included. One thing I have noticed about 3D printed models as a word of warning is that they can be a bit on the fragile side, so go carefully while handling( I have handled and dropped a few different 3D models from different manufacturers  and all fall into the same issue). Once based, painted and varnished they are a lot more forgiving.

Price wise, a group a 10 dwarfs group costs £18.40 plus £4 delivery. Obviously if you buy in greater numbers, you get a discount. I bought mine from Etsy Uk Print3dminiaturesUK which I can highly recommend. By contrast a Warhammer group of 10 dwarfs from Games Workshop would cost you £32.50 plus postage.

I decided on a green paint scheme for my dwarfs and basically followed a youtube guide by Miniature Realms (Warhammer Fantasy & The Old World | Dwarf Warrior Painting Tutorial | Highlands Miniatures – YouTube). My paint scheme did not follow the recipe to the letter, but I followed the basic ingredients of the guide and found it very useful, especially if you are trying to get models onto the table to a decent tabletop standard.

Everything was finished to a snowy theme as my playing boards will be winter themed as well. The dwarfs are stood in a basic laser cut movement tray that has had the snow treatment.

I also managed to paint up a seperate Ballista and crew as well.

So basically, these models kept me busy while I hunted out by ebay bargains from the Old World which can be found shortly in post coming soon.

Sturmhaubitze 42, 10.5 cm(1/56 Bolt Action)

I bought this model from Blitzkrieg miniatures during a sale and its been gathering dust ever since so while building a scratch house I decided it was a good excuse for a quick diorama to show it off.

The Sturmhaubitze 42 or StuH 42 was a Stug III with a 10.5cm assault cannon that was created to provide close artillery support for infantry. The model shown is of Stug belonging to brigade 341 with field modified schurzen and manlet debris guard. It was knocked out at 12 La Gare, Le Val-Saint-Pere,Normandy on the 31st of July 1944 while backing into the unfortunate house. The manlet debris guard is scratch built from plasticard. Wire mesh has been included and a 1/48 105cm brass canon was added as it seemed a better fit.

The black and white picture shows the actual Stug after the battle.

The house is made of simple foam card and as per usual everything is recyclable. The wooden plinth is not fixed so will be used again and the house wall will be added to a ruined house in progress. The base can be used again for another diorama or whatever is needed.

Lorraine Schlepper 15cm sFH for Bolt Action.

Another Warlord kit, this time bought off fleabay fully assembled. All it needed was some paint and some Normandy battle weathering.

For a bit of fun I photographed it on recycled diorama base and stuck a backdrop behind it. I find it useful to keep wooden plinths spare so you can display models effectively. The plinth is seperated from the ground my a thin sheet of plasticard thus you can swap stuff about when bored without having to prize it off the plinth.

Up armoured Cromwell Tank(28mm Bolt Action)

Recently finished work on this up armoured Cromwell tank using a bit of plasticard. The plasticard is where all the additional armour was placed increasing the armour from 76mm to 102mm. Seems these Cromwells were rare and were basically Cromwell IVs seam welded instead of riveted with additional applique armour added. Identified as a mark V(not to be confused with the MK VII which had improvemnets but no additional armour) the only real way to identify them was via the WD mark ending in a letter “W”. I also replaced the gun barrel with a 1/48 brass 75mm QF. Also decided to make a quick dio based on the black and white photo showing,”Gladys” from 1st rtr near Aunay-sur-Odon ,Normandy 1944.

Had fun making this Warlord kit , hope you like it ?

88mm Gun emplacement for 28mm Bolt Action

Following on from research into my scratch built barn for Crepon it came to my attention that a lone 88mm gun was left to defend the South West corner of Crepon as the allies advanced inland from the Normandy landings on D Day. Many of the units defending the area were mixture of adhoc groups desperately assembled to stop the Allied advance and my 88 gun made by Warlord Games is the Luftwaffe Field Division 8.8cm 37 Flak representing the mixed opposition.

I made a simple bunker from styrene and kebab sticks and based it on a plasticard base. The individual bases were cut out to fit so the figures and gun could be revolved or removed for easy storage. The wheat around the bunker is front door mat cut up into strips and the aim was to fit the bunker seemlessly into the larger wheat fields of terrain which hopefully I have achieved ?

One thing I noticed on real pictures of 88mms in action was the huge amount of used and spare ammunition lying around so I found somebody to 3D print me the additional wicker baskets and rounds.

Finally I photographed the 88mm with a simple wheat field backdrop photograph behind it and it blended in quite well. This was most likely the unfortunate issue the Allies tanks faced as they advanced inland on raised roads,only becoming aware of the enemy 88mm after they had been hit.

Miscellaneous 28mm Furniture and bits.

This is the start of a very long line of unpainted/unfinished bits and pieces that have been gathering dust just waiting for the light of day. To be honest I cannot even identify half of the furniture but it is pretty generic stuff for 28mm gaming. The long bench for sitting is scratch built.

The two figures are Mialee with the staff and Lidda with the bow from the board game Dungeons and Dragons,produced by Parker.

Tithe Barn in Crepon,Calvados(Bolt Action 28mm).

The Tithe Barn in Crepon, Calvados has been around since the early 1500s and is still standing to this day. I spotted the barn on a random Google maps search and immediately fell in love with it and had to try and recreate it for my wargaming board. It fits in perfectly as a unique bit of table top terrain and has the advantage of being multi purpose as covers anywhere from 1500 up to present day. My immediate aim was to drop it onto my WW2 Normandy board.

By a stroke of luck I discovered the barn actually played a small part in the Normandy landings shortly after Crepon was caputured as a Rafadrome. A Rafadrome was a theatre created by the RAF Beach Squadron for some much needed R&R for the troops after battle. Click on the attached link for more information: https://rafbeachunits.info/units/uk-beach-squadrons-april-august-1944/4-beach-squadron/rafadrome/

The barn walls are constructed of foam card including the external buttresses. The doors are made from balsa wood and the roof is plasticard ,covered in York Model Rail roof tiles. The internal roof beams/joists are also made from balsa wood which has been shaped and stained to give the look of age old wooden beams. I hope I carried off the effect ?

Boths sets of doors fully open for gaming purposes and the roof lifts off easily as well. The roof basically sits on the foam card walls via gravity.

A bit of Crepon WW2 history to set the scene. Crepon is 6.5 km inland from the Normandy beaches and on the 6th of June 1944 was held by 7. Kompanie, Grenadier-Regiment 736, 716. Infanterie-Division,4. Kompanie, Ost Battalion 441, 716. Infanterie-Division and 2/Artillerie-Regiment 1716, 716. Infanterie-Division. Crepon was attacked on the 6th of June by 7th Battalion Green Howards Regiment, 69th Infantry Brigade, 50th Infantry Division and 4th/7th Dragoons Guard, 8th Armored Brigade, 50th Infantry Division and was captured. After being taken Crepon became a supply/assembly area for fresh forces arriving from the beaches.

Enjoy the pictures.

Crepon tithe barn1

Crepon tithe barn 2

Crepon tithe barn 3

Crepon tithe barn 4

Crepon tithe barn 5

Crepon tithe barn 6

Crepon tithe barn 7

Crepon tithe barn 8

Crepon tithe barn 9

Fallout Nuka Cola billboard.

I scratch built this terrain for wargaming in the post apocalyptic wasteland. Its ideal for Fallout Wasteland Warfare by Modiphius but would suit any Fallout themed game.

The billboard was constructed from simple balsa wood and the spot lights are pinched from HO model railway platform lights. The “Nuka Cola ” advert was simply printed from the internet and resized to fit. I added a few holes for weathering. The base is made from plasticard and a bit of model railway ballast.

Nuka Cola billboard

Nuka Cola billboard

Nuka Cola billboard

Nuka Cola billboard

Tamiya 1/35 winter Panther tank.

Very simple kit to build as are most Tamiya kits. The winter camouflage scheme was created using the hairspray technique. So the normal camouflage was applied first followed by two coats of hairspray. Next I applied a thin white coat. This was then gently scraped off using a stiff brush leaving the patched effect over the tank. Another coat of hairspray was added followed by another light coat of white. Final gentle application of the stiff brush and all done.

Panther Tank

Panther Tank

Chateau Saint-Gilles a Bolt Action terrain project(Part 5).

Small update of the project so far. The pictures taken show the first time I have put the whole thing together with surroundings just to get a feel for the project and how it all links together. Lots of work still to do inside and the roof needs a bit more work but apart from that its coming on nicely.

Chateau Saint-Gilles

Chateau Saint-Gilles