So - my first post (outside of the Fortnight post the other day), will be for some Bolt Action/Warlord "US Airborne" models, in 28mm. I painted five Riflemen in the last Challenge, and I'm determined to get more of these guys done this time! Here are a couple of "Officer" types, a Bazooka team, and an LMG team (Light Machine Gun, for the uninitiated)..
Here are the Officer figures. The first has a pistol and Carbine rifle, the second has an M1 Garand rifle. He also has a pair of binoculars, so could double as a Forward Observer, I guess.
This is the Bazooka team. Is it just me, or does that Bazooka seem a bit tiny...? As much as I love Paul Hicks sculpting, there were a few things that didn't turn out so well - this Bazooka being one of them. He also seemed to do rather small MP40 sub-machine guns on the Germans.
And lastly, the Light Machine Gun team - moving to a better firing position.
You'll be seeing more of these figures over the coming weeks. I picked up the "Lt. Winters" special edition figure Warlord produced a few months back, plus I've also got two Airborne jeeps, a Mortar team, and a Pack Howitzer team, as well as a few more Riflemen.
After painting the first few in the last Challenge, I've gotten over my 'hang-up' of trying to paint these guys! So I look forward to continuing the efforts. The same could probably be said about all the British Airborne figures I have - but those damn Denison smocks really DO give me a mental block!
Thanks for looking!
From Curt:Nice work Kevin! You've done a great job on these sculpts though I think your lighting is stealing some of the show from us. (FYI: I've found wamth-adjustable LEDs work very well for booth photography.) The bazooka may look a bit small but it actually wasn't a very large weapon as it only fired a 2.36 inch rocket. Here are a couple period photos of two variants of the bazooka:
I think Hicks' sculpt, while perhaps a bit foreshortened, is not far off.
Again, great work Kevin. I look forward to seeing more of these along with your Lt. Winters sometime in the coming months.
Nice paras Kevin.
ReplyDeleteAs for Denison pattern camo, it's not too bad to do - I painted a section for AlanD a couple of years ago, so can send you my paint scheme if you want.
Thanks, Tamsin - I'd be interested to see what you did for he Denison smocks. I did find a painting guide from a club in S.E. Asia (don't have the link, off-hand) that seemed workable, but I thought their colours looked a bit too bright. That's part of what bugs me about the smocks, the colours are so close in hue and value, that on figs like this, they appear to blend into each other.
DeleteLooking good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Roy!
DeleteGreat painting Kevin.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ray!
DeleteCurse those twirly bulbs! Your figs look great even so sir.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael! I knew these new bulbs were going to be a problem when they first came out. I don't know what I'm going to do when the 200W Incandescent in my painting area finally decides to chuck it in... :-(
DeleteThanks for the Bazooka pics, Curt - maybe the sculpt isn't so far off. I always thought it looked bigger in Band of Brothers, like a 3" diameter, or a bit more even. But that might have been a prop, not actual hardware.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPYFU4hXDg4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPYFU4hXDg4
ps: I'll have to check out those warmth-adjusted bulbs you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work - I really like the .30cal machine gun team on the move
ReplyDeleteThanks, jmilesr - it's one less "prone" team to vex GregB! ;-)
DeleteVery nice work on these guys. Looking forward to see some more of their kind. And let me assure you I'm totally with you on the Denisons... I still have some unpainted ones flying round here from last years challenge as they drove me nuts. I really like German camo but that Denison is just well... demanding.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Moiterei_1984. As I mentioned on Tamsin's post, I think it's the fact that the colours are so similar on those Denisons - hard to get decent contrast, but still maintain the proper 'look.'
DeleteVery nice work Kevin!
ReplyDeleteI'm still a fan of halogen bulbs, but then again I don't have anything as sophisticated as a photo-booth!
Thanks, Johnny!
ReplyDeleteI despise those twirly bulbs. Somehow those things are supposed to make our planet greener. I think they make our lighting wretched.
ReplyDeleteThe figures are nicely done!
I heartily concur! Thanks, Anne!
DeleteReally nice work - even with the substandard lighting, those are fine minis - I like em a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michael!
ReplyDeleteNice work mate. yeah lighting can be a pain we all suffer from. And for that you have my sympathy. Always good to see some paras take to the stage/tabletop
ReplyDeleteThanks, Clint!
DeleteThese are good, shame about the lighting, you will just have to paint up some more :-)
ReplyDeleteIan
Indeed Ian, Thanks!
DeleteGreat painting work!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Juan!
DeleteYour good work still comes through despite the lighting issues.
ReplyDeleteOn some cameras, there are different settings depending on what type of light you're using. This video's got some good tips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWxUeYXfeI4
Thanks for the video link, David - is that your channel? I like Tabletop Minions - lots of good info! As for my camera, I did make some modifications to the setting when I started using the portable booth. My first shot or two had a decidedly BLUE cast two them. That FOLDIO booth, and the daylight adjusted LED's sound like a great idea too. It would be really handy to span pics with my phone!
DeleteGreat work Kevin - well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Greg!
DeleteThey're excellent. Love the green you have got them with.
ReplyDeleteThanks, rct75001!
DeleteI think they all look grand, Kevin! I can't mock your photos either! I use my "smart phone" which probably isn't smart. My old Olympus did great photos, but that was last century and Kodachrome is no more!
ReplyDeleteI'd imagine the bazooka is pretty close. I'm modern scout infantry and space is a premium commodity. It is even more precious for airborne. I as a rule never argue with 1st Sgt, but I would have a few choice words if I had to jump or hump with a 5" 54! I hate it when I have to hump spare mortar rounds! ;)
I certainly can't argue with someone who has real life experience! Thanks, David!
DeleteThey look good and the photos aren't that bad. Three things I do, cover the lamps in baking parchment (to diffuse the light), EV of +1 or higher or a dark background, I set my the white balance to incandescent as it looks better to my eye than auto or fluorescent. Happy painting and photographing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sean!
Delete