As some of you fine folk may know I'm eagerly (ah, well more like glacial-ish) painting away on a 28mm Para force for gaming Operation Market Garden since... ahem... since AHPC VI, so 2014 actually. Now I bet that wouldn't strike even the slowest painter amongst us as particular ambitioned, or indeed eager, and rightly so. Having painted a playable SS force as opponents over the course of that (wretched) last year I decided I better get my finger out and finish those Paras.
I actually quite enjoy painting those Dension Smocks, so I can't quite figure out why it takes me so unbelievable long. But hey, at least with today's submission I've got a fully playable force for TFL's Chain of Command, my go to WW2 rules. So it's now on to the support choices *Wahai Mohammed*
Unfortunately not all of the figures are eligible for points as some were started prior to the challenge.
They're a mix of the old metal ones by Warlord Games, sculpted by Paul Hicks, and the equally venerable Wargames Foundry ones, sculpted by the Perry twins back in the day. They mix together reasonably well and do indeed supplement each other quite well in terms of poses.
I'm rather baffled why the loader of the 2" mortar is portrayed with a 1942 pattern Bergen, as this was more commonly used by Commandos and SAS. It was not completely uncommon with the Paras either, but I have yet to come across a source for their use during Market Garden.
I do love the two figures above as they really seem to interact.
Scoring wise I think these are worth 35 points:
4x upright figures a 5 points = 20 points
6x prone a 2.5 points = 15 points
Victim #10! Do come in, my dear.
As ever, beautiful painting Nick. And well done for getting a playable force for Chain of Command.
On the Bergen, I seem to recall that the Royal Engineers and Glider Pilot Regiment had them at Arnhem and I'm sure others had acquired them, particularly those reprobates in the Recce Squadron and the Pathfinders. The Dutch soldiers from 10 (Inter Allied) Commando would probably have had them too (but wouldn't be manning 2" mortars!).
35 points it is.
Tamsin
More amazing work Martin! I wish I could get the tones and clean shading / lines you do, these are truly works of art! Getting the camo lines to flow and look right against the folds in the fabric is such a pain in the ass, yes you seem to pull it off perfectly every time.
ReplyDeleteThanks Byron! It's actually a surprisingly simple process. I just apply the paints as a thin glaze with a swift stroke of the brush. It's probably one of the few things I don't overthink ;-)
DeleteStunning brushwork again Nick! I would rather pull my own teeth our than attempt those smocks in 28mm, brilliant stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks Greg! Actually it's surprisingly easy and probably the most simple camo scheme in my reportoire. Should you fancy a try one day, there's a tut on my blog ;-)
DeleteGorgeous painting as always, as Byron says, works of art!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
This is as brilliant as ever, Nick - you really have a good eye for camo!
ReplyDeleteThese are gorgeous Nick, it's always a joy to see your WWII stuff.
ReplyDeleteReally top notch. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteThat's a really lovely paintjob you have done on these Para lads. Exceptional work.
ReplyDeleteSuperb work, textbook in every way!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely brilliant. I am always in awe of how good your faces look, such expression!
ReplyDeleteSuperb painting Nick and the camo is sot on! Look forward to seeing these whenever we get a chance to play again.
ReplyDeleteChristopher
Once this malarky is over I'm more than happy to show 'em off 😎
DeleteBeautiful brushwork once again my friend. It's good to know that the Foundry and Warlord sculpts work together so well. I may have to give these a try in AB scale.
ReplyDeleteAs a postcript, I find your photos a bit dark. I use black backgrouds as well and find I need good light from above or to work on the exposure in Photoshop/Gimp.
Thanks Curt!
DeleteYou’re right about the photos. All down to me being absolutely useless with a camera. Lighting from above is sufficient in my set up. The problem is more that the pictures look fine on my camera screen but later too dark on the PC screen. I don’t like messing around with exposure or anything in a program as I invariably will bollock it all up. I know I should learn those basics but frankly that’s the part of the hobby I like the least... well, next to Napoleonics anyway.
Haha! I get it. Do you use a Mac or a PC? If you have a Mac I could give you some quick tips that I've found that work.
DeleteMac... I'd quite appreciate some tips for Gimp. But beware, there’s a reason I use Mac 😂
DeleteHappy to help mate. I'll schedule a zoom with you and we can go over what works (or doesn't work) for me.
DeleteSublime painting as always. The whole force must look astounding on the tabletop.
ReplyDeleteReally nice brushwork on the camo.
ReplyDeleteStunning
ReplyDeleteThey may take a while but they are so worth the wait!
ReplyDeleteMore super looking figs 👍
ReplyDeleteRegards KenR
Fantastic painting! Each figure is a vignette itself!
ReplyDelete