An Unlikely Hero

So it turns out that working from home is considerably more time consuming than going to work, who knew?  It's probably just me, but I find the reliance on the technology, covering lessons I wouldn't normally teach and the obligatory preparation all sapping of my time and energy.  As a result, I have fallen behind on my own posts and those of the many splendid weblogs that I so enjoy following.  That said one of the benefits of being at home, and indeed working from the hobby desk, is that I have embraced the '10 minutes a day' approach to hobby time.  I say 10 minutes, but I can often squeeze in a little more in one sitting and so genuine progress has been made on a number of smaller projects that needed to be finished off.  The first of these is part of a series of character posts, this one showcasing, SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt-Siegfried Schrader.

A decorated SS Officer, Schrader was seriously wounded in the fighting on the Normandy front, for which he was awarded the Wound Badge in Black having previously been awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and the Eastern Front Medal.  During his convalescence, Schrader had moved his family to the village of Itter.  It was here, on his many walks from his home to the castle, that he befriended the French prisoners and eluded to his growing disgust of the Nazi regime.  

Having been released from service in the last days of the war, Schrader had returned home and hung up his uniform, but was persuaded back into action by the French prisoners he had befriended to act as their security and negotiator if they were attached; an appointment that would ultimately save the the former  SS-Hauptsturmführer from a considerably stretch in prison himself!  As it stands our rules allow for characters to be attached to units in the game.  SS-Hauptsturmführer Schrader can now be attached to a unit of French Prisoners bringing some much needed firepower to their dice pool.

My representation of this unlikely hero in our story is a Stoessi's Heroes miniature available in the United Kingdom through 'Great Escape Games'.  My worry about painting so much black had seen this idea buried in the 'to do' pile, but a renewed desire to get things done saw me approach the problem from a differnt angle - namely don't use black!  To be fair I did use some, namely the boots, belt and collar tabs, but the rest is made up of a variety of different greys, highlighted and the washed with 'Games Workshop' Nuln Oil.  

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Keep on trucking!

We continue to be safe and well at Awdry Towers; I am truly grateful to be home.  That said the idea that enforced isolation brings with it an excess of free time has been proven to be a fallacy here on the Sunshine Coast.  No sooner I am returned from my residential duties at school, then I am press ganged into cheffing duties at home!  Add to this the daily route march that the Saintly Mrs. Awdry has devised* and I find that those quiet moments, to slip away to daub paint on metal and plastic, have become few and far between!

*All 10,000 steps in one go I might add!

This, then, is just briefest of posts to kickstart my month and to document the latest progress; two Opel Blitz trucks, again from 'Rubicon Models'.  As I have come to expect from the company there are plenty of construction options, but I went for the most basic and even then managed to break off some extraneous detail in their relocation from school to home.

With regards to painting I had envisaged that they would just have a base coat of Mechanicus Standard Grey, followed up with a series of washes.  This is pretty much what happened, but as they sat in front of me on the painting desk, I decided that a couple of additional processes might be in order.  To that end there is some dry brush weathering, subtle chipping effects created by using a sponge and some rust streaks using an 'AK Interactive' enamel.  The last technique was new to me and I was a bit heavy handed with the first truck, but learning from my mistakes used a wash of thinners to help manipulate the medium more successfully on the second.

The trucks will have no real function in the game other than mark the jumping off point for the SS Troops, which we have located out of sight in the bottom corner of the furthest board from the castle to give them a chance to deploy, comparatively unmolested from the withering fire of the defenders.  There was some debate as to whether they should be based or not, but in this instance, given that they are more for scenic purposes, have left them unimpeded. 

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Do you know where you're going to?

Do you like the things that life is showing you…

A huge thank you to those good folk that have been in touch or given me a gentle nudge to see if all is well.  I am happy to report that we are indeed keeping well and delighted to be reunited with the Saintly Mrs. Awdry, here at 'Awdry Towers'.  I don't want to dwell too much on current affairs as '28mm Victorian Warfare' has always been about my bumbling progress through this most wholesome of hobbies, but in this instance the two are intrinsically intwined so I will beg your indulgence.

It was, of course, inevitable, but when I heard the news that 'Salute 2020' was, in effect, cancelled I have to confess it rather took the wind from my sails.  James and I had been working hard to meet the deadline and we were on course to have everything done for the show, only to hear that there was to be no show.  We had done so much, committed so much time and effort only to see it snatched from us.  I struggled for a week, not knowing how to react, but the reality was that there was a much more pressing concern and that we all needed to play our part.  As a school we were mindful that we needed to be ready for the enforced closure, making sure our systems were in place to support the pupils remotely.  We remain open, albeit with a skeleton staff to support the needs of the Keyworkers' children and to care for the remaining boarders who were still trying to secure flights home.  With the rest of the country on lock down I was effectively living in a bubble, and because I was a residential member of staff, able to give additional time to the remaining boards.  

By the end of last week, the final touches were made to the last board and that is where I have had to leave it.  Deciding that it would be an indefensible position to be caught goofing around, photographing the final set up at this time of National crisis, James and I are resigned to waiting it out before our project can be reunited and shared as it was intended.  How this will come about is still an unknown at present, although ideas are forming.  I am hopeful that this period of 'Staying Home' will allow me to finish off some more of the miniatures, characters and extras that were planned along with the opportunity to catch up with the many splendid weblogs that I so enjoy following.

I have taken the liberty of updating the logo for the project, as the 'South London Warlords' have very kindly acknowledged that we are eligible to take our place at the show in 2021 and, whilst James and I are yet to confirm, this remains very much a possibility.  Returning to my somewhat obscure title for this post, the future uncertain; health, wellbeing and even job security are all unknown at this point, but these are all, in most cases, beyond my control.  What I would like to champion and celebrate is the sense of community that pervades throughout our cosy corner of the infoweb.  I have mentioned already the gestures of concern that have nudged me back to the painting desk along with the genuine acts of kindness like those that offered to help paint the remaining troops - thank you again Tamsin, Matt, Iain and Richard!

Uncertain and unsettling times these may be, but I hope that we can all continue to help each other with our mutual support and appreciation of each others' endeavours.  Stay safe and well, one and all.

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Help Needed!

Dearly beloved, loyal followers, dare I say friends?  We need your help!  All is well, in fact both James and I have been very busy producing some of our best work to date, but time is getting away from us and we simply haven't had the opportunity to share with you as much as we would have liked.  Many will also be aware that my presence around the many splendid weblogs that I enjoy so much has also dipped somewhat of late, but I am hoping you will forgive me this dereliction of duty as we plough every minute we can in to getting ready for 'Salute 2020'.

To that end, I was wondering if there were any good folk that might be willing to lend me their brushes?  I have 35 SS Troops that need to be completed before the show and far too many distractions demands on my time.  The miniatures are all primed and bases completed, but that is as far as it goes.  I am afraid that I have very little to offer other than my unending gratitude and credit for the work completed.  Sadly, given the time constraints, I imagine that this offer for internet immortality is only really open to UK based hobbyists? 

In these unsettling and uncertain times, James and I are totally committed to bringing the project to a conclusion and would really appreciate any offers of help.  If you think that this might be something that you would like to do, perhaps a couple of miniatures, half a dozen or even more then do please get in touch at...

twenty eight millimetre (the first part written as numerals and abbreviations) little men at g mail dot (just a full stop will suffice) com

My apologies for the unnecessarily cryptic address, (I should also point out that there are no spaces either!) but I am led to believe that this helps to reduce the likelihood of additional unwanted spam, something we are already plagued with.

Thank you,

Michael

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Getting properly excited!

Just a very short post this morning as I have so much to do, but couldn't resist sharing this.  The South London Warlords have released the floor plan for 'Salute 2020' and so we can show you where to find us!  This is hugely exciting and just a little bit terrifying as what started as a throw away suggesting is now an expectation.  Our official blurb reads...

GL09

Beechwood Tabletop Gaming Club

Participation

The Battle for Schloss Itter

In late WW2, an unlikely alliance of Wehrmacht soldiers, American G.I.s and French Prisoners of War defend an Austrian castle from SS Troops.

Saturday 18th April 2020 is fast approaching and James has been turning his attention, and considerable talents, to designing and making a steel frame for the boards so that they can be transported in the back of his van!  Meanwhile, I have all but completed two boards and James has prepped the third for me to start next week.  This has taken slightly longer than originally envisaged as every time I think I have finished, I remember something else we said that we would do.  This week it has been cutting back into one of the 'finished' boards to establish the last resting place of James' Storch.

So as I sign off this morning it is back to the painting desk that has no less than three started elements on the go and with no rugby to distract me this weekend, I am hoping to push these on a little.   More to follow shortly, I hope! 

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Bang goes the neighbourhood!

I have finally completed the last of the artillery pieces for the game, the 2cm Flak 30 cannon, reportedly seen been emplaced in the tree line barely 800 yards, northwest of the castle, alongside the '88.  This has proved to be the most troublesome piece to finish, simply because of my lack of knowledge in the period and my inability to get past an initial idea.  You see, my limited research only seemed to throw up the quad variant, which I duly picked up from 'Rubicon Models', but in my head all I could see was the single barrelled version that was used to terrifying effect in the film, 'Saving Private Ryan'; my issue was that no one seemed to be producing such a weapon, or at least one mounted on its wheels.

Scene from 'Saving Private Ryan'.

Being a stubborn sort of chap, I eventually stumbled upon one such gun, but for the life of me, I can't remember where?  I thought it might have been 'Great Escape Games', but having just looked on their website, it no longer seems to be listed.  Provenance aside, the piece was going to be problematic insomuch as it came in vast number of pieces and all made from very soft metal, that saw the barrels and other elements twisted horribly out of shape.

My plan now was to combine the plastic and metal kits together utilising the various pieces to build one serviceable gun, the additional chassis would be used to build an ammunition trailer, but it soon became apparent that the scale discrepancy between to the two kits was going to make such a build difficult and so the project stalled, until I stumbled across the image below.

With the inclusion of a tarpaulin and a camouflage net, I could potentially hide all the difficult castings and so set about the piece with renewed enthusiasm.  The problem was that the metal kit didn't have any assembly instructions and so I was using the 'Rubicon Models' kit as a guide and know that I made a couple of bodged decisions along the way.  That said it started to come together and having decided on what size of 'Warbases' MDF disc to use, I rooted around the bits box to put together a small scenic base.

Having allowed the PVA soaked tissue paper, used for the tarpaulin, to dry, I was starting to feel pretty pleased with myself and duly primed the gun, working on the base to tie in with the other artillery pieces.  Unfortunately my clumsiness struck again when I managed to dislodge the replacement plastic barrel I had used.  On reflection, I was pushing my luck with this, applying the glue to only the smallest point of contact.  Not deterred, I drilled out the remnants of the existing metal barrel, allowing for a much more sung fit for the second plastic barrel, thinking all the time that it was a good job that I had four to work with!    

With the painting complete, it was time to create a camouflage net and decided on some gauze bandage liberally soaked with a combination of sepia and green inks.  This needed some dry brushing once it had dried and then it was just a case of threading in some lichen pieces, before gluing to the lower part of the carriage.  

For all its difficulty in assembly, I have to say that I am delighted with the finally outcome, as it started to match the source photograph that inspired it; I just need to remember to be careful with that barrel when handling it! 

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Bringing home the bacon.

Well I'm not sure where the half term break has gone?  It has been lovely to spend time with the Saintly Mrs. Awdry, but here I am contemplating the return to work and with very little to show for it, hobby wise.  As I rather suspected the prospect of getting to grips with fifty SS Troops was too much for this particular butterfly brained hobbyist and although five have been completed, with another five underway, I went in search of an easy win.

I have always enjoyed populating my tables with additional livestock and have been wracking my brains as to what might have been roaming around the Austrian forests in the 1940s?  I am assuming the usual fare of game would be plentiful such as pheasants, rabbits and deer*, but what else?   Wild Boar!  Somewhere, in the depths of my addled brain, was the flicker of a memory that had wild boar rooting around the Black Forest and so it was that the every reliable 'Warbases' received an order for a couple of packs along with some small pill shaped bases.  

 *Although what deer would be most common?

Basing some up with their piglets** these simple, but well cast, beasties will be roaming the areas below the castle.  They may yet get their own 'Chance Card', which will play in a similar fashion to those of Congo, by 'Studio Tomahawk', insomuch that if drawn then a combat action will have to be resolved before the unit can progress.  I suppose if successful then they might claim extra rations for their troop?

**Surely not boarlets?

So some more fluff for the table, but time is ticking and we still have a long way to go!  As I write this there is only 56 more days to 'Salute 2020'!

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There's something in the woodshed!

Whilst wanting to keep a visible presence on the infoweb, and in a bid to keep the momentum going with the Schloss Itter build, I was looking around for a suitable post as proof of life.  I was conscious that I didn't want to overplay the W.I.P. card as although terrain building is taking the majority of my 'Castle Time' to have a similar post so shortly after the last, might diminish the impact.

Fortunately James has, once again, has come to my rescue.  His visits during the week, bring much needed inspiration and a have presented us with a good opportunity for a chat and some planning time.  One of the greatest joys of working with James is that he seemingly doesn't recognise any barrier to completing a task as a problem, simply a challenge that hasn't yet been solved.  This is such a positive outlook on life and of genuine inspiration to me. 

As we start to see the boards move from fields of colourless foam to recognisable terrain features we are keen to add as much depth as possible.  Any available space is now considered fair game and one such area, located below the bridge, was screaming out for some attention.  I had inadvertently suggested some form of deserted lumber camp might be suitable, a pile of logs, signs of industry, that sort of thing.  In no time at all, James had thrown together some design and ideas based on photographic evidence and presented me with another stunning creation.

The shack, almost identical to the source material, came based on an large MDF disc that allows us to drop it onto similarly placed disks in the terrain.  This means that it sits flush with the ground and allows a modicum of versatility in our set up.  James had latched on to the idea that this was a working lumber camp and his delightful piece came with a fearsome looking saw bench and piles of recently sawn timber - absolutely superb!  

In many ways the piece required very little in the way of painting, but I just couldn't help myself.  Trying to match the colours and textures of the source material, I was looking to create a worn feel, complete with ivy and a log pile.  As for the saw bench, we had joked about the idea of it having done some serious damage and so the remnants of an unfortunate wretch lie in the sawdust and gore.  

This proved to be yet another wonderful diversion at a time when diversions are the last thing I need!  That said, the joy of the project has been its ability to constantly surprise, whether that be by generosity of others or simply in stretching our own imaginations and creative abilities.  As I write this, I do have the small matter of fifty SS troops to complete and so it is back to the paint table for me, at least until the next diversion comes along! 

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A work in progress#2

It's been a while since we shared any discernible progress of the game boards.  In November we left you with the tantalising prospect of the four assembled boards with the castle looming above a mass of expanded foam filler.  In the run up to Christmas, James had worked tirelessly to get as much of the drawing and cutting done as he was due to start his new job, at a different school, in January.  This was going to present us with no end of logistical issues, not least to mention depriving me of the opportunity to talk hobby related ideas all day!

We met up briefly for a day in the Christmas holidays, a final opportunity for James to saw, spray and sand, before handing over his keys.  As promised, he had left me with four serviceable boards, three seen standing on their ends above, a castle that was now free standing and the promise that he was at the end of the phone if there was anything else I needed. 

I had, rather like the much maligned ostrich, buried my head in the sand when it came to the boards.  All the time James was cutting the castle, there didn't seem any need to worry.  I would tinker around with some miniatures, perhaps a bit of card design, but then as I stood alone in front of the incomplete boards the realisation of what needed to be undertaken finally sunk in!  Fortunately, my boarding duties have been rescheduled to allow a good period of free time on Monday and Tuesday evenings, now dubbed, 'Castle Time'.  This has proved to be a godsend and an ideal opportunity to really get to grips with the Herculean task that lies ahead of us.  

Having established the contours of one board, the application of some simple colour lifted my spirits to the point where I felt confident enough to offer up the second board.  Sketching out the design it was just a matter of hacking the geographical features into the foam before using a combination of sculptamold, tile grout and builders' caulk to complete the effect.

Although many of the techniques that have been employed are familiar to me, I am now operating at a scale that is completely outside my comfort zone; for instance I have now made fifty conifer trees to date!  My hobby progress is usually painstakingly slow, not least because of my butterfly like approach to focussing on any given task for any discernible period of time, yet, stick at it, I have and we are now finally starting to see some measurable progress.  

The level of finish is meeting our expectations, but there is still plenty more that needs to be done.  James has been able to visit on a regular basis and although this has been great to boost morale, we do seem to find ourselves becoming distracted by more and more flights of fancy.  That said, these are often the pieces we most enjoy and hope that they will add a sense of fun to the project.

We hope that you will be able to see some real progress, but of course we are mindful that there are another two boards to go before we can say it is finished.  January has come and gone, but even with our enforced separation James and I have managed to keep the project going, not least because it keeps stretching us creatively and throwing up no end of wonderful surprises.  After our collaboration with Dave Stone of 'Wargames Terrain Workshop', James had coined the phrase, 'the Castle the internet built' and this continues to be the case.  As I write this I have just seen a picture of an amazing piece of artwork that is heading our way; thank you Nick of 'Moiterei's Bunte Welt', it looks amazing!  We also look forward to sharing with you a tangible connection to the past that has galvanised our determination to see the project through to its completion, but more of that another day.