Two men walk into a bar...

As a prelude to the battle the attacking forces made a series of probes against the defenders of the castle.  Eye witness reports talk of an MG-42 peppering the gatehouse and Besotten Jenny from Itter village to the East.  The outskirts of Itter were only 100 metres away and to represent its proximity to the castle James designed and built a suitably Austrian looking Inn.  This was to form part of our proposed talk, and indeed the extended game play, and presented me with a wonderful opportunity to create a little stand to represent those troops that opened fire from this vantage point.  

I should say at this point that the inspiration for this piece came from seeing an amazing Fallschirmjäger unit, appropriately titled, 'Let it Rip', painted by the very talented Nick of 'Moiterei's Bunte Welt' fame.  I just loved the narrative of the two troops taking advantage of the available cover to form a defensive position.  So it was that I decided to try and create an homage to Nick, but mine was to be based in the bar!  

No sooner had I resigned to create such a piece than the idea floundered, I just couldn't find the right poses for what I had in mind.  The idea was temporarily shelved, but I couldn't shake it off completely and periodically I would come across bits and pieces that I would think might be useful, a barrel here a 3D printed crate there and before I knew it the groundwork was done. 

Determined to give the project one more go, I started looking more closely at the various companies that were producing likely miniatures.  Eventually it was 'Warlord Games' that came to my rescue and by using a combination of packs to obtain the requisite gunner and loader, I was able to source what I wanted.  With a couple of quick head swaps, this time using the 'Warlord Games' plastic Waffen SS sprue, along with a snip of the bullet belt the piece was complete.

I had initially kept the miniatures on their bases, covering them with pumice gel, but given that this scene was to be set inside an inn decided to rethink this and opted to pin them to a 'Warbases' MDF base, which I had scored with a craft knife to give the effect of floorboards.

Whilst the piece had taken a lot longer to realise than I had expected, I have to confess that I am pleased with the outcome, can't wait to see it reunited with James' Inn hopefully in the not too distant future! 

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Castle Progress...

...an update.

Just a very quick re-direct post.  James has uploaded some great 'Work in Progress' shots and even some video footage of the progress he has been making.  It seems strange to believe that I have not seen the Castle structure, in its entirety, since December, although James has shared elements of it when he would visit before our enforced separation.  It is wonderful to have this overview and just seeing the progress we have made is somewhat heartening.  The links are below...

Castle Progress

Part one: Schloss Itter in miniature

Part two: Schloss Itter in miniature Part 2

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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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We interrupt this broadcast...

News is filtering through from our sources inside the Austrian resistance of vile and nefarious acts being perpetrated in the basement of a certain Schloss!

These are indeed uncertain and unsettling times, but it is difficult to verify the facts at this point.  We are looking to boost the signal output to gain a clearer understanding of what might be occurring.  Wait!  Yes, it is becoming clearer...

It is worse than we feared!  A full and detailed report of these abhorrent absurdities can be found over at 'Make it Miniature'...

Click HERE...

                                                        ...if you dare!  

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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