The Great Escape

I seem to have been somewhat  remiss with my posting of late, here we are in the second week of January and not a review of the previous year in sight!*   So in a manner familiar to Blue Peter fans everywhere, here’s one I prepared earlier - my entry to the ‘Nostalgia’ bonus round of the  'VI Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge' with a couple of additional photographs!

*Fear naught gentle readers there will be one coming before too long!

Nostalgia is a multifaceted and curious thing; it is about happiness, recalling a person, place or event with a fondness that time has shaped to a perfect ideal, regardless of the small matter of factual accuracy.

For me nostalgic memories can be triggered by the smallest thing and most recently that has been whilst thumbing through the, now legendary, Christmas edition of the Radio Times.  I was instantly transported back to boyhood as I eagerly sought out what marvels of celluloid entertainment were in store for the Awdry family over Christmas holiday.  In the those days there were staples that were as important to the festive period as Brussels sprouts and mince pies – I refer, of course, to ‘The Great Escape’.

This 1963 war time drama tells the story of Allied Prisoners of War and their attempted mass escape from Stalag Luft III. This is a film that is infinitely watchable, boasting a stellar cast, stirring soundtrack and Triumph TR6 Trophy motorbike!

So to my submission, five 28mm 'eBob miniatures' on a scenic base designed to instil a sense of nostalgia in all of us that love classic war films.  The miniatures themselves are interesting insomuch that there is enough detail to suggest cast members without slavishly replicating them and although not the most dynamic of poses there is a quality to them, giving me an opportunity to interpret them in any way I chose.  The three main characters were based on a ‘Fenris Games’ planked floor to tie in with the theme of the submission.

The base was initially conceived as a small set to showcase the miniatures with elements from ‘4Ground’ all constructed on a ‘Warbases' 120mm MDF disc,** but why stop with one floor when you can have two? Devotees of the film, and for that matter history itself, will know that the Allied Airman, had planned to start a series of tunnels to make good there escape and it only seemed fitting to try and incorporate that into this build. Scraps of blue form, coffee stirrers and cooks’ matches formed the basic construction and them came the detailing.  The tools, littered around to show evidence of industry, are from ‘Essex Miniatures’, whilst the timely rediscovery of part of an ‘Ainsty Castings’ ore cart was pressed into action as the trolley system used to transport the dirt and men through the tunnels.

I have actually run out of old blank CDs!

The final addition of some photographs of sweethearts and flickering LED lights just seemed to help bring the whole thing to ‘life’.  This was a hugely entertaining diversion to work on and I couldn’t help but hum the theme tune whilst I tinkering away on it, all helping to reinforce those feelings of nostalgia that this film evokes.

 Just when I start to think that I'm getting into my stride, painting wise, the school bell tolls and I can safely say that my next entry is unlikely to be so ambitious!  That said if you get a chance, do pop over and cast a vote for your favourites, just click the link here.

Happy Christmas one and all!

 It will not have escaped the attention of many that a certain science fiction franchise saw the launch of its most recent instalment this month, and although I've yet to persuade the 'Saintly Mrs. Awdry' that she really needs to see this, I can't help but be swept along by the excitement.  This excitement saw me root around in the loft until I found my collection of Star Wars toys, some of which have gathered here to wish you all a very Happy Christmas! 

In hobby news the  'VI Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge' is well and truly underway and I am, once again, impressed at the diversity and quality of my fellow challengers.  For my own part, I seem to be acting a little like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a hobbying juggernaut, unable to decide which direction to leap.  Lots of things started, very little finished! 

General Tor

Every homicidal Martian invasion force needs a commander so allow me to present the evil General Tor! Moving away from the more conventional colour palate associated with this character, and heavily influenced by examples seen on the wonderful 'Nothing but Sixes' blog, I've used much of the same colour scheme employed with the Martian grunts.

This is a wonderfully dynamic pose, with the flowing cloak presenting an opportunity to let loose with the blending techniques, but I'm afraid that photographs don't really do the final effect justice.

It is still a matter of some embarrassment that I have not really done this game justice, but who knows, one day I'll dust of the core box and give it anther go, but in the interim, and by way of target practice, I couldn’t resist painting up the flaming cows to accompany the chaps.

Char-grilled steak on the hoof, this is actually a single piece of plastic, but fabulous fun and certainly better than the cardboard template that comes with the original game, now where did I put those big stompy robots?

Ack, Ack, Ack!

With now just seven days until the start of this years challenge, I am keen to post the last of my entries for the previous year and so I’m thrilled to finally present them here for your approval. 'Mars Attacks, the miniatures game' was to be my first dalliance into the wonderful world of crowd funding and proved to be a rather expensive introduction. I was swept away with the excitement of it all and before I knew what I had done a large amount of plastic was winging its way towards ‘Awdry Towers’ where it has sat idly – until now!

These then are the Martian grunts and boast a wonderful array of weaponry, perfect for reducing the resistance of the human race to a smouldering pile of ashes. With regards to the miniatures themselves, they are a good match for most 28mm miniatures and certainly had enough detail to keep my brush interested whilst painting. What I didn’t enjoy, however. were the mould lines and although I did remove some they proved too numerous to remove altogether. Of course what they do have, to counter this mild irritation, are their own clear plastic helmets – what an inspired addition!

There are quite a few painting tutorials online and I managed to match many of the colours used to those in my own collection with only a couple of additions like monster brown and Hydra turquoise. One site that proved to be an invaluable source of inspiration was 'Keith's Wargaming/Painting Blog'. Keith also shared a way of dealing with the embarrassing bendy weapon syndrome that these models, made from soft plastic, occasionally suffer from; wonderful for shooting around corners, but they do rather take the sheen off your nicely painted miniature! A relatively simple procedure, but I mention it hear to alert you to a potential pitfall. The idea is that you drop wobbly, weapon, wielding, warrior into a glass of nearly boiling water, remove, reshape and plunge in a cold bath before the plastic memory has time to right itself. It really is that simple, but so transfixed was I by the shapes and colours that I left mine in for far too long and then initially forgot the cold bath - they were little Martian blancmanges!

Finally they were complete and I have to say that I'm rather pleased with them.  It was rather fun working on something so different and using colours that don't normally get a run out.  Still plenty more to do, but first I must pluck up the courage to stick the helmets down!

Ack, Ack, Ack!

VI Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge ...

...The Preparation.

Yes, yet another post about plans for the forthcoming 'VI Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge', now less than two weeks away! Having had a difficult year, I was determined to make more of a showing with this year's challenge by getting involved with the light hearted commentary and generous encouragement that is issued by so many of my fellow challengers. To that end, I thought that I would rely less heavily on the bonus rounds for my points and get stuck into painting some of the ever growing lead divot that is amassing here at 'Awdry Towers'.

As a result, I spent a good period of time during the summer holidays prepping and undercoating the best part of three 'Really Useful Boxes' full of splendid miniatures from the variety of Victorian conflicts that I have dabbled in. There were representatives from the Crimea, Indian Mutiny, New Zealand Wars, Anglo-Zulu wars and even the North West Frontier, but when I went and inspected this fine assortment of  the other day, I suddenly felt less than inspired!

With the exception of the thirty two unmarried Zulu Warriors*, I'm not sure that any of the others will see the light of day this year, but why you might ask? Rather than look to my own inability to focus on one topic for any length of time, I'm laying the blame squarely at the feet of the wonderfully ambiguously titled bonus rounds themes that have now been announced.

*Required for the 'Cetshwayo Challenge' my side duel with Martin Cooke.

Reinforcements have arrived!

It is no secret that I really enjoy creating little vignettes or scenic bases and Curt's challenge has given me a wonderful opportunity over the years to indulge in some frivolous flights of fancy. To that end the last couple of weeks have been spent scratching around looking for possible miniatures that, collectively, might fit the requirements. So far thoughts include the following:

January 3rd: Nostalgia - I'm thinking old war movies here, something that reminds me of sitting at home and watching television with my father, a copy of the Christmas Radio Times may be required for inspiration. 

January 17th: Epic Fail - This is causing me the most sleepless nights, where on earth did Curt dig this title up from?  The current idea involves the expenditure of a lot of ammunition, but I'm keeping things suitably vague in case I change my mind. 

January 31st : Defensive Terrain - This has to be the trenches of the Great War doesn't it? I've found some rather characterful sculpts, long forgotten, that will hopefully now see the light of day.

February 14th: L'amour - Bizarrely, when I first read this I thought of zombies, odd I grant you, but nevertheless expect some shuffling undead ladies for this one!

February 28th: Nautical - Ah-ha an opportunity to unleash the Cloctopus, probably best not to ask!

March 13th: Gambler/Risk-Taker - I haven't got a clue, but I do have so rather splendid Post-Apocalyptic survivors that might be shoehorned in here. 

So as we wait patiently for the starting pistol to signal the start of the madness that is the 'VI Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge', I have found a new distraction to pass the time, another rather splendid 'Sarissa Precision' building, their Gate House from the newly released English Timber Frame series.

This very generous birthday gift from the 'Saintly Mrs. Awdry' has been slowly taking shape over the last couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to giving it a lick of paint when the academic term finally comes to an end. So all that remains for now is to dust off the Christmas decorations and wish all my fellow travelling companions on the good ship challenge, the very best of luck.

Birthday Weekend.

Now I wasn't planning on doing a birthday post this year, what with the big day having fallen on the Friday of what felt like a very long week.  The most that I was expecting was a fearsomely hot take away Indian curry and an evening in front on the television, sherry in hand.*

*Oh how I live!

This is pretty much much how the day went, but certain things conspired to make me take stock and realise just how lucky I am.  I can't tell you exactly what it was, it might have been the Birthday wishes email that greeted me from Millsy of 'Canister and Grape' or the particularly splendid rendition of 'Happy Birthday' sung my beloved Sixth Form as they loitered around the, yet to decorated, Christmas tree.  

Then there were rather lovely gifts from the 'Saintly Mrs. Awdry', family and friends.  The arrival of my Kickstarter pledge from Integrated Wargame Buildings.  This, by the way, looks complicated not to mention exciting, but after a brief inspection has been put away until after Christmas with thoughts of Post Apocalyptic worlds or a possible return to the Batman Miniatures game.

Perhaps it was the surprise package left by our postman, that had travelled all the way from Germany, my good friend Stefan making sure that there was some new lead in the house to commemorate my Birthday.  Conrad Kinch** of 'Joy and Forgetfulness' fame has just written a rather splendid post about the 'Freemasonry of the hobby', something that I wholeheartedly subscribe to, the camaraderie and selfless sharing of ideas or even items considerably more tangible has been such an unexpected side product of this most wholesome of hobbies.  

**Welcome aboard Sir

Dinovember 2015

Whatever the reason for my buoyed mindset, I would just like to thank you all!

One of our Dinosaurs is missing!

Another ‘Dinovember’ comes to a close, but not before I unveil my final entry – a homage to the Disney Classic, ‘One of our dinosaurs is missing’.  This 1975 relic of my childhood sees a group of nannies outwit a Chinese spy ring in order to come to the aid of their former charge, Lord Southmere.  Of its time, the film is perhaps best remembered for the theft of a Dinosaur skeleton from the National History Museum and the subsequent chase around the English Countryside as the nannies try to evade capture. 

Although not the same make as portrayed in the film, I managed to track down an Atkinson 'D' Type Steam Lorry from the Matchbox 'Models of Yesteryear' range* - all I needed now was a dinosaur skeleton!  My web based research wasn’t proving particularly fruitful, but I did stumble across a pack of plastic dinosaur skeletons, one of which looked as though it might be able to represent the Brontosaurus, unfortunately I hadn’t checked the dimensions!

*The Atkinson was able to travel up to 30 miles at 12m.p.h. on one tankful (170 gallons) of water.

Clearly not up for the job my new purchase, and the twelve others that came in the pack, were consigned to the terrain box** as I scratched my head, pondering a solution.  I knew that I had a couple of ‘Dinosaurs in a tube’, another terrain project that has yet to see the light of day, but neither skeleton quite fitted the bill. As I stared at the cretaceous carcasses littering my paint table, inspiration finally struck!  By using the tail sections of both prehistoric beasties, I was able to fashion the, almost swan like, creation I was after, after all what was in the middle didn’t matter as it was going to be covered by a tarpaulin! 

**A mass of interesting odds and ends collected or purchased off the back of a convoluted plan, now long forgotten.

Now for the skull; again a rummage through the terrain box unearthed a couple of possibilities and although perhaps not an exact match for an Apatosaurus, I felt that the one chosen had a certain charm that I was looking for.

 Having already let my trusty Dremel loose on the existing decals out came the airbrush and the larger areas were blasted with an appropriate colour.  Once dried it was just a case of tidying everything up, building up the layers and adding some rust spots and smears.  The skeleton was simply give a base and then highlights added with a dry brush.

 All that remained was to base my creation.   At this point I need to draw your attention to the ‘The Lazy Forger’, a terrain builder and sculptor of superior skill who, fortunately for me, had an astonishing ‘Paved Road Tutorial’ on his blog.  I shan’t go into much detail here as the link will take to the tutorial proper, but it really was wonderfully simple.  An etched ‘Warbases’ MDF base is given a basecoat, before more sponged colours are applied.  Finally some road makings are added and the job is complete.***

***I have great plans to do some larger versions of these, none of which will see the light of day!

There are seemingly no ends to my self indulgent frippery, but as with all flights of fancy they are hugely enjoyable to put together and this, after all, is what matters.  With December almost upon us, my thoughts will be turning to the ‘VI Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge’, with preparation and basing aplenty to see me through the winter months, but I’m hopeful to post a final few pieces from last year’s challenge before the end of the year.