On a roll

While I was in the Netherlands, I did celebrate my birthday.  Wohoo.  Yeah.  Whatever.

And while I did go a little nuts with my Arnhem purchases, I just couldn't stop there.  I have since ordered from my LGS 2 more M7 Priests (full 6 guns now) and a couple of bottles of primer from Vallejo. Vallejo just released a new line of primers that are precolored to match WW2 armor and are diluted to work in an airbrush.  Perfect for me!  So that order is in place.

I also went out and ordered some half-tracks from a different manufacturer than BF.  So 6 M3 and 3 M2 halftracks are on order.  As an added bonus, it looked like the vendor had a copy of Das Book on hand, so that went in the cart too.

And as they say in late night infomercials, THAT'S NOT ALL!!

And I blame WWPD for this - specifically Brian.

You see, I have been killing myself with why I can't get a nice, thin line with my airbrush.  And while I thought I knew the answer, it took me hearing it on the most recent WWPD podcast to confirm my feeling - air pressure.  You see, my compressor does not have a pressure regulator.  For most of the time, that is not a problem.  But when I want a panel highlight in a very small area, it is really tough to do at 30psi on my airbrush.  When I heard the interview with Brian (and Steve, can we get more Brian!!  As the immortal Christophe Walken said "I have a fever!  And the only prescription is more Brian!"), he said the exact same thing.  Plus it sounds like he has the same brush that I do.  So I need to get the psi down to 10-15.

So a new compressor is on the way.  It is not cheap, but it is not too expensive either.  And it has a moisture trap.  So away I go.

Then, just when I thought it was safe, I saw the new pdf on the Flamesofwar.com site for the 11th Armored Division.  Humm.  Could be interesting.

Oh, back to FoW.  Had a great game with Mike last night.  1750 Midwar - Breakout.  I attacked with 1st Armored and he defended with German Grenadiers.  He is playing in a tourney this weekend and it was a toss up between two lists.  He played me with the questionable list.  And well, it was.  He will be taking his other list.  5-2, over in 3 turns.  Basically, I wiped all the armor off the board, while losing one platoon of Stewies.  Smoke and bull rush was my tactic and it worked well.  Stats were not with my dice in the first turn, had limited air and got nothing, could barely range in arty (when I did I rolled 3 "ones" on the "to hit"), but when I needed the kills, I got them in turns 2 and 3.  After the game, we spent a good 45 minutes reviewing the list he put down and his other one.  Plus we looked over the board and I identified some platoon placement "alternatives."  I will say this, if we played again on the same board, same list and same mission, he would win.  No doubt.  He would not make the same mistake twice.

The next week or so is going to be tough as I have to travel for work.  And I await my compressor!!

But I don't need the airbrush to start on my gazillion paras.

Back from Arnhem, err Amsterdam

Just got back from the Netherlands.  I will have a much longer update focused on Arnhem and the great guys I met up with there.  I think I will pass on providing an update on Tulips - this doesn't seem to be the crowd for that.  : - )

A BIG thanks to Tim and the guys at Spelkwartier in Arnhem.  They were fantastic.  Met Wouter and Mark, along with another friend of Tim's.  My daughter spent much of the time playing with Beuf (spelling??) the dog.  The name translates to rascal and he is a wonderful dog!

Tim brought his Arnhem modeled Paras.  They look great!  He was generous in offering me a few supplies that he had left over, since I am going to do the same.  He also walked me down to a store a few doors down that sells modelling supplies.  There I picked up the cobblestone roads and sidewalks that he used on his force.

Here is what I picked up:

British Parachute Company - This company will be modelled as an Arnhem force.  I have another Brit Para Company that will be modelled as a Pegasus Bridge Airlanding Company.

British Para HMG Platoon - Not sure, but I am leaning towards Arnhem for this platoon.

British Airborne Recon Platoon (Jeep) - Definitely Arnhem.  This would have been the forces used to get from the landing zones (8 miles west of Arnhem!!).

British Warrior Lt. Col. John Frost - He was the leader of the group that made it to the bridge.  They rebuilt the bridge recently to look like the original and renamed it the John Frost Bridge.

View from the deck of the bridge

British Para Tin (tokens and dice) - Just had to.

So now the painting must begin!!

The British Are Coming!

I finished off the Hellcats, M10s and the single M7 Priest.  Technically, the M10s and the Priest still need their crew, but hey - close enough!

On a unrelated note, my son came in 2nd in his warmup for Adepticon tournament.  He and his partner were the youngest team and pulled off a great showing!  Way to go!

Ok, back to FoW:

My wife and I picked out a digital camera to take on our upcoming trip to Arnhem, err The Netherlands.  I am excited about the camera because of the macro function.  I took several pictures with my SLR today and they look poor.  We will pick up the camera tomorrow, so in a few days I should know how well the pictures look.




SLR - Could be better


But now I have started the British Airlanding Company!  Well, I am starting with the Armored Platoon and the Typhoons first.

I have been chatting via email with a great guy in Arnhem.  There is a LGS that sells FoW that he highly recommends.  So I have decided to do TWO British Para Companies - the first is the Airlanding group that I will model after the forces at Pegasus Bridge.  The second will be a Parachute Company that I will model after the forces in Arnhem.  As I mentioned earlier, I really want to get the troops in Arnhem.  So now I will have two distinct basing themes!  And this from a guy who really does not like to paint infantry!  I am thinking that the support platoons can be shared, so no need to duplicate that work!

And that should last me for the next 6 months.

Crazy.

Wash

I was able to get an hour of wash application done last night on my M18 tank destroyers.  This is the first time I used the Dark Wash from MIG.  I have used the Light Wash on infantry with pleasing results.

I was not disappointed in the Dark Wash.

I am sure this is just me or my perception, but the MIG washes seem to work much better on the detail application (i.e. pin wash) than my magic wash formula.  The wash just flows along the lines perfectly.  The effect is not as stark as using technical pens to blackline.  But it gives a nice "pop" to the details of the model.  I was able to get one coat of wash on 3 Hellcats and one Priest.  I will see today how they look after 24 hours.

I have decided that the next model onto the table will be the British Armored Platoon.  While I am ready for the infantry, there is a reason:

Turns out I received an email / posting about a store in Arnhem that sells FoW and hosts games.  I think a game is not in the cards for me, since I love my wife and I would like to enjoy her company for years to come.  But a stop by will happen.  I would very much like to pick up some British Airborne troops (airlanding) at the store.  While no one else will know, I just think having those units from a store in Arnhem has a certain "karma" to it.  So if I get duplicates, I want to be sure to have the Arnhem team be the "permanent" models.  Make sense?

So I will start the vehicles before the infantry.  Plus with Adepticon coming up, I am not sure how much painting will even get finished!!

Lull

So while the mesage boards over at flamesofwar.com are completely lit up right now on rules, I thought I would try to get a little bit of work done on my vehicles.  The MIG wash that arrived Monday has been calling to me.

But no.

Since this is a "no politics" zone, let me simply say that my city is the center of attention right now.  Yes, I live in Madison, WI.  No, I am not storming the Capitol.  Yes, there are issues in the state that are serious.  No, I am not moving.  Yes, I play with toy soldiers.  No, I am not good.

So last night was going to be my painting night.  Well, that didn't happen.  Talk of current events with my son took precedent.  He is a smart kid and trying to "figure his own way."  I am hoping to get a little in tonight, as my daughter has a State Volleyball Tournament in Milwaukee this weekend.  It is a little hard to detail paint, wash and weather armor while cheering at a game.

I also received a few more suggestions for the visit to Arnhem.  And Joe (keamma on the boards) was kind enough to let me use his "Hell's Highway" book for reference.  Plus I think the allied forces in that book are really, really strong.  Which means -

The British Airlanding company is really calling my name from the shelf!  And I think I have recovered from painting my Devil's Brigade, so let's go infantry!!

Open question to Soviet players: 15 stands in a platoon???  Wow.

Off Topic - Travel to Netherlands

I am getting ready to take the family to the Netherlands in April.  I am told that flowers are big there that time of year.  : - )

Anyway, if anyone knows of some good sights to hit - especially Arnhem, drop a comment.  My son and I are big history "guys", so go nuts.  My wife would also appreciate anything related to Amsterdam for her and my daughter.