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!!