Butterfly

Flapping about like a butterfly just now, going from item to item and not completing much, but there is a theme to the madness: desert rats...

All the figures I assembled and fixed are now undercoated and some even have some real paint on them, but I'm going back and forth a bit how I want to paint them (how many layers and how, and how I can simplify things by using a wash and which wash, and which colours I should use). Nearly decided on that, but want to get that clear in my head before I start painting 2 boxes worth of desert rats. And I have all sorts of ideas for conversions (e.g. engineers etc...).

But while thinking and deciding I picked up on something else, my universal carrier. Wanted to do a Caunter scheme on it and have researched that a bit and decided on the colours. Undercoated black first, then wetbrushed Dark Sand. After that set the scheme in Dark Sea Green and Green-Grey. Washed with Devlan Mud (not entirely happy how that came out), then painted again, in Dark Sand, Green-Grey and Basalt Grey. I'm reasonably happy with how it's come out. Will do some more detailing tonight, then will do the tracks, then drybrush Pale Sand or Bonewhite. And do the figures that come with it.

Some pics from before the wash and repainting. Will try and add some more tonight. The Basalt Grey I've repained with is a couple of shades lighter than the Dark Sea Green and a better fit, I believe.

Not done a thing on the tracks yet, so they're just black now...

Desert Rats

For our demo/participation game at GothCon, we've chosen the desert theme, and what better figures than Perry Miniatures to do that. So after "Jultomten" (aka Leif and Thomas) gave me a Perry universal carrier for Christmas (read: dragged me in to their plans...), I got some Desert Rats, the box of plastics (38 figs) and the Vickers MMG with 4 crew.

I've started assembling some tonight and did the MMG and crew. Little flash and nicely cast and sculpted figures. I also opened the big box tonight, and I noticed I had an extra command sprue :) So I decided to assemble the officer with cap and pistol, and use him as a more senior officer (company commander), to be used for Big CoC, and base him together with the radio operator. I can then use the bonus sprue for a platoon officer, with helmet and pistol or SMG (not decided yet). The second radio operator will go into the bits box for later use with a suitable figure for an FOO (once I get my second box there will be plenty suitable figures for that).

I also drafted one of the figures from the plastic box in a suitable posture to become the 5th crew member for the MMG (CoC lists have 5 crew members for an MMG). He can be easily recognised in the picture below.

I need to do some undercoating tomorrow, as I've now lots of assembled bits on the go, and need to start painting them. There's also an undercoated group of 8 Valiant Fallschirmjaeger waiting for some licks of paint and I need to finish those sometime soon, so I can start basing them (16 are already painted and waiting for varnishing and basing, something I prefer doing in bigger batches so they look uniform).