To complement my “In the Heart of Arfica” figures I’ve been working on colonial style House made from 5mm foam board and bits of wood.
The finished article will be mounted on a low stone foundation.
Here are the progress pictures:
Note the Foamwerks Foamboard Cutter, a very useful yet quite expensive tool. Also the Chopper II cutter which I used for the wooden verandah floor.
Black fur is tricky to paint …
I used Vallejo Black 169 as a base for this, then highlighted with Vallejo Black Grey 168 and finally gave a second highlight with Vallejo Luftwaffe Uniform 105. it’s not perfect, but by makig a nice base it lifts the model a little.
In the background is some of my new African/Jungle scenery made with aquarium green mat cut up and a yard brush.
Just finished painting up a set of Copplestone Ngoni Warriors, (Darkest Africa is very En Vogue at the moment it seems).
As usual I’ll give a list of paints used for those interested but I’ve a couple of overall commnets about this project.
Firstly, I’m trying to move away from GW colours and into Vallejo. That’s not a slur on GW, they have 100 odd colours, including washes, foundation paint and metals which cover everything you need … BUT … with Vallejo Model Colour having double that number and aiming for some specific historical colours it suits me a little better.
Secondly, I’m trying to find a few bi/tri-colour combinations in the vallejo that work to replace some of the GW ones I’ve been using and I think I’ve really nailed the flesh tones here. On the down side, I’m not content that the shields are as good as they could be.
So, on to the pallet:
Flesh: Vallejo German Camo. Black 150 highlighted with a 1:1 mix of 150 and Vallejo Flat Earth 143. However … the same colour highlight can be found direct from Vallejo 147 Leather Brown. I’m not sure what the 2nd highlight would be here, the figures looked good so i went with it.
Shield: Bit complex this one but … the cow hide was just Vallejo White 001 and Vallejo Flat Earth 143. Ideally I should have “feathered” the design more and had highlights, but it still looks good. The reverse side was a “leather ” effect that I use a lot, GW Cathcan Brown highlighted with GW Snakebite leather, and the wooden handle was GW Dark Flesh highlighted with Vermin Brown … always a winner.
Fur: Here I used a Vallejo pallet, Vallejo Leather Brown 147, Vallejo English Uniform 141 and Vallejo Dark Sand 123.
Feathers: A simple vallejo Neutral Grey 160 was used as a base and then highlighted with Vallejo White 001.
Been painting up some ships for Dreadfleeet for the local club, so attached is a gallery for a progress report.
Had these fellas around for a few months now and done a significant amount of Ummming and Arrring concerning the paint job. Anyway I finally sat done and worked out a few colour schemes that were elusive and think I have a good result. I still have to finish off the bases and paint some muzzies, but that’s about it.
I used a two colour approach as these are for wargaming and as usual I like to pass on my colour pallet for those interested …
Undercoat: Black, GW spray can.
Skin: Games Workshop Tanned Flesh highlighted with games Workshop Dwarf Flesh.
Flannel Shirt: Vallejo Luftwaffe Uniform WWII 105 followed by a highlight of the same colour lightened with some Vallejo White 001.
Webbing and Helmet: Vallejo Khaki 115 highlighted with Vallejo Buff 120.
Trousers, Putties/Socks (and jackets, applicable to models in stage two): Vallejo Khaki Grey 113 highlighted with Vallejo German C. Beige 103.
Shoes: Vallejo Black
Wood for Rifle and Entrenching tool: Games Workshop Dark Flesh Highlighted with Games Workshop Vermin Brown.
Metal: On the Lee Enfield this was left black but anything else was touched up with a dab of thinned Vallejo Gunmetal Grey 179.
Note that my “highlight” is really the main colour.
This test piece is made from Hirst Arts castings from Fieldstone Wall Mold 70 and Flagstone Floor Tile Mold 260. I’ve added two off cuts of wood to the front of the model to act as bollards and fenders. The height of the model was such that it fits nicely next to 25mm thick Extruded Polystyrene board. A couple more photo’s are on the Pirates Gallery Page.
Just a teaser of my Pirate Ship … (made by my mum 
)
I’ve to add the ratlines, maybe a few lower gun ports and tidy up a few things but I think she looks fine.
I thought I’d take a punt at one of the many amazing designs on the Shapeways website. For those that don’t know Shapeways is a 3D printing company were users can create and upload designs for others to purchase and Shapeways to print.
I have to say I was very impressed with the quality and the model seemed to turn out ok.
I don’t really understand where the idea came from but … I needed to make a man-eating plant and figured that a walnut would make a nice head for my little creation. A bag of 50 Walnuts later and I knocked up a test piece thus:
Not massively impressive, but a start. I used milliput to create a few tenticles and moved it to a larger base:
Looking a bit better. Added a tongue for the next stage, but it never made it to the final model.
Finally, added some homemade leaves and a paint job …
Now to scare some characters …
Well finally I managed an Aeronef game with my heavily altered Aeronef rules … The result was a success albeit I noticed a couple of things that could be improved.
Before I head off into the Battle Report let’s just take a quick look at the rules changes. My objective was to add a little variety whilst keeping the game simple; a difficult task, but in the end the following general changes were made.
