World War Two Soviets

Up this week are some 28mm Soviet Russian infantry of World War Two. The figures came organized into groups so I'm afraid I don't know the manufacturer(s). However, I do think I recognize some Artizan figures.

What you are looking at is a squad of soldiers. They are an eleven man squad with a squad leader, armed with a PPSH-41 smg, a LMG gunner and ammo carrier, and the rest armed with Mosin Nagant rifles. Equipment wise, they are not carrying a whole lot. A bag, a water bottle, and a great coat over the shoulder. A few have an entrenching tool. Thus far they have all been nice figures to paint.

This is part of a much larger commission and I will post more pictures as I get more complete.

I've been pretty lax about posting pictures. I am gong to try and post something every friday, if possible.

Until next time,

Ken

DBA Hittites

I do, occasionally, get to paint a few miniatures for myself in between commissions. While I have many projects for myself, I find that DBA armies suit me best. I do like DBA and enjoy the simplicity of it. Although I am not a great player and lose more often than not. So I suppose the simplicity is in the learning to play, not in how well to play.

Seen here is a Hittite army. (I/24b) The miniatures are 15mm Essex and the army is an Essex army pack. Some people don't like Essex sculpts and have problems with their horses. But I like their line of figures and I really enjoy the horses for the way they paint up. I may not be historically accurate with colors and patterns but it looks good to me. The bases are Litko. I did paint up an extra element of spears as I needed something to do with all the extra chariot riders that were provided.

If you like this army and are interested in purchasing it, I can be persuaded to sell it. Contact me at Ken@bluemoosearts.com .

Until next time...

Ken

15mm WW2 Germans

I get many requests to paint World War Two figures and vehicles. I don't know if it's the " Flames of War" effect or if it's just a very popular period. Of all the nationalities I've paint by far the Germans are the ones I get the most requests for. Maybe it's because of how they performed, historically, or maybe it's because of the interesting vehicles and artillery. Or maybe it's just because in the European theater they were the enemy of just about everyone. For a painter like me, the army was certainly colorful and varied.

Here I am showing Battlefront's miniatures, mostly. The Kublewagon is a Peter Pig piece. All were airbrushed and then the details picked out with a brush.

This commission heads out to Florida, tomorrow. There are many more vehicles in the commission but I thought I would share a few.

Ken

French Napoleonics

For this update things have a decidedly French tone.
And a Napoleonic one at that. I have three Napoleonic commissions going but the first two are both French.


First up are some AB miniatures. They are marked as 15mm although they do seem a bit big compared to other makers.

They are very well sculpted and they paint up well enough. You had better have an eye for detail, however, as the AB figures are very detailed indeed.

The figures showing are from a Legere battalion. Above is an artillery limber team. I have many more units to paint for this commission.

The next French commission was a unit of Middle Guard. I"m not sure of the maker of the figures but they are very well done. Again, these are 15mm and a very nice unit to paint.

Which brings me to a comment. I do like the Napoleonic era. The uniforms are colorful and there is no shortage of nationalities to model. But the figures do take longer to paint and to research. There is also the pressure to "get it right" as there are a great deal of uniform experts who will tell you that "the third regiment of foot traded in their white pom poms for chartreuse ones during the great Slobenia revolt, March of 1809. Of course they quickly switched to lavender when the regiment lost it's eagle, April 15, 1810. " I do the best I can but there comes a time in research when enough is enough and I have to put the paint to the metal. So if you ever decide to retain me for a Napoleonic commission be sure to provide some uniform details. Otherwise you will just have to trust me that I get the uniform right.

Until next time....

Sgt. Majors Miniatures

For this update I am doing a bit of advertising. The pictures in this post are miniatures produced by a company called Sgt. Majors Miniatures.

At the Huzzah convention I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman named Andy Turlington. He has recently acquired the Sgt. Majors Miniatures line and is now importing

Mutineer Miniatures from Scotland. Andy was kind enough to send me a few samples to paint.

The miniatures you see are 20mm World War Two. One figure is a late war German in winter gear. He is wearing a regulation greatcoat with a winter parka over that. The other figure is a US infantryman in a greatcoat as well. I took the liberty of painting him up as a paratrooper. You can barely make out the 101st Screaming Eagle patch on his right shoulder. Both figures paint up well.

Andy will be expanding the line but current offerings include winter Germans, winter US army, Japanese, early war US army, US Marines, and other US pacific war figures. If you game 20mm WW2 I highly recommend Sgt. Majors Miniatures. Here are a few more views....

You can find out more about Sgt. Majors at..

www.sgmm.biz/

Thank you for looking!

Huzzah painting contest

Even more Huzzah painting contest entries....

Next year, if you can manage it, you should plan on attending Huzzah. It was a great convention and I'm sure that next year's event will be even bigger and better. I am already making plans.

You can get more information at www.huzzahcon.com .

Enjoy....

Huzzah painting contest

Two weeks ago I ran a small painting contest at the miniature wargame convention, Huzzah!

The contest was divided into categories of single figure, unit, and vehicle. Here are a few of the entries.

There were more entries than I had planned on but I was able to award each participant with a small prize package.

Enjoy the pictures....