359 Flames of War 6pdrs - Proper Pictures

Hi All,

My next post will be another 40K update, as I'm getting back into my paining and I've finished another couple of the Liaison Squad, but for now - as promised - some better pics of my recently ompleted Flames of War 6pdrs Platoon:

Fun with camouflage! For those of you who've wondered before about the brightness of the grass on my bases, I reckon it pretty much matches the grass in my garden as a rule... and after all, I'm only about 130 miles away from the Normandy coast here!

 Keep well!

- Drax.

358 ...I told you I'd be back to 40K!

And here's the proof of the pudding - my Liaison Detachment for Zzzzzz:

Usual stark photography, but y'know...

...it kinds feels good!

- Drax.

357 Flames of War 6 Pounders

Whew!

A first glance, for those of you who follow my Flames stuff, at my Late War British 6-Pounders:

Usual dodgy photography with flash and autocorrect. If the sun comes out over the weekend(!) I'll try to get some better pics, BUT REGARDLESS...

...I fully intend that my next project will be BACK TO 40K!

Woo-hoo!

- D.

356 40K Doodles from Drax's Childhood

...So I was at my dad's house last weekend, going through some of my old stuff and I happened to flick through my old homework planners from secondary school. Here are two, er, 'sketches' I dug out from 1995, when I was roughly 15. I think the old 'Epic Space Marine' vintage speaks for itself - especially in the first one(!):

That is all.

- Drax.

PS: Workload should usefully decrease in a couple of weeks - thank Terra!

355 Tau for Sale - painted, unpainted, kits, bits and 'oop'.

Well, I've been waiting for this day.

 Ever since I realised I couldn't afford a new 40K army, I knew I'd have to sell off my lovely Tau...

...and I figured waiting for the new codex would be the best time.

These babies (which I bought painted years ago on an aesthetic whim) will be up on ebay over the next week - I'll announce it again here and link to the lots when they go up too, just in case any of you are interested.

Shameless self-promotion? - Well, there've got to be some advantages to having a blog, right?!

That is all.

- D.

354 Rest in Peace, Faithful Corgi

Sad tidings, Dear Readers:

Cadfael, our ever-faithful and utterly venerable pet corgi (and regular feature on the pages of this blog) has died, aged 16-and-a-half, whilst on holiday with us in Norfolk a couple of days ago.

Words cannot adequately express the emptiness that my wife and I are feeling at his loss, but I know some of you have met him and more of you have followed his triumphs and tribulations over the years, so I thought I ought to let you know. Never was a dog so loved.

I'll probably have more to say about him here when we get back to Devon, but the cottage is going to seem horribly lonesome without him.

Ach.

Thank you for your kind comments about him over the years, guys.

- Chris.

353 The Difficulties of Finding Hobby Time

This is a serious (albeit somewhat rambling and inconclusive) post. No pics, as I'm not at home, and the connection is rather limited...

I'm delighted to share my life with an amazing wife, two beautiful young daughters (one 3 years old, the other 4 months) and a rather venerable corgi.

I also have a job - I'm a high school English teacher - which means that I work all day, then usually have to sqeeze in an average of two or three hours of work each weekday evening. Work also obliges me to work Sundays, with more planning and marking...and naurally I do my share of housework chores etc.

In what my own father calls 'the years BC' (Before Children), Mrs Drax and I could occasionally find time to do nice things; I could do my homework more-or-less as or when I pleased and this left me whatever time I could spare to pursue my hobby,

Now, by the time the girls are in bed, I've finished my chores and Mrs D has settled it's usually pushing 2130. By the time I've finished my work...it's usually around midnight.

When am I ever supposed to paint little men?!

From time-to-time Mrs Drax might go out with the girls...but when that happens it's always so that I can get some work done. Occasionally I might get an hour whilst No. 1 Daughter is having a nap, but during those snatched hours I quite like to spend time with Mrs D and maybe even No. 2 Daughter!

So where is Drax in all this?

Well, I'm trying to look after my family, keep the home vaguely shipshape, run my beaten-up old car and get enough work done to save me getting fired.

And at some point amidst all this, I keep trying to find some time to paint some models. The Flames of War bits are logistically easier for me to unpack and stow again, so they're getting more love at the moment for that simple reason. Gaming has been an absolute no-go since late September....which is a pain because I have now completely forgotten everything I initially learned about 40K Sixth Edition. Sheesh.

The Emperor Protects, eh?

- Drax.

352 Back to 40K...One Brick at a Time

I couldn't face working into the wee hours yet again last night, so I bit the bullet and painted some 40K models.

Specifically, I worked on my HQ unit for Zzzzzz.

Felt good.

- D.

351 Sherman Patrol II - NEW! - IMPROVED!

Hullo, All.

...I was so disappointed with the scaling of my decals the last time I posted these that - as they'd frosted and as Cameron over at the unutterably superb 'Rust and the City' was kind enough to give me the name of his supplier - I bought some new decals, from DOM'S DECALS and re-finished the two platoons. I was HUGELY impressed by the quality (and quantity) of Dom's Decals, and Dom is a very helpful chap.

All the blurb for them was in my last post with this name, but in a nutshell, they are from 3 RTR (Royal Tank Regt) and operate in support of my 11th Armoured Division infantry company. In this case, the models are decidedly better now, but the photos are decidedly worse than before. Yes that is an unironed pillowcase in the garden:

No.1 Daughter was helping Daddy with his toys. Brilliantly, about a year ago, she asked, "Daddy, am I allowed to play with your toys?" - I said no, not usually, and gave an explanation...and since then she's never touched them without asking first. Good daughter.

So there you go. Drax is a LOT happier with his tanks now.

It's just a shame that on those painfully rare occasions he finds to actually attempt some FOW painting his blasted 25pdrs are proving so damned fiddly to do...!

Thanks, All,

- D.

350 40K Anti-Tank Support II...Not Anti-Tank!

+++message starts+++

Finally...
made it...
to the computer...
for once...
away from daughters...

Took these pics...
last week...
when I finished...
the 1:35 howitzer...

as requested...
Guardsman for scale:

Seems too large...

to be Anti-Tank...

will probably re-role...

as more fun artillery.

Need...

sleep...

Out to you.

+++message ends+++

349 40K Anti-Tank Support?

Hi All,

I live!

A while back, Zzzzzz sent me one of his superb 'care packages' which included a brace of Soviet 122mm howitzers for me to use as A/T artillery support and two really really sexy vehicles to act as tractors for them (more on them when I - eventually - get to them).

 Anyway, I've been really frustrated recently by how much hassle and faff it is to get my paints out at midnight for an hour's painting before bed, but last night I remembered I had these to construct! As building (and converting) has always been my favourite part of the hobby I was delighted to give them a go.

Strewth, but 1/35 scale is fiddly! On the up-side (see pics), the barrel recoils (albeit with the breech glued open(?!)), the trails split and the rock-spades flip down, but the down-side? - ohmigosh these were absolute buggers to put together. The photos show two entire hours' painstaking work. Jeez.

Also, twice I had to dig around on the unvacuumed floor to try to find tiny rods that'd pinged off the table...the second of these bits I finally managed to dig out of the corgi's fur!

But thanks, Zzzzzz, for giving me the chance ot get a wee bit done - even if it is just a tiny wee bit.

Keep well, everyone - see you again when I can,

- D.

348 Sherman Patrol!

Hullo!

Well now, these are the two tank platoons I finished over Christmas to support my Flames of War 11th Armoured Division force:

They're nominally from 3 RTR (Royal Tank Regt), but please let me make the following notes:

1) I know the 'Taurus Pursuant' divisional markings are huge, but they're the only ones I could find and I can't make my own.

2) The decals are from the Plastic Soldier Company, as are 5/8 of the tanks in the pics. The Platic Soldier Company makes a an absolutely beautiful British Sherman/Firefly model - 5 vehicles for about £17 - which is a fraction of the cost of the Battlefront ones. Which leads me onto...

3) ...Yes, I know that the three resin tanks are US Shermans. They're the ones from the old Flames of War starter set. Sorry: I'm a cheapskate and not hell-bent on historical accuracy (see point 1, above!). The may be rotated out of service in the future...

4) Finally, note the lack of tactical air-recognition 'Allied Stars'. The force I'm compiling is supposed to be a couple of weeks after D-Day, and I've heard/read that a number of British units painted them out soon after landing. I don't know whether 3RTR did, but I'm rubbish at tiny free-hand and devoid of decals!

Naturally, this is their current 'transport solution':

 

The Germans'll never suspect Michael Flatley!

I was amazed at how drab and muted 'real' tanks are to paint after the deliberate contrasts we see in 40k...

Thanks all,

More 40K soon - and a bit of a history post too, methinks...

- D.

347 "MEDIC!" ...(or Why I Love the NHS)

Daughter No.2 was taken poorly over Christmas (Christmas Day itself no less!) with bronchiolitis, and the poor wee mite needed to go into hospital for a couple of days.

[Here there was to be an utterly heart-wrenching pic of her with oxygen and feeding tubes...but for some reason Blogger won't let me upload images at the moment. Hmm...]

Thank the Emperor she's far, far better now.

Thank you, wonderful staff of QA Hospital, Portsmouth, and your wonderful Paediatrics Ward.

Another one survives to fight another day in the Emperor's light...

- Drax.