Tuesday 11 December 2012

One project ends….another (almost) begins



I finished painting the ruined version of das Rattenloch late last night.  It’s been a journey, I can tell you!  Ruined buildings always seem to take me far longer to finish than their intact equivalents, perhaps by an order of 50%.



I’ve detailed the full progress of the build in Richard Clarke’s and Nick Skinner’s “TooFatLardies Christmas Special 2012”, together with a set of thoughts and guidelines for building ruined terrain.  I thought it was only fair to post a couple of pictures here to see a small snippet of what you’d be getting before you rush out and purchase this fine publication.  Rich has told me that the “Special” should be available by next Monday (17th December) direct from the TooFatLardies site at the very reasonable price of £6.




I should add, dear readers, that I receive not a penny, euro cent or dime for my contribution to the Special.  That’s not a complaint!  But somehow I thought I’d mention it in case I was suspected at diverting people’s hard earned cash into my own pockets.  Perish the thought!!

For long time readers of this Blog, here’s a comparison shot, before the railway-artillery and after (so to speak), of the intact Rattenloch and the ruined version.



So, one project over and another about to begin.  I am talking, of course, about the exciting news that I’m taking part in the Analogue Hobbies 3rd Annual Painting Challenge.  This should be a great deal of fun, and already I feel a bit of a buzz about getting back to painting miniatures after a slightly frustrating autumn of real life work pressures and terrain building in the hobby. 



One of the suggestions this year is that the aspiring competitors paint their figures according to a “Personal Challenge Par”.  I’ve been thinking where my “Par” is likely to land, and which painting project theme I want to follow.   It’s a tricky decision.  I have a few projects on-going at present, but the  Analogue Hobbies 3rd Annual Painting Challenge seems a great opportunity to make a bold statement and try and paint through a whole new collection of figures.

With this in mind, and true to the fantastic spirit of the contest, I’m going to be focusing on ……  cue drum roll …….




 ……. painting up the force of French poilu from Verdun 1916 which I bought from Rob Broom at Scarab Miniatures back in (embarrassingly) December 2009.  These wonderful and characterful sculpts have languished in a cardboard since I bought them from Rob at the Gripping Beast Great war Games day in Evesham in December 2012.  And yes, it is about time I painted these figures and finally worked out how to paint Horizon Bleu!

The Analogue Hobbies 3rd Annual Painting Challenge starts at 12.01am on 20th December – so watch out for updates, folks, although you'll see any new painted miniatures on Curt's Analogue Hobbies blog first by a day or so.

And for those waiting for the Picts to appear – yes, OK, once I’ve done the les Poilu, the Picts are definitely next!

22 comments:

  1. Great ! Really realistic , greetings .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great model. Looking forward to seeing the Poilu. Have a fair few figures myself (but still in their boxes) bought after visiting Forts Vaux and Douaumont.

    Regards,
    Matt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Matt. I'd love to visit Vaux and Douaumont one day - you're a lucky man!

      Delete
  3. Excellent work Sidney, the right balance of debris in the destroyed version. And very good luck with Curt's competition although I don't think you'll have a real chance of winning realistically (and sorry to be so frank): who can compete against the Ray-Fran duo??? No way!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Benito! Don't worry, I've no illusions about winning Curt's competition!! In fact, I know I won't with Ray and Fran going head to head. I'm just happy to take part and be motivated by the occassion!

      Delete
  4. Great finish to the scenery and good luck with the challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful work Sidney! I love how the module 'sockets' into your terrain board. Its all so very clever. I really look forward to your upcoming Verdun project. I hope to do something in tandem so it will be great inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Curt! It's just a relief when they all fit together!!! And yes, Verdun should be a really interesting project. Really looking forward to Horizon Bleu as a change from Feldgrau.

      Delete
  6. What the heck is a finished project! Are now speaking in Mandarin Chinese Sidney! Just pulling your leg as that looks simply fantastic! You are to WWI as Giles is to AWI which is to say the bar to meet on the period.

    Looking forward to seeing you in the challenge and viewing the fine French that are sure to come out!

    Christopher

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Finished projects....I know, Christopher. It is Mandarin Chinese to me, mate! Uncharted territory Sir...uncharted territory ...

      Delete
  7. A triumph Sidney and here's wishing all the best for the challenge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael, thanks, that's very kind. I'll need all the luck I can get!

      Delete
  8. Another fantastic post, Sidney!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That's just beautiful, fantastic work and good luck in the Challenge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ray....thank you, Sir, and see you in the Challenge!!!

      Delete
  10. Excellent stuff Sidney. Good luck for the challenge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rodger, that's much appreciated. I shall need it!

      Delete
  11. Thanks Styx.....really pleased you like it!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...