My Hugh Jarce

While cracking on with the 14th Army project, I finally got around to painting the Hugh Jarce figure that I got free with I Ain't Been Shot Mum.

So in true Carry On style, here are some pictures of My Hugh Jarce

14th Army Reinforced Rifle Platoon

A good few years ago I read George McDonald-Frasers "Quartered Safe Out Here". It's a bloody good read about his time in Burma towards the end of WWII.

I dug it out again a couple of years ago and inspired I decided to start a project. I ordered from The Assault Group four blisters of their excellent 14th Army and four blisters of their equally excellent Japanese. I duly painted these up and ordered some more figures and also picked up some bits and bobs from Warlord Games when Northstar were having a sale.

I was looking at rules, about this time I started playing I Ain't Been Shot Mum  which although a fantastic set, I reckon that I will need to buy a lot more figures for. Bolt Action came out last year and although they look a solid enough set of rules I am not entirely sure that they are for me, that said I've not played a game with them yet - although that will be remedied next week.

Suitably enthused again I dug out all the remaining unpainted figures and decided that first of all I would finish off the 14th Army force, there were another 40 figures left to do, well it looks like my painting mojo is coming back, because in the last ten days I have painted and based 32 of those and the final eight just need to have the highlights finished and the bases done.

It's a pretty simple paint job to get this far, I do the following steps:

Clean up figures and stick on 25mm round MDF bases
Prime them with Halfords grey primer
I then rough out a base coat as follows:

• Vallejo Gunship Green: Shirts, trousers, some hats, some webbing, some gaiters, some packs, some water bottles
• Vallejo Khaki:  Rifle slings, some hats, some webbing, some gaiters, some packs, some water bottles.
• Vallejo Chestnut Brown: Rifle stocks, entrenching tool handles, bayonet handles, some boots.
• Vallejo Black: Bayonets, Rifle fittings, some boots.
• 50:50 Vallejo Beige Brown & Vallejo Basic Fleshtone: Exposed flesh.

Once the figure is base coated I give the figure a wash of Vallejo Sepia Wash. Once dry I apply the highlights as follows:

• Gunship Green areas: Highlight with Gunship Green then highlight again with a mix of Gunship Green & Dark Sand
• Khaki areas: Highlight with Khahi then highlight again with a mix of Khaki & Dark Sand
• Chestnut Brown areas: Highlight with Chestnut Brown then highlight again with a mix of Chestnut Brown & Dark Sand
• Black areas: Highlight with Black Grey for the boots 
• Black areas: Highlight with a mix of Gunmetal Grey and Black for the bayonets and rifle fittings, then bayonets are then further highlighted in Gunmetal Grey
• Exposed flesh highlighted with Basic Fleshtone then highlighted again with a mix of Basic Fleshtone and Ivory.

Once the highlights are done then the detail is picked out with Windsor and Newton Peat Brown ink.

The bases are then covered in PVA glue and dipped in a coarse sand mix that is painted Vallejo US Field Drab, highlighted with Vallejo Dark Sand and then washed with Vallejo Sepia Wash then decorated with tufts and scatter.

On to some of the photos, all the figures are from The Assault Group unless noted.

Platoon Sergeant and Lieutenant 

Artillery Observer (Hugh Jarce from Too Fat Lardies)

Vickers MMG

PIAT team (Warlord Games)

First rifle squad

First squad from another angle

Second rifle squad 

Second squad from another angle

Third rifle squad

Third rifle squad

Fourth rifle squad

Sherman V from BlitzKreig Miniatures

The force so far

They are going to need somebody to shoot at

 I'll cover the Japanese in another article, I've only got the original few done so far

Introductory Saga for a couple of players

Last week while I was playing Tom at Saga fellow gamers Daz and Adie asked if I could give them an introductory game of Saga the following week. So this Tuesday we played a couple of games of Saga at Maelstrom Game's Eye of the Storm venue.

I took along both my Christian Spanish (to use as Normans) and the new Shieldwall Miniatures Vikings that I have been painting - although they did need the bases finishing and some free-hand doing on some of the shields - like a goober though I had forgotten to pack the Warlord so another figure had to suffice.

Daz would play the Vikings and was really happy to hear about the 'most impressive facial hair' rule, Adie would use the Normans. Both players would have a four point warband.

The Vikings were: Warlord, two units of 4 Hirdmen and two units of 8 Bondi.

The Normans were: Warlord, two units of 4 Knights, one unit of 8 Sergeants with Crossbows, one unit of 12 Peasants with Bows.

Big Daz is really happy about playing Saga

 For the first game, Daz deployed his Vikings Bondi in a village with both units of Hirdmen making a attack through a wood on his left. Adie deployed his archers and crossbow supported on each flank by a unit of Knights.

Adie deploys his Normans

Daz won the roll off for first turn and was going to skulk in the village until I told him that was most unViking-like behaviour.

Bondi and Warlord (fellow with two swords doing double duty) are tempted out of the village

And form a shieldwall

Suitably chastised Daz left the village and formed a shieldwall of Bondi and started to advance. Adie responded by downing four Bondi with effective bowfire. Daz of course blamed me for tempting him out.

Emboldened by his success with shooting Adie launched his Warlord and a unit of Knights into the weakened Bondi mopping up the last four figures but losing all four Knights in the process. This was to be Daz's counter-stroke though, the lonesome Norman Warlord was charged by the Viking Warlord supported by his Bondi, there was only ever going to be one outcome as the Viking could pass wounds onto the Bondi the Norman was alone and soon succumbed.

The Norman warlord steams in to the Viking Warlord

Round One to Big Daz

We then set up another game, the second one was much more ticky-tackle as both players now had a firmer grasp of the rules.
Adie started with a pretty similar deployment to the last game, whereas Daz put a single unit of Hirmen on his left flank and the rest of his force on the right flank.
Adie took first turn and launched an absolute barrage of fire onto the Vikings, alas Daz made many saving throws and did not take a casualty. Sensing a weakness on Daz's left flank Adie sent in a Unit of Knights against the unsupported Hirdmen. But these were driven off with a casualty.
The unit of Hirdmen on Daz's left were to be the star players of the game. They had already driven off the attack of the Knights killing one, over the next few turns they killed all eight Norman Knights and four of the Crossbowmen before succumbing. Adie was unable to recover and although his Warlord lasted out the game this time it was a good victory to the Vikings again winning 15pts to 10pts.

Hirdmen skulk in the wood ready to do much damage to the Normans

Norman Knights prepare to round up the Viking raiders

Shieldwall Miniatures Vikings - Painted

I've painted up those lovely Shieldwall Miniatures Vikings that Johnny sent me and here is the results:

4-point Saga Warband

Warlord

first unit of Hirdmen

first unit of Hirdmen

first unit of Hirdmen

second unit of Hirdmen

second unit of Hirdmen

second unit of Hirdmen

first unit of Bondi

first unit of Bondi

first unit of Bondi

second unit of Bondi

second unit of Bondi

second unit of Bondi

Rather washed out picture of a four-point Saga Warband

Pre-release Shieldwall Miniatures Vikings

Good mate Johnny is just about to release a range of Vikings under the Shieldwall Miniatures brand and was kind enough to send me some pre-release sculpts, enough for a four-point Saga warband.

The figures are all sculpted by Colin Patten and distribution will be handled by Gripping Beast.

On Friday morning these arrived in the post, I could not wait to get at them with the X-Acto, files and super-glue. The figures are really clean casting and full of life so after a few minutes work, here are the results:

Viking Warlord

Eight Viking Hirdmen

and from the side

Eight Bondi

and from the side

Another eight Bondi

and from the side

 They were then taken out to the garage and given a light coat of Halfords Matt White primer:

All cleaned up and sprayed with primer ready for some paint.

Ready to start painting and then go a-Viking

After this I gave the figures a wash of Vallejo Beige Brown thinned with Vallejo Glaze Medium and water, once dry I was ready to start painting.

Bondi with a thin glaze of brown and ready to be painted.

Hirdman with a thin glaze of brown and ready to be painted.

My technique is to rough in a base-coat, wash with Vallejo Sepia Wash and then highlight up with two or three highlights.

Over the course of the weekend I painted all 25 of these stout fellows and my next post on this subject will be some painted images.