Adventures on the Wargames Table

Whilst things have been rather more hectic than usual recently, I have managed to get a bit of painting done... Here's a Heavy Machine Gun to give my Austro-Hungarians some much needed support! The figures are from Renegade but mix in well with my mostly Scarab Miniatures force. I have a further batch of figures on the painting table and going well; a Company Command group plus another platoon. When they're done I'll be about half-way to completing the army. On a different note - we're off to Belgium soon! Staying in Ypres for a week. More about that in future posts. :o)

Here are my final entries for the Painting Challenge. Another 18 Austro-Hungarian infantry which equates to 90 points so my total is now 514 points, just passing my target of 500 points. Hooray! Some close ups. Officers waiting to signal the start of the "Big Push". All Scarab figures apart from the two-man flamethrower which is Renegade. Hope you like them.

With only a few days to go until the end of the painting challenge here are the 18 figures I need to complete in order to achieve my goal of 500 points. All block painted and ready for the wash. Any and all encouragement much appreciated!

A quick update for the Painting Challenge. Here's another six Austro-Hungarian infantry. Plus a couple more casualty figures Have reached 424pts but I'll need to get a move on to reach my target of 500pts before the end of the challenge.

Here's my next 'bonus round' entry. A few characters from two rather different points in history. First, in chronological order I suppose, is Brasidas, a very warlike Spartan officer standing over a fallen enemy. You may also note that he's the figure from the front cover of the War & Conquest rulebook. Second, moving forward approx 23 centuries, we have none other than the Red Baron! Third, is Ernest Hemingway - or rather a figure inspired by the man. (This one is actually painted up in A/H colours ... but shh!) Finally, here's Erwin Rommel who served in the Great War on the Italian front with A/H Alpine Troops. All these beautiful figures are available here from Scarab Miniatures.

The latest bonus round for the Painting Challenge is themed as Casualties, so here are some for my Great War Austrians. and I have a bunch of regular troops on the go but they're not quite ready yet. This lot takes me to just over 300pts so still some way to go!

A unexpected day off has given me the opportunity to complete my Austro-Hungarian Romfell armoured car! Here it is, along with some troops giving directions and cheering. This is also my entry for the third bonus round of the Painting Challenge which has a theme of vehicles; so that's 15 points for the vehicle itself and an extra 50 points for the bonus! I've really enjoyed painting this and plan to add another with a commander peering out of the hatch. Scarab have an excellent A/H officer with binoculars in one of the HMG packs that would be ideal. The painting recipe was:- White undercoat Solid basecoat of Foundry Granite mid Light wash of thinned GW Devlan mud (now Agrax Earthshade?) Further (less thinned) Devlan mud wash to pick out all the rivets/bolts and other little features. Drybrush with basecoat taking care not to obscure the weathering from the washes! Final very light drybrush of Foundry Granite light just to pick out the edges. Tyres - black then Fou...

After a great start to the Painting Challenge things here at the Wargames Table rather ground to a halt due to the so-called 'holidays'. Anyway, starting to get back in to the swing of things and - more importantly - starting to get the brushes going again! Here's a few work in progress shots of stuff currently on the painting table. As you can see, it all has a very 'Great War' theme. This is the 1st Corps Romfell kit. Great model, good quality and easy to build. As I type it's now sitting on the desk undercoated and ready to go! By the way ... if you want to see a truly spiffing example of a fully painted (different) vehicle then check out Sidney's recent post on his blog about Mata Hari ... Stunning ... I was totally lost for words!!! The rest of my first A/H Stormtrooper platoon. Note the fearsome flame-thrower! Right! Must get on.

For a long time I've rather liked the look of Scarab Miniatures Austro-Hungarian range. A while back I bought a few packs to use as Stormtroops in my 1918 German army. However, after reading more widely about the Great War I've decided to collect an army that did not regularly appear on the Western Front (although I believe some AH troops were stationed around Verdun near the end of the war). These figures are wonderfully dynamic, detailed and full of character. They've been a joy to paint, especially as I decided to try out the 'dip/wash' technique I used on my Dark ages armies. Here's an officer with trusty walking stick, bristling moustache and pistol, accompanied by two Austro-Hungarian Storm-troopers. (Please note my lighting/camera/inability-to-take-decent-photos have resulted in some shine on the figures, but they actually have a nice matt finish) The officer and NCO. Officer and Private. An angle that hopefully the enemy will not see too...