Team Yankee: Chieftain painting guide 2 (final steps)

Final result of the Chieftain Mk5with BAOR camouflage.

Here is the continue the painting of the Chieftain Mk5 painting guide for my coming BAOR force.
For previus steps see this bloog post: Team yankee chieftain painting guide 1

Step 9: Hand painting step, I used following colours for the painting:
Tracks -  Vallejo 70.836 London Grey
Rubber pads and road Wheels - Vallejo 70.980 Black green
Gun and vision slots - Vallejo 70.995 German grey
Heat cover on gun -  Vallejo 70.988 Khaki

This is all hand painting done, not very time consuming.

Step 10: I paint gloss varnish Before applying decals I also use Vallejo decal fixer after positioned the decals. Wait over night so the decals attach properly.

Step 11: Satin varnish with Air brush on complete tanks.

Step 12: Wash step, I use oil wash sins it´s cheap and effective. I use oil Paints from Winston newton. I make an mix with 30% Burnt Siena and 70% Payns grey and dilute it heavily with god quality thinner. Then do I cover the complete tank with the wash.
Wait for 15-20min
Then can I take an brush with some thinner and Clean the areas where the wash is to heavy or where I don´t want the wash.

Step 13: Mig Dark Mud wash on the tracks and other areas subjected to mud.

Step 14: Pigment, I make an mix of following Vallejo pigments:

• 25% Burnt Umber
• 25% Nature Siena
• 50% Light Siena

I thin the mixture with thinner to an milky contens. I apply the mixture in the tracks and road wheels and bazooka covers. I let it dry for several hours. Then i brush of the excess pigments to create the amount of dirt I want.

Step 15: Final mat varnish coating with Vallejo 62.062 Matt Polyurethane varnish. The best matt varnish on the market according to me.

And here is the final resut:

Team Yankee: Chieftain painting guide 1 (air brush step)

As I mentioned in previous post will i document my painting steps for the Chieftain tanks for Team Yankee. The models are assembled with plastic glue and look rely good. I paint the turret, body and the tracks seperat it´s easier to get coverage in all locations and ad the masking for the camouflage.

I use an Iwata Pro+ for the air brush painting and it works well for me. As with all airbrushes it´s important to clean and keep them in good condition. I usually clean my 3-4 time a year with ultrasonic cleaner + pro paint cleaning fluid. This helps to remove paint in areas that are not possible to reach with brush or cotton tip. 

I also use steel balls in my paints to get them mixed well in the bottle. It makes the paints survive for longer periods and will work better in the air brush.

Here is my painting steps.

Step 1: Priming I use Vallejo primer 73.612 straight from the bottle

Step 2: Dark base coat to get shadows. MIG 931. Important to cover all underside areas where you would get shadows.

Step 3:  Base coat. MIG 932. Even coverage on all parts. 

Step 4: High light 1. MIG 933. First high light. This is the time when you need to decide of how your high light should work. There are to options. Either normal zenitial lighting including panelling or colour modulation. I prefer colour modulation because the models get´s an more depth and especially when I paint 15mm models. But it also takes mode time sins you have to mask and paint each panel separate.  So this is the first result of the modulation cover 50-70% of the base coat.

Step 5: High light 2. MIG 934. Second high light same method as Setp 4 but only 20-30%

Step 6: Masking. I use normal blue tack to mask this hard edge camouflage.  It´s time consuming but gives an good result and sharp edge towards the base coat.

Step 7: Camouflage base. Valejo 72.751. Base coating of camouflage important to keep the airbrush 90deg towards the surface.

Step8: Camouflage high light. 50/50 mix of Valejo 72.751 and 72.749 and added some acrylic air brush thinner. Same panelling method but for the high light cover gradual to 50% of base coat.

This is the air brush steps. I like the result. The contrast between camo and base coat if nice but and will look good on the table.Next is to paint tracka and and add decals. More about that in next blogg post.

Team Yankee: Iron Maiden has arrived

I have been intressted in Team Yankee for a while and I bought two starter boxes for the Americans. But it never took off at my gaming club.

But now with the Germans and Britts does it seam that it´s getting momentum. I took the bait for the brittish and bought to starter boxes :) The chieftains look to good to skip. It´s something with this tank that attracts me.

I am planning an force of mixed infantry and tanks. But it will probably be mainly inf ans support.
But the starter boxes are an good start to get the tanks and some transport helis. I will start put some paint on the Tanks when I have decided if I should use Stillbrew or not. I might build 7 with out and 3 with to be able to switch around.

I will create an separate painting thread for this project. They will be painted in similar fashion as my previous 6mm project: http://torbjorn-blom.blogspot.com/2013/12/british-6mm-cold-war-continues.html

Fast Tankovy finished for Flames of War

With my last edition of 8 KhT-130 is my fast Tankovy battalion finally finished from Rising sun. I have painted 38 tanks and 6 trucked gun teams and one air plane over a period of 7 months. I am very pleased with the result the force is coherent and tanks looks really worn and used. If you are interested in my painting technique look at this post: http://torbjorn-blom.blogspot.se/2014/03/soviet-tank-painting-guide.html

I am pleased with my flame tanks and this is the first time I try to do light effect on 15mm. I could have done that better but you never learn if you don´t try, Here are a few close ups on the flame tanks with flame plumes made from steel wire and clump foilage.

My favourite unit is the SU-12 gun teams. On the paper are they not that great and they are very vulnerable for enemy artillery fire.  But when they are allowed to shoot at duggin infantry when standing still is very deadly sins they have rate of fire 2 and fire power 3+ and volly fire (reroll misses).

So here is my planed 1500p list:

I know that it´s only 5 platoons but it´s always attacking so there is only a few missions where it´s really hurts. I have to make the platoons to small to get the extra points in 1500p games. This is my first list, I have to play it to see if I need to change it. There will be a tournament beginning of next year that will be the trial for this list or any derivate of it. You never now what happens when I get the Barbarossa book in my hands.

Next painting challenge will be to finalize my US Vietnam infantry and there support weapons. They are 70% done already.

And here is the complete force and some close up´s of each company:

First BT-7 company

Second BT-7 company

T-26 support company

SU-12 support trucks

KhT-130 Flame support

I-153 Air support

Modular terrain board ready

I have finished my first set off modular terrain boards. It´s primary for 15mm, 10mm and 6mm games. But should work for 28mm also. They are designed to be light and sturdy. My base dimensions are 60x120cm / board. So three of them will create the normal 180x120cm gaming table.

Base design is 6mm MDF board supported by 28x45mm framework. This creates a strong and light design. It also creates a space on the back side of 45mm which is use to make fixed mountains and depressions to create lakes.

I might do a walk through on request. But not if no one is interested.

Here is the result:

1:144 I-153 Chaika completed

Hello all

I am still working with my early war Soviet fast tankovy company. Latest addition is the  I-153 Chaika air plane from Battle front. It´s painted with the same method as my T-26 and BT-7 tanks and decals from minibits.net.
I am pleased with the result and it will be a good addition to my force. It´s main objective is to spread out the opponent and hunt heavy tanks. I have no other weapon that can hurt the Brittish Matilda tanks.

Here are a few pictures:

I also finished my last BT-7 platoon. I added decals from I-95 to add some flavour and easy recognition between the companies. Here are a few pictures.

Next time should my last edition to the Fast tankovy be done and the 1500p list should be ready to kick some ass ;)

Soviet tank painting guide.

Hello all

I got question how I painted my BT-7 and SU-12 vehicles for my Flames of war EW fast tankovy in my previous post (link). I tough it could be good to make a guide how I painted them when I add my next element for the tankovy.

I am pleased with the speed and the final result of the tanks and it always feels good too. To get this do you need a Airbrush, I do not think there are any other way to get the smooth blends and fast result otherwise.

BT-7 tanks and SU-12 guns painted

Hello all

It´s been a while sins my last post. But I have been busy painting and tournament. I was last weekend at Gothenburg open Flames of War tournament 1715p LW. My score was really bad and my Fallshirmjägers did not work very well. But on the plus side they won me best painted of 24 contesters, so I am pleased with the result.

At Wizard games in Gothenburg Sweden are they starting a Flames of War Early war point escalation campaign. I though it was time for me to paint some Soviet tanks from Rising sun book. The heavy tanks are to few and I think they will work bad with Hen and Chick. So I will try to build a Fast or a Light tankovy. My first models on my painting desk are 10 BT-7 and a battery of SU-12 guns.

I used same method as on the Hornisse tanks that I painted previously.
Here are the result:

15mm Hornisse / Nashorn Panzer jägers

I have repainted a few of my old models to complement my previous painted Fallschirmjägers. This time are they built from Grey Wolf and should fight against the mighty force of Soviet. So I needed some good mobile AT that could take care of the Soviet IS-2 tanks that seams to be very popular know.

My insperation and guide for this project have been from this blogg. http://www.heresybrush.com/2012/videotutoriales-como-pintar-tanques-alemanes-15mm/
It is one of the better sites on the net for help and improving my painting skills.

I will try to improve the mud effect, it´s to unified at the moment. But have some idea for adding contrast and life to the mud. Might comeback with an update.

6mm game mat project

I might found me new project for 6mm terrain. I want to have easy transported terrain that I can bring to my friends and tournaments. A terrain matt full fills these demands and it can look good if you do it right. It can also work for 15mm models if your smart. I can buy a mat from 100£ or more so it´s not cheap.

I found a nice link of how to do it my self from War Artisan.
They use canvas cloth which the cover with latex and flock. They also model in the rivers and roads on the map. I am not 100% certain if I will model in the rivers or not. They usually have a big impact on the game so it can be important to be flexible. But the roads will be in the mat for easy use and visual appearance.

Short description of how War Artisan are doing there mats.
Step one: Outline roads and rivers. Cover the roads and rivers with flat layer of latex paint.
Step two: Use latex to cover the areas between the roads and flock them with allot of flock.

Step Three: Cover the roads with thicker layer of latex and make scratch marks to resemble wheel tracks.
Step four: Paint the rivers with brown and blue colours. Finish with Silk polyurethane varnish. Add bushes to resemble march areas and river foliage.
Step five: Go back and touch up the grass covered areas again with flock and add shruberies and grass tufts around the roads to add depth and variation.
These method seams easy enough for me to try. The price tag will not be huge and it will be fun to see what I can create. I will keep you informed on my progress.

Fallschirmjäger performance at Hammar FOW

Hello

Now am I back again from a hectic weekend gaming in Halmstad. If you have followed my previous posts do you know that I have been painting a Fallschirmjäger company for flames of war under 1,5 months. This weekend was the deadline for my painting because Hammar Flames of War was in Halmstad and I was signed up for it. It is a pair tournament so you can ditch out in the last minute either. The tournament was divide over two day and five battles total.

So this post was about how the my brand new company performed and my thoughts about them. Unfortunately do I not have any pictures from the battles I was to occupied with the game for that.

Battle 1: My first battle for the day and with my new small men. Mission is Fighting withdraw and I am meeting Magnus with his US mech infantry.
I kampf grouped my mortars and attached my HQ mortars so I had 9 platoons in total. Then I deploy my forces over long stretched line with one jäger platoon in each end. The pioneers take the middle to be able to react on with flank he decide to be his main assault. This mission is not to bad for me because I have plenty of platoons to take of if needed but will still be able to keep a major portion of my fighting value intact.
After opening turn where I was lucky where I made some major damage on one of the big US infantry blobs, my mortars manage to till kill 9 stands out of 18 and the took the my Pak40 two more teams. So the platoon of 18 men was below half and needed to take a moral test. So the game was more or less over from turn one. After that was it more to keep the line and don´t do any stupid mistakes. In the end was it a 6-1 win for me. I need also mentioned the 88´s which shoot down more planes than I counted even if they where trained. This was a very promising start on the tournament.

Battle 2: No I am getting a little warmer in my cloths. Second game for the day is Hasty attack on a snow table with a forest line go through the board form each short edge. I am facing Andreas "Löwe" with his British mech. infantry. I am the defender again and Andreas is not to happy with the snow table because makes his M5 transports very slow in the snow. This means that I have an advantage and have more turns to get reserves in before is main force arrives at my lines. And top of this do I make an assault that takes out one tank unit and one infantry platoon and after that was the game more or less over.
In the was it a 5-2 victory for me. This is a really good start and I get more and more fond of my smal jägers.

Battle 3: The two first games are getting it´s tool on me and I getting tiered, I am to inexperienced and have to focus to much. This is the last game for the day and it´s against Jesper with his Brittish airborne engineers. I think this is one of worst lists that my fallschirmjägers can face. And on top of the hard engineers was the mission surrounded and Jesper chose to make a night attack.
This means that it will be hard to hit him and turn 3 will I have minimum 4 flamers hitting my troops. So I knew that I will have a hard time winning this game. So from the start was my aim to get points and try to kill at least one platoon. After some very bloody assault from both side was Jesper close to break to units but manage to make the platoon moral for two platoons and the sole survivor dice role for one platoon. I also did the same so I guess it was even here. After turn 4 was this battle over and Jesper had claimed 6-1 win. Yes I lost 1-6 which was not good for the team sins my partner also lost 1-6. Before this battle was our team in a good position but after the last battle where we in the lower half.

Battle 4: After a night with decent sleep and very calm night life (three beers) had I forgot the bitter loss from yesterday. I knew that we did not have any chance to win this at all and could only hop to get a decent placement in the tournament. So this time did I meet "Staka" and again did I meet British mech company but this time where they guards and it was Fighting withdrawal again. As I said before this is one of my favourite missions especially for my company.
The board had a town in the centre and lots of small wood patches that blocked most of my sight for my 88´s. So I had put them far back and have them gone to ground until the target presented it self. The game progressed as I though. "Staka" loaded on one flank and sent his small rec. unit to the other side. After a few turns and a bad planed assault from my side was it a clear 1-6 game but I manage to snag two points my last turn with some luck. So in the ends was it a 3-4 result.

Battle 5: Last battle for this tournament. I meet a new guy for my and Johan is his name. He is playing a chaffy company and the mission is Pincer. The board is divided by a huge 28mm terrain wall so the sight from my 88´s are blocked slightly but they have a few nice clear fire lanes. I know that the caffys are very fast and need to hold the line for 3 turns before any reserves might arrive. So the 88´s where far back and my pioneers with two panzer schrecks where covering both objectives and my four Pak40 in ambush. He did as I thought pushed the Chaffys hard and where very close first turn. But I presented the ambush and removed one of the tank units. One to go and then would my life be a bit easier. After some more manoeuvring and some unlucky roles from his side was the game over at turn 4 when I get two fallschirmjäger platoons in his side and takes out two more platoons. It was a clear 6-1 two me so I had a good finish at least.

To summarize the performance of my Fallschirmjäger company am I pleased with them. They are a bit static but I also only played defensive missions where I needed to defend all the time. So it is hard to tell how they perform on the offensive. I knew that they are very lethal in the assault and they can take an assault and still counter attack with a punch. I need to practice more with the deployment and add a few more units to get a broader company to play around with. When I meet Jesper and his Airborne engineers would 4 HMG change the playing field, I could change out the 88´s for more HMG but it was a painting problem for me I could not paint more than I did.  So there is room for improvement, but I will not sell this list. It is probably the funniest LW company that I have at the moment.

I was a bit sad that I did not get the best painted price. But next time with some tanks or other vehicles could make the company look more coherent. I will try next tournament.

So here are the promised close up picture, this is taken with my new studio setup. Please come back with comments.