BEF: Black Watch Battalion Completed

It's been a while since I managed to post, mainly due to lack of a working camera. They make the damn things waterproof, shockproof, probably bulletproof, but I haven't come across a kid-proof model yet. If you do please let me know. As a result of the young Master being left unattended for about 90 seconds, my wife's old camera has the lens knocked out of alignment and is currently in the shop. I got a new Cybershot (ever since they came out with 14.1 megapixel cameras the 10 and 12 megapixel ones can be had for a song) so the learning curve is evident in these photos.

I finally finished my Black Watch battalion for Blitzkrieg Commander. The nine platoons came from HaT's excellent WWI Highlanders and the mortar platoon from the venerable Matchbox WWII British infantry set. I wanted something different for the machinegun platoons and the command element, so after much searching at Plastic Soldier Review and debating whether to make do with plastic or spend some money on metal, I bought a box Revell's Scottish 8th Army. It comes with a bagpipe-playing miniature, a pretty good commanding officer and three Bren guns on anti-aircraft mounts (strangely employed on the sustained fire role). I would have loved some Lewis guns (more in the spirit of the BEF) but I couldn't find any that I liked. Perhaps not totally realistic (these guys would have to carry a lot of spare mags and barrels), it looks different and fun.
So my Scots are finally done. Took about a month but I hope that the Germans will be quicker, at least in terms of infantry. No plaid (as poorly as it may have been done). Now, as breather from all things khaki, I'm working on my Basic Impetus project: Greeks vs. Persians. For the Greeks I chose Zvezda's Spartans. This is perhaps the best ancients miniature set I've ever seen. Ever. My only problem is the lack of much variation in shield decoration (too many scorpions) but the miniatures themselves are excellent. Sculpting, proportions, detail, casting, all are top-notch. If you have to buy and paint one set of ancients this year, this is it. Here is the (incomplete) first base.
In the background, faintly visible is a weirdly painted Fallschrim. This is young Master's first miniature. Admittedly orange, yellow and red would be suitable for Mars only (if eventhat) but his brushwork was pretty good. That's all for now from strangely cloudy Athens and the Greek Geek household.

BEF, 1940, Part II: The Black Watch

First post for 2012 and apparently the new year got me motivated. I finished the first company of my Black Watch battalion for my BEF 1940 Blitzkrieg Commander project. Instead of going all out and using metal miniatures for these (SHQ Miniatures has some lovely Highlanders) I chose the cheap way. HaT has recently issued some WWI British Highlanders that seemed quite the part and Revell re-issued their Scottish 8th Army. HaT would provide the bulk of the miniatures, Revell the command and probably the machine gun stands (they have some lovely Bren guns on anti-aircraft mounts) and Matchbox the mortar. Old school type army, with some choices different than the usual British suspects. After all, I'll be doing a more traditional battalion as well.

The main problem with Highlanders is always the tartan; what to chose and how to paint it. I went with the Black Watch since they served both in France and later on in Greece. Google and Wikipedia provided me with examples of what the tartan looked like. There were two approaches I used to paint it.

This is the first one. The kilt looks as if there is a pattern, but I didn't paint an actual one.

Here I painted the actual pattern. Well, as close as it is possible considering the scale. Both look OK in my eyes, but the actual pattern, although too coarse compared to reality, looks more the part in wargaming conditions (when the 3-foot rule is in effect).


I really like these miniatures. They are well-sculpted, with good detail and proportions. The only let-down is the material. I wish that HaT would stop using this soft plastic and prefer harder ones like Zvezda and Italeri. But all in all, these are excellent. Nine down, 18 (plus assorted stuff) to go.

Thats all for now, from sunny Athens.

BEF, France 1940, Part I

After much though of how to do France in 1940 for Blitzkrieg Commander (I have the first edition, a second has been in print for a couple of years now but I don't know if I will eventually buy it), I finally decided on what I know best; 1/72-76 plastics. Admittedly, not everything I wanted is available in plastic so some allowances would have to be made, but I can live with them.


While I was window-shopping for infantry, I decided to start on my artillery. I chose the Airfix 5.5" gun with Matador tractor. While the 5.5" did not make it to France (it came into service one year later), it will double as a 60-pounder or 4.5" gun. The Matador is a neat little model than needs some reworking to turn it into a perfect replica of the actual truck, but I build it as is. Paul from Plastic Warriors has done a couple of them and changed the wheels but I did not. However, I decided to do something about the rear tarp. Not having another model to rob, I decided to use an older solution. I took some toilet paper (not imprinted with any fancy designs mind you), placed it on the rear of the truck and impregnated it with large amounts of crazy glue. After the glue set, I trimmed it to fit the outline of the rear of the truck and painted it. Looks good enough for me.


I also changed the driver, using a seated figure from the HaT WWI British Artillery Crew set. Looks pretty good in there. Much better than the Yank that Airfix put behind the wheel.


The 5.5" gun suffers from some sink marks than need puttying, but it is easy to put together. I added crew from the HaT set I mentioned. It's for the First World War, but it will look good for the fields of France in 1940.


The other kit I finished is the absolutely lovely Airfix Matilda. This is a little gem of a kit that took only a couple of hours to put together. It is not perfect for France as there are some changes that need to be made. The early Mk. IIs carried a water-cooled Vickers gun with a different shroud, there was only a single exhaust, and a wedge was attached to the back in order to help it move over trenches. Of all these, I only changed the shape of the machine gun shroud, using a small piece of q-tip handle and some putty.


The kit was then finished in a two-green camouflage typical of the era and white recognition panels. Most of the tanks carried names, but I doubt I would be able to write Agamemnon with a paintbrush on both sides. I added a commander from the Matchbox British Infantry set and the kit was done. I have to make 3 more of these, but it was such a pleasant experience that I am eager to repeat it.


I have a 25-lbr I am also working on, but this is a real dog, especially the crew. Still, I like it better than then Italeri one (which is excellent for the desert). I also picked up a set of WWI Highlanders that will be painted as a couple of companies of Cameron Highlanders. Tartan in 1/72 promises to be an experience.

That's all from festive Athens and the Greek Geek household where everyone is suffering from indigestion yet again.