T8E1 Reconnaissance Vehicle

This kit sat half-finished on my workbench for almost five years.  During those years I came close to breaking it or throwing it out a dozen times.  But something recently drove me to finish it and I'm glad I did.  It's a Verlinden conversion of the old Tamiya M8 Howitzer.  Being a Verlinden product it's not particularly accurate.  I think the interior is pure fantasy and in typical Verlinden fashion, nothing fit and the instructions were almost useless.  Nonetheless I'm happy with the end result.  The figure is from DML's US Tanker set and the base is from Monroe Perdu.  It's a very nice resin base but I think it would be a tight fit for a Sherman or one of it's derivations.

Here are some of my newest projects.  They're from Trident's 40mm American Revolutionary War line.  I really like their figures and enjoy painting them.  I used Vallejo acrylics on the figures and oil paint with an undercoat of acrylic on the horses.  Now if I could just improve my photo-taking skills.  Comments are always welcomed.

Captain John Parker

Lexington minuteman

Lexington minuteman

Lexington minuteman

Lexington minuteman

Paul Revere

Paul Revere

Washington & Lafayette

 Washington & Lafayette

Verlinden's 1/16th 11 Inch Dahlgren Civil War Naval Gun

This all resin kit was a bear to make, but I'm very pleased with the results.  In typical Verlinden fashion, the instructions were all but useless; many of the resin parts (particularly the large ones) were warped or misshapen; and the circular rails that were cast as part of the deck aren't the right arcs so the carriage wheels don't rest on them properly.  And I'll never understand why Verlinden gives you a piece of white, fuzzy, loosely weound yarn to serve as the recoil rope.  It doesn't take paint, stain, or anything.  I had originally made a replacement plywood and basswood deck, but it sat around so long while I finished the model that it warped.  Well, better to happen  now than to have it warp after I'd mounted the cannon.

The gun was painted with Model Master acrylics sprayed with my airbrush.  The carriage was then weathered using raw umber oil paints.  The metal work was lightly drybrushed with a mixture of black and steel Model Master enamel. I then sparingly applied some MIG weathering powder (Track Brown) around the bolts and metal work, staying away from the barrel itself, to simulate old rust stains.

Next up, I may buy and paint Michael Roberts' 120mm Civil War Marine Lieutenant to mount along side it to give it some scale.

Foundry 40mm Confederate Cavalryman

This is my latest figure -- a minor conversion of a 40mm Foundry Confederate cavalryman.  I didn't like the head on the original figure.  It was wearing a kepi (made him look too Union) and he was looking straight ahead rather than in the direction he was firing.  I had received a Foundry infantryman in a trade (thanks Michael) that didn't have any arms but who did have a great head wearing a slouch hat.  So I swapped heads, making sure that the new head was looking off in the direction he was firing.

The cavalryman and horse furniture (saddle and blanket, saddle bags, blanket roll and overcoat) were painted with Vallejo acrylics while the horse was painted with MIG oils.  I adapted a tutorial on painting 90mm horses that I'd seen on the Michigan Toy Soldier website.  I'm pretty pleased with both the figure and the horse, and feel that my painting is getting better with each figure.

Next up?  Maybe some 40mm Sash & Saber colonial militia at Lexington Green.  Or maybe their Confederate artillery crew . . . .

I bought a boatload of both Sash & Saber and Foundry 40mm Civil War figures back in September and I'm just now getting a chance to paint some of them.  These were a little more challenging to paint because of all the small trim and the closed nature of the pose (made it hard to access all the areas).  S&S are sculpted a bit roughly, but I actually like this aspect.  It makes them a little easier to paint and frankly a little more fun. 

I'm really getting hooked on 40mm figures.

Custer 1876

This is a Sash & Saber George Custer during the 1876 campaign.  It's a little small for 40mm, but it still painted up OK.  I would have preferred that he was wearing the blue fireman's shirt like the standing figure in my very first post.  It would have provided more color than the buckskin.

Sash & Saber 40mm ACW

Before starting back to school I went on a run painting a bunch of 40mm Sash & Sabre Civil War figures.  Once school starts back up next week my painting time will be drastically cut.  I wasn't too sure about the S&S when I first got them -- they appeared very rough with some exaggerated detail.  Once I started painting them though I took a liking to them.  Clean up is fairly quick and easy and the exaggerated details paint up nicely.

My next project was going to be a 40mm Foundry ACW gun and crew, but after painting these I might just paint up a S&S gun crew instead.

Thanks Michael.  The two charging Confederate infantrymen are from the lot you gave to me.