Reflections on the Ork Big Trakk

I have been thinking about going through my Ork models and getting them finished and painted. I seem to have stalled and got distracted by Flames of War and Dystopian Wars (and Doctor Who) and haven’t really painted any Orks for ages.

One model that has only got as far as an undercoat was my Forge World Big Trakk. Looking back at the last update on this model (in 2011) it was apparent I was having undercoating problems with a fair few of my Ork models.

Eventually I hope it might look similar to this finished model that I photographed at Games Day 2009.

Ork Big Trakk with Big Lobba.
Ork Big Trakk with Big Lobba

I would like to get a dusty dirty look and I have the Forge World weathering powders somewhere in my collection of paints and inks.

Adding Foliage

Canadian Sherman Tank

I have been thinking about adding some foliage as camouflage to my Flames of War models (once I have finished painting them). Looking at photographs of real tanks, such as the Canadian Sherman Tank in Italy above, there is certainly no one way to do this.

One consideration when modelling in 15mm, is that though the true reason for adding foliage is to camouflage the tank. I do think you can add too much foliage, which may be authentic and realistic in real life, may look “weird” on a 15mm model. It may look like a moving bush or tree, rather than a tank with added foliage camouflage. Part of that reason is that in real life the tank when stationary needs to appear to be hidden, but once moving it would be obvious it was a vehicle with foliage on it. In 15mm the models do not move by their own power, so it can look “weird”.

So next question, how do you model foliage on your 15mm models?

15mm Plastic Cromwell Tanks

15mm Plastic Cromwell Tanks

The Plastic Solider Company have announced their release of a set of 15mm scale Cromwell tanks.

15mm Cromwell kit – 5 models for £18.95. Each sprue gives an option to build a 95mm howitzer close support variant and has a British commander figure and a Cullen hedgecutter.

Really quite like the idea of these models and they are very cost effective  too.

King John – Ruler Class Battleship

I finished painting King Richard III and used it in a few games. The first of my reinforcements for my Kingdom of Britannia naval forces is another Ruler Class Battleship, called King John. Having constructed the model I gave it a white undercoat.

Unlike my other Battleship, this one only has three turrets, but does have a shield generator.

As I have said in previous posts I am not a huge fan of the Kingdom of Britannia ship designs, say compared to the FSA or the Prussian Empire. I just imagined them to be sleeker and more menacing. The Prussians certainly have that kind of look.

SMS Scharnhorst

I have started to paint the second of my Spartan Games Prussian Empire Dreadnoughts.

I finished the first, SMS Blücher and will be painting this model in a similar fashion. I decided early on to use the same turret layout as my first Dreadnought and not use generators. I did wash the model first to remove any mould lubricant.

I then gave the model a white undercoat using Citadel Skull White spray.

SMS Scharnhorst

I also affixed the model to an old plastic blister using a hot glue gun to make it easier to paint.

I’ve named this ship, SMS Scharnhorst, after Gerhard von Scharnhorst, he was Chief of the Prussian General Staff, noted for his writings, his reform of the Prussian army and his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars. Blücher who was an army Field Marshall, is whom the Blücher class Dreadnoughts are named after, I have decided that the first of my dreadnoughts will be the SMS Blücher. Generally ships in the same class are named in a similar vein, so the first of the class is the SMS Blücher, this dreadnought will also be named after an army general, in this case Scharnhorst.

Pre-order: Bolt Action Armies of France and the Allies

The other day I mentioned that Warlord Games had released a PDF for the Italians, what I said then was

Now he will have the rules, not sure about rules for my models though.

Well what I had missed was the announcement that the Bolt Action Armies of France and the Allies was aavailable to pre-order.

Bolt Action Armies of France and the Allies

World War II was truly a ‘world’ war, and many nations joined the fight against Germany and the Axis. This latest supplement for Bolt Action covers the armies of France, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Holland and Belgium that stood against the German Blitzkrieg, as well as the resistance forces that sprung up in the aftermath of occupation.

I think I will use those rules for my partisan band.

Painting the Roof

Though I have used my Sarissa Precision Old West 25mm Buildings in game of Legends of the Old West, I think they could do with some extra work to add more detail. I would certainly like to add some weathering, but I would also like the paint the roof tiles on the shack.

What I am not sure about is how to paint the tiles and not paint out the etching that defines the tiles. What sort of process and paints should I be using? Should I use inks or a wash? Will thinned paint cover the etching? Should I paint each tile individually?

What process are you using to paint your laser etched buildings?