20mm WW1 Middle East British artillery (lockdown 17)

While I ordered the infantry in solar topees to head swop for the British lancers, I also picked up a pack of Hat British artillery crew and 4.5" howitzers.  First up is an Emhar 18lbr with Hat crew figures head swopped with solar topees,

And a second one.  The crew that come with the Emhar kits don't really look the part, much better with the Hat crews.

The pair of 18lbrs.

One of the Hat 4.5" howitzers with Hat crew.  These were modified with helmet neck guards made from thin strips of kitchen roll and PVA glue.

And a second howitzer.

The pair of howitzers.

Then for spotter/command stands, I started out with the telescope and heliograph figures from the Strelets British Camel Corps set and added a Hat artillery crew commander with solar topee head swop.

And for a second spotter/command base, these are Emhar and Hat artillery crew commanders with kitchen roll neck guards and an Airfix WW1 British infantry signaller with solar topee head swop.

Although not truly artillery, this is a Roden FWD model B 3 ton truck to haul ammunition for the artillery.  The kit doesn't include crew, so I used one of the seated Hat artillery crew figures, trimmed a little to fit the cab and with a kitchen roll neck guard.  Not sure if these were used in the Middle East, but it looks good and will fit right in, especially in any what-if type games.

I used the painting guide for WW1 British troops in the Middle East by Mark Hargreaves for 28mm figures and modified his guide to suite the smaller scale and my painting abilities.  It made a nice change working with the blue-grey palette for the artillery crew and I enjoyed painting the disruptive camo pattern on the 4.5" howitzers.

I've got the Camel Corps figures to finish off and then will try something different while I decide what next for my WW1 collection.  As ever, thanks for looking.

20mm Mk IV Female tank and some WW1 painting experiments

Well, I should be at the Defenders Xmas do tonight, but as I'm not feeling well, I thought I might as well share some more photos of the WW1 kit I'm working on at the moment.

First up is an Emhar Mark IV Female tank.  The kit was relatively straightforward to complete and looks good, although the "roll bar" on the roof should have two supporting struts but they are only modelled with one (ironically the box cover art shows the correct arrangement).

I've painted this one in khaki grey and dry brushed it Iraqi sand for a dusty look.  Tracks are oily steel dry brushed orange brown and washed with Nuln Oil.  Exhaust is orange brown and weapons are NATO black dry brushed basalt grey.

Decals from the kit included J12, Jericho, which I thought looked suitable.  There are some interesting beute tank markings for captured tanks in German service, which include skull and cross bones that are going on another vehicle.

Not bad for a kit picked up at a bring n buy table at the Derby/Castle Donnington show for £2.  Bargain!

Next up I a try out of some late war German figures from Ceasar, picked up at the same show for £1 per box.  These are painted in a 50:50 mix of field grey and german grey with khaki grey puttees, saddle brown boots and pouches, German grey bandoleers and black belts, with German camo beige grenade/ammo bags, washed in Agrax earthshade.  They still seem to be a bit dark to me, I'll try and lighten the next batch.

Then I experimented with an early war figure in Picklehaube - an old Airfix figure from the early 70's.  Field grey and mid-grey tunic and German uniform and mid-grey trousers, both lightened with Ivory.  Saddle brown boots, webbing and pouches.  German camo beige helmet cover and flat red regimental sign on helmet and piping on tunic.  I quite like the way he looks.

Finally, as a try out, this is another early 70's vintage Airfix WW1 soldier, painted in field blue with mid-grey tousers, grey-blue puttees and water bottle and saddle brown webbing and pouches, with a German camo beige bread bag.  All washed in Agrax earthshade, but then I highlighted the field blue as it turned a more khaki colour than I liked.

Again, I quite like the look of the French soldier, so will try the same technique on a few more figures.

Thanks for looking.