8th Army Indian Infantry

And another one of my HQ is done. This is the officer out of the very lovely HQ Blister by Warlord Games. The models in this are very characterful and well sculpted.

What I like about this mini in particular is the way it reflects what is known all over the world as „Britishness“ or stiff upper lip, if you will. „Oh, Fritz is coming at us. Well, indeed, there‘s always time for tea and tobacco…“ Now, here we go.

Leading the rest of the now finished HQ is the radio operator of Warlord Games‘ 8th Army HQ fame. In addition to that and the stretch bearer I put a Blacktree Miniatures figure in the mix to complete my Medic team. The WG figures are very cool and characteristic with lots of detail, really enjoyed painting these. Now on the desk is the last squad of infantry to get a full sized platoon and after that some more support with a MMG Team and very much needed armour…stay tuned!

Good evening all…just checking this project log I realized it’s been a full four months since my last entry…oh boy. Now what happened, project wise during this time? I finished my last squad of infantry to have a full platoon of Sikh soldiers. But those riflemen have been covered in previous posts quite extensivly I presume. So, now on to something completely different.

Even though only 98% finished (decals and last touch ups and a drybrush step missing) I would really like to show my proper armoured support for the lads on foot, the iconic Matilda II infantry tank. And what a beauty she is;-). According to my other armoured vehicles I was going to paint it in caunter camo…of course. I did some more research and finally found a tremendous source for getting your Caunter Camo schemes correct, a guide by Mike Starmer did the trick and is highly recommended for everyone who wants to try this at home. And of course I missed the target and think misinterpreted his sketches:-)…but was far too lazy to correct it as I think the final outcome still looks good (and historically correct) enough for the tabletop. One last word on the colors I used: I bought the AK interactive paint set for caunter camo and really love these paints although they seem a tad bit thin for being applied with a brush. Anyhow, when painted in thin layers and with a little patience the outcome is really good, at least that’s what I think.

An now, without further ado, here she is…

So I am “deep into the 22” and short before finishing this army and project. It was one the if not the most comprehensive and longest ongoing projects I have done so far. For sure it was the most fun one, building, painting and putting togehter this iconic force.

One of the things missing though is a some combination of transport capacity and firepower and because I build an Indian army I opted for the Indian Pattern Carrier over another Bren / Universal carrier to put into the mix. I purchased these from Perry Miniatures which makes the vehicles being maufactured by Blitzkrieg and the crew by the Perry twins (quite obvious). In addition to what the initial model sets offer I built the stand for the pintle mounted LMGs from one part Warlord Games – the Bren Carrier stand that comes with their kit – and one part of a nineties woodelven standard of GW fame. The painting scheme – of course – had to be the caunter camo I did on my Matilda tank (of which I will show you a final picture in a future post).

After this what’s more to come then? Next up will be the MMG and medium mortar teams and finally the Ordonance QF 2pdr AT gun – with all models from Perry Miniatures. This makes my army being comprised of models by all of these manufacturers: Warlord Games, Perry Miniatures, Blitzkrieg, Stoessi’s Heroes (1x) and Blacktree design (1x).

Now have a peek at my Indian Pattern Carriers of the “Red Eagle” Division.

It’s been quite a while since I last posted in this projrct log…but maybe it was worth it. Because I’m gonna call this  one done…Hurrah! The very last units I did over the course of the last months were the MMG-Team, the Medium Mortar and crew, the QF 2pdr AT-Gun all of which I bought as metal figures from Perry Miniatures…and I was very keen to be able to field a (small) unit of Royal Engineers or Sappers and Miners, but what a pity, there seems to be no manufacturer around to do some proper models…if any of you kind veterans of wargaming know a miniatures company who does figures accordingly, please feel free to tell me. Anyhow, one of the best things about this wonderful hobby is the fact that whenever there is noone offering something to buy it means DIY:-). So I mader up my mind, did some research of photographic footage and made five figures out of the Warlord Games 8th Army infantry sprues and scratch built equipment. Now here we go again and I may present to you some support and some tough as nails Sappers of the Army of his majesty the King…

Well, that was kind of a journey. And as any good journey is supposed to, it took a lot longer than expected. But it was hell lot of fun to do this force. Ionic, with great variety, superb models and, in the end, a fairly good overall paint scheme. All in all I am very pleased how everything turned out it this has (without a doubt) not been my last project to be covered here on OTT. The next one’s already on its way…it’s about no snow in September, some bridges, one being too far, maybe…you got it;-).

But now I’d like to to a litte showcase for my last post before finishing this one off. Farewell.