Screaming Eagles for Bolt Action

This week I worked through the rest of the squad and got the remaining bits base coated and took some pictures. I still need to wash them with some Sepia tone but happy with the result so far.

I started with the Webbing and packs with Green Grey. Initially I just did the packs and on the NCO I did the webbing to see how it looks and decided it was certainly worth the extra effort to color those bits out. I went back and finished the whole squad then over the next few days.

With the packs and webbing done it was onto the Helmets. For this I used Brown Violet which is also known as US Olive Drab in the Vallejo line. I also painted the metal on the ammo box for the LMG loader.

On to the weapons and here I had to look up some reference pictures. When I did Flames of War they were so small I could approximate but there is much more detail to work with on these larger figures. The wood parts were done in Beige Brown and the metal parts of the guns in Oily Steel. Lastly was the ammo in the ammo box that got a brushing of Brass.

All put together even just base colors they look great. I need to decide if I do the basing one squad at a time or do all of the basing once the platoon is finished.

Time to get some paint on the figures. I’m used to painting in 15mm so will see how much I get done in a similar painting session.

I like to start from the inside out so first up is Flat Flesh on the exposed skin on the faces and hands. The paint was quite separated so it needed a real good mix to get even coverage. A pretty quick step here.

On to the boots, I was going to use Vallejo’s Red Leather but went with Flat Brown instead and it seems a better match for what I wanted in the end product. Another simple quick step. I got a bit confused on the boots as it looked like gaiters were molded but from research it looks like the Airborne troops never used them so I painted that area brown with the boot as well. Finished it looks decent.

Time for the uniforms. Not sure why this step has been harder to get though with the attention span but I could only do a few figures at a time without needing to take a break. I need to improve my lighting in my hobby space I think as well as my painting posture. That is probably why I need to break often. But I chip away at the squad’s uniforms to get a nice even base coat.

Next up will be webbing and helmets that should go quicker than the uniforms. Then it will be finishing up weapons and equipment. Over the half way point for this first squad and I expect the others to go quicker.

I’m painting these up for full squads but no idea how many men Bolt Action games typically field. I was wrong in my previous post and with BA’s 3rd edition it looks like I can do one full strength platoon or a couple smaller ones. Not sure which is the better way to go. Let me know in the comments on what your experience has been. Have you gotten a 3rd edition game in yet?

Here is a list of Vallejo colors I’m using for the Airborne.

70.955 Flat Flesh – Skin
70.984 Flat Brown – Boots
70.893 US Dark Green – Uniform
70.886 Green Grey – Webbing and pouches
70.887 Brown Violet – Helmets and painted metal
70.875 Beige Brown – Wood
70.865 Oily Steel – Gunmetal
70.801 Brass – Ammo casings
73.200 Sepia Shade – Shading

This is mostly the same pallet of colors I used for Flames of War back when I did my first Airborne. It works so why change it?

My local club is going to be playing some Bolt Action to recreate one of the upcoming battle anniversaries. I’m bad and can’t remember which one but I know it is late war. Since I finished up one project and those new Romans aren’t primed I need to find something to paint. I dug through my boxes and found my old Warlord Bolt Action minis. These I primed two summers ago and they have sat in a box since. I bought these on one of Warlord’s sprue sales and got a great deal it was like 50% off. I ended up with 6 platoons worth of tiny fighting men.

Since this was all chucked in a box I needed to sort them out into units to see what I have and what options I can field. I picked up the new 3rd edition rule book for Bolt Action and see that composition hasn’t changed just the points. So looks like past me made way more SMG soldiers than I have units. Not sure why but I have enough of what I need to field 5 platoons of Airborne and a platoon of Airborne Pathfinders. I also have an HQ, Medic, Sniper, 3 Bazooka Teams, and 2 Light Mortars. Sorted each into a small tub and I plan to magnetize the bases on these as well.

I have a few months until the battle so plenty of time to get at least one platoon done if not more. I’d like to get a Machine Gun unit, Anti-tank rifle, and Pack Howitzer to give me more options. I’ll probably pick those up with the upcoming Armies of the United States book to fill out that free shipping. Excited to be painting some WW2 again and will be a nice break from Romans.