Review: Charlie Foxtrot Models

Ruined House 1

"Tabac tobacconists shop" and "Dormer House 2"

So about a month ago, I ordered some buildings from Charlie Foxtrot Models. They are MDF kits, which seem to be a standard in the hobby. One thing that sets the Charlie Foxtrot kits are, in my opinion; they are very characterful. I really like the unique look that each building has, especially the shops. Each building seems like it's own building, unlike other manufacturers. Now, I'm not saying I don't like other manufacturers, but Charlie Foxtrot Models are easily my favourite. They assemble with out headaches, and they for sure paint up nicely.

My first complaint with the kits are is that they didn't come in sprues, but where already punched out. Which isn't a massive complaint, but it was a bit surprising. My last complaint, is that getting the squares used for securing upper floors can be a bit fiddly. But that's probably just my poor craftsmanship.

All in all, I have fallen in love with these kits and will definitely be purchasing more in the future! I encourage everyone to check out the kits.

I would love to see Colin make some kits in 1/72 for the Vietnam War, such as village buildings and bunkers.

Charlie Foxtrot Models gets a 4.75 out of 5 Stars!

Into the Bush (Galen's Vietnam Project)- Tutorial: Jungle Scatter Terrain.

So the Vietnam War has been a fascinating subject to me for a long time. Probably due to hearing stories about the press coverage from my parents who grew up during the war. So when I started Wargaming, naturally I wanted to game the conflict. Over the past year or so, I've begun collecting forces and vehicles. But the most daunting part of gaming Vietnam is probably to model the dense jungle that makes up the Vietnamese Highlands. I've conducted numerous experiments and now I feel confident to share one of the methods I came up with.

Materials:

• Your prefered terrain basing material
• Plastic Aquarium/Terrarium Plants
• Clump Foam
• Flock/turf 

Step One:
So I decided to use balsa wood for my scatter bases, because I'm limiting my spending to save for a trip to Normandy in 2019. Also it's easy to cut without power tools. In fact you can just use a hobby knife to cut it. I shaped it in an oblong shape, trying to remove any super straight edges. I also sanded down the edges to make a bevel.

Step Two:

I spray painted it with Army Painter "Leather Brown" Primer, so if the flock gets rubbed of it looks like there is dirt.

Step Three:

With PVA glue I flocked around the edge 

Step Four:

Now using a punch to make holes to place my plants in. I like to make them in triangular patterns. Then just with a dab of super glue stick your plants onto the base.

Step Five: 

Keep adding plants around one edge of the base.

Step Six:

Once you have about a third of the perimeter suitably foliage. You may want to go in and put flock/turf among the plants to hide the base. 

Step Seven:

Another way you can hide the base is to use clump foliage to make the plants appear more dense than it really is. This is just up to personal taste. I like the way it looks.

Step Eight: 

Keep adding plants and clump foliage until you are happy with the look. This took me maybe two and a half hours, leaving time for the glue to dry.

"No Tiger Fear"; A Review of Stoessi's Heroes Miniatures

So a while back I posted on Stoessi's Heros Faceboook page about how much I would love to review his models, but I had no money to purchase them. Wonderfully, Thomas Stoesser got in touch with me and we arranged for me to get three models to review for free! But since shipping was an issue I decided to order four models, and then shipping wouldn't be an issue. Due to my incredibly clever idea, I was able to pick up the whole line! Even though Stoessi has been so lovely to deal with, I am going to be honest in this review. It wouldn't be a good review then, would it? Anyways, let's talk miniatures.

So, Stoessi's models are wonderfully detailed and very characterful. Which complies with his motto, or catchphrase, "Adding Character to Your Battlefield".

 I already liked the models, but finally to see them in person has been great. They sculpts are very nice and I hope my painting skills can bring them to life. The models were very easy to clean up with very minimal mold lines.

Donny Dumpf and PFC Miller

Probably my favorite model is "Donny Dumpf". Being an American I think that this model is absolutely hilarious. I can now proclaim while using this model, "MAKE WAR GREAT AGAIN! Back to the way things were in 1918!"

Stoessi's first model(?) was "Otto Hottenrott", a German Late-War Schütze. I would have liked him to have more field gear than just a bread bag and canteen, but that was an easy fix with adding spare parts to flesh out the model.

I'm not going to go in to what I think of all the models here, but they are all wonderful. My full thoughts on them will be during the Step-by-Step articles which I will be writing.

I also got a button that says "No Tiger Fear", and a Bottle Opener that says "We don't have the proper facilities to take you all prisoner. Sorry!"

Very thick tabs

My only true complaint with the models are the incredibly thick tabs that the models come on. I use flat bases like those that come with Warlord Games' kits. After a while of trying to figure out how to remove the models without damaging them, I decided on simply shaving the tabs down.  It's a bit tedious, but it doesn't end up bending the feet. This isn't a comment on the models themselves but it made prepping the models a bit more difficult.

I did accidently snap the rifle stock on "Red Army Sniper, Liudmyla Pavlychenko", during this process, but I just had to reattach it with some glue.

My rating of these would be 4.5 Star General. (For those unaware the highest general is a Five Star General)

Check out Stoessi's Heroes webpage here and his Facebook page here

.

Tutorial: Elephant Grass/ Bamboo Stalks

So I've had a fascination with the Vietnam War for a long time now, and I've always wanted to game it. But only recently have I begun to build and collect models and terrain for the conflict. One of the things I've been scratching my head at is the infamous Elephant grass. I've seen a lot of references to using grass mats for the grass, but upon looking into this, I've never liked the way it looks. It looks too fake for my tastes (even at tabletop distance). Thus I came up with a scatter terrain idea.


Supplies:

• A hand broom
• Washers (I used 50mm)
• Green stuff
• Super glue
• Scissors 
• X-acto knife

Step One: 

First off, you're going to get your scissors or x-acto knife and cut the bristles off of your broom. You can super glue the bristles first but I've found it doesn't make the nice splayed look that plants have.

Step Two:
Take a bundle of the bristles and wrap green stuff around one end. You can also wrap it around both ends to get more coverage for one bundle.

Step Three:

Now stick your green stuff onto the washers. I always place a tuft over the hole.  Then repeat steps two and three until you are satisfied with the base. You can also supplement the bristle tufts with long grass tufts, but wait until you've painted the bristles.

Step Four: 

Trim the top of your tufts with scissors to get the tops a fringed look.

 Step Five:
Paint your bristles with green paint. I like to mix the the colours in small amounts to create an interesting and realistic look. It looks strange if all your grass is the same colour. I also paint the base.

Step Six:

At this stage I would glue your long grass tufts onto the base. But, I would use them sparingly because they aren't the most sturdy. 

Step Seven: 

Now just flock your base in what ever manner suits you.

One thing i've noticed, that due to not priming the grass, light catches the bristles and give it that sort of translucent look that plants have. I've found that this method will work well with 28mm and 20mm. You could also paint them in different colours for alien planets!

Size comparison of my grass with a 28mm and a 20mm figure.

I just want to say that this is the coolest thing ever.

Tutorial: Pimp My MDF Building- Part One

So I've picked up a few MDF buildings from Sarissa Precision and 4Ground. Now some of them don't come painted. Now I could have just painted them quickly and been done with them, but I've decided to actually spend some hobby time in making my buildings look nice. Also I wanted to share my methods. So, here we go.

Supplies:

• Fine Grit Sand
• PVA Glue/Modge Podge 
• Kitty Litter
• Hobby Knife

 For this Tutorial I will be using Sarissa Precision "Large Farmhouse - Destroyed" which you can find here. So This being a destroyed building, there is clearly a large chunk of it that has been exploded. And I thought that the empty top floor didn't look right, and I wanted to come up with a way to have rubble, but not so that it would disrupt miniature placement.

Step One
So I came up with a neat little idea to have removable rubble. I took some spare MDF parts from the sprues and found a piece that would allow for an interesting pattern in the building. I glued the bits from the windows and built them up as a base for the kitty litter.

I also arranged some rubble in the corners. just to sell the illusion. a bit more.  I also added some spare parts to the roof as broken shingles


Step Two
I then added sand and kitty litter around in the corners; which I forgot to take a picture of. Sorry.

Step Three
Now before you start painting, you'll want to add the stucco onto the side. I left the cracks visible but you don't have to.

Step Four
Prime in what ever colour you want. I used black.

Part Two Coming soon!

War Game Theory: Variations on Uniforms for Your Army?

Over the past year I've probably painted about 200-400 Germans in 28mm; and I can say I am sick of Feldgrau and Feldgrün. It's a bit of a problem when you can't stand painting the uniform colour of your army any more and you still have another fifty to paint. So why not mix it up a bit?

I'm a huge fan of having individuals in an army. I have a model of a German Unteroffizier petting a cat, and I have a bunch of unique, kitbashed soldiers mixed into my units. This idea has only been recently been implemented in my assembly, but now I try to have one out of every ten guys to be doing something different, or in a unique/interesting pose. This is to help me not get burnt out on assembling the same pose over and over.

On to painting; Like I said, I am sick of painting Field Grey. So I borrowed a book from a friend,(German Uniforms of the Third Reich 1933-1945) that displayed the various uniforms worn by the Third Reich. This book didn't just contain Wehrmacht uniforms, but various labor divisions, railroad workers, etc. It provided massive inspiration for variations on the usual Soldat. I've also created variations for my Wehrmacht forces. Some have more grey uniforms, some have more green uniforms, just to mix up the uniforms and create a more intriguing force on the table.

Are all my variations historically accurate? No. But they don't have to be. In my mind, the hobby is about being creative. So be creative. I prefer to have some what historically painted uniforms, but are my armies accurate? Hell no! But they are in typical "military colours". Just don't paint your uniforms in some silly bright colour, or do. Just make sure you're having fun!

Tutorial: Galen's "Cheap" and Easy Bocage

Everyone knows that if you play a World War Two game, who's main focus is the Normandy Campaign, you have to have hedgerows or Bocage. Now If you're like me, your wargaming hobby is on an extreme budget. I've seen a lot of tutorials for Hedgerows that require more money that I'm willing to spend on building the banks of the notorious Normandy hedgerows. Now, not to say that these tutorials are bad, in fact If i had more funds I would most likely be using them. But as stated previously, I don't. So, let's get on to how I made some nice looking* terrain pieces

Materials

• Yardsticks
• Sand
• Sticks & Twigs
• Clump Foliage
• Wood Glue
• Modge Podge
• Superglue
• Hobby/Pocket Knife.
• Sandpaper or Sandblock

Step One

First take your yardsticks and cut them down to your desired length, I use 12" as my base length, and the supplement them with smaller lengths. Then you take your pocket knife and shave down the edges to give the base a bevel. Sand down the sides to make them smooth.

Step Two

Now go outside, and gather up a bunch of twigs, and smaller sticks. These will make up the bank of the hedgerow.

Step Three

Take these sticks and glue them to the yard stick, If you want you can also add dowels or bamboo skewers to support the foliage; make sure you do this before you put the sticks on. break up the sticks and glue them in place to build up your bank. You can also add in Tree Armatures to insert some trees into your hedges.

Step Four

Once you have the sticks in place, get your Modge Podge and a large brush and paint it on to the branches. Pour sand over it and let dry. Once the first layer is dried, then you're going to add more layers untill you are satisfied with the look. I personally used three layers of Modge Podge and sand. The sand will most likely drip off the side of the base, just take your knife or sandpaper and clean up the sides when it's dry.

Step Five

When it's all dry, Prime it with your favorite primer. I used Army Painter Black Primer.

Step Six

Paint your base with a brown. I personally like P3 Battlefield Brown. If you want you can also dry brush it with a lighter shade, I would recommend P3 Bootstrap Leather.

Step Seven

Now you can take your super glue and start glueing your foliage to the base. I used Woodland Scenics, Foliage Clusters, because they are bigger than standard Clump Foliage. 

Step Eight

Once you have your hedges finished up. you can flock and put static grass on the base. And there you have it a set nice looking hedgerows.

*In my opinion

The Aetts of Odálegaard

I wrote "Introduction to Odálegaard", a couple of weeks ago discussing my Imagi-Nation of Odálegaard. I briefly mentioned the Nine Aetts of Odálegaard, which serve as providences or states in the greater kingdom. The shields will each be unique to the warrior, but using the same colours of their clan. This post mostly serves as a reference guide, and I will be making a separate page for the kingdoms.

The Theodulfings are the "royal" family or house. The patriarch is King Saemund Sinfjoltison and the matriarch is Queen Jorunn Asgaardottir. Their capital is the town of Skalhalla. The clan colours are red and black.

The Gaedalings make their capital at Jokullgar. The heads of the Gaedalings are, Jarl Enjar Rolloson and his wife Jarlkona Elena. Their colours are blue and light blue.

The Eydisungs are a strange clan, as they are ruled by Jarl Josefin Stelladottir, a shieldmaiden. Their capital is Kalda. Their clan colours are green and black.

The Hallgrimings are ruled by Jarl Vargstor Snake-Eater, and Jarlkona Ashilda Aslaugdottir. Their capital is Helgafjall. Their colours are brown and green.

The Hrafnungs are lead by Jarl Raindolf Eerikson and Jarlkona Freygerd Gætirdottir. Their Capital is Fljotenby, and their colours are gold and blue.

The heads of the Ornulfings are Jarl Kamik Alpison and Jarlkona Asny Svendottir. Their capital is Norholt. Their colours are grey and teal.

The Gundmundungs are lead by Jarl Teodor Halfshield and his wife, Jarlkona Aldis Sigewulfdottir. Their Capital is Reykjadalr. Their colours are black and blue.

The Waltheofungs are lead by Jarl Urho Nardson and Jarlkona Ragnfrid Ottardottir. Their capital is Hafrsdalr. Their colours are white and red.

The Folkmarungs are lead by Velnar Gustavson and Jarlkona Yngvild Finndottir. Their capital is Jotunnmar. Their colours are brown and red.

Introduction to Odálegaard

So creating your own world is a mainstay of Tabletop Roleplaying games since their conception. As someone who has shelves full of RPG books and am working on finishing my first book; I'm very familiar with the concept. The idea never really crossed my mind in another one of my hobbies, Wargaming, until I read an article titled, "Imagi-Nations" in Issue 340 of Wargames Illustrated. The article's author, Charles S. Grant takes us through the story of how he fought conflicts against his father using the nations 'Lorraine", and 'Vereinigte Freie Städe' or 'VFS' for short.

I'm a big fan of World Building so, this article sparked my imagination. I had never even considered coming up with my own Nation to wargame with. Thus I took to the internet to learn more about these "Imagi-Nations".

Much to my disappointment, I found that most "Imagi-Nations" existed in the Horse and Musket/Napoleonic Era. I'm not a huge fan of the period, favoring the WWII Era and the Dark Ages above all else.

Now, recently I've been building up my forces for Warlord Games' "Hail Caesar". Our group is small so far (literally me an one other person), with me pushing Bolt Action (Another Warlord game) heavily opposed to Hail Caesar. I mentioned this article to the other player and suggested that we come up with our own Imagi-Nations for our Dark Age battles. He agreed and thus began the creation of Odálegaard.

*****

Odálegaard draws inspiration from the Viking clans and Kingdoms during the Dark Ages. The name itself is derived from Icelandic 'ódauðlegur', meaning 'immortal', and 'gardur' meaning 'garden'; so "Garden of Immortals. I came up with the name based on a song by Manowar called "Army of the Immortals". Being a big Manowar fan, it seemed appropriate.

I sketched up a map that's based on the coastlines of Norway and Dennmark, which displays major settlements, mountains and Rivers. From there I named my monarchs, King Saemund Sinfjoltison and Queen Jorunn Asgaardottir, and named the town, Skalhalla as the capital.

Now that I had a ruler I needed to come up with states, provinces, or regions of my budding nation. I decided to use the Nordic idea of Aetts or clans. I divided up my lands based on the major major settlements and came up with the Nine Aetts of Odálegaard. With this each aett needs a jarl, so I gave names to these people.

For my actual models I decided to have individual shield designs to distinguish the various clans. So each aett would have their basic colour scheme (the Jarl's family would have the same design), with each warrior having his own design.

That's the extent of my creative efforts so far, but I for certain will be coming up with more information as my army grows.

Tutorial/Painting Guide: Galen's Wehrmacht- Early & Late War- Part Two

<<< Part One

 Step Nine: Highlight the raised uniform areas with the appropriate Colours. The Early War Soldat (Left), has a German Tkcr. I (Feldgrau) for the Tunic and Russian Tankcrew I for his trousers. The Late War Soldat has the German Tkcr. II (Feldgrau) afor the whole uniform.

Step Ten: Highlight the Field Gear.

 Step Eleven: Paint the Flesh tone Highlights. I used Ryn Flesh (P3)

 Step Twelve: Highlight the wood. For these I used Bloodstone (P3) and Gun Corps Brown (P3) Respectively.

 Step Thirteen: Paint the Suspenders and Belt...

And Finished!

Don't forget to add the appropriate Waffenfarbe to their Shoulder boards! These Soldaten are Infantry. Now they are ready to be based.