Bish: Looks great, you're halfway there! Hope you've gotten more done over the last week- sorry I was pretty ill and wasn't checking in. 

Harold: Even if slow I love what you're doing. And after your misteps before going a little slow don't hurt. 

AA: That looks fantastic!!! Please post more photos when you add the figures!

Thanks gamera. I am afraid its stalled again. I realy don't like the Humbrol acrylic paint, so am going to try the enamel version. but as i can't get to the LHS, will have to wait until i place an order with Hannants next month.

Got my bust finished though, pics this weekend.

Nice looking dio there AA, look forward to seeing the figures add.

Bish: Ouch, sorry to hear about the paint woes. Looking forward to photos of the bust though! 

Gamera

Bish: Ouch, sorry to hear about the paint woes. Looking forward to photos of the bust though! 

 

I'm keen on the Revell Aqua Colour line but so far it's not avalable widely in the states. I have to order it from the UK or over the pond somewhere and wait a few weeks.

I got my bust completed a couple of weeks ago and just got the pics done today. I know next to nothing about the English Civil War or the forces that fought in it. The site i got this from had some nice info about colours and i did some digging to find out more.

It seems that both side wore very similar uniforms and while each regiment would were a certain colour, each colour was worn by a number of units on both sides, and red was very popular. Units would often have a cloth of a certain colour tied about the arm or hat or even sprigs of a certain tree or plant so they could tell friend from foe.

At the end of 1642, Parliament established the Eastern Association to help help improve its admin. It comprised the militias of 5 counties from East Anglia, a Parliamentarian stronghold and one of the richest parts of England thanks to its agriculture. After bearing the main burden of the war effort for 2 years, in late 1644, the Association announced it could now longer carry the cost of the army. Parliament then decreed the formation of the New Model Army, the nations first standing army. The NMA included a number of units from the Association and it was was formed along very similar lines. And after complaints about some of the senior officers, and after an ordinance was passed by Parliament, command of the NMA was put into the hands of professional soldiers.

One of the first counties to join the EA was my home county of Norfolk and one of the foot regiments of the EA was Sir Miles Hobart Regiment of Foot, recruited from Norfolk this was one of the units that wore red and were known as the Norfolk Redcoats, as far as i know, this is the first time the term Redcoats was attached to a specific unit. In 1645, it was disbanded and some of it sent to the NMA.

When the NMA was formed, it adopted the red uniform worn by many regiments. In 1660, with the Restoration of the Monarchy, the NMA was disbanded, the King kept a small standing army, the birth of the English army which was 1707 became the British army. The new army was formed from Royalist forces that had been in exile and elements of the NMA. Its was based along the same lines as the NMA and also adopted the red uniform, which was worn by British soldiers for over 200 years and was of course famiously lead to the British army simply being known as The Redcoats.

My soldier is wearing a red uniform. I have painted the feathers in his hat yellow and green as this are the current colours of Norwich City football club, my home city. And while of course the club did not exist in the 1600's, i like to think that this is a soldier from my home city, formally part of Sir Miles Hobart's Regiment and now in the NMA.

As my sig suggests, i am proud to come from the County of Norfolk, birthplace of Admiral Lord Nelson. But what i have learnt builidng this makes me realise just how much of a leading role the county played in ending absoloute Monarchy, despite being a supporter of our current Monarchy, as well as its part it forming what would become the British army, which i proudly served in for 22 years, as well as being the first place to be identified with the one piece of equipment that identified the army for over 200 years.

The Redcoat.

Thanks for the history lesson Bish and fantastic work on the bust! 

Love that you worked your team colours into the feathers!!! 

Bish, cool figure work there, and I like the historical background combined with a modern spin on the chosen colours.

regards,

Jack

Well done, Martin, and I too enjoyed the benefit of your research.  I do wonder how an Englishman developed such a tan, given what I am told of your weather.  You'll have to forgive my lack of knowledge, I am just a colonial after all.

Thanks guys.

John, ye, he is a bit more tanned than i wanted, all of my busts have come out on the tanned side, even an SS trooper from the Battle of the Bulge. I really do find skin tones the hardest part and i went over and over on this until i finally got to the point where i thought it was as good as it would get. Though despite what many believe, its not all foggy here , we do have hot summers, and East Anglia is one of the driest parts of the country. So its not quite as far fatched as the SS bust.

Finally able to get back to the Huey. I got the Humbrol enamel paint and decided i didn't like that. Its not sold as a clear colour but it is and after 3 coats it still wasn't right. So i cleaned it up, re-primed and just thought i would try my own mix with Tamiya. I ha not done this as i didn't think i could get a match, but some orange with a small drop of red and i thinks its actually a better match than the humbrol. Should have just trie that to start with, would have had this finished over a month ago.

The pics i have of the underside are at an awkward angle so i am not completly certain the markings are correct. These are a bit thick after numerous layers but i am happy enough.

Then the decals were added. The kit dates from 97 but the pics i have are from 2019, while the camo is not the same the markings are mostly good. I did have to close the gap between the letters and numbers in the serial. The Danger stencil on the tail should have a red background with yellow writing. But i didn't have one to suit in the spares box.

The stencils around the doors are from 2 different sopurces in the spares box. Each one is a seperate decal, so they took a couple of evenings to apply.

Then a light Flory wash, these things seem to be kept nice a clean. Followed by a mat coat.

And then all the last bits added to finish it off.

Just need to add it to the base and try and find some decent figures. If i can't, i will just have it on the base with personel.

Looks fantastic Bish! Love the hi-viz orange markings! Looking forward to seeing her on the base with some more photos! 

Thanks G, not sure i'm going to get any figures for it, so will just be on the base.

Decide that there were no figures that fit this scene. British army pilots don't wear the flights suits that RAF Helo pilots where and there are no decent British army soldiers. So i decided to finish it without figures.

Thanks for following. Really pleased to get another British army helo in the stash. There are a few more i would like to do but i'd like to see some new tooled kits.

Bravo Bish. That 212 looks the business!  Interesting contrast between the orange and the camo. 

Bish, Great write up on the NMA.  The feathers representing your local club is a nice touch. The bust really is fantastic!

Thanks Chad.

Bish

Harold

Thanks Harold.

Looks fantastic Bish, not sure it needs any figures! 

Bravo sir!!! 

Thanks Gamera.

Looks greta, Martin.  Can't go wrong with a Huey.  I always thougtht they would be great to have as a Winnebago.  Probably caravan to you.

Thanks John. Ye, now that you mention it, i can see that. Would make a nice garden shed as well.

I need some help with camouflage painting. This is my third attempt at painting an AEC Matador Artillery Tractor. The first one was a late production version that ended when I used oven cleaner to strip the paint after failing at camouflage painting with stencils. The second Matador was also a late production type that ended when I failed to thin the Tamiya paint and lower my air pressure. The paint had a rough, thick finish I did not like at all.

This third attempt is an early version Matador that I would like to finish in a camouflage pattern and decals of the 79th Scottish Artillery Regiment of May 1941. The model is currently in Vallejo US Olive Drab surface primer. The roof of the cab and canopy can be removed to allow the windows to be glued in when the painting is done.

Mike Starmer provided the color information below. My question now is do I paint the model Dark Green G4 first and add masking putty to create the disruptive pattern. Then paint the lighter Khaki Green G3 over the entire model including the masking putty? I am concerned that Dark Green G4 paint under Khaki Green G3 will make the Khaki Green darker than it should compared to paint sample and instructions Mike Starmer provided.

Or do I paint the entire model in Khaki Green G3 and then mask off everything, but the area where Dark Green G4 will be seen? If I do it this way, I would need to mask off a large part of the model's surface area because the disruptive camouflage pattern covers so little of the model. The paint samples I am using are from Mike Starmer's book: British Army Colours & Disruptive Camouflage in the United Kingdom, France & NW Europe 1936-45. Not the paint samples on the drawing below, they are just a reference guide.

Harold

I always tend to go lighter colour first, but i know this be a pain when the darker colour covers so much. How about doing the darker colour, masking, then spraying a light colour before the second camo colour, maybe a very light green. I would go the lighter colour first myself. I use putty to mask the borders of colour but then use tape to fill in the gaps.

Were you able to salvage the first attempts or have they been scrapped.

As Bish said, lighter colour first. 

If that means more masking, you could start dark first, then...

- after masking, spray the dark camou along edges to ensure seal

- mist a white layer first to help the transition to the lighter camou

- apply your lighter colour

regards,

Jack

jgeratic

As Bish said, lighter colour first. 

 

If that means more masking, you could start dark first, then...

- after masking, spray the dark camou along edges to ensure seal

- mist a white layer first to help the transition to the lighter camou

- apply your lighter colour

 

regards,

Jack

 

 

Bish, I scrapped the first Matador for parts, but only removed one part on the second matador.

Thanks for your advice and help.

Harold

I'm not sure what's correct but good luck with her Harold! 

And I too would go with lighter colours first, they're just easier to cover with something darker instead of the other way around. 

Any news on this one Harold.

Bish

Any news on this one Harold.

 

I used AK Interactive Elastic Putty the first time and MIG Masking Putty the second and both times I developed spots on the lighter green paint, but both masking products are advertised oil-free. I also used Natural Rubber Latex Exam Gloves while applying the masking putty so I would not get oil or moisture from my hands on the paint.

Each time I stripped the paint off the canopy with VMS Clean Slate rmvr 3.0 Ultra produced in the UK and washed the plastic with warm water and DAWN dishwashing liquid until the plastic was squeaky clean. Then air dried the plastic for about an hour. I never figured out what caused the spots until later.

When I gave up on the camouflage painting and just gave the canopy a finish coat of G3 Khaki Green I noticed a few more spots on the new paint. This was without any masking putty even near the freshly painted canopy. I decided not to strip the canopy a third time, but just give the entire model a sealer coat of Vallejo Gloss Varnish so I could apply the decals. After the varnish was dry, I noticed the wet spots had disappeared.

Finally, I figured out what I think caused the spots on my paint. Each time I finished camoflage painting I would leave the masking putty on the canopy while the paint was drying and clean my air brush with Vallejo Air Brush Thinner and Cleaner.

While I clean my air brush, I used a blow-out pot next to where the freshly painted canopy was drying, and I think the exhaust from the blow-out pot had a small amount of thinner and cleaner that settled on the canopy surface. The rest of the model was not in the paint booth at the time. The spots were on both the Khaki Green and Dark Green, but I couldn't see them on the dark paint.

I do my painting and air brush cleaning in a large paint booth, but the blow-out pot was too far away from the exhaust fans to keep the thinner and cleaner droplets from drifting over my freshly painting canopy. This model has been a real challenge, but I am pleased with the finish even though it is not camouflage.

Harold