Big Spanish Civil War Project Part 10

 This week I finished the last unit I need for the Jarama scenario, a Nationalist Heinkel He-51. It's a 1/72 scale kit from ICM. It was quite fiddly to put together and I'm not fully satisfied with my results, but I'm really happy just to have it done. The base is a 40mm round, which is too small for a model of this weight. It's quite unstable so I think I'll make another one. Like my Polikarpov, the Heinkel is based on a clear acrylic rod which has been magnetised. For this base I cut the top of the rod at an angle to allow the model to sit at a swooping pose.

Here are some group pictures of the whole collection! 

Republicans: Militia and International Brigades, with Soviet equipment 

Nationalists: Regular Army, Moroccans, Foreign Legion, German and Italian equipment. 

I've started making a batch of trees too. I'm using the wire twist method to make their armatures (TheTerrainTutor has a great video on the topic, as always). I used flower arranging wire from a florist's shop. It only cost €1 for enough to make 13 or 14 trees (!!). They are a mix of sizes, and will be used in the Jarama game.

One of the great things about making trees is that they can work for multiple scales. Some of these will also be used for a 28mm project that's coming very soon. Even small 15mm trees can be used as part of hedges in larger scales. 

The armatures

Bark was added using Milliput and a toothpick

This is a fairly time consuming method of making trees. Many people prefer to use Woodland Scenics premade armatures. However the wire method is hard to beat in terms of price and ability to customise.

Once the trees are done, the only terrain I'll need to make for the SCW game will be a set of roads. There are a few hills in the scenario but I think I'll use polystyrene shapes under the game mat for a more natural look.

Thanks for reading this post! I'm excited to be finishing the project and I'm really looking forward to moving on to the "Secret 28mm Project"! 

Big Spanish Civil War Project Part 9 : The Last of the Infantry and Some Other Bits

 Lots of excitment this week as I've finished off all the infantry for the project, as well as a few extra bits. I started by painting the last militia squad, then moved on to the Nationalist individuals. 

                         Squad/Platoon 3

      The Nationalist staff. Messengers, officers and LMGs

The only miniature I still need for the scenario is a Nationalist aeroplane, which hasn't arrived yet. I wanted to keep making progress on the project, so moved on to some terrain. I painted a failed print of the Casa Blanca as a ruin.

It was painted with the same technique as the standard house. The roof is also made of random scraps, like coffee stirrers and cardboard. 

Still looking for things to do for the Spanish Civil War, I painted up a pair of Italian CV33 "tanks" . These absolutely woeful vehicles aren't necessary for the Jarama scenario, but I've always intended to grow this collection. The scenario is just a target to start off with. 

I'm almost ready to play the game itself. Apart from the Nationalist plane, I'll need to focus on making terrain. I've already started a tree or two, which are taking forever. I'm one of those gamers who find it really difficult to buy terrain, even if it's very hard to make! I really like the look of homemade terrain, though, as I can make it to my own specifications.

Until the next post, beir bua! 

Big Spanish Civil War Project Part 7: The Legion, Republican Trucks and POUM

 I made a lot of progress on the project this week. I finished the Foreign Legion company and got some Republicans done too. The Legion were quite a challenge, and I ended up painting their uniforms a few times over before I was happy with them. It was fairly frustrating at times. I'm happy to have them done, as they'll be very useful in many different battles of the Civil War.

Squad 1. There is a broken stone cross on the officer's base. 

Squad 2. The barbed wire was made of guitar string wrapping spun in a drill. 

Squad 3

Foreign Legion Company Command. The flag was hand painted using my usual method 

Company Command for my company of standard Nationalist Infantry. 

I also finished two Soviet trucks this week. They are resin 3D prints, part of the payment I received for a commission. They'll be used to transport Republican ammunition in the Jarama scenario. 

I painted the second squad/ platoon of POUM militia next. I'm doing them in between other units to keep myself motivated, as I really enjoy painting "irregular" troops. I can paint them as individual characters, even in 15mm, and I don't need to worry about the accuracy of their uniforms! 

Standard rifle base

Command base

LMG base

I painted a Schneider CA1 tank to go along with the POUM. It's not part of the Jarama scenario, but I've wanted to paint one ever since I saw this picture :

Spain bought several CA1s from France after World War One, and they were used by the Army of Africa in the Rif War. A few were in Republican hands at the start of the Civil War. A pair of CA1s were used against the Alcazar at Toledo by the JSU (Socialist Youth). I'm not sure where the one on the picture was used. The graffiti seems to show that its crew came from several different ideologies, with the POUM (revolutionary Marxist) , CNT (anarchist) and UHP (trade union) represented. 

The tank was another resin print. I added a lot of extra details with Milliput, guitar string and high-quality homemade photoetch (aluminium cut from a Coke can I found by the road). These included a man hold cover which was welded to the front as additional armour. 

I weathered the tank with a fairly heavy oil dot filter to give it a grimy look. It was a really fun model to build and paint. 

Project Checklist as of this post:

Republicans 

Infantry

XV International Brigade 

POUM Militia (2 squads done, 1 to go)

Vehicles and Transports

T-26

Polikarpov I-15

2 donkeys

2 trucks

Nationalists 

Infantry 

Foreign Legion

Moroccan Regulares 

Nationalist Infantry (extra) 

Vehicles and Transports

2 Panzer Is

Captured T-26

Heinkel HE-51

Big Spanish Civil War Project Part 6: Donkeys, Barricades and a Tank

 A few random bits I finished for my SCW Project.

First up is this captured T-26. It's a 3D print, and I received it as part of payment for a commission I did. I'm really impressed by the quality of these files. They're extremely accurate to the real vehicles. They're available here for free. It's a really good range of interwar and World War 2 vehicles. 

I replaced the handles and machine guns with pieces of old guitar string. The turret isn't correct for the Spanish Civil War but it's fine for me.

This was a lot of fun to paint. I always enjoy weathering tanks with oil paints.

Next up are two donkeys. "A World Aflame" places a lot of emphasis on keeping units in supply, and so this pair will be important. Again they are resin 3d prints.

Finally, two barricades, a very common terrain element in the Spanish Civil War. They were made from bits and pieces I had lying around. The sandbags were made with Milliput using TheTerrainTutor's mass production method. The stones are pieces of gravel I picked up outside. I made the wooden supports from burnt out matchsticks. Everything was stuck together with cheap epoxy.

I have a company of Spanish Foreign Legion on my painting table at the moment, so I hope they'll be the subject of my next post in this series. I had thought that they'd be the hardest unit to paint at the start of the project, and it seems my suspicions are being proven correct! I'll be glad when they're done, though, as they'll add a lot of colour to the table.

Still left to do in this project are:

Republicans

2 squads of POUM Militia

2 Soviet trucks

Nationalists

3 squads of Foreign Legion (almost done)

3 squads of Regulares

Possibly an aeroplane

Terrain

Trees

Roads

The "White House"

Rough and rocky ground