[Finished] 2nd Battalion York & Lanc's & my 1st landship

Welcome back,
                           Well it’s been a long time in the making but I’ve finally got another update ready and this time there are even pictures to prove that there has been progress (I must apologise for all the picture free posts recently but without a reliable computer it has been difficult to get them sorted). 

I’ve made progress on three new units, first of all I began by continuing with the 2^nd Battalion of the Yorkshire and Lancashire regiment, this unit has frustrated me since I started it before Christmas, the Baccus marching strips were a lot more work than I originally thought and left me severely de-motivated, however they are finally finished and are looking decidedly splendid.

The 2nd Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment flank the HMLS Defence

The 2nd Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment flank the HMLS Defence

Four companies from the 2nd Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment escort the HMLS Defence

 

 The second unit that I began was the first of my Landship’s, based upon a Pendraken 10mm Mk V Tank it turned out even better than I imagined, the size of the model fits quite nicely with my Baccus and looks quite convincing (in my eyes at least) as a Landship.  I was in two minds about the colour scheme, I was initially drawn to a predominately white scheme that I’d seen on some 28mm VSF tanks but I’m not really that confident painting white and so I considered painting them in the same scheme as my British aeronef’s but I felt there was too few areas that I’d be able to paint buff, that just left me the scheme that I finally settled upon, not too much white, a little brass and a little colour.

HMLS Defence

HMLS Defence

HMLS Defence

Ad-hoc British Brigade supported by the landship HMLS Defence and naval brigades from HMS Atropos & HMS Panther

The third unit that I have made progress on is the 17^th Lancers, no pictures of these at the moment as all I’ve done is paint the horses, I do hope to have them done within a couple of weeks though.

Haarken

[PROJECT NEWS] Brief Update.

Welcome back,
                                It has been another extended break from the project unfortunately, with life once again intervening, this time in the untimely demise of my girlfriends Mac Book, still it wasn’t all bad, I finally realised I was spending too much time looking at other peoples projects rather than getting on with my own. Without an internet connection I decided it was about time I got something productive done and so hobby work has resumed on the project and hopefully that means I’ll be able to start creating a little momentum.

So what have I been up to? Well I’ve converted one of the Pendraken miniatures 10mm Mark V Tanks into a British Landship, this was subsequently base coated and then painted, just a few finishing details and the basing to do and it will be complete. I also began work on the York and Lancaster Regiment, these were base coated and painting is in progress. I’m hoping to get these finished and based by next week.

Then there is the question of what to do next? With the completion of the York and Lancs I’ll have completed the original three infantry packs from my initial order to Baccus, out of that order there are just the Lancers and the Naval machineguns to complete, so I’m aiming to do those if only for a little variation, that of course means that I have to place an order for some more bases from Renedra, 100x50mm for the Landships, 50x50mm for the Cavalry, 50x25mm for the infantry and 25x25mm for the guns.

Anyway pictures will follow in my next update, hopefully there will be another battalion of infantry and a landship to show off.

Haarken

[Finished] Naval Brigade.

Welcome back to Martians & Machine Guns,

On Sunday I posted pictures of the progress I'd made on the Naval Brigade, in my little bit of free time yesterday I painted the bases and moved them one step closer to being finished. I can however proudly report that today they are ready for action (barring a few little touch ups). I managed to get the last coat of dry brushing done early this morning leaving me most of the rest of the day to get them flocked up and waiting for a spot of decent light to take pictures in. So without further ado let me present my Naval Brigade.

Naval Brigade of HMS Atropos & HMS Panther.

The bases were flocked with Games Workshop Static Grass and Woodland Scenics Medium Green Foliage, having been a long time Epic collector, I used to just flock my miniatures with the static grass but I've found that the addition of the foliage really helps to break up the bases and add a little more colour. I also tried a little experiment with a small twig on one of the bases which I think looks pretty good, not something I'd be willing to repeat a lot but definitely something that adds a little interest.

Naval Brigade of HMS Atropos & HMS Panther.

As I've stated previously I have a pair of Nordenfelt's and a pair of Gatlings to add to the Naval Brigade (I want to end up with at least 2 Bases of Infantry and 2 Machine Guns I think) but I need to place another order with Renedra before I can get started on them. This means that  next up will be the Highland Infantry.

Naval Brigade of HMS Atropos & HMS Panther.

Obviously I couldn't take pictures without doing an army shot, so the army so far:

Pictured: Naval Brigade to the front, Durham Light Infantry on the rear.

Pictured: Naval Brigade on the left, Durham Light Infantry

Anyway in further news, I've also made progress on my entry for the Lead Adventure Forum "Build Something" Competition, after several coats of dry brushing the whole thing began to look much, much better and a lot less like the "crushed weetabix" that it resembled. Since I had the static grass and foliage out today it got a coat of that too, now it's just a question of whether I have anything else to add to it. Once again pictures once the competition has closed.


Haarken

[Review] Renedra Wargames Accessories Bases.

Hello,

           Back again and with another review, this time it's plastic bases from the wargames accessory manufacturer Renedra.

I've been aware of Renedra for over a year having ordered bases from them previously for a stalled 2mm project, so when it came to my 6mm project i already had an idea of what i wanted.

The website is really user friendly and laid out in a way that allows you to immediately find the online store. Each item has a picture and a description so that there is no mistake as to what you are buying, an excellent feature for a site that primarily sells bases. My last order from the site was at the beginning of the year and already the range of products that Renedra produce has increased, for those of you interested they also do what looks like a great range of 28mm Civil War accessories for Perry Miniatures. 

Once ordered the bases came within a couple of days, they were nicely packed in a bubble wrap filled postal envelope and each pack of bases came in a separate bag. There were no breakages and everything arrived in good shape, no real surprises here but i thought it was worth mentioning. What was a surprise was the hand written note on my invoice thanking me for my custom, a wonderful gesture from the great folks at Renedra and just one more reason to keep going back to them. Anyway on to the product.

Renedra 50x25mm Base: As they came delivered.

Renedra 50x25mm Bases: On the sprue.

Having trialed various base sizes with card beforehand i knew exactly what i required for my 6mm infantry companies, a nice 50x25mm base. Each pack comes in a variety of colours (green, brown & grey) a nice option for those who don't like to paint the edges of their bases but since i prefer a nice black painted edge i plumped for grey. The underside of the bases are very slightly textured to prevent slipping on the games table whilst the topside is nice & smooth. The pack that i ordered cost £2.00 for 15 bases, that works out at less than 14p per base, a real bargain i'd say. The bases are very high quality moldings, the plastic is hard but easy enough to work with and once cut off the sprues the bases are ready to use. Having based up a few stands of miniatures now, i can say that the bases hold sand very well and once painted and flocked they look amazing. Personally i prefer to base the figures on the textured side and have the smooth side on the table, not that it makes all that much difference.

Renedra 50x25mm Bases: Off the sprue.

Renedra 50x25mm Base with Baccus 6mm Infantry.

So yes a very dull review but i got exactly what i ordered and fantastic service to boot. Renedra will definitely be receiving more of my money in the future for bases, I think I've decided on 25x25mm for artillery pieces and 50x50mm for cavalry bases. Now i just have to finish what i've started.

Ease of Ordering:  9/10

Quality of Service:  10/10

Quality of Product:   9/10

Packaging & Delivery:  9/10

Value for Money:  9/10