I have had a productive “paint what you got”. This winter I opted to use the challenge to tackle a big paint queue of part painted figures as opposed to the mountains of untouched miniatures.
It means I have progressed some 1st Schleswig Holstein War figures while some oddballs have made the journey to “wargames ready”.
These cowboys are clearly the latter.
So this lot are again “many years ago” Triples Sheffield purchases long before what a cowboy/dead man’s hand appeared. The leader is a “blue moon” character as sold by Old Glory in the UK while the gang are Dixon miniatures from that great Yorkshire firm – Dixon Miniatures.
The “blue moon” leader (again) is in fact Jesse James while the bauxite gang model was in fact Frank James, his brother, that I wrongly attributed in the previous PWYG painting post.
This is Frank James erstwhile leader of the bauxite gangHe is part of blue moons “slice of Americana” range
On with the Van Stevin gang led by none other than Pieter Van Stevin himself.
Pieter Van Stevin – a no nonsense Dutchman living in Dawson Colorado the boom town coal mine near Cimmaron New Mexico in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains.Blue moon markings on Jesse James
The rest of the gang are
Mexican hat – from Mexican Hat, UtahLaddyMr Brown BeardyTashI decided to give Pieter a faded Union jacket being a devout Protestant originally from Grand Rapids West Michigan by the Great LakesThe Van Stevin gang who are down south on the Santa Fe trail southern route running through Kiowa Indian lands rich with Spanish Pueblo adobe mud buildings. What’s that……..Huh the bauxite gang……
A bit about Cimarron. Cimarron sits beneath the Sangre de Cristo mountains in northern New Mexico. Its fame nowadays relates to the St James hotel whose regular visitors included Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody and Jesse James amongst others.
At its height it was on the Southern leg of the Santa Fe trail to which it gave its name. Taking the Cimarron route was risky as it crossed New Mexican desert with no water holes. Still the mountain route to the north through Raton and Taos required dismantling of wagons to physically lift them up rock faces at certain points on the route. Tough choices or what!
St James Hotel The old jailPick your room – yes you can sleep in the same room used by Jesse JamesWyatt Earp gambled here – the original cast iron ceiling feature still has bullet holes in it from the odd argumentNo you can’t handle the dice – you cheetin’ @£@(*
The southern Rockies are worth a road trip. I did mine in 2024.
Last year I started some posting ideas around bits of things which did not really make a post but when combined with others could justify a post in their own right.
After the first two fragments of 2025 things sorted of dried up a bit. Or rather my focus was on specific miniatures or gaming posts.
I am going to have another try this year and ironically the first driver is the same as last years – magazines. And with further irony the second idea mimics fragment 25/2 – books.
However to kick off 2026 fragments I am going to mention painting challenges. These have kind of taken over my painting activities to the extent that three define my painting year.
First up is “paint what you got”. Now this challenge by Dave Stone works for me because it drives me to dig out what I have either half painted or abandoned. It has proved its worth.
This challenge has caused problems in that it got my ideas flowing and instead of reducing the lead mountain I ended up scratch building models during the challenge as the “themes” caught my imagination.
On the positive side I have found a use for those magazine freebies and indulged in my recycled household junk heaps to create spacecraft.
Klim class Intra planetary trader from AHPC15
I also think it propelled me into painting a background for my model displays – retiring the painting pedestal in favour of the painting portrait. In fact I even produced a sci-fi background last year.
Ahpc invariably overruns well into spring so now absorbs about half my painting year!
The third challenge is Dave Stones scenery season which runs over the summer. Or in my case summer into autumn. This has proven a godsend as scenery production was nil and an ever increasing list of kits, models or ideas were tying me up in knots.
These figures are by Dixon except The leader who is none other than Jesse James modelled by Blue Moon 2007 slice of americana distributed by old glory in the uk.
Both ranges remain the cowboy figures of choice in my view. They have superb character even if they are slightly oversized.
Rusty Maguire’s Iron Ore gang all together the blue moon Jesse james figure centre is slightly slimmer and taller than the fulsome Dixon figures.
Facial details on these figures remain stunning given these mouldings are decades old.
The gang is led by Rusty Maguire…..
My figures were bought at the last Sheffield triples show. And then they joined the lead pile.
The bauxite brothers
Pinky bauxite Rhett bauxite
During lockdown they finally got white primed and then craft paint red sienna washed.
Now they have had some extra washing with Windsor and Newton sepia ink plus the odd brown/cream clothing picked out.
The original very Matt sienna paint reminded me of Rusty iron so that gave me an idea for names – after all you have to give these wonderful characters names!
The ore brothers
MagnusSidLim
I varnished them with Vallejo Matt varnish and then top coat of Vallejo super Matt varnish.
Not sure when these guys will get out and about – but watch out – they carry a lot of lead😁
Based on old coins they received a pva coating then “games workshop” era stoney sand.
ACE models seem to have reputation for accuracy and detail. This was my first kit by them.
The kit went together well and I am happy with the result.
Yet the glazing element was not modelled- you got some paper outlines to make your own.
I think because it’s a car and to be honest a small car sold in a standard sized kit box and at a standard price (excepting low cost vintage airfix/hornby) the omission of some glazing or say a driver feels a bit mean. Maybe we are spoiled by airfix in terms of content.
Back to the vehicle I have given it a simple green finish and have yet to decide on transfers/markings.
I made my glazing from some delicatessen hard plastic packaging. Was it German sausage or French charcuterie – I can’t remember!
I scratched the rear window to imply it’s cracked while I added some cardboard wipers to the front screen – again these are a feature of the vehicle yet omitted by the maker.
So another Fauxterre 1930’s vehicle joins the growing car park.
It’s that time of year in the uk when the short days encourage indoor hobbies like wargames and there is no better way to improve your figure painting volumes than by joining a challenge or simply painting with friends online or face to face.
This years “paint what you got” has me trawling the paint queue rather than the metal/plastic mountain.
So first up are these Danish Guardsmen in their 1848 finery.
By 1849 they had swopped the late napoleonic style red coatees for dark blue tunics following the fashion set by Prussia and Piedmont in the early 1840’s. However they kept their bearskins.
So these figures show the twilight of the “Napoleonic style”.
I used British grenadiers from Strelets Crimea range. These are 1:72 plastic injection mouldings. The style is squat and bulky – note Strelets figures vary by sculptor.
Generally plastic injection figures look far better painted so don’t be put off by your visiting plastic soldier review. Indeed the reviews are candid but then again Pauls Bods blog https://paulsbods.blogspot.com/2021/03/vikingsaxon-shield-wall.html shows you that even the most unpromising figures can be transformed through a decent paint job. Pauls Bods site has numerous plastic examples of exemplary painting.
Finally strelets are an Ukraine company and continue to produce a vast range of figures and have done so throughout the Russian invasion.
So as we approach yet another unwanted anniversary go buy some Strelets, preferably at your nearest bricks and mortar model shop.
So AHPC16 is upon us – well the 21st December is storming towards me far too fast.
In previous years – well the last two to be exact – first year I started preparing on the 21st way too late and then last year did prepare one primed unit beforehand but held off having a plan before knowing about the themes which then derailed me with a sci fi bug.
I found I was doing stuff (deciding about theme models or simply digging out figures to clean and prime) but not actually painting colour – much before the January deadline loomed into view!
So this year I started my plan in November!
And I have primed some of the planned pieces.
And I decided to ignore the theme and just see what came along.
And lucky me this years three themed pieces have fallen nicely into place within my plan.
Declining Empire should see some planned 1848 Hungarians appear
Childhood toy memory fortunately gets the wild geese treatment from the 1700’s
And rebels hopefully will see some Covenanters appear before the various deadlines
Alas last years failed star of my show might fail to appear yet again. As its anniversary related this is a constant theme – I started my 28mm stoke field armies in 2015……still not much progress ten years on!
And now I have scenery options nudging their way into my plan.
I was hoping to get some more Fauxterre 1930 kit done.
Then there were the 1848 Hanoverians, 1848 Neapolitans, 1700 French Dragoons, 1848 Roman infantry all crying out to be on the plan – the list goes on and on.
Way too much of course for this painting snail, which having done a plan shows so well. It means the exercise has proved its worth already.
However real life is very very busy right now so I might fail on all fronts!
Fauxterre 1930 remains a work in progress, no gaming for eons and painting units seems endless. This could be because I get distracted!
In this case distraction of the aviation sort occurred at a couple of wargame shows.
The Other Partizan in 2024 fielded a luscious blue biplane. A suitably inter war affair still includes cavalry and tech like biplanes although I think this demo game was Russian Civil War era.
I was gifted an old second hand biplane and eventually it ate my brain and had to be made. And thus triggered me digging out a bricks and mortar store purchase – another biplane.
Of course these models offer little to an empty wargaming battlefield!
This has been my Fauxterre experience – lots of distractions.
Anyway first up lots of make photos
Planes creep into the production lineBiplanes are fiddly but we got thereThe Czech transfers were ancient compared to the Henschel onesAirfix Henschel was easy to build with good connections The Kovozavody model instructions looked almost as old as the aircraft!Instructions were ok fit was reasonable if a bit off in placesThe Two Plane build
And then came the painting which took a lot longer than I expected. Then the Matt varnish would not Matt. At least both transfers went on a treat.
Plane from 83 squadron of 5th Air Regiment in Brno Another letov S-16 this time from no. 63 Squadron 2nd Air Regiment in Olomouc – a crack squadron of very experienced pilots.
Did I tell you I had two S16’s……
Airfix Henschel 123Just the one plane in Spanish civil war markings for the German legion
So my Fauxterre forces have some bombers and fighters to go with a floatplane spotter. Progress of sorts!
Simply to find such a rare beast in a bricks and mortar setting made me buy it. I mean I had no interest in anything beyond my recently set limit of 1870 (up from 1735 due to discovering the wargame delights of 1848).
I bought it, I read it, I was energised! Suddenly I had this idea to start a small side project with limited objectives.
Buy from real shops – bricks and mortar
Use the book idea
Limit the forces to those in the book
Use Fauxterre
Fauxterre has become my catch all imaginations world for gaming ahistorical forces and situations. Although it is really fantasy that term implies dragons and otherworldly ideas. So Fauxterre 1930 was born – one of several realms……
In this case instead of Red v Black I would have Ochre (Vossakia v Azorians) Brown. Ok so the Vossakians look a lot like Russians and the Azorians have more the a passing resemblance to early war US troops.
Charles Grant used readily available models and figures in 1/72 and 1/87 and also used hannomags for both sides.
The theme with ahistorical imaginations gaming is you can mix it up.
Despite deciding to follow the book process I did not want the book period of late WW2. Instead I wanted prewar – biplanes, poor tank development and hardly any blitzkreig etc. ok so monoplanes and tank modernisation would figure alongside motorised units. In other words a bit of everything.
And then I created two projects after rushing to buy the figures in my local shop which I liked. Yes the plastic soldier company Russians were suitable for 1930’s use and so were the US soldiers (1942 m1 helmets though) but for some reason I had a split personality moment and opted for them to be later prewar!! While some other shop bought figures became early prewar: This was solely due to wanting some Adrian helmets in the period. Of course in TORCH 1942 you get Adrian helmets up against M1’s but that’s yet another story.
Confused? Yep the problem with making it up is being consistent with your invention……….no chance!
Back to Fauxterre 1930. I quickly got plain infantry for both sides painted then read about the PSC US support troops scale problems – this typical dip in the project track simply derailed the whole thing!
It’s just one of those things. Since then the project has acquired a lot more equipment (all in the paint queue) and other figures (all in the paint queue) and even some aircraft – yet more distraction.
Finally though, I have managed to heave some figures over the line.
Back to the Russians again, I do like the sculpts (except the flat guy who seems to be reaching between two walls…..)
Anyway first up we get some machine gunners
Then we have some mortars light and medium?
Then we get a couple of anti tank rifles
And finally a couple of 37mm anti tank guns.
In the foreground gun said squeezed sculpt is almost facing camera – ok he looks alright after all……..just real shoulder ache.
Not sure when the next completion might appear though. Either way these chaps will join the infantry who have already had some escapades
I have just discovered that Ron Kay of Irregular Miniatures has died at the age of 98. He was full time on the team until 93, casting figures for all us hobbyists. He carried on as a part time member of the team still handling the big and complex castings. “Hats off” as they say.
I did not know Ron personally but seem to remember him at the Irregular stand at wargames shows.
I can do best by sharing some of my Irregular Miniatures collection and sending my condolences to Ian Kay and the Irregular family.
Irregular have provided me with some great 20mm figures that helped me build my 1848 forces.
1848 Danish Infantry repurposed from Irregulars colonial range1848 Duchy of Parma artillery Duchy of Modena Dragoons which were Neapolitan Dragoons 1848 Rumanian infantry which were ww1 Austrians 1848 Roman Legion which were ww1 Austrians Colonial British posing as 1848 Danes1848 Garibaldeans in red and blue shirtsNeapolitans posing as 1848 French1864 Dane’s which were ww1 Austrians 1850 Dane’s which were ww1 Austrians Grand Duchy of Tuscany Infantry repurposed from the colonial range
If you need an english version it’s not too much to foto the five text sections which are conveniently sized and then select scan and translate options in your smart phone.
Also Chariobaude has an excellent WordPress blog which I discovered way back in 2017 covering fantastic painting of late Roman miniatures.
The Wargaming Erratic 