Posts made by Spitfire38

Reserved post for Italian troops.

Reserved post for Russian troops.

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UNITED KINGDOM EUROPE AIR FORCE

The RAF’s performance in the Battle of Britain is perhaps the decisive event of the European Theater that blunted the tip of the Luftwaffe. These planes will certainly wreak havoc on the Axis navies when they see a game board!

It turns out that decals are more visible on dark backgrounds, which is disappointing. Beyond that, I am very happy with the way that these color schemes worked out!
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Striped Desert Scheme

[Stirling, Lancaster, Halifax, C47 Skytrain, Barracuda, Mosquito, Swordfish, Hurricane, Spitfire]

Night Raider Scheme

Traditional European Striped Scheme

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UNITED KINGDOM EUROPE NAVY

The British navy. Though it is often destined to be destroyed on G1, these ships will serve the Crown with distinction when they enter play. While the disruptor camo of the Pacific pieces was more difficult to paint, there is a subtlety about gray that works well in the English Channel. I kept the yellow and white tips of the carriers to keep them associated with the UK even though they lack the wooden decks of the Pacific navy.
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Atlantic Ocean Gray
[Aircraft Carriers (2), Battleships (2), Cruisers (2), Destroyers, Submarines, Transports]

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UNITED KINGDOM EUROPE INFANTRYMEN

The British infantrymen saw lots of combat with memorable appearances in North Africa, the Italian campaign, Arnhem, and the assault on Normandy. Known for their exemplary training and marksmanship, they were a force to be reckoned with!

This was my first time trying a mottled scheme for infantry uniforms and I really like how it turned out. I will be applying these to my own pieces, as well as an altered blotch scheme to John’s US Marines in the Pacific.
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European Olive Drab
[Normal Infantrymen]

[Commandos]

[Paratroopers]

Mottled Amoeba Scheme
[Normal Infantrymen]

[Commandos]

[Paratroopers]

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UNITED KINGDOM EUROPE GROUND FORCES

While there may not be many photos of the pieces, do not underestimate the British ground forces. They proved tenacious in the protracted conflict against Rommel in North Africa - look closely enough and you might see the dust and dirt on the desert-worn pieces!
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Hedgerow Green Scheme
[Churchill, Matilda, Valentine, Priest, Kangaroo, 25 Pounder Artillery, Anti-aircraft]

Desert Stripe Scheme
[Churchill, Matilda, Valentine, Priest, Kangaroo, 25 Pounder Artillery, Anti-aircraft]

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UNITED KINGDOM PACIFIC AIR FORCE

This air force was quite extensive! I don’t know much about the history of the RAF in the Pacific, but they were certainly active against the Japanese at various points. John incorporated some neat sculpts into these forces, my favorite being the Halifax and the Hurricane. I was really hoping that the Hurricane would make it to us, and thanks to Historical Board Gaming, it has! The gray and green scheme was a historically accurate scheme, and will certainly be making it onto my personal pieces when I get around to painting them.
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Mottled Blue Scheme and Gray Green Scheme

_[Strategic Bombers: Stirling, Lancaster, Halifax]

[Transports: C47 Skytrain]

[Tactical Bombers: Barracuda, Mosquito]

[Fighters: Swordfish, Hurricane, Spitfire]_

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UNITED KINGDOM PACIFIC NAVY

The British navy… it’s finally here. Known for its ability to project naval power, the UK Pacific navy is a very formidable force to stand up against the Japanese. I’m excited to see these pieces make it onto the board. I have a soft spot for wooden decks, so I was glad when John chose a wooden deck scheme.

Deepwater Disruptor Camouflage
[Aircraft Carriers (2), Battleships (2), Cruisers (2), Destroyers, Submarines, Transports]

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UNITED KINGDOM PACIFIC INFANTRYMEN

Some of the most amazing stories of World War II come from the exploits of British infantrymen in the jungles of the Far East. Think long range patrols in Burma, the whole scale surrender of Singapore, and others.

These pieces are a pretty standard khaki in line with the sculpt and British uniform standards. On my personal pieces I like to include a few different skin tones to incorporate the Territorials that the British included in their ranks (Ghurkas anybody?). I forgot to ask John about that though - perhaps in a future nation or set!
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Far East Khaki
[Normal Infantrymen]

[Commandos]

[Paratroopers]

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UNITED KINGDOM PACIFIC GROUND FORCES

I like the dark tones of this green camo, and the new HBG sculpts were so fun to paint. The detail in the Valentines is incredible, and the profile of the Churchill leaves no room for error - the heavy tanks have arrived!
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Double Green Jungle Stripe Camouflage
[Churchill, Matilda, Valentine, Priest, Kangaroo, 25 Pounder Artillery, Anti-aircraft]

Reserved post for American troops.

American P40 Warhawks
The terror of the skies… The plane in the back mid has the stars and bars, while the others have the standard early war USAF roundel. The teeth and eyes on the nose of the plane are hand-painted.

Reserved post for German troops.

Thanks guys!

My personal favorite are the planes in the flat green scheme - when I get around to painting my own (a long time from now), I’ll definitely use that scheme for many of them. It’s so iconic, and it has a lot of contrast between the roundel and the fuselage.

@CWO:

Impressive work!  I take it that “guacamole scheme” wasn’t an official WWII Japanese term for this particular paint job?  :lol:

Yeah, the Japanese never made it all the way to Mexico, so I doubt “guacamole” was the official denotation ;) Coincidentally, “guacamole” is the name of the paint color that I used. It must be a good descriptor!

John has requested that we begin with the Japanese forces. I have begun work, and will be sharing all of the photos once they are completed. As you can see, John has a mix of HBG and OOB pieces. There are Vals, Tonys, Oscars, Kates, Ritas, Bettys, Zeros, and Topsy Turvy transports. They make for a diverse and intimidating force of contention in the Pacific! So, without further ado…

JAPANESE AIR FORCE
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Flat Green Scheme

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Khaki Scheme

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Mainland Striped Camouflage Scheme

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Guacamole Scheme

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White Zero Scheme

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JAPANESE NAVY

The Japanese navy was a long and hard task, due to the size of the fleet as well as the schemes chosen. However, I am very happy with how they turned out; it is my best naval work to date. There’s nothing better than a mighty fleet to rule the seas! John has a mix of HBG and OOB pieces, with a lot of historically recognizable ships in the carriers, battleships, and cruisers.
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IJN Disruptor Camouflage
[Task Force, Aircraft Carriers, Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Submarines, Transports]

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Wood and Steel Scheme
[Task Force, Aircraft Carriers, Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Submarines]

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JAPANESE INFANTRYMEN

Ships and planes are nice, but there’s no replacement for boots on the ground! With these fierce soldiers, you can command the Pacific from the Dutch East Indies to Pearl Harbor. The main infantry are OOB, while there are 4 HBG paratroopers from one of their Japanese sets.

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Island Drab Uniform
[Standard Infantrymen]

[Paratroopers]

Parade Formation

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JAPANESE GROUND FORCES

The metal clanking of treads and the roar of diesel engines characterizes this latest batch of forces for the front. There are Chi-Ha and Ha-Go tanks, Ho-Ha mechanized infantry, Type 94 trucks, AAA to defend the skies, and artillery to support the advance of the infantry!

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Mainland Camo
[Armor, Mechanized Infantry, Trucks, Artillery, AAA]

Parade Formation

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To all of the players, customizers, and fans of Axis and Allies;

John Brown, a frequenter of this site that many of you are familiar with, has commissioned me to paint his Global 1940, 2nd Edition, set. He has done extensive research on all of the different schemes and features he wants for his pieces, and it’s my job to bring these pieces to life! This thread will contain all of the photos of the finished products once they are completed, and will be a place for discussion with John, myself, and fellow players.

Please feel free to pitch in your comments, suggestions, and findings!

Happy Browsing!

Spitfire38

@jwo1984:

I like your color scheme for the American carriers too.  Question do you use like a ink wash or something to get out details in the hands and face of the men?  Ive seen a few of these impressive details from a few guys on here, just curious what guys do…… look so much better than just the flesh colored blob of a head that my guys have lol

Hey jwo1984 - sorry that I’m just now seeing this! I somehow let it slip.

I do use an ink wash for my soldiers skin (brown). In fact, I use a wash on the whole piece. Depending on the uniform color, I will choose either brown (most uniforms; green, beige or khaki esp.) or black (mostly for blacks or greys, i.e. Germans.) The skin is always brown. I only began this recently, but I find that like you say, it brings out the details. It’s the same method as any other ink wash. However, make sure you don’t let the initial ‘skin’ coat of paint blob out the details. By this I mean don’t apply the skin color too thickly so that the face turns into a featureless blob. If you lose the nose, eye sockets, helmet rim, etc, then the ink wash won’t have any crevices to get into and shadow for that realistic look.

Very nice! I love the biplanes, although they must have been a pain to paint, with all those undersides of the wings and what not.

I’m interested if it’s not already sold.

@John:

What are you painting next? :-D

Your Japanese military. I don’t have time to do anymore painting before I move, so the paints are all away for a few months.

Again… WOW! Those planes are so sweet! Can you tell me how you did the mounting? I think I might do it as well… it just adds so much the look. Your colors are also really rich looking - what paints do you use?

The magnetic fire markers for the aircraft carriers are a great solution to an annoying problem. How do you fasten the magnets to the ships and the aircraft carriers?

Props man. Thanks for sharing.

Man, these are totally awesome! I am loving that Russian armor. Your color choice for all the pieces is really nice, and it looks realistic and pleasing to the eye. Good work.

For those of you interested in my storage solution for my pieces, wait no longer. Below is a picture of my custom build storage box.

This is only one of three that I was planning on building. Each box would hold one nation on each side; this one was originally constructed for the Germans and the Japanese, which is why I used the black and read felt. The Axis Powers!

I only ever got around to building one, but I will need to build two more pretty soon, as this one is too full at the moment.

The materials I used:

• Plastic container with snap on lid (Target)

• Long strips of balsa wood (Michaels)

• Sheets of felt, cut to size (Hobby Lobby)

• Hot glue

• Exacto knife

The rest is pretty self explanatory. You just measure how big you want the individual sections to be, cut the balsa wood to size, glue the felt down, glue the balsa wood down, and you’re done.

I’ve found that it works pretty well for my storage needs, because it keeps the pieces secure and non-scratched because of the felt. My original idea was to see if I could fit in a second level, like a removable tray, but I scratched that idea. I also wanted to spray paint the boxes black and then paint or put a sticker of the national insignia on the box to make it look really professional. You can take the idea and run with it - you guys are creative.

Post your storage solutions here, or let us know how you keep your pieces safe and sound!

I thought I would take a before and and after shot of the navy to show you what a difference an inkwash will make. While these are not my best work, I think they still serve the purpose!

The shot below is the ships before an inkwash. At this point they just have a coat of primer, one or two base coats for the deck, hull, and superstructure. Notice how flat the piece looks; it looks fine, but it’s not what it could be.

This next shot is after an inkwash. It makes the crevices pop, and you get a much more three dimensional piece, especially from a few feet away on the gaming table. I recommend that you also give it a good drybrushing to make it look even better. Of course, some of it is subjective; you might prefer it to be more of a flat, fresh paint look rather than a battle-worn look.

The ships of the Kriegsmarine have finished their time in the drydocks and are ready to cruise the Atlantic!

Battleships

Aircraft Carriers - front are HBG Light Carriers, rear are OOB.

Cruisers - my personal favorites.

Destroyers

Transports

@Redleg13A:

Knocked these out last night…Starting to build some momentum! A question for you more experienced guys…how to you make super straight lines or perfect seams for things like the base flags or national identifiers on things like aircraft wings?

That picture came out a bit small - I’d love to get a bigger view if you get the chance. That AAA looks pretty nice!

For me, making straight lines is a combination of a steady hand/firm posture and some tweaking of the paint job right after I paint it. My paint is thick enough that I can take a wooden bamboo skewer and use the small tip to wipe off excess paint from the edges of the line and trim it into straightness if it isn’t already. It’s also important that I hold the piece with my arms on the desk, and not just suspended in the air, as I can’t get a steady hand without some support. I don’t know if these tips are helpful; you can probably figure out a what works best for you!

@Redleg13A:

I just went through this whole thread again and on top of being inspired by the pieces I bought from you to get back into painting…I can see that I may have lost a step or two in the last 15 years lol…The pieces you’ve demonstrated on this thread are just amazing and I’m hoping that I can get to that level eventually. As you can see from the thread I started, I am painting again…but I sure have a long way to go before I get to your quality of work. Well done and just know that you’re quality of work is now on my front sight post!

Thanks RedLeg! Practice is certainly the best way to improve - you’ll find that you learn from experience; you’ll become familiar with your paint’s viscosity and characteristics, you’ll get a better eye for detail, and you’ll develop your own style. If you want to save your Global pieces until you get to a level you’re happy with, you could get some of HBG’s cheap factory decline pieces for practice.

If you ever have any questions, let me know!