Friday 16 January 2015

From KevinH - Lt. Winters and more Bolt Action US Airborne (28mm) - 60 pts

I've been participating in the 2015 Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  This was my entry for January 14, 2015.

For today's post, let's continue the "US Airborne" theme...




First off, the Limited Edition "Lt. Winters" figure.  I really liked this figure!  I have to look into this, but I think Warlord commissioned Paul Hicks to sculpt this figure, and it just looks awesome.  It's not quite so easy to see from my pics, but "in person," it looks to me as if the face even looks a bit like Damien Lewis from the "Band of Brothers" series!

My only gripe about this figure is the "dog tags."  They were cast in metal, and that makes for a very HEAVY figure!  I wish they had cast the dog tags in resin, to cut down the weight.  I might have to pick up another of these models, so I can do one on a "groundwork" base, to match my other figures.



Next up, Lt. Winters gets a Radio Operator, to keep in touch with Command.  I had to replace the barrel on the Carbine, as it was about ready to break off anyway.  A bit of fine brass wire, and a bit of Super Glue to mock up a muzzle, and we're done.  Also added a nylon paint brush bristle for the radio antenna!


This round, sees the addition of a 60mm Mortar team for the Airborne force.  I'm not really a fan of modelling a group like this on separate bases, but some rules require this sort of thing, so there you go.  And this way, I can always use the guy with the binoculars as an Artillery Forward Observer (watch this space for further developments on that idea!)

Carrying on, we have two Sergeants with Thompson SMG's.  I don't think this line has one, but a running figure with a Thompson would have been nice, to model Lt. Spears from "Band of Brothers!"

 I also completed a few more Riflemen models to start fleshing out this force.  Here are two kneeling models.

 And here are three standing models.  I really like the running figure in this group - a really nice 'dynamic' pose, and and the animation of the posture is spot on.


And just to recap, here's a "group shot" for this round - 12 models for a grand total of 60 pts. 


And last up, a shot of my Airborne force so far.  A Lieutenant with two Riflemen; a Bazooka team; a 60mm Mortar team; two seven man Rifle squads, with one squad including a Medium Machine Gun team; and an M4A3 Sherman tank.  I think I might just have enough to start playing modest games of Bolt Action!


Thanks for looking!



6 comments:

  1. Great looking work!

    Do you have more Browning MG teams in queue? The Bolt Action list allows several, both at the squad and the platoon support level.

    I hear you about the gun barrels. Some of my U.S. paras have bent carbines and even Garands. The latter will be more difficult if they break.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! I don't think I mentioned it in the post, but a couple of the rifle ends were miscast also. Someone on Bolt Action FB mentioned using the ends of the plastic to replace miscasts. Tried it and I think it worked OK.

    I still have about 10 or 12 more figures to go, including another MG team. Also found a couple more Lt. Winters figs via TMP, so I plan to do a 2nd version, without the dog tags!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful minis, amazing details on them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Phill - I would say these are about the best US Airborne figures on the market. Great detail, great animation - Paul Hicks is an amazing sculptor! I wish he was still working on this line, but alas, no... :-(

      Delete
  4. The level of definition and detail that you've achieved is really remarkable. Beautiful work! Can't wait to see more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Matthew. "Life" crept up and blind-sided me, so I haven't been painting since January, roughly. Hopefully, I can get back to this force one day. I really love these Paul Hicks figures, and in my humble opinion, they are the best US Airborne models on the market!

      Delete