Thursday, April 8, 2021

#30daykitchallenge progress week 1

 Progress week 1 

So it begins I have been cleaning up resin and plastic this week with a lot on the table. I managed to hurt my back ago on Easter monday in the garden lifting out shrubs so have been watching movies rather than getting kits together. However I felt good this morning so sat down at my desk and banged these out quite quickly, ready for undercoat. 

Have started the plastic kits and the drilling work on the resin T62b tanks, adding details and filling the resin air holes which is a lot of work. I also pulled out some more plastic kits and have put them aside for later in the week as I am confident I will hit thirty kits easy for the month. 

14 completed



Diamler SOD command cars


AEC armoured car, metal barel

crusader AA mkIII

Soviet AA, resin prints, not a lot of clean up and assembly
one will join my rebels on a technical, one Egyptian, one Russian

Dingo scout car


M3 scout car



Diamler armoured car

cheers
Matt


Thursday, April 1, 2021

#30DaykitChallenge - My Pledge

 30 day kit build challenge 

The idea of the build is to finish unbuilt kits and new kits in the next thirty days. As suspected France goes back into lockdown again on Easter Sunday for 4 weeks, so a timely challenge. 

So I have put together the pile of unbuilt and unfinished shame and new kits I intend to build this month. 51 kits in total my plan is to complete 30 kits at least, a mix of resin-metal kits and plastic kits. I will also add some details to a few, tow hooks, aerials, crew and stowage.

I do need to paint the interiors of a few aircraft, plus the pilots to have the aircraft ready for paint. 

My Pledge


20mm ww2  kits

ww2 Resin, metal and plastic kits total 39 kits
 


started 1/72 aircraft kits x 4 I want to complete these the most
dassault Mirage 2000N
Buccaneer s2b
Skyhawk A4
Gotha 242 ww2 glider

Resin Britannia T55 and a OT-62 resin kit from Armo for my Egyptians


ww2 Radar 3d print, needs a alcohol bath and clean up, plus assembly




Wish me luck, I wish to complete as much as possible during our lockdown to undercoat stage at least. The goal is Thirty kits, ready for undercoat, I think If I work hard I may complete the lot. 

Cheers
Matt

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Terrain Tuesday - Stone Walls

 Stone walls 

I have a few meters of stone walls to complete for my table, some will be fixed to bases with the buildings others will be more adaptable pieces. 
These are the adaptable pieces, I have based them on mdf, then added flock and some flowers and some bushes from rubberized horse hair. Lots more to come, I will possibly also make some taller ones to portray some ten foot 20mm walls for Normandy. 





Cheers
Matt

Monday, March 29, 2021

Longbow vs Armour 1418 English Longbow Myth

 English longbow myth busted

As I have long suspected from my reading that the myth of the high poundage longbow piercing quality armour covered with a quilted gambeson has been busted........ 

Reading the historical documents from the late Hundred Years’ War it was not the piercing but the kinetic energy and the morale that done the damage to any charge, multiple hits like hail stones would of been most disconcerting to advancing French, English or Scots, Italians et al under the hail of the longbow fire. Yes exposed parts would of been pierced, but in the majority a well armoured knight needed to put up with the hail of shots that would of caused blunt force trauma rather than actual piercing of the armour. Morale was the big factor and effected the charge more than I think we can possibly imagine. 

I was surprised that Toby Capewell had not done this type of experiment before, especially when it came to the quilted gambesons effectiveness in reducing kinetic energy. I have used one over my armour for 10 years or more, the reduction of a blow from a two handed weapon is worth the extra heat.

Enjoy the video amd let me know what you think 

Video presented by Todds Workshop 

Can arrows defeat armour?





Cheers
Matt



Saturday, March 27, 2021

#30daykitchallenge

 

April 30 day Kit build challenge!

So what is the 30 day kit challenge? Well, something I shamelessly copied from Gunbird and his blog "20mm and then some" back in 2017 when we chatted about doing something about our piles of shame.

When I moved to France I found I had a lot of unbuilt kits, particularly modern and ww2, plus some ww1 aircraft make up the majority plus all of the Perry and Warlord figures. I also suffer from half built kit syndrome, as I like to paint the interiors, the pilot then assemble the kit. So during the current lockdown looming in April in France due to rising cases of Covid in our region I have decided to have a kit build challenge to fix my problem in some way.  So with that in mind I'm starting the 30 day kit build, if you like join me and blog about it, steal the picture below if you like...........I have started the Prep sorting the kits that need finishing and then some new builds, building kits trying to stay within current build restrictions for my yearly goals but wherever the wind may blow of course!

Join me if you wish

Facebook, Blog and Instagram using the tag 

#30daykitchallenge 

RULES

Goals are simple, you will build your part built and new kits during the 30 day challenge:
  • Any material (plastic, resin, metal, wood).
  • New in the box or partially built, it matters not.
  • Gun, tank, truck, aircraft, ship, figure animal? Your call.
  • Kit must be basically finished, based if you prefer that, to qualify as a build.
  • The completed kit must be ready for primer.
  • Resin and metal upgradesets can be applied after the build.....the goal is to get kits built and ready for primer, not to finish them with paint and varnish etc.
  • You decide how many kits/models you want to build in the 30 day period.
  • You set the penalty for not meeting your goal (and after that it is the honor system)
Anything beyond that is up to you

My goal is the period from 1/4/2021 up to 30/4/21, each day I plan to work on a kit until I have completed my goal.  My goal is grand total of 30 kits, If I can build more kits n the month, then bonus.

My penalty is that if I don't make my target, is not to buy another kit for the rest of the year :(.

So, starting with Day #1 (1st April 2021), I'm starting with some 1/72 armourfast kits to kit off then onto some more tanks and aircraft.

Cheers
Matt

Thursday, March 25, 2021

One Hundred Years War Chevaliers et Écuyers du Maine VIII

 Chevaliers et Écuyers du Maine

Another completed base of French for my post Agincourt French HYW army, these men are from the baronies of Chateau-Gontier and Châteaubriant, again Perry Plastics





"walk the battlefield in the morning, wargame in the afternoon"™ 

From Caesar to World War Two


cheers
Matt