Spanish house and Merry Christmas!

I've started on my collection of Spanish buildings for my SCW project and needed to work out the color scheme template for the rest of the buildings.

I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out and look forward to getting started on the others. The paints I used were mostly craft paints with some Foundry and Vallejo as well plus my trusty MIG pigments.

This building is from GrandManner which is my favorite terrain building manufacturer as I just really like the style he does them in. Also they come with removable roofs which is very nice so you can place your figures in and build alternate roofing if you wish to get a different look. They come with a price tag, but I'm willing to pay for it. I'll also add buildings from other manufactures and maybe even do some of my own, but will for sure have a healthy amount of GrandManner.

Of  course I can use these buildings for other periods like Naps if I ever I do them which making terrain that works for this does add some motivation and even regions like Italy for say Italian Wars or WWII and even southern US/Mexico with some roof adaptations here and there.

The AHPC here is coming up soon and this year terrain will be allowed which I'm quite pleased about as I plan on entering some more Spanish buildings in it. I've always wanted terrain in the challenge, but were not allowed until now which is great!

If I don't get another post in before Christmas I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas to you and all your love ones and may your stockings be filled with lead!

Thanks foe viewing!
Miniature Company- GrandManner

International Brigade Maxim HMG and crew

Just getting this in before the end of the challenge to fulfill my requirements in the SCW side dual of a squad, command and support piece for a game of Bolt Action although it won't be enough to pass either Nick the current leader or Curt so my congratulations to the winner for a job well done!

 The machine gun was invented American-British inventor Hiram Stevens Maxim in 1883 and was used by just about everybody and is still even in use by some nations to this day. This model is likely the PM  M1910 used by the Russians and given to the Republican forces if I had to guess. It fired a 7.62mm round at 600 rounds per minute and was mounted on a wheeled tripod with a gun shield.

Although one man could technically fire the weapon the gun was so bulky and heavy it required a crew from anywhere to 3 to 6 to help move, reload and cool the weapon to function properly.

The miniature is of course from Empress and once again sculpted by that very talented man Mr. Paul Hicks. The painting was largely done using Vallejo colors.

In case your curious I painted the underneath part of the prone figure. Why did I do something as silly as paint the bottom of the prone figure you may ask......because it was there and yes I'm that OC enough to do it.:-)

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company Empress

Abraham Lincoln Brigade command SCW

Many Americans living in the west were not content to sit idle and watch events unfold in Spain and so elected to join in the fighting with most ending up in what's is now called the Abraham Lincoln brigade which supported the Republicans although some Americans also did join the Nationalists although these were fewer in number.The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was composed of battalions from the 17th and later the 58th Lincoln battalions which were largely made up of American volunteers who were part of the International brigades( Foreign fighters in Spain) fighting on behalf of the Spanish Republican Government vs the Rebel Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39.

The battalion while commonly called the Lincoln Brigade was actually made up initially of  the Lincoln battalion which was later was joined by the George Washington Battalion, Canadian MacKenzie-Papineau Battalions, some Irish, Latins and eventually a small amount of Spanish. The Lincoln battalion was formed in January 1937 of highly motivated recruits which after less then two months training were thrown into action with a rifle and some bullets and then used primarily as assault troops. Obviously this lead to the battalion having very high casualty rates indeed losing some 22.5% of it's strength by the end of the war.

In 1937 the Lincoln Brigade participated in the battle of Jarama losing 2/3 of it's number including it's commander in several fruitless assaults. After a short reconstitution the battalion then moved on to the offensive at Brunete where it was joined by the Washington battalion securing the town of Villanueva de la Cañada after a hard fight before eventually  attacking "Mosquito Ridge," in series of grinding assaults that failed to remove the Nationalists. The casualties were so high including the loss of another commander that the result was the two battalions were joined together to form one unit. The brigade then saw action again in the Aragon offensive fighting well yet again. They were later joined by Macenzie-Papineau Battalions for the fighting at Fuentes de Ebro again receiving high casualties in leading the action at the front. After Fuentes de Ebro the exhausted brigade was finally given a rest. In December the brigade fought in the battles around Teruel  fighting both defensive and offensive engagements to dislodge the Nationalists before ending in a stalemate.

1938 could best be described as a disaster as the brigade was caught up in what became known as "The retreats" which was basically a series of delaying and holding actions as Nationalists forces cut the Republic in two. The brigade was dispersed and reformed repeatedly during the retreats losing it's two highest ranking officers before finally consolidating at the Ebro river. The brigade then participated in the Ebro offensive which eventually stalled out after the Nationalists regrouped halting the offensive in it's tracks. At this point the International brigades were withdrawn from the conflict by prime minister Negrin in the vain hope that Franco's Nationalists would do the same with his German and Italian troops which they of course did not as they had the advantage at this point.

The brigade included 3,015 volunteers over the course of the war made up mostly of Americans and included some Canadians and small amount of Latins and Irish. Because the Americans were an independent bunch that preferred to vote on things rather then dogmatically follow orders the Spanish government  decided to add Spanish troops and commissars to the brigade for communications, but more importantly to insure loyalty to the government on the governments terms. The brigade was mostly white, but did include some African Americans making them the first American integrated combat unit. They were also mostly communists/socialists and ardent anti-fascists, but did include some who joined just for adventure or to escape a bad life back home.

The figures are of course from the excellent Empress miniatures SCW line and are 28mm. The very nice flag is from Flags of War. I painted the figures using mostly Vallejo paints, but did include some Foundry paints. They are organized for Bolt Action with a Captain/Lt. and two guards and Standard bearer and his two guards, but they can also be used with Chain of Command as well.

I still have more SCW on my near to do list to try and keep competitive in the SCW side challenge with Curt, Nick and Phil plus I'm starting to get close to a battle worthy force which is always nice!:-) I have a some more Republicans in the pipeline, but will be tackling some Nationalists pretty soon as well.

This is my latest entry for the Analogue Hobbies painting challenge Bonus theme round found here.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Empress

International Brigade Group 3

I've entered a SCW side duel in the Analogue Hobbies painting challenge here with Curt, Nick and Phil. I've been wrapped up doing the bonus theme rounds I've neglected this portion of the challenge and decided I'd better get on the ball and get some points up in the duel to let them know I'm still in it.

Why the Spanish Civil War? Well for me I just really enjoy the equipment and atmosphere of the period plus you really get a wide range of troops to choose from offering many exciting opportunities for the paintbrush not to mention gaming tables just have a certain flare that really draws me.

I find both sides fascinating and plan to collect each of the antagonists. The politics of the war I don't really care about all that much other then understanding why they fought, but the fact that it's a civil war does interest me if  that makes sense. I don't exactly know why, but if it's a civil war then I'm usually interested be it ACW, AWI, SCW,RCW etc.

Just a quick line on who the International brigade were. They were primarily communist paramilitaries that fought on the Republican side vs the Nationalists and came from countries outside Spain like France, Germany, Portugal, US, Great Britain, USSR and others. They were generally grouped by their nationalities with clever nicknames for their battalions, but they did included Spanish contingents within the brigades for communications with each other and the Spanish army. For the most part they fought very well with high morale, but suffered heavy causalities due to lack of training, poor equipment and often serving as shock troops or rear guards deployed in fighting delaying actions.

Example of an International brigade unit

These four figures will finish off my first squad that I started a long time ago. They consist of a Light Machine Gunner totting a DPM28(Degtijarev of Soviet make), his loader, Squad Leader(Sergeant), and a Dinamiteros. What the heck is a Dinamiteros? Well they were basically dynamite throwers who used a slingshot to throw tin encased dynamite at bunkers, dug outs, vehicles etc. who became so hated they were shot on the spot if recognized as one by the enemy.  Needless to say those of slight of heart need not apply!

Dinamiteros

The figures are superbly sculpted by Mr. Paul Hicks as one would expect, but do require a fine brush from some of the detail that rewards you in taking your time. The colors I used are mostly Vallejo and some Foundry. Painting the International Brigade is fun because you get to mix a lot of colors as they were rather irregular in appearance. They they often went into combat in their civvies or whatever uniform the supply clerk had available or they could scrounge up here and there.  However, this of course adds time to the painting and sometimes wastes paint due to not requiring all of mix for a particular color. I pretty much kept to the browns which is typical for the Republicans. Anyhow, I'm enjoyed painting these and look forward to doing more soon! As a side note really happy how my new camera is working out for the small unit shots, but still need to learn more for big shot game pictures.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Empress Miniatures 

International Brigade Group 2 (SCW)

Adding a few more units to my long delayed Spanish Civil War project of 1936-39. This is some more International National Brigade reinforcements.

Painting the international Brigade is great fun as basically anything goes because they were issued with truly an eclectic assortment of equipment from all different nationalities some of which they brought with themselves from their respective countries or were issued by the Republican government. However, in spite of their militia look they were generally very highly motivated and some of the best troops the Republicans put into the field.

As a painter they are great as you can just go through all the different khakis and browns to your hearts content and not really be wrong! I pretty much had a field day with Vallejo paints mixing up combo's and trying things out. Ahh the freedom to do as you please.:-) Hopefully folks will like them as much as I had fun experimenting with the colors. The figures themselves are of course from Empress in 28mm scale.

I have plans to do more and almost have enough for Operation Squad which is my starting point gaming wise before building it up from bigger games like Bolt Action or Chain of Command. I haven't decided what Nationalists I'll do for the opposition, but I am leaning towards Carlists at the moment.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Empress Miniatures

SCW 1936-39 International Brigade Group 1

Hi folks I've been pretty busy lately so I've started to fall behind on both my posting and commenting. I'm not a prolific poster, but I do try for at least one every week to 10 days and more if things are going really well. So I'll try and pick it up some again.

I like to do small projects in between my larger ones to give me a break and skirmish games often are ideal for this like the SCW and others. For example I'll paint a few figures and then back to the big project and then back to small project's for a short break etc.

The Spanish Civil War 1936-39 is kind of a niche period, but is growing. I like the feel of the period and the large selection of very different type of troops, unusual tanks, trucks and vehicles. The range of uniforms varies from civilian clothing to completely standardized issued uniforms with much of it falling in between which can give a real visual feast on the gaming table!

 Since I enjoy working in earth tones so much it's not surprising I was drawn to the International brigade which was by and large outfitted with whatever khaki or brown coloured clothing they could manage to get their hands on. This gives me a real opportunity to experiment with all the range of browns, greens and khaki I care to try as the International brigade seldom had any two soldiers look exactly alike. For example:

After painting up a decent size force of International Brigade troops I'll  probably begin painting some of the Militia next. When I've built up the Republicans I'll move on to the Nationalists as I prefer collecting for both sides on most projects.

As to backgrounds I'm trying different coloured ones as photobucket's ability to adjust white backgrounds isn't very good at all any more and frustrates me to no end. I now do all the work from my computer and just use photobucket for sizing,smudge corrections and distribution. Of course I will still do white backgrounds, but will for sure continue to add others.

I'll be adding terrain to the pics when I get some painted up to add some more period flavour, but until then it will be this brown background for this range. Another thing is sometimes I like my figures to "pop", but with this project I wanted the figures very "warm" and so I tried to keep the tones subtle and not too dramatic on these. Hopefully I got it right.

Remember how I said the period is growing well I think Empress miniatures can take a heap of credit for it in regards to the 28mm crowd. The figures shown are all from Empress as are all my SCW figures and let me say they really are nice figures. Very nicely cast with excellent detail. My only critique are they are small for 28mm which isn't a negative if you like that, but I've been moving up to large slightly exaggerated figures like  Redoubt, Bicorne, Artizan etc. as I generally prefer that. However, thanks to the casting and sculpting being so good I'm able to enjoy painting the Empress figures as the detail is raised enough that I can get to it.
Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company-Empress