Jewel of July – Extended through August. Plus a Sextet of Reiksgard Foot Knights with Greatswords

Reiksgard Foot Knights with Greatswords

So the main point of this post is to let our little community know that the Jewel of July painting challenge has been extended through to the end of August this year. Why? Well, I’ve been pretty preoccupied with some real life business in the last almost-three weeks that have kept me from working on the more finely-detailed models in my collection (remember, there’s usually a lag – sometimes a decent sized one between when things get finished and when they get posted up.) Anyway, this has meant that my main focus has been on simpler models that don’t have the amount of fine detail or require the same amount of care – so D&D boardgame models, terrain pieces (which dovetail nicely with Dave Stone’s Winter of Scenery Challenge!) and even simple-paintjob simple models like these.

There are only three models left on “The Tray”, but two of them require fine tattoos, and one requires some cardboard cut, patterning and gluing and painting and… well, they’ll all three have to wait a litlte bit longer. I’ve also got a pair of models picked out as my “Tray Finished: Reward” models, but I haven’t been able to do much on those either. Hopefully the extension to August will let me get something more apt completed for The Jewel of July. I mean, the Assassins and several other models can count, but I’d also like to do something specifically for it as well.

Anyway, we have here six more identical Reiksgard models. I found a bunch of them, with many needing to be stripped in a baggie, and these ones were first in line. They were destined for Tray #2 regardless, so I’m good with having painted them already. They took less than 25 hours for the paint once I got going (after stripping, basing, adding sand – all of which were done awhile back in June). I do still have even more Reiksgard to paint, though at least the others are different poses…

“Dug-In Tank Hull” Mostly-Scratchbuilt Scenery

"Dug-In Tank Hull" Mostly-Scratchbuilt Scenery

Another simple piece of scenery today – again one I built many years ago but never actually completed at all, until now, finally. (There’ll be more of that sort of thing soon – hopefully!)

"Dug-In Tank Hull" Mostly-Scratchbuilt Scenery

Back when I was in my twenties, I used to purchase hobby supplies not only from the place that sold Warhammer and D&D and such things, but also from the model stores that sold trains and armour kits and planes and the like. While in these places, I’d always check out what sort of cool aftermarket parts were on sale from places like Verlinden with an eye to what I could do with them. This tank hull was one such purchase, and before too many years had passed, it was combined with some heavy card (which later buckled, as you can see), some DAS modelling clay, sand of two types and some Tamiya sandbags to turn it into a dug-in tank hull piece of cover-scenery. I did have to add an internal step from balsa so the models located inside the turret-hole could look out and theoretically aim their weapons!

"Dug-In Tank Hull" Mostly-Scratchbuilt Scenery

It was roughly painted. Well, I say painted, but it was basiucally not much more than base coated by modern standards. I added some Vallejo mud texture putty to fix up the crappy texture that the coarse sand patches had left when contrasting with the fine sand. Repainted the hull entirely, and then gave it a simple weather, some chips and rust. Highlighted and shaded the dirt, and went over the sandbags in a similar manner. Added some tufts and some slate to make it look a little more “lived in”. It’s a bit outsized for “proper” historical play, but would work well in more casual games and obviously any Weird WWII settings – much the same applies to it’s place in moderns, and as with the piece from the other day as well as the others I’m still working on, it fits in with all of the sci-fi and post-apoc, settings just fine.

Even though the base is still a bit wonky, it’s now another finished piece, and another entry for Dave Stone’s Winter of Scenery Challenge!