Modern 20mm Technicals and civilian vehicles

Technicals and civilian vehicles

On facebook last month someone posted a T55 turret mounted on a dump truck, so off to our local charity shop this weekend see if I could pick up a suitable piece, while I was there I also picked up some other pieces, some for my BGS build and some other pieces, I like lots of cars for terrain fillers for modern warfare, it makes the terrain look lived in.

While I failed in my task to find a suitable dump truck I did manage to pick up a number of civilian 80s cars, a big bonus plus some suitable ww2 cars! As with most matchbox, majorette vehicles of the 80s lots of sports cars and not many everyday cars suitable for the wargames table. All of these will be receiving a new paint job at some stage and join my box of terrain filler bits!

Porsche 924 My dream car in 1985 before I knew about V8s....

BMW 733, my uncle had one of these in about 87

Mercedes 350SL two door.....so sexy

Citroen SM I was excited to find this!

James Bond my feature in his swimming lotus esprit!

A caravan, the second one, I think it will join a lakeside camp perhaps

Mercedes Benz 2400, It will join my Bundesgrenzschutz

cheers

Matt

Terrain Tuesday Village Scatter Terrain part 1....

 Village Terrain

As I move through my renovation projects I have decided to start adding and renovating my village and town accessories, a majority is HO scale model railway pieces which I find particularly good  for 20mm terrain. 

Every French village and a number of crosses in and around the village, also most main cross-roads have a cross also, many were erected in the 19th century after the revolution, although we have one from the twelfth century only a few hundred meters from us, this piece is for a village square, and I have commenced several others for the countryside cross roads. 

A simple chair beside a lamp, be useful for a bus stop or near a garden

A horse trough, can be used in a yard or in a square, I post from a model railway fence, the rough also, scratch built spout. 

 I have a number of fountains to do, including a sculpted copy of a Marizan fountain from the 17th century which was a set pattern during the revitalization of town water supplies by the Jean Colbert (minister of Housing 1680s).  

cheers

Matt

Tree Renovation Part 8 ....oh the pine

 Ohh the Pine

more pines completed, after this lot I have about 20 to complete and the pines are done, then complete some palms,  then the huge 100 odd european tree collection. 

cheers

Matt

Tree renovation part 7 ...your dead

Dead Trees

Another mix of part renovation and new paint jobs, the large dead trees are metal from the eighties at least and used to be on a square base for a cemetery pulp game, so I pulled them off and added them to the round large 50mm base as per the larger tree renovation. I also added additional root systems from green stuff, then a new coat of paint, inks, drybrush and rebased to match the other renovated trees. 

The smaller stumps I purchased a long time ago and while digging for spears last week in the spares box I found them and added them to the pile of to be painted terrain box of trees. Notice they have faces so I suspect they are pre 80s metal from one of the fantasy ranges, anyway they will still grace the table without much comment unless someone is looking closely!

cheers

matt

Tree Renovation Part 5 ooh the pine

More Pines.....

Completed some more Pine trees but come to the realisation after I was about half way through my pine restoration I was missing some of my larger 28mm trees, so up to the third floor storage room for a visit. Low and behold another thirty odd Pine Trees, with a number requiring a bit of a dusting of new flock. plus new bases and more stumps to be made.....so quite a lot to be done. No rest for the wicked as they say.

cheers

Matt

Tree renovation part 4

Garden Shrubs & Bushes

More garden trees this time,  again purchases from China, really like the little topiary bushes, I must have thirty odd of them to either base or put in gardens, more coming as I have completed cutting another 60 odd bases and prepared them for basing today.

cheers

Matt

Tree Renovation part three ....pine

 Pine trees part 1

Still working on trees, really happy with the results, the painting of the bark and stumps, adding a few stones and bits to the bases has been a little therapeutic.

 I am now pressing on through the production line of rebasing the commercial tree lots to unify everything.  Lots more Pines coming after I cut some more bases!

20mm gendarmes inspecting the trees

cheers

Matt

Tree Renovation part two ....shrubbery

 Garden shrubs

Next up are small garden shrubs I purchased from eBay China, about 3cm high they are perfect to fill back yards, town gardens and the side of a road, I am so impressed with these I am going to buy two more packs at least. The bases were cut from MDF using my 2cm holesaw. I glued down the stump base then added my normal sand mix, and painted the stump a khaki brown, base earth brush, drybrushed the rocks added flock. 

Cheers

Matt

Tree Renovation part one ....a little fruity

Tree Renovation

 Well last week I commenced renovation of my current collection of 160 trees, plus the manufacture of 180 new trees 20mm and 28mm. Lets just say it is taking longer then expected as I cutting new bases, making forest bases and small rough ground sections, plus painting trunks on old plastics trees, reflocking some and new ground work on all of them, plus washing bark and highlighting bits, adding moss and twigs etc. 

I have decided to manufacture specific 20mm and 28mm as previously I had one size fits all method. I want larger more scale trees for 28mm naturally so they fit better with skirmish games. I also removed all of the trees I had glued on large wood type bases and then manufactured with MDF woodland bases that the trees slot into so they are removable which suits ww2 and large impetus bases better when moving through woods. Still more work to be done on these as I want to complete the trees before I go back to make the larger bases.

First trees completed and renovated were formally orange trees that I had based for arid conditions, these are commercial trees from woodland scenics range. The oranges were repainted as apple trees, new bases, painted the trunks, added rocks and then flocked with 3mm flock. Most of these will go in a walled orchard that I am making and some will be able to be dropped into backyards and gardens as required.

I am really happy with the results and plan to purchase another 20 odd as Normandy and Maine are full of apple trees....

cheers

Matt