WW1 Heavy Haulage and an Omnibus!

The Traction Engine from The Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company hauling "Ada", another 8 inch Howitzer from the same company. The towing limber is a scratchbuild. Apologies if the images are a little blurred. This is a big model and when hitched up to a gun is almost a foot long! I had to resort to hand held photography and it seems that the anti-shake was a bit ineffective. 

Back in March, out of curiosity, I purchased the Model T Ambulance from Warbases. Last week I took delivery of one of their latest MDF vehicle kits, the AEC Model B Omnibus. I've wanted a bus to put into my display cabinet for quite some time and at a tenner for the kit, it is very good value and, I think gives a pleasing end result. With a bit more work filling in some of the joints it could be even better. If you want some affordable transport to run the gaunlet of German artillery along the Menin Road I heartily recommend this kit.

"Who parked this bloody Bus here? It's meant to go over there!"

Private Perkins was ordered to guard this Omnibus until relieved. He is still waiting.

I am quite pleased with the end result of this build and I think I feel the stirrings of a bit of a conversion project....

Playing with Pigment Powder and an Ambulance

Recent research leads me to conclude that WW1 British Artillery equipments in Mesopotamia, Egypt and Palestine were painted in the standard khaki-green rather than in a desert scheme. So, when I was asked to take on a rather large project of four 18pdr guns, ammunition wagons and horse teams from that theatre, the challenge was on. How to make a gun look as if it had been dragged through dry desert sand and dust..... on dark green paint? Drybrushing sprang to mind but I might have done that on a desert paint scheme but it simply wouldn't work on khaki-green. So I bought some pigment powders (more than I really need but one day they will come in handy) and pigment fixer and I began to play.....

... it was a steep learning curve. The next one will be better!

Last weekend saw the local Wargames club here put on their annual show. It has been a few years since I last attended, but I needed a few bits and pieces for the painting table and popped in. Not much for me there, I'm afraid, but Warbases were in attendance and I stocked up on some MDF bases and purchased one of their new 28mm MDF WW1 vehicle kits just for fun. The lady who served me said that there was a PDF file of instructions on their website. I couldn't find it so it became a problem solving exercise. It was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I slapped some paint on it very, very quickly (in less than an hour, in fact, and lots of details NOT painted) just to get an idea of what it would be like with some colour. So here is the MDF Model "T" Ambulance.

Obviously a MDF kit can not provide the same level of detail and realism that a resin or plastic kit can reproduce but these models (Dennis and Albion trucks, a Crossley Tender and the Ambulance) don’t look half bad and would add some interesting detail to dress the gaming table at quite a reasonable price.  The Dennis truck is quite a monster! Less successful is the MDF kit for a Mark I tank. You need rivets on a tank and MDF does not give you that! Go and have a look.