More pics of mostly finished projects...and other stuff

This is a pretty long post, and is photo intensive. (Lots of pics). I wanted to get some better shots on what I have been doing. Yesterdays post left me half unfullfilled because I hadn't gotten everything done, when I made the entry, so I went back and did some more work and am better satisfied at the result.
Here are some new pics of the T34/85's.


One of the joys of digital photography, (other than the fact that you don't waste film trying to get "That right shot"), is the fact that I can go back after looking at a pic and fill in the painting spots that I have missed. The little white/grey areas. It's a good thing. It helps me get all the nook and crannies, and it helps because of my old eyesight and sometimes you just don't see them.

Besides my tanks, I finished up my two Recon Gun Jeeps:



These are modified FoW Recon Jeeps with Peter Pig Gunners in them. They were great to paint up, and I had a blast doing it. You can see these guys and realize that when they aren't being attacked they are probably out looking for trouble...
No unit can fight in the field unless it has some type of support...thus my 2 FoW Dodge 1 1/4 ton Weapons Carriers...and my Halftrack. Used to carry troops, supplys, weapons, stolen loot, etc...they are ready for action...pretty much...I've got a few finishing touches on the halftrack but the WC's are ready...


The WC's were a joy to paint. Easy to clean with no flash, priming went well, although I think I won't use White Primer again. The base coat was Uniform green, highlighted with USA Uniform, and OD. I used "Iraqi Sand" to higlight the dusty areas. Base coat on the ground is Dark Brown/Burnt Umber. The colors blended in better than I thought they would, and the effect was fantastic.

The halftrack is looking good too...just a few more touches...

On top of that, I got curious as to what a decent force size pic would look like, so I tossed a portion of my NDF field elements there. This is about 1/2 of what I have built for them so far...it gives a good idea of the camo combos and the weathering effects used.

Coming soon to a village near you...

Another idea in contrast was seeing how the Recon Forces looked against some of my UN forces...What you see here is a mild mix of Peter Pig, QRF, and Fow Vehicles and figs...nice effect if I do say so myself...btw...the truck in the back...I am working on FIVE MORE of them for the UN....Gotta move "Food for Oil" somehow or another!!!!
My final little project to show y'all is a toy Mig15 that I picked up the other day. For 1.49 I was able to get this little toy, and decided that it would be good air support for the ground troops...first thing was to get rid of those nasty commie red stars...thus entered "Mr. Dremel"...

A few minutes later and some national colors printed out from my printer and the First Combat Jet Aircraft of the Newly Created Bongolesian Air Force sits on the tarmac...waiting for a qualified pilot...and fuel....and spare parts....and a runway....and a control tower....and....
I've recently counted my vehicles and realized that I have over 50 of them for AK47...however I am still short of technicals, and M113's....and this is without counting the American Equipment. I've got a ton of projects I have to do, including the soccer field for the Sudekian Terrors, the Airport, the Tramp Steamer, and more...but all in due time...

As usual, comments are appreciated...Hope you enjoyed...

Armor, On-going Projects and a sidestep from Reality...

Well it's been almost two weeks since my last update on Bongolesia and my projects. I've been busy with other real word items and the fact that I have been getting my ACW reenacting stuff up and ready.
But I took today to get back on track and to get some items finished and up for display and for your review.
The first is the T34/85 Med Tank Plt. of the 1st Bongolesian Armored. These are three T34/85s from Battlefront Minis.
They aren't bad pieces with the exception of the tracks didn't fit on the hull very well and have a "bent in" appearance that I didn't like. But there was nothing I could do about it. Colors used were Vallejo Uniform Green, black, burnt umber, and about four or five different browns and washes to get the weathered look.

Tank Platoon Leader with Signal Flags. If I am correct this is the signal command for the tanks to form up into a column.

Bongolesian Tanks on Manuevers in the field.

Another project literally jumped out at me.

One of my "things" is looking for vehicles that I can use in the game that aren't your typical military vehicle. For some of my scenarios I am going to need Fuel Trucks for PETROCO. I didn't feel like paying 11.95 for GAZ Refueler trucks, (Sorry QRF), when I stumbled upon these little babies in the toy aisle of my local Meijer Store. At 69 cents a pop...I got five...

Upon arriving home, I decided that one would be a "Destroyed" truck. So I got to working...

The Price IS Right on these fuel trucks...

Okay so the EXXON sign needs to come off...

After removing the EXXON signs, I then used a pencil and marked my damaged areas on the fuel truck. I wanted part of the fuel cell blown out...and windshield damage... I cut a small square of sheet styrene for the base...took out my trusty handy dremel...(If you DO NOT have a dremel.....you need one...trust me...It's the gamers know all, be all, end all tool...) and went to town. Fun thing is that the fuel cell body is a cheap styrene plastic so as I went to cutting parts of it boiled up from the "heat"...just like a real burning vehicle!

I flattened down the tires on one side and mounted it on the styrene.

So far so good...unless you were the driver of this thing!!!!

I painted the base a burnt umber color and then painted the inside of the fuel cell black...I've started work on the damage and I added some homemade PETROCO signs. So far it's a little over 50% complete. I've got to finish the damage and put the debris on the ground, etc....but so far I like what I have.

Don't let the stockholders see this!!!!

So that is about as far as I have for now.

Now onto something a little disturbing about my fictional country.

Last week I was cruising Google when I entered Bongolesia to see what would come up. Among my normal entries, etc...Suddenly, I found another link. I clicked on it, and went to an Energy Investment Site for 2007. Bongolesia General Information, (on this BLOG!!!) was listed as a forum entry under "Western Refining!"

Oh lord...someone thinks it's real!

I put a post on TMP telling folks about it, and reminding them that it isn't real.

Funny but scary at the same time.

Okay folks thats it for now. Let me know what you think of my work, and next week I hope to have finished the truck and maybe even post the first part of building the QRF Mi-24 HIND helicopter!

Comments are appreciated...

Recon Leads The Way!!!!

A couple of weeks ago, my work table looked like this...you can see the tanks, technicals, weapons carries, and the Panhard AML90 Armored Car...

Well...after a couple weeks of working, here is the end result of one of them...The Panhard Armored Car with 90mm gun...A new addition to the 1st Bongolesian Reconnaissance Group...

The vehicle is a Peter Pig Armored car, and has about eight different shades of paint on it, along with weathering, dusting, dirt, detailing, etc....

Below you can see the Recon Element...A QRF Wombat Land Rover with Machine Gun, The Panhard, and a QRF Saladin Armored Car with short barrelled 76mm gun...A highly mobile and effective little force, the Saladin has in the last two games that it was used, made a nice little reputation for giving out "tough love", and being able to haul itself out at full speed when things got too hairy. I'm realizing now, WHY armored cars were so much better for the African Brush Wars than tanks....

Anyhow, let me know what you think....

ALL PRAISE THE OINGO BOINGO!!!!

I've been working on some of my stuff today but it's not ready for photos yet, so I have decided to give an update on yet another group in Bongolesia.
The Oingo Boingo Cult...(And I've included some pictures at the bottom...)
The Oingo Boingo Cult, (aka "OBC"), is an anti-govt. religious personality front, led by an individual known as "THE Reverend Father Doctor John"...
Total numbers of followers in the OBC are not known, but it's estimated between 500-1200 throughout the country with the greatest concentration in the western and northwestern provinces.
The OBC is a personality cult based on a pseudo-cultural religion led by their leader, who professes himself to be the "Know All, End All, Do All, Grand Saving Graceful Eternal Messiahic Poohbah of Life, The Universe, and Everything..."
Little is actually known about the "THE Reverend Father Doctor John", other than he seems to be well educated (if a little unstable), outspoken, charismatic, and creative. He is charming (like a water moccassin), and about as trustworthy as a weasel.
The OBC is dedicated to providing the land of Bongolesia with a new sense of religon and faith. Exactly what this faith is is still to be determined as modern western analysts see the foundations of the movement to be a hodge podge mishmash of Early Medieval Orthodox Christianity, Eccelectic Catholicism, Voodoo, some traces of Santeria, and a healthy sprinkling of dianetics along with some new age personal ramblings by their leader.
Currently as a fighting force they are considered poorly armed with almost no medium-heavy weapons, instead relying on personal weapons, and lmgs, along with explosives. They seem to take particular delight in blowing things up. Depsite the fact that they are not as efficient a force as BARF, or any of the other groups there, they seem to do well with what little that they actually have and are usually able to achieve the element of surprise in their actions.
They are currently little more than a loud annoyance to the National Govt. presently, but this could change in the future.

Okay onto the minis...
I've decided that the best way to get the "holy message out" to the masses is via radio...so I needed a pirate radio truck. One that can move about sending out "holy words" without being in a permanent location and able to be taken out by govt. forces.
I found what I needed thanks to the good people that make FoW.


Yes, it's WWII German Opel Blitz, Radio Truck, used for Artillery. I liked the looks of it, and the antenna array was a lot easier than the ones I was going to have to make. I decided to put in a garish paint job and voila! Instant electronic religon as the voice of salvation comes to you via your radio....




Now mind you the wild thing about this was that I did this back in Sept, and the day that I did this vehicle, I was suffering from a horrible infected tooth. The filling had cracked and I was waiting on Monday for an emergency root canal....
I think I did pretty good considering the amount of drugs that I was on....
Let me know what you think...

Some new technicals and the UN Observers...

Woo hoo! My UN Jeep is finished! Except for the antenna!
FoW players will recognize it as one of the three jeeps in the Recon Pack. The guy in the back with the radio is a cross bash of a Peter Pig FFL Command, (upper half), and a lower torso from a FoW Binocular Obeserver (like the one in the passenger seat). I will be using the other two halfs for another FFL UN figure on a command basis. The last thing I really need to do is to get the grey piece that I missed with some paint, attach and antenna or two...add terrain flocking, and seal it....and voila!; We now have an observer team from the Worlds most indecisive and ineffective body of government; all ready to drive around and do nothing in the interests of world peace...
Naturally when I finished the jeep, I also decided to put the finishing initial touches to the latest two BARF technicals. I really wish I knew who does their paint jobs...these guys need some serious help...(BARF Technicals are after the UN jeep pics...)
Anyhow, let me know what you think! Enjoy! Comments are welcome!






Ahhhh...here we have two technicals from the forces of "Pending Liberation"...I wonder if Toyota knows what their trucks are up to these days???...
Nice purple door....

Just in case you DON'T know "who they are"....

recent update...

It's rainy and grey here in Indy, and I took a few days away from the paint table to do some other hobby stuff. But I got back to the table today. I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to, but I did get the UN jeep pretty much done, and am halfway done with the majority of the painting of the vehicles that you have seen on my work table.
My next project will be somehting a little "odder".
I'm working on making a 15mm soccer field.
Yeps.
I'm also in "wait" mode for QRF to send me replacement parts for their Hind D model as their Quality control gave me the wrong type of weapons pylon wings.
Go figure...
Hopefully by the end of the month, I am looking at finishing the vehicles on my table, the soccer field, and maybe one more urban block.
Lot of work, but once I get back in the mood I'll be moving fast.

I've just suddenly realized how freakin' armed BARF is....they've got a LOT of Technicals ready for action. A very effective mobile force....
More pics to come in the week.

I'm off to eat, and to hope that I can get some more stuff done.

New Years Day work...and some ACW stuff on the side...

So I spent today doing some painting and working on the vehicles mostly, (and my French UN Troops)... This is what I have learned.

1: It's good to have a nice sized worktable...but it's never "enough"... There's always "more stuff" on it than I need to be working on, but that's the blessing and curse of a gamer...too many projects.

2: I need some more light...a close up lamp and some vise grips also...

Well it seems that I got some decent base coating done to most of the vechicles. The T-34's took three (3)! Base coats. I've decided that I just do NOT like Armory White Primer. It takes more paint to cover up the "whiteness" of it.

Here you can see the BARF Technicals, and 2 of the 3 jeeps along with the Panhard 90, the Dodge 1 1/4 tons, the Halftrack and the Tanks. The Third Jeep is turning into a UN vehicle.

My French UN troops in their pretty blue Helmets. Ready to carry out indecisive, ineffective, inefficient international peacekeeping operations.

Okay and just on the side...here is a photo of my almost 400 15mm ACW figs that need to be rebased...from Balsa and Basswood to Litko-Aero bases. But that's a project for another time...

As usual, let me know what you think...