Gripping Beast resin miniatures

 Having discovered my new found love for resin miniatures, a good friend recommended another company that sold resin figures for the modern era- Gripping Beast. I hadn’t associated this company with modern figures so was pleasantly surprised to find these US Marines. There are three different packs each with their own ‘charm’ and although a little quirky, they have bags of character.

This is a selection of figures from all 3 packs . Some have choc chip pattern, some 3 colour desert BDU, and one has MARPAT done using a sponge technique but I’m not too confident about how it looks. 

Just as a diversion from the Modern theme, I picked up three other figures from Gripping Beast that took my fancy- General Custer, a pirate and a western gunslinger. Bought purely for fun and painting experience. 

Very nice figures, a great pleasure to paint-highly recommended!

Anvil Industries

Having painted a large number of figures like most wargamers, my preference has always been for metal minis. From the early Prince August ‘cast your own’  Napoleonics to Empress, Spectre, Eureka et al, I thought that was the best material. Then came (for me) White Dragon Miniatures. I became a bit of a fan of resin then.

My son had always liked the early resin figures from Games Workshop but I sneered at the expense. Now, with a little egg on my face, I get it. So having really enjoyed painting White Dragon minis I looked around for some alternatives. Anvil Industry cropped up on my Googling and I was quite impressed by the options they provided. I know that the first criticism  many will have is the oversized weapons- and that is something I struggle with a bit, but those who have gamed with Games Workshop minis will be less critical perhaps. Yes, the weapons are over-sized, but unless you are a wargamer who wishes to adhere to complete authenticity, and there is nothing wrong in that of course, then these minis can provide a bit of a different flavour for a game.

Here are a few examples of the Anvil minis I have put together and painted. I’ve tried to get a mixture of spec ops and insurgent types for opposing forces. There are all sorts of extras on the website to use for other applications and many things for customising your current minis if that is your interest. Head swaps in particular are small alterations that can individualise your armies and Anvil have plenty of options.

So just a small mention for this company. Good service too, and although stock levels are suffering on some items, probably to do with the pandemic and Brexit, if it’s out of stock at least you can see the state of play.

As a parting shot, here is a picture of a White Dragon Minis Taliban motorcycle and passengers that I finished recently.

I hope to have a report on Turnbase 3D printed miniatures in the future- more resin!

Multicam or MTP

 Now before I get shot down, I know there is a difference between British MTP and that from the US, and I believe there are other variations around the world, but for the sake of my sanity I would just like to call it Multicam.

On some Facebook pages that I follow, I have been asked my ‘recipe’ for Multicam by several members and I’ve been happy to PM this recipe but having started this blog I thought it could be a subject for an early post. I wish to state that this isn’t a painting ‘tutorial’ in the way that professional mini painters present their work- I’m not a professional and I don’t profess to know as much as these ladies and gentlemen, but it is purely a list of paints and the order in which I apply them. Furthermore, I’m not a military historian and this recipe is just my take on a number of Multicam painting techniques I have read and appreciated, a collection of stolen ideas (sorry!) from many others.

To replicate camouflage patterns for tabletop figures is very difficult as far as identifying them if it is too busy. I guess the way is to capture the essence of the pattern in a recognisable way. Others can judge whether my recipe does that, but something I believe helps is to avoid painting packs, gear, harness, plate carriers etc in Multicam as well but in a single colour. Although I believe there could be some variation in real life, this approach is probably considered not to be authentic. I see the point but this is my approach- what you do to make this technique more realistic will fit your own vision.

Again, gloves, boots and other paraphernalia can vary so I am not presenting my colours as definitive- those who know more than me will apply the appropriate colours. I don’t pretend to be an authority- just an enthusiast!

I am using a 28mm resin figure from White Dragon Miniatures and mostly Vallejo paints. I have tried to supply alternatives where I can but there are conversion charts to be found on the internet which can easily be found.

These colours may differ slightly from those I have previously supplied but in essence are very similar.

Over a grey primer I apply an overall coat of VMC 821 German Camo Beige WW2. Knee pads were painted in VMC 886 Green Grey, gloves in VMC 876 Brown Sand, and boots in Panzer Aces 340 Highlight Afrika Korps Tank Crew, and the inserts on this particular figure were done in VMC 921 English Uniform.

Next stage is a wash with Citadel’s Agrax Earthshade.

Repaint basic colours again leaving the wash in the deepest recesses, then just catch the top highlights with the base colour plus Off White or similar- perhaps Pale Sand.

Apply patches of AK Interactive AK 3024 Light Green. VMC 974 Green Sky is a close alternative.

Next, apply patches of AK3058 Intermediate Green but smaller. Some of these can ‘bleed’ from the lighter green. 

Now patches of VMC 825 German Camo Pale Brown.

Apply ‘wiggly’ lines, mostly horizontal, and spots and dots in VMC 820 Off White.

Do the same with AK3056, or VMC 822 German Camo Black Brown.

Other colours are in there in the real thing, a mid brown, possibly Golden Olive or similar, but the above is sufficient for me. There are other examples in the previous post.

I hope this will be helpful for those who would like something written down to reference, all supposing anybody finds this blog! As always, suggestions and ideas welcome- thanks for taking the time!

Third time lucky they say. Before I carry on with this next incarnation, I need to stress from the outset that I have no illusions, or inflated opinions of my abilities, and I am not setting myself up as some sort expert because I am most decidedly not. I have received some kind comments from followers of certain Facebook pages and in order to improve myself and provide a diary of my gaming and modelling exploits, I have decided to start to blog again, and share anything that has caused a smattering of interest. I hope to include some painting schemes/colours that I use, maybe some reviews of figures and gaming paraphernalia, and any other topic that I can try and whip up some interest in.

My main interest is modern era war gaming although like many out there I have meandered through gaming time warps from Napoleonic, Samurai, WW2, WW1, Spanish Civil War…..well you get the idea. Also, like many others, I can’t resist the odd mini or ten from something totally unrelated to my chosen era and I would like to add these in just for the fun of it.

Here are a few pictures to give an idea of my collection, including a hasty snap of my less than tidy work space- no pristine painting studio here! Amongst this random collection are some minis from Anvil Industries sporting the over large weapons often associated with the ‘heroic’ scale and minis from a well known games company. This divides opinions and is a topic I may well cover at some time, but for now, suffice to say, I will just enjoy painting them.

A right mixture, but this is my disordered world. I hope that you will return when I have entered more posts and feel free to comment, but constructively please!

Best wishes.