The Defense of St Lo

... well, in part anyway.
Rather than start with the obligitory apology for not updating in months, how about I just post my latest finished figures? Lots of full-on family and work related things have conspired to rob me of time and the inclination to crack-on, but the spring sunshine always seems to bring Jerry out into the hedgerows :-)

These are the result of a productive afternoon and evening's work. 

Various 250 variants, all by Cromwell models. I've more sdkfz250s from Milicast to add to these. In terms of size the two makes go together very well (it looks like their running gear might share similar ancestry). Both manufacturers kits are very nice but there are some slightly curios ommisions from both. The Cromwell kits all lack the second MG for the rear, and the Milicast kits don't have the interior stowage cabinet. None of this is really a problem, and they both produce some really nice wargaming recce for my Germans.

Three of these (the 250/01, 250/8 and 250/9) are nearly at the stage where they will get decals and be based. So far they've had base-coats of various camoflage, filtering, pin-linning, shading and chipping etc. and I'm working on the interiors.

At some point they will get themselves crews, but in the meantime I'm trying to get the vehicles themselves ready for Wednesdays game. Things are looking tight for that ...

Well, it starts here then. I'm sure I'm not the first person to use a blog to attempt to provide the motivation to get something finished. I suspect that is expecially true in the funny little world of toy soldiers and wargaming.

I'm a pretty average wargamer and painter, meaning that I have a butterfly attention span and can find almost any area of conflict fascinating for at least five days. I have great respect (and more than a little envy) for anyone who can focus on a single period, army or whatever and get the thing done. That laser-guided single minded mentality has, alas, escaped me so far. I am particularly bad when it comes to assembling armies and miniatures. I can pull off a pretty decent paint job with a little effort, but find it difficult to reign things back to a more sensible (and manageable) level. This is getting easier more recently and I'm finally getting relaxed enough to bash figures and things out and just get the damn things on the table.
Hence this blog. Wargaming has become very much 'work' over the last few years and this is an attempt to claim a small corner of my hobby back for me. At the moment my main gaming 'buddy' and me have been rather enjoying Kampfgruppe Normandy (Warhammer Historical Games WW2 ruleset) and I've begun bashing together some forces for that. 20mm figures and tanks have always been my first love and I'm returning to them with this.

Venerable Britannia Cromwells with a 'Ready to Roll' A30 in support.

Dragon M4 with AB figures commander

If this is my last post then you know I've already moved on to something else entirely ...