Shalom, Punk!

Still no lead, but I'm going to buy one this weekend if I can't find it tonight.

Today I ignored my Goliaths and painted up three more Greater Israeli Army troops - a riflewoman, sniper, and Guided Missile System - Portable (GMS-P) trooper. Their camo scheme looks a little like this:

Which is an Armja Krajowa home-made armoured car. I've altered it quite considerably, using a lighter brown and with less squiggling, but their vehicles will pretty much match this exactly.

Last night, while my son was sleeping next to me on the sofa (he's got a bad cold and won't really go to sleep without Daddy cuddles which is quite nice but shatteringly tiring) at 4am, I wrote up a set of quick-play rules (60s Spy Skirmish) for the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ranges of Copplestone Castings and Artizan Designs.

I have a few ideas for games using these rules and figures, and the inspiration mainly comes from playing No-One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M's Way, which is an utterly excellent PC game and one which, together with No-One Lives Forever, should be purchased and played at once. Both take equal top spot in my Best First-Person Shooter of All Time ranking.

Olley Painting Points:

This Week: 16
2009 Total: 39

Vroom, vroom, eeeee- brapapapapapa!

Today I painted up the BUF driver (aka Samantha Stewart* from the ITV series Foyle's War) and the armoured car Nr 12 'Immediate Action!' for my fledgling BUF force(s).

The Rolls-Royce armoured car looks utterly spiffing with its new coat of British Racing Green (GW Dark Angels Green), grey tires, and BUF markings. Woe betide the Reds! I've since realised that this particular Rolls-Royce is an old, and now out-of-production, Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company vehicle, from back in the day when they did a huge range of 28mm WWI and Interwar armoured cars. I was sad to discover the other day that all their 28mm stuff (which included a large range of troops) is now no longer being made and hasn't been for some time. A great shame.

I've also nearly finished the two plainclothes men that come with the Artizan Scotland Yard Detectives pack (aka Christopher Foyle and Paul Milner from Foyle's War). I've decided to do the armed one as a member of the BUF State Security organisation, 'Z' Division, and the unarmed one as a Police Detective. Both have mackintoshes and grey fedoras.

Not a bad start to the week really.

Olley Painting Points:

This Week: 6
2009 Total: 29

* Played by the incredibly named Honeysuckle Hero Susan Weeks, ex-Roedean, ex-Pembroke College Oxford, who's married (brilliantly) to a man named Lorne Stormont-Darling, making her Honeysuckle Hero Susan Stormont-Darling! You couldn't make it up...

Action Squad and the Red Witch

Quick post-prandial (paintial?) update for you, my loyal readers:

I finished touching up the BUF men from Al Front, and redid their bases (a simple grey drybrush over a black paintjob). They look rather good actually!

I then went to start undercoating my own, only to discover I've run out of black paint! Aieee! A trip to GW or ModelZone may be required... Having been foiled in my scheme to effectively paint up the rest of the 12-strong Action Squad which forms part of my State Forces for 'Police Action' (see below), I turned to a model which had failed to inspire me of late:

Reaper Miniatures' witch, or, in my hands, the Red Witch. I picked her up, started painting, and very nearly finished her! I was amazed! I still need to work on this translucent clothing business, especially as I want to showcase it on my forthcoming Song of Blades and Heroes warband, but nonetheless I'm pleased with how it looks so far.

All I really need to do on her now is some detailing, her leather gauntlet, staff, hair and base. She should be done tomorrow, which'll be good.

Having reviewed my BUF contingent:

3x pistol-wielding officers
1x NCO with MP-28
1x NCO with shotgun
7x Riflemen

And compared them with my proposed list for Police Action:

1x Officer
2x NCOs with SMGs
1x Shotgun
12x Riflemen
1x plainclothesman
1x female driver

I note that I'm lacking 5 riflemen (although I am reliably informed that the reason for this is because, unsportingly, the Empress Miniatures' Assault Guards are wearing a mix of monos and shirt/trouser ensembles), 1 NCO with SMG, the driver and the plainclothesman. My new, revised list, is:

3x Officer with pistols
1x NCO with SMG, 1x NCO with shotgun
12x Riflemen
1x driver

This gives me:

Staff car - Officer, driver
Truck 1 - Officer, NCO, 6 riflemen (inc. driver)
Truck 2 - Officer, NCO, 6 riflemen (inc. driver)

The female driver will come from the 'Scotland Yard Detectives' pack from Artizan Designs. The two plain clothes detectives in it will be part of the Police presence.

The remaining 5 riflemen will be made up of Empress Miniatures' Assault Guard Rifles 1 and 2 packs (leaving 3 spare who will either be given to Al Front for his 28mm SCW, or hung onto and used as, well, BUF men!)

All told, the BUF will cost me - not including vehicles - £15 at Salute! 2010. Not bad at all really.

EDIT:

Al Front has very kindly sent me a Lledo 1:43 staff car - a 1930 Bentley two-seater in dark blue with the British flag and number '1' on the side - for the Action Squad. Brilliantly, the '1' could pass for an 'I', which was the correct deisgnation of the BUF's defence squads; the 'I' Squads.

I'm now musing over what trucks to buy for the 'I' Squad - armoured Lancias, or civilian trucks, or one of each?

Also, I'm tempted to use the Lewis gunner from Musketeer Miniatures BCW03 British Militia Command pack as a BUF man - I'd need to head swap to keep him in line with the rest of the I Squad, but it'd certainly give them a bit of extra punch. Thoughts?