Guardian of the Fjords

Norway's finest from Gorgon Studios, part of the Narvik campaign series.

Along with the French Foreign Legion troops, these will be employed with the British forces in the desperate attempt to hang onto Norway, and keep the iron ore reserves from German hands.

Here's a link to the Gorgon Studios site, where you can see the entire line of early World War 2 figures, including the newest set of Norwegians with backpacks:

https://gorgon-studios.myshopify.com/collections/new-releases/products/norwegian-riflemen-with-bergan-pack

Norway's Day

On Norway's National Day, it is only fitting to have another member of the Narvik force join the fray.  This is from Gorgon Studios, which has an entire range of early war Nordic Campaign figures.

Painting these figures has been quite different from most of the other armies that I have done so far.  In some ways, these early war uniforms more closely resemble policemen, with the exception of the color.  Some of the illustrations at the time have more of a First World War appearance as well.

This army continues, to grow, along with the French Foreign Legion in the sheepskin and anorac.  More to come, so stay tuned!

And to all my Norwegian friends, best wishes!!!

Fire Support

Little Wars begins today!  I will be painting these Norwegian troops (28mm for Bolt Action) as well as the French Foreign Legion.  I enjoy painting both of these armies, since they are so different in appearance from the forces which I have been working on.

The Norwegians in particular have a unique look, even though the color is green.  

I know that for game purposes people tend to separate the machine gun team figures like this, but I enjoy creating these "mini dioramas" or vignettes.

The snow was done using the usual Secret Weapon Miniatures crushed glass technique.  This is very handy for creating a variety in the snow, such as a more melted look.  While other materials imitate fresh fallen snow very well, you can't have the range of partially melted to frozen solid!

The Legion

The preparation for Little Wars is in full swing, and that means lots of French in sheepskin and anorac! I will be painting more of these figures in the Gorgon Studios booth, so come and see me there!

It is this weekend, at the Westin in Lombard, Illinois.

I really enjoy painting these figures, which are sculpted by the same artist from Artizan Designs.

Many more French Foreign legion on the way, as well as Norwegians for the Narvik campaign.

A Close Watch

We return to the fjords of Norway in the Early War period with this observer.  He can serve a number of roles, as an Artillery Observer, a spotter for a mortar crew or even part of a sniper team.

This is another great miniature from the Gorgon Studio line of figures, which are sculpted by the same talented artists who do the Artizan Designs figures.

Here's a link:

http://www.gorgon-studios.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=18_21

I am really looking forward to the Narvik campaign, so stay tuned!!

Foreign Legion

From Gorgon Studio we have a machine gun team for the French Foreign Legion!

There's an extensive range to choose from, with command figures, riflemen in sheepskin and anorac, etc.  And that it just one faction.  There are early war German, British and Norwegian forces as well.

You have seen some of those Norwegian figures here already, but more are on the way.  Since these will all be part of various Norway campaigns, the early war British and German armies will be shown here as well.

Here's a link to the page!  Be sure to check out the Anicents as well :-)

http://www.gorgon-studios.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=18_23

Gorgon of the North

Next up from Gorgon Studios is the Norwegian army.  Just like all the early war forces in their selections, there is a full compliment of officers, gear, etc.

These figures are sculpted by the same artist who does the Artizan Designs sculpts, so you will see a lot of similarities in the style. They are easy to clean, and there is plenty of nice detail on each figure.

I found some rather humorous reference sources in a Google Search...

But here's a live source!  I will have to balance the two sources...

As I usually do, I will vary the colors on each figure, with some greens being darker or warmer, giving them the appearance of more or less worn uniforms.

Figuring out where to place the red stripes was interesting, but that is a wonderful contrast to all the green, and it makes them distinct from other armies that I am currently working on.

As for the bases, the snow will be less heavy on these forces. In fact, I want it to seem partially melted, which is possible to do with the crushed glass method.  I didn't want this to be the dead of Arctic winter, but more like the alpine snow which is still around even when the temps are well above freezing.

This is just the first of the defenders of Norway, so stay tuned for much more!!!

Face of the Gorgon

Ever since I began my French Bolt Action army early last year, I began to think about various ways to incorporate Foreign Legion troops in some fashion.

There are some options out there, especially for North Africa theme FFL.  However, I was really intrigued when I saw the various early war armies that are available from Gorgon Studio!

I have some images of the French Foreign Legion in sheepskin coats.  As you can see, there is a nice variety of poses and gear, everything you would need to create that early war Norway force.

The army has weapon teams, command figures, as so on, and the sculpting is first rate!  Many of you will probably recognize Artizan Designs and their WW2 miniature line.  Well, the same sculptor has been hard at work creating these for Gorgon Studios.

I will include a link for you, but be sure to check out all the armies that are available.  For the German player, a host of options await, no matter what theater you desire.  There are also British, Polish and even Norwegians!

That's another army that's coming too, so stay tuned later in the week.

I'm going to have all kinds of fun painting both these armies, especially if I enjoy them as much as I did painting this guy.  There are very clean lines, and most figures are one piece casts.

These have also provided me with a chance to paint some very interesting uniforms, and work within a slightly different color range.

Hopefully you can see some of the subtle color changes in the coat itself, where I tried to incorporate some of the grayish greens on the sleeves.

Here's a link to the French Foreign Legion:

http://www.gorgon-studios.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18_23&products_id=104

The Ancients

This figure was a nice exercise in balancing Non-Metallic Metals with muted earth tones and greens.

It was also an opportunity to do a little freehand!  I wanted to reflect the profile face from the base onto the shield.

That turned out the way I had hoped... these views show the base as well, made from a Green Stuff World texture roller.

Here's an article showing some mosaic tile bases under construction:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-new-realm-of-basing.html