Pineapple Miniatures 1/35th scale - New figures for Portuguese flags, Buçaco1810

This is the second model you can change in the ACTA Belgian figures in order to have new Portuguese flag bearers.

 

To the right you have the original figure.

After a lot of X-Acto work you can take out the musket as you can see in the left figure. 

Then it's time to apply the heat of a lighter to bend the left arm into the desired position.

Finally use the drill (1,5mm)  to make holes in both hands. 

 

A thick broom thread heated also with a lighter, squashed at the end and cut to shape enters both hands and here you have a new figure.

These new ones will carry the military region flags (white, yellow or red field). 

As usual you can find the unique Pineapple Miniatures at the Buçaco Military Museum.

Rapid Fire! 20mm, D-Day/ Normandy 44, German strongpoint by Queen's Hussar, part 1

This is the generic WN (Wiederstand Nest, something like "resistance point") from the late Queen's Hussar. 

This is a several kilo resin part with 3 separate parts for the bunker roofs and a 

metal ex-French FT-17 turret.

Originally I intended it for Omaha beach western strongpoint (WN72) but when this big diorama arrived I realised it was quite generic, and didn't fit the area RF! planned for it.

Even so It's a nice, heavy piece of resin, easy to paint and assemble.

Only some netting and barbed wire was added. Also a piece of cardboard was glued to the bottom part of the diorama to withstand some eventual rough usage.

The figures are Britannia. As Queen's Hussar and Britannia worked pretty close together the standing MG42 fit nicely the trenches.

With all these MG's around, there will be no Ranger left to save private Ryan...

Impetus, 20mm - Mohács 1526 - part 2, Household Sipahis

Lucky toys Household Sipahis this time.

These Lucky Toys miniatures are just great: well detailed and a very good reconstitution of an Osprey plate of its Ottoman army book.

But only two figures for the cavalry in a box that mixes infantry and cavalry which is a solution that always creates few poses.

 

So all horses and figures were bended slightly into different positions with the help of hot water. 

 

The maces and swords of all cavalrymen were taken out, the hands were drilled and a lance was placed.

Also some quivers were made out of Evergreen as only one of the poses had it.

The flags are the ones I made for my self and that you can print from some posts ago. 

Impetus, 20mm - Mohacs 1526- part 1, rebased miniatures

After a conversation on the phone with my friend JF ( yes, the famous one from Brigada Tripeira and O brigadeiro, the most famous Wargaming sites north of the river Douro, being this one the most famous south of it) he  convinced me  to change my Mohács 1526 miniatures from DBR to Impetus. 

Impetus has some nice big bases that can take lots of figures (up to 14 heavy infantrymen, for instance) and the possibility of creating bases that can be true dioramas. 

Regarding the rules, well... JF say they are great and I believe him! 

Besides you can download the basic version for free from impetus site.

 

The Esci/Italeri Sipahis. 

And the Zvezda/ Miniart Hungarian noble cavalry.

Impetus looks very nice. You can have a nice looking Wargaming table, some very easy and fun mechanics (JF says so), a very supportive site and a lot of well written and investigated supplements.

Lorenzo Sartori, the Impetus and Dadi & Piombo boss is also an enthusiastic and helpful guy. You can contact him and always receive his support. 

6 pdr and 7.7cm FG found in Figueira da Foz

The beautiful beach city of Figueira da Foz kept hidden from my eyes two old artillery pieces, one from WWI and another from WWII.

They are located near the Monument to António Gonçalves Curado, the first  Portuguese soldier killed in WWI (no, don't feel ashamed by not knowing it, I also didn't till I read it on the monument).

This memorial is close to the Guarda Nacional Republicana  (Republican Guard) barracks  in Figueira da Foz.

It's a place visitors and tourists rarely go, and that's why after coming to this city hundreds of times I never bumped into it.

 

This is a Krupp 7.7-cm FK 16, similar to its  older brother FK 96 but with a longer barrel. 

The Germans made this caliber bigger than the French 75mm or Russian 76 so they could use their ammunition if captured but not the other way around.

The other one is a British 6 pdr. This finding would have been very useful when I scratchbuilt the airborne version for my WWII 1st airborne division. 

The sights are still in very good condition and all detail can still be seen.

Pineapple Miniatures 1/35th scale - Leal Legião Lusitana, British 52nd light infantry, French infantry - Buçaco1810

ACTA Leal Legião Lusitana made from the British light infantry box. The flags are the generic Dom João VI era flags. 

ACTA 52nd LI (avenge General Moore ...!).

Hat French coated infantry (Voltigeurs and Grenadiers). 

All this at the usual place, Museu Militar do Buçaco. 

DBR- Battle of Mohács 1526 (part 8) 20mm Hungarian household cavalry

Now for some Hungarian just out of the varnish spray.

Most of figures are Miniart Burgundians and French with some Zvezda French knights. 

Here is Ludwig II ahead of his household cavalry in that mad charge against the Ottoman center.

Take a good look at him cause he died some minutes later and may be the last time you see the young king.

In order to have balanced armies I'll make a group each time of Ottomans  and  Hungarians. 

The flags are colour photocopies of the ones I showed you in part 6.

Hungarian cavalry is great and easy to paint (as all Gendarme cavalry type) :

- black spraying

- apply some dry brush steel colour 

- and later aluminium colour. This will make the knights armatures shine and look cooler. 

The Zvezda horses are quite short in height and look a bit silly with its horsemen on top. That is strange for probably the best plastic small scale figure manufacturer ever.

On the contrary Miniart horses are tall and slim but all this mixed together makes a pleasant sight.

Truly speaking the ones I would like to have are the DDS XVI century knights but these suckers have vanished from the market as no shop seems to have them on stock. I think it was Suleyman...