Sunday, June 7, 2015

6MMRPC Week One: Historicon Painting Competion

My first week of the 6MMRPC was a quiet one, my son's fifth birthday took most of my attention.  Wargames Illustrated has co-hosted the Historicon Painting Competition since 2013, and are doing so again this year.  There will be ten categories, and I plan on entering my work into three of them; Open, Flames of War Platoon, and Flames of War Objective.  I've done very well in both years so far, winning the Iron Cross for Best Flames of War entry twice, and three other awards in category.  Let's see if I can continue the streak!
So far, I'm planning on entering a Saving Private Ryan- inspired diorama using Flames of War minis in the Open category, which allows for models, vignette, or diorama measuring 8" x 8" x 8".  I built Battlefront's Hollywood Tiger special Nationals objective marker, a tounge-in-cheek reference to the old movie practice of building a 'Tiger' on a T-34 chassis.  This technique was famously used in Saving Private Ryan and Kelly's Heroes, among other films.  I used the cupola from the early-model Tiger I to match the one used in the film, replaced the fenders which were actually too detailed, and added a few bits of stowage and appropriate decals as well.  So far, I've got the 'Tiger" base-coated, camoflauged and washed, as well as the Kettenkrad and BMW combo from the final bridge scene.  I've also kit-bashed up a Captain Miller figure, but need to fill some gaps still.

You can see the funky Soviet tracks and boxy front end and fenders.
First attempt at a Tiger with the airbrush, think the camo turned out pretty good.  Details next.
The bridge scene shows these two broken-down German vehicles, they will be included.  Capt. Miller in progress.
Inspiration.
The beast.
I will also be entering into the Flames of War Platoon and Objective categories, not sure what I'll enter into the Platoon category, but it'll be something I've already painted, maybe my Luftwaffe troops.  In the Objective category I will be entering something I've been working on off-and-on for years, a propaganda photographer getting an 8.8cm Flak36 crew to pose for a shot, maybe with some newly earned award or something.  I have the crew mostly finished, but they still need details, and I may add a few more kneeling crewmen.  I pushed the gun back and removed the rear legs as I thought it looked a bit cramped.

I'll add some ammo crates, etc. for the middle guy to lean against, plus some other items.
These will be the first FoW items I'll work on, have about six weeks until the competition.

13 comments:

  1. Looks like it's going to be a fun diorama. Where did the "Capt. Miller" fig come from?

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    1. Chopped up a couple of figs, one a bailed US tanker, think the other was a Brit. Repositioned and reglued. Still need to fill a few gaps.

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  2. Looks great so far! I'll be at Historicon as well, I'll be sure to look for your models in the cabinet!

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  3. Astonishing! So characterful!

    I must say - I took one look at the figure by the bike and thought 'Ha! That looks just like whassisname from Private Ryan.' Genius!

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    1. Thanks! I'm also going to be giving this away after the competition, I hosted a D-Day event last year and this goes to the winner of the painting comp.

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  4. Love the Capt Miller piece. I'm just getting into 15mm historicals and FoW, so you're definitely an inspiration to me.

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    1. Thanks! FoW is a fun game, I'm still playing it eight years in.

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  5. Super cool Rich. Though i have to say, after your previous triumphs, I expect no less than 1st place across the board, no excuses.

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    1. O and look at you Mr Fancy Pants, with your blog being show-cased on the FoW website front-page! (Congrats!)

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    2. Haha, I didn't even know they were going to do that. Checked the update last night and was very surprised. Guess this means I'd better get these done then?

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  6. DUDE! What a cool idea! And to think we have a celebrity in our little 6MMRPC!

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  7. Very smart looking setup - looking forward to seeing it painted and all put together!

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