My latest Conte acquisition (the one I mentioned in the previous post) arrived the other day. This set is "Up the Oxs and the Bucks!" - hence the post title. My primary interest was the grenade throwing figure as I had not seen it except as a single figure (for about what I paid for the set!). I seem to have scooped up all of the bargain priced figures on eBay, so my pre-painted collector figure buying *should* slow down again.
I did place an order with Irregular for their SS officer and an SMG figure, as well as a figure suitable as a French partisan to act as a contact/objective. I know I said I was resistant to painting the SS, but I already have some Classic Toy Soldier plastic "Elite" Germans that I can give a paint job to and save myself a couple of dollars. The figures from Irregular will fill in some gaps.
Also pictured is the first building I have made in a good 8 or 10 years - and I'd only made two then. I realized if I was going to do some very small scale skirmishes - a squad or so per side, maybe less - I needed some buildings I could actually put more than two or three figures in. I was tempted to buy some of the BMC farm houses, and I still may, but I do like the feel of foamcore and at $1.25 per sheet, I figured it was worth a go.
This was intended to be taller but a knife slip meant some additional hacking was required. It wasn't supposed to be Tudor inspired either, but again, accidents had to be covered somehow! Thank heavens for popsicle sticks (a large quantity of which I acquired from the craft section at Dollar Tree late last year). The second floor is usable - thanks to an offcut of foamcore, so I can station figures upstairs or down (it's removable so i can access the bottom level).
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| The full height of the building. Kind of looks like every tavern in a fantasy RPG. |
Up close my handiwork doesn't hold up to scrutiny, but at wargames distance, and given my need for glasses to see tiny details anyway, it works OK. I managed to salvage the house despite it not being what I set out to make. Just don't feel too put out by the lopsided windows.
It was a good learning experience about what not to do, so hopefully the next one goes a little more according to plan (I can get two buildings at least from a single sheet of foamcore).
Eventually I will add a door in the lower left - not a cut out, but probably a drawing of a door glued in place - and maybe a roof. Maybe not, as I need to get inside somehow and I'll just end up taking it off during a game anyway.
My "goal" such as it is, is to be able to fill a good bit of my 38" square table with buildings for some house to house fighting.
Hi John, to English eyes, Normandy, Flanders and Brittany (France) not only have very long historical ties with England (and Wales), but their climate, architecture, farmland, etc, look very English too. Yes, they do have what we call 'Tudor' looking buildings and even villages. Even the locals look like Brits too, although they may have better teeth, lol.
ReplyDeleteMichael
Hi Michael, Unfortunately, when I deleted the deleted response, it deleted your actual reply. Fortunately, I could still see it on the screen so I copied it and I'm pasting it here for posterity!
Delete"By the way, John. As an American you might not be aware of this. Four British Crown islands were occupied by the Germans in WW2. They are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark. (New Jersey is named after one)The locals still speak Norman-French. When William the First (of Normandy) took the crown of England in 1066, Normandy and the Islands were joined to England. The King of France later overran the semi-independent Duchy of Normandy but the small islands were never captured by France. The locals see themselves as Normans, not French or British, but are loyal to the Crown. The British always allowed the islanders to pretty well govern themselves, and they still do today. I love Jersey, and there are lots of German coastal fortifications surviving. Tradition has it, when the Germans took the Islands they wanted to put a swastika on the postal stamps, the locals would not use them, refusing to lick the backside of the stamp (Arse-Joke). The Germans must have found this amusing and left the stamps alone. Compared to France, the Germans were not as severe. Churches were even allowed to pray for the Crown and welfare of the British Empire. But imported hard-labour workers were badly treated. At least 30,000 (?) Germans surrendered when the British armed forces returned in 1945."
Thank you, Michael. This is something I've heard a little about - but only very little (I think there might have been an example campaign in Lone Warrior perhaps?). I do have a show in my to watch list called "Island at War" which is about a fictional island - which I gather is to represent those islands you mentioned - that is occupied by Germans.
DeleteGee John, it all looks good to me! The building will work great on your table and having figures on both floors will really spice things up! I have some BMC bombed out buildings and I really like them. They are very useful and look great!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brad! Do they BMC buildings snap together well or is glue required to keep them standing? Given the amount of time it took to make this one building, the BMC buildings may represent an even bigger bargain! Plus, I like the idea of being able to disassemble them for storage, provided they snap together tightly and don't fall apart when in use.
DeleteThey clipped together quite securely and include a partial second floor for figures. I didn't need to use any glue, I like them a lot!
DeleteExcellent! I'm going to order one then! The dimenstions for my DIY building are based on the BMC dimensions so they should fit nicely on the table together.
DeleteThey look fabulous; beautifully painted and the building looks beaut too.
ReplyDeleteRegards, James
Thank you, James. Of course, I can take no credit for the Conte figures - those are factory painted. I never intended to collect them, but I acquired my initial conte and King & Country paratroopers for around $3 each at a local scale model show. Hunting similar deals down on eBay gives a bit of a thrill so I keep at it. I just wish I had bought more from that original vendor in retrospect!
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