Death From Above!

Never having painted strictly a mass amount of 15mm 'Infantry' figs before, I'm finding myself a bit overwhelmed to get through them all! Back in April I had some time off work to do a few stands and really experiment with colors and techniques in order to get it right the first time. If you missed it, you can find that entry HERE Doing this ahead of time when you have never painted 104 figures before, is the best way of getting the necessary research together. Painting videos, color charts and countless hours of Band of Brothers all helped in my road to victory......at least the uphill battle part of getting them done. The greatest delay of getting through all these is partly because I was working on some armor for a tournament around the same time I started my Paras. Since then, I have been playing my Germans almost every 'Friday Night Fights'.

Three completed stands up front.

Final detailing, washing and basing details are next!

Aside from war gaming, I am an avid WW2 history buff and have always been fascinated by the men and missions that shaped our world. I've been lucky enough to feel the waves of Utah,Omaha, Juno and Dieppe crash against my feet while I made tracks in the sand. I've dug up artifacts the Germans left behind in the 'Falaise Pocket'. I've even lit a candle and had some time to reflect on it all, in the famous church at Sainte-Mere-Eglise. Vimy Ridge, Pegasus Bridge, all the museums of Normandy, and locating Michael Wittman's resting place were all small highlights of my trip in 2007. Though let's be clear, a member of the SS himself, I respect Wittman's abilities as a tank commander, not any of his political or fanatical viewpoints.

For now, I can only look back at pictures and think of all the sights and experience of seeing it all up close as I finish what will likely be my last army for Flames of War for some time to come, that is until I start to assemble the boxes of Battlefront M4A3 76mm Shermans, Plastic Soldier Company M4A1 and Firefly tanks I have lying around!

St-Mere-Eglise

One of the guns of the 'Longues-sur-Mer' Normandy battery. Four 155mm guns made up the battery.