Two More Batches of 28mm Viet Cong

    My latest batch of 28mm Viet Cong from Black Sun investigate a U.S. chopper they've downed

By the time the humidity here in Ohio was low enough to spray coat my third batch of Viet Cong figures, I was almost done with the fourth group. I decided to wait and take pictures of the two batches together rather than do separate posts for each. As I type this, the final three packs of 28mm Black Sun miniatures from the Crucible Crush line that I purchased for this project are in motion. Barring any kind of disaster, I should definitely have everything painted up soon. The rules are pretty far along, too, so you can look forward to play testing reports at least by July, I imagine!

    A V.C. RPG gunner and his assistant carrying reloads in a wicker basket -- very nice touch!

I am continuing to enjoy painting these miniatures. This project has reinforced for me why I prefer to paint metal miniatures over plastic or 3-D printed ones. I feel the detail is carved (or raised?) more on metal figures, and I feel they accept washes and dry brushing better. Or at least, they do for my inexpert level of painting! I have seen some master painters take what I consider muddy detail on a figure and make it into a beautifully blended work of art! So, maybe I mean metal figures are more "journeyman friendly," if that makes sense? 

    I continue to be very happy with the character and details of these miniatures from Crucible Crush

These two batches included the RPGs and Support Team pack. It includes two figures holding or firing a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) and one carrying reloads in a wicker basket (not OHSA approved, I imagine!). One of the others is holding a light machine gun (LMG), which I noticed when finishing this batch that is the only Viet Cong LMG in the entire line of miniatures. This is probably an omission that I'll have to fix with figures from another line, unfortunately. Most games are going to call for a higher percentage of LMGs than the current 1:25 ratio I will have for my opposition forces. Maybe I missed one of the other figures carrying something that could be used as an LMG? Feel free to check out the photos of Black Sun's four packs of VC here.

    I began mixing things up for the V.C., as far as uniforms go, with these two batches of figures

As you can see, I finally started adding some variety to the way I painted up my V.C. Not all are in the traditional "black pajamas." I really like how doing a shirt or pair of pants in another color livens things up and makes a group look more interesting. Crucible Crush themselves painted the figures in a mix of colors for their website photos -- not all in black. So, I think my artistic license here is justified. The final batch of V.C. which is on my tabletop will have variety, too.

    The lone LMG armed figure for the V.C. in the Black Sun range sporting his black pajamas

As I begin to work on my rules -- which my readers will likely remember will be an adaption of Ganesha Games' Sellswords & Spellslingers -- I think I may have underestimated how many V.C. that I need for my games. So, I am beginning to resign myself to purchasing more miniatures at Historicon this July. I need to take a look at which manufacturers or companies will be there that carry this period. I have to remember to bring along a mini with me so that I can compare sizes. As we know, not all figures from different 28mm manufacturers match! My friend Jim W has painted up figs from a number of different makers of Vietnam minis, so I will likely lean on his advice, as I did with this purchase.

    This shirtless RPG gunner was an interesting bit of variety, as was the squad leader with pistol

Since I am nearing the end of the painting portion of this project, it means I'll likely begin to mix in some more terrain for it, too. I purchased some Vietnam buildings from Miniature Building Authority at Buckeye Game Fest, and am looking forward to getting them on the table. They're a mix of 3-D printed and resin, so I think they will paint up quickly, as well. I'm also going to do some slightly larger jungle scatter pieces, too. I picked up the wooden disks to use as bases from the craft store the other day, so those will be coming soon, as well.

    Two V.C. check out the burning U.S. chopper that crashed into the jungle

Besides the last three packs of Black Sun Vietnam figures, what else is on my painting desk? I did finally finish the six pieces of Sci-Fi scatter that have been on my desk for three weeks or more. Now, I'm waiting again on the humidity to subside to clear coat to them! I have a handful of 3-D printed dumpsters for the flea market that are just about completed. I put together another MDF ruined building, also to sell. I have a plastic and styrofoam bridge waiting to prime, along with some Buddha statues on plinths, and more than a dozen plaster oil barrels. Those are all intended for the flea market at Historicon, too. My progress (when not impeded by humidity) continues to be going well, so I am satisfied with how retirement agrees with my hobby output!

    A final look at the 10 V.C. that I recently painted up

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 145
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 117 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 39

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 93
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 72

Vietnam 'Personalities' Pack from the 28mm Back Sun Line

    The 'Personalities' pack of U.S. troops in Vietnam from Crucible Crush's Black Sun range

Hollywood movies about Vietnam seem to have larger than life personalities in them. From Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now to Sgt. Elias in Platoon (the nice sergeant), memorable characters are the "go to" for movies about this conflict. Even bit characters seem to have an outsized presence on the screen, such as R. Lee Ermey's drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket. So, it is no surprise that Crucible Crush's 28mm Vietnam line has U.S. Army's Personalities #1. That said, I'd be happy if they added more characters and released a pack #2!

    One of my favorites from the pack, a bald, cigar-chomping soldier inspired by Col. Kurtz possibly?

I had to double-check with my friends on the Lead Adventure Forum to clarify exactly who these personalities were, though. I had some guesses, but wasn't 100% sure. I didn't want to mislead people and claim one figure represented someone when it was actually another character! Either way, this pack was a blast to paint. Each figure wears its own unique uniform (or lack of), and all five have their own look. I bought only one of these packs in my initial order because the figures are so unique. A duplicate on the tabletop would stick out like a sore thumb.

    I love this M-60 gunner pose - it has so much character with the sunglasses and shirtless uniform

I used essentially the same methods to paint these that I used for the other batches of U.S. infantry. If you haven't read the previous posts, check out this one for a detailed description of the process. That "process" is buzzing along, too. I have only three unopened packs of figures sitting on my desk now from the ones I bought from Crucible Crush. As usual, I have two other batches in progress right now, both Viet Cong. It looks like I will definitely make my goal of having all the Black Sun figures done by Historicon in July. With that in mind, I have also begun to mix in more other stuff besides Vietnam figures. Once I get those other three packs of miniatures going, I will probably begin working on the Vietnam buildings that I bought from Miniature Building Authority at Buckeye Game Fest last month.

    It's been awhile since I watched 'Platoon,' but I think this figure is inspired by one of the sergeants

Right now, I'm reading a novel set in the Vietnam war called Matterhorn. It is by Karl Marlantes and is really well done. It was written by a Bronze Star decorated marine who served in Vietnam, so I am trusting it is a fairly accurate portrayal of the experience of U.S. soldiers serving there. I know true historians would not necessarily use novels as a source, but I think wargamers can be a little more lenient on what they use as research for their scenarios or rules. First-person experiences of someone who witnessed the event are always a valuable source of information. It is only the second novel of the more than half dozen books I've been reading to prep for my games. Since I am writing my own rules (or at least attempting to), I want it to recreate the squad level experience of soldiers in Vietnam.

    I think this figure was meant to represent Charlie Sheen's character in the Vietnam movie 'Platoon'

I'm really happy with how this project is coming along, so far. That includes this batch of miniatures, which is definitely one of my favorites. It is hard to pick out a favorite from this batch as they all look so cool to me! The black M-60 machine gunner is definitely one of the ones I like the most, as is the bald headed one holding his helmet in his hand and chomping a cigar. I haven't started naming the individual poses, yet, but I will be tempted to name him "Jim" after one of my gaming friends, who is also a fellow Army veteran and cigar smoker. Or -- since I will probably go by nicknames or last names -- perhaps his last name will be "James"?

    I like how this pose looks completely different than the others, in t-shirt and floppy bush hat

So, who is who, of these personalities? There are only two that I felt I was pretty sure about, assuming they DO represent characters from Hollywood movies. The bald guy with the cigar is (my guess) Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now. The headband and towel wearing soldier that I painted with the blond hair is Charlie Sheen's character in Platoon. I am thinking that maybe the character with what appears to be an AK-47 and pointing is Staff Sgt. Barnes from Platoon, as well. Equally, it could be his rival, Willem Dafoe's character, Sgt. Elias. Otherwise, I would love to hear from my blog readers on who you think each personality was sculpted to resemble (without infringing on copyright, of course!).

    A look from above at the five figures from Black Sun's 'U.S. Army Personalities #1'

What else is on my desk at the moment? A lot! It is getting pretty cramped! The next batch of Vietnam figures in the pipeline is nearing completion. It is a batch of Viet Cong, as is the next batch in line, which has only just received a base coat. Coming along very nicely, though, is a group of a dozen 3-D printed miniatures from JS Wargamer Printing. They are Alien Grays, which I bought at some point last year when I was putting in an order with him. They were definitely an impulse purchase, as they are completely different in feel from the Sci-Fi miniatures I have been painting up. I am thinking I will sell them once they're done. Origins Game Fair is running a consignment store this year, and they charge only $1 per entry and the consignment fee itself is only 10%. I can easily build that into my asking price. If they don't sell there, I will take them to the Historicon flea market.

    The overgrown temples in the background are more of my scratch-built ones from my Pulp games

I have also assembled two 4 Ground Stalingrad ruined buildings. They can be used for World War II, of course, but also as any generic ruins, for post-apocalyptic or modern. Plus, there is a whole line of various other terrain or buildings ready to be painted up for my flea market booth. The more I have to sell, the more of my expenses (and dealer room purchases) they will cover! So, hopefully, I'll be cranking stuff out at a steady rate for at least the next couple months. We shall see, though...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 145
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 95 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 21
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 32

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 93
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 72

More U.S. Soldier in Vietnam & Some Misc. Scatter

    A fire team of soldiers of 'The Big Red One' take a breather next to an abandoned Buddhist stupa

With this batch completed, I'm up to 20 U.S. soldiers finished. I'm having fun painting these guys. Each figure in each pack of five is different. Plus, there are enough packs in the Black Sun range that I have minimal duplication. These five soldiers are the same as one of the previous batches, so I decided to mix up their skin colors a bit. The soldiers I painted as white are now black or Hispanic, and vice versa. The Crucible Crush sculpts are detailed enough you can see that some poses are meant to be a particular ethnicity. However, I figure that on the tabletop, players will see the pose first, then skin color. So, I doubt someone will be picking up a miniature in my games and saying, "Heyyy...!"

    This is my 4th batch of U.S. infantry from the "Black Sun" range - I love the poses & details!

Anyway, no point in going over how I painted these guys. I've done that in the first post and previous one sharing my U.S. soldiers.  Once again, these are painted for the First Infantry Division, aka "The Big Red One." I'm reading a publication by The Nafziger Collection right now to give me ideas for scenarios for my games. I plan to base as many of them as possible off of actual engagements by this unit's soldiers. There will be some others, of course, that I took inspiration from the actions of other units, but if possible, I'd love to reproduce the unit's tour through Vietnam in my games. I think that would be neat.

    Details like the pack of cigarettes in the helmet band & my added tattoos help bring them to life

I'm also reading Mark Bowden's Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam. Bowden is an amazing storyteller and puts you right in the head of the people who lived through History.  Perhaps you've read his Black Hawk Down novel that the Hollywood movie was made from? Anyway, it is a thrilling account of the intense urban warfare that took place in Vietnam's second largest city during the Tet Offensive. I'm about halfway through it and have a hard time putting it down when it is time to go to bed at night!

   Hispanic (or my attempt at that skintone) trooper stalks through the jungle keeping an eye out for VC

I have also been working more on the rules that I will use for my games. I will definitely be making modifications to the core Sellswords & Spellslingers system. For example, I am thinking each figure will be permitted to roll for two actions per turn instead of three. I will also have a separate system for the player's movements before contact, too. I don't want to worry about soldiers in line having to leapfrog a buddy ahead of him because that one failed its actions. Once the shooting begins, though, it will be more chaotic and some players may freeze while others do their duty more efficiently.

    From the streets to the jungle of Vietnam -- an African-American trooper sweats it out in the bush

You may have noticed that I am showing each trooper individually in my photos with this post, instead of in pairs. I really liked the single photo from the Viet Cong batch, so decided to keep that up. With only five figures per group, it is not like it makes the posts that much longer, right? Plus, I like seeing both the front and back of the miniatures. There are all kinds of subtle details on these excellently-cast miniatures, and this format does a better way of showing that off.

    With 25 Vietnam figures done, I estimate that I am just under halfway through the project

Also included in this post are some scatter pieces that I finished up more than a week ago. I kept waiting to get a few more things done so that I could do a more substantial post. However, once I began working on pieces of jungle scatter for Vietnam, it meant the other scatter was sidelined for the moment. Two of the pieces are 3-D ones from A Critical Hit that I actually purchased last year, at Cincycon 2024. It is pretty crazy to have something that takes only a handful of minutes to spruce up for the tabletop to sit unused in your closet for more than a year. Both of these fit into that category. The other is a toy semi-tractor trailer I picked up from Menards.

    This towering scaffolding metal construct is actually 2 pieces 3-D printed from A Critical Hit

This giant, Sci-Fi scaffolding thingie is actually two pieces that I bought from A Critical Hit. The more I looked at them, the more they looked like they should be stacked on top of each other. They even had little pegs on top (?), although there was no corresponding hole on the bottoms. That was solved easily with a pin vice and some superglue to attach the two structures together. Once I looked at the piece even more closely, I noticed all the bolt and hexagonal nut heads along the structure. I decided to paint those Iron Wind Metals Steel. I also did two black vehicle washes on it to give it more definition in the recessed areas and a dirtier look than the bright bronze color it was printed in. I like the way it looks, though I'm still really not sure what it is supposed to be...!

    This 3-D printed iron brazier with flame needed just a black wash and the flames painted to be done

Another Critical Hit piece that had sat in my unpainted terrain/scatter closet for a year was this iron brazier with flames. Like most critical hit pieces, it was printed in a silver for the brazier and a deep red for the flames. I decided to do a black vehicle wash on the brazier to give it more definition and darken it a bit more. While I was at it, I pulled out the flame piece and painted it, as well. Even though my red, orange, and yellow may not be expertly done, I think it will stick out more on the tabletop than the deep red. You can still see that red in the open flame shaped spaces near the bottom of the brazier. Of course, this little thing may not see the tabletop that often because I have all my Bad Goblin Games LED flame scatter! As nice as this looks, they look better...

Menards toy semi-tractor trailer made of plastic and 'dirtied up' with rust coloring and black washes

I have been looking for a semi-tractor trailer in die cast for awhile, now, but had been unsuccessful. However, one day while in Menards, I found a bunch of toy trucks for only $4.99. One of them was a tractor-trailer, so I snapped it up. It is plastic rather than die cast, and a step down in quality from most die cast vehicles you see in various stores. However, beggars can't be choosers, so I bought it and also a dump truck.

    Did I put too much black wash on the tractor trailer? Perhaps - it certainly looks dirty & abandoned!

One thing I am still not confident or sure how to do is weather and "dirty up" the many die cast vehicles I have bought over the years. I have about a dozen sitting in my terrain/scatter closet waiting for me to figure out a way to do it. When I purchased the Menards trucks, I wanted to get it ready for the tabletop as soon as possible. I think that -- if nothing else -- it would look good sitting in a trailer part or post-apocalyptic cityscape. My first idea is to simply do a black wash on their exterior. However, the truck would likely need more than that. The chrome is simply to bright and toy-like. So, I painted the chrome pieces with Iron Wind Metals Steel. Some parts even required a second coat. 

    One of my post-apocalyptic survivors checks out the area before investigating the tractor trailer

I did have to put glue underneath onto to the wheels rods to keep them from moving. I should probably have done a gray dry brush on the rubber wheels. And maybe some more dark wash into the wheel wells and hubs. Honestly, this was my first real weathering attempt and I wasn't sure what was "too much" and what was just right. I still have the dump truck to do, so maybe I'll do better on it! So, what else is on my painting desk? Two batches of Viet Cong and one of U.S. infantry, of course. And for scatter, I have 12 circular wooden disks that I flocked and am putting various plastic plants on for jungle scatter. The plants are glued down, but I probably want to dull them up a bit to take off that plastic sheen. Of course, forecast says rain here for the next three days in the monsoon season of Columbus, Ohio! We'll see when I get chance to spray them with a matte clear coat...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 143
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 85 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 19
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 23

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 54
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 60

First Squad of Viet Cong for Vietnam Project

    My first batch of 28mm Viet Cong from Crucible Crush's 'Black Sun' line check out a hamlet

Awhile back, I decided that I wanted my Vietnam games to be cooperative. All of my players would be controlling a squad or fire team of U.S. soldiers -- no one would command the enemy. Why? I feel that the closer to the present that a wargame gets, the higher the chance someone will feel "wrong" controlling one side or the other. I know we are just playing games, but I could perfectly understand a player balking at, say, setting off IEDs to blow up U.S. soldiers in Iraq on the tabletop. Although it is more than 50 years in the past at this point, I think Vietnam could still be the same for some folks. I know I am reluctant myself to control the German or Japanese side in a World War II game, and that is even longer ago! How to solve that moral conundrum? Make the enemy controlled by the GM or the game's mechanics.

    I painted my VC in the characteristic 'black pajamas,' but will likely vary things with future batches

So, my first batch of Viet Cong soldiers here will be entirely controlled by the event cards and "A.I" -- so to speak -- of the rules that I am writing. I could just as easily have bought a commercial set of rules and controlled them as the GM. Honestly, if the rules writing fails, I may yet still do that. That's what my friend Jim W is doing with his group in Michigan. All his players are on the U.S. side while he directs the actions of the VC in their tabletop encounters. Like him, I want the players to try to safely usher as many of their platoon though their year of service in Vietnam. Bring 'em back alive, and safe, boy! Thus, my players will take on the role of NCOs controlling the same squad or fire team members, with replacements (or FNGs) coming in as they take casualties. For those that don't know, the "NG" in the above abbreviation stand for "New Guy." I'll leave it to you to figure out what the "F" stands for!

    No fancy pre-mixed washes for the VC -- just a typical 28mm base coat and dry brush method!

Anyway, I am using more of a typical base coat and dry brush method for the Vietnamese soldiers in this project. I am painting their uniforms first -- most will be the characteristic "Black Pajamas" that many VC wore. I will then dry brush the black base coat with a dark gray. Next, I went out and bought a new flesh tone just for the VC. It is from Warpaints fanatic line and called, "Buffed Hide". I picked it out at a local store (Dragon's Lair, in the Polaris area) by pulling up Google images of Vietnamese faces on my phone. I held each of the prospective bottles of paints up to the images until one "seemed" to match. As I brushed it on to this first batch of Vietnamese, I felt perhaps it was more ruddy than I expected. However, after a dark brown vehicle wash, I hoped it would look less red and more SE Asian. I'm still not 100% sold on it, and would love to hear what you guys think. If anyone has a different paint suggestion for Vietnamese skin tone, I could still change what I paint the rest of the VC. Let me know in the comments.

    What do you think of the skin color? Did I pick a good one, or should I switch it out?

Most of the VC equipment I've seen pictures of is khaki, so that is what I painted the ammunition pouches, backpacks, bandoliers, and helmets. I've read that lots of VC wore sandals made of old rubber tires, so I went with a dark gray for them, as well. Luckily for me, all of the photos of the Black Sun range that I'm using have color photos on the Crucible Crush website. So, if I'm unsure how to paint something, I just enlarge the pictures on their website. And yes, that means I'm hoping their painter was historically accurate in his portrayal of the VC! That said, the images match the descriptions I've read in my research, so I'm fairly confident.

    The VC are patrolling a hamlet in countryside using my two scratch-built Jungle Huts

One thing I did not do that I typically do when painting these up was put a final black wash on the uniforms. I have had my dark gray highlighting disappear after a black wash in the past with figures wearing black. I did the wash on the weapons and shoes, while I did a brown wash on the skin and khaki equipment. All in all, I am fairly happy with how my first batch of Viet Cong came out. I know that I painted all of this batches' uniforms black, but I may also mix in some khaki or light O.D. green ones in the future, just to give them a more hodgepodge look. I may even give them the odd civilian shirt or pair of pants in a different color, too. 

    The jungle huts were built for my Pulp campaign from years ago but will work great for Vietnam!

I am doing the same dense foliage style flocking on these that I have done for the U.S. soldiers. I like how it looks, and it should blend it with the tabletop more (I hope). So, what else is on my painting desk right now? Well, I have the requisite other two batches in progress for this project -- another batch of U.S. soldiers and my second group of Viet Cong. However, I have also been touching things up to take to Drums at the Rapids convention at Fort Meigs, OH, for the flea market this weekend. And even before leaving, I have already sold my 33 Ancient Roman Gladiators (28mm scale) to my friend Dave E! Hopefully, that's an omen of good sales at the fort...! Once I return, I'll have about a month before Origins, then another month before Historicon. So, at least the conventions are doing a reasonably good job of spacing themselves out so that they don't interrupt my painting too much...ha, ha!

 Oh, and if you're curious about my scratch-built Jungle Huts, here are the links:

• Jungle Hut, part 3 (completed) 
• Jungle Hut, part 2 (in progress)
• Jungle Hut, part 1 (my ideas)

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 143
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 80 <-- see, it's going up!

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 19
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 22

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 54
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 57

Second (3rd really) Batch of 'Big Red One' Vietnam Infantry

    "Incoming!" My next batch of 28mm Vietnam figures take cover as enemy artillery fire zeroes in

I am painting these 28mm Vietnam miniatures from Crucible Crush's "Black Sun" range in the batches of five that they come packaged in. For me, that's a nice, doable group which allows for at least the illusion of quick progress. So, although this is my second post of finished Vietnam miniatures, it is actually the third batch of five I've completed. Because of the way I'm painting them, I've decided to have two to three batches in progress at one time. So, the next batch -- U.S. infantry group #4 -- is about halfway through at the moment. Viet Cong infantry is next in line, though, and getting close to being done. Sorry if this is all confusing!

    I really like the Black Sun range of figures from Crucible Crush - great poses & crisp scultping!

These figures are one of the two "standard" infantry offerings in the line. This pack is called "U.S. Army Soldiers in Combat." There are six U.S. packs in total (not counting reporters, tank crewmen, etc.), meaning 30 unique U.S. infantry castings. I ordered two each of several of the packs and intend to try to paint them up slightly different, if possible, to give more variety. This pack also features the only time I have had to glue anything together in these mostly one-piece, metal castings. One pose has the arm holding its M16 separate from the rest of the figure. And now that I look at the picture again, I glued it on differently than they show on their website...oops! Oh well, I have a second one of these packs, so I will try to remember to glue the army hanging down at its side rather than swinging forward like I did with this one.

Like with batch #2, the recipe for these five figures began with brush-on, white Gesso primer. Next, the uniform was painted in a light olive drab craft paint called Light Timberline Green. Once dry, I painted the pouches, canteens, packs, and ammo belts in a craft sage green. The darker green camo patches on the helmet cover and the poncho are done in a medium craft green. After the figure has dried overnight, I paint it with a mixture of Vallejo Matte Varnish and Military Green. I am continuing to like how the darker shade of green "wash" settles into the folds and creases on the these crisply-cast figures. In my very first post on the project, I show a series of miniatures at these first stages in case you want to go back and look at them.

    I'm adding tattoos to about half of the figures - I think it adds an extra bit to bring them to life

At this point, it is time to do their flesh. That's the opposite of how I normally do miniatures (from inside out, so to speak). I have a ruddy craft paint that I use for the base flesh coat for Caucasian soldiers. Then, I apply a darker flesh wash I created similarly to the Vallejo Matte & Green one. It uses an orange, clay colored paint mixed with matte varnish and gives the white skin a nice, sun-tanned look. For African-American soldiers, I used a dark wood brown with a medium highlight. I go back and forth between dry brushing the color on or painting it full strength on the cheeks, nose, etc. It honestly depends on how deeply cut the folds of the skin are on the figure. I also do a Hispanic flesh tone. It has a medium leather color as a base coat, followed by a watered down brown vehicle wash (that I also use on Caucasian soldiers). African-American soldiers instead get the black vehicle wash that is applied to the uniforms and equipment at the end of the process.

Next up are the other details on the figures. I painted the plastic parts of their M16s black and the metal parts Iron Wind Metals Steel. A Pewter highlight was added to the metal parts that might get the most wear. The boots were also painted black with a dark gray dry brush. The shoulder patches are done in a yellowish color called Maple Sugar, with a tiny red "1" done with a Micron pen. So far, I have been happy with how the eyes have come out on my Vietnam soldiers. I do a flattened black oval first, fill that in with a smaller white one, and then do a Dark brown slit for the iris/eyeball. I know many gamers do not paint eyes, stating that -- at the scaled distance -- you wouldn't see a human's eyes. However, many gamers also pick up the figures and hold them up to take a closer look at them. Then they see the eyes or lack thereof...ha, ha! So, since I am reasonably successful in avoiding the "googly eye syndrome," I will continue to paint eyes at this scale.

    Leaves, plastic plants, and tufts all decorate the bases to make it look more "jungle like"

This batch included one soldier armed with a M79 grenade launcher (there are also two armed with this in the "Specials" pack). So, I will likely end up with more "bloop guns" than I will field. Speaking of which, I have put some more work on the rules that I'm going to be using for my Vietnam games. Inspired by the cooperative nature of Sellswords & Spellslingers fantasy miniatures rules from Ganesha Games, I am intending to do the same here. My thought is each player will control 4-5 soldiers, though I may need to scale that back after play testing. In a six-player game, like we typically have on Sunday evenings, that would mean up to 30 U.S. soldiers each taking their turns individually. That may cause things to slow down too much at that size, as opposed to if they had only, say, three soldiers each. My Viking Town Raid game features six players each controlling three figures. It pretty much finishes up in three hours or so (at conventions, a true finish may take a bit longer due to the rules explanation I have to do ahead of time that I won't need to with my group). 

I hope to figure out all of those parameters in the play testing phase, which will initially be solo. After that, I may invite just a couple players to test it out in smaller games. I'm really looking forward to getting this project on the table. I've been reading a lot of great books on Vietnam and using them for inspiration. I looked at about a half dozen lists of "Best Vietnam Histories" and compared them, looking for the ones common to most. I've been working my way down them, having just finished Hal Moore's memoir (made into a Mel Gibson movie), We Were Soldiers Once...And Young. If you haven't read it, I would recommend it highly, if nothing for the whole Landing Zone Albany segment of the story that gets left out of the movie. Right now, I've just begun reading Mark Bowden's book on the Battle of Hue.

    Another shot of the whole fire team with enemy mortar rounds getting dangerously close!

I hope to update this project fairly often, what with painting figures in batches of five. However, I promise not to laboriously go through how I painted each figure in future posts...ha, ha! I apologize if this was repetitive. I try to strike a middle ground between talking about how I painted up a figure or terrain with other discussion, such as how I will use it or what I learned. I think I will also begin to create some jungle vegetation pieces using plastic plants from craft stores and flocking. I'd like to scratch-build some termite mounds. The Vietnam memoirs I've read all mention those as being key cover in firefights. I'll try to include those items alongside posts with finished miniatures for more variety than, "Here's another five Vietnam figures"...ain't they purdy??

What else is on my desk? Next to be completed will be the first Viet Cong, as mentioned earlier. I've also been doing some modern or Sci-Fi scatter that I had been meaning to finish. I'll probably save those up till I have enough to do a post on them.

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 143
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 75 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 19
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 22

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 54
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 57

Vietnam Project - First Squad of U.S. Troops

    My first 10 U.S. soldiers for my Vietnam project trudge through the jungles of SE Asia

I posted last month pictures of my two test figures for my 28mm Vietnam project, but here's the first look at completed and flocked miniatures. If you remember, I am using the Black Sun range from Crucible Crush, aka Pulp Figures. These are awesome miniatures with a lot of personality in each pose. Only one figure in the first 10 needed any kind of gluing...inexplicably, one arm requires being glued to the shoulder while the rest are cast as one piece. They take a very small amount of flash clean up. After painting all those 3-D and plastic figures lately with my Sci-Fi project, it was nice to get back to painting some good old metal castings (which I prefer). 

    Zooming in on the line of march of my first squad of soldiers from The Big Red One in Vietnam

I gave a rundown of how I paint these in the previous post, but I'll do a quick recap for those who didn't read it. First I brush on white Gesso as a primer, then after drying, I paint the whole uniform Light Timberline Green, a Ceramcoat craft paint color. Once dry, I paint the web gear, ammo pouches, canteens, pack, and other equipment a sage green craft paint. I do this so that there is some contrast between the uniform and gear, and the details stand out more. Next, I paint the poncho and camouflage splotches on the helmet cover a medium green craft paint. Once those have dried, I dry brush the equipment with a very light gray. Then, after that dries -- lots of stages that require waiting to dry with this painting recipe -- I paint it with "wash" that is a mix of Vallejo clear matte varnish and a darker, "Military Green." This settles into the folds of the uniform and gives it a nice, blended look -- much better than on my dry brushed test fig. Then, I paint the weapon Iron Wind Steel (with Pewter highlights) and black, while the boots are black with dry brushed dark gray. 

    African-American soldier with M79 grenade launcher and an NCO (?) directing the squad traffic

For flesh tones, I'm trying to give a nice ethnic mix of soldiers. The first batch of ten includes five Caucasians, four African-Americans, and one Hispanic soldier. It helps that Crucible Crush has painted examples of each pose on their website, so I can tell which ones are "supposed" to be which, although I won't feel tied to that. I have not painted any rank insignia on these figs, though I may go back and add that later once I start playing some games with them. The intention is each of my players will control four or five U.S. soldier (or so), and the game will be cooperative. The Vietnamese foes will be directed by the game A.I. (Event Cards and activation failures). If this sounds familiar, it should. I will be attempting to modify Ganesha Games' fantasy rules set, Sellswords & Spellslingers, for this. I have been given the blessing from owner Andrea Sfiligoi to produce it for publication if it works out. 

    A good look at the flocking for my Vietnam figures, as well as a M60 machine gunner

I'm also going all out on the flocking for this project's figures. Though I begin with my usual mix of Woodland Scenics Blended Turf and Grass, I'm adding in not only tufts, but leaves and bigger fronds of vegetation onto the base, as well. I decided to go with 1" round bases because I wanted a lower profile base. I wanted the figures to blend in with the terrain more than my thicker square bases do that I use for units in Ancient/Dark Ages/Medieval miniatures. The fronds I used were from Gamers Grass, but I was disappointed when I opened the package to find out they're just printed paper. I went out to a craft store and found some plastic plants that will be more realistic and 3-D looking. I'll use those on the next batch, which actually has been started on and is about halfway along on my desk.

    "PBY Streetgang, do you copy?" A radio operator and tattooed soldier take a break in the jungle

In fact, I think I it will be most efficient have one or more batches "in progress" with the way I am painting these Vietnam figures. With all the overnight pauses for drying, I want to make full use of my hour or so each morning that I spend painting. So, right now I have another batch of five U.S. riflemen in progress and also my first five Viet Cong figures. I'll talk more about how I am painting those when I finish that first batch. All of the Vietnamese that I bought are supposed to be VC, not North Vietnamese Army. Once I'm sure my Sellswords mashup is working, and we are having fun with Vietnam gaming, I'll likely buy some NVA. 

    I love the details on these figs, like the pack of cigarettes in the helmet band on the M16-armed fig

Despite the pauses for drying, the two batches in these photos actually painted up very quickly. I think these are easier to do than, say, Saga Ancient figures. The decision to use the Vallejo paint wash, if you can call it that, really speeds things along. There is only one step that goes slowly and that is when I am painting the equipment prior to the green wash. I can see me getting this project ready for the tabletop within a month or so, I hope. Conventions tend to slow me down, though. I had Buckeye Game Fest last weekend, Drums at the Rapids in Toledo May 16-17, and Origins Game Fair June 18-21. I am game mastering at all three, so there will be no morning paint sessions on those days. After that, I have off till Historicon, a month after Origins. So, if the project is not completed by Origins, I fully expect it to be in the wrapping up stages by Historicon. I know that's ambitious, but as quickly as these figures go, I think it is doable.

    The fig on the left was my test figure for simply dry-brushing these - I prefer the "washed" method

I was very happy with how these first 10 figures came out. They have actually been done and partly flocked for 3-4 days. However, Ohio unleashed one of its mini-monsoons on me (appropriate for Vietnam, eh?). I was unable to spray coat the figures in the high humidity. That's one thing a miniature painter learns, usually to their chagrin, relatively early in their career. Humidity equals fogging, so I sat there and looked at the minis all ready to go and were unable to post about them until the skies cleared yesterday and the humidity finally died down. My friend Jason in South Carolina has actually given up on spray coating his miniatures because his humidity down there is even worse. It is so much faster that I haven't given up on it here, though. 

    Another look at the first two batches - two player's worth of troops - humping through the bush

So, what else is on my paint desk at the moment? As mentioned above, the next five U.S. and first five Vietnamese soldiers are partway through. As for terrain, I did paint up another couple pieces of Sci-Fi scatter from A Critical Hit, as well as a Menards die cast semi-tractor trailer. Those are actually completed, so expect to see pictures of them soon. I am also priming up some random scatter to take up to Drums at the Rapids and sell in the Flea Market. We'll see how much I get done -- May 16-17 is coming up fast!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 143
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 70 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 19
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 22

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 54
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 55

Clothes Lines (with Sheets & Clothes) from MBA

    Three sets of clothes lines from Miniature Building Authority - more decoration for my trailer park!

One of my friends, Jason from South Carolina, suggested that I add clothes lines to my slowly growing 28mm trailer park. That reminded me that a couple years back, I had purchased metal clothes lines strung with laundry and shirts and pants from Miniature Building Authority. I dug through my unpainted terrain and scatter and found that I actually had more than I thought. I had one pack of just a pair of clothes lines, but two packs of their "Clothes Line Set," that included poles, a wash basin, and other things in plastic.

    The 'shirts & pants' side of the pair of lines, along with the wash basin and bucket

I pulled out all of them and sorted through them on my painting desk. I decided to make three sets of clothes lines with poles based on MDF. The Clothes Lines Sets included a plastic base for the poles, but it was horribly warped, and didn't actually look long enough. So, after cutting my MDF bases, I drilled holes to plant the two sets of poles into the base itself. I made a third set of poles with dowel and bass wood, spacing them apart so that the metal clothes lines would rest on the horizontal beam across the pole. I used epoxy to affix the lines to the beams. The metal clothes lines themselves required minimal cleanup of flash. Once everything was upright and secure, I primed them with white Gesso.

    The 'sheets' side of the clothes line

I worked on these a bit at a time while painting up other batches of things on my desk these past two weeks. I did the sheets hanging from the clothes lines first. I chose light, pale "bedsheet" colors -- pink, blue, tan, etc. Then I began working on the shirts and pants hanging from the lines, doing various colors for them, and mixing those colors up amongst the three sets of clothes lines. I did a dry brush on everything after its base coat was painted -- white for the sheets and lighter versions of the base coat colors for the shirts and pants. The clothes lines themselves were painted in a yellowish-white bone color. I wanted them to be different than the white of the sheets, slightly darker. 

    You can buy these either in a set with poles and basins and such, or just a pair of lines with laundry

Once the clothes, sheets, and lines were done, it was time to paint the poles holding up the lines. I did some Google Image searches for inspiration, but couldn't find anything that jumped out at me. So, I decided to fall back on a metal aluminum-looking pole. I did a base coat in Iron Wind Metals Steel color, then Pewter, and finally Silver highlights. It still ended up darker than I wanted, but oh well. These are meant to be for scatter terrain for my modern games -- not for a diorama! I also painted up the wide, wooden wash basins and the smaller buckets to put on the bases, too.

    I painted the sheets in various pale colors like you might find on people's beds

Finally, I flocked all three bases and they are ready for the tabletop. Chances are their first game will come in May at Buckeye Game Fest, when I am running a couple games of Zombie RV. Until then, here are some photos I took of them.

    Pants & Shirts were painted in a variety of colors & highlighted

What else is on my painting desk? I also finished four stands of mushrooms made from charms I picked up at the local craft store. They'll be in a post here soon. I have another batch of Splintered Light Miniatures -- five anthropomorphic wildcats dressed in Roman legionary apparel. I am also adding painted details to one of the larger pieces of Sci-Fi scatter that I bought from A Critical Hit. After that, I will begin painting a huge MDF Sci-Fi building that John at Dad's Armies assembled for me at Cincycon 2025. Stay tuned for those, and a battle report on last night's Galactic Heroes game set in the Star Wars universe!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 100
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 49 

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 10
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 16

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 53
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 33