Four Hours of War: 1st British Paras in Normandy

So this year as a present I decided to get A Proper Cuppa a present. Not just any present though, but something I knew he's been wanting. A British Parachute Infantry Company. At least the beginning of a company. Of course I had to do this without his knowing, so updating the blog was out of the question! I started shopping around, looking to see what I could get for around AU$100. First port of call was Battlefront, and looking at their British Para Company box set for US$54 from their direct online store was something I was considering.

The next port of call was Plastic Soldier Company. They were offering the a British Para Company box set for UK£22. Checking with my usual eBay dealer I noticed he had the PSC variant in stock, and was discounted to boot.

What really made my decision to go with PSC was the fact that the British Heavy Weapons box set from PSC was quite a good deal and was being discounted on the same sellers store. So I went with that. Only other thing I needed to buy was some bases. Got my hands on some MDF cut bases from eBay and I was ready to star work on them.

Cleaning them from flash was almost non existent. The molds were quite good and detail at this scale is something I'm not fussed about, but these were good as well. So putting them together was a breeze, but the bases have no slots for the models, and it meant they were not ideal for basing. What I then did to smooth out the bases was use filler to coat the bases. The effect wasn't perfect but with flock I was sure was going to look good. A quick spray of PSC British uniform spray and I was ready to do some camo work.

Earliest photo I have of these guys, camo already done.

The camo was simply randomly applied with the first colour being Army Painter Army Green, secondly I applied Vallejo Reflective Green and lastly Vallejo Beige Brown. It was a long and boring process, something I hope not to repeat in a long time.

Camo Colours used.

The next colour to go with was Vallejo Khaki for the webbing and straps. This was followed by Vallejo Black Grey for the boots, then Vallejo Flat Flesh for the skin. Reflective Green was used again for the helmets, and Army Painter Pure Red for the berets. The rifles were done with Vallejo New Wood and Army Painter Plate Mail Metal. The bren guns were also the same colours, with the stock being brown.

The boys just before their wash.

After all the colours were done, it was time for a wash. An Army Painter Soft Tone Quickshade wash. This wash is quite good if you're looking to wash whole models to add detail, and it also protects your paint job. It does set glossy, so you will have to spray the your miniatures with a matte spray.

Complete models right after a matte spray coat on them.

The final thing to do was apply flock. For these guys I went with a rough 30/70 mix of Woodland Scenic Earth/Green Blend Blended Turf mix. Bit of PVA and a dunk in the flock and project complete. With all of them done, I was finally able to present them as a gift to my good friend.