Almost famous

I'm coordinating the local painters for the Gallipoli diorama so yesterday the local paper interviewed me for a story on the upcoming event.

 http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/67159218/Wargamers-paint-models-for-display

I got enough ribbing from my last appearance in the paper for work from my cricket team mates, no doubt I'm in for more this week at our final!

Craig

More WWI Turks

Finally a bit of progress today, I have completed my first 10 Turks for the Gallipoli diorama. I've done a bit of experimenting till I got a highlight I was happy with but think I have now settled on  a technique. Hopefully they'll be acceptable.

I've a couple more bayoneting figures to do still but finally I am under way.

Craig

Johnny Turk

I've been a bit slack the last few weeks totally lacking in gaming motivation but last night I finally got started on a test figure for the Peter Jackson's 54mm WWI diorama to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. I intend to get started properly later in the week. Kent has done the first batch of figures, Tony and I are sharing the second echelon.

My first test is a Johnny Turk

A bit more highlighting to go and I have to get some gunmetal for the rifles as I've run out. The only thing I'm not sure of it the satchel slung across his back. I could find no reference on the Mustering the Troops site. I'm note sure if it is meant to be dark brown or another shade so currently is German Camo beige. Any ideas?

Also, if anyone knows a colour match for the GW Zandri Dust in the vallejo range would be good too! I've matched all the other shades

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Craig

A very cool new project

There is a very cool new gaming project about to begin here in New Zealand. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign which really is the beginning of the formation of our own unique sense of national identity, and the same holds true for Australia. In WWI more than 100,000 New Zealanders served (out of a total population of just over 1 million), including both of my grandfathers and both of my grandmother's brothers. New Zealand's contribution equated to more than 40% of all eligible men of military age of whom more than 16,000 were killed and 40,000 wounded and the fabric of our society forever altered- you just need to stop at any memorial in any small town in NZ to see exactly what the impact was on the towns and villages of this country.

Given ANZAC Day 2015 commemorates the 100th anniversary of our baptism of fire in World War One there are a number of projects underway and a large number of NZ wargamers and wargaming clubs around the country are getting involved in painting up figures for a very special project. Hopefully this week our figures will arrive so we can get the project underway. As ANZAC Day is the 25th of April we don't have a great deal of time but I look forward to taking part and seeing the final result of our endevours. There will be some official blogs for this project starting up soon, so all I can say in the meantime is stay tuned...

Craig