New Releases Kings of War Token Set & 20mm Farmhouse November 3, 2015 11:49

The "unofficial"  Kings of War Token Set, given free with each order of Double Dials or KoW Movement Trays is now avalable to buy in the shop.

Also this week, I am pleased to release an addition to the 20mm range titled "Farmhouse". The farmhouse is a development on the 28mm kits and not an exact copy of its counterpart. Plastic chimney pipe, plastic angle strip to be cut for ridge tiles and plywood shutters are all included in this kit as standard. The dormer, whilst included is optional as is its position. Engraved roof tiles are all over the roof panels so if you require a British looking farmhouse, it is easy to just leave the dormer and shutters off.

New Release: G Scale 1:22.5 railway "Derelict Building" October 29, 2015 18:34

This model is a combination of the 28mm 1:56 scale "Ruined House 2 and Ruined House 3"and was developed as a commission piece to this scale for an indoor display.

As G Scale is much larger additional features were added to the 28mm models to ensure the kit has a realistic appearance. Tiles with nail holes, additional roof trusses, window frames and extra detail on the doors to name but a few.

Approximate dimensions:

Height to top of chimney pot: 430mm

Width left to right: 407mm

Depth back to front: 260mm

This model is the largest piece in the Charlie Foxtrot Models collection and is 2 1/2 times as large as its 28mm counterparts!

New Release: 28mm 1:56 Eastern Front "Cabin" October 26, 2015 09:49

A further release to extend the Eastern Front rural collection is now available in the shop. The "Cabin" has the same footprint as the "Hunters Lodge" 70mm x 70mm square.

New features include: elongated eves, an ornate skylight and a longer chimney stack.

Plastic pipe is included in the kit for the chimney pot and a strip is included to cover the apex seam.

This kit would quite happily sit in a Napoleonic, WW2 or fantasy setting.

Kings of War Token Set FREE GIFT with orders October 21, 2015 15:28

From today until 16th December 2015 orders for "Double Dial Counters" and Movement Trays for KoW will recieve a FREE Kings of war Token Set. Any order for these products over the next 8 weeks will get the tokens. (orders from E Bay will not qualify for the free gift). Please note the tokens are of my own design and are not the "official" tokens produced by Mantic Games.

I have tried to cover all of the scenario and arc angles in this set. (Race specific ...throwing rats and mastiffs will be available soon.)

The token set will be shortly be available to buy separately in the shop for £2.75

You get:

7 x 25mm round objective tokens to decorate like your bases.

1 45 degree template, 50mm war machine line of sight marker and 3" ruler (for control of objective measuring)

3 x loot counters...in the shape of a money bag

4 x Disordered..I chose the double headed arrow as the unit is unsure "which way to go"

4 x Wavering, this design compliments the disordered and is "a bit wobbly" which I thought appropriare.

The 2nd picture shows the template in use in measuring proximity to the objective.

New Release: Movement Trays October 19, 2015 12:13

Having recently become hooked on Kings of War, I have been converting my old fantasy collection over to KoW sized units. Now available in the online shop is a range of movement trays for verteran gamers and new players who do not want to commit to multi-basing.

In the next day or two, I will be releasing details of the FREE KoW TOKENS SET which will be given with every order of movement trays and "Double Dials Counters". Look out for my next posting for further details.....in the meantime you can work out how many trays you need!

Guest Tutorial " How to make MDF Buildings" by Matt Owens-Smith Part 3 October 12, 2015 11:57

Matt continues putting the finishing touches to his Charlie Foxtrot Models "Farmhouse"

How to make MDF buildings - Part 3 (Completed)

This post is all about taking the basic painted building and adding those little extras that will make it look a bit more interesting.

I think buildings always look better with a scenic base. If you're ordering from Charlie Foxtrot then drop Colin a line to ask for a custom base. It will add only a small extra cost and saves you the bother of cutting stuff up. Alas, I forgot to ask for a base so here I've used a piece of 2mm plasticard. Glue the building to it with a few dabs of your favourite all purpose glue.

The base is then covered in thinned PVA glue and a variety of grit/sand. You can see that in front of the door I've placed a couple of pieces of thin plasticard that I've carved to look like flagstones.

The sanded base can then be painted to match your other terrain or battlefield. My recipe is VMC Leather Brown base, then highlights of VMC Flat Earth, VMC Gold Brown and VMC Dark Sand. I use two different static grass colours, GW Scorched Grass and the lighter Noch meadow grass (ref 08310).

The log store! This was a fairly easy paint job. Spray mid brown then give the wood a solid base coat of any dark brown. I used Foundry Bay Brown Shade. Then dry brush with VMC Gold Brown and VMC Dark Sand. The logs got a heavier dry brush. The roof was painted black followed by dry brush highlights of the Foundry Slate Grey triad.

Here are the flag stones I mentioned earlier. Painted black followed by the Foundry Slate Grey triad. I've also added a few clumps of flower tufts here and there.

To give the model building that 'lived in' look it's good to add a few everyday items. Here's a bicycle from the bits box.

Buckets, barrels, logs, ladders (CFM do nice ladders) all make good extras - just remember to leave enough space for your figures!

The log store - with an axe propped against it. The axe is a spare from the Gripping Beast Saxon Huscarls boxed set.

The roof sections have been 'enhanced' with some mould and lichen. Take a look at any real roof and you'll usually see yellow/orange mould, moss, bird droppings, etc.

In the CFM shop you can see some excellent examples of this on Colin's buildings. Here I've also added some soot to the chimney pot with black and grey.

Now for the interior ... some might consider this straying in to doll's house territory ... but a few little features are worth the effort I reckon. The downstairs has a fireplace plus some flooring from a (*cough*) doll's house makers blog.

• http://dollhousedecorating.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/print-your-own-wood-laminate-dollhouse.html
• http://www.undersizedurbanite.com/free-dollhouse-flooring-printables/

Just print, cut to size and glue in with a glue stick (don't use a runny glue otherwise the paper wrinkles!).

Here are the components of the fireplace - some left over bits from an MDF 'sprue' and a bit of card. The 20x20mm square base is just for scale.

The upstairs has a similar, lighter wooden effect printed floor whilst the extension has a brick tile effect. I've resisted the urge to add furniture!

It would be easy to add wallpaper - there are plenty of (*cough*) doll's house sites that offer good examples for you to print, but that's beyond me! Don't even mention LED lighting and sound effects!! :-D

So here's the finished article.

I hope you'll agree that adding some of these extras will make your wargames buildings a bit special. After all, I expect you put heaps of effort in to painting your figures?

So do the same for your terrain!

Happy gaming :o)

Posted by Matt

Peter Harrison, Talk Wargaming Review : Eastern Front Razed Buildings October 7, 2015 22:57

Guest Tutorial " How to make MDF Buildings" by Matt Owens-Smith Part 2 October 5, 2015 23:20

Good chum and expert modeller / painter Matt Owens-Smith posted this blog entry on his site www.wargamestableblogspot.co.uk

Once more, my thanks to Matt for giving permission to "pinch" wholesale. His step by step assembly and painting of the "Farmhouse" is well worth a read for modellers with any level of experience.

How to make MDF buildings - Part 2

This post is all about painting the recently constructed MDF building from Charlie Foxtrot Models to a decent gaming standard.

The building has been textured with a magnolia coloured masonry paint, then it's been lightly sprayed with Warlord Dunkelgelb, although any cream or light brown would suffice. You can see that the spray has speckled the roof but that's okay as it will need tidying up before it is painted anyway.

The first highlight has been applied using Foundry Base Sand shade 10A. It's been stippled on to the walls. (stipple = use a large, old brush and load with paint as if you were heavy dry-brushing, but instead of brushing, you tap the end of the brush on to the wall. If you're not sure then practice on a piece of card first.)

Next is VMC Dark Sand, again stippled to allow some of the colours beneath to show through - but only a little.

Finally I've applied white. Go easy here as white can be quite harsh; it's easy to add more if you prefer a lighter finish.

A close up of the white finish on the render (it's actually a little lighter for real!)

The doors, window frames and shutters are given a light dusting of black spray - just enough to prime the surface otherwise the 'raw' MDF really soaks up the paint. I use tiny dots of blu-tak to hold them in place.

A base coat of Foundry Forest Green shade 26A, followed by the Mid colour 26B.

Then a final highlight with Forest Green Light 26C.

Now on to the doors - I've painted a series of fake panels or planks using the Foundry Spearshaft triad. The front door is painted in a similar style to the window frames and shutters

The back door (on the right) has a Z frame and again is painted using the Spearshaft triad.

The backs of the shutters will not be seen, whether the shutters are open or closed. The interior (i.e. the backs) of the window frames are given a basic mid brown colour.

Now it's time to sort out the roof. There are various ways to paint the roof but here I present what I think is the quickest and easiest method for the standard MDF engraved tiles. Colin sells some brilliant tiling sheets in a variety of styles. Hopefully I'll do an example with some of those in the future.

The main roof - re-touched (by brush) to remove the speckles of the base colours - ready for the tiling effect. The chimney pot is painted in Foundry Brick Red shade 59A.

Select two or three suitable tile colours, e.g. natural looking greys. I've chosen the shade colour for Foundry Slate Grey 32A, Stone 57A and Granite 31A. Now simply select a colour and lightly 'colour in' a selection of tiles across the roof, about a dozen tiles per side, per colour is fine. It's a bit like dry-brushing but keep the paint within the edges of each tile. Then repeat for each of the other tile colours. Remember to do a few short sections of the ridge too.

The final stage of tile painting is to take a mid grey colour, I used Foundry Slate Grey mid 32B, and very lightly (with a large, soft brush) apply a dry-brushed highlight to the entire roof. Do this VERY lightly as you can always apply a second or third highlight.

Here's the same effects applied to the smaller extension roof.

That's the painting pretty much complete for the basic model. Next is the final assembly. The pic below shows the window sills, and the loft window, glued in position (only some of the CFM range come with two part window frames). Let these dry fully before continuing.

Next glue in the frames, then glue the shutters around the windows.

Some Window Tips

• Make sure you use a glue that dries completely clear as it's bound to leak a little around the frame edges.
• Always dry fit the window frames before applying the glue just to make sure they fit properly. If not then trim the frame or aperture with a modelling knife.
• Apply a small 'bead' of glue to the inside of the window aperture on the building, then let it go slightly tacky as that improves it's 'grab' ability. This means the window won't fall out when you let go!?
• Shutters - the kit will have enough left and right shutters - make sure you fit them in matching pairs!

So, there you have it. The basic building is done and ready for battle!

Some more tips

• Consider using DIY/hardware store paint tester pots as base coats for walls - much cheaper than Foundry, VMC, etc.
• When applying the highlights go easy as you can always apply more paint but it's jolly tricky to remove it.

But why stop there? Part 3 will look at basing and finishing touches such as flooring, mantle pieces, etc. Oh, and I haven't forgotten the log store.

Again, hope that's useful.

Chris Harris: thetabletopwargamers :video review October 5, 2015 00:07

Chris Harris has posted a very positive review of Charlie Foxtrot Models "Banque De France". Please view and see how my kits are presented.

Chris has a wealth of other wargaming reviews and is well worth following in you tube.

Thanks Chris.

New Releases: "Double Dial Counters" for Kings of War and 28mm 1:56 Eastern Front "Rural House 3" September 28, 2015 11:24

Having just played my first few games of Kings of War by Mantic Games, I have been so excited about getting out my fully painted Warhammer Fantasy Battles armies out of the cabinets and using them again. I have only invested in a few packs of mantic models just to "fill out the corners", the "Fleabags" are just so nice.

I have designed a double dial counter which can be customised to suit your basing style and decorated with amy specific "spares" from your bits box. Sold in sets of 8 the dials can be quickly assembled and immediatly used plain. The double dials can them be decorated as part of your army project.

Please note, the "Double Dials" are my own design and have not been made in association with Mantic Games.

With the footprint of last weeks release "Razed 1" comes Eastern Front "Rural House 3". "Rural House 3" has even more authentic features than other models in this collection and would be seen as a higher status dwelling. The model has ornately carved window and front door surrounds. A half hipped roof with waney edged cardboard planking is also included (the plastic angle piece running along the apex, like most of my kits is also included) The carved corner boards, although decorative, are to prevent damage to the dwelling from horse and cart accidents!

Guest Tutorial " How to make MDF Buildings" by Matt Owens-Smith September 23, 2015 18:32

Good chum and expert modeller / painter Matt Owens-Smith posted this blog entry on his site www.wargamestableblogspot.co.uk

Thanks to Matt for giving permission to "pinch" wholesale.

How to make MDF buildings - Part 1

This post aims to explain how to go about constructing MDF buildings, specifically those from Charlie Foxtrot Models. In subsequent posts I'll go on to look at how to paint them too.

I decided to do this after chatting to a few people at Colours. Some seemed a bit put off from making and painting them, but if you can build and paint figures ok then buildings should be no problem.

My first example will be one of Colin's lovely farmhouse kits. Here's the official picture.

Here are the components.

I usually begin by building the ground floor. A very important point to bear in mind is to always 'dry fit' any components before gluing. That is, check out how well they fit and how it looks by holding the pieces together - or maybe use some blu-tak. It's a good way to check that it all fits and looks right.

Here's the ground floor.

It all fits nicely, so it's time to get out the glue. Use good quality wood glue as it's stronger, doesn't shrink and dries clear. I normally use Evo-Stik Interior Wood Adhesive. Blob some on to a palette and then use a cocktail stick to apply the glue neatly. Less is more, so to speak, as the joins generally fit flush you really only need a small amount of glue. Wipe off any excess that seeps out of the joints using a damp tissue.

Another tip - Colin puts plenty of pictures of the finished article on his web site, usually from a variety of angles, so use those pics to help you figure out what goes where if you're not sure.

Roof: I suggest that you spray the tiled roof sections black or dark grey before you assemble them.

The upper floor also has some guide pieces to help it fit snugly on to the ground floor. They stop the upper floor sliding around too easily.

The tip here is to glue them in the corners (aligned to the edge of the base, inside the walls) then place the upper floor on top of the lower and give it a tiny wiggle. Then they'll fit neatly but with enough 'tolerance' to make it easy to lift on or off. The roof has similar pieces that glue on the inside of the gable ends.

Chimney: The instructions show how these pieces fit together to make the chimney stack - hopefully you can see it's very straightforward. You'll need to shave some of the components to make them fit the angle of the roof.

The kit includes a length of plastic pipe that you can cut to make a chimney pot but I've found that cyclindrical lego 'bricks' give a good result for much less effort. Also included is a length of plastic strip to act as ridge tiles for the roof. I've glued on the chimney and trimmed the plastic to fit either side.

To add further interest I've built a CFM log store. A tip here is to leave off the roof so that you can glue 'logs' in place. The logs themselves are simply bits of dried twig snapped to the right length.

With the roof; made by overlapping strips of card.

Fore even more variety I've added a CFM extension.

It's been built in exactly the same way as the main building.

The next stage is to apply the texture to give the walls a roungh, plastered or rendered appearance. I use cheap masonry paint - be sure to avoid the smooth types as you need a little grittiness to give the right texture. For extra texture you can mix in fine sand. Other gamers use something called Chinchilla Sand - basically a fine grained grit. (The lady in the local pet store gave me a very odd look when I asked for it, so I left. I'll stick to masonry paint!)

Warning! Make sure you keep all of the door and window apertures completely clear of any paint or texture otherwise it becomes a real bother to fit the doors and windows later!

Some close up pictures of the texture.

Tip - keep a cocktail stick or similar sharp item to hand whilst texturing as it comes in handy for removing any texture from the etching above the window frames.

You'll see that the dovetailed corners give the impression of stone blocks. You could enhance this by adding your own blocks made from small squares or rectangles of thin card (I may try this out on another building) but for now I'm happy with the standard finish.

The textured building ready for some paint!

Summary of tips

• Use good quality glue as it will have minimal shrinkage, be stronger and dry clear.
• Dry fit the components. My Father was a carpenter and always said "measure twice, cut once"... in this case dry fit twice, then glue once!
• Check that you have all the bits (Colin is very good - you'll often have a few extras!)
• Follow the assembly instructions - if they're supplied. Yes I know most of us are blokes but the instructions are supplied for a reason!
• Use the website pictures as a reference if you're not sure of any part of the build.
• Spray things like roof sections before building.
• Use lego bricks as chimney pots.
• Buy a small pot of magnolia textured paint - a good base as many buildings will be off white or grey.
• Keep any textured paint away from the window/door apertures.

I hope that's been a useful 'how to' for MDF buildings. In the next installments I'll start to look at how to paint them, complete the assembly and add the finishing touches.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks Again to Matt, I will look forward to the next episode!

Colin

aka Charlie Foxtrot.

New Releases: Eastern Front "Razed buildings 1 & 2"....the authentic smell of burnt wood comes free with every kit! September 21, 2015 09:17

Whilst doing research into the Eastern Front, I was moved by an image of standing chimneys and burnt out wooden homes. I have now released two models based on this research and proudly present "Razed House 1 & 2".

Razed 1 has steps up to the floor and a hole showing floor timbers and the ground beneath.

Razed 2 has the same footprint as "Rural House 1" so can be used as a replacement should the original take a hit.

Both models are a cost effective way of populating an Eastern Front table when combined with the intact buildings. These models would fit into Eastern European, Stalingrad and American Civil War layouts.

Please note: the burnt smell does wear off and sniffing war gaming  buildings is not recommended.