WWI Russian Spotting Balloon

What fun. I wanted a balloon for my artillery to shoot with. Gotta have heaps of artillery, right? I decided on a 40x60mm stand so I could give the balloon a good stable base. The 40x40 seemed to small for what I had in mind. I wanted the balloon to have a stable base. I pegged and glued the dowel from the base to the basket. I then puttied the base. As a detail I carved two sand bags to hang from the baskets undercarriage. I like how it turned out. The bags were carved out of the same dowel used as the base support.
For the balloon I used the same old blue foam. I cut the top off of an eye drop bottle for the hot air intake of the balloon. I also used a smaller dowel to support the balloon above the base. One requirement I had for this piece was for it to fit in my figure case. That requirement forced me to make in two pieces. The balloon section has a magnet on the bottom of it as well. I paper mached the balloon with toilet paper and a very watered down Elmer's glue. Kinda tedious, maybe should have used putty and made it smooth. I just wanted to make it as light as possible. Besides its fun to do different things. The thread was tied and glued around the balloon.
I based the whole thing black and began the painting adventure. I decided on a tri-color camo I found on a Russian gun.
Here is the finished product along with some very confused Persians for a size comparison. I also threw in some wire I had just finished.
Thank you Terry for the flag web page. I figured it needed something to say "Russian" If for nothing else to keep the Russians from shooting at it. :)

WWI Barbed wire

I was asked to show the steps in making the barbed wire for the WWI terrain I was working on. Here you go. Drill out the post locations with small hand drill, if you go through the stand don't worry about it. I used needles cut in half for the posts but I think you could use any wire.
I use Elmer's wood putty for my bases. I puttied the stands and allowed them to dry completely. I then took nylon thread and began to tie the "wire" on. I just tied one end and twisted the thread around the posts and glued into place. I tried to tie off the other end but it would not stay tight. I then took the same thread and tied a knot on every straight piece of "wire" for effect.
Finish off by painting the stand. Then paint eh wire to your liking. I used a chain mail mixed with Tin for the wire and highlighted the barbs with straight chain mail. Very solid and easy.

WWI HITT Stuff

So I got excited about working on some WWI guys. I ordered some Russians from Peter Pig this past weekend. I wish they where here already. I am not very patient when it comes to waiting for figures to get here. Here is my Barrage and my poison gas stand. The poison is just plastic cut-outs from a notebook. I cut a grove in the stand and glued them in place. The plastic does not paint or spray so you have to be careful with it.

This was fun to build. The Russian bunker/Stronghold. I have no intentions on being on the defensive....although the dice may give their two cents. The majority of this building made from wood. I then put some foam on the top for the dirt and then coated the entire thing, minus the floor boards, in wood filler. Turned out nice. It is mounted on a 40x60mm stand. No one will actually fit in there, but from what I understand the stronghold comes with defenders already.

I wanted to make some wire for the game. I tinkered around a bit and decided to use thread and some wire to make Barbed wire stands. The thread was woven through the uprights and glued in place. The "barbs" are just knots in the thread. I will post the troops when they arrive and are painted.

II/78b Late Imperial Roman East

Bought these Essex figures off E-bay for half price. I love shopping deals. It has been some time since my last post. I had a period of the "I don't feel like painting" and I went on vacation. But here we go. I had these finished in November minus a few odds and ends. I finished them yesterday and based them this morning. I enjoyed looking up shield designs and adding my own impression making it my army.

The General and his minions.

The Cataphracts. I had one lance that was damaged so I replaced it with a standard. The standard is a-historical but was fun anyway. Made from thread and a piece of wood on a staff. Some might complain that they are confused when a banner is not on the generals stand....oh well if they can not tell the difference between a Cv general and a Cataphract :) surprise!!

The mighty Bd.

The light troops that make the army versatile. I just wish they had a Bw unit or two.