Holiday Notice: July 30, 2022 13:54

From 6th August - 21st August we will be away visiting family in Kuala Lumpur. I will be doing a "last post" on 5th August. Orders may be placed while we are away and will be processed in date order on our return. 

I will be taking the lap top as I have a few ideas I want to draw as we wait at the airports. 

In other news, I played the "last post" for my van today which was towed to the scrapyard. My £54 new tyre went 17 miles and £217 of repairs enabled it to start 3 times before it finally died. I will be hiring a van for Colours and Warfare as accommodation and table fees have already been paid. I need to have a long think about shows for 2023. How odd that it feels like losing an old friend. 

New additions to the Pantile Collection. July 8, 2022 09:37

I have been following Carlos Elias Llop from Madrid over the past few years on Facebook. Carlos is an accomplished modeller and scratch builds buildings of Spanish architecture. Inspired by his images (and a little guidance from him) I designed a "new wave" of kits to add to this popular range. 

I started by trimming and filing a sheet of pantile card. The size of the individual tiles dictated the eventual size of the finished roof in that I needed to work with whole tiles. 

From a range of internet search images, I calculated the pitch of the roof and made a master. 

The master was sent off and shortly after, the first cast came back from Slug Industries...swiftly followed by another 4 so I could complete this wave of models.  

After drawing, prototyping and eliminating snags, I followed my own tutorial. Here are the steps I took the buildings through. 

Assembled and textured.

Honey brown.

Honey brown / tan mix

Pure tan, followed by bleached sand drybrush and patches of GW Agrax Earthsahde. 

Roofs base coated with Dulux emulsion and shutters on "Carthouse 2" painted with Foundry "Union Trouser Blue" (left over from an earlier project).

I painted the doors and windows and glued the windows to some clear acetate (blister packaging is great for this). Once the glue had dried, I cut around each piece with small scissors. 

 Windows and balconies  painted and glued in place, fascias painted and a little Agrax Earcthshade on the roofs completes the new additions to the range. 

New Release: Fantasy Oathmark "Well of Prophesy" June 4, 2022 12:40

Drawn for personal use in the Oathmark military expedition 3 "The Well of Prophesy" scenario 3: "Securing the Well" from the "Oathbreakers" supplement (Written by Joseph A McCullough published by Osprey Games.)

I had a lot of fun doing this piece, very niche I know but I think it looks the part. I will certainly get a lot of use out of this. 

Holiday Notice April 18, 2022 21:18

Thankfully my bout of Covid came and went before my boating holiday on the Norfolk Broads. I will be leaving on Sunday 24th and returning to work on 3rd May. I will be posting out on Saturday 23rd. 

The website will remain open for orders and they will be actioned on my return. 

Emails will also be answered commencing Tuesday May 3rd. 

Please email if you would like to pre-order and reserve any items for Legionary in Exeter on May 7th. 

Thank you for your patience to this disruption to service. 

Cheers Colin

Temporary Disruption to Service. March 30, 2022 15:40

Updated 9.4.22 Clear and "normal" service has now been resumed. Thank you for placing orders while I have been ill and your patience in waiting for me to visit the post office. As I had only mild symptoms, I have worked through and shipped almost all orders today. 

Updated 6th April : Today feeling overly optimistic I did another lateral flow test. Apologies to those of you who have placed orders but I am unable to post out just yet having another positive. 

Today (30.3.22) I tested positive for Covid which means I will not be going to the post office for the next 5 days or so. I will wait until I get 2 clear lateral flow tests before I venture out for your protection and the safety of others. 

Orders can still be placed on the website which will be cut and stacked until I am in the clear. 

Please accept my apologies for this disruption in service. 

Holiday Notice March 7, 2022 17:44

Charlie Foxtrot Models will be taking a short break from 12th to 19th March.

Orders and emails will be actioned in date order on our return. 

I will be posting out on Saturday 12th with as many orders as I can. 

I am also squeezing a week off in April: dates to follow. 

Next show for your diaries is Exeter Legionary on May 7th. 

Colin.

New Release: 28mm 1:56 "Farm Cart" February 25, 2022 10:07

As storm Eunice caused a number of power cuts last week, lasering had to stop. I used the battery on my laptop to design the "Farm Cart". I saved the image from when I designed the Carthouse in the Pantile Collection. The kit can be made  up as in use or in need of repair. 

Christmas opening hours 2021 December 20, 2021 17:40

Charlie Foxtrot Models will be stopping for Christmas at 5pm on 22nd December and back in the workshop on 4th January. Orders can be placed and will be actioned on my return. 

The Nativity scene is a custom made piece I zapped for good mate Steve Pearse. Thanks for the use of the pic Steve. 

Tired and looking forward to a break. I had to cancel the staff Christmas Party as I was unable to socially distance me from myself. 

Thanks to all friends and customers who have supported me throughout the past year. Cheers and lets hope we are able to attend more shows in 2022

Colin. 

Manufacturing once more.... November 30, 2021 17:59

Having had a delivery of thin wire today, repairs to one laser have been successful. Thanks to all the people who placed orders knowing there will be a delay. Thankfully I will be able to cut the few items that were not in stock and have the back log cleared by the end of the week. 

Thanks to all the well wishers on social media too. Your positive and supportive comments helped through a difficult time. 

Colin. 

Notice: Disruption to Service November 25, 2021 18:05

Please accept my apologies, today, the day before I leave for the Warfare show, both lasers have gone down. 

There will be a disruption to service while I order parts, fix the machines or failing that, book a service engineer. 

I have been building up a lot of stock and will be able to provide a reduced service of mainly buildings.

Please note: I do not carry stock of movement trays or bases as they are cut to order. 

To avoid disappointment, please email any "wish lists" and I will assist where I can. 

Normal service will be resumed as soon as pssible. 

New release: 28mm 1:56 "Fuel Dump / Oil Drums" November 2, 2021 09:06

From the talented Phil of Slug Industries a single piece resin casting for a range of theatres. 

My current WWII area of interest is North Africa so I painted my casting to start that project. 

Tutorial: American Snake Fence September 21, 2021 20:51

For the past two years, I have been collecting and painting miniatures for an ACW table to play Sharp Practice. What I had lacked were the iconic snake fences which give an American themed table context. 

I had researched images and read blogs before coming up with my take on the snake fence.

My initial design for the bases were straight rectangles. After mocking up a couple, I disliked the hard straight edge which provided too much of a contrast to the split rails. 

The 2nd draft was a more organic look which evolved to be thicker to allow for leaning timber on the joints. (More on this later) 

After cutting and making up a batch of the 2nd draft, I found that storage may be aproblem. 

Draft 3, the final iteration was interlinked pieces to allow maximum use of storage in a Really Useful Box. 

I used a combination or wooden pound shop tooth picks and large "cooks" matches. Guidelines to follow are engraved on the bases.  

I then proceeded as follows holding a base strip like a letter "W" I glued down matchsticks I had previously distressed with a craft knife on the far right / then another parallel to this // 

At either end I glued on off cuts of wood approx 5mm long.

I then built up to a level of from right to left 5, 4, 5, 4 

At irregular places I glued on further distressed matchsticks sloping intowards the joins. TIP: if you place one sloping away on the far left, it will help to conseal the join when fences are laid in a row. 

Before I applied any paint I glued down small pieces of stone and gravel chips ( partly from a fish tank) to represent stone that has been unearthed during the use of the field and placed to the edge. 

To paint the fences I followed a guide from John Bond:

 https://iagsmgm.blogspot.com/2021/02/snake-fences.html?fbclid=IwAR1JDSfL2xa1hsrUnPRmfyh6S69EQTBRmVjS5BeJP-WkagEXoNLYgPq8EoI

In summary:

Spray black

drybrush flat earth

drybrush green grey (vallejo 707886)

daub a little drybrush Middlestone (vallejo 70882 although my pot is worn and difficult ot read)

drybrush a pale off white or light grey. 

I place the flat earth on card and use a large soft bristle brush for drybrushing. I use the same card and do not wash the brush between colours to get a subtle blend of colour. 

For the gates: 

After much experimentation, I drew to the conclusion that one rail will need to be on a slope. I chose the longest rail to make the gradient as shallow as possible. One the double gates, no small 5mm sections will be needed to support the ends. For the single gates, treat the long pieces as every other end and use the 5mm spacers. 

The gate posts height will vary depending on how high you make the fences; mine came out in the region of 23mm. I lightly tapered the lower end of the post and glued in place. Before the glue was dry on both fence pieces, I glued in the gates and ensured that the posts were vertical before setting aside to dry. 

NOTE: the vertical fence posts were sunk into the ground and do not touch the rail fence.  

For the open gates, I spread a thin layer of filler and dusted with fine sand. On the wide gate, I bent some plastic into a horseshoe shape and impressed a few prints for flavour. 

The bases I painted flat earth and lighlty drybrushed the sand in the gate entrances with a bone colour. The stones were painted dark grey, given a highlight of pale grey and then I applied a "Russian Earth" weathering powder from MIG. 

My final piece of work was to flock and apply static grass tufts, clump foliage and a few corn plants I had left over from making crop fields. 

I hope you find this of use.

cheers

Colin