Hey guys, Tristan here. This article is long overdue and for that I truly apologize. Today I’d like to share pictures and tips on an army that I painted up to give away as prize for our 2016 Event Series here in Melbourne. Every player at any of the four Bolt Action events we ran in Melbourne during the year got a ticket into the raffle for this army for each event they attended. The army was made in conjunction with the Australian Army PDF that the BAA produced, which you can find at the Warlord website and you can download for free.
For the infantry I used Warlord Games Chindits to portray my embattled Australians. These sculpts are dynamic and the figures are interesting to paint and exquisite to look at. There is high volume of beards in this army and on that alone these figures get the thumbs up! My one gripe was the repeat of some sculpts and the rarity of others, it was like collecting Garbage Pail Kid cards all over again.
Some of the sculpts I truly loved were really dynamic poses such as, a rifleman thrusting with bayoneted rifle towards an enemy or an unfortunate officer, wounded and sitting on the ground with a broken leg. The Chindits have a tired and worn out look, an element that I took advantage of to obtain the look of a tired Australian force fighting in the jungles of the Pacific. The colour scheme is very simple. Basically I used US Dark Green, then used a sepia wash and then went over the raised edges with US Dark Green again and then finally highlighted with Green Grey! They slouch hats are Cork Brown, while on the packs and webbing, I used an irregular mixture of greens, browns and khaki to give the force a ill-equipped look.
The basing on this army has been my favourite this far. I’ve never based a jungle themed army before and I quickly lost myself in trying to create a unique diorama on each base. Initially I used plastic products, supplied generously to me by the always incredible Dennis Berwick. However I didn’t really like the shiny look it produced so after a short spell I quickly started using more conventional methods to base my minis. I think you’ll agree after looking at the pictures that the result I got was interesting and overall dynamic to look at!
On the day the lucky winner was drawn, however after being contacted our generous victor decided that another army was something he didn’t need nor have space for, and therefore asked that I find the army a suitable home with a deserving member of our community. Therefore the ultimate winner was Sarah who was thrilled to win a brand new army and will no doubt be bringing it to our regular events in the near future!
If you have any questions regarding this army or would like tips on creating your own Australian Jungle Force please don’t hesitate to contact me via the BAA!
Until next time, roll your 6’s and have fun!
