Ever been too busy to find the time to paint? Ever had more models than you could ever get done in your lifetime? Ever know that you really want to take a specific army to a specific event and you know there is no way you can get things done on time? I definitely have been in all of those situations. I am notoriously time poor but love to try new armies and tactics. This drive to innovate keeps things fresh and interesting and drives my "hobby."Thankfully, for me, there are extremely talented people in the world who are faster painters and who, for a fee, will help me finish my army projects. One of these painters is Andy Singleton and I recently commissioned him to paint a German force for my upcoming Bolt Action World Series Event.
The results of his work are stunning!
Prior to the recent release of the Battle Of The Bulge campaign book, I had the idea to play a themed Panzerbrigade 150 force. Wanting to simulate German forces disguised as Allied troops during Operation Griffon, I built a mobile list that revolved around a unit of Brandenburgers (to represent infiltrated SS), an Ersatz Panther, and lots of winter equipped units in transports. While I love painting vehicles, the infantry portion of this force was going to slow me down too much to get the force done for my event. As a result, I asked Andy's company, The Volley Fire Painting service to paint the infantry while I painted the vehicles to match.
You can find pictures of my Ersatz Panther HERE.
Here is my Brandenburger Infiltrator Squad:
Andy offers several levels of painting. I opted for a "High Tabletop" standard for the models and sent the army off to the UK. Having seen Andy's work for years on the internet and on the Warlord Game's website, I had a pretty good idea of what his style looked like and I knew it was exactly how I wanted this force to be painted. I was also confident that even though I was not going for his highest tier of quality his work would still be amazing and I was not disappointed!
You might notice that the army is made up of models from a number of manufacturers. There are German miniatures from Artisan Designs, Warlord Games, The Assault Group and Brigade Games. I mixed up the models and specifically chose an all metal force because I wanted a certain hodgepodge element to the force; as though the soldiers had been pulled from a variety of commands, which is what actually happened in the war. The way the army is painted certainly matches that theme.
When commissioning the piece, Andy and I discussed this and he nailed the look I was going for. He is ridiculously educated about WW2 and immediately got what I was going for as a theme and painted my army accordingly. The paint job is beautiful and consistent but the models are certainly not parade ground ready. I like to think that they look like they have seen some things. It takes real talent to pull that dishevelled look off as a painter and still have the force look as detailed and technically precise as it does.
If you have not checked out the miniature wargaming podcast that Andy is a part of, I highly recommend that you check out The Brit, The Yank, And The Hobby cast. It is great stuff. The man, and the rest of guys, definitely know their stuff!
For those wondering, prices range from £6 per infantry figure for "High Tabletop" (like mine, seen above) to £11 a figure for "Collectors" quality (seen below).
Vehicles range from between £20 to £50 depending on the level of finish wanted. In addition he caters for all scales and sizes of job too.
Some of his top level vehicles can be seen above and below. The pictures speak for themselves. They are incredible!!!
For those curious Andy is UK based but he ships and works with people in most places. I, for example, commissioned him from Australia. If people want to contact Andy the best way is through Facebook here https://en-gb.facebook.com/
Some of his top level vehicles can be seen above and below. The pictures speak for themselves. They are incredible!!!
For those curious Andy is UK based but he ships and works with people in most places. I, for example, commissioned him from Australia. If people want to contact Andy the best way is through Facebook here https://en-gb.facebook.com/
Also, even if you are not able to hire the man himself, I have spent hours scrolling through pictures of his stuff. Do yourself a favour if you have not checked out his blog. It is epic! http://volleyfirepainting.
If you have not guessed already, I am a massive fan of Andy's work and I am glad that I paid the coin to get some of his handiwork in my collection. More on the army and how it plays soon!
Old Man Morin
