Do you paint your wagons red?

[Whiterook]

So many boardgames, like Memoir '44, have detailed plastic miniatures depicting the infantry, armor, artillery, etc. Some of these units are beautifully detailed, but come in mono-colored plastic...green for American, grey for German, yellow for Japanese, red for Russian, tan for British, etc...some say a tad dull, and some say reminiscent of those gems we played with back 20-30 years ago.

Many gamers like that "old toy" look, and keep the mono-color; while others take delight in painting the mini's uniforms, flesh, guns, and even flocking the bases!

Now I'm not talking about miniatures games, like Flames of War, Axis & Allies Miniatures, etc. I'm talking of board games like Memoir '44, Tide of Iron, Axis & Allies D-Day, etc.

Do you paint your minis?


Be sure to post pictures for all of us to see!

[Whiterook]

Here's a couple examples of what I'm talking about. Days of Wonder's game Memoir '44, came out with a new expansion this past Winter, called the Air Pack. It introduced aircraft minis and rules for the game. This expansion departed from the previous core game and other expansions in which the miniature plane figures are painted, wherea the former were mono-colored plastic. Still, to promote the game, the company held a plane painting contest in which they put an unpainted plane mini in Game Trade Magazine, for fans of the game to paint. I got two P-40 Warhawks that I painted as an American plane, and one as a Russian lend-lease:

[MAGNA]

Nice job, especially the lend lease. I have seen pics of Axis and Allies boardgame models painted. I haven't seen any pics of a Memoirs set though.

[TRDG]

Nice paint jobs W.R., I like them.

Cheers

Tom

[Whiterook]

Thanks guys! They were my first ever attempt at miniatures painting. The Russian lend-lease won the First Runner Up prize, I'm proud to say! Our new friend here at WWII Zone, eldurand took the Second Runner Up prize with a sweet ME-109...maybe he'll post a pic here?

I will check with some friends at the Memoir '44 Forum, and see if they'll let me post pics of their painted minis here.

[TRDG]

Sounds good to me, any Africa Kore burning Armour by chance....?

Cheers, Ha Ha!!

Tom

[Whiterook]

No Afrika Korps that I've seen. Memoir '44 was primarily designed as a D-Day timeframe game, debuting at the 60th Anniversay of the historic battle. The original components had Americans and German unit miniatures, even though many of scenarios with French Maquis...I've since bought Caesar Miniatures Maquis figs that I plan on painting this Summer...they'll look better than US troops masquerading as Maquis!

The game has expanded to cover before and after D-Day; has expansions that included Russian troops for the Eastern Front, and Japanese figs for the Pacific Theater. There has been much pleading from the fans at the game's forum, for British figs...where it is hoped from there, desert maps and scenarios will abound!

[KG_Panzerschreck]

Nice jobon the Minis Whiterook. Considering how small they are, you did an amazing job painting them IMHO. I wouldnt want to even try it. I do build models, but i go no smaller than 1:35 scale, LOL.

[Whiterook]

Originally Posted by KG_Panzerschreck

Nice jobon the Minis Whiterook. Considering how small they are, you did an amazing job painting them IMHO. I wouldnt want to even try it. I do build models, but i go no smaller than 1:35 scale, LOL.

Thanks Mate! I was extremely pleased with the end product, if I do say so myself! I did the Russian lend-lease first, and was my learning curve. I thought the American would have the best shot at a prize, but the Russian won!

[eldurand]

I usually do not paint the plastic minis that come with games, but I am beginning to think I'll start.

As whiterook said, I painted up a bunch of the promo aircraft for DOW's Memoir '44 Air Pack, and I was greatly pleased with the result even in such a small scale (for me). Most of my painting has been 25/28mm miniatures for a variety of games, although I did paint 1/72 scale plastic soldiers when I was a kid.

I also started painting some of the minis for DOW's Battlelore game, which I think turned out pretty decent. For me, much of the decision is based on the game itself. Personally, and I am sure many will disagree, medieval and ancient battles were more colorful, and hence are more prone to benefit from painting. By the time of WWII, uniforms and vehicles were more monochromatic and so, IMO, the fact that the figures are unpainted does not matter quite so much.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth. And here are a couple of shots of the planes I painted for the DOW contest. Here is a pic of the lot of them, including my own Lend Lease Russian P40 inspired by whiterook's but in a different paint scheme.



This is the Me-109 that got me the second runner up prize in the DOW contest.



Here is a pic of a Corsair, from which I got my avatar.



And lastly, a Zero lining up a kill on a P40...