New House... New Times... New Paint Collections...

Well I've been a little quiet lately, since my last Slovak 15mm post and that's because I've just bought a house and moved in...

... more on this later.

Proved to be somewhat more of a ball ache than I expected. I fell asleep at the wheel of a van and bounced off the central reservation on the motorway after picking up all of my stuff that has been in storage at my family home in Wales... luckily no harm was done to me but the van sadly couldn't say the same!

Then I had to pick Roxi and the cats up from London... and prowl around removal men that were intent on tipping my filing cabinets full of painted miniatures onto their sides to put them on their vans and then of course we had to race up to Dudley in the West Midlands (where said house is located) to collect keys and access our brand spanking new home!

Said house... which we in fact like to call 'The Tardis'

* cough cough *

By brand spanking new house of course I mean 'a giant pseudo derelict that was built when Queen Victoria still stood astride the mighty British Empire (or to be more precise when the dumpy little moose could barely shuffle out of her armchair)! Great in theory... the  reality has been somewhat more challenging!

The previous owner as it turns out wasn't quite as honest about things in the house as we had hoped. We immediately saw that she had broken the contract and hadn't removed all of the old furniture from the house... and despite repeated assurances that the damp problems with the house had been resolved it turned out not to be the case...

Now I'm sure you are sitting there saying to yourselves "what the hell has this got to do with toy soldiers?". Well don't worry... this is all relevant as you will shortly find out.

So... the caveat that I set to buying a house when discussing the options with Roxi was i) Its nowhere near London and ii) Whatever house is chosen it has one room of the size that I require for my hobby obsession... which this beast of a house does!

I said to Roxi that I was going to go and tidy up one of the two master bedrooms to prepare it for redecoration and populate it with competently painted pieces of metal and filing cabinets. It had one seriously horrendous carpet that smelled of piss... I ripped it all up along with its backing... and this is where the problems began.

You know what Mission Creep is? Well my taking the carpet up led to me removing wall paper (which really was gross!) which as it turns out was the only thing holding the plaster up against the wall... which of course all fell down... and then it turned out that the double glazed window was actually coming out of its emplacement with wall paper concealing massive cracks all the way around it and the plaster having gaping holes on the undersides allowing ingress of water to soak all of the plaster... which also started falling away...

Man Cave from the door...

Man Cave looking back towards the door...

My wargames room appeared to be slipping away.

I decided to investigate up in the loft and boy oh boy did I find issues.

There was a massive hole in the felt backing under a big patch of broken roof tiles and Carole's idea of having addressed all of the damp issues was to tape the broken roof tiles back together with gaffer tape and placing a bucket below the hole.. badly! The water had saturated the roof joists and had started to flood down the sides of chimney breasts

As it stands now we are having three of the houses four roofs completely replaced and new windows in both master bedrooms... which it now turns out is infested with damp problems as well...

Roxi attacking the walls in what will eventually transform into the  master bedroom

So its going to take a while to get all of this into shape but in the meantime we have had our fibre broadband connected so I can at least carry on with my posting (unlucky guys and gals!)... oh yeah and I can of course still receive post.

Looks what I just received:

A while ago I joined a Kickstarter put out by Scale 75 for a new type of paint covering all of the primes and secondary mixes with a few others. I obviously decided that I would opt for the 'I want it all' option and I am happy to report that I received the set yesterday.

Allow me to introduce you to the new addition to my painting tables (tbc):

OK so the whole kit comes in a nice wooden box. Its no Lignum Vitae only being MDF, but it is well presented and attractive, sporting an  attractive Lambda that Scale 75 have as their brand image and is large enough to contain the whole collection with add ons. The inner trays are all a type of moulded foam and if anything it is these trays which are the least attractive and arguably cheapest parts of the entire offering BUT they do the job so I guess that's all that's important.

A nice looking Lambda on a nice looking wooden box...

The complete and focal point of the whole collection is a set of brand spanking new 48 colours in metal tubes.

These are supposed to be all singing and all dancing types of paints with an extremely high pigment content with beautiful opacity and transparency under dilution because of the fact that the pigment is not supposed to dis-aggregate.

My complete collection...

The artistic pigments are combined with acrylic resins which are then tested against a triad of key performance indicators. Hiding power determines the ability of the paint to cover the layer below it. Lightfastness is the measure of how resistant to fading the paint is and the final metric is Fastness which is a measure of how resistant to deterioration the layer is.

Its important to note that these metrics are not things that have been invented by Scale 75 in-house but are scientific constants and out of a total of 144 measurements just over 70% were listed as high with the remaining being a mix of average and high-average.

One of the paint tubes that I received... on top of lots of other paint tubes...

Its got a base drying time of 10 minutes and a curing time of 72 hours which means that there is plenty of work time with the paint straight out of the tube.

... but of course no paint set is complete without all of the added extras that you may be able to get alongside all of the flashy new paints... and with this set there were plenty!

Some as parts of the main collection, some as Kickstarter Stretch Goals and others as paid for extras. Lets take a look at them all now...

So first and foremost are the extra fluids that complement painting abilities. There are two that come with the collection, one of which I bought an extra of (I actually don't have a clue why though!). Firstly there is a bottle of Acrylic Thinner specially formulated to allow these paints to be used in an airbrush. Maybe I will go down this route but Im not considering it in the short term.

The Acrylic Thinner

The other fluid that I got, and to which I added another in the add ons of the Kickstarter was a 60ml bottle of Acrylic Retarder. This should retard the drying time by up to 15% and with smooth blending and a hand as subtle as a Hippo violating a mouse the extra drying time may, I believe, be a critical thing in getting the best out of these paints.

The Acrylic Retarder

The next thing worth looking at was the palette that came embedded into the lid foam layer of the box. Its a fold open palette with a separate wet palette which fits into the lid of the palette itself. 

The palette

The palette itself has a large central pool divided into two equal parts and a selection of 18 mini pools arranged around three sides of the central pools.

The open palette with the wet palette contained within the lid...

The wet palette is provided with a wet palette pack containing one layer of 'white absorbent material'

that is cut to the container size and is made of high capacity absorbent material which does not shrink when drying out and is resistant to mildew (apparently) and a separate pack of 50 sheets of moisturising paper which is also cut to the container size, each sheet is extra thin allowing for moisture transmission and allows for brushstrokes which makes mixing easy and avoiding deterioration.

The Wet Palette with the Wet Palette Pack

Quite a handy little colour wheel designed by Scale 75 is also provided which gives a key guide on how to arrive at each of the colour variations that you may want to get to.

The Colour Wheel side 1

The first side which carried the Scale 75 Lambda brand icon goes through brief explanations of the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary colours  as well as Warm and Cool colours and definitions of how colour is classified such as Hue, Value, Intensity,  Tint, Tone and Shades for example...

The Colour Wheel side 2

The second or reverse side goes into Colour theory giving brief theories on Mono-Chromatic, Analagous and Achromatic colours and further going into Complementary, Split Complementary and Diad, Triad and Tetrads. There is a geometric diagram in the middle of the wheel showing how each axis gives each colour type in the theory and of course a number of main colours with the variations as you head towards the centre pin.

The Scale 75 Brushes

The collection is provided with two Scale 75 branded paintbrushes. A size 0 and a size 1. I cant speak for the quality of the brushes because I haven't used them yet but I cant imagine a company like Scale 75 putting out appalling brushes with their flagship paints because it just wouldn't help you get the results that the reviews of the paints depends on. They are labelled on the handle as being Kolinsky Tajmyr and the bristles seem to be very well formed with the line of bristles between the heel above the collar down to the toe gradually curving in. Looks like they carry a decent reservoir and as we know Kolinsky is some of the highest quality bristles for capillary action.

The Watercolour Brush Pen

The next thing that I opted for was a Watercolour Brush Pen. I've never used one before but I thought it could be a bit of fun... watch this space I guess.

Paint Agitators

There is a bag of paint agitators. Sounds good but to be honest all it is is a bag of small ball bearings. You stick one in each of your paint pots that runs the risk of drying out. Whenever you shake the pot it will break apart any aggregation of pigment. Should add a bit of life to your dead pots.

Paint Tube Squeezer

There is a rather groovy little paint tube squeezer which looks like a Spartan shield on top of a tuning fork. I would imagine that this will be used very rarely but it is a nice little addition...

... and finally there are a few gimmicks. Not many but enough to satisfy even the most selfish and greedy beer swilling pretzel munching toad spawn out there... 

Stickers

There are two Scale 75 Lambda brand stickers and a bottle opener carrying the same design... which is quite handy as I plan on stocking my currently derelict man cave with a mini bar just as soon as I can squeeze one in!

Bottle Opener

This is one great collection that I cant wait to start using. It should be the perfect accompaniment to my Artist Opus brush collections.

... however as it will be almost two months (I think) before my man cave is ready for exploitation I think I should probably just concentrate on finishing off my Slovak blog posts so I can, with a clear conscience, move onto a new 15mm Flames of War army... which (and you heard it here first) will be a German Gebirgsjager army! :)

...Fix Bayonets Ladies!

FoW: Obrona Narodowa (National Defence) Platoon

So these guys are the somewhat unsung heroes of September '39. Along with the State Police (a.k.a The Blue Police) these guys were all over Poland fighting in almost all of the battles... but just like the Blue Police, nobody really seems to give them the credit they deserve.

For me they represent another opportunity for a funky modelling project where I get to put something together that looks a little different from the average so let me run you through a little bit of history and then I'll take you through how I put my ON (Obrona Narodowa) platoon together.

The History of the Obrona Narodowa

The Obrona Narodowa (ON) was a territorial military formation that existed between 1937 and 1939. It comprised a system of Brigades and Demi-Brigades which were each assigned to District Corp Headquarters where in times of need they would be subordinated to specific Polish army groups based on perceived local needs.

The decision to establish an organisation of National Defence units was taken in December 1936, with service in the ON units being based on the well known principles of our own Territorial Army. Initially the National Defence units service was performed exclusively by volunteers of Polish nationality, unrestricted reserve soldiers and the unemployed. The basic organisation was by the Battalion with varying levels of manpower depending upon which model of battalion you were serving in; Types I, II, III, IV and S (there was also a Cavalry ON brigade as well).

Formation of the first ON Battalions began in January 1937 with Reserve Troops populating the territorial system and initially formed on the instigation of each of the District Corps, depending upon whether or not there was a perceived need for more manpower at that time.

National Defence formations were equipped with a variety of uniforms and equipment, rarely modern at inception, although by 1939 many Battalions had been issued uniforms that were to a larger degree identical to the regular army with the exception of formation markings.

Formations of the ON were provided for the short term defensive activities of any given area whereby the ON would assist in the defence of their own homes and other short term defence tasks when under favourable field conditions, principally with the support of regular troops.

ON troops participating in the Zaolzie occupation 1938

It would seem that when the ON were deployed as envisioned they performed admirably though if, through events beyond their control, they were pulled out of their comfort zones and expected to operate in a wider tactical environment their lack of weaponry and training would start to tell very quickly, frequently precipitating a collapse in morale.

When the second world war started Poland was able to mobilise a total of about 83 battalions with a total strength of about 1500 officers and between 50-60,000 NCO's and Privates.

Sequence of Events in 1939

7th April 1939: A root and branch reorganisation of the ON started to take place with the issue of order L. 1022/Tjn which dealt with the theoretical strengths and mobilisation plans for the ON.

2nd May 1939: The start of the physical establishment of the ON Battalions followed soon after with order L.dz 1600/ Tjn. HE. and L.dz 1601/ Tjn.

New brigades were established and existing ones expanded and in place of the original organisational TO&E's 1,2,3 & 4 the following organisational TO&E's were introduced:

Brigade Headquarters (demi-brigade) ON type I
Brigade Headquarters (demi-brigade) ON type II
Battalion ON Type I
Battalion ON Type II
Battalion ON Type III
Battalion ON Type IV
Battalion ON Type 'S' (Fortress Garrisons. June '39 mobilisation of 12 such battalions was planned)
Company ON Type 'KS' (Cyclists)
Company ON Type 'K' (Cyclists)

The breakdown of a Type IV Obrona Narodowa Battalion

10th May 1939: The commander of Corps Area Command No. VII in Poznan issued order L.dz 2398/ Tjn.Org.ON outlining the creation of ON units in the Corps area.

31st May 1939: Brigadier General Kazimierz Sawicki was appointed General for Unit Affairs and Head of the National Defence Agency whilst also retaining the post of Director of the State Office of Physical Education and Military Training.

10th July 1939: The N ational Defence Department is legally separated from the M.S.Wojsk Infantry Department, and is subsequently integrated into the National Defence Agency.
Head of the Obrona Narodowa - Lieutenant Colonel Jozef Zoncyk-Bohusz
Head of Organisational Documentation - Capt Kazimierz Gustaw Czermak
Head of Budget - Captain Stanislaw Marian Bigo
Head of Department - Major Tadeusz Wiktor Rozek

27th July 1939: The Office for Units of the Army issued an order 136/ Tjn. for the formation of ON artillery platoons

28th July 1939: The Office for Units of the Army issued an order 182/ Tjn. for the formation of Gdynia ON Battalion III and the reorganisation of Gdynia ON Battalion II and Kashubian ON Battalion to the Type IV organisational structure

2nd August 1939: The Office for Units of the Army issued an order 183/ Tjn. for the formation of the Dabrowa ON demi brigade

25th August 1939: Brigadier General Bronislaw Regulski was replaced by the Minister of Military Affairs due to a combat alarm carried out by units of the ON.

29th August 1939: The Office for Units of the Army issued an order 349/ Tjn. outlining the change of command organisation for the Poznan and Podhale ON Brigades from Type I to Type II.

29th August 1939: The Office for Units of the Army issued an order 183/ Tjn. for the formation of the National Defence Brigades in Warsaw.

That brings us up to the war....

Owing to the precipitous collapse of the Polish front lines at the start of September the ON were frequently called upon to fight outside of their local environments in circumstances that were not suitable for their organisational imperatives. The most effective battles that the ON waged were when they were fighting for their 'little homeland'. 

This is labelled as an ON section launching an attack but I am almost certain that this is a Cavalry section.
The troops are all wearing cavalry boots and the soldier in the foreground still has spurs on his boots.

In the German overrunning of Army Pomerania (Armii Pomorze) to the west of Bydgoszcz on 2nd September 1939 the ON Battalion 'Koronowo' is a good example of what well led battalions could achieve when fighting for their homes.

With the Polish front line having been overrun by German armoured thrusts the Polish 'Koronowa' ON battalion was all that stood in their path. Without external support they fought off a succession of German waves holding back the entire German 3rd Infantry Division until all ammunition was exhausted. When the ammunition had run out Major Wrzesinksi took the decision to order a bayonet charge instead of a withdrawal. Nobody considered capitulation. They fought to the very end with only a few managing to escape the carnage.

ON soldiers... actually in Greatcoats!

Similar resistance was made by many other battalions throughout Poland although few will come close to the extreme valour demonstrated by the ON Battalions that fought with the Naval Rifle Brigades around Gdynia, most especially on the Oksywie Kepa where 15,000 troops dug themselves into a local hillside and forced the Germans to literally dig them out having to wage over 100 individual  battles over a 10 day period up to 19th September when the commander Colonel Stanislaw Dabek committed suicide and the remaining troops laid down their arms. Kazimierz Pindel wrote: "All Coastal Land Defence forces have been completely destroyed. There was no surrender at Oksywska. The struggle of the few Coastal Defence Troops in comparison to the German forces continued until their destruction by the enemy!" 

The troops did actually eventually surrender, but only when ammunition and food was exhausted, medical supplies were non existent, casualties had risen to over 40% and a complete organisational breakdown had been forced upon the defenders.

Despite what the world may think, Poland was no pushover!

Sadly a lot of the troops serving with the ON were murdered either on the field of battle, or most especially in prisoner of war camps where the ON's efforts to suppress German 5th Column activities drew savage reprisals from their captors. There were a number of officers of various battalions who actually suffered the indignity of being guillotined.

Uniforms

Miniatures portraying some Obrona Narodowa soldiers from 1939 in older pattern uniform items.

The outfitting of soldiers of the National Defence organisations was along the same lines as those of the regular army with the ideal kit being provided being the same as that provided to regular army soldiers.

The reality was somewhat more disparate however with the Brigades frequently, and especially at inception being issued with older pre 1936 military uniforms. As time went by and war approached however replacement of these older uniforms for the newer post 1936 model became more accelerated. Because of this I will only address the more outdated uniforms issued to the ON as, other than ON markings the modern uniforms bore no noticeable difference.

A fine artists impression of an older uniformed Obrona Narodowa soldier of 1939

There were small differences in the uniforms between the ON and the Regulars however, even with the most modern uniforms. So to detail the uniforms:

A typical ON uniform but with a wz.36 helmet

Headwear: Other than the rogatywka cap that the troops habitually wore the ON were issued with old world war 1 era French Adrian helmets. These were eventually replaced by the more modern wz.1936 helmet as war approached.

Upper Body: A standard 'kurtka sukienna' (cotton jacket) was issued. The more modern wz.1936 issue jacket would have been issued as war approached but for wargaming purposes there is practically no difference. Their cotton greatcoats or sleeping blankets would be worn rolled across the chest, over the shoulder and tied together with the other end just above the belt. 

Lower Body: The cloth trousers of the ON were typical of the era and were tight laced around the calves, ballooning out above the knee. One of the most identifiable things about the ON uniforms however was the leg wraps. As opposed to the puttees of most European armies by this time the Polish were still issuing long cotton strips of fabric that were tied around the legs, starting just above the ankle and being tied off below the knee. Even when newer uniforms had been issued many ON formations still retained the use of these wraps.

Feet: The ON were issued older black leather ankle boots. Nothing much to say here. Exactly as it says on the tin!

Equipment: The equipment issued to the ON, such as the webbing, harnesses, ammo pouches and rucksacks etc. was exactly the same as that issued to regular infantry. The older gas mask tin was issued as opposed to the newer canvas bags but other than that there is no practical difference for a wargamer to worry about.

Armament: As a militia organisation that was tasked with defending hearth and home the ON did not have access to the newest weaponry the Polish army was being equipped with. However they were not bereft of heavy weaponry and/or support weaponry that many suppose although much of it had been reallocated before the war started. Some ON Battalions were very well furnished, such as those in the Karpaty whilst others such as those up in Grodno were somewhat bereft.

Typically the personal weapons issued were old French Mannlicher rifles of World War 1 vintage with a smattering of equally unPolish lmgs, such as the French Berthier's. As time went by more BAR's were issued although they kept their French rifles. Ammunition on the field of battle was to be a perennial problem.

Insignia: The ON uniforms had no insignia on them other than the coat of arms of the Obrona Narodowa and a collar flash of white over red cut diagonally on both jackets and cloaks. The older Adrian helmets could also be found sporting the Polish Eagle, although the majority of these had been removed by the time war broke out. Ranks were carried on epaulettes just as with other arms.  

Modelling the Obrona Narodowa

Organisationally speaking the ON Type IV Battalions were a bit different from the average Polish company. Each company, as expected would contain three platoons each of three sections... but this is where the similarities end. Each section was only 15 men as opposed to the normal 19. There is questions as to how many LMG's the platoons would have access to as well although just for variety I've included a base in each section with a team.

So, I can obviously just choose to repurpose my normal piechoty for use as Obrona Narodowa should I choose but I just can't help feeling that I would be missing out on another modelling opportunity and a chance to field something  just this side of funky!

The full Obrona Narodowa platoon in all its undermanned and undergunned glory!

I decided that I would opt to model and field an ON platoon equipped with the older uniforms that were initially issued in 1937. That would mean the older Adrian helmets, leg wrap putties, rolled greatcoats/blankets and an assortment of weird and wonderful weapons (OK so practically this would just mean an alternative LMG)

A full section of 15 conscripts advancing, waved on by their NCO in the middle.

I cast my eyes about the wargames world to find some options. Generally speaking the armed forces of the world of this time period all wore similar uniforms that could be nicely done with a little nip and tuck. One option was obviously the True North National Defence troops which is a manufacturer I normally swear by but I just wanted to try something different, and in any case the True North ones have been sculpted without the leg wrap putties, in fact the only difference here would be the helmets and at the moment I am very taken with my chosen alternatives.

A closer look at one of the LMG bases

I settled on the Carlist range of Spanish Civil War miniatures by Peter Pig, whose heads I quickly removed. These were then replaced with Adrian helmet heads, again provided by Peter Pig and Czapka heads, also provided by the same. 

A closer look at the platoon command base.... complete with their very own Catholic, cross toting nutter!

It would be nice if they actually sculpted Rogatywka heads, which is what the Poles actually wore in the field as opposed to the czapkas which were actually chiefly worn with dress uniforms, parades and special functions... for a lack of an alternative I had to go ahead and use them anyway. 

An excuse to have a closer look at one of the Sergeants

The benefit of the Carlist miniatures is that with the exception of water bottles these miniatures wear the correct form of belt, harness and ammo pouches, have leg wraps, have the blanket/greatcoat rolled across the body and sling the rest of their bags in almost the same way as ON troops. They were an ideal fit once all of the heads had been replaced.

A look at the rear of the soldiers showing to good effect their rolled blankets, leg wrap putties, Adrian helmets and packs.

Given that the Poles are a bit Catholic nutty and I figured it would only have been worse in 1939, especially given the fact that they were having their own Jewish pogrom before the Germans even bounced across their borders I thought I would keep the Holy Cross touting Carlist and use him as a proxy banner bearer along with two officers. 

A decent view of one of the sections advancing straight towards the camera crew :D

Unlikely this would ever have happened in a real battle of course but I do like the idea of a hard pressed ON battalion being brought back to the fight by a lonely officer or NCO hauling a cross into the air, planting it firmly in the ground and urging his men to take not one further step backwards!

Anyway apart from that all of the painting was completed as with everything else Polish that I've done and just so with the bases!

The whole platoon viewed from the front, command in the background!

So Im left with the feeling that this particular little force went so well that I decided to go ahead and order one more platoon of Carlists, and enough weird and wonderful troops types and heads to allow me to create 2 HMG teams, 1 mortar team, 1 anti tank gun team and three horse drawn wagons of typically rural types... I just cant help adding these little projects!

Its no wonder I never seem to finish anything! :D

FIX BAYONETS!!!!!!!!!

Flames of War Slovakian Infantry trial run...

Slovakian Infantry about to cross the Dniepr river in 1943 - Colourised Historical Plate

One of the bottomless wells of joy that comes from historical gaming is the vast amount of subject material there is to pick from.

A view of Slovakian riflemen in action

One of the beauties of this is that there are some armies and/or forces that nobody in the world has considered producing, or else have written them off as not interesting enough to enough people to make the project commercially viable. My Polish 'Obrona Narodowa' is a good example of one of these, and so as it happens is my next big project for 2019. 

A Slovakian army that took part in the invasion of Poland in '39 and then assisted in the invasion of the Soviet Union in '41 in 15mm.

To my knowledge the only organisation that has shown any interest in the Slovaks in 15mm at all is Battlefront and as usual they exercised the usual prerogative of ramming a square peg through a round hole... essentially using poorly chosen Italian miniatures to represent the Slovaks.

Battlefronts version of a Slovakian Infantryman
converted from an Italian Fucilieri

Anybody who decides to take a close look at Slovak uniforms will immediately hone in on the fact that the Slovaks don't carry ammo pouches over their belt buckles, as the Italians did and use leg wrap puttees as opposed to the Italian whole calf wrap around puttees. In fact it seems that whoever took charge of this particular project chose to convert the Italians based solely on the ease of modifying the helmets. 

The rear of a Slovak uniform

Now, clever dick here (yup that is referring to yours truly) had actually bought a stupendous amount of Italians in order to convert them to Slovaks before I realised this... you are more than welcome to read that as '...before I bothered to look closely at a picture I chose to part with my hard earned money!' Fortunately the more I look into the CSIR (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano Russe) the more I like everything about them... and they have some REALLY cool uniform options for the Fascist Militias and the Bersaglieri :D So now I have another giant Flames of War army to paint...

Anyway I digress. To come back to the Slovaks; a decent examination of the miniatures that Battlefront manufacture will eventually bring you to their Romanian range. If you ignore the sculpts from the neck up you will see that the uniforms are almost perfectly fitted to be a Slovakian analogue.

Slovak reenactors showing off their nice shiny uniforms...

I duly started buying up all of Troll Traders excess stock (and yes, so many in fact that I now have a Romanian army as well as a Slovak army!)

Owning all of these miniatures however still presented one serious problem; Helmets! NOBODY... ANYWHERE... AT ANY TIME... has done a miniature Slovak in 15mm with a helmet that is reminiscent of Slovakian helmets. I duly contacted the powers that be at Peter Pig and put a request in for some Slovak heads to be sculpted for me. This was duly done and a month (or three) later a large order was placed.

Slovakian Infantry Reenactors staging a mock advance...

I have to say that I was over the moon at the sculpts. The scale and dimensions of the sculpts were perfect relative to the size of the Romanian bodies.

Finally, I had the miniatures. All that remained was to pull a convincing paint job out of the bag!

A Militaria Uniform Plate showing
the elements of a Slovakian uniform.

After studying as many photos as I could lay my hands on it became clear that I had an option of two differing directions that I could take. 

Either I could make the troops look just like my Poles (based on all of the colourised historical photos and illustrations that I had seen) or else I could take a stab at slightly greener uniforms (which was based more on militaria uniform collection plates and photos of Slovakian reenactors). 

Slovakian helmet details

I opted for the greener reenactors colour schemes for two reasons. Reenactors are notoriously anal about making their uniforms correct (and thank God for that!), even if they aren't so hot on vehicle colours (just take a look at the Slovak reenactment groups and their disco paint scheme on their Lt-35 and secondly it gave me a slightly different looking army than I had just spent the last two and a half years painting (and thank God for that too!) so I am able to bring a bit of variety to the table!!!

So, I tried a few things and I am very happy to say that I think I've nailed it, by which of course I mean that its a variation of the colour of the uniform that I am happy with so without further ado let me introduce my trial miniature for my Slovaks circa '39-41

Its funny but even though we always know that these miniatures are only the size of a little finger nail... the photos never seem to look as good as they do in the flesh (so to speak!)

Anyway, for those of you who think you may want to dip into the murky waters of the Slovakian army in a ridiculously small scale I have included my colour table below for your use...

Colour Table for painting Slovakian Infantry: V- Vallejo, AK- AK Interactive, GW- Games Workshop

Fix Bayonets M***** F*****s!!!! The Slovaks are coming!