Thobes

I wanted a break from painting guys in greatcoats so I decided to take a break from the Irish Civil War. I've still got a batch of British troops to paint. They'll have to wait.

After a lot of thought I decided to go much more modern ... The War on Terror (not my favorite term, but it does apply to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq). I think this period will serve me well, Rolf makes many figures for this period, both sides and his ranges are near complete; there are loads of books in English about these wars (painting is much more fun if I'm also reading about the same era); and lastly I find the wars very interesting.

First up is a batch of figures wearing thobes and some civilian women (my first female figures). Those with weapons are meant to be Sunni insurgents. Lots of the figures have head swaps, some have their sandals replaced with shoes, one has a sculpted vest and for one guy I added an ammo pouch. For the bases I went with something different. About half have a new desert mix (art sand/fine ballast/medium ballast) painted with US Field Drab/Iraqi Sand, washed with Brown Model Wash, dry brushed with Iraqi Sand and then very lightly dry brushed with Pale Sand (all Vallejo). The other half are standing on a highway (first use of sponge painting!). A couple have a mix of both of those terrains. I wanted to paint some highway lines on the bases, but my attempts didn't come out so well ... maybe later.

Next up is a bunch of STS (shirts/trousers/sandals & sneakers) guys, including two on a dirt bike!

RH Models INSAK; ARACIVAR; INSAK with head swawp; INSAKAR

RH Models INSAK; INSSNI with head swap; ARACIVHDB; ARACIVK with head swap

RH Models INSSUP with head swap; INSAKAR; ARACIVK; ARACIVAR

RH Models INSSUP; INSRPD; INSAK with head swap

RH Models ARAWMN; ARAWMNHIJ; ARAWMNHIJ

The pictures below inspired me.

Iraqi Sunni insurgents celebrate in front of a burning US tanker (April 8th, 2004).

Iraqi Sunni insurgents closes door of a damaged house (April 24th, 2004).

Masked Iraqi insurgents keep position at a lookout (July 22nd, 2004).

Masked Iraqi insurgents keep position at a lookout (July 22nd, 2004).

Hooded armed insurgents take position near a house that was destroyed (September 5th, 2004).

Iraqi fighterse patrol the streets with an anti-aircraft gun (November 6th, 2004).