Friday 31 August 2012

WIP 1/72 German force, lot 1

Hi guys, an update on this first build, finished the base coat and camo today, tried to get a few differant camo patterns in but still having a unified feel, they are all three tone except the flammepanzer, wanted that one to be little different, the Panther sticks out because I gave him a late war camo scheme, will let these dry overnight, next will be painting some details, then a filter, gloss coat, decals, oils wash, matte coat, then weathering.












Friday 24 August 2012

WIP 1/72 German force

Hi guys, my next major project will be 1/72 WWII, I used to make detailed 1/72nd display models, and have built up a collection of 3 large removal boxes of unbuilt kits, I'd say 300+, but because they were for static models I have collected 1 of each kind, so unfortunately not many duplicate models, I used to take 2-4 weeks to make 1 display model, but I am going to try and build most of my stash by the end of the year (a big ask) but we will see, I will be building them in batches, but still want them to be quality models, I will start with the German kits
Here is the first batch, most of my kits are full models, but a minority are quick builds, to gain some momentum, I have decided to do most of the quick builds in the first batch, these aren't finished construction yet, so ignore any gaps and seams, will fill these with milliput.
I will give these vehicles generic German cammo and decals, but some of them will be Das Reich, there are vehicles for early, mid, and late war, in my collection, the German/Italian kits only make up less than a 3rd of my collection, the largest part would be Russian, then US/Brit make up about a 3rd, all vehicles will have crews.

Some 251s, 2 Dragon, 3 PSC and 1 Revell, these will have the interior painted before being fully constructed, I have 3 more PSC in my collect, but am waiting for the PSC conversion kit for thes.
An Italeri quick build PzIII J converted to a Flammepanzer III, I changed the barrel and added some details, replaced the hand rails with wire, added an open commanders hatch, it wouldn't do for display model, but makes an OK war gaming piece.

An Italeri quick build late Panther G, opened the hatch replaced the lifting eyes with wire, added some other details, again not a good display model, but good for war gaming.

An early Trumpeter Tiger, not to bad a kit, had to open the commanders hatch, replaced the plastic grab handles with wire, I don't really like the rubber parts though.

Hasegawa Puma, started making this a while ago and lost the commanders hatch, so had to scratch build a new one.

An Academy late Opel Blitz, I will leave the thick ugly windows off, the tarp will be covered with tissue for texture and a tarp roll added at the end of the cover, so it looks rolled back, there will be a driver add.


Wednesday 15 August 2012

1/72 Royal Marine support group Centaur finished

Hi guys, this project is finished, the crew commander has a blue beret, not black, this is apparently accurate, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, this will be sent off this week to its new owner, John of Jacksarges blog site.








Tuesday 14 August 2012

Battlefield Miniatures 20mm WWII German figures review

Hi guys, my recent Centaur project has re kindled my interest in 1/72 WWII (not that I lost interest, just have been caught up in other eras and scales) I have 300+ plastic WWII kits in my stash, and I must have over 1000 plastic Germans alone, so have decided on starting another 3 WWII projects covering, Germans, Brits, and Russians.
Although there are some really great plastic fig ranges out there, I really love metal figs, the variety of poses is usually better, and they tend to have a more 3D look, although they do tend to be less anatomically correct then the good plastic ranges, generally more cartoony, but I can put up with that, as this will be a war gaming project and not dio building the war gaming look of the figure will be ok.
I decided on Battlefield Miniatures for my first purchase, I have decided on doing this review because I couldn't find any good unpainted picture of these figs, I bought 18 different packs.
Size - 20-21mm bottom of soul to eyes, they are smaller them most of the current 1/72 plastic figures, and smaller then ABs.
Style - chunky war gaming
Details - the detail is quite good, little details like tank kill arm patches, collar patches etc are sculpted on, equipment and weapons stand out more then most plastics, in fact every thing stands out more and is crisper then plastic figures.
Anatomy - generally good, there is the odd fig with odd length arms or big hands, heads/helmets are generally larger, giving that war gaming look.
Poses - this is where these metal figures win hands down, plastic figures often have a flat 2D look, and they are often in very static straight up and down poses, even the ones posed in combat, whilst these metal figures have that crouching/advancing under fire feel, it makes them more 3D and believable, there is a good selection of standing around doing nothing types and dynamic in combat poses, something for every one, there are very few odd poses in the 18 packs I got, only 1 really, in the 5th pic down, the 4th figure, is holding his rifle in a very peculiar way, I might have to bend the rifle back instead of straight up, still, a strange way to carry your weapon, but thats pretty good out of 18 packs, in a pack of plastic figs with 15 poses you will generally get 4 or 5 poor poses.
Faces - this is a bit of a mixed bag, most of the faces look good, but there is a couple that have the cap/helmet to low over the eyes, and it makes them look a little odd, but this is the minority.
Molds - theres not to much flash on these, about average for metal figs, no mold slippage.
General look - fairly good, the thing that really sells these metal figures over sticking with just plastic are the poses, the variety of equipment and weapons, equipment looks correct and in scale, no tiny little radio sets or to skinny weapons here, they are not to over scale either, and look just right. (although I haven't measured any of the equipment or weapons, just using the Mk I eyeball)
Packs come between with 3 and 5 figs and can be found here Battlefield Miniatures I have no affiliation with this company and paid full price for all my figures, I would give them a 8/10 not quite as nice as ABs but more affordable, I will be mixing some plastic figs with these metals, were I can get away with it, the service from BM was good, and postage from the U.K to Australia was within the norm, I highly recommend these for WWII war gaming.







Monday 13 August 2012

WIP 1/72 Centaur part 5

Hi guys, almost done with this project, just need a couple of touch ups, then the crew figures, let me know if there's anything else I should do, all comments welcome.








WIP 15mm Blood Angel scouts part 3

Hi guys, I'm home sick from work today, a touch of the flu, so I am doing a bit of catch up on this project, this unit shows the first signs of impatience in the 15mm Blood Angels project, I decided to make 4 scout snipers, 5 shot guns and a leader, the 4 snipers were going to be in ghilli suits, but I got impatient and only finished 2, the other 2 I just added camo to the sniper rifles, I will also distinguish them with face paint, (for those not familiar with 40k, I realize its stupid mixing red and camo, and I feel stupid doing it, but thats very 40k and the feel I'm going for) the pants will be a grey urban camo pattern, what do you think?