Recent Acquisitions, WWII Soviet armor (1/72 and 1/144)

Posted on 2010/05/02 | Comments Off on Recent Acquisitions, WWII Soviet armor (1/72 and 1/144)

UM Soviet armor circa 1930s (1/72) and some World Tank Museum KV-1s and T-34s (1/144)

WTM KV-1s

WTM T-34s

Oops! (1/76) I prefer the aesthetics of the earlier tanks, especially the stuff from the 30s, but had to have at least one T-34.

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Posted in 1/144 WWII, 1/72 WWII, Blitzkrieg Commander

Tanks (1/72), transport and storage

Posted on 2010/05/02 | Comments Off on Tanks (1/72), transport and storage

This is my solution to storing and transporting my (too rapidly) growing collection of 1/72 tanks and vehicles.  I purchased the box and foam at a local hardware store for about five US dollars.  The sheet of foam I got will pack about three boxes.  There’s also a smooth flat piece of foam on the bottom.

They have boxes like these in all sorts of sizes.  This is the smallest; the largest is about the size of a medium chest.

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Posted in 1/72 WWII, Storage

Soviets in winter gear (1/72) up close

Posted on 2010/05/02 | Comments Off on Soviets in winter gear (1/72) up close

As promised, here are a few close-up shots of my Soviets.  These aren’t going to win any painting contests, and the base work is minimal; but these are meant purely for play, and for that I’m more than happy with how they turned out.  I’m going to add some bits of small shrubbery (brown and light brown foam) here and there and touch up the snow in places, but for the most part these are done.

My army is comprised of Russian infantry models from Italeri and Pegasus Hobbies.

I primed these with gesso, by the way.  Worked beautifully.

WWII Soviet infantry in winter uniform (Italeri and Pegasus Hobbies)

I still need to paint the stars on the helmets and ushanka

DP light machine gunners

Sniper stands

One of two wounded/objective markers

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Posted in 1/72 WWII, Blitzkrieg Commander

Tagged ,

Blitzkrieg Commander, Soviets in winter gear, 1/72

Posted on 2010/04/24 | 1 comment

WWII Winter Soviets, Italeri, Pegasus, and Trumpeter models

A quick update to my Soviet army project.  I’ll post better pictures once I’ve finished the tanks and added some touch-ups to the troops.  I’ll also upload a post about the box I made for this army.  Living in Japan has its perks, sometimes.

Oh, and there are some updates to the Rackham catalog on the near horizon, plus more regular stuff to come from me here.  Stay tuned.

1 Comment

Posted in 1/72 WWII, Blitzkrieg Commander

Enigma, Sumothay (54mm)

Posted on 2010/03/27 | Comments Off on Enigma, Sumothay (54mm)

Sumothay, sculpted by Raul Garcia Latorre

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Posted in 54mm, Enigma

Blitzkrieg Commander, WWII in 1/72

Posted on 2010/03/23 | 2 comments

Trumpter KV-2 Russian tank (top), Italeri Russian infantry in winter dress, box and sprues x3 (bottom)

One session of Blitzkrieg Commander with the West Tokyo Wargamers (see a battle report in three parts here (1), here (2), and here (3)) was enough to convince me how fun a WWII game could be.  But it was not until the eve of our second session last Sunday that I decided to take the plunge and start a 1/72 scale WWII army.  Believe me when I say that no one was more surprised about this than me.

I’ve heard lots of stories about how the slick plastics used to make many of these models are resistant to most conventional painting methods.  I did some searching, and found that prior to applying paint, most people 1) wash the models in warm soapy water, 2) coat the models with either straight PVA (white) glue or matt varnish, and 3) prime with a plastic spray primer.  These are the same steps used for resins, metals, and conventional modeling plastics, but the initial layer of PVA glue or varnish prior to priming is new to me.  Also, I don’t use spray primer of any kind; I prefer gesso for a number of reasons I’ll spare you for now.

Last evening I tested this method (replacing the spray primer with gesso) on one model, and so far it looks like a success.  Way better, in fact, than I expected.  The gesso is holding up so well on the base, to which I did not apply an initial varnish coat, that I’m tempted to try one model sans varnish.  The gesso is fully cured now, and over the next hour I’m going to paint up one model with a very simple palette.  Expect a full report soon, and hopefully 15 stands of infantry + one tank in about five weeks.  Here we go!

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Posted in 1/72 WWII, Blitzkrieg Commander

Administrative Update, 18 March 2010

Posted on 2010/03/18 | Comments Off on Administrative Update, 18 March 2010

For those of you who want to stay up to date about what’s happening here under the mountain, I’ve added a subscription option to the column on the right.

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Posted in Administrative

Cadwallon via Pardulon, doors, doors, doors…

Posted on 2010/03/18 | Comments Off on Cadwallon via Pardulon, doors, doors, doors…

Many moons ago, Rackham produced some fantastic doors as part of their line of scenic elements.  The doors have a strong Aarklashian look to them, and are ideal pieces for anyone venturing to build a three dimensional representation of, for example, a Cadwallon neighborhood.  Unfortunately, Rackham only made two.

Rackham's "large door"

Rackham's "manor door"

Enter a small European company called Pardulon, who make four resin-cast doors (sculpted by Karsten Radzinski) that are perfect for any Aarklashian setting: French, wizard’s, merchant’s, and simple.  The photos of their doors speak for themselves:

Pardulon's "French door"

Pardulon's "wizard's door"

Pardulon's "merchant door"

Pardulon's "simple door"

I don’t know anything else about Pardulon save what is on their Web site and some good reviews about their products I’ve heard from a friend.  That being said, I’ll be placing an order with them very soon.

P.S. For those of you ambitious enough, volume 13 of the print edition of Rackham’s Cry Havoc! magazine has a fantastic article about making your own Aarklashian doors.

Cry Havoc!, vol. 13

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Posted in 28-32mm fantasy, Cadwallon: City of Thieves, hobby, Pardulon, Rackham Entertainment, terrain

“Painting lots of 1980s figures without going mad”

Posted on 2010/03/18 | 1 comment

I try not to harvest other people’s work from the forums too much, but there’s one thread over at Frothers that I keep returning to, and I’d really like to share.  It’s by kingofdaveness (wonderful name, by the way), and features some painted samples of his Citadel miniatures in a style that is clean, simple, and highly effective.  The thread is packed with some great tips on painting, too, so be sure to take your time reading it.  And enjoy the eye candy!

Citadel miniatures painted by the talented kingofdaveness

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Posted in 28-32mm fantasy, Citadel, hobby, painting

Andrea Paint System, MTSC tutorial

Posted on 2010/03/18 | Comments Off on Andrea Paint System, MTSC tutorial

I’ve been convinced by my friend Anakron, an extremely talented painter and sculptor based in France,  to give Andrea paints a try.  I purchased the black and white sets a while back, and recently acquired the blue and flesh sets, but haven’t had a chance to work with them enough to definitively make them my primary paints yet.  In the meantime, I’ve been exploring what reviews I can find on the Net, and recently came across reference to a great tutorial series on YouTube in a post on Befreiungskriege 1813-14.  If you’re considering switching to Andrea paints, or just giving a set or two a try, the videos are definitely worth watching.

From the Michigan Toy Soldier Company‘s YouTube page:

In this series of videos by Michigan Toy Soldier’s Dave Youngquist we will show you how to paint a miniature using the Andrea Miniatures acrylic paint set system. Volume 1 is an introduction to the various sets and colors currently available. The figure that will be used in this demonstration is a 1/10th scale resin bust of The Red Baron also produced by Andrea Miniatures.

The MTSC YouTube page has lots of other informative videos that are worth checking out, so be sure to explore their offerings.

I hope this helps!

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Posted in Andrea, hobby, painting

Khurasan Miniatures, March and upcoming releases

Posted on 2010/03/18 | 1 comment

I don’t give Khurasan Miniatures (blog here) nearly enough attention here (just one post so far), especially since they’ve been one of my favorite companies since starting operations about three years ago.

In the last week or so, Khurasan shared some photos of new releases and forthcoming models that got me very excited: vacation alien, orcs, wights, and a new pack for their original Ghilmans.

Vacation alien

The vacation alien (PLA-5) is obviously an homage to the predator aliens.  The original two predator films were some of my favorites in my youth, so I’ve always had a soft spot for anything related to the antagonists of that series.  Copplestone Castings makes some great predator models, which have been on my to-buy list for a couple years, but I think I’ll pick up one or two of these from Khurasan first.  I should be able to paint the model pretty quickly (an hour?), and it would look great as an ornament for my desk.  The vacation alien is part of Khurasan’s Planet15 line and sells for a mere $1.29.

Elite Ghilman-Persian Cavalry, Persian type dress and saddle cloth, attacking with curced swords and mace

I’m also very excited that the Khurasanian Ghilmans are getting more attention.  The Khurasanians are the first models Khurasan produced, and I bought three of each pack when they first came out.  This new addition to the line, “Elite Ghilman-Persian Cavalry, Persian type dress and saddle cloth, attacking with curced swords and mace” (km11a), will find its way into my collection x3 once I’m back in the States at the end of the year.  A pack of two of the new elite Ghilman cavalry sells for $2.49.

Wights in Armour

Orc melee troopers

Orc front rankers or attack column with pikes

Finally, Khurasan recently previewed some forthcoming releases for their line of 15mm fantasy models, orcs (FAN-100, FAN-101) and wights (FAN-106).  My interest in 15mm fantasy waned when Demonworld and Empires (Hobby Products) went out of production a few years ago, but I’ll definitely pick up several packs of these in the fall, too.  The orcs have a nice classic look to them, which I like, and the undead remind me so much of Rackham’s Acheron skeletons, which is always a great thing.  There’s an orc command and pack of orc archers in the works, too, and hopefully much, much more in the near future.  No word on pricing or availability yet.

1 Comment

Posted in 15mm fantasy, 15mm Historical, 15mm SciFi, Khurasan Miniatures

Reaper Miniatures, April 2010 releases

Posted on 2010/03/17 | Comments Off on Reaper Miniatures, April 2010 releases

Featured here are a few Reaper models scheduled for release in April.  I have a huge collection of Reaper models, and usually find a model or two (or three or four) to add to my wish list with each release announcement.  But these three models in particular are quite exceptional.  The details are nice, but not over the top; the proportions are largely accurate (although the elf wizard’s staff is a tad too thick); the weapons aren’t too large; and the characters are great.

Autumn Bronzeleaf

  • 03492: Autumn Bronzeleaf, Elf Sorceress
  • Sculpted by Jeff Grace

Anirion

  • 03491: Anirion, Wood Elf Wizard
  • Sculpted by Bobby Jackson

Karlov Diedrich

  • 03484: Karlov Diedrich, Wizard
  • Sculpted by Bob Ridolfi
  • $3.99

Visit Reaper’s preview page for more information.

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Posted in 28-32mm fantasy, Reaper

Reaper’s New Dragonette = 10mm Fell Beast

Posted on 2010/03/16 | Comments Off on Reaper’s New Dragonette = 10mm Fell Beast

Dragonette (front)

Dragonette (back)

Modifying Reaper’s forthcoming dragonette model to serve as a fell beast for 10mm Middle-earth gaming would be simple.  Smooth out the scales with some green stuff, cut off the head and sculpt a longer one (or leave as-is), and add a rider.  I’m getting nine.

Reaper Saprolings for Ents (also see here), and now this.  I wonder if they’ll ever make something I can use for trolls.

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Posted in 10mm fantasy, 10mm Middle-earth, 28-32mm fantasy, Middle-earth, Reaper

Gripping Beast, viking hirdmen

Posted on 2010/03/16 | Comments Off on Gripping Beast, viking hirdmen

Special thanks to Dangereux for alerting me to these over at the Dragon Painting forum.  From the Gripping Beast Web site (slightly edited for formatting reasons):

New Plastic Viking Hirdmen: Warriors Of Odin
Released at Salute’10 (April 24th,) this new box set contains hard-plastic parts to assemble 44 Hirdmen armed with swords, spears, hand-axes and Dane Axes. Also included are extra parts to turn two of your warriors into Viking Lords and two into horn-blowers.

The box also contains plastic bases for all 44 and 4 paper banners.

Manufactured by plastic kings Renedra.

£18 per box.

For more information, visit the Gripping Beast Web site.

Box art by Peter Dennis

Painted by Bob Lorton

Painted by Bob Lorton

Painted by Bob Lorton

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Posted in 28mm historical, Gripping Beast

Woolly Rhino, 1/48 scale

Posted on 2010/03/09 | Comments Off on Woolly Rhino, 1/48 scale

Jodee recently uploaded some pictures of the final version of the 1/48th scale rhino he’s commissioned, and is currently exploring options to get the model cast in resin.  I want two.

For more information see this thread (and about two or three others) at Frothers.

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Posted in 28-32mm fantasy, 28mm historical, 28mm SciFi, WIP sculpts