Wednesday 17 September 2014

Stalins!!!!!!



Well this post had been written in May... and never got round to post it... 

At the time I was a bit tired of typing in front of my PC and what I was doing was not typing of the fun  type… anyway the bulk of work has been done (only a new article to do in June…) and thus I did not  feel again in the mood for some blog updates. Well, in May I left you, my dear readers, watching the awesome power of the soviet communism and its armoured forces… but people had asked for some close in shots. Well here they are, with a review of the models I used, the extremely excellent Plastic Soldiers Company 15mm Stalins.
First of all I want to say that I consider Will, the PSC owner a friend. I try to pop at his stand at every show I am able to attend. I also try to support his company as much I can because I am really pleased with his products. Said that I am also someone who is brutally honest in his reviews so do not think I am cheating just because I know Will…



Anyway straight to the subject matter, the tanks. The attractive box included five sprues that allow you to build five (one per sprue) 15mm tanks. Each tank can be made in one of three models: IS-1 (85mm gun), IS-2m43 Is-2m44. For my build (being tailored to summer 1944 onward) I skipped the IS-1 tank (also the IS-1 was not really widespread) and instead concentrated on the m44 model with a single m43 throw in. The sprue gave you two guns, two upper hulls (the main difference) and two different mantlets, a wider one for the later model, and narrow one for the IS-1 and the m43 model.  The plastic was of a nice light grey with really crisp detail. The Stalin has a very peculiar turret shape and it is well rendered in the model. Not only the shape (hybrid between rounded and angular) is here, but also the infantry rails. The latter is a really nice touch as it is the rear firing machine gun. As in their latest offering the tracks are one piece. No more small details to assemble ( not that I was complaining earlier), and, even more important, the track details are crisp. The sagging is well done and the track detail is here, even if it is not the same of the T-34, the Sherman or the Tiger. My reactions to the new approach are mixed. It does not detract too much from the appearance and, certainly, it is faster to build, but when you take it close to you… well I miss the individual links detail (yes I am picky).  The hull is really well done. The front of the tank is quite bare, as in reality, but the engine deck is really, really well done.   Accessories include four furl drums, two crewmen (in two different poses) and an exceptional machine gun. I really like them. I saved a couple for my T-55… 





Here for the details. As far building them was concerned I will say it was breeze. Not a lot of pieces to put together, but everything is falling into position without an hitch… except for the fact the if you look at the underside of the tank… you will realized that on one side the torsion bars on the hull and on the track are not aligned… well mine are based so no one will notice.

The painting job has been very quick. Black primer, base of Vallejo Russian Green for the tank and Cavalry brown for the track, black Vallejo wash, overall Khaki dry-brush lightened with some desert yellow in some areas. Then details added.  I had some old BF decals from my T-34/76 box lying around and I used these for the slogans. 




Now what I think of this effort? Well I am quite satisfied with mine, and very happy with Will’s (and of his design elves). I think that the shape of the turret is much better than the one of the BF model. The model is a massive improvement on the old command decision one for sure.  I like the opportunities for customization offered and the fact that three versions are included.  In conclusion a very nice addition to my collection, a really good representation of the Josif Stalin tank, and a good price. With hindsight I think that more dry-brush could have been useful, to lighten the tanks (maybe I will try some retouches but probably not).

Unusual (for this blog) stuff

Well,

I promised some uncommon stuff. when i first dabbled in military models my first passion was planes, well my granddad was an Air Force pilot and I grown up close to a NADGE station (now transformed in one of the major NATO air command centers). I grown up with a steady diet of F-104, G-91 and later Tornadoes... having my current house more or less stright under a military air corridor also helps... anyway I started build 1/72 model aircrafts when I was in elementary school and keep the passion up. Right now I am still building one or two planes per year. Some of my lateest works were an Academy P-47D and an Italeri M109G, I like both, I am satisfied of them so I decided to take pictures and post there for your viewing pleasure.





I did the panel lines by hand with black ink after applying the decals. It was a chore but I like it...

The mat... it is a sea/air hexed vinyl mat. I asked a fellow blogger Lex Stormwalker about it after having seen his work here . It is very good.  After a short exchange of mails I took my request and created a pdf for me. Then I had it printed on vinyl and I am extremely satisfied. I am almost thining to get a a couple of land based mats too... It was out because I did a game of Bag Ther Hun 2 with a friend an d then worked hard for a series of naval miniatures trials....

...as you can see here...



 But this is just a taster for one of the next posts.


Saturday 13 September 2014

and some Empress figures...

Well you know, I like Empress Miniatures, I like USMC...

Back in time I ended up backing the USMC-PLA kickstarter... the figures arrived last january and I did the first USMC fire team quite recently.

After a lot of debate I ended up doing them in the  desert scheme as my Eureka ones. It is the best approach for real conflict and well for imaginations/fictional settings I can just decide where the imaginatio is located. More to the point I have a good midlle eastern looking urban terrain and  I can use them in the same unit with my other squad.  I am now planning to use them in two 28mm skirmish campaign set in a middle-eastern looking setting.  Stay tuned on more details.

For now just look at the really nice figures. They have opted to do the fire teams basic pack with the M27 instead of the M249. Well at the moment the USMC seems quite happy with it but I think you are just removing suppressive fire capability from the team (oh look the 3 teams concept was created for suppressive fire. Well it is the USMC anyway usually they end up messing with equipment quite often...).

Anyway enjoy the four guys!





Some new painting...

Well it is time to put something new here... holidays are gone, the hectic days in London are gone, I am back in my lair with my obnoxious neighbour (also called the land grabber due to his habit to take land that is not his own) annoying me with his antics and his awful attempts to create a garden on our lawn... anyway first of all a rare thing...




A 54mm early empire (I would say August-Tiberius period) Roman Legionary. It is a Pegaso Models miniature from Italy. I bought it eons ago.. I think 10 years ago. I was slowly painting it. It sat half painted on a shelf for my entire master and PhD... finally I decided that it was time to finish it. I cannot always start and abandon projects.

I am quite pleased with the result, especially the chain mail. I am not 100% happy of the photo results with the shield, in person it looks more shaded. Anyway I am rarely pleased with my picture taking skills.You can decide by yourself.