Long-Dormant Project: 1/72 Bristol Bulldog

    Last week I resurrected this Airfix 1/72 Bristol Bulldog model and it feels great to have done so!

The colours are of a Bristol Bulldog serving with Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War.

I originally intended to complete the model as a simple wargaming piece but things got out of hand when I added rigging and reproduced the spoked wheels using photo etched brass. The rigging is done with thin copper wire and while it certainly is a little too thick I'm happy with the result. I also added a ring of bolts to the front spinner.

The photo above shows how the model looked up until last week. I had a nice colour profile to work from showing a heavy green and brown mottling over a sandy base so I fired up the airbrush and finally tackled the camouflage. There is still some neatening up and re-touching to do, plus a small numeral to add to the tail. I need to dig out the transparent part for the windscreen and glue that on too.

Heck it's only a small scale biplane fighter and I've completed loads of projects while it sat unfinished. Nonetheless the Bulldog seemed symptomatic of my common modeller's habit of starting and not finishing projects, so when it began to interest me again I knew that I had to take steps.

Modern Afghan National Police in 28mm

These six Afghan National Police (ANP) are hot out of the mould and I couldn't resist getting some paint on them. They are actually pre-production castings and the final figures will have one or two slight differences, like an ammo backpack for the RPG guy.

Another six ANP wearing kevlar helmets, are on my workbench.

To say that the ANP aren't the most glamorous combatants in the world today is a massive understatement. Be that as it may, they are very much under (or un)represented in miniature, and so are an important addition to the range.

As usual, these 28mm figures will be available from Eureka Miniatures.

28mm WW2 Pulp

I haven't made a figure of a woman for a long time. This sculpt is the second female Rocketeer for Eureka's Pulp Second World War series (at the moment consisting of the 'Dogface' G.I.'s and the Jurassic Reich Nazis on dinosaurs). I will likely re-head the figure with a finned flight helmet once its been cast but very much wanted to see how she would look in a side cap showing off her hair.

The rocket pack is a separate piece and has been left off in these photos. This figure has been loads of fun to sculpt. I'm looking forward completing the set.

Bits and pieces (guns)

Various weapons for 28mm figures that I've been working on. These are invariably built around a simple wire armature with my usual mixture of Milliput and Green Stuff. I really enjoy the process of researching and building these little pieces, though pretty much all other work comes to halt on the workbench so that I can concentrate on getting everything right. 

These photos will also give some clues as to what figures are in the pipeline... A couple of friendly members of the Kalashnikov family; an AK74 and an AMD65. The submachine gun is a Portuguese FBP.

Here are a few W-I-P photos of the AA52 Machine Gun miniature. As can be seen in the second photo  I bulk out the rough shape of the receiver which is then allowed to cure and is then filed and carved into shape. This lets me create nice sharp edges on the miniature. 

Once this is the correct size and shape I can begin adding details. The tapering barrel on this gun was a particular challenge. In the last shot you can see the receiver and barrel completed.

....and that's when I stopped taking photos. 

Bye for now folks, more madness soon.

Acronyms.....attack!

Here is the latest group of 28mm African nationalist guerillas. They're armed with obsolete World War Two DP light machine-guns and Mauser K98 bolt action rifles. They will, as usual, be released under the title 'ZANLA guerillas' by Eureka Miniatures.

In fact these miniatures are representative of pretty much all the armed groups that fought against the security forces of Portugal and Rhodesia during the 1960's and 70's.

ZANLA (Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army) and ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army) were the armed wings of ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) and ZAPU (Zimbabwe African People's Union) respectively.

The nationalist group in Guine was FARP (Forcas Armadas Revolucionarias de Povo), the armed wing of PAIGC (Partido Africano da Independencia da Guine e Cabo Verde).  

FRELIMO (Frente Libertacao de Mozambique) fought the Portuguese military in Mozambique.

Now that that's all cleared up.... I can tell you that the mould for these figures is in line to be made some time next week, and while it may be a while 'til their official release they should be available 'under the counter' so to speak from Eureka Miniatures and Eureka USA pretty soon. 

20mm Fallschirmjager Army- Part 2

Some shots of the three paratrooper sections plus some small vehicles. These figures are all from AB Figures and are sculpted by the amazing Anthony Barton. I've painted them to represent Luftwaffe troops in tropical uniform, with a mix of 'early pattern' and 'second pattern' jump smocks.

I debated whether to mix in some Field Grey trousers in amongst all the tan, but in the end decided not to. The Luftwaffe tropical pants have a large map pocket on the upper left thigh, but since this area is covered by the jump-smock 'legs' on the figures I have not needed to add it on any of the figures except the officer.

The photos......

"Herr Oberst it appears that someone has neglected to paint your medals and
shoulder straps!"

I needed to convert some figures to crew-up the Kettenkrads, and both of the guys in the Kubelwagon have head swaps. The little Kettenkrad models are from Hasegawa and Academy. The Kubelwagon is also a Hasegawa kit.

That's all folks! Bye for now and thank you to everyone reading and following my blog.

20mm Fallschirmjager Army- Part 1

With a cupboard stacked with model kits and a not inconsiderable lead pile, I thought it was about time to pull together my Fallschirmjager force for the Mediterranean theatre, in 20mm. This will be suitable for World War 2 battles in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.  First off, what I have to work with/complete to make this project a reality:

Ok, I'll admit that I bought the The SdKfz 222 armoured cars and
the new S-Model Nebelwerfers  for this project... the rest I had in my stash.

The figures are from AB and are excellent.

I started with some 75mm Pak guns. These come as an extra in the Fujimi Panzer 1 kit, which I bought for my long-running (read: never finished) Spanish Civil War Nationalist Army. 

The kit is technically 1/76 scale. From previous experience I know
 that the AB crew will fit perfectly with the model.

I carved and cut out the recoil mechanisms on all 3 guns. You can see the
 un-alterred one on the right.

Next I built me a couple of the new S-Model Nebelwerfers. These are made in China and you get 2 in each box. The kit represents the 21cm Nebelwerfer 42, which has 5 rocket tubes.

I also made a start on the Esci Werfers. This old kit has been sitting around in my cupboard since last century and I have to say it feels good to finally build it. It comes with crew figures in Winter gear that I'm not going to use. You get 2 launchers in the box. It represents the perhaps more familiar 15cm Nebelwerfer 41, which has 6 tubes.

S-Model Werfer. I used some thin copper wire to add the electrical firing system.

Some putty to thicken the attachment points. This extra detailing is in no way
necessary for wargaming models, but really enhances the look of the launchers.

I thinned the ends of the launcher tubes on the Esci Nebelwerfer using a sharp 

blade, then a large drill bit. You can see the un-alterred launcher on the right, with

 way over-thick launcher tubes. The S-Model kit is state-of-the-art and has nice 

thin-walled tubes straight out of the box.

I'd like to have a battery of three 21cm Nebelwerfer, so I'll need to pick up another box.

That's all for now! 

Since AB does not make a Nebelwerfer crew in tropical gear I am beginning to think that I'll have to sculpt one...  I'll have updates on this project as time allows between my regular sculpting posts.  

1960's British Troops in Aden and South Arabia, 28mm

Here are seven new figures to start this new range off with. The first set are in patrolling poses and wearing bush hats and belt order. Yemeni hill tribesmen, as well as Glengarry and beret wearing British troops are planned. 

                                                      

Some in-progress shots:

Bending up the armatures.

Dollies being built up.

Dollies cast, arms being added.

Just a little background: Between 1962-1967 tribesmen in the ungovernable mountainous areas of South Arabia (now modern Yemen) fought against British troops who were backed by artillery and who were also using helicopters to improve their mobility in the unforgiving terrain. 

At the same time the port of Aden and in particular the town of Crater was the location of urban guerilla actions by Nationalist rebels against British troops and commercial interests. 

These 28mm figures will be available from Eureka Miniatures, and are part of our Moderns range.