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.