Thursday 20 August 2015

Grubby Tanks

Hi All,

In my last post I forgot to mention the figures that I purchased from Grubby Tanks. They are from the old Britannia range and are really excellent sculpts, I do like their larde size (easier for me to paint) and I also like the free figure and quick dispatch time!

http://www.grubbytanks.com/catalog/

Couple all this miniature perfection with the really useful painting guide from Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy and life is made so much easier...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTTSgtUYfS0&utm_source=Karwansaray+Publishers+General+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d1eeb2f165-Karwansaray_Publishers_Newsletter15_07_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_519a3fa91b-d1eeb2f165-407433817&mc_cid=d1eeb2f165&mc_eid=a4e88010b2

The technical was just £7.50 and it came with two crew and HMG, probably the cheapest 28mm vehicle on the market-I will be ordering more US infantry and a couple of Humvees shortly. Whilst in the mood I also scratch built a house which I am hoping will not look out of place in Africa or Afghanistan.





Keep blogging Chaps......more pics on the way soon.

Tuesday 18 August 2015

Molds for miniature Air Con units and Grubby Tanks

Hi Chaps,

It's been all go here, I have been having a clear out (again) and decided to concentrate on just one or two periods. Now the decks are clear I have more room for yet more figures and also a bit of time to experiment with scratch building. Being on a budget means that I have to try to find ways of making my hobby as cheap as possible though to be fair I think it is a pretty cheap hobby anyway...especially when you start to compare the costs of other pastimes.

Anyway I dug out an old tin of Sili Put...a cheap putty that when mixed together makes a putty that you can then make a mold with. This stuff is a cheaper alternative to "real" mold making which can become expensive and for me at the moment it would be overkill.


I made a "master" of an air conditioning unit that looks something like what you see stuck all over every building in Asia and Africa and possibly the middle east as well. This only needed to be simple as the item is or decoration and not a feature.



Next I glued the master into a MacDonalds ketchup container and covered it with the Sili Put....this stage was actually flawed as a few air bubbles spoiled the mold and is now reflected in every piece! I am sure that you chaps will do better but this was a first attempt..



The final mold is cut from the ketchup case and Miliput was used to create the air con units...they look a little odd but hopefully a coat of paint will hide their more obvious imperfections. Next time I will invest in a real mold making kit and a better master! Still these are the right price as they probably cost around 20 pence each to mold...if plaster was used it would be literally pennies.

Keep blogging!

Monday 10 August 2015

Cannot Sleep Sunday...shipping containers

Hi Chaps,

Sunday morning arrived early and I was up with the bird call....no idea why I just could not sleep. So with a little extra free time I made a couple of shipping containers for 28 MM skirmish gaming.

The containers are 12 CM long and 5 CM square and were very easy to produce....they are hardly scale models but if you don't look too close they are fine. The doors have cotton bud tubes for the working parts and they were sprayed using random car paint tins that I had hanging around but any house paint would do....in all they probably cost 50 p to make so they are the right price!





Saturday 8 August 2015

Temporary painting station

Hi Chaps,

Well it's the summer hols so my painting table is now downstairs so that I can have family time....the result is I have painted more than usual...I have not taken pictures of the zombies but there should be enough for a game anytime soon.








The future army types are from Copplestone http://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/range.php?range=FW -I love this company, quick delivery and easy to paint.

Space Marines from the GW empire and the police are from Offensive miniatures which is a very interesting company http://www.offensiveminiatures.com/

Good luck with the holidays and finding the sun if you live in the UK..........keep blogging Chaps.

Tuesday 4 August 2015

Osprey Black Ops

Hi Chaps,

I am sure that you are all aware of the upcoming Osprey Black Ops rule book which is due for release in October? They sound amazing!  A quick read on Amazon will give you a good idea of what to expect....I have been waiting for a set of rules covering this genre for a long time....finally this could be just that set.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Ops-Tactical-Espionage-Wargaming/dp/1472807812


A project for the autumn,,,,,,,,


Sunday 2 August 2015

Games Workshop.....old figures

Hi,

I could not sleep this morning so I was up early to walk around the grounds and snap a few pictures of what I have been painting over the last few days.






All these are old "stock" or bought from Ebay for a fraction of GW prices. My Space Marines have grown in number over the years so I thought I would treat myself to a Land Speeder.err this soon evaporated....have you seen the prices these sharks are trying to charge????

Oh well I suppose you have to pay for quality but not just yet....