Review of H00130 WW2 Normandy Large Tin Shed by Micro Arts Studio

 Purchased with my own money, no freebies here, in a sale at 40% off for 13,19 euros (original price in this particular shop was 21,99 euros)

 

 Nicely packed in shrink, you get 3 sheets of pre printed HDF, with a cover on the front with codes and a photo, and on the back an instruction sheet. Very retail friendly packaging.  

The sheets are labelled as 1/3, 2/3 and 3/4 respectively so you really can't mix them up. I got a bit confused though as the instructions tell you to remove the protective paper covering them. As I could see none I pulled a bit on the edge of the the sheets but that purely removed everything. After watching a few other reviews these showed a white semi transparant paper, so I guess they stopped doing that and I ignored it. Removing the parts from the sheets was easy as with most MDF/HDF items and with a quick sand it was ready to dryfit.

 As everything is printed on one side you put the pieces back to back and glue them into place, easy enough and it gives you the look of a fully finished build in record time.

 

Unfinished Stalker on a GW 25mm base posing for dimensional reference.

Seeing it again now it feels like glued the side door in upside down, but I'm used to seeing those open towards the closest , so meh, no harm. 

Lift off roof when possible is always appreciated!

The door can open thx to the tabs provided, but the fit is a bit loose so they can easily fall off when picked up. Remember that and just store them inside when you are not using the building. 

So far so good, nice little building ey.

Now...

 Something nicely hidden in every promo picture of this item is that the back of the doors has no detail. If you see how it is made it makes perfect sense tbh..... but it feels, how do you say, a bit untruthful. (Edit: after going over pictures of other items they make you can see it, so who knows)

For gaming use, it is no big deal. Visually, no real problem either, though to me, I'm already looking for solutions. 

Fit was great, 0 issues what so ever.

The left overs: 

I did not build the small storage so that is still in the sheet. It apparently comes with a extra set of doors, so you can change it up a bit. Only one set of hinges though, so choose wisely.   Well, that or make your own. The rest can be used for some scratchbuilding of barricades I think. 

 All in all, a great kit, a nice table filler for a wargame or RPG alike. I'll pick up some more from the current sale, the Normandy houses will come in handy for Silver Bajonet or some monster game. 

New old crates, painted

 Painted up and finished varnishing the crates I picked up at Figz 2 weeks ago.

 

 

Simple, basic and most generic paintjob so it works for everything 28mm scaled (Stargrave model for reference)

They are Fischer Price GeoTrax crates from their toy train range, no longer in production. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them at swapmeets and Goodwills in the near future. 

 

Won't be painting anything for a while, got diagnosed with Bursistis in my left elbow and it hurts like a Son-of-a-<bleep>. My issues Bingo card is filling up quick. 

Bacon Buddies

 Pig pen for Nam and AK-47 (though pork in a Islamic country.....yeah, let's ignore that bit)

15mm pigs from Peter Pig, scrap MDF base, some matches, ribbed card and plastic H0 Faller fencing, cut down a bit to fit in better with 15mm. My first time trying out wet mud and earth paste from AK that I picked up for The Last War. Works like a treat I say. Not much else to say, need to make a few more village items, but maybe better to focus on a few figgies now.

New Junk

 Took the girls to Figz (wargames show) today, just to say hi to some fellow gamers and do a little shopping. It was nice but not very busy as a Belgian Modelling club had their event on the same date, which was a pity. 

The girls had 10 euros each to spend and after milling about the place, trying not to kill eachother or dislocate my shoulder and wrists too much, I picked up a few (well, a lot) of packs of tufts at 50% and also tree stumps etc for Stalker. Then we had to go back to pick up a few packs of.....resin spiders. Ah, those are my girls allright :) (also, going for the 50% off box as well as we talk about the value of money a lot, and spending it wisely. Yes, this hobby ain't the best for it but hey better than drugs, smokes or alcohol)

 At the used kits/toys and bits store I picked up another 1/72 walker tank to use a s a scenic wreck for 15mm, a 1/110 (or 1/120) War Junk that I'll be updating a bit to 1950 standards and see what I need to modify as well to make it more 15mm compatible. Great to plant in a river in Vietnam as well. 

Lot's of bits, tired, cubes from some game that will be painted as wooden crates for 28mm, small 1/72 guard shacks I'll just sand down a few mm to make them 15mm, 2 packs of 1/48 Jersey Barriers for Stalker and other moderns

Back home I crashed hard, my health is not the best atm. When I woke up again I gave the girls dinner (it took me that long to recover) and together we cleaned 2 boxes, and added a note with their ideas for what to make with what spider, what colour, what details. They really want to have a proper go :)

28mm Undead Gargoyle....something

 Last year I bought this model from a local models reseller. It is officially a, <checks notes>, Aviarch Harpy from the Teratic Cohort from Warcry. Cause sure, why use normal names that you can't copyright ey?

Did not like the head so tossed that into the bits box and used a Beastman skull from GW's most excellent Citadel Skulls box (now that is a box that is worth its price if you ask me). The model arrived broken (missing wingtip and minor bumps etc) so fixed that, only the wingtip repair failed so I thought, wht bother. Added some rocks to the base and glued big ol washer underneath for support and to stick to magnetic sheeting. And as usual, it stayed in the todo box for almost a year?

Primed it bone, gave it a good drybrush, tried some glowing eyes (it's passable) and sprayed it gloss for protection, then matted all the bone and did the bloodwork and tufts. 

I'm not sure what I made tbh. While working on it, it feels it can work as a generic undead enemy or a boss level figure for Silver Bajonet, Horror Games, maybe Deth Wizards, Mordheim, be a Necromancers pet. So I'll just call it a Undead Gargoyle and call it a day.

15mm Mooring Pontoon

 Mooring pontoon for the future harbour. Metal hull boat is a 15mm resin cast from The Scene in the UK (now defunct I believe?), with a bit of scrap H0 roof to cover it, and the gaps and sides filled with superglue and flour. Rusted it all out to heck.

Should also work as a floating bridge support or a towed barge with cargo. Heck, mount a AA gun on it, why not. 

Finishing a quickbuild (9 months later) - 15mm Fishing Boat (or Mistery Machine)

 I finished the fishing boat I started in August of last year, see here: Quickbuild Fishing Boat

I added a mast, resin tires, more netting and then the top light broke off, then reprimed it and it sat abandoned in a box for 8 months, until refound during one of my many, many cleanups (though it never seems to get much cleaner, funny that).

Spent 2 sessions painting it and getting it ready for pictures, and yet again I realised while checking the pictures on my PC that I had inadvertently painted a somewhat familiar scheme.

Just a bit less bright than this....

Also, I need to make a few docks, I should prep some of the big blocks of wood I have with filler to make concrete piers or something.

 Anyhoo....

"One of the many small fishing boats fishing for sardines off of the coast of Wadiya, KG 3 is nice and bright with the usual eyes on the bow to ward off bad luck. To date, she has never burned down and only dragged a naval mine once"

She is one of a set of 4 boats from Kibri, set 39160 which can be had for about 20-ish euros per 4.