Barrier and Barrels

 The barrels are another completed 50 cent challenge - the rims form a trashed bulldozer (that I'm also changing into something nice....eventually). And will work for anything really. Just scatter for my 15mm sci fi stuff or 28mm scifi/modern/post apoc.

And for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (and Post Apoc, Modern, Zombie ) a barrier. It is the 1/35 Italeri N0. 415 Check Point kit, with both posts cut down a bit to make it more 28mm friendly, and not a low barrier (hah!) Limbo excercise. Based for stability. Ribbed for pleasure.

 

Brainstorming

 Seems to fit rather well, I think. Just brainstorming. Ok, it's insomnia, I could not sleep and then I play with toys....

Need to clean up the connector but this works rather well I think.

Also found the scheme for the 2 bunkers (on the grounds of a former Soviet nuclear weapons storage site in Czech). If I can pull off this weathering it would be perfect. But skip the fake easgle.

And I need to make a shrine. But one that is more....me?

WIP Warehouse for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Grabbed this TT Combat Wild West Warehouse from my stash of MDF kits. It is OOP and the code is OTS026. The instructions are no longer available ...oh well, not my first rodeo. I've asked them for the instructions but as rate I will have the boxes that are included done as well by trial and error.

It's a pretty bland 1 dimensional kit. All details are Lasered. No attempt has been made for much of a 3D effect. You can open the window frames but there isn't anything to hold them in place so why bother? I don't recall ordering it at a shop, so must have been bought in a used lot.

 

4 walls and a roof, that is basically it. Like any house/shed. Loads of potential but this time I'm only changing the roof into a fibreboard one and raising the window panels, adding thin card to the doors for the slats and rivets and adding the windowsills that I forgot on the other build (but that will be remidied). I could do tons more but time/effort spent vs result....not worth it. 

Started in the afternoon, quite around a bit past midnight.

Basic shape, held together with some tape during dryfit. I inserted slivers of newspaper between the windows and walls on the sides as the windows are only attatched on the top by 2 very thin bits (they are designed to be opened and I don't want that) and that gives the superglue an excellent bond between the 2.

Strips of 4cm wide ribbed card for the pressed fibreboard look glued over the windows that I removed from this side. I'll repeat that on the other side.

Once dry get a fresh scalpel and just cut out the openings

Insert the original window and raise it by a few mm, this will help with the looks and weathering later. Add plenty of superglue and this is stuck for life. I'll add glass once the building is painted.

Punch out a few more stars from card

Cut strips of thicker card for a bit more detail, and used the small punch to make lots of bolts to improve the doors. Added a handle on both doors with staples.

Glued the doors in place and filles up the opeings for the sliding doors. I could have tried to make it work but the fit was already way too tight, and with paint added to it it would never work. (the roof has the same issue, the fit is way too tight, so that needs some sanding before priming)

Added a XXL sateh skewer on the top and covered it with a strip of newspaper soaked with glue and after all of this has set somewhere in the afternoon, she is ready for primer. Also added windowsills with scrap MDF and again prodigious use of superglue.

And that is it. Basic as it is, it tarts up nicely enough. I would not say no to a few more tbh, but with the kit being OOP I'm fat out of luck. Fortunately I also have the plastic H0 one to update so I have options.

Water Trailer progress

 Had our 2 weekly painting night and got pretty far along with the water trailer. Most of the work is the brushwork to do the letters, the rest I don't even have to think about anymore, pure muscle memory.
Hope to have some time this weekend to finish it.

As you probably can tell.....I'm really liking making stuff for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.......

Russian Fall - a old monument for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Also, another 50 Cent challenge done!

Another victorious 50 Cent challenge completed (30 cents in this case)!

                                            

 How it started:

Didn't save the original picture, but it had an even bigger base which I cut off and a tennis or something symbol that I replaced with a star.

How it ended:

Paintjob had been finished for a while and I wanted to get it done, so experimented it a bit. I did a trial with the punch on tyhe previous finished building, but those came out a bit dark. So tried again, but using wash instead of paint and it worked like a treat. I'll not be using Beech seeds again, that's for sure. This is much, much easier to tone.

On with the next :)

Oh, in case you are wondering about the leaves, easy peasy: 

 

Cut from regular prining paper, mix up some water, a drop of wash and a drop of not modge podge and stir. Add that batch, make a new one with a different wash, repeat till you are satisfied. I went with some nice orange and golden colours this time.

One is not like the others

 I ordered some items from Warlord last week and they arrived yesterday at dinner time. After clean up and the kids starting movie night I grabbed the Sarissa bunker set I set to work. I'm liking these, quick to build, good fit, the moveable door is a nice plus. Lift off roof gives acces to a 60mm circle inside to fit in a HMG team of your choosing....not for me, but again a nice feature.

Again, fit is great, it takes only a little bit of force to make the parts slot together an after that glueing in the card strips solidifies everything. Rubber band in place to make it even easier (tip: watch where the glue goes, don't glue the rubber band in place ....)

Made the doors left and right swinging on purpose, and you can easily do this on this kit, which is a nice bonus. Not that it really matters, but hey, options!

In my plans I only ever need 2 bunkers, so what to do with the third? Well, it's brick (the other 2 are concrete), has small ports and a steel door....and I've been in plenty electrical and telecom buildings just like that, so transmitter base it is. A quick rummage in the parts bin for a real metal H0 pylon that I picked up a box full of a few years ago for next to nothing for the transmitter tower. Using offcuts from the thin strip of card that held the card parts for these bunkers I turned 3 of the openings into vents (electrical stuff needs to breathe with all of the heat). Did the same with the door after turning the door upside down (again, venting), added a doorknob and drilled through the top to glue and screw the tower in place.

Slice to size, shove in place, add superglue, vents it is.

And at 0:00 stop the clock. An evening well spent. Need to trim and sand the base on the transmitter as well, add superglue to the cardboard rim (helps against fraying when painting) and go over them one more time to see if I missed anything. Primer next week I suppose. 

Fix-r-upper progress, and other stuff

 Decided to focus more on the last things to do on the house so the hobby has been playing the 2nd or third fiddle. I did start some concrete on the Fix-r-upper, added the vents, made the doors, did the broken parts of the concrete and added a thin layer of filler but not 100% sure it will stick, the mix felt very dry this time. Also, while clearing out stuff to sell, found a Italeri 1/35 water trailer which, even if oversized, will work fine as a nice LOS blocker in all rusty baby blue. 

Aluminium fly screen was used as rebar, covered with a thin sheet of foam

 

Used the remains of various sheets to make a easy frame for the steel doors. Handles are a small type of staple.

Covered with filler but it feels too dry so it might not stick....we will see tomorrow.

I've become a huge fan of the Miniart sets of 1/48 stuff. Nice crisp plastic, and excellent decals for not a whole lot of money. The Russian flags, 1 is for a mate, the other for my own 15mm Russians, though might just add one here and there in the Stalker build. The Tamiya one is for the Czech Hedgehogs which I've seen the Russians use painted white etc at entrances as blockers.

A bit big, but it just holds more water.

Drilled out the pump and added solder wire, will drape that naturally once the basing has fully set.

What I want it to look, but in blue, but with the same rust and wear on the frame and wheels.