Catch of the day

...or, more precisely, of the week.

I've been spending the proceeds of my sale on items that will help me with, or are part of my projects. A great help for this Ebay and Marktplaats, a local Dutch variant on that theme. Ebay has the minor issue in that it clashes with the 2 weeks rule. Auctions tend to run for a week, so that doens't really work, hence I just made a list of items that I want, made searches for it on Ebay and saved those. If there are new items posted that fit the bill I get a signal. If after 2 weeks I no longer require the item, I delete the search, easy as that. Marktplaats is easier, people put stuff on that stays on for a month. More then enough time for me. But I have to be honest, I sometimes break that rule if there is a very good deal to be had. On Ebay, this means sellers offering low or free shipping, or a very low opening bid. On Marktplaats this means making a low bid and then just seeing if the seller responds, or not. If after 2 weeks I still want it and there is no reply, I can always raise my bid.

This week I received and won the following items:

On Marktplaats, I made a bid of 2,50 euro for a 1:72 Revell Me-262. This was accepted after a few days. As I didn't need the box or the instructions, the seller agreed to mail it to me in a brown unmarked envelop instead of a package, making the total cost a mere 4,75 euro. I'm going to combine this with a 1/72 Quickboost resin starboard engine that is partially dismantled (which I won for 6,50 Pounds incluyding shipping from Australia recently) and base it wheels down as a late war German forest plane on a wooden platform. A piece of scenery for short :) I still have plenty of aftermarket decals in my stash so that is covered too.

On Ebay, I used Buy it Now to buy a early example of the engine used in the Me-109, amongst others. This set me back 10 Pounds including shipping, plus I bookmarked the store for the future as shipping from the UK to me was a mere 60 pence. I can't even mail a average envelope inside Holland for that. They send out normal kits for 1.65 Pounds shipping, normally this is 5 Pounds minimum for most Ebay sellers from the UK to Holland. I don't know how they do it, but I like it. The engine will be used in my casting experiments, and the casts (if they succeed or not) will be used in the Me-109 wrecks I'm planning on building. A few years back I got a great deal on a stack of old Matchbox(?) Me-109E's for 1 euro a piece from Italy, and besides making Crimson Skies planes out of them, they have not been used yet. Since I like making wrecks, this one should be fun.

On Marktplaats again, I ran into a seller who was liquidating his Ho train collection, and had quite a few lots of scenery items as well. He was selling each of the items you see for 3 euro per lot, the normal store price for this lot is well over 35 euros new online. 17,50 Inlcuding shipping, and a nice addition to my forest which I refound last week in the attic. The Kohl & Salat (Cabbages and Salad) is especially welcome, as in one of my pre orders for the Crisis show I have 2 greenhouses and 2 smaller ones. These will mix very well, and so I can do back gardens for the Wikkywok houses.

Marktplaats, I picked up this for a mere 5 euros, and I only had to divert my ride from work by a little bit to pick it up. Now, wait a minute, I don't have a American army, right? That is correct, but there are 2 reasons I've picked it up. I do want to make an American army, but that probably won't be till 2016 before I start it. Secondly, the British army I want to start needs an Auster, and these are hard to find and go for high prices (usually). This will be a nice stand in. The price helped a lot too.

Back to Ebay, I was browsing the shop were I bought the 109 engine, and found this Pe-2 for 9.20 Pounds including shipping. I already have a Pe-2 kit from a obscure Russian company which is a dramatically bad piece of engineering. I've read stellar reviews about the Hobbyboss one, and the price was very good so hey, another kit for my Mid to Late War Russians. On opening the kit I was pleasantly suprised at the low parts count, which is perfect for me. It will be easy to modify to take a flight stand.

I've been watching the old Matchbox Churchill AVRE ever since I picked up 4 boxes of PSC Churchills, as I think these will make a great add-on piece for one of them. Problem was that whenever I was watching, these went for 10-15 Pounds plus 5 Pounds shipping minimum. I made some bids here and there and was always outbid. Till last week. My opening bid of 4.99 turned out to be the winner, and for 10 Pounds including shipping this one is mine. Now I just want the bridge, and the add on parts, so I have no idea yet what to do with the complete tank. Maybe sell it, or build it as a wreck, who knows. A great find, this one. The decals are still crisp too, very nice.

I also picked up some Oyumaru plastic clay from Ebay, from Hong Kong, for casting purposes. I'm a bit late to the party, I believe this hit the scene 1-2 years ago, so I won't bore you with details on who and what. This has been explained in better detail by many Blogs, like this one. I want to use it for the engine block, and wheel rims that I will use for burnt out wrecks, and other engines that I can find, as these tend to be pricey online. If I can make my own casts for private use, the better. I'll probably will do even more things with it, who knows. Anyway, 30 sticks put me back 20 Pounds including shipping, but those should be enough to last me quite some time. I'll grab a few boxes of Milliput when I'm at the Crisis show.

I have a commission running with Wikkywok at the moment, and he shown me some lovely photos of the first testhouse he made for me. Aside from 1 or 2 minor points, I was quite happy with it already so I'm looking forward to having all 4 right here with me. More on that at a later date.

Lastly, a purchase arrived from mid August :) For some reason, mail from Canada is incredibly slow at best and glacial at its worst. Dunno why. But I received 2 Blue Steel books today, namely Civil Wars: The Gun Trucks and Blue Steel IV: M-50 Sherman tanks and APC's in South Lebanon. These were, with shipping included, quite pricey, but that is normal for such a specialist publication. The Gun Truck book gives descriptions of photographs of various gun trucks used, also explaining to which faction they belonged, very handy! The M-50 book gives details about the M-50 and the APC variants, and lots of detail shots of rusting hulks. Both books will come in very handy for my Lebanon project as these were used by the SLA, one of the militias I will focus on.

Of course, this has been quite the expense, so it is back to selling again, as I still have a lot of micro armour to sort for sale. Back to that right after posting this :)

6mm lives!

Mymy, a year has passed so quickly. Better get cracking then on the rest.

All Heroics and Ross 6mm. Big bases are 40x20mm, small base is 20x20mm. B&G on the Supply truck is "Benzin und Gasoline" which I nicked off a 1939 Blitz photograph and is perfect for a resupply vehicle, albeit a fuel one.

Battlegroup Dispatches Issue 1 released!

Finally!

 Battlegroup Dispatches Issue 1 has been released!

http://ironfistpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ATT_1380660299696_Dispatches-1.pdf

Content:

Battlegroup Partisan

Partisan Army List

New Vehicle Data

Gebirgsjäger Army List

Painting British Infantry Uniforms for the ETO, 1944-45

Kampfgruppe Phillips, Normandy scenario

Hell in the Bocage, Normandy scenario

Pimp My Panzer – StuG III stowage box

‘On to the Dneipr’ new Battlegroup Kursk vehicle data

A bit for every rulesset released sofar plus a full armylist if you want to game Yugoslavia
in 1943! I'm liking that list a lot cause I like ambushing convoys like no other, which makes 
you set up a game with a very limited figure count and rulesrestrictions and can be played
in an hour or so as a precursor to a normal wargame. The paintingguide makes painting 
British Infantry easy-peasy....just add effort and job is godun. The 2 Normandy scenarios 
are a nice addition and something to try out for me when my 6mm armies are further
along the line, or my daughters have grown up, whichever comes first :D Pimp my Panzer
is something that I hope will be a frequent addition in the dispatches....tips and tricks like 
that are always handy to know. On to the Dneipr adds vehicle data for mostly post Kursk 
vehicles, but lets you include a T-70 company for Kursk as well. Imagine 10 of the little 
ones buzzing towards you....attack of the gnats!

On the whole, a nice read, plenty of food for thought and the eyes, and well reccomend. Issue 2, whenever that will be released, is already highly anticipated!


In case further downloads for Battlegroup interest you, go here: ironfistpublishing.com

BGK/BGO Markers

Decided I could not afford those lovely markers as seen on Ebay, so why not make them myself? I do have a laminator, so hey. 10 minutes in Excel and 15 minutes cutting them all apart.

I've got markers now for my 6mm/20mm forces (and no reason not to use these for 15mm as well):
-Moved
-Fired
-Pinned
-Ammo low
-Out of ammo
-Reserve move
-Ambush fire
-Abandoned
-Immobilised
-Spotted
-Low on fuel
-Out of fuel

The last 2 are my own creation as I have a feeling that for Fall of the Reich fuel might be a problem for the Germans. If not, they are fun for scenarios.

If you want a copy, let me know, it is a simple Excel file, 1 sheet, that I can email ya.

Toppled truck

Since I can never resist doing wrecks (and have a reputation to uphold), here is one that can double as scenery as well as an objective or a destroyed marker.

See insert for view at 30 cm range. Boxes made from square bits of sprue, wheels are from a 1/288 airliner kit, model is a Heroics and Ros Blitz truck minus the tilt. 30mm round base.

Tracks and Trucks

More Heroics and Ross goodness.

Bergepanzer III (with Doms Decal Balkenkreuz)

And again, for a real table size at 20-30 cm's. look at the insert. Added a crane, a fuel drum and what was supposed to look like an engine. It should have been upright though, not flat like it is (bad for engine)



Opel Blitz

Fiat 626

Hope you like em. Tell me if you like the camouflage, or not.

Beobachtungspanzer III

Beobachtungspanzer III. Insipred by my 20mm model, I tried to copy it as much as possible.
40x20mm base Heroics and Ross model suitably converted.

Small enough for ya?

Well, for a manned vehicle that is.

Should have fun painting that one.

6mm testers

Gods, it has been ages since I last painted 6mm, so decided to do some testers to see if I can still perform :) Also a test to see if the basing style and tab fit me.

First up, my all time favorite, the Flammpanzer III. Decals by I-94 and Doms Decals, insert shows true size at 30-40 cm's distance. 40x20mm base

Second, cause I like remotely operated vehicles, the Goliath (I'm not sure if it is actually in the rules but for me it was too much fun to do one anyway till I get my hands on some Borgwards). 20x20mm base. Again, insert shows true size.





Painting is going rather quick right now, for German yellow I use Vallejo Middlestone over a grey basecoat, then paint the tracks and exhaust Vallejo Flat brown and rubber Vallejo German Grey. Then wash with Vallejo Dark Grey. Let dry, then paint again with basecoat and highlight with 50-50 Middlestone and Dark Sand. Gloss varnish, let dry overnight, add decals, let dry, coat with gloss varnish again. Paint base with any dark brown, drybrush with any light sandcolour, trim the edges in black. Add nametag, glue down with woodglue with a tin coat over it. Let dry, then matte varnish everything. Then do the flocking and tufting nd what not. Lasly, add antenna from brush and glue down (but I'm now doing this step while painting the basecoat to disguise the whole somewhat.

As soon as I start doing trucks I will experiment a bit with different greens to see which one works best for me, and then use that on my armour.

So, what do you think?

My Leven order; a small review

...came in today, and I'd like to share my experience.

On April the 18th I made an order for the following:

1x CHU02 - Russian Village Church a 1.50

1x CHU04 - Church with spire a 2.00

1x GEN08 - 60's style Garage with Petrol Pump a 1.50

1x IND12 - Eastfield Mill a 2.50

1x IND21 - Shoe Factory a 3.00

1x FAR01 - Farmhouse a 1.50

1x FAR03 - Granary Store a 1.50

1x FAR09 - Tractor Sheds a 1.50

2x HUT01 - Stone 'Oast' Kiln Hut a 1.00 = 2.00

2x HUT02 - Ukrainian Hovel a 1.00 = 2.00

2x HUT03 - Russian Isba a 1.00 = 2.00

2x HUT04 - Ukrainian Timber Hut a 1.00 = 2.00

1x HUT09 - Russian Timber House a 1.50

..for a total cost of 24.50 UK Pounds

On the early evening of the same day I got a confirmation for Leven telling me that they had received my order and they would contact me soon for the invoice.

Just half a day later, on friday the 19th I got another email thanking me for my order plus a Paypal invoice, which I paid at once.

The next day, saturday the 20th, I received my shipping notice

The following models arrived this morning (thursday the 25th), taking 5 days to get from the UK to Holland (very fast, but we can only thank the mail system for that :) )

They are all of the standard of Leven I'm used to, well cast, hardly any bubbles, the ones that I saw should be very easy to remove, the only minor quibble is that church nr4 is missing its spire, but that should be easy to rectify in a next order. I've notified Mick of this, he will propably contact me later tonight or tomorrow on this. Anyone can make a mistake, so no real harm done here. All the models were individually wrapped in bubble wrap, with extra foam pellets in the box for added protection.

They are cast in a tough light cream resin, with a light chemical smell that should dissapate in the coming days. I just leave them on the terrace in the sun for a few days to air out, then take them back in so I can give them a good wash to clean off any residue.

For a total cost of 29.45 UK Pounds I'm now the proud owner of 10 Russian style houses I intend to use for Kursk, and the rest for generic European locations.

I'm a happy customer and I'd thought I'd tell you other microarmour fans. He is releasing new stuff pretty often as well, so thats another reason to keep coming back. I'm hoping he will do one or more Continental type water towers or Russian/European windmills as well. I'll mention this in my next email to him.

PS If you are wondering why the center house is on an incline, it is because the porch fairing is taped to the underside and I was too lazy to remove it :)

Edit: Mick just contacted me, spire is in the mail first thing tomorrow morning. Now thats good customer service. Reccomended!

First basecoat for BGO

Basecoated the lot in grey.

That way the next colour I put on will en up lighter. I would have used white for a even lighter first coat but all I had in stock was grey, so grey it was.

Some models have minor modifications.

For instance, I've given the StuH a thicker, shorter barrel. Maybe a bit too thick, but at least it is instantly recognisable as a StuH now :) (That or a certain Epic 40K tank <sigh>)







I've also noticed some minor warping on my bases, so I'll propably varnish the underside to straighten them out again, or be at peace with it, as the warp is barely noticable.


Also got some feedback from Heroics and Ross, my Opel Blitz with hardtop body were very misaligned, they noticed it too in some of their casts so I'll have to add a note to my next order for replacements. Very quick respons for otherwise very nice models, no real flash and some minor mouldlines, some easier to remove then others, but that is the nature of these tiny models.

And I just received my Leven order of miniature houses, but I'll adress those in a new post.

BGO in 6mm - The beginning

And so it begins!

Finally, my first small bag of models arrived from Heroics and Ross so I spent a little bit of time this weekend basing most of it.

 Atm it is a mix of BGK and BGO, most will get dual use anyway. With the cost of 6mm, it is not a big issue but it stretches the money a bit.

To help out my opponent I've added a Sherman to my order that has now been suitable altered (and I hope to enter in the 30mm build if I can manage in time). In case you are wondering why the 222's base is different from the rest, it is because from the old days in BKC I made the recce bases arrow shaped for instant recognition. I just applied it to BGO and BGK as well, making them easier for me to pick ut.

Some of the models have been altered, added or replaced barrels with brass wire where needed, and I need to buy me a new wallpaper brush to strip it for antennae.

I know the open area left for a paper tab won't be to anyones taste, but I'll add a coloured marker to the rear base rim as well to denote the various types available in BGO/BGK (With their own Waffenfarbe, as in FW HQ (Yellow)- Inf (White) - Tanks (Pink) - Artillery (Red) - Recce (none, shape)- Engineer (Black)- Logistics (Blue) . And this time, the rest of the rim will be black as I feel this works better with 6mm.