Building the Plastic Soldier Company Sdkfz 251c

     Today we will take a look at building the PSC Sdkfz 251c, you can see my review of the kit here. The model went together without a hitch and none of the track issues that came about with the tanks models (not that they were a problem, they just weren't made clear in the "instructions"). For once the assembly instructions were adequate to the task. I must comment on the precision of the casting and the near total lack of warping and flash, the company casting these models does a fine job and should be commended.

the chassis and suspension parts

the tracks cannot be assembled the wrong-way-round (I tried, just to be sure)

A peek at the 28mm Austrian Landwehr Mounted Officer from Victrix

I just couldn't resist putting some of these beauties together and I think the officer is very nice indeed.

the parts,

when you are working on only one figure the number of parts does not seem so overpowering,

the plastic is fairly soft and easy to cut, the few mold-lines cleaned up easily

Building the Zvezda Panzer 38t 1/100 15mm

    This was so simple and straight-forward it almost seems silly to do a post on it, but here we go anyways.

As we have become used to the kit is cleanly molded and in a box with excellent artwork.

first step was to free the parts from the sprue, all six of them

Plastic Soldier Company Sdkfz 251 / D 1/100 15mm

    Just in at Michigan Toy Soldier the latest addition to the ever-growing PSC stable the 251/D is the later war simplfied construction version of the iconic 251. This kit measures up very well compared to it's older brethern. Molded in a light olive color plastic and cast without any trace of flash and only the faintest hint of mold-lines this is one fine looking model. Replete with the level of detail that has become the standard for PSC this kit is a must-have for anyone playing late WW2 Europe in 1/100 scale. As always click on the pictures for a larger view.

it seems that they are starting to "phone-in" the artwork

Victrix Austrian Landwehr 28mm

      Fresh from Victrix is the Austrian Landwehr, this completes their issue of 28mm Austrian infantry (I can only hope they do the artillery and cavalry in plastic as well). Crisply cast in a peculiar buff plastic you will get two sprues of command and seven of line troopers in each box. I grabbed these from Michigan Toy Soldier as soon as I spotted them ( I have plans for running a 28mm skirmish game set in the Tyrol and these will be the basis for my Tyrolean militia).

the front of the box

Dystopian Wars Prussian Fleet Near completion

     A couple of weekends ago we played Dystopian Wars, the rules are fast and fun and have an interesting take on "guns vs armor" resolution. After I got the hang of the rules it was fun. I have to admit that I was somewhat shamed by the shabby appearance of my models so I upgraded their look with additional work. There still is a long way to go before they are finished but I have made some progress. Click on the pix for a close-up.

the Blucher class dreadnought, a massive kit

And now for something completely different..........

      A couple of years ago Pat ran a Gorka-Morka campaign (free rules here) for quite a while. We had a blast clobbering each other's gangs while searching for scrap metal on the blasted landscape of the planet Gorka-Morka. Everybody else ran an Ork gang, but being a contrarian I chose to use a Grot mob. This had its advantages, for starters I had eight members when everybody else had four or five, Grot stuff is cheap and they have some interesting special rules. The downside is that they have limited improvement potential and that they die easily.

     The backstory on the Grot mobs is that they are runaways from the oppression inherent in the system of Ork rule, which is (of course) the strongest rules. Particularly distressing (to the Grots that is) is their exclusion from boarding the great spaceship that the Orks are building to carry The Wahhh to other planets. These runaways have organized a collective society a long distance from the main Ork settlement and now are running a competing scrap collection operation. As they are styled on a Marxist model I chose to mimic the Russians and named all of my Grots after Communist Party members (well, the ones that mattered at least, members of the Proletariat only got numbers.....they died too quickly to merit names) .

      Having agreed to the campaign I found that there was a serious shortage of models of Grots (the game having gone out of production years ago) and I had to dig around a bit to find them. The Grot vehicles were also nearly impossible to find and, when found, ridiculously expensive. Not wanting to spend a lot of money on what was an amusement I decided to model my own. As my Grot mob grew more numerous the models got bigger and bigger until the Great Land Cruiser was launched (impressive as it was it still crashed or blew up nearly every game).

perhaps the best model of the lot was the first, the Sand Skate,

it was sleek, small, and seemed to lead a charmed life (never having been blown up)

Zvezda Panzer 38t 15mm 1/100 kit review

       Our Russian friends have produced another fine-looking model in their 1/100 scale early war series, the Czech-built 38t. This was a product of the Czech military and was a top-notch design when it entered service, in fact there are many that would say that the German Blitzkreig would have not been possible without the products of the Skoda works. Various versions of the tank were in service through1942 and the chassis was the basis for further designs all the way through the war.

     The kit is molded in a flash-free hard gray plastic and is a snap-together model, the plastic does take normal styrene glue however. The only real downside is that, in their efforts to produce a snap together model, they have cast the turret in one piece, this leaves the sides of the turret lacking the trade-mark rivets. Not a huge problem for me, but others may not be happy. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

box art, as always well-done

Getting ready for Dystopian Wars on Saturday

      I have been working (ever sooooo slowly) on my Dystopian Wars models. I have the Prussian Fleet but I added a giant walker that I found on sale at Pro or Con (it was way too cool to pass up). The level of detail on the models is absolutely amazing, which makes them difficult to finish painting as there is always one more detail to pick out with the brush. The rules are fast and fun and the models are cool, more after Saturdays's game.

battleship

Pro or Con, Some general shots

    Here are some general shots of the Con, they are not really sorted or anything. I am not sure what the "local" cons elsewhere are like as I have only ever been to the ones in and around Metro Detroit. This takes place in the facilities of the University of Michigan Dearborn Campus. A clean,well-lit, temperature-controlled facility that can comfortably accomodate the games and dealers. There is loads of free parking and easy access off of State Highway M-39 (that is the Southfield Freeway for you locals). The Pro or Con group works very hard twice a a year putting these cons together and I heartily commend them for their efforts.

the DBA tourney in progress