Having completed the WW1 German tank hunters I didn't much feel like painting any minis for a little while and, lacking the need for additional terrain, I was at a loss for something to turn my hand to. Without a wargaming project I decided to take a pass at Mount Plastic; an entirely unscientific method brought me to choose an LS model of the KI-15 "Babs" that was sitting on the top of the "Spats" pile.
We will be gaming this Saturday, 26SEP20 at 7pm
Be there, or be reviled behind your back!
Having finished the German Stosstruppen there was nothing left but to turn my attention back to my scratchbuilt model Heavy Tank Mark IV. It had been left unattended since I started assembling the German infantry. Really, all it needed was a coat of paint and some weathering so it wasn't too bad an ordeal to get it finished. I decided to forgo the addition of rivets, there being about 1300 or so to add, and tiny rivets are quite the bother to make.
About a half-century ago my Dad bought me a 1/72nd scale model of the Hawk P-6E. As we built it he explained that, as a child, he had seen this same type of plane flying out of Selfridge Field (then a grass landing strip, now an Air National Guard Base) with the Army Air Corps . My ten-year old's mind was fascinated by the aggressive appearance of the airplane with it out-thrust spatted landing gear painted to look like the outstretched claws of a Snow Owl. Ever since that formative moment I have always liked the look of fixed landing gear with aerodynamic spats, the bigger the better (Lockheed Vega wins hands down).
It took me a whole week but I have finally managed to get the rest of these guys painted. As happens with so many of my projects the closer that I got to completing the job the less enthusiasm I had for it. But I want to move on to other subjects so I forced myself to sit down and add the last little details that I had been putting off. One of the real joys of plastic figures is that they are so much easier to modify than metal ones, others might say that this is a good thing because you often get far less selection of poses in plastic, a point that I can't argue against. I made it a point while building these figures to be sure that I didn't create any duplicates, the kit is molded with arms in specific set and only has six torso/leg combinations so this took some planning (and not a little of chopping and repositioning). There were a couple of near-misses (let's face it; there are only so many ways to fire a rifle or throw a grenade) but no two of the same. I am rather pleased with the lot aside from the old-timer in the picklehaub, the pose strikes me as awkward......he might just get disassembled and re-positioned with different arms.
Fresh off the presses we have the latest edition from Strelets in their 1700's series; French Musketeers Firing. Inside you will find 44 figures, 40 infantry and four command/standard bearers. These are molded in a stiff gray plastic that shows detail superbly. All of the figures are in useful poses and are well proportioned in realistic poses. This is the sort of thing that makes me regret having painted hundreds of 28mm figures a few years ago! These figures are simply beautiful, the level of detail is simply breath-taking.
