May 2011 – Steve’s Hobby Blog

Tuesday Roundup…

Yes it’s a few days delayed, sorry folks, but here’s what’s new at Arcane Scenery…

We’ve restocked on Renedra products and now have the full range in stock.

New from Renedra is the Pontoon bridge.

A great accessory for wargamers allowing them to biuld either a pontoon bridge or a simple footbridge. Theres lots of potential to use the pontoons as seperate items and conversions. The bridge is of a type used through many historical periods.

We’ve had an Expo Tools restock, so good availability on all these products. New to us is the Glue & glaze. A specialist product that allows you not only to glue clear plastic components without ‘fogging ‘them but also allows modellers to glaze small windows ( such as on airline models, ship kits etc) as well as headlights on cars, tanks etc. This expands our specialist adhesive range and we have many different glues for different tasks. Please check out our previous blog article ‘super glue is great…. but there are other adhesives!

Restocks on Emhar with more 1/35th scale WW1 infantry & artillery now available, although this is selling fast and some lines have already sold through! We will get more.
We have also received many more of the Conflix scenery range buildings in. These are amoungst the best value ready painted buildings on the market and look great on the war games table.

New Warlord releases are in. Favourite is the Napoleonic Vivandiere, as she would have been with the troops. After all , what soldier could resist a woman offering him a beer…..Mind you she comes armed with a pistol so beware!

Also released, Scottish casualties for pike & shotte and new German army Command, Flak 43 and Leig18 infantry gun.

Finally, for now, we have just received new laser cut MDF movement trays. These allow you to make perfect trays and finish them to your own basing colours.

Guest Modeller of the Week: Bernard Lewis

We decided that instead of just talking about Arcane and Steve’s latest projects and battles, you might like to know what other members of the modelling and wargaming community have been up to.

We start this week with the very affable Bernard Lewis from Mantic Entertainment Ltd.

Bernard has recently been making some rather unusual Celtic base groupings for Hail Caesar which have both Celts and trees on the base.

” I used single bases because for Hail Caesar you don’t have to use individual bases, and began with putting trees on just one and found I liked how it looked” says Bernard.

As well as providing some contrast on the gaming table against other players’ bases, and providing the Celts with some hiding cover, the bases have some other advantages…

“I’m a slow painter, and this way I can get more done sooner!…It’s also good if you’re budget conscious”

Currently Bernard is working on a river crossing base to sit alongside the Celts with tree coverage, and then plans a base with Celts fighting Romans.

Obviously here at Arcane Scenery we are big fans of scenic bases, we think Bernard has done a great job of making some extra interest and we may well be [ahem] copying him soon…

How to shop with Arcane Scenery: the eBay store

Okay first of all for many of you this is going to be a case of female grandparents and chicken foetuses, and if so, you can probably toddle off to skirmish. But for those who find eBay a world of bafflement hold on, we’re going to explain (or at least try)…

When shopping on the Arcane Scenery eBay store, on the left hand side of your screen you will see a search box and a list of shop categories. If you are looking for a specific item, simply type the name into the shop search box. For example, if you are looking for a Tiger Tank, you can type ‘Tiger’ into the search box and all of the different types of Tiger tank will be displayed.

If you are just wanting to browse, to find something that takes your fancy, you can use the categories which are located below the box. The Arcane Scenery store uses two types of category:

CAPITAL LETTERS are for the different Manufacturers that are currently stocked. So if you would like to view just AIRFIX KITS, click on this category and all of the Airfix kits currently in stock will be displayed. You will also see that the sub categories are then revealed. So you can now look at the sub category that interests you by clicking the sub category. If you want to look at Airfix planes, just click on this sub category and only these will be displayed on your screen.
In the lower half of the shop categories list, the items can be sorted by Period or type. So if you would like to see all of the Napoleonic era items from all manufacturers, simply click on Napoleonic Wars and they will be displayed. When you click on a category, a set of sub categories will be revealed to enable you to browse by scale. So you can now choose to look at just one scale of Napoleonic figures by selecting from the list displayed.

The historical periods that are listed are somewhat simplified. The Ancients & Romans will cover anything from cavemen right through to around 1066 and the Normans & Anglo Saxons.

Medieval Wars will go from 1066 through to around 1600 and for simplicity, takes in the Renaissance as well. Pike & shot features the English Civil wars and runs to about 1700. Horse & Musket runs from 1700 through to 1780 and then it is on to Napoleonic Wars which only feature the wars of Napoleon.

And this week we have a new category especially for all you Flames of War fans:- “15mm, FOW Compatible Kits etc” which can be found in the historical section under The Second World War.

Arcane Scenery’s little secret

For some time we’ve been keeping a little secret from our blog readers. Sorry, but once you see the secret, you’ll forgive us, we’re sure.

Arcane Scenery now stocks a range of beautiful wooden buildings suitable for wargamers. These intricate creations are currently available as a range of Western buildings for y’all cowboy fans, and WWII buildings suitable for Flames of War fans. We’re going to tell you about them in more detail in another post, but in the meantime here’s a preview… And, just because we kept a secret from you, here’s the range now available

Friday round up…

This week we have some great new releases and restocks…

First of all some treats for all you Flames of War fans…We are now stocking some lovely buildings, which will be discussed in more detail on Monday, suitable for town and village settings. There’s also some new Zvezda WWII items, such as this 1/100 Russian BT-5, which snaps together rather than being glued. Helpful for those with bigger fingers, or a tendency to glue themselves…

We also have new Zvezda Spartans…

And this week brings restocks on Pegasus items.

The most exciting new stock this week is the Roden Rolls Royce Armoured Car from 1914. It is 1/35th scale and recreates one of the earliest armoured cars from the British military. The cars, which were use in World War I and the first part of World War II, used the chassis from Silver Ghosts and added space for a Vickers turret. They were used in both Western front theatre and in the Middle East. This is a lovely model which would work well in any First World War scenario…

Friday round up

It was yet another bank holiday this week so not many releases…

The new PzKpfw IV Ausf H Panzer IV 1/72 scale Revell kit 3184 is now in stock ready for WWII battles

The armoured fighting vehicle Pzkpfw. IV formed the backbone of the German tank units in World War II. Between 1933 and 1945 it was built in greater numbers than any other German battle tank of the period. The H version, which for the first time was equipped with side skirts to increase armoured protection, was built from 1943 to 1944.

Model-details:
– Authentic surface details
– Movable turret with stowage lockers
– MG 34
– Side aprons
– Injection moulded tracks with individual links and segments
– Decals for two German versions
No. of parts 204
Length 97 mm

ummm and that’s about it on new releases this week. However, Italeri have a forthcoming new release that we thought you might like to know about…1/35^th scale Lend Lease U.S. Truck with ZIS-3 Gun

The US6 transport lorry, developed by Studebaker at
the beginning of World War II for the American armed
forces, was created with an initial lot of 200,000 in a
good thirteen versions to meet a variety of logistical
needs: troop and material transport, refuelling, and
heavy-trailer hauling. The US6 was a 2.5-Tonne class
with petrol engine and integral traction in the dual
6×6 and 6×4 configuration, guaranteeing excellent
off-road performance.

Despite the vehicle’s incredible characteristics, it was used in a limited fashion by the American armed forces. The Soviet armed forces, on the other hand, used it extensively, having received from the American government in 1942 (to assist in fighting the Germans), over 105,000 vehicles in the 6×6 version and 90,000 of the 6×4’s. In Russia, this
vehicle was widely used as a tractor for anti-tank ZIS-3 cannons and other OBC. Furthermore, a “Katiusha”
multi-missile launcher was added to the US6 frame.

This vehicle should be available some time in the next month, but rest assured we will let you know as soon as it is here…

Welcome Back WarGames Factory

For sometimes I have been unable to get hold of stock of the WarGames factory range. There have been various rumours and rumblings as to why this should be, but the good news is that WarGames Factory are back and available.

It’s a nice range of figures with some interesting subjects. All of the figures are produced in hard plastic meaning that they are great value for money and convertible.

Before looking at the figures I must mention the packaging. As an internet business the majority of items I sell are sent through the post, and the new packaging provides a significant improvement of the polythene bags of old that provided little to no protection. However, though more sensible and protective the new boxes are not especially attractive and do not show these wonderful products off to their best. So please don’t let the boxes put you off!

In the same vein, I am not normally critical of other people’s painting because I know how much hard work goes into producing a model figure, and often these matters come down to a question of taste. However, the figures on the front of the War of Spanish Succession do not do the full product justice. Indeed, it looks as though there’s a regiment of Dick Turpins marching down the road!
Fortunately the painted models (pictured) on the back of the box are much better and do show what can be produced from the contents.

Here’s a picture of the sprues in the Spanish Succession box. They are nicely moulded with plenty of detail and there are three basic poses.

One of the figures has a split torso allowing you to produce either an officer, drummer or sergeant figure. There are also parts to allow you to make a flag bearer or ensign. The quality of the moulding is excellent, with plenty of crisp detail that should make painting a joy.

With a total of 15 different head variants, spare arms to give you a firing or marching pose, there’s plenty of scope for conversions and variety in the box. With a total of 36 figures for £16.49, the box is excellent value.