Monthly Archives: August 2012

Bolt Action Tanks!

Tiger in snow camouflage Scheme.

I always like to see other people’s models – you can always learn something new from seeing how other modellers produce their masterpieces. In this case, our guest modeller Darek Wyrozebski, is an expert in weathering down tanks and vehicles to produce some of the most realistic battle worn models I’ve seen!

JagdPanther.

He uses a whole host of techniques to produce the battle worn finish and is a great advocate of the Vallejo weathering pigments.  So here is just a small selection from Dareks’ collection:

 

 

 

 

 

Hetzer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opel Blitz

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kubelwagen in Polish Army Service!

 

 

 

 

 

 

M10 Tank Destroyer

Darek uses an airbrush to get the basic paint job done and then uses a variety of filters, washes and even a bit of dry brushing to get the different layers of weathering. Add to that the use of pigments, careful replication of scratches using a fine brush, and he even uses hairspray as a barrier to allow the careful removal of layers of paint to get the worn look on the Hetzer. If it all sounds a bit like alchemy, Darek assures me that once you have a go at using these methods, you soon learn to get the results that he has…..as with all things, practice makes perfect!

Spotlight on Zvezda – new in this week!

The rate of new releases has yet to slow down, in fact there seems to be even more new releases this week, despite the fact that we have entered the summer months, usually a quiet time for the modelling world. Again, rather than list everything, I thought that I would just use the new releases to highlight a part of our range. This week it’s the very popular Zvezda ‘Art of Tactic’ series that’s in the spotlight.

Zvezda are a Russian kit manufacturer who traditionally have produced a great range of military subjects in both 1/35th scale and1/72 scale. That changed slightly with their release of the war game/board game hybrid ‘Art of Tactic’. To support the game, Zvezda have released a huge range of mini packs retailing at around £2.99 that features infantry and artillery sets in 1/72nd scale, tanks & vehicles in 1/100th scale and aircraft in 1/144th to 1/200th scale.

However, even if you dont plan to play the ‘Art of Tactic’ game, the models are just superb. At 1/100th scale the vehicles are ideal to supplement a Flame of War force, and the small units of 1/72nd scale figures are a great way of putting together a force to use with any number of rules sets from ‘Mum I aint been shot yet’, Rapid Fire’ , Rate of Fire and even the forthcoming ‘Bolt Action’ rules set.

The latest releases include a 1/100th scale Sd.Kfz 222 armoured car:

In 1/72 scale, a set of German Gebirsjager or mountain troops:

And finally,  Soviet a 76mm infantry gun with crew:

There are some 40 of these sets already available, with more on the way. Although the existing sets are primarily focused on German and Soviet forces, there’s good news for modellers – Zvezda have plans to release some early war British and Allied subjects. If you like the format, you may also be interested to know that Zvezda also do similar sets of Samurai models. I cannot begin to tell you how well modelled and moulded these sets are. If you have n’t tried them, at £2.99, you wont break the bank in checking out a pack!

The zvezda range is available in our ebay shop here. We also stock a huge range of rules sets.

MiniArt Models – New Releases

We’ve recently added Miniart models to our range and we are gradually building the selection available for our customers. As usual, we’ll add in the new releases as they become available and also work back through the range until we have everything available. This may take some time as there is currently 289 models available but if there is a particular model that you would like, just drop us an email & we’ll get back with a price & delivery time.

I particularly like the miniart range as there is a good selection of diorama bases to help customers display their models and the range contains some really interesting subjects not covered by the more well known suppliers.

An example of this is the recent release of the Ya-12, Soviet Artillery tractor. It’s a really characterfiul subject that will look great as part of a diorama and will make a change from building the usual T34 variants! The kit has 458 parts, including photo etched parts for even greater detail. We particularly like the Miniart instruction book that comes with the kit, It  is has a full colour painting guide and comprehensive instructions.

It’s available now in our ebay shop along with our other MiniArt items.