AHPC: Vehicles

 Not everything in this year's challenge will be 15mm scale - and to prove that point here are two 28mm WW2 vehicles.  The first one is a British Staghound armored car.  It's a Resin model from Blitzkrieg miniatures with plastic detail parts from a Rubicon kit.

Next up is a 76mm Sherman Tank (one can NEVER have too many Shermans in ones collection).  This is a plastic kit from Rubicon which I highly recommend - it's an excellent model.

OK back to 15mm Napoleonics...

More Analogues Hobbies Stuff

 Two different groups of troops this time.  First up are some reinforcements for my DAK armies in the form of DAK infantry, some FJ's and armor.

 A Rubicon plastic Panzer IV - really can't recommend Rubicon models any more highly.

 My second box of plastic Perry DAK infantry

 A Panzer II from Warlord

 Warlords plastic FJ's - really like this box also

 An Italian armored car - I still need to paint up some Italian Paratroopres

 And a SKDz 222 also from Warlord

 The next submission is more fantasy oriented with 20 crewman from the new Ghost Archipelago Box set

 And 5 plastic Barbarians from Frostgrave

The whole group

Tunisian Tiger

 My growing 28mm DAK army has been reinforced with a Tiger tank.  The model is from Rubicon and is part of their rapidly expanding plastics line.  It was a joy to both put together and paint and I'd rate it a 10 out of 10.  Rubicon has become one of my favorite sources for ww2 vehicles.  Trenchworx is still my favorite due to their superb quality but rubicon isn't that far behind.

 The crew figures are Perry metals and are very nice - I still have 4 left for other vehicles.

 I added a dry brush of stone grey as a last step and like the results.

 This model was entered as part of the second fortnight challenge - "Riders and Mounts" in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

28MM DAK Army Started

The painting workbench has been cleared of 1/600 scale ironclads (the subject of a future post) and the next project underway is a 28mm German Afrika Korps force for either Bolt Action of Chain of Command.

The mini's are from various manufactures, which consist of (from top to bottom) Rubicon Miniatures - plastic PanzerIII's, Warlord - resin 8-Rads, Perry Brothers - 38 plastic Infantry men and Warlord again - the two motorcycles.

Some artillery support and heavy machine gun support will need to be added to the force over the holidays but what's on the table will be a good start.  With my holiday preparations pretty much complete, I'm hoping to complete this lot and submit them for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge in the next two to three days.

Rubicon Models: Panzer III Test Build

 Like any other gamer, I equate new toys with new joys and rushed out to pick up some of the recently released 1/56th plastic tank kits from Rubicon Models - specifically 3 Panzer III's, 3 Shermans and a Tiger.  I purchased mine from the Plastic Soldier Company and record very fast service (UK to US) - order placed on 10/27, models received on 11/4 - very impressive.  So how are the models?  The first picture shows what comes in the box - 3 sets of sprue's, a very detailed instruction sheet and a great set of decals.  The price per model is roughly $28.00 US which compares nicely to the other plastic kits and is much cheaper than the resin alternatives.

As for the instructions - they are very well done - very cleanly illustrated and easy to follow.  The decals were also a very nice surprise and included marking for the Africa Corps which these Panzer III's will be modeled for.  The plastic casting was VERY clean with really no mold lines on any warpage.

 It took me about 40 minutes to build the first tank any I'm really pleased with the detail.  One thoughtful thing about the kit is that the shurtzen (the hull and turret side armor - upper left and still on the sprue) is removable which provides a lot of modeling options.  The gun options included in the tank include a long and short barely which fit tightly - no glue needed again giving yet more optionality.

I went ahead and built the second (of three) panzer III and was surprised it only took me about 15 minutes to complete.  Everything went together without a hitch and all of the hull seam points were gap free!

I have one minor criticism for the Panzer III kit the deck details (tow cables, tools etc) are molded onto the to top section and are a little faint.  To be honest they look to be true scale and appear to be "thin" when compared to other 1/56th scale tanks which tend to have over scaled hand tools and such.

I doubt this will impact the finished model all that much.  Painting will be delayed until the start of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, which commences on December 5th.

All in all, I'd rate this kit a 9.9/10, which is superb - highly recommended!