New Additions To The Lead Pile

Every now and then, with equal parts persistence, patience, and luck, you unearth a nugget of gold, a little gem amongst the dirt, the chaff, the fool's gold. Sometimes it is only a small find, like a Grenadier Frost Giant (2nd series #071) you've been looking for but didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for (I paid $3.50 plus $3 shipping). Other times, it is a bit more fun - like a Ral Partha Remorhaz (11-504).

 Posed jauntily atop some craggy mountaintop.

A quick auction site search for the Remorhaz shows models being offered for $120. A search of completed listings shows models for $100+ that did not sell. The most recent sale was for $64 + $10 shipping. So when I picked up one for $35 (free shipping!) it pretty much made my day. The other minis in the lot included a couple of Mithril blisters - the Barrow-Wight King (M257) and Balin's Tomb (M285), a partial RP Black Prince's Chariot of Fear, and a couple other misc. items to boot. Score! Now begins the fun part - assembling a multi-part ralidium frost worm. Hours of fun, no doubt.

 Paint, glue, and patience not included.

Another small lot landed a WOTC Umber Hulk and the body of a Citadel C28 giant, with another eight minis included. That set me back $6.50 (+ $4 shipping). I do love bargains, mmm hmmm.

And to round things out, how about some heavy metal in the form of an armored juggernaut? The Heritage Panzertroops Centurion III is big and heavy! I've posed it next to a Matilda for scale reference, as well as with a WIP 1/72nd Hasegawa Tiger.

When Men Were Men And Tanks Were Lead

I recently picked up 10 blisters of Heritage Panzertroops, and they arrived in the mail the other day. Have I previously mentioned that I really like these little war machines? They were sitting around in someone's garage, and it shows - most of the cards were beat to hell and back, the blisters in rough shape, and the foam in the blisters had long since petrified and now easily crumbles. Still, the models are in pristine condition and none the worse for wear after 30 years, give or take a few. It is a mixed lot of American, British, and German models and quite armor-heavy (9 of the 10 blisters are AFVs). They are as follows:

 The usual suspects, rounded up for viewing.

American
1x M5A1 Stuart Light Tank (2 models)
2x M3 Grant Medium Tank
1x M47 Patton II Medium Tank

Stuart - small and boxy.

 Grant - 75mm not in place.

 Patton - 90mm goodness.

I'm curious why they included the M47 and other post-WWII tanks in their lineup - most of the vehicles are WWII, but perhaps they thought gamers would want to play Korean War battles with the late-model US and Russian tanks?

British
1x Daimler I Armored Car (2 models)
1x Matilda II Infantry Tank
2x Crusader II Cruiser Tank

 Daimler - not so boxy.

Humber - boxy personified.

Matilda - Queen of the Desert.

 Crusader - Cruiser tank.

German
1x Sd.Kfz. 251 Half-Track
1x Infantry Assaulting

 Sd.Kfz. 251 - MGs included but not yet mounted.

This purchase expands my overall Panzertroops inventory quite a bit. Previously, I only had a Humber II (read about that one here), two M29 Weasels, the Infantry Assault boxed set, and some loose troops on foot. I suppose if I painted up the Stuarts and Grants in British 7th Armoured Division livery, I could have a decent 8th Army force. Hmm, what to do, what to do.

 Patton with ruler.

And I thought they were quite a good deal at just a bit under $4.30 per blister (price + shipping factored in). To compare that to Flames of War models, it looks like those retail for $12.50 each, so even if you can find them on sale for half price, you would still be paying more. Maybe that's apples and oranges, but I'm always looking at the bottom line on my expenditures. Still, it would be nice to compare the two brands side-by-side. But that's going to happen because the last thing I need to do is start collecting FoW!