A10 Warthog

A little deviation from my current projects when I really need to focus and get that rail yard done for 15mm but alas...

This poster says it all.

One of my favorite ground attack aircraft aside from the famed IL-2 Sturmovik of WW2.

After savaging what looks like a Soviet tank.

Some nose art choices...

And here's the culprit and cause of the current derailment of my train of thought. Sigh... another project to add to my ever growing list of 'to do' items which can't be helped since I wanna do it all, dammit! 

An old kit that was a gift from oh so long ago...

You know, come to think of it. I haven't put together a full on kit since at least a few decades ago. (I'm not counting those plastic vikings and Mobile Infantry neither since all you got is a head and a couple of arms.) So now, in my maturing years, I'm not sure I'll have the patience and the eyesight to tackle this project. 

The two most important things needed are a great light source and a good magnifier. 

The more light the better!

Goggle types are the best.

My homemade combination. Time for a magnifying goggle upgrade.

OK, who the hell am I kidding? I've got umpteen projects on my list and when am I gonna be gaming in 1:144 scale? 


Back burner... Yeah. 


Besides I already have a pair of Warthogs, albeit in another scale...

A flight of GHQ MicroAircraft from my collection

Refurbishing Old Models Part 2

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this post I've acquired these toys from the clearance shelf of my local Wally World's toy section. I usually cruise the 'clearance' aisles of Walmarts and Targets looking for such bargains. Here's what I found. 

When I saw these robots, I immediately saw their potential as effective scenery. And I knew that with a little imagination I'd be able to recycle them. All I needed to do was to paint over these God awful colors, apply some weathering and presto: instant scenery at a very low cost ($2 a package = $1 a figure).

I made sure that they would scale properly with 28mm.
Here they are posing with some AT-43 figures.

Here are the 'After' shots.

After some black primer and recoloring these plastic toys 
are transformed into useful Sci-Fi scenery.

 Here they're depicted as ancient and inoperable
Maintenance Bots with their original creators.

Now they've been abandoned for countless years.

Only to be used as terrain for my repainted Space Commandos. 

 Where they'll be battling it out amongst the bots.

These Space Commandos were bought @ 25 cents each from
the Clix bargain bin of my FLGS then repainted and rebased.

Coming up, more recycled bargain bin toys.

Mongols of The Golden Horde: Rank and File: DONE

Mongolian BBQ! Yummy.

Scene from the movie 'Mongol'.

For my first post of this year I've decided to bring out the Mongols for a photo shoot since I've had these rank and file figures done for awhile. I finally got around to posing these guys in their completed state. If you haven't read my previous post regarding these models, some of you may recognize that they're from the Old Glory line and paint up really nice. They're a mixture of Mongols and Pechenegs. Mixing and matching them gives the right look of being horde-ish.

So here they are thundering and plundering to a town near you! 

Mongol Nobles from TAG in the background.

Yes, that's my Viking longship in the background...

Toe in the water... Part 1

I have mixed feeling about the holidays. They're great for catching up on things because of the relative free time that's available. On the other hand I get lethargic as well for a variety of reasons. As this year closes, I wanted a new project to get my teeth into. 

Gingerly getting my toe in the water again.

I craved some inspiration so I can start blogging about my latest creative push. I also needed a muse to get my juices flowing again. Eye candy is what gets me going. So I either watch some movies from my collection... 

*PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL THESE PIX ARE CLICKABLE FOR ENLARGED VIEWING.*

Opening sequence from 'Enemy at the Gates".

The ill fated Strelkovy charge also from  'Enemy at the Gates" 

or go on the web where it'll link me to awesome imagery.  

The ubiquitous SU-76.

The ubiquitous SdKfz 251 HT with 37mm gun.

Getting inspired yet? I surely did. 

And if you'd read my earlier posts you'll note that I'm quite a fan of Stalingrad and the Eastern Theater. My later projects involved lots of 28mm. Bigger scale and better detail for these aging eyes...  

A Stalingrad table we set up at Justo's house while he was still in Houston for a game day.

NKVD Maxim mg crew from BTD.

Assorted Strelkovy from BTD.

Fallshcirmjagers from BTD staging for a mission.

Stealthy Fallshcirmjagers on their way avoiding the T34 beyond.

"Take out those Stalin's Organs!!"

However, I did start out in 15mm when I was consumed with FoW. This smaller scale has its advantages. 

The infamous 88 from Battlefront for FoW.

A pair of Sd Kfz 7/2 with the 37mm AA gun.

My all time favorite German tank: the Panther!!

Looking through my collection I realized the wealth of material that I already have in hand. But like most gamers I'm a pack rat/collector/accumulator and I always want more!

Then recently, Chris Trevino from our group (who's NOT my muse) ran a few Crossfire games. That got me intrigued because I've been itching to use my already completed Flames of War (FoW) Eastern Front Germans and Russians for something else. Since I was burnt out of playing FoW I sadly put them in mothballs. 

Kubelwagens and Sd Kfz 7/1 (Quad 20mm AA)

Assorted Sd Kfz 251 HT and Opel Blitz

KV8 (flame tanks)

Panthers and Maultiers 

BA10M Armored Cars, Stuarts and Honeys

Mid War T34-76 

All of a sudden I got excited thinking about using them again with another rules set. I had to get them out of storage and back on the table! And what better way to do so than to start another terrain table.

'So why not another Stalingrad-ish, urban ruins with a rail yard to boot in 15mm?" I thought to myself. And this time, I'll do it better than my previous half-hearted attempts.

My recently sold generic and unweathered box cars on equally uninspired flocked Kato tracks.  

This was taken in February of this year where I staged them with some
of my FoW Soviet Scouts with a KV1 in support. 

After a little ruminating and eye candy research to get me primed I immediately set out for my local train store and Eureka! I found all kinds of cool stuff. Here's my latest acquisitions. 

Compare these beautifully weathered boxcars from the ones above.

Just a small part of my Stalingrad and rail yard table. The Kato tracks will
definitely be weathered and flocked just in case you're wondering.  

Scav Alert! Make sure that you do check out the consignment shelves of these stores b/c they're chock full of pre-assembled HO scale buildings, water tanks, towers, gantries, weathered boxcars, etc. that's perfect for 15mm.

Stay tuned...

Seasons Greetings!

Happy Holidays from the entire gang (collection)! 

Alas, my camera doesn't have a wide enough lens to fit everybody!