Modelling update

It has been a slow couple of weeks lately. We have been moving books and bookshelves at home in preparation for the gaming table that will finally grace my home. But that takes space, which means a lot of books have to go into storage or just plain being thrown away. (Mostly old crime novels or obsolete history and programming books.)

Carriers being painted, drivers and metal detailing getting some colour.

Work is progressing in teensy-weensy steps, but I have also hit on a couple of snags.

Barbed Wire WIP

Just a quickie today to show some of my barbed wire fences to my mates, Jocke and Thomas.

Nothing to do with a bad film starring Pamela Anderson.

Hitting the G-spot

Time to show some other stuff I have been painting lately. By some random chance I have been painting things starting with a G, namely a gaggle of Goblins and Gloin the Dwarf for Lord of the Rings.

Grrr! Get back to your own movie!

Gloin is from the "Escape from Goblin Town" starter set while the Moria Goblin is from the previous starter set "The Mines of Moria", both by Games Workshop. It's essentially the same game although the Goblin Town naturally is inspired by the recent Hobbit movie. The rules are slightly updated and stats (although no points costs) are provided for models from previous editions of the game.

Caesar Miniatures SdKfz 10/4 build Part 2

Work on the halftrack continues! In between trying to figure out which part went where I searched for some inspirational pictures on the net, discovering that the notion of putting the gun on top of the half track actually occured much earlier than I thought. For example I discovered this picture of a SdKfz 10/4 from North Africa in 1941:

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia and Bundersarchiv).

Interestingly it's obviously cold as they are wearing longcoats, and they are also towing a PaK38 anti-tank gun. On to the build!

Caesar Miniatures SdKfz 10/4 build Part 1

I have had this kit for a while, I ordered it from a Taiwanese model shop on eBay called AlwaysModel. (At the time of writing they are off celebrating the Chinese new year, so their web-shop is empty!)

Beautiful Box art...

The SdKfz 10 was originally designed to be a light tractor, sharing much of the construction and components with their big brother SdKfz 11; the chassis being a bit shorter on the smaller vehicle. They were essentially trucks with the rear wheels replaced by a track assembly, able to tow infantry- and anti-aircraft guns while also transporting their crews. Both vehicles were also the basis for the more famous armoured personell carriers SdKfz 250 and SdKfz 251, which fitted the chassis with an armoured fighting compartment. The SdKfz 10 is often called the Demag since it was manufactured at the Deutsche Maschinenfabrik in Duisburg which originally constructed cranes, excavators and locomotives before the war.

Quite early on during the war someone figured out that if you mounted the gun ON the truck instead of towing it behind, you could start shooting much faster. The trade-off being that the vehicles got bigger and harder to hide and a bit more vulnerable. This variant sports the very common 20mm FlaK 38 anti-aircraft gun.

But enough talk, let's see what's inside!

British work in progress...

I have been a bit busy with other stuff, among other things I'm working out plans for a gaming table for me and the kids. Yay, gaming table FTW! I suspect it will be covered in Lego and other toys half the time, but it's better than trying to squeeze a game in between meals on the kitchen table. I have also bought a combined lamp and magnifying glass to combat my poor old Mk. 1 Eyeballs. It's not so much a case of my eyesight deteriorating as my light sensitivy going; in short I need more and better lighting to see what I'm painting than before. Yes, I know it's a sign of aging too, and I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone getting the magnifying lamp right now before I really need it.

My painting table. The circular hatch on the lamp opens to reveal a magnifyer.

With my new shiny (heh, get it?) lamp I have been doing some work on my brits, as well as a couple of LotR figures, but I'll save those for another post.