A very small submission, but it arrived in the mail the other day and I wanted something to do while my "Victorian" Fortnight bonus submission was drying.
Just before Xmas, I got to see the movie "Fury" at the Imax in the Forum Cinema in Montreal. I know there has been a lot of criticism of the movie for it's historical inaccuracies, but I have to say it was a great film. I also really enjoyed watching the Sharpe TV series, so I probably would not be one of the cognoscenti in respect to historical accuracy. So it goes!
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| Nicely proportioned, that big gun is a really monster. |
But back to this submission, well there is a nice little "Fury" campaign in this month's Wargames Soldiers and Strategy and I needed a Tiger I for it. I was buying some stuff from SGT'S Mess, a supplier of 1/72 WWII stuff in the UK and I noticed they had some AFV's as well. I checked and they had the Tiger I, so I went ahead and ordered it. It arrived in about 10 days and a very nice little model it was. Some problems, but nice enough. So lets get to the pics.
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| It is an all resin model except for the gun, which is nice, but it seems to have a pebbly surface which was a little disturbing |
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| Also not a lot of detail and I had ran out of stowage. But all in all I like the model. |
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| So how does it compare to other 1/72 models. Here we have a PSC Firefly. Well the Tiger I was about 30% wider then a Sherman. The Tiger model is about 15% wider. |
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| The Tiger was about 8% longer then the Sherman. As you can see here the PSC Firefly is actually about 5% longer then the Tiger I. Some problems with scale as well. |
So since it is a single model and the other contestants have been showing off their painting/gaming areas I thought I would take a few photos of what is my chaos.
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| My gaming area is in 2 parts both in the attic. I have two 6x4' tables which are my staging/storage areas. You can see the first is set up with some lights to do some photography, but really is quite a mess. |
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| Table 2, has a lot of trees stored there, an eternal problem for me. Stacked in the boxes are my 28mm French Napoleonics, all 30 battalions and I have forgotten how many cavalry.... that just could not fit. |
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| The floor and the staging table are stacked with even more terrain pieces |
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| Some of my Allied Napoleonics, mostly Brunswick and Prussian to the left and British to the right. |
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| So then we take a little turn to the right and we go into the loft that overlooks the matrimonial bedroom (my wife is always finding odd bits in the bed). As you can see I sometimes really lose my mind and start airbrushing terrain pieces on the floor. My wife just shook her head. You can see what is left of my Challenge figures to paint on the floor. |
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Then finally the nerve centre, I got a very nice light for Xmas which is quite good. You can see my airbrush to the left, I use it more and more since I got an Iwata. Always very messy on the table, but stuff does get done.
From Curt:
This is a great post John. Even though I like the Tiger (while the elastic scale of wargame vehicles is a perennial picadillo with me) I have to say I found looking at the pictures of your hobby setup far more interesting. The display cabinet of your Napoleonics looks very impressive - and that's just the Allies! Do use the same Ikea cases for your French? I'm curious that since you now game more at the local store do you find that your gaming space is being more used for staging and storage? I ask as I know you used to do a lot of solitaire gaming. Finally, I had to laugh aloud when I saw the 'crime scene' outlines sprayed on your floor and your mention of your wife finding hobby bits in the bed! That's just cracked me up. Again, a great post and thanks for sharing it.
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Nice work on the Tiger my friend. Interesting to see other people's hobby set up... given that I work in a small cramped corner of a one bedroom apartment I can only envy the space you have John. Also loved the crime scene as Curt called it I can only imagine how Ariana would react if I did something similar!
ReplyDeleteI love the hobby set up - that looks lovely. I think you did fine work on the Tiger, but the quality of the model itself is pretty weak - you are a generous soul, I would have asked for a refund! Your brushwork is excellent.
ReplyDeleteNice pussy cat John and what a great gaming/hobby area.
ReplyDeleteHopefully with all those crime scene outlines your remaining figures include Grissom, Caine and Taylor - I think it will take all three to solve it!
The set up you have in that loft space is to be envied. All that natural light coming in would just lift the spirits higher whilst in hobby nirvana.
ReplyDeleteYou did a stellar job with that tank, making it look of much higher quality than the model really is.
Very nice painting work. Your hobby area is fantastic!!!
ReplyDeleteAh, dedicated hobby space!
ReplyDeleteCould a hobbyist ask for anything more? Well, a supportive and understanding other half is always good, as long as you don't keep dropping the contents of your bits box into the matrimonial bed...
; )
That's a posh nerve centre John! Great tanks too!
ReplyDeleteThe Tiger looks a little soft detailed and a shame he's been dwarfed by a Ronson... but really nice painting!
ReplyDeleteWell done on making the Tiger at least look acceptable. That's a grand space you have.. Gotta love the airbrush marks on the floor...that will take some beating.
ReplyDeleteMy wife would kill me. On the other hand, once you've painted the carpet once there's no going back so you might as well go hog wild with it.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking tanks and I love the lighting in your space
ReplyDeleteAs for your unique way of "marking your territory" you could point out to your wife that your method isn't as offensive olfactory-wise vs the normal way big dogs such as yourself mark their hunting areas....
Excellent work on the Tiger and I am so jealous of your hobby space
ReplyDeleteIan
While not in any way a big cat fan I do like how you have treated this beast. While I like the flag on the rear hatch I do wonder in a mid-late war setting where the Germans no longer had air superiority if such emblems would be wise.
ReplyDeleteThe tank looks really good for what you had to work with, I initially thought it was the rough texture the Germans had placed on some of their armor. But, it does seem gritty all over.
ReplyDeleteFor future reference, I was undercoating a lot of models all summer and well into the fall. The last batch was gritty, but I bought some fine model disposable files( like Q-tip sandpaper). They did the trick and eliminated the grit without the chore of stripping and primering. Some of my early challenge entries were in that bunch and the grit isn't noticeable!
Nice hobby space too! I gotta put heat in the garage or wait for the kids to move out before I get a mancave! The natural light is grand, Excellent loft!
DeleteNicely done on the big cat.
ReplyDeleteAnd you've a very impressive hobby space!
Nice looking Tiger mate, regardless of the scale issues. You have a cracking gaming and modelling area you lucky bugger!
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