From SimonG: 10mm British Mid 1980s Armour for Terra (56 points)

The cryptic reference to NWOBHM last week brings us to Terra and some examples of cold war military hardware -- two generations of British main battle tanks the Chieftain and Challenger.

I was a little perturbed working on these models for my Cold War Gone Bad project (Sabre Squadron or Battle Group Northag rules) in light of the current hot war in Europe -- my original interest in this period had been when living through it in my teens and collecting an extensive collection of GHQ 1:285 scale modern armour.

These particular models are from Timecast (the Chieftain Mk 10s) and Red3 (the Challenger Mk 1 and the Ferret).

Painting was pleasingly straightforward with a base green laid down by airbrush and then painted black camouflage (given the hard edges on the design this seemed easier than airbrush) and assorted dry brushing and some minimal weathering. Unit markers and number plates (or rather impressions thereof) are hand painted. I always need to relearn which brushes to use on vehicles rather than people!

Funny discovery when researching the camo scheme was that I could be the proud owner of a Chieftain Mk 10 -- not sure I have the room for something like this however, it's not exactly a vehicle you can take out for a spin on a Sunday down the high street!

The most time consuming part of these models is the basing -- identification markers are laser printed, sticky plastic covered and then stuck on 3mm brass strip -- fiddly but ultimately worth it I think. 

The Timecast models are resin with metal detail while the Red3 are all metal -- each has it's pros and cons, I think I prefer the Timecast which while less detailed seem to capture the essence of the vehicle a little better. The Red 3 figures are pretty crude -- Timecast are leagues better (see my Soviet examples from last year) -- ideally I should have done a head swap on the commander in the Ferret as he's a real "block head"!

I think that should be another 80 points (12 10mm vehicles at 5 points each plus the 20 point bonus for Terra) towards my now unobtainable target! Nevertheless it's been a fun few months of diverse painting.

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Great work on these 80s era warhorses, Simon. I always liked the silhouette of the Chieftain, though I find it hard to believe one can buy one for personal use.  Then again, by all the Russian kit being towed away by Ukrainian farmers, the market may be in a glut soon and prices will be even cheaper (though the cost to fuel one....).

Speaking of cheaper, I'm afraid your math is a bit off with the 10mm vehicles as they are 3 apiece. Sorry bud. :(  Now, where is this inflation when you need it, eh?

- Curt