From MarkE: Do miniatures get the munchies? 28mm Vending machines (10 pts)

 Ever wonder when we aren't around if our mini's do a "Night at the Museum" and need a snack?  If they don't these machines will at least provide some cover on the tabletop.

I finally put a brush to these.  I have no idea of the manufacturer, I think I picked them out of a bargain bin at Cold Wars or Historicon at least 15 years ago, maybe 20.  They sat languishing on the shelf so long I had to wash the dust off before I could get them primed.  So from deep in the need to  paint mountain here's a pair of vending machines in 28mm.

Hopefully I don't start finding miniature Cheetos fingerprints on my figs!

I scored these as 25mm figures since they are roughly man sized for that scale.  Please correct if I'm in error.

So 2 @ points each = 10 points.

Cheers, MarkE

Mark, as the level of painting required to get these nice vending machines done is quite substantial I will go along with your scoring of 2 x 28mm figures equals 10 points. Nicely done!

Cheers Sander 

From LeeH - One of the few (7 points)

Just a small entry from me this week. I have several projects on the go at the same time, including the last two bonus round entries. This means I'm very busy but have nothing to show for it at the moment! I'm not too worried though as I have made significant inroads in my Challenge target. In fact, the stuff on my desk right now should bring me right up to my aim point, leaving me a few weeks spare...I'd better get my thinking cap on because at the moment I don't have anything else in the pipeline. 

Anyway, this weeks entry is a bit of a departure for me because it is 1/48th scale (a little over 40mm). I bought it to accompany a 1/48th Spitfire from Revell that I received at Christmas. I may yet paint that for the Challenge, but it has been years since I attempted a kit model as complicated as this and so far I have chickened out of starting it! So you get the Pilot first, with the possibility of the aircraft at a later date. 

Ironically this iconic British Airman is made by a Czech manufacturer and I bought it through a German supplier! A bit expensive but very nice and I may take a longer look at their catalogue in future. The quality was excellent with just a little bit of resin flash that was easily removed with the edge of a blade. Other than that and a wash to clean the surface before priming no other prep was needed. 

Hopefully, I'll have more to present next week. I'm halfway through some 6mm Natal Native Horse and a heavy parcel filled with tanks has just arrived from Peter Pig! My second wind has arrived!!


TamsinP:

Well, view halloo and tally ho! Excellent work on the flyboy Lee. But he really does need a kite, so buckle down and bite the bullet - we want to see that 1/48 Spit!
Hopefully some of the other projects you are currently working on will be finished very soon (Focus! Focus!).

From RobH: Lonely Outpost - Hilltop Trading Post (20 Points)

I picked up this resin piece in a discard bin at a local gaming shop years ago for only a couple of bucks. It has been sitting around gathering dust for a while. This year's challenge included a category for terrain pieces so I thought it would make a nice hilltop sitting for a 15 mm, trading post, hilltop fort, trading post etc.

I added a 15 mm dark age bow element to provide scale as the metal rule provides some glare. The base size is roughly 7 1/2 inches across by 7 inches deep and 3 inches tall, or roughly 160 cubic inches.  I'll let our wise leaders determine the scoring.

As an added bonus the roof lifts off for the placement of troops, cattle, supplies, etc in the building. 

As you can see the glue is still showing through in spots and in the background a Roman Command Group that I started work on. In January I hosted a BBDBA and was short a Roman Cav Command. That will not do.

I have another piece of foam with which to attempt another hill. 

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Wow, that's a nice bit of kit for only a few bucks Rob. 

You've done a great job basing and painting it up. I particularly like how you did the thatching and basework. It has a cold, windswept look about it. Now you need a Hound of the Baskervilles or perhaps a Heathcliff and Cathy to set the scene. :)

I say that's worth a good 20 points. Well done Rob!
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From KevinH - 1/56 WWII US M4A3 Sherman (18 Points)

1/56 WWII US M4A3 Sherman

 

This time around, I decided those US Airborne figures needed some Armoured support!

 

I've painted an M4A3 Sherman, in 1/56 scale - by Warlord Games, from their Bolt Action line.  I'd bought three of these kits from a Canadian seller, who was getting out of 28mm figures, and concentrating on 1/72 scale products.  It wasn't until the Challenge, that I'd sat down to look at the kits.  Turns out, two of the kits have casting/missing bits problems I have to contact Warlord about, but they're very good about putting these sorts of problems right, so I have no worries about that.

 

 

I still used the portable photo booth for these pics, but I took out the fluorecent "twirly" bulbs, and put in good, old incandescent bulbs!  Switched my camera back to the previous settings, and those pics look much better.  I still need more "fill" light from the front, but learning the ways of the photo booth takes some time too...

 

 

The model was pretty straight-forward to assemble.  I put most of the components together, and then, being as it's a resin kit, gave it a scrub with dish soap (washing up liquid, for our friends across the pond!), and left the elements to dry overnight.

 

Unlike most people's complaints about resin models, the "track" pieces on this kit were straight enough, that I had no problems with assembly.  There's a good number of "fiddly bits" though!  The Headlight assemblies on the front of the tank almost drove me to have a "Roman Shield Decal" moment, a la Curt!  I soldiered on though, and finally got all the little bits sorted (my big, old "meat hook" fingers don't work so well with "fiddly bits" any more...)

 

 

I drilled out the Antenna mount, and used a bristle from a cheap, Dollar Store (Pound Store?) nylon paint brush.  They work really well! One 3" brush will give you virtually a lifetime of antennas and radio aerials! I've used them previously, on my Flames of War Canadians, and they look great!  Just a dab of superglue and you're done - they're nice and bendy, so no need to worry about breaking like stretched sprue, and no impaling your hands like with metal wire antennas.

 

I did have one rather significant problem with these kits though.  I think Warlord has since changed the policy, but these kits did not come with any decals!  (Arg!)  Fortunately, I was able to do a "work-around!"  I printed out some 8mm and 9mm Stars at work (I do Graphic Arts, so this was easy enough to whip up).  When I got home, I put clear tape on the front and back of the Star images (for strength and stability), and proceeded to cut out the insides of the images and make my own stencils!

 

I don't think I'm going to do this for the other kits, but it did turn out OK.  I had to go in with a thin brush, and clean up the lines a bit just to "neat" things up.  I don't know if this counts for "Extra Credit" or not Curt - what do you think?  --an extra 5 pts maybe?  Your call, of course.

 

 

And just to close off my post, a "scale" shot with the Airborne Bazooka team from my last post.  In this shot, the figures don't look too bad against a 1/56 scale tank.  Personally though, I think I'd rather 1/48 scale was the more "de facto" size for use with 28mm models.  These 1/56 scale models do look just a little small compared to the figures.  The Sherman here, almost looks like some odd, "Stuart" variant next to this Airborne team!

Thanks for looking!

From Curt:

That is a great looking Sherman, Kev! Like Dux's spears, I really like your shop broom bristle solution to radio aerials - a good tip!   Also like you, I  wish manufacturers would include a decal sheet for their vehicles as a standard. I know the Sherman was used by several nations but a couple sheets wouldn't break the bank would it?  I guess they're trying to keep their cost margins as tight as possible in a highly competitive market.  And don't get me going on 1/56 being the 'official' scale of 28mm figures. By and large I find the scale simply too small. I wish they would have gone with 1/50 as it has a sense of mass without being as potentially overscaled as 1/48 (though as you say, many 1/48 models work fine). 

I'll meet you halfway with your excellent star stencils and aerial add-on, so 18 points total. Again, nice work Kevin!