MiniatureZone Blog

Highland Infantry WIP - Update

2011-10-07T23:02:00.003+01:00

07th October 2011 Slowly but surely getting on with the Highlanders. Here's the first batch. The figures are just enough to fill about 3 20x20mm stands - so still a way to go before I have enough stands to get a few batallions together. Figures are a mix of Airfix and old/new Esci/Italeri Scots Below are some I finished quite a while back.

Being "Boer"-ing

2011-09-25T23:19:00.001+01:00

As I flit from one project to yet another, a picture of some figures I started painting last night, Stelets Boers. They have chunky and exaggerated poses, but on the plus side every single figure has a different pose. The picture is a little grainy as I took it with a mobile phone camera. You can see a full review of the figures on the excellent Plastic Soldier Review website http://

Street Lamps / Lamp Posts from earrings

2011-09-23T22:57:00.001+01:00

With members of the fairer sex in the house, old round/pearl type earrings that the girls no longer want are always easy to come by. I'm not 100% sure about how these are going to turn out, but they might make fairly acceptable street lamps, at least for wargaming - what do you reckon ?

New Nappies - RobH

2011-09-23T00:21:00.002+01:00

As a follow on to a skirmish scenario we gamed with some of our regular wargame buddies a couple of weeks ago (http://wargamestenerife.blogspot.com/2011/08/song-of-drums-and-shakos-escaramuzas.html), our mate Rob brought some very nice freshly painted 1/72 Italeri Napoleonic British he's just finished. Italeri British 95th Regiment Italeri British Infantry 1815

Spanish Civil War in 20mm - Dave Hall

2011-09-21T16:37:00.001+01:00

Dave Hall from Albuquerque New Mexico sent me some nice pictures of some 20mm SCW troops and conversions which can be seen below I have begun working on converting my World War Two rules over to the Spanish Civil War. The following pictures are from my ‘work bench,’ really a kitchen counter. They are 1/72 scale. The figures include some metal ones from Historical Products Company, BUM, and

Battle of Berlin - More Conversions

2011-09-18T23:09:00.001+01:00

I wanted to make some simple casualty markers for the Berlin scenarios and ended up making it a whole lot more complicated than I really needed. Anyhow, they're done now, the stretcher bearers are old Esci WW2 French in greatcoats with headswaps, the "Frau Medic" is a hard plastic lady from Dapol, the two walking guys are Airfix WW1 French, the surrendering figure is a Revell Engineer with

Battle of Berlin - Forces of Valor Repaints

2011-09-18T21:59:00.001+01:00

I've had these figures for some time and when we needed some fanatical "Flying Tribunals" for the latest installment of our Berlin Campaign it was the perfect opportunity to get them painted up and onto the table. The only real conversions were to give the kneeling rifleman and the running ammo carrier an MP-40, and I gave that figure signaling with his hand an StG44 A Revell German

Battle of Berlin - Uncle Joe's Big Guns

2011-09-18T19:55:00.001+01:00

A long long time since the last post, anyhow thought I'd show something new, just finished painting these IS2s for the next installment of our Battle of Berlin campaign. Big mean looking monsters. The one in the foreground is a Pegasus model - kindly donated by my good mate Carlos - and the other in the background is a Fujimi kit, visibly smaller at 1/76 scale, which was also donated and added

"Dream House"

2011-07-13T20:09:00.001+01:00

Not been able to update the blog as I've had a few other things on my plate lately. I was in the UK a short while ago and happened to go into a "Poundshop", where everything is, well, ...a £1.00. Sifting through the tack, you can usually always find something useful in those places and I found these brightly coloured 1/72 scale "Dream houses" - well, actually half a house, you have to buy two

Battle of Berlin Scenery

2011-05-23T00:17:00.001+01:00

Our wargame group is currently gaming a series of scenarios from Iron Ivan Games' "Race for the Reichstag" book and so here are some pictures of the scenery used in a couple of recent games. Italeri Bridge This was built by Carlos de la Concha and was used in our last game and he spray painted it grey about an hour before the game. It looks ok as it is, but in any case we'll give it a wash

More Desert Capers (old stuff)

2011-05-13T11:41:00.000+01:00

These pictures were on the site some time back (5 years ago to be precise.... seems like we gamed this scenario a few months ago.... time passes frighteningly quickly) but they got overlooked when I revamped the design and so here they are once again.This time a group of stragglers trying to get back to their own lines, up against some (very) stiff opposition from the dastardly Afrika Korps.The

HaT El Cid Almoravid Infantry

2011-05-09T23:04:00.001+01:00

Our mate RobH came over on Saturday and he treated us to an excellent game using Impetus ruleset with his collection of Samurai in 15mm. Apart from putting on a great game, he also brought along some of his painted 1/72 scale HaT Moors that he's based to also use with the same rules, and they are very nice indeed, the pictures of the painted HaT figures speak for themselves.

Altaya Sd.Kfz.252 Munitions Carrier

2011-05-06T23:19:00.000+01:00

This is the latest offering from Altaya in the local newsagents. I wasn't able to get to the kiosk where they usually sell these Altaya vehicles so my good mate Carlos got this for me (and I still owe him the money for it :-? ....)

1/72 Scale / 20mm Plastic LOTR Figures

2011-05-05T22:27:00.000+01:00

This was quite a find, these are are the main characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy and came in an old out-of-production Spanish boardgame that I found in a clearance offer in a big department store some months back.The bases are way too thick to use as they are, and one day (eventually) when I do get around to painting and basing them I'll have to cut those bases right down.The running

Italeri German Motorcycles and Sidecars

2011-05-02T00:39:00.000+01:00

I was given this set for Christmas by a friend.Nicely detailed set, though the figures are a little on the big side like all of the new 1/72 scale figures Italeri is producing.I changed a few heads to give them all helmets and I'll be using them for the 1940 campaign in France - I know the uniforms are all wrong, but no-one will notice too much (hopefully) and I'll be painting them up in

US Navy Landing Party

2011-04-30T01:00:00.000+01:00

UPDATE 01/05/2011A picture of the dixie-cup hats on the figures before they were painted. The hats were made with some thin strands of paper and white-glue wrapped around bare heads taken from other figures.US Navy Landing Party (Original post Aug-24, 2010)I needed a Forward Observer Team to use as Regimental Support for a WWII Pacific USMC Platoon and with the Disposable Heroes rules we're

Orion Soviet Tank Crewmen

2011-04-29T00:13:00.001+01:00

Orion Soviet Tank Crewmen

2011-04-29T00:02:00.000+01:00

Just finished painting and varnishing these figures, now I only need to do the bases and they'll be ready for our club's next installment of the Battle of Berlin campaign.Some of the figures are a bit "chunky", others no too much so, but on the whole it's a really nice set with plenty of raised detail which makes them easy to paint and they're a great nice addition to my WW2 Soviet forces. I

Pegasus Germans in Cammo Smocks

2011-04-04T01:18:00.000+01:00

These Pegasus figures with Oakleaf cammo smocks were painted by Juan Reyes who just passed them on to me to finish off the bases.

Private Shulzhenok - Hero of the Soviet Union

2011-04-04T00:52:00.000+01:00

This figure was painted by my gaming mate Carlos for the next scenario in the Battle of Berlin campaign we're gaming.He's going to represent "Soldier Shulzhenok", a real Hero of the Soviet Union who bravely and single-handedly stopped a counter-attack by three German assault guns during the Batlle of Berlin with three captured German Panzerfausts.The figure is by Italeri from their Anti Tank

More on the workbench - WW2 Germans

2011-02-25T17:39:00.000Z

Went out and had a couple of beers with my wargame chums, Carlos and Juan, a few evenings back, .....and came back home with all this stuff ! Just goes to show that boozing with your mates is good for you ;-)The Germans in greatcoats are Carlos' and they're for some Berlin games we'll be arranging over the coming months. I'll be flocking the bases with a "rubble" mix, and will post another photo

On the workbench - WW2 Russian Infantry Conversions

2011-02-24T23:29:00.000Z

Last week I got a two new sets of the new "made in UK" Plastic Soldier Russian and German Infantry. The plastic is nice to work with, hard styrene which is glueable, and cuts easily and can easily be trimmed and sanded.You can see some of the Russian infantry here with new heads, mixed with Esci and Revell figures for some Russian squads I'm putting together. With the smaller heads the poses mix

Guest Gallery - Dave Hall

2011-02-21T22:17:00.000Z

Some photos I was kindly sent for the blog by Dave Hall from the States.Hi JohnHere a few pictures from my game back in October at the Rio Grande Wars convention in the American Southwest. I play tested a simple scenario for my new rules which are set to come out in the Spring. The figures are plastic, mostly ESCI, Italeri and Orion. Please ignore the Panzerfausts. Those units were used as

1/72 Scale Dropship - Something New for the New Year

2011-01-01T17:27:00.000Z

I wanted to start the year off with something non-historical, and have some pictures here of an old AMT 1/72 scale "Runabout Rio Grande" Star Trek Transporter that I bought on e-bay about a couple of months ago.Rather than the standard Star Trek white, I painted it in an olive-drab/green colour to use as a kind of near-future military dropship. You can see it here with some crewmembers - actually

Brrrrrr.... ! More Winter Repaints

2010-12-27T20:59:00.000Z

A few more vehicles just finished, all repaints of old stuff.Revell Tiger & Pz IVI built these two kits about 7 years back ? Could even be longer, I can't remember exactly when. What I do remember is that individual link tracks are a real choreMatchbox StuG IVAnother blast from the past, built around 2002. I remember substituting the 75mm gun for one taken out of the Airfix Pak/Blitz combo

Sd.Kfz. 251/9 "Stummel" + 251/22 "Pakwagen"

2010-12-23T21:53:00.000Z

Two Hasegawa German half-tracks I've just finished painting and weathering for a Winter Ardennes scenario. My mate Iván built these kits many years ago and gave them to me and they were sitting in a box since then. They were originally painted in a dark-yellow "Dunkelgelb" and green type colour. I got them out about a week or so ago and dirtied the tracks with "mud" and repainted them in a

French Foreign Legion at Bir Hakeim 1942

2010-11-17T00:23:00.000Z

Some figures I'm working on at the moment. They're not the best sculpted figures on the market and the faces are quite scary ;-), but I like the poses. These were painted straight out the box, the next batch I paint will all have head-swaps and probably new weapons. I already substituted the Hotchkiss using one from the Revell French WWI Infantry set.

Mr. Churchill in 20mm ?

2010-11-16T00:53:00.000Z

Mr. Churchill ?No prizes for guessing, but I'm pretty sure veteran plastic fans will know where he came from.

Coming soon : WW2 History book with 1/72 scale pictures by Mark Thomas

2010-11-11T18:25:00.000Z

Mark Thomas, a veteran 20mm gamer and modeler from Oregon (US) told me some time ago that he was working on a history book illustrating scenes and information related to some of the most important battles of WW2 using 1/72 scale models, figures and scenery.The book should now be finished maybe sometime late this year and he has some sample pictures from his book on the web, some of which can be

Guest Gallery - Japanese Trucks by Dave Hall

2010-11-09T20:00:00.000Z

Here are a few recognizable Hasegawa trucks, a Starter Toyota GB and a Fuel Isuzu TX-40.There were pretty simple conversions. I used Evergreen Scale Models, Sheet Styrene with 2.0mm spacing V-Groove for the truck beds.The Toyota is the smaller of the two vehicles. Each could be said to hold a squad of infantry. The Isuzu's canvas cover is a modified one from a Pegasus American 6 Ton. I

North Africa Wargame - Some Photos

2010-10-27T22:24:00.000+01:00

A few pictures of a game with some friends from our wargame club "El Brazo de Nelson" last Saturday.The British were charged with taking the heights to the north of a German landing strip.Quite a difficult game really, at least for the British as the defending Germans didn't defend......., they came out attacking like a swarm of angry hornets, .....and the tactics actually worked, the British

Landing Craft

2010-10-13T01:13:00.000+01:00

Some more stuff rescued from the ashes of the old website.LCVPs by Airfix/Heller + Pegasus, plus Dragon LCMsThe figures in the landing craft are all soft-plastic, fixed on common removable stands (to show when a craft is loaded or not). The stands are made up of a mixture of figures to complement the ones that come with the Pegasus LCVPs, chosen from mostly old Esci and Revell US infantry and

Long Range Desert Group - Hongwell Jeep Conversions

2010-10-12T20:30:00.000+01:00

Some pictures of Hongwell Die-Cast jeep conversions I did a few years ago. These pictures were originally on the old website before the site layout got a revamp.The Hongwell jeeps are 1/72 scale and are substantially bigger than the old Matchbox LRDG Willy's Jeep.

Tigers and T-34s (Turkey-Shoot)

2010-10-10T20:24:00.000+01:00

This is an old battle report from back in July 2007 that was on the old website and is from a game with some guys who live on the other side of the island here in Tenerife, whom I met some time back, and although they play almost exclusively fantasy games, they'd expressed interest in getting together for a WWII game.So, we finally did get it together and arranged a game at their club premises. I

Fictional battle of the Tavronitis Bridge by Dave Hall (USA)

2010-10-10T20:03:00.000+01:00

Some more photos from Dave Hall from Albuquerque who writes"Here are some photos of fictional battle of the Tavronitis Bridge. Again these are based on my rules. The figures are Airfix, Orion, SHQ and ESCI. Please take note of the SHQ motorcycles and 2.8cm.Dave HallAlbuquerque"

DAK - Work in Progress - Carlos (Brazo de Nelson Wargame Club)

2010-10-06T00:49:00.000+01:00

I took some pictures last week of some 1/72 scale DAK stuff my mate Carlos has on the go when we met up at the shop where we usually game.Repainted Altaya PzIIsRepainted Altaya PzIVsNew Italeri Fast-Build Kubels + "Passengers"Italeri DAK with head-swapsPegasus "German" TrucksHaT German HMG Team conversionsBunch of finished squadsItaleri Panzerjäger

WW2 US & Japanese Pacific Wargame Units by Dave Hall (USA)

2010-09-19T20:25:00.000+01:00

Still on the subject of WW2 Pacific wargames, I was sent these photos to add to the blog byDave Hall from the States.Dave based these troops for his own rules, which he will be publishing in a book he's writing on World War Two in the very near future.The shots are of a platoon of US Marines, both ESCI and Revell, while the Japanese are from Waterloo 1815 and ESCI.Thanks very much Dave !

LVT(A)1 Alligator & Airfix USMC Squad

2010-09-16T23:39:00.000+01:00

Things are still coming along with the USMC, here's the #2 "Airfix" rifle-squad plus upgrade options now finished, just need the bases flocking.The Marines also got some support that packs a real punch, an LVT(A)1 Alligator - I've cheated here, it's a made and painted kit by Hobby Master.

US Marines - More Work in Progress

2010-09-06T00:21:00.000+01:00

Found a moment to advance a bit more with the US Marines for the Pacific and finally got the Command squad finished and varnished, just need the bases flocking.Also put together some support teams.First off I gave this hard-plastic Hasegawa two-man sniper team new soft-plastic replacement rifles as I found from experience that the original styrene ones usually break off after handling (if you're

Wargames for Dummies

2010-09-01T19:20:00.000+01:00

Wargames for Dummies (or Dummies for Wargames)Depending on the rules you use, in miniature wargames you might sometimes need to use dummy figures.Brightly coloured or even dog-eared bits of cardboard could do, but if you are more aesthetically minded this might not be enough.As hidden figures or squads can be represented by numbered counters, we can take this idea a step further and stick a

United States Marine Corps Rifle Platoon - Work in Progress

2010-08-26T22:30:00.000+01:00

I'm working on a late war USMC rifle platoon for the Pacific using the larger figures (those scaled-down 1/32 poses) from the Airfix US Marines set.There are also some Hasegawa hard-plastic clones and even the old Esci hard plastic version of the famous Airfix left-handed pistol-toting officer has put in an appearance ! What a damn pity Airfix never scaled this guy down.The standing firing

Copper Wire Armature Trees

2010-08-26T22:03:00.000+01:00

The technique of using twisted copper wire to make tree armatures is quite well known to railway enthusiasts, diorama builders and wargamers.The twisted copper wire armatures have been covered with various layers of white glue and black paint and the foliage has been made from steel wool (like "Brillo" but without the soap) covered by dried herbs and scatter material.You can also use lichen, as

1/76 scale WWII British Commandos

2010-07-27T01:08:00.000+01:00

These are some old Airfix and Matchbox 1/76 scale figures from my collection that were used to make up some small British Commando squads for a game a few weeks ago.Classic stuff, figures that are over 30 years old and the sculpting and poses have stood the test of time well.

Revell WWII 1/72 German Navy Figures / Kriegsmarine

2010-07-27T00:39:00.000+01:00

New figures, hot off the painting table.Really well detailed figures, crisp molding and plenty of raised detail.Not really ideal for wargaming as there are no action poses, but they're nice for spicing up sea vessels or nautical dioramas.

Airfix German Paras

2010-07-02T01:49:00.000+01:00

An old favourite set of mine, great figures.These were painted by Carlos de la Concha for a couple of scenarios we plan to game in the near future.

Dark Alliance Orcs

2010-07-02T01:09:00.000+01:00

I didn't think much of these figures before I saw them painted, but it's amazing how a good paintjob can change your opinion. They look fantastic.These were painted by my regular wargame opponent, Juan Reyes from the Brazo de Nelson Wargame Group.

HaT WW1 Early-War French Infantry

2010-07-02T00:50:00.000+01:00

My mate Carlos' WWI Early-War French Infantry in their colourful uniforms, ready to take on the might of the Kaiser's army.

HaT WW1 Germans

2010-07-02T00:43:00.000+01:00

Some of the HaT 1/72 scale WWI Early-War German Infantry in their pickelhaube spiked helmets.

Pegasus 1/76 Scale Early War German Infantry

2010-07-02T00:32:00.000+01:00

Some of the Pegasus Early-War Germans painted by Juan Reyes from the "Brazo de Nelson" wargame club.

Altaya Opel Blitz Ambulance

2010-07-02T00:25:00.000+01:00

One of the new Altaya Opel Blitz Ambulances, washed, touched-up, & weathered by Carlos de la Concha.

Matchbox Humbers

2010-07-02T00:16:00.000+01:00

Two Matchbox/Revell 1/76 scale Humbers painted by my wargame pal, Alejandro.The commander is taken from the new Caesar British Infantry set.

Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder ?

2010-06-18T01:12:00.000+01:00

......... you better run, you better take cover"A bunch of tough lads from down-under on the workbench for some WW2 jungle wargame scenarios to fight the Japanese.Been quite busy over the last couple of weeks with work and decorating the house, so I've not had much time for anything hobbywise, but in my spare moments I've been slowly working on these guys every now and again, and hope to finish

Italeri 1/72 Scale Church

2010-06-05T00:23:00.000+01:00

Just finished painting the Italeri church - it's huge !It's also a very robust plastic model with lots of raised detail which makes it a nice kit to paint.

Pegasus Models T-34/85

2010-05-24T20:59:00.000+01:00

Two of the new Pegasus T-34/85 kits, built and painted by Carlos de la Concha.Also added a few more pictures from Carlos' collection to the website, you can find them in today's posts.More to follow soon,John

Trumpeter Stug III

2010-05-24T20:52:00.000+01:00

Trumpeter Tiger I

2010-05-24T20:46:00.000+01:00

Early-war Tiger I in panzer grey by Carlos de la Concha

Altaya Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf.D

2010-05-24T20:41:00.000+01:00

Three Altaya German half-tracks, repainted by Carlos de la Concha.

Sd.Kfz 232 Roden

2010-05-21T11:04:00.000+01:00

Sd.Kfz 232 8-wheeled armoured car

Esci / Italeri Dodge

2010-05-21T09:26:00.000+01:00

Re-released ex-Esci Dodge WC-51.Nice vehicle, easy to put together, except for the front bumper (fender).The figures that come with it are thick, stocky and have oversized heads (they look like trolls). The driver and passenger both received new heads from Airfix USAAF Personnel.© John-Michael MurrayMar-2005

Airfix Lee Tank

2010-05-21T09:23:00.000+01:00

The kit comes with two turrets, one as shown in the picture here, and another turret for the British Grant version. The Grant turret that Airfix supply is not particularly good and needs a bit of work to make it sit reasonably well onto the superstructure.© John-Michael MurrayNov-2005

Airfix Scammell Tank Transporter

2010-05-21T09:16:00.000+01:00

The tank transporter by Airfix gives a fairly simple and easy build, and the kit is a veteran, thirty-something at least - like most WWII smallscale Airfix kits on the market.I chose not to make the kit straight out of the box, but decided on using it as a base to make a Scammell Pioneer. The conversion is very simple, and is covered in one of the old Airfix Military Modelling booklets.I started

Airfix Austin K2 Ambulance

2010-05-21T09:14:00.000+01:00

The Airfix ambulance is from the "Airfix RAF Emergency set", which contains incidentally several hard plastic figures and an Austin K6 Crash Tender.The ambulance has no real interior detail, and static modellers will probably want to replace the wheels, but all in all it is a fair representation of the vehicle in question.The stretcher bearers are not included with the kit, they are soft-plastic

Airfix Universal Carrier

2010-05-21T09:13:00.000+01:00

Another kit from Airfix that has graced many a wargamer's table over the years.This particular example has had soft-plastic 1/72-76 scale figures added as passenger s (two figures from the Airfix 8th Army set and two from the Esci set). The bicycle was added as an afterthought and is one of the (many) plastic accessories that come with the Airfix Forward Command Post kit.The kit also includes (

Airfix Morris Quad and 25 pdr Field Gun

2010-05-21T09:12:00.000+01:00

The 25 pdr field gun has been a stout companion of the British army right from the beginning of WWII, up to the early seventies. I sometimes think that this Airfix kit must have been around for about that long too................ The kit consists of a Morris 4x4 (quad) tractor, limber and 25 pdr field gun as per the photo above. Nice simple kit for wargaming which goes together very easily.Some

Airfix Matador Truck

2010-05-21T09:09:00.000+01:00

When you think of a Matador truck, you think of the Airfix model.Over three decades ago, as an innocent young lad, one of the first kits I ever made was the Airfix Matador, bought from the local newsagent. (fingers full of polystyrene cement, wheels panted gloss black, silver hubcaps, and the wooden body painted gloss brown)And after all those years, the kit is still available. AND you get a 5.5"

Airfix / Heller Churchill Tank

2010-05-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

The fiddly little wheels on this kit are difficult to align and would try the patience of a Saint and you also have to contend with tracks that are made from a stiff vinyl that refuses to stay in place and make the tank spring up in the air leaving a very unrealistic gap between the ground and the tracks. The tracks don't take superglue either, but I fixed the track problem with some epoxy and

White Glue “Trousers” for figures with shorts

2010-05-20T21:43:00.000+01:00

This is an especially easy technique that gives more than adequate results that I first used after reading a very interesting article published on Klaus Schultheis' superp "www.miniatures.de"Examples of two selected British WWII 8th Army figures in shorts before modifications. Figures with shorts trimmed down and white glue "trousers" applied. Once white glue begins to harden shape with suitable

Simple Gaming Aids

2010-05-20T21:42:00.001+01:00

If you've visited the blog before, you might have read that together with some of my wargame buddies, we're gaming a series of scenarios based on the ill-fated battles around Arnhem Bridge. The rules we're using are Disposable Heroes by Iron Ivan Games.Before posting more pictures of the scenarios we've played (and to date we've now reached scenario #4), I wanted to share some photos of a few

Removing paint from plastic figures

2010-05-20T21:42:00.000+01:00

I've used this technique with old models and figures, even those that have been covered in two or three coats of thick enamel paint. It works equally as well with hard and soft plastic plus it's a technique that's not just limited to smallscalemodelling.You'll need the following items : Household oven cleaner Plastic gloves Plastic bag Plastic bucket Toothbrush Detergent (washing-up liquid)

Making a Stone Bridge from Styrofoam

2010-05-20T21:40:00.000+01:00

Introduction Bridges are often employed by miniatures enthusiasts in many scenarios to form an important focal point or strategic element in a game. Bridges can also often make attractive centrepieces for interesting dioramas. Stone bridges, like stone walls, have been around for centuries, and you can buy some very nice examples of many types of bridges from manufacturers of HO/OO scale model

UM Models SU-76

2010-05-20T21:38:00.000+01:00

UM Models SU-76 by Iván Cáceres

1/72 Scale German Panzer Crews – Airfix Figure Conversions

2010-05-20T21:35:00.000+01:00

Over the last few years we've been treated to a huge number of new sets on the market, covering practically every niche.As far as tank crews are concerned though it's still one area where we're short on 20mm figures in plastic. It's true that plenty of tank kits give you one, maybe even two tank crewmen, but they're usually always tank commanders, and are generally stiff standing to attention

Revell Panzergrenadiers

2010-05-16T23:46:00.000+01:00

Revell Panzergrenadiers by Juan Reyes.

Berlin Defenders

2010-05-05T01:18:00.000+01:00

Figures for skirmish wargaming in the ruins of Berlin. Sourced from various 1/72 scale WW2 German sets, and with a few conversion jobs. A few more photos to follow in one of the next updates.

Russian BT-5

2010-05-03T18:17:00.000+01:00

By Iván Cáceres, BT-5s from UM Models

French Foreign Legion - Indochina

2010-05-03T05:05:00.000+01:00

Couple of old 1/72 scale Corgi die-cast M3 Half-tracks and various other US origin transports to carry these Legionnaires into battle.

ACW

2010-04-29T01:13:00.000+01:00

Painted these American Civil War figures a couple of weeks ago for a skirmish game.I wasn't happy with the uniform on the Union figures - it's far too blue...... but it was too late to change it the night before the game, so they had to fight in bright blue uniforms :-(

On the workbench

2010-04-28T00:33:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd share a couple of photos of what I have on the workbench at the moment. Not quite sure when I'll get these onto a wargame table, but I have a vague idea in mind about doing some modern urban skirmish scenarios. The figures are Caesar and Revell.

Work in Progress - Roving Reporters

2010-02-11T00:29:00.000Z

A set of "Newsteam" figures I have on the workbench at the moment.The figures are Hasegawa hard plastic US Airforce Ground Crew with some simple modifications and an Esci/Italeri NATO Ground Crew figure.The war-weary reporter's van in the background is a Made-in-China toy.Looking at the photo now, I think I went a bit over the top with the weathering, it's filthy dirty - and those toy-like wheels

Jungle Warfare

2010-02-07T20:24:00.000Z

Some pictures from a couple of recent WWII Pacific/Jungle games with members of the Brazo de Nelson wargame group.A troop of Airfix Chi-Ha by Alejandro RomeroThe 47mm AT gun was made by Alejadro - he used the wheels off a HaT German 37mm gun, and built the gun-shield from scratch. The gun-crew are conversions of HaT German AT figures by Carlos de la Concha.The DUKWs are Airfix classics, by yours

Airfix Buffalo LVT

2010-01-21T08:19:00.000Z

This is a nice and easy kit to put together. The model shown here is in the middle of a WWII Pacific Island beach invasion wargame.Incidentally this Airfix kit also comes with a fairly decent Willy's Jeep, not to be confused however with Airfix's newly released 1/76 scale Willy's Jeep and Trailer.© John-Michael MurrayDec-2004

Arnhem British Paras

2010-01-18T20:06:00.000Z

Some pictures of various British Paratroops for a series games set in the ruins of Arnhem.The Figures come from a mixture of sets; Airfix, Revell, Esci (now Italeri), plus some Made in China copies of the old Esci hard-plastic 1/72 British Paras.There are also a few conversions using figures from other sets, and even a couple of American Paras masquerading as Brits with a bit of scrim added to

Into the realms of fantasy - 20mm style

2010-01-03T22:27:00.000Z

Alejandro and Carlos, both true to their promise did a superb job painting up these 1/72 scale Caesar figures for some 20mm fantasy skirmish wargames we have planned.We actually already gamed a test scenario, and those damned skeletons are hard to beat.

Forces of Valor 1/72 Conversions

2009-12-30T00:40:00.000Z

More pictures from a friend of mine, Doug Iovinelli, a huge smallscale enthusiast from San Diego in California.These are The Forces of Valor 1/72 figures,with several conversions, cut up torsos and arm swaps, to make a platoon of D-DAY Rangers.

Caesar Partisans

2009-12-30T00:15:00.000Z

WW2 Partisans, painted by Eli Mayor who games with our wargame group here in Tenerife. He's used a mixture of figures from the two Caesar sets currently on the market.

Matchbox Char B.1 bis & FT-17

2009-12-30T00:09:00.000Z

More from Carlos de la Concha, two classics from Matchbox, the Char B.1 bis & FT-17

Medieval / Fantasy

2009-12-29T23:46:00.000Z

Another of our wargame group's current projects is Medieval era 1/72 skirmish games, and we've decided to incorporate fantasy elements too, orks dragons, goblins, etc. We're all working on various bits and pieces, and here's some medieval peasants (better known in their original guise as Airfix Robin Hood's "Merry Men") that Alejandro Romero just finished.Alejandro's also working on an Ork (or

Orion Fallschirmjäger

2009-12-29T23:28:00.000Z

I wasn't keen on these figures when I first got them, they looked too thick and chunky for my taste, but I went through the motions of basing them and undercoated them too, but that's as far as I got, and they lay half-finished for about 6 months.My wargame buddy Juan, said he'd be interested in painting them and here they are, they've turned out great !So courtesy of Juan Reyes, Orion German

Trumpeter Famo Halftrack

2009-12-29T17:39:00.000Z

The FAMO is a huge beast, and my brother-in-law bought this Trumpeter kit for me last year as a birthday present, but I'd never got around to building it and had half forgotten about it until my mate Carlos spotted it in my pile of unmade kits and he offered to build and paint it for me.Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I jumped at his offer !So here it is in all it's glory, (Thanks

Arnhem Campaign - More Game Pictures

2009-11-26T00:14:00.000Z

Italeri Horsa Glider with Airfix 6ldr with Jeep and Figure conversionsPictures below of the latest game which was Graebner's Gamble, where the Germans try unsuccessfully to oust John Frost's men from the northern end of the bridge.Matchbox 17ldr Gun- John Frost's men await the arrival of Graebner's column over Arnhem Bridge- Here comes Graebner !Graebner's Humber is an old Matchbox kit built and

American Paratroops + US Armour

2009-11-24T22:10:00.000Z

On Saturday past we gamed a scenario with various American Paras laying siege to a village full of defending Germans. Meanwhile US armour began to arrive en route from the Normandy beach-head.The Americans on the table were all brought to the game by Eli Mayor. Eli's relatively new to historical WW2 gaming, (brought up on a staple diet of Warhammer) and and up until recently he had never painted

Matchbox LRDG 1/76 Scale Chevrolet

2009-11-18T00:01:00.000Z

I had a couple of old unmade Matchbox LRDG kits, both dating from the seventies, which actually have "Made in England" stamped on the diorama base - yes, really, from the days when things were actually made in the UK (and I'm tempted to go off on a rant about the forced demise of the British manufacturing industry, but I'll leave all that aside for now....)Anycase, it turns out that two of my

Italeri Jagdpanzer IV SdKfz. 162

2009-11-17T23:23:00.000Z

Italeri, apart from steadily re-issuing the old Esci 1/72 range of kits, has also embarked on producing their own new line of quality 20mm kits too, such as the Jagdpanzer IV below which was built and painted by Carlos de la Concha from the Brazo de Nelson wargame group.

Italeri Sd.Kfz 234/3 "Stummel"

2009-11-17T23:09:00.000Z

Another of the new Italeri kits, an Sdk.Kfz 234/3 built and painted by Carlos de la Concha from the Brazo de Nelson wargame group.

Normandy Tiger I

2009-11-17T22:53:00.000Z

I "inherited" this tank, along with quite a few other 20mm gems, from a member of our wargame club, Alberto Beneitez, when he (unfortunately) had to move house to Madrid a couple of years back.It's a Fujimi 1/76 kit and has made a few appearances in various games, and in its day it valiently played the part of Michael Wittman, merrily blasting holes in the British 7th Armoured Division's tanks (

Airfix WW1 Male Tank

2009-11-17T22:38:00.000Z

Yet another of our exponentially ever-expanding projects is to put together some WW1 wargames in 20mm scale.We're slowly in the process of working on the figures, but in the meantime here's a preview of things to come, two Airfix WW1 "Male" tanks by Carlos de la Concha.

Hasegawa Sd.kfz 251/1 Ausf D

2009-11-17T22:12:00.000Z

The Hasegawa 251 Ausf.D is, like all the Hasegawa kits, a nice crisply-moulded and well-fitting plastic kit.The example below was built by fellow wargamer Juan Reyes from the Brazo de Nelson wargame club.

Junkers W-34 Transport Aircraft

2009-11-16T23:09:00.000Z

Superb model built and painted by Juan Reyes and detailed by Carlos de la Concha.And below a picture of the the same aircract in a Winter wargame, warming up ready to try and whisk away some German general and his staff before the Soviet hordes reach the airstrip.<

Pegasus 1-72 scale "German" Truck

2009-11-16T22:54:00.000Z

The "German" truck by Pegasus.Easy to put together and nicely detailed and robust.I suppose they don't call it an Opel Blitz for copyright reasons, but whatever you call it, German Truck, or Opel, it's a great model.I bought and built two of these, and gave one to mate Carlos - who painted the example here.

Italeri (Esci) Panzerjäger I

2009-11-16T22:48:00.000Z

Another vehicle from Carlos de la Concha, this time the old Esci 1/72 scale Panzerjäger I, now re-released (thankfully) by Italeri.