The Model Box

Check out this neat gallery of Matchbox AFV models in 1/76th scale. These were some of the very first kits I made and I know I still have a few unbuilt ones tucked away at home. Head on out to the article at Armorama

  1:35  Tamiya T-34/76

A 54mm Greek warrior or Hoplite from an unknown maker. Painted with acrylics and ink. The dolphin pattern on the shield is handpainted.

One of my new projects is to build some models of AFVs in use by the Philippine Army. I've been reading a variety of threads at the Timawa.net forums and here's a short list of the AFVs. In addition, the Philippine Army uses a variety of M113, Simba and V-150s: M113A1/2 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) - armed with 50 Caliber MG (variants have two 7.62mm MGs) Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle (ACAV) - with a V-150S turret armed with 50 Caliber MG and 7.62mm MG (variantshave two 50 Caliber MGs on its turret) Fire Support Vehicle (FSV) - with a Scorpion turret armed with one 76mm gun and one 7.62mm MG Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV) - armed with 50 Caliber MG Simba Wheeled Personnel Carrier (WPC) - armed with 50 Caliber MG (others have one 40mm AGL) Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV) - armed with 25mm cannon and 7.62mm MG Mobile Command Vehicle (MCV) armed with 50 Caliber MG and equipped with various communication equipment  Armored Ambulance Vehicle (AAV) - no arma

 I decided to start a 1/72 Deutsche Afrika Korps wargaming army and the first AFV model I ordered from Hannants UK were a few boxes of the Armourfast Pz. Kpw. III Aus G. Each box contains two tanks and are designed to be used mainly for wargames, thus are easily assembled. Inside the box are two sprues, with parts for each tank on one each. A separate small sprue molded in grey holds the new side skirts. These will go to my bitz box.   There are no decals, no painting instructions and the like, only a simple assembly diagram on the box.   The instruction diagrams however aren't very helpful though so you'll need to know your way around a Panzer III:) I had a problem aligning the tracks. Both parts do not have alignment hubs. I ended up eyeballing them and glued each track one at a time to get the distance right. Another problem was that the roadwheels dont really touch the hull and they end up floating unattached. If you try to glue them to the hull, the tracks will bend

The War and Games blog has a very useful Deutsche Afrika Korps AFV section that I found while searching for info regarding the Afrika Korps. I recently decided to start a 1/72 WW2 wargame army for that theater and purchased a few boxes of Armourfast's quick-build Pz Kpw III G and a pack of Caesar Miniatures' DAK infantry. This is in addition to some old kits that I have in storage somewhere. Here's the link to the new page . Updated 11/15/12

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Too true. I havent been able to make any model since February but I mean to change that this August. I'm fixing up a new hobby space at home and I hope to have it done by early August and start with my projects again, namely:  Finish and display my T-34/76 Finish my 1:35 Delta Force Start a new 1/72 tank  Well, that's about it for now:)

Here's the dilemma, I usually paint my models in acrylics, having favored hobby brands as well as artist acrylics. The problem was coming up with the Russian Green. I didn't want to mix it up and find myself far from the intended color and research showed that only Gunze Sangyo lacquers had a Russian Green -- in fact they had 2 -- close to the one I needed. The Gunze Sangyo color codes are C135 Russian Green 1 Flat and C135 Russian Green 2 Flat.  The model was primed with automotive primer and base painted with Tamiya Dark Green. I washed the model with a thin acrylic black and let it dry for a few days.   After finding a local shop that stocked two versions of the Gunze Sangyo Russian Green, I got ready to paint. That is, until I found out that my compressor had gone kaput. The dog and chewed thru some of the cables and lines and I'd have to bring it for repairs. Needless to say, I forged on and decided to brush on the Russian green. Using lacquer as a thinning medium,

Work made me put all my hobbies in the back burner but a serious stress-related health problem put a stop to that. 2011 saw me reeling from complications such as Sleep Apnea and Dilated Cardiomyopathy, forcing me to take time out from work and enter a cardiac rehabilitation program. The upside to my health dilemma though is that I had to take everything slow. As in really, really slow. No more late nights at the office, headache-inducing meetings, innumerable design and storyboard revisions and oh-so tiring shoots. At least for a while. As I slowly got used to the new diet, the meds and the therapy, I also found time to pick up on projects that fell along the wayside. Hopefully, I can chronicle the completion of these projects here. Here's a slideshow of the models I've finished last 2010. Most of these are figures though since the 1:35 T-34 was supposedly the first tank I started work on that year but never got around to finishing. Yet.