Updates and Additions

First, some progress with some of those recent plastic kit acquisitions.

Here's the Airfix 6lb anti-tank gun and Universal Carrier, painted but awaiting decals and detailing.  I've added a couple of HaT tank riders for scale.  Not the most pleasurable kit to build, the AT gun is fiddly, lacks detail and feels very fragile.  The carrier is mostly OK, some parts needed trimming and shoving to fit but I think it looks acceptable.  I've not finished the crew yet, a couple need head swaps, one won't get used at all, and just wait until you see the shell that one of them thinks he's going to shove into that teeny tiny breach...

Also in the top photo is the Matchbox Daimler Dingo from the Monty's Caravan set.  This was a much better build, nicely detailed and all the parts fitted pretty well.  The only problem was the brittleness of the plastic which meant I broke a couple of the wheel suspension units cutting them from the sprue.  They still fitted and aren't obvious, so I can live with that.  Not started assembling the Leyland Truck yet, may leave that for a bit.

Other than building, I seem to have been on a bit of a buying spree (only genuine bargains of course...).  Over the last couple of weeks I've picked up the following kits:

Revell (formerly matchbox) 17 pounder anti-tank gun with Morris tractor and jeep.  This looks a nice kit which I'm looking forward to building.  It also come with a nice diorama base of a bombed out building that will become scenery with a little work.

Hasegawa Jeep and 37mm anti-tank gun.  Along with the above Revell kit, helping to solve my lack of jeeps.  It's a basic looking kit, and i'm not sure I'll be using the gun much, but looks like it will go together well enough. Some handy crew for the gun, although with some 'interesting' poses...

Matchbox M16 Half-Track. I'm particularly pleased to have got hold of this kit.  The matchbox M16 was one of the first kits I assembled completely on my own as a kid.  If I remember it later got converted to be used in games of GW's Dark Future and who knows where it ended up after that!

And finally...

Trading off cash for time and effort, a nice little pre-painted diecast M8 armoured car.  It was only a couple of quid more expensive than most of the kits that are out there, and didn't need assembling, so there we go!  Shown with a GI from the Caesar US Infantry set 1.

Who needs some Russians?

I've recently acquired some russian infantry armed with Panzerfsusts, machine guns and pistols, thanks to the slightly bizarre mix of models in Italeri's Anti-Tank teams set.  As I have don't currently collect anything for the eastern front, and have no immediate plans to start, I have no use for them whatsoever.

Here's what they look like (apologies to Plastic Soldier Review)

So...  Who would like them?

As there are two sprues in the box, I'm going to say that up to next Friday (13th April), I'll split them between the first two people who express an interest by commenting on this post, otherwise it will be first come, first served.

Now come on. how often to you get an offer like that... :-)

It's alright lads, help's on the way!

It's been an odd few weeks, gaming and modelling-wise.  Family were coming up to visit this weekend, which has meant a concerted effort to make the spare room habitable.  We've left off decorating the room for some time, as it's had a bit of a damp problem from next door's leaky shower; however it looks like their landlord is finally sorting things out after some thinly veiled threats about involving Environmental Health.  Whilst it's nice to gain a spare room again, it has meant some serious thinking about all of my gaming stuff, which has been stored in there.  The agreement with 'er indoors (or, my lovely and very understanding wife, Melissa) was that I could keep out a handful of projects I was actively working on and the rest would have to go into 'deep' storage in the attic.  After some consideration I decided that I'd keep out the WWII Normandy stuff (which takes up little room anyway, being 1/72 scale), and a handful of models that I fancy painting for the sheer pleasure (my collection of 'C' series ogres by GW, the 'old school' Imperial Guard and a few other odds and ends.  This does mean my Warhammer and AI armies have gone into storage for now but, as my main opponent for these, Matt, has b*****ed off to Japan to teach English or a while (Hi Matt, hope all is going well!) they wouldn't be getting much use anyway.

So, on to current projects:

Thanks to a possibly ill-advised trip to a model shop in Derby while Mel was out with her old school friends, and a bit of ebaying, my Brits have some reinforcements on the way.  First up is some much needed anti-tank support in the form of an Airfix 6lb gun and carrier.

Although the 17lb gun (the same one used on the Sherman Firefly) was more effective, the 6lb was still widely used throughout the war, being lighter and more maneuverable (and was the main armament on most Cromwell and Churchill tanks).  It was also adopted by the US as the 57mm gun, so this model can do double duty with my US forces.  The kit is a little on the small side, being in Airfix's typical 1/76 scale, but not worryingly so.  It's a pretty basic kit, but nicely moulded generally; the crew are pretty awful though, so are likely to be replaced with some of the leftover models from the Hat Mortars and Heavy weapons sets I have.

Next up, arriving from ebay just yesterday, we have a Daimler Dingo scout car and Leyland Truck from the venerable matchbox 'Monty's Caravan' set (later re-issued by Revell, but out of production now I believe).

Dingo's seem to be really tricky to find in this scale, unless you want to go metal or resin (which for some illogical reason, I'm trying to avoid unless I have to, can't explain why!), and I need at least one for either command or scouting duties in KGN.  The Leyland, although configured as a command vehicle, will fill in nicely for all kinds of command/control/supply/objective duties as needed if I don't look too closely and squint while doing so (Airfix make a nice pair of bedfords that might get added some time).

Also arriving from the reserves is Italeri's Anti-tank teams set.

For some reason, none of my sets of German Infantry included any panzerfausts, which this set has four of.  It also gives me access to a US mortar and browning .30cal, albeit airborne, but with a decent paintjob this shouldn't be too noticeable.  The British Infantry in the set are also airborne, but I already have PIATs so don't need them immediately (but will hang on to them as I fancy doing a small force of paras at some point).  There's also four soviets per sprue that I have no practical use for , more on them anon...