Monday, 29 August 2022

Official Panzerfauste Resin Building For Sale on Ebay


I was recently informed that this set of resin buildings for Panzerfauste were available for sale on Ebay. For more information, see this link.

The masters for all these and others were sculpted by me and were for some time available via Hysterical Games but are now no longer available and I'm not sure where the moulds or masters are. If you are interested, you had better act fast.

Tony

Sunday, 28 August 2022

Stalone - Samaritan


A quick review (no spoilers) of the Sylvester Stallone film Samaritan.

Sue and I watched it last night and can't say that we enjoyed it that much. The best I can say is that Stalone's acting was some of his best (not saying that much).

Tony

Wednesday, 24 August 2022

Aeronef The Ottoman Fleet - part three

The latest addition to my Aeronef Ottoman Fleet is this smaller Nef.

It was built from the same child's toy as the earlier models, but this time the hull was shortened. You can see the start of the construction in this image which also shows some of the Aeronef 'blanks' that I have and should be converted in to more Nef's soon.

Image three shows the new Nef alongside one of the earlier models.

While the last image shows the Ottoman fleet in full - at least for now.....


Tony

Saturday, 20 August 2022

Aeronef - The Ottoman Fleet part two

The latest addition to my Ottoman Fleet of Nef's is this huge battleship. It was built from the same children's toy as the earlier models, but the hull is longer - I cut the two of the yellow hulls in half and re-joined them to make the hull about 10mm longer.

Image three shows the construction - bits of plastic card, plastic rod and sticky-back plastic with a plastic rim from a pair of toy binoculars.

The final image shows the new Nef alongside the earlier model both mounted on to modified hex bases ready for battle.


I'm sure there will be more as I'm enjoying the construction so much and I have two shorter yellow hull halves just calling out to be modified.

Tony

Thursday, 18 August 2022

Aeronef - The Ottoman Fleet

It has been some time since I posted images of any Aeronef models, but over the last couple of days I have been working on a pair of Ottoman Nef's to go with my Knights of St John Nef's and my Papal States Nef's. The first image shows a large Ottoman Nef, that was built some time ago, while image two shows the two latest models that have been scratch built from a child's toy

Here is the toy.....

Early stages of construction using plastic card and superglue.

The models fully constructed - plastic card, knitting needles, plastic rod and sticky-back labels, sitting on temporary clear bases.

And now partially painted. The left hand model fully repainted in the 'new' Ottoman colours and the right hand model wearing a mix of old 'battleship grey' with the previous owners marking still adorning the hull.

Here we have all three, fully painted and varnished on large converted hex bases. I still need a couple more before I have a force worthy of taking on the Knights and the Papal States, but I'm getting there.


Finally the largest Nef (in the centre) is 110mm long mounted on to a 40mm hex base. My back story for these scratch built Aeronefs is that the Third Battle of Lepanto was fought with lighter than air Nef's between the New Holy Roman Empire, led by the Knights of St John against a mixed force led by Pasha Suleiman III in an attempt to gain control of the Eastern Mediterranean. My take on The Cross and The Crescent, but with a Victorian Science Fiction twist.

More to follow.

Tony

Wednesday, 17 August 2022

Auntie Liz gave me a cardboard tube - part three

This Donkey Engine was built before I was given the cardboard tube. It was me telling Auntie Liz about how I built it, that prompted her to give me the cardboard tube. The model boiler is in fact built from a HO-OO milk tanker body wrapped in plastic card and detailed with bits from my 'spares box' with the wooden frame built from some scrap wood.

The second image, shows most of the work completed ready for paint. It is based on a Dolbeer Donkey Engine drawing from Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette - Nov/Dec 2009.

Once built, it was basecoated in a dark brown/black mix ready for brush painting with acrylics.

I finished the painting with oil washes and weathering powders.


Tony

Tuesday, 16 August 2022

An interesting little tools set

I picked up this mobile phone repair kit for just £1.50 in a local charity shop. I'm sure I can find modelling applications for all of the tools.....


Tony

Monday, 15 August 2022

Auntie Liz gave me a cardboard tube - part two


Another scratch built model based on a cardboard tube that was given to me by Auntie Liz, this time a bitumen tar boiler based on a HO-OO model seen in a French modelling magazine and using some ideas found on the internet.

The cardboard tube was wrapped in plastic card and detailed with bits and pieces found in the 'spares box'. the rear wheels are from a GW frame and the smaller front wheels are from a Kinder toy motorcycle. The chimney is from a Wild, Wild West toy and the wooden barrel is one of my own resin cast bits of clutter.


The basic model was basecoated with a dark brown/black base to which I have added some modelling paste to give some rust texture.

Final painting was done with acrylic paints, oil washes and weathering powders. The usual construction worker figure gives an idea of scale. The boiler is just over 75mm tall.


I'll be adding it to the Yellow Pelican narrow gauge layout soon.

I really enjoyed this bit of novel scratch building, thank you Auntie Liz. Tony

Sunday, 14 August 2022

Auntie Liz gave me a cardboard tube.....

On a recent visit to Swansea, Auntie Liz gave me a cardboard tube - the insert from a clingfilm roll and this is what I built. A static boiler.

The tube was wrapped with thin plastic card and the main boiler built from thick card, also clad in plastic card.

The detailing came from my spares box - more plastic card, a pen barrel and wire glued together with both plastic glue and superglue.

An overall basecoat of dark brown/black was brush painted with acrylic paint to which I have added some acrylic modelling paste to replicate fine rust texture.

Detail painting was more acrylic paint and washes with a dusting of weathering powders from Humbrol and ground pastels.


At some stage it will be added to the Yellow Pelican narrow gauge railway layout as a scrap metal/mining feature.

Thank you Liz, Tony

Saturday, 13 August 2022

A Crawler for Stargave - Miniature Wargames issue 473

Another month and another tutorial featured in Miniature Wargames - this time a broken crawler for Stargrave built from a child's toy and re-modelled into a 28mm Sci-Fi objective marker.

The second image shows the model prior to adding any paint, more information can be found in the magazine.

Miniature Wargames issue 473 (September 2022).


Tony

Friday, 12 August 2022

Yellow Pelican Mining Co. - Populating the layout

With the narrow gauge layout nearing completion, I have started to think about populating the layout with miniatures that are more in keeping with the American Mining theme. To that end, I have re-sculpted some of my more 'British Outline' minis into something with an American look.

The first image, shows the first two 'Americanized' and painted figures ready to be installed on to the layout.

The second image shows some work-in-progress shots. I have used a mixture of Milliput, Green Stuff and modelling paste to re-dress the figures and get them ready for The Yellow Pelican layout.

Image, three shows the first two figures alongside my trusty painted workman, to give an idea of the scale and work involved. The figure on the right has been modified from a middle resin figure.

the fourth image, shows another 'Americanized' sculpt, this time with a slouch hat and moustache following an image I found on the internet.


The final image shows all three finished 'Americanized' miniatures alongside the painted workman. They stand between 62mm tall to 65mm tall.


Tony

Thursday, 11 August 2022

Yellow Pelican Mining Co. - Even more clutter

During these hot spells I have been adding even more items of 'clutter' to the Yellow Pelican narrow gauge layout. The clutter is from all sorts of different sources, including this child's coat hanger.


I'll be gluing the pieces in place over the next couple of days.

Tony

Wednesday, 10 August 2022

Yellow Pelican Mining Co. - A couple of skips


Today's update shows how I modified and painted a couple of skips. The skip bodies are cut down and distressed Fleischmann Magic Train skips. I cut out 10mm from the main body and glued the two edges together with plastic cement before distressing the edges with my Dremel. In addition, I held the plastic models over an open flame and when heated, pressed a metal spoon into the edges to further distort the plastic.

Painting was done with acrylics and when dry, I used some rust weathering powders.

Tony

Friday, 5 August 2022

Telford, Ironbridge and Shrewsbury

Holly, Sue and I have just returned from a short break around Telford, Ironbridge and Shrewsbury. As well as browsing the local shops and enjoying some fantastic meals we all had an adventure 'mudlarking' in the various rivers we passed, picking up loads of pottery fragments, some broken pipes and a couple of fossils.

Back home I have photographed some of my bargain buys. Firstly, some modelling and painting supplies.....

then some reading material.

The final image (for now) is this ice-cream Sentinal Steam Lorry seen in Shrewsbury, home of Sentinal Steam Lorries.


Expect more images over the next couple of days.

Tony

Monday, 1 August 2022

Something to read


Sue and I visited Bewdley railway station on the Severn Valley Railway yesterday and I treated myself to this second hand magazine haul. Just 20p each.

Most are foreign language magazines, but I can just about understand the French magazines and the German ones are easy to follow because of the images.

Tony