1/3000 Ships

For this update I have a small selection of 1/3000 size ships.  I believe that the manufacturer is Navwar.  These are part of a much larger commission.  Pictured is the Graf Spee.  Actually, the model is the Lutzow but the paint work depicts the Spee during her battle with the British.  Below her is the Lutzow. Note the red turret tops used by the Germans for aircraft recognition

 

 Next are some Japanese ships.  The first ship is a Nachi class cruiser.  Below her is the Junyo class aircraft carrier.  And below that are a couple of Aoba class cruisers. 

All of the ships were painted with Vallejo paints.  I try to be as accurate as possible with colors and such.  I am always on the look out for color images of ships.  If you know of any please don't hesitate to contact me.

Gabara

 Occasionally, I get requests to paint things outside of the normal wargame figure realm.  Such was the case of this fellow. 

Meet Gabara.  For those of you who don't recognize him, Gabara was and is a star of Japanese monster movies.  He fought Godzilla in All Monster's Attack.  Of course, Godzilla gave him a quite the beat down but such is the life of a monster. 


The figure, itself, is almost 7 inches tall.  He is made of soft vinyl.  The owner of the figure is a collector of Japanese monster and mecha figures.  He requested me to paint Gabara and provided much reference material.  I was a bit worried about painting such a large figure and about getting paint to stick to soft vinyl.  But I thought everything went pretty smoothly and my painting method seems durable enough.   

Below is a close up of his head.

 I do seem to remember seeing Gabara in action when I was much younger.  I used to stay up late on Saturday night to watch the Bob Wilken's show.  He always had a horror or sci-fi movie to show.  Great Fun.

Until next time,

Ken

DBA Post Mongol Russian

 It's not often that I work on figures just for me.  And when I do start projects I only work on them a little at a time.  I finally finished this DBA post Mongol Russian army after starting it about six months ago.  Well, it's origin go back even further as I had painted many of the elements years ago but didn't like how they turned out.  So I stripped and repainted several of the figures. 

 The figures themselves are 15mm Essex.  They are mounted on Litko wooden bases.  The flags and banners are all hand made from sheet brass.  I've used paper before but I like the idea of metal banners for metal figures.  To the right are two cavalry elements.  The fellow in green, pointing the way with his sword is what I will use for the general of this army. 

 The next set of photos are my interpretation of the Russian Gulay Gorod or "walking fort".  This was completely scratch built based on a small bit of research I did.  I'm not sure how entirely accurate it is but it looks cool none the less.  In DBA terms this would be a war wagon or WWg.  Yes, I know it's mounted on a 40mm square so it's not legal with the current version of DBA.  But I am anticipating that the new version, 3.0, will go with 40mm square basing for these element types.  Below this photo is another of what is going on behind the wall. 

 More than likely this will be the camp for the army most of the time. 

 Next are some of the cavalry elements for this army.  This is definitely a cavalry heavy army.  All shields are hand painted, for better or worse. 

 To the right are some light horse elements.  These are Mongols who are employed by the native Russians. 

And finally are the foot elements of the army.  A psiloi, a bow, and a spear.  Not much but enough to keep your opponent honest.  Of course, the list itself only calls for 12 elements total but I built the army to be able to employ all army building options.  Oh and a few more final notes.  The grass is Gale Force 9 "straw" and the snow is Sweet and Low.  Or Skinny and Sweet or whatever you call that stuff.  Now I just need to keep the ants away. 

Until next time,
Ken

Goblins away!!

 This week's update is a two part posting.  The first part are these Goblins.  They are Games Workshop plastic figures.  Well, not all are plastic but most are.  The squigs and their herders as well as the champion with his foot on a dwarf head are metal. 

 I am not a fan of plastic figures.  To me they just aren't as crisp in detail and the "heft" of them is something that bothers me.  Having said that, though, I do find I quite like these figures.  I have painted other GW plastics and to my mind they seem to get it right.  The detail is good and the variety they offer is excellent.  For weight, well, I can always weigh down the bases if it really bothers me. 

These figures will be winging their way to their owner very soon.  But I wanted to share a few photos first. 

 I hope you enjoy....

Ken

Apologies All Around

 First of all, let me start by apologizing for the extreme lack of updates.  I could give all sorts of excuse for this.  I have had some legitimate health concerns but mostly it's because I don't spend much time on the computer.  I will try to be better about updating but I won't make any promises. 


This week I have a few pictures of miniatures I've recently finished.  First up are some 28mm Border Reivers.  These are 28mm figures from Craven Images, distributed by Monolith Designs.  The figures are nicely done and paint up quite well.  This is only the first six figures of a much larger commission.  I will post more images as I get more figures completed.  For those who don't know, the Border Reivers were a group of individuals who prowled the border area between Scotland and England.  They appear to have been ruffians, scoundrels, and other ner do wells who raided and plundered for a living.  Of course, both England and Scotland employed them as scouts and light cavalry for their armies. 

These figures marks a first for me as I have never painted any renaissance types before.  I quite like them. 

 Next we have some 8th army British from World War Two.  These figures are also a first for me as they are the first 10mm figures I've painted.  I'm not sure of the manufacturer but I believe that they are Magister Millitum?  The owner did tell me, once, but I can't remember.  They are nice figures for their size.  Interestingly, there has been some talk of smaller size figures becoming more popular as you can get more for you money.  With the economic slump this may be an important factor for some.  Time will tell I suppose.

For those not familiar, the British 8th army was the designation for their army that fought in the North African desert in World War Two.  These were the lads who fought against the German Afrika Korps and their Italian allies. 

Thank you for looking.  Until next time...

Ken