Author: Colonel Mustard

IBG Models Diamond T 968 Cargo Truck

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 7 Comments

I love IBG kits. They are always the most enjoyable kits to build. I also love trucks. So this was fun times in a box from my Eastern European friends. It’s a big six wheeler cargo truck with lots of room in the back for supplies and stuff or a bunch of troops if you like. This model is a breeze to put together with plenty of well fitting parts, in nice easy to cut and glue plastic. The only things missing are some windscreen wipers, which i neglected to bother adding, and I had to redo the head light protectors. They were moulded in solid plastic so i remade them using fly screen mesh and some wire. The actual windscreens and windows are provided in clear plastic, and I always struggle to keep glue off them when adding to the cab. The rear struts over the rear cargo deck were also a little fiddly to get in the right spot. Patience required!

Nice decals as always finish him off. I added a couple of AB figures GIs having a cup of coffee and a chat amongst some boxes and barrels and small arms. Oh and a bazooka just in case they run into something more sizeable! Love IBG kits, have an armoured Chevrolet truck in the queue….. excited……..

AB Figures British Officers

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 5 Comments

I had a trio of AB Figures British Army officers all based and primed and ready to hit the painting area. Finally while soaking up the excitement of Ashes cricket they were finished! Colonel Bairstow on the left, Captain Stokes in the middle and a casual General Crawley on the right. As always love painting AB figures, the detail is so good they make it easy. The poses are relaxed and natural, I especially like the folded newspaper or betting guide in the Colonel’s pocket. I used custom decals from Company B for their shoulder insignia as that is getting too small for my painting skills and eyes. My eyes are old and grey…… Usual British colours with three shades. Nice gold buttons too on the Colonel’s jacket. Behind is a Dodge weapons carrier from Italeri, a kit that is quite rare these days. Shame they don’t re-release it as I would buy a couple more.

ICM Krupp Car now with a squad in the back!

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 13 Comments

My finished Krupp truck from the last post now with a squad of Germans in the back. These guys are from a Caesar Miniatures set of German SS Tank Riders in camo smocks. Very useful set as you can see they also fit perfectly into transport. I tried out a new paint set for Autumn camo which worked out nicely. The orangey camo was a bit trickier than the green Spring one and having the right colours really helps. The driver and passenger are from AB figures.

ICM Krupp L2h143 KFZ 70 German Light Army Truck

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 5 Comments

I had already built a very nice version of this vehicle from Dragon Models, and was so keen to try another one, this time from ICM. Cheaper than its Dragon peers, but as usual you get what you pay for. I did not enjoy building this kit. The worst bit are the rear axles and suspension which are overly complex and delicate. I had to add some extra plastic to shore everything up, and also managed to lose and break plenty of the bits. It is all underneath and invisible anyway so a whole lot of stress and time wasted over nothing. I don’t remember what else was particularly annoying, I think the instructions and lack of numbering on the parts also just bugs me. Also, pretty grumpy this week fighting some nasty flu so annoying kits not getting much love. …… On the good side, once you have finished the frustrating build, it does turn into a nice little truck. I added some thin plastic for the windshield, and if I had more patience would have put some wipers on there too. I did a dusty windscreen and removed the areas where the wipers would have wiped. Did a plain dark yellow paint job and some chipping with a spongey sponge. The drivers are from AB Figures of course and always look the part. I have six SS dudes in Autumn camo ready to load up into the back, will take a photo of the full truck when I can. So I think these days I am just getting a bit fussy over kits that are annoying to build. There is a big difference between a challenging kit and an annoying kit………..

Plastic Soldier Company Horch Heavy Car in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 9 Comments

Another truck. This time a German heavy car that I picked up from The Plastic Soldier Company in the UK. They sell their kits in singles as well as in boxes of 3-5, so very handy to pick up smaller items. I think they had a sale which sucked me in to buying a heap more of their kits. I always really enjoy making their models. Limited number of parts, go together really nicely, plastic that is easy to cut, sand and glue, and overall detail good enough for the wargames table. I can get through a model in an evening no problem and get it all painted up by Sunday tea time.

This one is a cool truck, comes with a few options which is always nice. I went with the windows and full roof. In hindsight I may have used my tissue paper canvas roofing for this, although the detail on the tilt is much better than the last PST shenanigans. I did add some thin plastic for the windows and windshield. I struggle with vehicles with no glass in the windscreen. Imagine the dirt, dust and bugs in your face. Dark yellow finish with some chipping was the uniform for this guy. You get plenty of passengers to put in the back, but don’t waste too much time on them as you really cannot see anything but shadows back there. Different story if you leave the roof off. I used decals from my supplies as you do not get any with the model. Based on 3mm MDF as usual with some powders and tufties. I have him here towing his Pak40 (Airfix) and also with his Pak40 deployed with AB Crew.

PST Studebaker Truck in 1/72 Scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 7 Comments

I love building trucks. I will rephrase that. Usually, I love building trucks. I have never built a PST kit before. Except for the fact I have more PST kits in my stash, not sure I would be buying another PST kit to build anytime soon. This was a painful process from start to finish. Horrible vague instructions on like a photocopied sheet. No guide marks or holes for any of the bits. Plastic that doesn’t like my usual plastic cement. Even the sprue attachments are thick and positioned badly in some cases. So building this truck was down to a lot of trial and error. Mostly error. I still ended up with the whole back section too far forward resulting in no room to add the front mudguards. The cab was positioned too far back resulting in the front wheels being too far forward. This was very frustrating to be taking two steps forward before realising things are in the wrong place and having to take three steps back. The axles and undercarriage were very fiddly. It suggests some metal wire as axles in the instructions and I was not sure if they were meant to be supplied or not. Either way I had to use my own. The kit comes with no glass for the windows so by the time I got to this bit I could not face bothering with making my own….. The canvas tilt was super flat and looked like plastic so i did some tissue paper and white glue to cover it up and hopefully look more like canvas.

But it is a great looking truck. I really like the wing mirrors and the front winch. So after all that I was happy I did not just lose my shit and throw the thing on the floor. I used my own decals from somewhere else, but the decals with the kit do look OK. For comparison here he is positioned next to a Hasagewa truck (a much nicer kit to build).

Zvezda Pak 40 AT Gun with AB Figures Crew

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 9 Comments

Been a busy month doing lots of other things except finishing off what is sitting on my painting (dining) table. Still working on my Normandy village board which is time consuming to say the least. But looking good so far. This is a very nice little Pak-40 model from Zvezda, good value, speedy build and nice detail. Takes a few minutes to put together and that is it. Easy. My crew are more excellent productions from AB Figures plus i added a fifth man from the Zvezda kit as I liked the pose he has taken sitting on the gun arm (leg?). The gun received a dark yellow spray and just a dirty brown wash. I glued two crewmen onto the base first, the ones with bases so i could blend them in to the base with clay, and then paint the base easily before attaching the gun. The crew all had an oak leaf type camo uniform except one who just got the camo helmet. I painted the officer with binoculars with a camo jacket even though he has the Y shaped webbing, and I don’t think his jacket is meant to be camo. So not sure that is correct, but my care factor is low on accuracy. Base was textured with fine sand and other powders. I added an old rusty barrel, hope its empty, and some tufty bits. You also get some boxes and ammo with the crew, so they were added for extra clutter. Kapow watch out Mr Cromwell behind that hedge.

Normandy Village Board Project

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 8 Comments

Well, Covid has finally grabbed a foothold in our fortress of a house, putting me out of action for a week. Although really only the first day felt like anything other than a crappy cold-type situation. Anyway, this was a great opportunity to sweep up some odds and ends that have been laying around for years. I had some resin castings that I picked up from eBay plus a Sarissa MDF house or two and a nice Hovels bridge. I decided to make a centre piece for a town with a proper river section sunken down into the board. I had a nice piece of 3mm MDF to mount it all on, and used lots of polystyrene to build up a few layers. Cobble streets were made with modelling clay and my cobble textured roller. There are two more houses to go at one end of the town which are 100% scratch built and not quite completed. I dressed up the MDF houses with new roof tiles, floorboards and chimney pots. A little bit of work goes a long way. Realistically i think this will be the town centre for a much bigger layout (maybe a battle for Caen or something), as i can surround this with more houses, rivers and roads to cover a whole 5 x 8 foot table. Next up will be finishing the last two houses and then can texture the open ground with glue and sand before painting. I have also started making bricks and rubble as I am going to need quite a bit of it to decorate the place, considering all the ruins!!

Boardgame interlude- D-Day at Omaha Beach by Decision Games

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 5 Comments

I needed a break from painting and modelling! So a weekend away in Melbourne was the perfect opportunity to clear away the dining table of modelling debris for the babysitters, and come home to a clean slate (table). So looking into my cupboard of unplayed board games I pulled out this little treasure. Something my brother highly recommended i managed to pick up a copy in Australia which is unusual but cheaper! For the solitaire player, which is very much my thing, i was excited to get the box open and try it out.

I have only played three turns so far of the introductory game and its already testing my brain getting my head around the rules and concepts. But it is fun and as i learn the rules better things are only getting more fun. Its engrossing and perfect for the solo player who wants to try snd survive Omaha beach!! It also inspires me to work on creating my own Normandy beach in 1/72 scale sometime in the future!

CP Models German Infantry Marching in 1/72 scale

~ Colonel Mustard ~ 7 Comments

Anoher group of German Infantry finished, this time a group of 12 from CP Models. There were 14 of them but two had mishapen face detail, like quasimodo’s sister, so I chopped off their heads. I am waiting for more figures from CP and have some spare heads coming as replacements! Aside from the ugly sisters sculpting and detail and poses from CP are fantastic. Painting them is fun as everything is quite obvious. I tried another different field grey combo with slightly greener pants this time. I am trying hard to get the collars with two small white stripes which seem to be standard on these jackets. I would also like to try some kind of helmet insignia but have not had the confidence yet in my teeny tiny painting skills. Need a tinier brush. Awesome figures and I heaps more to get through all primed and ready to go.