Round or Square?

I spent some time today painting some Picoarmor that I had purchased a couple of years ago.  This time I tried some different painting techniques and I used square metal bases.

What do you think?  Do you like the round or the square/rectangle bases better?  I've been debating all day which I like better and I can't make up my mind.  I think the round look cooler, but the rectangle are likely more practical for gaming.

Round bases were painted a year or two ago...  square bases painted today:

Lots of Hobby Items on eBay!!! GHQ, CinC, and Airbrushes.

I'm on vacation this week and I've been doing some re-organizing of my hobby space.  There are lots of items that I have barely used and/or may never use or paint.  As a result, I've posted quite a few very nice hobby items on eBay at steep discounts.  Swing by and check them out if you're interested.

WWIICentral on eBay

For example...  Airbrushes:

GHQ and CinC Blister Packs:

And a few other items...

Hope you all are having a nice summer :)

Guadalcanal Gaming Mat and 1/2400 Ships

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything...  I have been productive, but I've been lazy when it comes to the blog :(

Here's what I've been doing:  Prototyping a new "Iron Bottom Sound" Gaming Mat for my 1/6000 Navies (which are slowly growing).  I created it with and without hexes...  Let me know what you think.  I'm considering some other potentials too:  Midway, Samar, New Georgia (and surrounding Islands), etc.  The Mats are 60 inches x 40 inches.

And...  I also spent some time painting several GHQ 1/2400 Ships for a good friend.  I don't have my light box working so I can't share my usual sharp photos.

Regia Marina:

And several Royal Navy Capital Ships:

I'm not much for words today but hopefully the photos are enjoyable :)

Thanks for stopping in!

Tanner

Rubicon Models 28mm Tanks - Gifts from Santa

I'm happy to report that I received a handful of World War II Miniatures this year for Christmas!  I also got lucky and received George Nipe's book on Kursk "Blood, Steel, and Myth" so all-in-all I made out pretty well :)

Earlier today I posted a photo review of the Warlord 28mm Plastic Infantry I received.  Here is a run down on the tanks I got.

I received 2 Rubicon Models 28mm Kits.  The first being a Panzer IV box set that allows you to model several different variants (F1, F2, G, and H).  There are instructions and a decal sheet included...  which is nice for me since I don't have many 28mm decal sheets.

I have to say that I really like these kits and I'm happy with how they assembled.  There are some limitations with the kits (like the extra-wide inner road wheels); but I am more than OK with this considering I don't want to spend a week gluing a more detailed kit together.

Details are sharp and crisp and there aren't very many mold lines to clean.  There were a few on the gun barrel, muffler, etc. but they cleaned off easily.

All of the parts fit together smoothly and I didn't have any problems with poor fit.

Once together and glued, I was pretty impressed with how solid it felt.  I have a Resin Elefant that is a few years old (that I glued but never painted, lol); most of the details have busted off over the past few years with normal handling.  I don't anticipate these details will be snapping off.

Putting this together reminded me of assembling PSC Vehicles...

I didn't do any measuring, but to the eyeball, Warlord Plastic Infantry look good in comparison.

The second vehicle I received was the Rubicon T-34; you can model a couple of different early turret variants.

As with the Panzer IV, I really liked the kit.  I've heard some complaints of the tracks being a little inaccurate, but this isn't really a concern for me since I usually model tracks with a little dirt on them.

The sprue includes a handful of different options that you can model on the hull to your preference.  I kept mine fairly clean.

Parts fit together very well and I had no problems gluing and assembling...  took me about 30 minutes but I could have done it much faster.

I think Rubicon did a very nice job with the rear deck detail.  It is a good combination of detail that stands out but isn't too exaggerated.

Top down view...

And with some Warlord 28mm Infantry...

This isn't much of a "technical" review and I'm not the type of collector/painter/gamer that worries about complete accuracy.  But as a consumer, I give these an A+.  They are sharp, easy to assemble, solid, and they look great!  I hope I can say the same once I've had a chance to paint them.

I am looking forward to more products from Rubicon!

Happy New Year!

Tanner

Warlord 28mm Plastics - Gifts from Santa

I don't often receive World War II related gifts for Christmas...  and WWII Miniatures at that.  This year however, I received some from my kids!  (well...  technically, the money they used came from me...  but that's close enough).

For a long time now, I've been eye-balling 28mm Miniatures.  I've wanted to try something that is both fun to paint and provides a lot of detail to work with.  Several years ago I painted a Bolt Action figure and a Hanomag Halftrack; it turned out good but I never took it any further.  I also received some Rubicon 28mm Vehicles; I'll review those separately.

First up for review:  Warlord 28mm Plastic Infantry.  I received the Blitzkrieg German Infantry Box:

And the Soviet Infantry Box:

The detail is pretty good and I love the facial expressions (with some exceptions)

Proportions are solid and a bit chunky, but I like that.  "Realistic" sizing at this scale doesn't appeal to me.  These should hold up to use, and I don't anticipate broken/bent barrels like I've experienced with smaller scale plastics.

Round bases come in each of the boxes as well, so you don't need to buy any extra (except in the case of prone figures).

Each sprue comes with bodies, legs, arms, heads, weapons, gear, etc.  This is really a cool concept because it allows you to model so many different variants!  I love being able to pick the heads and facial expressions that I want.

There are flash lines to clean up as you can see...  but this really isn't a problem on plastics.  It is so much easier to scrape these lines off than to endlessly file metal figures (I hated this on Battlefront 15mm!!!).

Some of the facial expressions are a bit weird...  almost alien looking; but most of them look pretty darn good.  I can only imagine how hard it is to sculpt eyes at this scale anyway :)

Not sure what's up with the green bases...  but some  in the German box were green and some were grey.  Probably just older stock on bases.

Pouches, canteens, gas mask canisters, etc. are very easy to apply to the figure:  just use a little plastic cement and they melt right on.

There are 40 Figures in the Soviet box and only 30 in the German Box...  I believe the Soviet Box set is a little more expensive so this makes sense.

My opinion of these figures is very high!  I like the detail, the flexibility, and I don't see anything that is historically out of place.  Once I start actually painting them, that may change, but I'm excited to give these a shot in the near future.

Thanks for browsing and Happy New Year!

Tanner