GHQ 1/2400 Akagi and Lexington

Hi All!  I just wanted to post a few pictures of some recently completed 1/2400 miniatures:  the IJN Akagi and the USS Lexington (CV-2).  Overall, I enjoyed painting these...  although the Akagi deck markings were a major PITA.  I sure wish there was a company that produced ready-made deck decals (especially white stripes!).  I ended up creating my own decals on my inkjet printer and they turned out ok...  it just took a lot of trial and error.

These are currently for sale on eBay:  http://www.ebay.com/sch/wwiicentral/m.html

At any rate, here are the photos:

GHQ 1/2400 Kirishima and Arizona

This weekend was my first chance in quite awhile to get some painting done and post new pictures.  Continuing with my recent surge of interest in the Pacific Theater, I have painted up some GHQ 1/2400 Naval miniatures.  The detail on these are excellent (of course, it's GHQ) although they were a little fiddly to put together...  I wanted to jump out the window while putting the Akagi together.  At any rate, here are a few photos:

Above:  Kirishima

Above:  USS Arizona

I even managed to finish painting a platoon of T-34's!  Due to back problems, I'm not able to sit and paint as long as I used to...  as a result these T-34's are painted using my new "fast" style painting method.  Essentially I leave out some of the details and weathering so the process is faster :)

And on request...  a photo to show scale.

Hope you enjoy, feedback appreciated.

Tanner

Movie Review: Letters from Iwo Jima

I'm not really a qualified movie critic, so this isn't so much a review as it is my personal opinions.  I recall the original release of "Letters from Iwo Jima"...  not because it was nominated for some Academy Awards, but because there was a lot of controversy around it's content.  I'm not much for controversy, so I watched it with an open mind and I won't address any of those points of dispute (it's not my place).

I thought Letters from Iwo Jima was an excellent movie and I really enjoyed it.  I think it's strongest point was the humanity that it brought to the Japanese armed forces in World War II.  Don't get me wrong, there was still a lot of things that occurred that were in-humane...  but you really grasp the fact that the Japanese soldiers had hopes, dreams, families, fears, etc.  In numerous ways, they were just like their enemies.  Many of them had no say in the decision to fight.

The movie really made me reflect on that human aspect and wonder why wars begin in the first place.  Studying World War II, it's easy to get caught up in all the weapons and killing and that aspect takes on a distant and unrealistic quality.  When you watch a movie like this, you really remember that it was awful and the real cost in the end.

If any of you have forgotten this movie was around (like me) and have never watched it, I highly recommend it.  I haven't seen "Flags of Our Fathers" yet because it's not available on Netflix (where I watched "Letters") and it's not available on Amazon streaming.  Anyone have feedback on "Flags"?  Is it just as good?

The Soundtrack is highly recommended as well...  somber yet powerful.  It helps set the tone for the movie for sure. Check it out below.

 

To Hell and Back...

This past weekend I had an experience that wasn't really World War II or Miniatures related...  but because I'm so obsessed with World War II History, that's all that was going through my mind.  I had a Kidney Stone.

Maybe I'm just being a baby, or perhaps I have low tolerance for pain...  but this kidney stone was the absolute worst pain I have ever had.  It was so incredibly painful I was delusional and on the edge of consciousness.  As I was laying in an emergency room hospital bed, I was begging the nurse to give me something for the pain.  Her response was "Try to relax, we'll get you some Morphine."

Now...  I've never had Morphine before, but immediately scenes of Saving Private Ryan started flashing through my head.  In a delusional state of mind, I started thinking about wounded servicemen during WWII and pondering if the Morphine injections they received really worked as fast as the movies portrayed.

I did not receive a syrette injection like those in World War II (pictured above); they gave me mine through an i.v. drip.  But, it IMMEDIATELY relaxed me the moment it went in.  It took about 5-10 minutes to take full effect; and after the addition of another painkiller (can't recall it's name) I was comfortable and almost pain free.

I have the deepest and most sincere gratitude for those men and women who have been wounded or died in the defense of our freedoms and liberties.  I also applaud those war-time medics who had to deal with the unenviable task of attending to those in pain.  While my kidney stone can never compare to what they experienced...  I now have a much greater appreciation for their sacrifices.

15mm Plastic Solder Company Platoons Finished!

I've finally finished 2 15mm platoons - both intended to represent Kursk or there about.  Here are some photos...

Always use a booth and mask when airbrushing!

I was just cleaning up my painting room a bit and realized that I needed to change the filter on my airbrush booth.  I use a small portable booth that isn't as powerful as some of the others I've tried in the past but it's been great for storage.  Considering it's slightly under powered, I also use a nice respirator mask that filters out things like spray paint vapors.  Almost all of the paints that I use are labeled as "non-toxic" but the filter below is a great example of why you should always protect your breathing when you airbrush; even if you're using Acrylic paints that you might think are innocuous.

Here's a close up...  the first thing my wife said when I showed her the used filter was "imagine that stuff collecting in your lungs".  Airbrush booths can be a little pricey (even my cheap portable one was over $100); but in my opinion they are more than worth the price.  At the very least, you should always be sure you're using a respirator.

Just a few hobby thoughts...  happy painting.

Tanner

The Plastic Solder Company 15mm Panther - I love it!

I haven't had a chance to paint many miniatures from The Plastic Solder Company (PSC), but if you've read any of my previous posts with their miniatures you'll know that I am a fan.  They are accurate, they provide different variants on the sprue, and they are cheaper than Battlefront 15mm miniatures (why pay more for an inferior product?)

This past month I picked up several new 15mm boxes from PSC - Panzer III, IV, Panthers, Sdkfz 251's, StuG, and infantry.  They are all great kits in my opinion, but I particularly like the Panther so I thought I'd share a few photos.  DISCLAIMER:  I wanted to try the clean and "fresh off the line for the Kursk Offensive" style of painting so there are no chips, scrapes, or mud on these tanks.

Yep, 15mm (1/100)...  the stowage on the back are a few spare pieces from the sprues and some tissue paper.  I love the effectiveness and ease of non-toxic plastic cement!

The details are sharp and accurate; the tracks went together perfectly.  There were almost no mould lines (except on the 75mm barrel) this is such a wonderful thing to me as I hate cutting, sanding, and filing down the resin and white metal on other manufacturers vehicles.

For a perfect, smooth, and silky primer coat I sprayed Vallejo's Dunkelgelb Acrylic-Polyurethane "Surface Primer" through my airbrush.

I applied a basecoat of Vallejo Middlestone (882); since the primer coat was close in color I was able to get by with minimal spray.  I then applied a couple of increasing highlights by adding white to the basecoat.  This was then sealed with Testors Glosscote and a mixture of Vallejo Black and Brown wash was applied to the cracks, seams, rivets, and hatches.

Lastly, I painted the tools, stowage, and tracks; the turret numerals are Dom's Decals 15mm.  Everything was sealed with a couple of layers of Testors Dullcote.  It was nice not to worry about the usual chips and mud and I really like the resulting look.  I'm working on the final two vehicles and when I'm finished I should have a nice platoon of Panther D's.

Let me know what you think...  Like?  Don't Like?

Tanner