My Stash Grew Again 2019

[NARSES2]

Ordered two Polák grass mats -

They look nice Dizzy, be interested to hear your views on them once you have them.

[chrisonord]

Went to  pick up my three hunters from the post office this morning, and couldn't  wait to open up the matchbox  T7/f6. I  built a  couple of these as a kid . The ZTS  f6 kit was sealed  in its bag still, and the airfix fga9 was still covered in  cellophane,  and the box is mint  too. Got it for right money too, which is  nice.
Chris

[Dizzyfugu]

Ordered two Polák grass mats -

They look nice Dizzy, be interested to hear your views on them once you have them.

I ordered two of them, and they arrived (unexpectedly!) over night; here's what they look still in their packages:





The first of them has already been used in the pics for the just posted T-34/105Ö tank, primarily in the foreground of some shots. Looks very good!
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=46816.msg853217#new

[TheChronicOne]

Those are pretty damn cool. How neat!

[Dizzyfugu]

They are pretty, but think. IMHO you cannot use them directly for model display - you would really have to clear the place where the model is supposed to rest. Or you use strips for a diorama. In my case, I will use them as foreground for beauty shots, creating more depth. So far, I am very pleased!

[Old Wombat]

Ordered today;

3 x RB Models 1/35 30mm Bushmaster II Gun Barrel (RB 35B114)
2 x Airborne Miniatures 1/35 DEVGRU Operators (US Navy Seal Team Six) (2 Figures) (ABM3521)
1 x Airborne Miniatures 1/35 DEVGRU Gunner with Mk.48 SAW (1 Figure) (ABM3524)
1 x Kitty Hawk 1/35 Sikorsky MH-60L Blackhawk (KH50005)
1 x DEF Model 1/35 USMC AH-1Z Viper Pilot set for Academy kits (DEF-DF35020)
1 x Airborne Miniatures 1/35 Special Forces Operator (ABM3534)
1 x Airborne Miniatures 1/35 Polaris RZR SW w/Special Forces Crews (ABM3532) - I saw it & had to have one!*

No pre-orders in this one, so it should arrive soon, along with a couple of Bravo 6 figures that didn't make it into the last order (they sent a Panzer Art British Sherman turret in error).

And a Tamiya 1/35 Panther Ausf. A from the local toy store - I want a quick, easy build & (despite its "toy" features) this should fit the bill, even though I don't usually build WW2 German anything, anymore. I'll probably do it as Japanese.



* - If it's good enough (& it looks it in the pic's) I may get another - so they bring it out in styrene for the rest of you.

Airborne Miniatures Polaris RZR SW (sans Spec Forces Operators)

[Thorvic]

And a Tamiya 1/35 Panther Ausf. A from the local toy store - I want a quick, easy build & (despite its "toy" features) this should fit the bill, even though I don't usually build WW2 German anything, anymore. I'll probably do it as Japanese.

Could do it Post War, the French used a few captured one. And the British Army actually finished a few at the factory post war, so could be pressed into production to keep German Industry going and be used by the Allies, exported or even used by the reformed German Army in the early 50s. 

[The Wooksta!]

The postie delivered a HUUUGE box t'other day containing a pair of Ventura Spitfires I'd won on ebay.  Given the size of the box, I could have fitted at least another ten but quite possibly more given my tesselation skills.  The kits in question are the HF.VII and a PR.XI.

And now ebay tells me I've won this package:



Now, the Eduard kit isn't an Eduard kit - it's their repackaging of the Aeroteam Spitfire F21 (itself a clone of the 1996 CMK kit) with new decals, resin and etch from 1998 - and I'm not particularly interested in that as it's an awful build.  No, I'm more interested in the two built ones at the top right.  Now, if I'm right and judging by the colour of some of the resin bits in the box I'm sure of it, then these are the Airkit Spitfire F21 and F22.  I have quite a few of the former but not so many of the latter, so I'm quite happy to have managed to acquire one or two more. 

The built up camouflaged one appears to be a mk XII, but until I get it, I'm not going to comment on it's parentage.  There's been at least three full kits of the type done (although I've had about five different kits through my hands) plus several conversions out there, of which I've had about four.

Also in the box is what appears to be a SAM resin conversion to turn the Academy 14 into a 21, but I'll just use them for spares as I detest the Academy 14 with a passion you can barely dream of, and a Pegasus Spitfire 22 wing.  That may end up on a mk VIII to do one of the prototypes that was planned but never built.  There's also what I think is a PM Spitfire Vc wing, but that's being binned as useless, although on reflection it could be used as part of a Supermarine Type 325 scratchbodge.  Looks to be a Hasegawa mk VIII sprue in there too.

I suspect there's more in the package but that's the only photo.  Really looking forward to getting this one!

It turned up.  The Airkit Spits are definitely Airkit, but sans canopies - at least, I can't find them in the box but I'd need a more than cursory look in the box.  The mk XII seems to be a mishmash of Italeri Spits Vb and IXc but I can't identify the Griffon engine it's got.  There was indeed a Hasegawa  mkVIII sprue and it contains the tailwheel and the cockpit interior, such as it is.  Which is nice.

I've a Plan for the Airkit F21 that's very subtle. It may well make Telford, along with two that were stalled from last year.  I'm not sure what to do with the F22.  Yet.  I've a few ideas...

[Old Wombat]

And a Tamiya 1/35 Panther Ausf. A from the local toy store - I want a quick, easy build & (despite its "toy" features) this should fit the bill, even though I don't usually build WW2 German anything, anymore. I'll probably do it as Japanese.

Could do it Post War, the French used a few captured one. And the British Army actually finished a few at the factory post war, so could be pressed into production to keep German Industry going and be used by the Allies, exported or even used by the reformed German Army in the early 50s. 

Nah, I've already started it & I'm trying to work out how to replicate a vizmod variant of the Japanese Type 5 75mm gun to fit. I'm liking the cross-Axis technology transfer idea.

And maybe some battle damage to show non-German metallurgy in the construction?

[NARSES2]

They are pretty, but think. IMHO you cannot use them directly for model display - you would really have to clear the place where the model is supposed to rest. Or you use strips for a diorama. In my case, I will use them as foreground for beauty shots, creating more depth. So far, I am very pleased!

I can see that from your photos Dizzy, thank you  As far as aircraft are concerned then they might be o.k. if you were posing a derelict one ? More suitable for armour and larger scale figures I think ?

[TheChronicOne]

Might start this build pretty soon. Might start it very soon, if my Quad Caravelle shapes up today.

[Dizzyfugu]

They are pretty, but think. IMHO you cannot use them directly for model display - you would really have to clear the place where the model is supposed to rest. Or you use strips for a diorama. In my case, I will use them as foreground for beauty shots, creating more depth. So far, I am very pleased!

I can see that from your photos Dizzy, thank you  As far as aircraft are concerned then they might be o.k. if you were posing a derelict one ? More suitable for armour and larger scale figures I think ?

Well, these mats are IMHO a very good match for 1:72 scale - I guess they have originally been designed with H0 scale (1:87) model railroaders in mind. The look is very natural, uneven, and the colors are also rather subdues - not as bright as the typical model railroad stuff.

[PR19_Kit]

Might start this build pretty soon. Might start it very soon, if my Quad Caravelle shapes up today.

-BTE's on the decal sheet! How about that! 

Ah, actually EVERY Spantax 990 is on there, all 14 of them! 

[TheChronicOne]

Yeah buddy, it's official now. I'm trying to sit on my hands until I get more work done on the Caravelle but it won't be long before temptation gets the best of me. 

This is how I sometimes trick myself into being more productive. I tell myself, "OK, you can play with the Coronado only if you get your work done first." 

[zenrat]

From BNA.
Some Eduard 1/72 Resin weapons;
UB-16 Rocket Pods
UB-32 Rocket Pods
AGM-114 Hellfire
AGM-88B HARM
AM-39 Exocet
Plus a pair of A1 Skyraider Dynamic Propellers.