Warlord Games 1/56 M10 Tank Destroyer & Rubicon 17pdr SP Achilles

 Some time ago I bought the Rubicon M10/Achilles kit for my stash, but only decided to build it when I received the Warlord M10 model as part of my recent Bolt Action £100 Bargain Box.

My thinking was I'd compare the two to see which I preferred.

To be honest, there was little to pick between them, as they both went together very well and are almost identical in size, so could be used on the table together.

The Rubicon model is in the lefthand tray and the Warlord model in the righthand tray - Primed ready to spray

There are pro's and con's with both, but nothing that sets one apart from the other. It's down to what do you need in a model? I've tried to summarise the comparisons in the table below

If it's variety, then the Rubicon allows more options. If it's a crewed vehicle, then the Warlord model has this covered. You'll need to invest in aftermarket figures for the Rubicon - as I did. Don't forget to watch what glue you use. The ABS used by Rubicon needs something like Tamiya Extra thin cement - not standard polystyrene glue.

Incidentally, these figures came from eBay, 3D resin printed by Garrison Miniatures. They needed very little clean-up (just an odd bobble of resin where the supports were attached) and painted up extremely well.

Nice figures, depicted in their cold weather "Pixie Suits"

I painted the vehicle in almost identical schemes for initial comparison. I pre-shaded with a dark panzer grey, before over-spraying a couple of coats of thinned Olive Drab.

I then sprayed the centres of each panel with a slightly lightened Olive drab to add some depth. The panel detail was brought out with a Dark Brown pin-wash, before a light dry-brush of Iraqi sand.

17pdr. SP Achilles - Rubicon

Finally I added some dark Chocolate brown chips and a dusting of AK powders. All paints were Vallejo. Finally both received a coat of Lucky Ultra-matt varnish.

M10 Tank Destroyer - Warlord/Italeri

I had already decided I'd paint the M10 to represent a Battle of the Bulge vehicle. To do this I masked the big areas of the vehicle that I did not want covered in whitewash, with decorators tape. Then areas like the open turret top and vehicle markings were masked with AK masking putty.

This is weird stuff to use, but works well. As I masked it one evening and painted the following day, the putty settled until it completely filled the turret! Easy enough to remove, but weird.

I then sprayed with AK Washable White Paint. I haven't used this before, but I'm really impressed! It does exactly what it says on the tin. Once dry I washed some off with water and a stiff brush to give a very realistic worn finish. Finally another coat of Lucky Ultra-matt and some AK powders.

Both of these were good models to build, I'd recommend them both!

M36 90mm Turret included with Rubicon model

Warlord Games 1/56 Jagdtiger

 Next from my ever growing stash of 1/56th scale AFVs I chose to build the Jagdtiger from Warlord Games/Italeri.

Moulded in the usual grey polystyrene, this is a very simple kit that would pose no problems for any level of modeller.

The running gear come complete which greatly reduces the time taken to assemble the kit, at th cost of some loss of detail to the wheels. The tracks come in four pieces that wrap around the running gear, which allows them to be painted off the model. I'd already decided I was going to represent a vehicle in an "Ambush" camouflage scheme, so sprayed some of the wheels in red brown and olive green.

I'm learning and trying out new techniques all the time. To enhance the rolled armour plate and the cast mantelt, I applied Mr Surfacer 500 and stippled the surface with a stiff brush as it dried. All this was applied over a coat of white primer. I opted to assemble the model in stages and paint each before final assembly, which worked quite well.

I decided to have a try at pre-shading once again and sprayed earth brown on the areas where I wanted shadow to appear.

I then sprayed the base coat of dark yellow. I thinned the paint with Vallejo thinners and flow enhancer. This seems to have made the paint coat thin enough for the darker areas to show through. I then sprayed lightened adrk yellow (just a few drops of white added) to spray the centre of every panel and any raised areas. This gave a good finish with some nice variety of shading - I think the term is colour modulation?

I proceeded with spraying the red brown and olive green camouflage patches.

And then applied the same process to these. Spraying a slightly lightened colour in the centre of each patch.

Finally, I added the dabble effect over the base coat using AK Paint pens. These are awesome, and made this job quick and easy.

All that was left to do was assemble the sub-assemblies and then weathering could take place.

I gloss varnished the points where decals were to go and then applied them using setting & fixing agents.

Then all the tools and other gear were painted  along with the crew figure.

I kept weathering subdued as I was quite happy with the effect of my "Colour Modulation" work. I just applied a pin wash using Vallejo dark brown wash. Followed by a very light dry brush of Iraqi sand to pick out the raised edges. Finally I dry brushed some very dark brown to simulate chips and scuffs here and there, and it was finished.

An excellent kit, easy to assemble, sufficient detail and fun to paint.

Academy 1/35 M3 Stuart "Honey"

 There's lot written about this model on the interweb. It's been around a few years now and boxed by a variety of different manufacturers. It's criticised by the serious modellers due to it's mixture of M3 & M3A1 details (namely the inclusion of a turret basket). However I fancied giving it a go to try out another idea for displaying the interior details for not very much money - the model can be found for £20-25 if you search around.

Firstly, I have to say that the model is an absolute dream to build. Everything goes together positively and quickly. There's cord included to make your tow cable and a choice of single link or rubber band tracks.

I drilled through the ends of the drive shaft shroud to allow the wire to be fed through

Sub-assemblies completed ready for painting

I intended to build the model with an LED light inside to illuminate the interior, and remove two small panels from one side so you could see in.

Viewing from this side, the model appears complete

Turn it around, and you can view the interior

The model lent itself to this due to the shrouded drive shaft running through the cabin - perfect to mount a single LED from a £2 set of battery powered Christmas lights. The wire would go in through the floor escape hatch and through the drive shaft shroud, the LED bulb coming to rest around where the crew's feet would be.

The side panels from the hull & turret were carefully cut out with my trusty 1cm circular saw blade and the model was assembled into sub-assemblies ready for painting.

This was done in stages before final assembly. A first for me was to try out spraying Caunter camouflage using masking tape. To accommodate the battery box I designed and 3D printed a deeper than normal mounting base.

Note the "Glowing Glacis"😂

I really enjoyed building this kit and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone from beginner upwards. The only thing I need to do is beef up the paint thickness on the glacis plate to stop the light from shining through😂

Hobby Boss 1/48 T34/85

If I had to summarise this kit I would say it's VERY good value for money and not for the beginner!

The model comes with a very full interior (all that's missing are the internal fuel tanks), link and length tracks and a myriad of finely moulded grey plastic parts.

The instructions are good, but need to be closely followed. The location for a number of parts is somewhat vague so lots of dry assembly and testing fit is required to avoid later disappointment.

Rubicon Russian Tank Crew Figures

The tracks are assembled around two provided jigs......should be straight forward I hear you say? Well, on several occasions I nearly gave up and shelved the model. They do not go together especially well.

To reveal the turret detail I carefully cut the top plate out using a Dremel type tool with a 1cm circular saw blade. And to populate the vehicle I use the Rubicon Russian Tank crew figure set. This comprises two seat multipose figures and two 3/4 commander figures. Whilst strictly they are 1/56th scale, they look just fine in a 1/48th vehicle.

Scratch built fuel tanks, front & rear

Finally when completed I displayed this model at the South Wales MAFVA show in January and walked away with the Tony Evan Award for an out of the box model, so was pleased I got there in the end 😊