Sunday, January 23, 2011

FiB and BF Russians - a good mix?

Hey All!

I have decided to mix figures from BF and FiB for my Russian Maxim teams. As I am modelling 41-42 troops, I have had to pare away the sholder boards from most of the FiB and the two BF LW figures as they are '43 uniforms. Can't do much about the short collar...oh well...Also, the Maxim wheels from the BF EW blister are considerably larger than the LW pack. The BF model is a bit better detailed than the FiB so I am going with it.

Basically, I am building 4 teams of 3 soldiers. The teams will be a mixture of both companies figures. I've base coated  all of them and began the uniform shadow work. One thing I have already noticed is that there is a 'sharp edge-ness' on the FiB Russian figures uniforms. This is good when detailing straps and edges of tunics but not so good when modelling folds and loose creases. One could remove these before painting but it is just more work in my opinion. As well, I really am beginning to dislike the FiB helmets. They just look wrong. I attempted to pare down the uniform shape and incorrect edge with mixed results. On the positive side, the face detail is very sharp.

Troy

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!

Hey All!

Not too much painted with family and visiting but I did get the KV finished. Resisted mudding up the chassis. Hmmm, just noticed that there is a red spot on all the pictures...left over Santa lint maybe? 



I did get a cool package in the mail - a German WWII Quist 62 M35 helmet in excellent shape. Its an original WWII era without a liner and chinstrap but I have ordered a replacement one from Europe. I had it sandblasted to bare metal and then primered it with red oxide. It had been used post war by the Czech civil defence force, painted gloss black and had a post war liner/chin strap. Mixed up an oil-based 'slate grey' color (green, black and white in a 1-3-1 ratio) and sprayed it 2 coats. I may add a touch of yellow and a shot more of black but its tough to find a flat yellow in oil.  


Happy New Year!

Troy