40mm vehicles

Just finished weathering a 1:50th Solido BRDM and a 1:43rd 'Russian Diecast' Moskovitch....

1/43rd Diecast BTR 40 size comparison

Another 'diecast and 40mm' update - this time with a Russian model of a BTR 40 apc. Although the magazine the model comes with is a Deagostini publication, it only appears to have been published in the former USSR. (I think it is called something along the lines of Classic Vehicles of the USSR). In this case the model was shipped from Latvia,  and cost about £15 including postage. It's quite good that the top cover comes off,  but the seats are a little delicate (they will survive fitting a driver and crew but still fragile) as are the wing mirrors. The hole for securing the roof cover would also be a good mounting point for a machine gun...

1/43 diecast Ural truck

I picked up a 1/43rd diecast Ural 4x4 truck from eBay.  No idea on the manufacturer (the box was all in Cyrillic!) At first I thought the model looks a little big when compared with a 40mm but compared with the pictures below I actually reckon that the scale is pretty much spot on.  The same company does  kamaz and zil trucks,  as well as the 6x6 ural and a variety of UAZ 'jeeps' and trailers in a range of camo schemes,  so I might have to see about picking some more up soon...

IS-48 vs other tanks size comparison

As promised - a size comparison between the Dust Tactics IS-48, the Kitech T-72 (same dimensions as their T-80 and T-90) and the Die-cast T-55

As the models are all fairly iffy on the scale front, I thought I would do some comparison pictures from my 1/72nd stuff to see how the vehicles should match up when they are all at a consistent scale.  In this case we have an IS-3, T-72, T-55 and a T-54...

Based off the 1/72 stuff, the 40mm models all scale up pretty well! Not that I'm a scale stickler, but good to know that they aren't wildly off!

Dust Tactics SSU IS-48 for 40mms...

I have a strange love of the Soviet IS-3 (AKA JS-3) heavy tank. I don't know why, as despite being rushed out for the very very end of WW2 (several took part in the Berlin parade, and scared the socks off the British and Americans) they have only seen limited military service (Hungary in 1956, the Sino-Soviet border clashes of the late 60s/early 70s and theArab-Israeli wars come to mind). I think I just like the shape. I have 3 in 20mm in various colours,  and when I discovered that the Dust Tactics range had 1 in something around 1/48th I knew I had to get one.  Being part of the Dust range, it wasn't particularly cheap, but atleast I got a fair bit knocked off for having a slightly crushed box (!). The model came pre-assembled, and has the option for a weird war tesla gun and/or front mounted flame thrower.  They both slot in, so could be changed if one wished.  It also comes with a 3/4 commander figure.  Its not a perfect fit for an IS-3, having a rear facing mg in the turret which I don't recall on the 'real' one,  but it's a good enough substitute. 

How am I going to use it? Not sure yet - probably supporting my militia.  It's not unprecedented,  as the Ossetian Rebels were gifted a handful of IS-2s by the Russians in the late 90s (98?) to use against the Georgians.  Apparently there are still stocks of IS-3s about, so a similar thing might happen...

I'll get some size comparison pics against my other tanks up another time. IIt's going to dwarf the T55...

More 40mm vehicles

More size comparisons tonight - this time a 1/43rd 'Russian diecast' UAZ (I think it came with a magazine originally) but lots of them floating around in eBay and at select pound land type shops (or so I have been told). Fairly easy to pick up for less than a fiver, and a nice little model. I will probably get a couple more and repaint them, and might take the top 

Off one to make a technical... The other vehicle is a matchbox 'super kings' unimog,  which is OOP but frequently turns up on eBay.  No advertised scale, but I'd guess about 1/50th. It's probably tall enough to use with 40mms, but may be a little short... I'm going to weather this one down a bit though as my old paint scheme is showing its age...