HLBS and Graven Images 40mm size comparison

From the left: HLBS, HLBS, GI, HLBS, GI Conversion, HLBS. 

All Graven  Images figures were removed  from their internal bases, but generally scale up pretty well (although definitely at the  'strapping' end of the  spectrum!)

Amera ruined buildings

I recently got lucky on eBay, and managed to pick up a lot of second hand amera buildings, some of which had been a bit beaten about in their past life.  I've got 3 assembled so far, and thought I'd share them before they got bogged down in the paint que. (Along with one which I did the other year, but I don't think I posted up here). The figures are a mix of 40mm and 28mm (Artizan, Dixons Yakuza and an Offensive rioter), all based on penny washers. It is probably worth saying that the interior floors can be lifted by a few mm depending on whether one glues them to the top of the floor below's window surround (as I did) or at the bottom of that floors window surround. Anyway.  On with the pictures!

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...

Irregular miniatures 42mm and HLBS 40mm size comparison

My quest for compatible figures continues, although I may have found the motherload... Irregular miniatures do a wide range of 42mm figures, ranging from flats and toy soldiers to properly detailed figures.  It includes a selection of modern milita types, riot police,  Vietnam war stuff and lots of WW2 bits.  I decided to take a punt on  couple of figures after Ian at Irregular said that the figures are 40mm from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet.  A quick measure of the HLBS figures showed them to be 39mm by the same method. 

The milita range includes a wide variety of head and weapon options, as well as figures im civilian and military clobber,  so has lots of potential. I started by ordering a standing and a kneeling civilian, with an ak47 and a DP lmg, as well as a seated military driver, all with random civilian heads

So far so good. The figures are fairly free of flash and cleanly sculpted.  The HLBS figures are more detailed, but the irregular figures are quite acceptable! Weapon wise, they match up well with HLBS and the chunkier TAG pieces. The next phphotos are size comparisons with both kneeling and standing HLBS figures. As you can see, the Irregular figures are slightly taller and a little thinner, but I think they should match really well once they are all painted up and based.  The chap in the centre of the last photo is from the Irregular late renaissance range, and will be going on a plinth as a statue to some long dead hero. 

The last thing I picked up is a 100mm WW2 Soviet artillery piece I picked up from the 'very useful guns' range.  The model is pretty big, and although not massively detailed it should really look the part painted up. In many ways, the lack of fine detail (winding handles etc) should make the model more robust.

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...

Generic 1/43 Chinese diecast T55

A few people have mentioned this model over the last few years - it's a cheap diecast T55 tank, advertised as being 1/43rd (apparently closer to 1/48th) and readily available from several sellers on eBay for around a tenner.

As can be seen - it matches nicely with both 28mm and 40mm.  Perhaps a little large for one and a little small for the other.  I'll definitely get another though :-) I'm also hoping to pick up the James Bond T55 with ERA at some stage, and will do a comparison between the pair of them and the kitech T72...

Dust Tactics and HLBS 40mm size comparison

My quest for compatible figures continues - this time using the Dust Tactics 1/48th scale figures. I managed to pick up a single figure from a seller in China.  On reflection, the dynamic pose might not have been the best for a comparison!
The figure is a pretty good size match, although of a more slender build despite the armour and gas mask. When the figure turned up the shotgun was bent, but has straightened out fairly easily as it is a softish plastic.  (The body is sturdier and a lot less flexible). Not sure what I will use him for - a militant probably, with the improvised body armour and gas mask inspired by the Ukrainian Maidan protestors. Tempted by more from the same set,  possibly as some sort of police or paramilitary unit.  Some of the other figures from the range might make good paramilitaries too - although probably not the guys firing water cooled machine guns from the hip!

1/48th vehicle Assets

Just a few snaps of some of the stuff floating around  my desk at the moment.  The models are (in no particular order) a RAFM USX drone, a kitech T72,  a pair of slightly converted kitech btrs (one with a SA-9 SAM turret inspired by a BTR60 somewhere in the real world. The SAM turret comes with the kit, and is designed to fit behind the machine gun turret in a slot which I have filled in), a Corgi (?) Land rover and a Burgaro jeep. The 28mm figure is a Brittania Malayan emergency CT, who is about the same size as a Foundry figure. 

HLBS and The Warstore 1/48th compatibility

I have been looking for potential sources of additional figures to bolster my forces, such as the Dust figures or the Graven Images range.  There is a company (I believe the War Store) which has recently been advertising 1/48th civilians on eBay,  some of which looked like they would have potential as milita or armed civilians.  The test figure I ordered is shown in the centre of the picture.  It came with a slotta base which I removed and replaced with a Rendera plastic base. The casting and sculpting are both good, and from my perspective they fit well with the HLBS stuff.  I added a weapon from TAG, which fits fairly well with the HLBS weapons as I showed the other year.  Overall, very pleased and will probably pick up some more at some stage :-)

Eureka Tyrolean height comparison & review

Just a very quick update, using an old post I discovered lurking in draft form - a size comparison for the Eureka Tyrolean Rebel figures, against various other manufacturers of 'Empire of the Dead' type figures...

From the left: Old glory cowboy wars, Artizan, Westwind GH, Eureka, Westwind EOTD, Boot Hill & Design 28.

The Eureka figures are great - very characterful, next to no casting marks, and fit in almost perfectly with the likes of the Westwind Gothic Horror mobs. The only thing stopping my buying more is the fact that they aren't the cheapest (£2.25 a pop) and can only order 'types' (Musket and certain type of hat, as an example) of which it's possible to get 4 different varients....

Painting update - (20mm) Partisans, CIA & more!

Here's the latest work - It's a real hodge-podge of stuff, including the Elhiem tasters, and a couple that Rolf at Liberation (http://www.rhmodels.com/) sent through... Apologies if the photos aren't up to my usual standard - the darker mornings mean I've been forced to rely on natural light, and this time I had a brain fade about bringing in one of the spot-lights...

The latest Soviets off the paint desk - the Elhiem RPG man in body armour (I'm guessing for Afghanistan?), and a Liberation motor-rifleman in one piece camo suit... 

The Liberation figure again, bossing around some Platoon 20 infantry. Luckily the figures mix very well, as I'm planning to mix them within squads to round out all the options for Force on Force!

The latest additions to the Brits - a Liberation squad leader, and the Elhiem CG gunner shown a while ago in my review. ..

Shown here with my only other Infantry! Both figures are a little larger than the 'small' Platoon 20 figures, but it shouldn't notice on the table top. I'll probably keep the Elhiem Brits in distinct sections rather than mixing them in though...

Something a bit different - a CIA 'Black-Ops' team (converted from the Elhiem MACV-SOG team, through resculpting their head gear). No real planned use for these guys yet, but I fancied doing them! They might be stand-ins for NATO special forces if the relevant fog of war card is drawn in game (despite having different weaponry!), or they might be used as 'advisors' to stiffen partisans or help 'not-Snake Plisskin' blow up the Leningrad nuclear reactor... 

Liberation 'Eastern European Rebels' painted up as Partisans (The furry hat guys I'm planning to use as Poles to try to distinguish/add-flavour to the forces)

Combat (ex-Hotspur) Partisans...

Elheim Partisans (slightly converted MIKE force figures, & a female zombie hunter) As the MIKE force figures are slightly shorter and thinner than most, I will be using them to represent adolescent fighters (and probably messengers too) I wanted them as 1) I'd always liked the figures and 2) I wanted to add some more antiquated 'Western' gear to the mix (in this case a BAR, a few M2 carbines and a couple of M79 bloopers). The lady in the long coat looked too cool to resist, and I'll probably be using her a leader/officer type (I'm tempted to call her the 'Valkyrie' for some reason...!)

A line up showing how the figures match up height-wise. 

From the left: Liberation, Elhiem (Vietnamese), Platoon 20, Hotspur/Combat, Elhiem (Western)

And then when all mixed in as a group (the guy with the stocking over his head is the P20 figure in this case)

The Partisans so far! 

And, as John was remarking at how many figures I seem to be churning out, before starting this post I moved another 5 figures from the paint station to the basing pile...! 20mms certainly paint up a lot faster than 28mm, that's all I can say!