Zvezda Panzer 38(t) in 15mm

Many years ago I bought a Zvezda 15mm scale Panzer 38(t). As I had a spare moment I decided to assemble and paint it.

I added a spare wheel, spare track, a helmet, an ammo box and an MG ammo box from the PSC stowage and crew set. I also drilled and added a peg on the bustle and sculpted some soft stowage.

It was undercoated with Citadel Chaos Black spray. The hull and wheels were painted with Vallejo Black Grey. A mix of Vallejo black and Hull Red was applied to the track and the exhaust silencer.

The hull and turret were dry brushed with Humbrol 246.

The helmet was painted with Vallejo German Camouflage Dark Green.

As I do not have any 15mm scale decals, I raided the Warlord and Rubicon sheets. The Balkenkreuz was from Warlord, the number from two Rubicon German AFV sheets (only one set of small numbers per sheet).

After varnishing, a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade was added.

Comparison with the Warlord Games resin Panzer 38(t). It also uses the Rubicon numbers and the same size Warlord Balkenkreuz.

The Walking Dead - Salute figure

At Salute this year, Mantic games were giving away a free walker.

I have not started painting the main set of walkers, nor any of the walkers in the booster sets, though I have painted the five in the Prelude to Woodbury solo game set. They were painted using the same techniques set out in October 2015.

Now as this is an additional figure, I decided I would try an experiment. On the blog of Opponent Theory there is an excellent tutorial on painting Walking Dead zombies (link here, normal disclaimers apply).

Now, I suspect that Army Painter Leather Brown is a vastly different colour to Vallejo Leather Brown (or the colour balance on our cameras is vastly different). However I followed through using the colours I have.

First the figure was given a quick scrub and any mould lines removed. The base was covered with PVA and Woodland Scenics cinder extra fine ballast and two pieces of Evergreen 6.3mm plastic strip were added. Sometime in the future I want to print out a tiny copy of the Salute 2017 poster and add it to the base on one of the pieces of strip.

Once that was dry, the figure was undercoated with Citadel Chaos Black spray.

The flesh was painted with Vallejo Leather Brown. The Hair was Army painter Skeleton Bone. Skirt Vallejo Grey Blue. The shirt was Citadel Mephiston Red and the shoes Humbrol 246 grey blue.

Skeleton Bone was used to lighten each of the colours and applied to the highlight points (except the hair). This was repeated for each colour with a higher proportion of Skeleton Bone each time.

Wounds were painted with Citadel Mechrite Red.

The shirt was washed with Citadel Baal Red wash then shaded with Army Painter Red Tone. The skirt was shaded with Citadel Drakenhof Nightshade, as were the shoes. The hair was shaded with Citadel Seriphim Sepia (which has a more orangey colour than Citadel Agrax Earthshade but not as orangey as the original Citadel Flesh wash).

The flesh was shaded with Citadel Agrax Earthshade.

Blood stains were Citadel Baal Red.

A final highlight was dry brushed on the hair with Citadel Terminatus Stone and another shade wash with the Seraphim Sepia.

I think I like this colour scheme better than the previous one. I will probably use something similar when I finally start on the other walkers.

Labours of Hercules - A Sherman VC

I have seen a number of photographs of British (and Commonwealth) Sherman tanks draped with the tracks of German tanks. It just made me think of the first labour of Hercules, the slaying of the Nemean Lion.

The Nemean Lion had impenetrable golden fur, Hercules slays the lion by (sources vary) shooting it in the mouth or beating it to death with his club. Hercules wears the pelt as armour.

So, this is the build of a Warlord Games Sherman VC as "Hercules", the slayer of big cats.

Sprue photographs. The track and side skirt sprue appear to be common with the Sherman V kit.

The upper hull is different from the Sherman V hull.

 The kit is quite chunky, verging on crude, no where near as good as the Warlord M4 kit nor both versions of the Rubicon M4A3 kits.

Once the main parts of the hull were assembled, the additional track pieces were added. The side pieces were added on to the appliqué armour. Square section 0.030" plastic rod was used to provide support for the track pieces where they went beyond the appliqué.

Additional stowage was added including a four pack of German style jerry cans, This used one half of part A11 from the Rubicon Allied Stowage set 1 (cut in half with a razor saw), one War Department jerry can from the same set and one German jerry can from the Rubicon German stowage set.

A base plate of 4mm Evergreen strip provided the base and a piece of Slaters plastic strip provided the straps.  The W^D logo is visible on the end can.

Two additional strips of plastic strip were glued to the jerry can block. This was then used to assist in glueing it to the back of the Sherman tank.

The Rebels

Here are the Rebel team for Rogue Stars.

Psionic Warrior, Heroic Fighter, Dashing Pilot, Reliable Co-Pilot.

The Psionic Warrior in action.

Reliable Co-Pilot

Karl Drax is a reliable man to have beside you in a firefight. He is devoted to Vic, but as a big brother.

Karl Drax from Hasslefree.

Dashing Pilot

Vic is the team's dashing pilot. She is a good shot but a better pilot, assuming her fast reflexes can get her out of any trouble her smart mouth gets her in to.

 Though only armed with a Laser Pistol and wearing a Kevlar Jacket, she is an effective fighter.

Pilot Vic from Hasslefree.

Heroic Fighter

Larren Jax, Heroic Fighter.

Armed with his reliable Laser Rifle and the medical knowledge he picked up as a soldier he is a steadfast fighter for the rebellion.

Larren Jaz from Hasslefree.