Renedra 20 foot container as cover

 I reviewed the Renedra 20 foot container earlier , but mentioned that I would take some photographs of the container in use as cover.

Empress Miniatures HMMWV.

Empress Miniatures GAZ Tigr.

Empress BMD-1

Clockwork Goblin/Warlord M8 Grizzly walker.

Warlord M4A4C

The cupola peeking over the container.

Empress Miniatures Challenger 2.

Soviet Cold War Desant

 Not finished...

Empress BMD-01 progress

 As mentioned back in February, I received a BMD-1 from Empress.

It is now assembled and base painted.

So the detailing included an aerial on the left rear deck, cables attached to fittings on the hull nose and stretching back to the rear of the hull. Rubicon cable ends were used, the cable is brass wire. Holes are drilled into the hull a distance from end point (the distance being such that the cable ends will hook over the bracket and the ends of the wire). This secures the wire (the hole at one end is made very deep so that the wire can be tensioned by pushing the wire into the hole) and gives the impression the cable end is attached to the cable.

Notches were filed into the nose for the two bow mounted machine guns.

A rotating periscope on the rear hatch. A piece of thin plastic card is placed into a paper punch and a circular piece cut from the plastic. A piece of Slater's 0.06" microstrip makes the periscope.

The aerial is a piece of 1mm brass rod. The base is made from a piece of Plastruct rod.

It was at this point I noticed that the model was missing the periscopes just behind of the turrets. Again strips of Mircostrip provided the periscope heads.

The periscopes were painted with Humbrol 34 White acrylic (shown in the above photographs). They were then painted with Army Painter Deep Blue. The headlights are also Humbrol White.

This is the base painted model with Rubicon Soviet Tank and T26 decals. The numbers are from the Soviet Tank set (DCSV01) and the number in a triangle from the T26 set (DCSV05).

The grills have been shaded with Citadel Camoshade, as has the periscopes and hatches.

It now awaits final weathering and shading.

Empress BMD-1 IFV

 After "One Thing and Another", and before the current unpleasantness, Empress released a range of Cold War Soviet Paratroopers as opposition to their BAOR British infantry. I have just got round to ordering them. So they do not have to walk very far, and to give them some punch, here is the Empress BMD-1.

This has been re-worked from the HLBSCo version, an example of the original HLBSCo BMD-2 has been featured here, and is still awaiting finishing.

The first thing you will note is that the track guards are now metal, a major improvement as at some point before assembly I managed to break the resin ones on the BMD-2.

This will not have as much stowage as the BMD-2 as it will be representing a vehicle early in the conflict and so will be regulation rather than many years in the field (and having been air-dropped).

It will need the periscope fitted to the rear hatch, some aerials and probably the bow mounted machine guns.

Some research is required on the equipment placing.