Warfare 2019 - Rubicon Models

Rubicon had a stand at Warfare in Reading this weekend, and on the stand they had a number of new releases - which I have dutifully added to my stack.

 The big news was the presence of the Loyd Carrier. I have not opened the box yet, but I expect good things of it.

 I also got the tank commander sprue and the M4 Bulldozer,

They had the forthcoming Tiger II in "exploded" and painted form.

That looks very good.

Puma Schützenpanzer (IFV) - Empress Miniatures: Research

At Salute 2019 (amongst other things) I bought Empress Miniatures recently released Puma IFV.

I have been waiting to buy some books on the vehicle before starting assembly - and now I have them.

The Tankograd books cover the development and entry into service of Germany's new Infantry Fighting vehicle, replacing the venerable Marder IFV.

The books contain colour photographs including walk rounds and interior shots that will make assembly and detailing a lot easier.

While I was at it, I also bought another Tankograd book on a 2017 German exercise. No Pumas were involved, but it does have useful information on current German equipment.

 Now I just need to get round to assembling and painting the Puma.

Puma Schützenpanzer (IFV) - Empress Miniatures

At Salute I picked up the recently released Puma Schützenpanzer (IFV) made by Empress Miniatures.

The kit comprises a number of cleanly cast white resin components with a number of white metal detail components.

The resin is similar to that used by Rubicon for their Waffentrager  and P43 bis kits. Unlike those, you cannot slot them together.

The Puma is designed to have a modular armour package, which allows the base model to be air portable. Four A400M transports can lift three Puma (with the base armour package) plus the three upgrade packages to take then to class C. The kit appears to be able to model the base package and the class C side armour.

The Puma is armed with a 30mm auto cannon which can fire bot APFSDS kinetic energy rounds and airburst capable dual purpose rounds.

Spectre Technical Bravo = Work in Progress

Progress has been slow on the Spectre Technicals.

The body is in two parts (as is the Spectre Technical Alpha). The join unfortunately passes across the wheel arch, so there is a requirement to glue and fill the gap.

 This is the other side.

So they need refilling and sanding.

Underside of the two Spectre Technicals.

Crooked Dice Interceptor

Crooked Dice have recently released their Interceptor Car for the forthcoming 7TV Apocalypse.

The kit comes with a large number of options.

 The options include three different bumpers, an exposed engine, supercharger, big exhausts, two machine guns, turrets and rear shield. Additional options are available in a stowage pack, plus there is a turret set.

The parts are generally well cast, there are a few "dents" and the remains of the gate on the underside of the rear of the car. The latter was removed with the aid of a large file.

 Though this vehicle is intended for use in a post-apocalyptic setting, I decided to build it as a =street car for the Cartwright brothers.

Not quite sure where the dust came from.

Comparison with Spectre cars: SUV; Interceptor; civilian car.

The Spectre cars are more detailed, however they do not have the build options of the Interceptor.

As you can see, they are of a similar size, and can be happily used together.

The Walking Dead - Trucks

Crooked Dice have a new range of Post Apocalypse vehicles which includes the Tortuga truck.

It scales out nicely with the Mantic The Walking Dead cars.

I have not finished the Tortuga yet, but have found the wheels tuck nicely in the top of the cab which fits in the cargo bed cover.

The Walking Dead - Cars

Mantic Games released a scenery pack containing two crashed cars and two crashed pick up trucks. The problem is that the chosen scale results in a vehicle which is noticeably larger than other 28mm scale vehicles (normally scaled between 1/56 to 1/50).

A couple of years ago I picked up a crashed car from Antenocitis Workshop. It does appear to be even larger, possibly 1/43 scale.

It should be lying on its side, but that would make comparison difficult.

Here is Spectre car and SUV which shows they appear smaller.

Crooked Dice HMMWV/Brave Warrior

I have painted the Crooked Dice HMMWV as a Chinese PLA Mengshi 4x4.

 Decals are from the Rubicon Soviet sheet (I have not painted the 8-1 text on the star).

An Empress PLA infantryman for scale.

Salute 2018 - Crooked Dice part one

Crooked Dice have taken on the Pardulon range in anticipation of their releasing a Post Apocalypse game later in the year.

They had examples of their new modular truck on their stand.

 There are a lot of components in the blister

 They also had a HMMWV,

It does appear rather small for a HMMWV, but not too small to be unusable,

William Killian (on a base) and an Empress PLA infantryman.

Evil Bear Foxhound Protected Mobility Vehicle

The Evil Bear Foxhound was undercoated with PSC British Tank Green spray. The windows have been painted with Vallejo Game Colour Night Blue. The camera lenses on the sides and above the rear door. The lights also need to be painted.

William Killian for scale.

Most examples have a 20 litre jerry can to the right of the door. It would need the triangular feature beneath side box on the right removed,

 Front view showing the towing bar.

Here are some photographs of the vehicle in action.

A four man SAS team use their Foxhound for cover.

Evil Bear Foxhound Protected Mobility Vehicle

This is Evil Bear's resin and metal kit of the British Army Foxhound Protected Mobility Vehicle.

The Foxhound provides a protected patrol capability in an environment where the threat is high. Various protection and mitigation techniques have been built in to protect the occupants, such as the V-shaped hull and separation of chassis and crew compartment.

The kit comes in a small box, with the parts wrapped in bubble wrap.

 The kit comes with a two part hull, basically the chassis and the crew compartment. The parts are cleanly cast with only minor gates to be trimmed/filed from the resin parts. The only minor problem identified during construction was the axle to wheel contact surfaces. Unlike on the Evil Bear Panther, the axle and wheel only have a very small contact surface. The Panther wheel and axle plugged together. The joints on the Foxhound were drilled and pinned.

As you can see, it is a very large vehicle, especially at 1/50 scale. The wheels and axles have been pinned and glued together, but the axles are still separate to the hull. This will allow the hull to be spray painted British Tank Green.

There is a tow bar at the front, together with two countermeasure pods on the bonnet. The two top crew hatches would need modifications to be put in the open position. There are steps under the front doors and a mud guard over the rear wheels. Two viewing devices are on either side of the roof together with a roof pod with a rear view camera.

The Foxhound is designed as a patrol vehicle rather than a long range recce vehicle so it does not have additional gear added. It should probably have a NATO 20 litre jerry can to the right of the rear door, but that would have required additional carving of the body.