DFS / Radio station update

Just a quick update on the DFS project and the radio station, the top picture shows the radio station with the first base colour on the ground work and the radio shack in Russian ww2 green base coat. I paint all the ground work on my terrain projects with the same three match pots working from a biscuit brow through to a magnolia white in the top layers.

The picture of the DFS model shows it having its left wing glued on with PVA and some blue tack to keep the wing in place while the glue sets. The picture also shows the flap on the wing has been cut and scored so it can be positioned in the down position.

Communications bunker

My last few posts have been focused on the aviation side of my current projects, so this time back to a more terrain based projects. This communications bunker/hut/shed thing? not sure what it should be called really, is built around a camper van which come in a set of three vehicles bought (£1.69p) because it included a OH-6 Loch Helicopter which I can use for my 15mm Vietnam project. See my post from November 26th LINK for a picture of the camper van in all its glory and original packaging. As I said in that post, the van did go in the bin, only for me to fish it out, after having second thoughts.

The ground work was built up with scrap foam board, which was then covered with polyfilla, pva glue, sand and small rocks. The entrance to the bunker has coffee stick duck boards and the supports for the trench walls are made from cut down cable ties, which have some nice detail on, which should dry brush up well. Cut of the top of one of the cable ties and stuck it on the top of the van, to add a bit of detail. The aerials are from paper clip wire in cotton bud tubes.

I'll also build a free standing satellite dish, so it can be used in a WW2 or more modern setting.

FREE - DFS 230 glider

My regular reader will know I'm a big fan of free stuff, I down loaded a 15mm scale card model of the German DFS - 230 glider from the Flames of war web site quite some time ago, in fact so long ago that you didn't have to register at the time. If I remember correctly the was also an article about making one from solid balsa wood also on the site.

My WW2 15mm forces will include a German Parachute Sturmregiment, to be bought from Mr Pig at this years Alumwell WMMS show on 13th March, to help support the Italian in their ambitions in East Africa. I've based their organisation on the excellent Rapid Fire rules Maleme airfield pdf info sheet link.

I aim to do quite a bit of additional painting to the models once built, firstly to cover up the white lines on the model where you have to score the card to fold it, I also intent to make some of the six in varies states of crash landing and shot down.

Happy Christmas

Just a quick Happy Christmas from all in Airhead land to you all out there on the wwweb. Have a good time and all the best for 2011.

Mission accomplished and then some

First things first, I went back to the original B&M bargains store on my way home from work and there were still some of the original packs on the shelfs, so mission accomplished. The following weekend at the Local B&M store to my home, just taking a quick look around and there in front of me was a tube of no less than 5 loach's for the mind blowing cost of £1.99, yup 38p each.

This was just to good to pass up. These models are different in construction to the original three bound for my Air cavalry in Nam. These new ones tail sections are made from plastic and are joined to the metal body work half way to the tail. The is no tail rotter modeled on this version. Also the main rotter blades are quite a bit shorter than on the original models.

The idea with these new ones will be to build an Israeli special forces team including a tank hunting team of MD-5oo. This will involve some re-building of the tail section and the addition of some TOW rocket tubes and optical tracking gear. The two with the Blue glass canopies are destined to meet a more dramatic end in combination with a SA-7.

Nam OH-6 Loach

Spending some time in my local B&M bargains store on the look out for targets of wargaming interest and came across this pack of 3 vehicles for the princely sum of £1.69p, and there it was, a Loach OH-6. To good to miss. When I got the pack back home the 2 vehicles went strait in the bin, a note of warning here, I later fished out the camper van from the bin, after the thought that the body work on the back could make a useful pre-fabricated building for my yet to be built fire base.

On closer inspection of the OH-6 the skids had been put on backwards, but I was able to pries apart the 2 half's of the body by putting a small screw driver up the engine jet pipe. This has opened up the option of not only painting the inside of the cockpit but also perhaps using the Peter Pig Hue crew, and put some additional detail in the cockpit.

In the bottom picture I've put a steel ruler in the shot for people who are interested in the exact scale of the model. For people like myself who have a more relaxed attitude to the exact scale of things I've put a Peter Pig 15mm scale 8th army figure in the picture. Looks to me just slightly over scale, but not by much. Next mission is to go and find some more, 2 should do it.

The big Green wood

I have finally started to put some foliage onto the polystyrene former that creates the body of the trees. For this I use Woodland Scenics bushes Medium green and Forest green. I start by building up the foliage around the top of the trunks and the cardboard base that the polystyrene former sits on. Then working upwards in a more random way to try and make the two types of foliage create the impression of different types of trees growing together. It seems to be working out quite well at the moment. Its quite time consuming and at the moment I'm lucky to spend more than ten minutes a day on it.