3D Printing Round Up

 Late last year I was fortunate to receive as a late Christmas gift a 3D printer. Since then I  hae been experimenting with it to produce models and terrain pieces. Most of what I have printed, I haven't taken photos of and as a result it hasn't made it on to the blog.

M1133 Stryker MEV upscaled to 1/72 scale

M1133 Stryker MEV file located here

As I don't know how to digitally model items in 3D, I am reliant on the hard work and talent of others. The files that I am using to print are sourced from:

• 3d printing community sites that host free files, 
• Websites that sell files,
• Kickstrarters, or
• By direct arrangement with the file creators.

I suspect that the vast bulk of people using 3D printers to produce gaming aids are reliant on the efforts of others to produce the files they print. Hopefully this potential market means that folk who create files find it worthwhile to continue doing so.

1/72 M1074 Joint Assault Bridge 

M1074 JAB file located here

105mm L118 light gun (file from here)

My 3D printer uses filament so doesn't produce models with the same crispness as a resin printer. I am planning to obtain a resin printer in the future in order to produce more detailed models and figures.

NZLAVs around a vehicle obstacle ( obstacle file here)

More NZLAVs

1/72 Scale Technical (file located here)

As I intend to post more on this blog there will be more 3D printe items in the future.

New Trucks

 I have been rather remiss of late with updating this blog, but I have been busy with making  and painting various models. So I figure I should start by showing some trucks that I have recently acquired, some trucks I am currently working on, and some trucks that I have completed!

Chinese Tank Transporters with Fabbri T-72

 First up are a pair of Chinese made toy Chinese Tank Transporters. These were notionally 1/64 scale, but since they came with a cargo of three tiny tanks each, I suspect they are actually box scale. They bear a strong similarity to several different Chinese heavy trucks (such as the Shaanxi SX4400  or the Taian TA4360). Regardless, they seem to be about right for tank transporters, with a trailer that can take a T-72 quite happily.

Next up are some resin Ural office bodies from S&S models that I am using to convert some Fabbri BM-21s into command vehicles. While converting the Fabbri BM-21s required surgery with the Dremel, the results so far are very pleasing.

Yet another useful S&S product! Their conversion kits are very cool.

I hope to track down a couple of diecast Zil truck models so I can get the Zil office conversion kit from S&S models, as it would be a very nice addition to the collection.

I have found Shaun at S&S models to provide excellent customer service, so if you follow the above links you should have a look at the rest of his range as it is all very good!

S&S Models Man Kat 1 4x4gs truck, not an MHOV, but pretty close. 

I purchased the above resin Man truck kit as I thought I could use it as a substitute for the NZ Army Man HX 60 truck. I was hoping that between it and the Revel range of Man truck kits, Iwould have a perfect match for all the new MHOV trucks. They are very close, but not an exact match.

That being said, these models weren't intended to represent the HX range of Man trucks, but rather trucks from an earlier range - and they do a great job for representing those vehicles.

Side by side comparison.

Man truck on a heavy trailer.

Working on the twin principles of a) You can never have enough trucks (logistics is important!), and b) Close enough is good enough, I figured I should convert/repaint some 1/72 scale Mercedes trucks (That I got from S&S models) that could then be used as NZ Army Mercedes trucks, and as generic logistic elements for other forces.

Repainted Mercedes Trucks - great for use as logistic elements.

I have obtained a number of other trucks from various sources that I am in the process of repainting and converting into various logistics, command, engineering, or transport elements. With luck they, and some other interesting bits and pieces I've gotten recently, will be posted fairly soon.

Logistics Vehicles

I finished these back in August, and I have been meaning to post these pictures  for a while. The bulk of the models are either Airfix or Airfix reissues of ex JB Models kits.

I decided on a nice generic olive drab scheme for the vehicles, so I can use the for variety of forces. I am finding that the Airfix reissues of the JB Models kits are becoming harder to find - particularly the 105mm light gun kit.

Hiding in the back - a Corgi Land Rover

The view from above.

The idea is to create a pool of vehicles to represent various logistics elements on the tabletop. The next additions to the pool will hopefully be a few Unimog or MAN trucks - the S&S resin models will probably be what I use.

Land Rovers and trailers.

A different view of the Land Rovers.

I still have a couple of moderns logistics vehicles to assemble and paint, and a few diecast trucks to repaint in a common paint scheme, but finishing this lot has made a major contriution to my motor pool.

Keeping it Semple

It has been some time since I last updated my blog...real life has been keeping me rather busy! Recently I celebrated my birthday and amongst the various nice things I was gifted, I also received this very nice 1/72 Semple Tank from my mother in law, Elaine.

The Semple Tank has been a vehicle that has intrigued me ever since I first heard of it, so I was delighted to finally have one in 20mm!

The Semple Tank with Airfix WW1 British infantryman for scale.

To those unfamiliar with the awesomeness of the Semple Tank, I suggest a quick look at the Youtube clip below:

And of course additional information can be found at this rather harsh Wiki entry here, which at the time of making this blog entry has the final result of the project summarised as "In the end, due to their impracticality, the tanks were rejected. New Zealand has yet to create another abomination of this caliber." The Military History Now article here at least mentions the positive effect that the tanks had on public morale at a time when better alternatives were sorely lacking.

The model was designed by the very talented Fitz over at Shouting into the Void (click here for his post on designing the beast), and can be purchased at his Shapeways store here.

Now I just have to paint it, and give it some CD 3 statistics. I finally have some Allied armour that will make Japanese armour look awesome by comparison!

Of Ersatz and 3D-Printed NZLAVs

A while back I made a post about the S&S models NZLAV (click here to see that post). While a very nice kit, it has a major disadvantages of price and postage costs. This means that to represent a typical squadron of LAVs on a one to one basis I would require a minimum of 16 NZLAVs.

Left to Right: S&S NZLAV, Ersatz NZLAV, and a Maisto LAV-25.

To do this with the excellent S&S Models kit would work out at around over NZ$450, not including postage for them from the UK to NZ. Given this I needed to find another solution. The most logical and immediate solution was to get 3D printed vehicles.

This option was pursued but would ultimately take significantly longer than expected to produce results due to a number of false starts.

Left to Right: 2x  Maisto LAV-25s, (the middle one is starting the conversion process towards becoming a Ersatz NZLAV), and  a Bravo Team  Stryker.

So I started to see if I could produce the required vehicles by converting diecast Maisto L-25s into NZLAVs. The first challenge was trying to source enough vehicles to do this. My source of vehicles was The Warehouse ( A large nationwide chain of big box stores in NZ that sold them for around NZ$8-$10 each), but each branch only carried a very small number of the LAV-25s. Fortunately I was ably assisted by family and friends in tracking these down, in particular by Will who tracked down a large number in various stores throughout Auckland and then mailed them down to me.

The large plastic gun barrel is replaced by a metal pin.

The process of getting all these diecasts together for conversion took time, so I had to find an immediate substitute, which I found in the form of 1/72 Strykers, a number of which were provided by Kirk. I am going to continue work on the conversions, as this will mean that I will have another squadron of LAVs available.

From Left to Right: Freshly printed NZLAV, assembled and unpainted, and final painted model.

Despite the problems with making ersatz NZLAVs, and having the  Strykers available, I continued to pursue getting 3D printed NZLAVs, and finally I managed to get some produced.

3D Printed NZLAVs and the S&S model NZLAV

The biggest hurdle with the printed models is to remove them from the cocoon of plastic that they are printed in. This is a very time consuming process, but certainly less than the 4 hours it takes to print a NZLAV hull. 

S&S NZLAV is flanked by two 3D printed models.

The plastic used is the same type as used in Lego, so it will put up with a great deal for handling. It also takes paint well.

3D printed NZLAVs and a Javelin team from Wartime Miniatures.

I have added some extra details, such as coils of wire and jerry cans to the models, and am going to add spare wheels to some of them as well. I might even add a light obstacle blade, and I am toying with the idea of painted one up in a MERDEC scheme - such Paul at Plastic Warriors has done here.

Offensive Support

This weekend I finished off some projects that had been on the back burner for the last couple of months. The first project was finishing off a pair of scratch-built US 4.2" mortars for Mr K. I used some mortar parts from a Battlefront M-113 sprue and some Esci sand bags to quickly bodge up something that roughly looks the part. I then neglected to paint them for around three months!

Foreground: US 4.2" Mortars. Background: 81mm Mortars.

The same as the picture above.

 The three 81mm Mortar teams are to go with the support weapons in my previous post. They are Pegasus WW2 Germans that has been crudely modified using a scalpel and liquid green stuff, and then given a rough paint conversion.

Crude but possibly effective.

Since there has been a trend towards having heavier mortars, I also converted some of the Pegasus WW2 German  120mm mortars and crew using the same methods.

120mm Mortars. A useful piece of indirect fire support.

The last piece of offensive support I finished off were four more 105mm Light Guns. Three of these are intended to replace the scratch built guns I made here. The forth gun will also replace one that had the barrel at a high angle and has been broken and repaired a couple of times this year.

105mm guns, made from the Airfix/JB Models kit.

A different view of the above.

 So all in all, a rather nice collection of offensive support elements!

A collection of mortars.

Support Weapons

It has been a while since I've made a post in the blog, but I haven't been idle! Here are some pictures of some figures I have recently finished painting.

The whole bunch.

GPMGs. Mix of Revell Modern British and Esci Modern Americans.

The .50cal is a Caesar Modern American, while the HMG and crew are Elhiem Modern Americans. 

 GMG and crew are Elhiem Modern Americans.

Javelin teams are Modern Australians from Wartime Miniatures.

In painting these I have made the deliberate decision not to attempt the multicam of the current NZ Army uniform, as previous efforts have once a wash has been applied become rather indistinct at at distance. The figures seem to pass muster without the extra detail so I am rather happy with the overall result.

Once More Unto The Breach...

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger. . . .

Henry The Fifth Act 3, scene 1, 1–6

M1 Abrams tank with mine plough, and M-58 MICLIC on a M-200 tracked trailer.

 One of the gaps in my collection of models is a lack of modern engineering equipment capable of breaching minefields. Recently I have started to address this gap by  a combination of purchasing model kits and diecasts of suitable equipment, and to scratch building some items for immediate use.

Scratch built M-58 MICLIC on a M-200 tracked trailer.

The first item I built was a M-58 Mine Clearing Line Charge (MICLIC), on a M-200 trailer.I  built this as a result of being shown a picture of one being towed by a LAV. Unfortunately, while I could find photo references on the internet, I couldn't find anything that gave dimensions, so the model is probably quite out of scale.

Undercoating - I should of taken a phoito  of it unpainted!

 I built the model out of plastic card and stuff from my bits box. The wheels came from a plastic 1/72 scale trailer and I believe the track is from the Matchbox Churchill kit. The chassis of the trailer came from a plastic Hong Kong toy rocket trailer I was given by Ion.

Another view. This is before I added in the DAS to represent the line charge in the trailer tray.

I doubt I'll make another of these on a tracked trailer - in fact if I was to make more MICLICs I would make something simple and quite generic that would be simple to make.

And finished

 Of course once a breach has been made in a minefield, it needs to be confirmed by a mine plough or roller. Or you can use a mine plough to make the breach, but then you don't get to have the massive explosion from the line charge!

A toy Ertl diecast Abrams tank.

Since I have a shortage of 1/72 scale Abrams tanks, I used this Ertl diecast as the tank that on would put my plough on. While it is the right size, the running gear is extremely toy like, and the roof mounted commander's HMG is very cartoonish.

The underside showing the Ertl brand.

 I decided to base the model in order to protect the mine plough, and because I felt it might act to draw attention away from the running gear.

Based and ready to paint.

 The plough was made up from bits of plastic card and is loosely based on pictures from the internet. I have ordered the Trumpeter Abrams with Mine Plough kit, and will take comparison pictures once it arrives and I make it up.

Close up of the plough.

Undercoated and waiting the finial paint job and ink wash.

By building these models I hope to be able to add some variety to my games and potentially have them used as teaching aids. I now need to make up some minefield templates that can act as visual cues as to what they are, and blend into the tabletop. I have some ideas on how to achieve this, but I will need to do some reading first.

And painted!

I hope to make up some more modern engineering assets, so that I can have a similar range of equipment for this period as I do for WW2 games. I suspect that I might paint up some of the remaining Roco vehicles that I have to fill some of these roles, but I would prefer to use 1/72 scale models.

105mm Light Guns - All Finished!

I've finished painting the scratch built 105mm guns I was working on in my last post. The initial plan was to use sections of Chux cloth to disguise elements of the build that were simplified for ease of rapid construction.

Three more painted 105mm guns.

 The Chux cloth proved to be too unwieldy, and too good at obscuring detail, that when I showed it to others, they suggested using bandage gauze instead (and even kindly supplied me with some:))

Comparison shot between the scratch builds and a actual model.

And while the bandage gauze certainly looks better, it is very fiddly to apply. The results are very promising, and certainly I hope to use the technique again in the future.

Side shot of the three guns.

 I have a few other scratch built guns that I think I am going to treat in a similar fashion using gauze to simulate netting over their position. I will try and layer the gauze to help create a more substantial netting effect.

Bandage gauze versus Chux cloth .

 If I make more scratch built 105mms, I will try and put some into sandbagged emplacements in order to add some variety to the stands - and obscure some more detail!

The three store bought models.

Overall I think they work well with the actual models, and their construction has proved to be interesting and enjoyable - two things that I think should be central to any hobby.