Great Gallic gun guddle - AMX Mk.61 - part un

Despite the pace of the arms race which is Little Cold Wars, my forces still lack much by way of self propelled artillery.  Casting around for a 'quick win' bodge I hit upon a photo of the SP gun variant of the trusty AMX-13.  This mounted a 105mm gun in a fixed casemate on a pretty standard looking AMX-13 hull.
Not only do I have quite a few Solido AMX-13s, but the 'fleet' includes a few broken DCA (self propelled AA) variants.  A pair of turrets was duly removed.....

...and a couple of bits of insulation foam cut roughly to shape.  The wrong shape as it turns out - but more of that later.

Plastic guns and shields were added...

...along with top hatches.  An initial base coat of paint followed.

The casemates were glued on using PVA.  They were weighted down overnight while the glue dried.

I mentioned the shape of the casemate.  Turns out that the front is angled either side of the gun mount.  I suspect, however, that the vehicle is sufficiently obscure that few people will know any better then I did.  And let's be honest - I don't much care!

(Guddle: a fine Scottish word for a mess, muddle or confusion.)

ConSummation 3 - games event in Sheffield 28/02/2015

Your attention is drawn to this games event - to be held in Sheffield this coming Saturday.

ConSummation3: Help For Heroes fundraising event  aka The Old Contentible's 60th

All welcome! Come and play boardgames, buy & sell games, eat cake and stay for the ceilidh!

Access from 08:00 for set up.

Bring & Buy  10:00-16:00

Trade Stands (Bill's Books & Games, Outpost, Patriot Games)  10:00-16:00

Bake for Heroes 16:00-18:00

Real Ale Bar 18:00-23:00

Ceilidh 20:00-23:00

Organised by:  Jerry Elsmore

Who is Jerry Elsmore?

It really doesn't matter. you're invited to come along and find out! This is an open invitation event to anyone who wants to spend a day playing Games. All sorts of games: Boardgames, Cardboardbox Simulation Games, Fluffy games, Free-form games, Lawn Games, Matrix games, Roleplay games and Silly games. There will even be a dollop of Wargames thrown in for good measure. Even if you don't know us, please feel free to turn up and play. All gamers are welcome, especially those who play, sing or dance in the English Tradition...

The Twist

Well, more of a Right Hand Star, Dip and Dive and Strip the Willow… In addition to Traditional English Beer, there will be Traditional English Song and Dance in the evening. Reception will become the Smoke Free Real Ale Folk Bar, the Lounge will become the Olde Worlde Barn where the Ceilidh will be held.

Musicians and callers are very welcome: there will be beer!

Cake for Heroes

Bake, donate, buy and enjoy! 

Link to Eventbrite page

Link to Googlemaps

US 107mm mortar

These chaps were assembled some months ago but have only recently seen paint.  Actually after painting so much US Woodland camo they suddenly seemed like an easy option.

Like many of these Tamiya kits the age of the moulds has has no adverse effect on the parts and the whole thing went together well - discrepancies between the box art and the finished models are entirely down to my bungling!

The 107mm (4.2 inch) M30 has a rifled barrel* and entered US service in the early 1950s.  This one will serve as a battalion support asset.

*obviously so does my model - you just can't see it in the photos....

Mi-2URP 'Salamander' - part 1

I always find helicopters a bit tricky to build.  In scales from 1/1200 to 1/72 they cause me no end of trouble.  So having survived the build of the ghastly Intech Mi-2 a few months ago did I really want to build another?  Well yes actually - but my hopes for this kit were rather higher.  Like my recently completed Mi-4 Hound, this was a Hobbyboss kit and my (limited) experience of the brand has been pretty positive.
Initial impressions were good - the fuselage halves above were nice crisp mouldings which actually fitted together.  The large transparent bit is the nose section of the Hoplite - a much less fiddly process than the Intech horror.

Lots of parts.  Some of which I actually used.

The pleasing box art showing the Mi-2 loosing off a Sagger.  Which was another reason I wanted this kit.

So far so good - the main body parts all assembled.

Even the undercart was pretty straightforward.  Before securing the clear nose I added a weight.

The rotor blades assembled at more or less the correct angles...