MIG-21 - part 2

More MIG-21 'Fishbed' progress to report.  The kits went together as well as I'd hoped, with only a tiny amount of filler being required to meet my (pretty low) standards.  I need two MIGs 'in flight', so decided to build the third with it's wheels down.

Following a previous disaster with trying to paint a 'bare metal' finish, Rich - he of westmodelsandfigures suggested I try the Revell (acrylic) silver.  A pot was duly sourced and I gave it a try on the MIG-21s.  Despite a decent undercoat of matt white (applied by spray can), the models each required three and a half coats of silver to produce an acceptable finish.  Is this normal?

Never a fan of trying to paint on framing and the like on transparent parts, I decided to paint over the canopies as I do on 1/144 and smaller aircraft models.  This has the added benefit of saving me having to paint pilots or internal detail.  These are wargames toys after all.

Coming soon - the finished models.

The three 1/100 scale 'Fishbeds' and some smaller chums.

MIG-21 - part 1

As part of the preparation for a game Martin and I are planning at next year's Conference of Wargamers I need a couple of MIG-21s.  As I recall owning a rather battered example of the Airfix version many years ago, I began looking around at 1/72 scale kits.  However, they all seemed a bit pricey - even on Ebay.  Widening the search a bit, I discovered a Tamiya kit in 1/100 scale - one of a small range of kits in this scale which have been around since the '70s, but I hadn't come across them before.  The fact that they are readily available for less than £3.00 each made the decision for me and as I needed two, I obviously ordered three of them! 

The kits come in a rather nice box - overlooked by some manufacturers, but I think it makes a difference.

The parts all look very crisp.  And thankfully there aren't too many of them!  Three sets of markings are included - Soviet, Polish and North Vietnamese.

I actually bought these a few months ago and have now built them all - more photos coming soon.

The dangers of smoking... part 2

Steve has sent me some photos he took of the recent game.  Unlike mine, these were taken with a proper camera...

A fine view of the crashed He111

Mainwairing, Wilson and Godfrey.

The German crew making good their escape - note the guy at the back with a dismounted MG.

I haven't measured them, but I've no doubt that the bullet holes in the Heinkel scale to .303....

British Legion raffle

Just a quick post to mention the splendid fund raising efforts in support of the British Legion as mentioned on Richard's blog.  A recent raffle raised £354, mostly from local wargamers and with support from an impressive range of wargames manufacturers and publishers.  And I'm not just saying that because I won stuff!

Photo from the British Legion website.

For those of you unfamiliar with it's work, the Legion provides support for serving and former members of Britain's armed services and their families.  If you missed out on the raffle you can still donate via Richard's blog - please do so.