OTB's Stuff

More armour for the troops...

My oldest wargaming buddy came across someone selling a pile of these diecasts and grabbed these two for me as part of his order:



And my first 3D-printed models arrived from Europe yesterday:



I've managed to get the waste plastic off the ZSU-57 but still have more clean-up work to do.

Looking good, especially since that one M48 comes already perfectly done-up saving time. Those prints don't look half bad. Hard to tell, are they FDM or resin type prints with larger layers?

I think they are FDM although I'm no expert. The M48 is going to get a light repaint and join my ARVN armoured unit.

Lots of cool stuff since I have been away. Looking forward to some AARs.

Tom

AARs soon - I have been focused on making and painting models over the last few weeks as there is a lot on the production line.

Here's my latest batch of NVA armour. Four 3D-printed models purchased from Mini General in Portugal and a second-hand diecast T54:







I like how the ZSU-57-2 print has a log on the back of it - it makes it look very Vietnamese. Crew by Orion.

And 3 PT-76s







The new T-54 brings my total number of them to 6:




Overall my NVA armoured force now amounts to 13 tanks, which is as many as I should ever need.



The rides for my NVA company are still on the production line (with a test run of the Cambodian M3 halftrack truck conversion on the right):

The AMX-13s for my Cambodian Army force arrived today:



This kit dates from the 1970s and looks quick and easy to assemble:

Lots of work with great results.

Tom

The AMX is one ugly looking tank, nice additions and looking forward to seeing them painted up.

Thanks Tom!

And yes, the AMX-13 is very "distinctive". It would have been as hot as hell in that tiny turret in Cambodia.

Esci F-100D Super Sabre.



A kitset from the 1980s with an outsized big box typical of the era.

It's a nice, quick and easy model to build and it's robust enough for wargaming. I had some trouble with bent tail fins, but it was due to the age of this particular kit: its previous owner must have left it sitting in the sun. It was also missing its payload, but fortunately I had some missiles and bombs left over from other kits.

More to come - I have been busy making WWII French tanks over the New Year period but am back onto the Vietnam stuff now.

The APCs for my late-war NVA are now finished:



These are made by the Ukrainian manufacturer ICM and are really well-designed models that are quick and easy to assemble.
If you buy the closed-top BTR-152K model, you have the option of making it up as an open-topped BTR-152V, and leaving the roof off it, as it comes with all the seats etc. to go inside the crew compartment.
The NVA used both the open-topped BTR-152V and the closed-top BTR-152K, with the open top version being more common, but it saves time with the closed-top model as you don't have to worry about painting passenger figures etc.
These APCs apparently carried 18 passengers, so you only need 2 per platoon, and 6 for a whole company's worth of infantry.



The machine gunner figures are Orion ones, also made in Ukraine.



And I built a BTR-152S command vehicle as a company command vehicle.

Still to come are some trucks for the NVA company's heavy weapons platoon.

More fantastic work OTB! I dunno how you store all your toys.

Vehicles and figures are in Sistema plastic containers. Terrain in any suitable box (usually apple crates). I have yet to find the ideal way of storing helicopter models though, and am open to suggestions...

OTB wrote:I have yet to find the ideal way of storing helicopter models though, and am open to suggestions...

Ditto on that.

I now have a unit of ARVN M48s. These are old Altaya diecasts, slightly modified: my wargaming buddy found one cheap locally  on-line and another wargaming buddy tracked down the third one via a contact in Portugal. It's nice to have three matching tanks, as these are getting harder to find.

I store my 1/72 helicopters in drawers of an old bedroom type chest of drawers in my wargame room. I am careful when I open and close the drawers. Someone on FoF years ago suggested not cementing the rotors on so the helos would store better. With mine, they just slip right in and out. You can put a lot more aircraft in a drawer that way.

Tom

I have most of my Hueys in a display cabinet but would like to put them in storage so I can stick some other stuff in there. I have a bag of pillow stuffing and am going to lay them on that in containers.

This turned up in my local model shop:



An A-37 Dragonfly.

And I finished the ZiL-157 trucks for my NVA support weapons platoon:



These are made by ICM in Ukraine and were fairly easy to assemble. I had to leave things like wing mirrors off them to make them sturdy enough for wargaming.

That Dragonfly is a good find!
No wing mirrors on the trucks? Now those workers-comp complaints for NVA truck park valets are going to increase in number...

Vietnamese drivers don't use wing mirrors anyway - they just continually honk their horns so everyone knows where everyone is.

OTB wrote:I have most of my Hueys in a display cabinet but would like to put them in storage so I can stick some other stuff in there. I have a bag of pillow stuffing and am going to lay them on that in containers.

Pat (my wife) has Corgi 1/48 diecasts. She just removes the rotors, wraps the body loosely in two layers of bubble wrap, lays them in a big plastic tray (the kind made for under-the-bed storage) and lays the rotors on top of that.

That's a good way of doing it.

Khmer Rouge Company



These guys are a mix of ESCI, Orion, Caesar, and IMEX figures, with various head swaps, conversions and weapons replacements to make them look the part.



Company command stand:



Platoon command stand:



Machine gun teams:



A typical squad:

Great looking stuff OTB!!