Russian Tank Park

With the young master being ill almost constantly (the first year of kindergarten or day care or whatever you call it is hell on kids and parents alike), I've spent a good amount of time home working on my Russians. I had a bunch of different Russian tanks in various states of assembly (some still in the box in fact) and I decided to finally do something with them. Three weeks, five tanks.

First of all, the Pegasus BT-7s. Great little models and they've been assembled and ready for paint for the last year or so. If you are into early war Eastern Front they should be definitely in your "to buy" list. Easy to build, great detail, cheap. What's not to like?

Chronologically next is the Zvezda T-34. It's a 1943 model T-34 and one of the best snap together kits out there. Yes, no glue required, but I went ahead and glued it anyways. It's not particularly cheap (10 euros), but it looks great and there is absolutely no hassle involved. Italieri T-34 is about a euro cheaper but the amount of filling and sanding somehow detracts from the whole experience. The Armourfast T-34s are half the price but they look like crap. I think that next to the Matchbox T-34, this is the best one (with a 76mm gun that is; Pegasus and Revell have superlative T-34/85s)

Next up, the JS-2 (fast build) and ISU-152 (normal build) from Italieri. Don't. Seriously, don't. The normal build ISU was not so bad, other than the six-piece auxilliary tanks (6 pieces? 6? and they still look like crap?) and the the link-and-length tracks that don't really fit. The fast build kits look like they have a permanent erection. They're OK to bulk up your forces, but Pegasus stuff is just so much better and at almost the same price (about a euro's difference per tank). The only thing that I like about Italieri is their decal sheets.

Right now I'll go back to fantasy for a spell (I have some 15mm Irregular ratmen ready for paint) and then go back to WWII, probably to paint the hordes of Russian infantry I have based. Plus I'm running out of space. IKEA didn't have any more of those cool boxes I picked up last time and now my Russians are sharing space together with Cylons and Elves.

That's for now from Athens, where all hell is probably about to get loose.

The Red God of War

Reading WWII history will vividly illustrate the importance that the Red Army placed on artillery. The weapon densities, especially in the last part of the war, were mind staggering. Unfortunately Russian artillery was not well served in 1/72 plastic, up to now. The Art of Tactics series by Zvezda has done quite a bit to rectify this shortage.

First up is the Zvezda 122mm howitzer. An easy kit to build, comes with a premade base (duly discarded) and 2 figures. I added one more from the old Revell Russian set (a tanker if I am not mistaken, but he looks cool with the map and all).




Next is the 45mm anti-tank gun by Plastic Soldier Company. This is one of the best gun models out there. It's simple, pretty well detailed, but most importantly, the crew poses are excellent. They look exactly like a gun crew in action, preparing to fire at a German tank or strong point.



Finally, the Zvezda Katyusha model. Yes, it is a 1/100 model, so I'm technically cheating. However, since this will be used only as an off-table asset (having anything over a 75mm IG on the table is overkill in my view) so nobody should care much about it. This is a finicky model to assemble (I ruined one making some dumb mistakes). The soft plastic doesn't help much either. I also had some problems with the mat varnish as well, but nothing to worry about.

That's all from Athens, were fall is surely setting in.