Technicals: The Great Toyota War

Nissan Technical

"Ladees and Genu'llmen - the star of our show - fresh from our workshops in downtown Kabul - I give you - THE NISSAN TECHNICAL" - (promogirls go wild).

Weaponry

"As you can see, it is fitted with the tried and tested favourite of the irregular militia - the good ole Dooshka 12.7 heavy machine gun" - (promo girls throw headscarves into the air).

"This reliable weapon isn't some backstreet knock off of the famous Soviet equaliser - Oh No! - it's a genuine Chinese knock off."

"The AA mount is welded to the floor of the pickup so that there will be no embarrassing moments on CNN - like falling off'ove the back when when test firing."

Attaching Your Gun - Firmly

Incidentally, these things are a scratch modellers dream. Have a look at this genuine lash-up (from Technical- Osprey New Vanguard 257).

One Careful Owner

"Admittedly, there is some minor damage acquired from when the car was requisitioned from the previous owner by means of an AK47 - but this has (mostly) been repaired with a new steel plate to replace the driver's window and a bit o' BMP track to armour the door."

""And a little bit o' rust has got into the paint damage on the wing but the motah is as sweet as a nut - after all, 120,000 km is the sweet spot."

The truck is from Antenocitis Workshop and the weapon and gunner from Eureka UK.

Modern British Army Patrol, Airfix 1/48

British Army Patrol

When Airfix were going through their strange-management phase, they wildly over produced British Army Afghan models in 1/48 under the brand of Operation Herrick so these models are cheaply available on eBay.

They are very sophisticated kits, more complex than Tamiya equivalents. As well as the Coyote, Land Rover, vehicle crew, dismounts and Warrior in my collection, they also make a Jackal and a Lynx Helicopter.

The Coyote is classed as a Recce vehicle by the army and is a light Tactical Support Vehicle. It is not armoured against artillery or direct fire but has excellent IED and mine blast protection. Heavily armed, it is used for carrying supplies for smaller Protected Patrol Vehicles, escorting convoys and fast assault against insurgent bases.

Warrior IFV

The Warrior is my latest model. It is of course the Army's legacy Mechanised Warfare IFV.

Warrior is now rather long in the tooth and in need of replacing or upgrading like its stablemate, the Challenger MBT. However, like the Challenger Warrior is still a potent machine with modern thermal imaging and enhanced composite armour.

Note The Profusion Of Electronic Equipment

Warrior is armed with a 30 mm Rarden Cannon and eight 94 mm HEAT missiles. It has a crew of three and seven dismounts.

Side View

The Airfix kit comes with all-round bar shields to disable or prematurely detonate RPG weapons but I decided to leave these off as they make the model bulky for wargaming and, I think, spoil the look of the model.

When Dead Cthulhu Dreams

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!

"In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." HP Lovecraft

As dead Cthulhu dreams, his avatars may be summoned from the depths of sacred places - like this tainted well.

Do NOT drink the water. It will NOT protect against Coronavirus: well, it will but you would be better off with the virus.

Cthulhu is "A monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind." HP Lovecraft.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie.
And with strange aeons even death may die."  Abdul Alhazred

Inexpensive models from Reaper Bones Collection, nominally 25 mm.

Up The Revolushun

Kayvee 'Tu

Red Gobbo has acquired some extra muscle for the Gobbo Revolushanary Council: the Kayvee 'Tu Grot Tank.

The model is part of a range made by Meng and available from eBay in the UK. The list includes various WWII tanks and a modern Chinese battle tank.

Reaper Shoggoth

And not a moment too soon. That armour is badly needed as a new enemy threatens.

Bursting through the eternal polar ice comes the evil Shoggoth.

"Formless protoplasm able to mock and reflect all forms and organs and processes - viscous agglutinations of bubbling cells - rubbery fifteen-foot spheroids infinitely plastic and ductile - slaves of suggestion, builders of cities - more and more sullen, more and more intelligent, more and more amphibious, more and more imitative!" HP Lovecraft.

Ordo Hereticus Madame Inquisitor: A Sense Of Style

Have At Thee, Rogue

I suspect that this will be the last Finecast model I ever paint....God Willing!

It reminded me why I stopped buying Geedubya models. Finecast was truly the utter pits as a wargaming material. The models were so loaded with sprue attachments that you had to nearly sculpt them yourselves - except that the material was brittle and snapped if one looked at it in a funny way.

Great model though....just full of style and very steampunky.

Warp Pistol Charging

Another point is how small these old models are compared to modern Warhammer. I have decided that this is a petite Lady Inquisitor as the model looks too small to be a Lord Inquisitor. Being petite will not, of course, stop her sticking a power sword up a heretics jacksy....

On Tippy Toes - Aeldari Harlequins

Frozen Stars

Change of pace now. Rummaging in my boxes of defunct projects I came across an Aeldari Harlequin Troupe: no I have no idea why or when i bought them. But the models were built, based and undercoated so I finished them off.

I loosely based the colour scheme on Harlequins and - no - I wasn't spending three months painting bloody diamonds so the motley was out. Stoopid idea! What were Geedubya thinking of?

Resin Ruin Bases

The bases are rather nice resin modelled in the eroded remains of building ruins. I painted them a monochrome blue-grey to fit in with the idea of webways into ruined Eldar worlds.

The Dance

They are waiting on the shingle—will you come and join the dance?
    Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
    Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?
Lewis Carroll

Tamiya King Tiger 1/48 Scale

Tamiya Tiger II +Warlord Miniatures

This model has been sitting half made in my garage for five years or so. Most of the pieces were still in the box so I put it together and dirtied it up on the grounds that a bit o'mud hides a lot of sins.

The figures are Warlord 28 mm which fit quite well with Tamiya 1/48 kits.

Krupp's Turret

This is an early version as shown by the shot trap under the turret front. Tamiya refer to this as the Henschel turret but, as all nerds kno, it is actually a Krupp's turret: Henschel designed the body.

I don't get out much - especially at the moment.

Engine Compartment

The round bulge on the turret left side was also eliminated in later models as it created a manufacturing issue.

Porsche also bid for this project with his 'revolutionary' diesel electric drive system but not even the Nazis were mad enough to go down that route - especially as they lacked copper wire, but hey, details.

The Tiger II was a ludicrous waste of resources. One source I have seen suggested it took as many man-hours to build as nine Shermans. It was clumsy, underpowered, unreliable and used petrol like Germany was awash with the stuff.