Repeating here some photos from an old post that was wiped out when the site was hacked a few years ago. The Airfix 20mm WW2 Italian Infantry set was first released by Airfix in the 1980’s and there are some beautifully sculpted figures in the set, but with a limited number of poses. These figures are on the small side and if you mix them in the same unit with other sets of Italian 1:72 scale figures from Esci or Waterloo 1815 they look too small. You can add more poses to their ranks by using 1:76 scale figures from the Airfix WW2 Japanese Infantry set. The idea of using Airfix Jap ..read more

As a follow up to the "Ersatz" Opel Blitz pictures published on the blog last month,  my miniature allied arsenal also has some "funnies" that were pressed into service many moons ago. Sherman Jumbo A repainted Matchbox Battle Kings die-cast toy that a mate of mine Iván gave me when we first met and started gaming together on a regular basis some 20 years ago.  The Matchbox tracks were missing and were replaced with tracks off a Hasegawa 1/72nd scale M4A3E8 Sherman.  The tank commander is an Airfix British Paratrooper. Even though it's oversized and clunky, it's seen some acti ..read more

Repeating here some photos from an old post that was wiped out when the site was hacked a few years ago. We needed a Forward Observer Team to use as regimental support for a WWII Pacific USMC Platoon and using the Iron Ivan Disposable Heroes rules you get the option of either a Marine or Navy FO team. I decided on a Navy team in white dixie cup hats and some “true-blue” navy gear.  The hats were made with some thin strands of paper and white-glue wrapped around bare heads taken from other figures. I wanted to use them in scenarios as a kind of Naval landing party, even for some pulp ..read more

There was a time 20+ years ago, when it was impossible to get your hands on a 20mm Opel Blitz and inspired by a post on Will's Wargames Blog I thought I'd share a couple of photos of two British vehicles that made their way into the miniature WW2 German arsenal. This rehashed old Airfix Austin K6 was a solution, and the vehicle is still in my collection today from back then Nowadays of course you don't need to go to such a ridiculous end as there are so many kits and ready-made options available. Another "Ersatz" vehicle was this Opel Blitz ambulance bus below. This was a more recent co ..read more

Recently added two short videos on the youtube channel of some vintage plastic 20mm figures. If you click on the images below they will take you to the videos and open up in a new tab. Hope they bring back a few happy memories ..read more

Repeating here some photos from an old post that was wiped out when the site was hacked a few years ago. Some of the figures are a bit “chunky”, others no too much so, but on the whole it’s a really nice set with plenty of raised detail which makes them easy to paint and they’re a great nice addition to my WW2 Soviet forces. I especially like the fact that they are not all just standing around fixing tanks or in polite conversation with each other – you do still get some of those poses, none of which I’ve painted yet, but most are either running (presumably from their burning or disabled tanks ..read more

Repeating here some photos from an old post that was wiped out when the site was hacked a few years ago. The stretcher bearers are old Esci WW2 French in greatcoats with headswaps, the “Frau Medic” is a hard plastic lady from Dapol, the two walking guys are Airfix WW1 French, the surrendering figure is a Revell Engineer with a headswap and the old guys in caps carrying the stretcher are WW1 Airfix Germans ..read more

Shiloy Tshernez, the Spanish Blue Division in Russia, 17 January 1942 Uploaded a compilation of photos to YouTube from a game using a scenario adapted for use with Bolt Action wargame rules by one of my regular gaming buddies, Carlos.  If you click on the video image below it will open in a new window The scenario that Carlos adapted was written by Richard Baber and can be found on the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers (SOTCW) :  It's really worth taking a look, well researched and easily playable. https://sotcw.co.uk/shiloy-tshernez-the-spanish-blue-division-in-russia-17 ..read more

Ever wanted to add a helmet scrim effect onto your minis ?  I've put together a short video on Youtube showing how I do it with just a little gauze bandage, some nail scissors and a touch of white glue.  If you click on either of the images below it open up the video in a new window in youtube.    ..read more

Feeling nostalgic and working on some British colonial era troops I was inspired by an article by "C. Jones" on modeling the Zulu War with 20mm Airfix figures that I found in an old July 1967 edition of the Airfix magazine. As per the magazine article I used Airfix WW1 Germans. I added heads with the pith hemets from the Esci/Italeri British colonial sets, and also used some more recent figures that weren't available when the author wrote his article, a couple of Imex ACW figures and a Revell WW1 German The cavalry and horse-drawn artillery look like they might be nice future conve ..read more