Scale Modelers Military

[ResIpsa]

Are there any Scale Modelers in the DU? What do you build?

[Sherman A1]

1. I thought there was a group for that here somewhere

I don’t really do scale models myself, my hobby is war gaming ( emphasis on gaming as what I play and run are usually pretty silly 🙃 with miniatures. I have moved strictly to 6mm or 1/285th, 1/300 scale since I have restarted playing and collecting. Some Pirates and Colonial period right now, but will expand to ACW, French and Indian War, WWI and WW2. I have found some great stuff on Facebook for both gaming and building terrain. Also came across paper models which I find working well for ships and buildings.

[Bad Thoughts]

5. Wargamer, too

Although to be more precise, my son is the miniatures wargamer, and I am happy to play with him. It means building lots of Flames of War tanks (and some other things). However, he is slowly picking up on more traditional forms of modeling. He has an X-Wing waiting for him this weekend

[Sherman A1]

8. I havent gotten into Flames of War or Bolt Action

They seem to be popular. My gaming of that era was WRG 1920 to 1950. It was easy to play and I liked the 1/1000 scale. Currently playing a bit of The Sword ⚔️ and The Flame 🔥 and for my sailing age pirates Limeys and Slimeys (which is a free download). I use War Artisan paper 1/300 scale ships for the models. At $5.00 per download and then print as many as you like they are cost effective. If something happens to them at a game, I can simply print and build another.

[Bad Thoughts]

11. I think FOW and BA are struggling a bit now

The market for tabletop miniatures, especially elaborate fantasy figures, is pretty crowded right now. I don't see as many people playing historical battles as playing Warhammer, Guild Ball, Malifaux, X-Wing, etc.

[ResIpsa]

13. No sir.

The video industry has wiped that all out. It's expensive to get the hobby equipment. Hobby Stores themselves are disappearing. I have a few small chests of the fantasy figures immaculately painted. Sometimes I re-paint them.

[Bad Thoughts]

14. It is expensive, but ...

... that just means some of the flashier systems are going to succeed more at getting people to spend money than others. It means you are going to find more people dedicated only to 40K or X-Wing rather than but into multiple systems. And lots of the online stores have brisk business, not to mention kickstarter companies.

[ResIpsa]

30. Glad to hear it.

I'm semi rural so the only hobby type store is really expensive...then there's Hobby Lobby...groan. I go there sparingly, and only for models.

[ResIpsa]

16. Wow.

That's pretty cool. I'll have to check that out. Thanks.

[Sherman A1]

20. Hope that you find something that you like

as I mentioned my gaming leans toward the gaming end of wargaming and I like games that are silly. Limeys & Slimeys fits the bill for that. I also prefer rules that are no more than 1 -2 pages.

The Sword & The Flame are old standards and have been around for decades. It leans towards playability. I like WRG because it's what I know as well as Rally Round The Flag for ACW. Osprey books has some seemingly decent ones out there as well. I have one coming toady for the Spanish Civil War.

[Bad Thoughts]

22. Love Osprey

Rules are fairly light, with some interesting mechanisms, they don't require long lists of stats, and they help get some extra miles out of figures from other games.

[ResIpsa]

38. Allied General and Panzer General

on an old computer at the office. Fun. Certainly something to be said for the format and graphics and ease of play. The rolling the dice...aligning cardboard chits and all can get laborious but that's part of the fun. Takes your mind off of the world outside I guess.

[ResIpsa]

15. That's all good stuff.

I have a few war-games. Tobruk/Lord of the Rings comes to mind. I like doing the miniature wargaming where you roll and move them etc. It certainly is a dying hobby. The cardboard chips can be a disaster if you knock the table though right? Thanks for posting. I saw the paper models. Interesting.
I swore off FB. Just prefer to not use a site that helped hurt my country. Especially after losing my brother. I was on some modeling sites there and miraculously enough, another Italian from Croatia saw a picture of all of my aircraft and asked if he could send me his small collection and if I'd hang it on the ceiling. I couldn't believe it. Of course I obliged. Some had to be redone but I was humbled. Half a world away. Thanks for posting.

[Sherman A1]

18. I understand your thoughts on Facebook

but, I've found it's what you make of it and what you use it for. Granted there is an overabundance of "I just had a cheese sandwich" posts, but there is a ton of gaming stuff that I really enjoy. The Terrain Tutor (I think he's one YouTube as well) 6mm wargaming, solo wargaming, colonial and France 40 along with a B-17 Queen of the Skies group for that old AH solo game. I'm sure there is a ton of modeling groups there as well as YouTube.

The magazines such as Fine Scale Modeler may have blogs and discussion groups or lead you to some as well.

I am lucky with my gaming in that we still have a few shops in the area ( I owned one myself 1983-2001 and did some work in the industry during that time).

Miniature gaming is certainly getting more gray, but still alive. If you are in Chicago area at the end of April I'll be at Little Wars running Limeys & Slimeys and there are conventions around the country.

[ResIpsa]

26. Hmmm.

I go to one in Toledo In Springtime. War gaming Convention. Chicagos not far by train.
I lost my little brother a year ago. Some ugly stuff was on FB. I just think it dishonored his memory and I won't go there anymore just out of a sense of loyalty to him. I sure understand what you mean though.

[Sherman A1]

41. I am sorry about the loss of your brother

and there are some very mean spirited people on all parts of the internet, FB included. How or if you choose to use that or any site is of course your choice and decision. Remember there are good folks out there as well.

I hope that you do get a chance to come to Little Wars, it actually is in Lombard, IL near Chicago don't know about train connections but you can look up HMGS-Midwest for the dates and details.

The Preliminary Event Listing is in the link below.


http://www.hmgsmidwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/LITTLE-WARS-2018-Preliminary-Events-Listing.pdf

[NewJeffCT]

31. I tend to agree on Facebook

My wargaming miniatures are mostly Warhammer fantasy stuff and other miniatures that can double as extras for any Dungeons & Dragons games. Though, I do have some ancient times miniatures from Wargames Foundry in the UK. They're mostly 25mm-30mm scale in size.

That said, I agree with above - Facebook has a ton of groups related to any sort of gaming. It's easy enough to ignore the "cheese sandwich" posts or the baby/infant/toddler pictures if you want, and just focus on the sort of gaming group you want to join.

[ResIpsa]

34. Cheese sandwich...

Heh he. Yes, why bother? When a website helps throw our election, by micro-targeting your posts.....uh....that's just too big a price to pay.
It certainly had a lot of benefits though. I don't miss it. Zuckerberg has done Zero in a year to stop it next fall...just not going to go there. Unfortunate, but, true.

[bluecollar2]

2. Not an avid modeler anyore

I was a 1/72 aircraft builder...

Mostly WW2 RAF but also a few modern military.

Slowly transitioned to diecast collector.

Still have a few in boxes waiting to be built.

Have a nice Hasegawa P-3 I bought because the markings were for Vp-40 hull I worked on when I was in the Navy.

[ResIpsa]

12. Very cool.

I have extensive British and American and German 1/72 scales. Same in 1/48, and a few in 1/35. The Balsas are just huge. I don't fly them. Just for looks. Uses less paint etc. (the small ones), but harder to see anymore. I'm getting old. I like planes bc I can display them overhead. Not many places to display 115 planes. Heh heh.

[panader0]

29. Funny--I was just searching online this morning

for a model kit for the A-20--used by the USAA and the RAF. My dad flew 25 missions
in N. Africa in one. (After 25 in B-17s in England)
I didn't have much luck.

[ResIpsa]

35. That's an excellent plane.

12th Air Force by chance?

[ResIpsa]

37. Maybe the 8th AF.

Gramps flew C-47's in the 12th. Africa, Italy and France.

[bluedigger]

48. Here you go.

https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?q=*&fkSECTION[]=Kits&fkCATNAME[]="Propeller"&fkTYPEGROUP[]="Douglas%20A-20%20Havoc"

Copy and paste the whole thing above and it will give you 150+ results.

[ResIpsa]

58. Whoa.

That's expansive. Good post. TY

[ResIpsa]

50. Navy

Did you ever fly in one? My Uncle was in the Navy in Vietnam. friends at the Masonic Lodge as well served there.

[bluecollar2]

55. Never on a tactical flight

But made many ferry trips and positioning flights. Whenever we sent aircraft on a "det" we'd send a support crew. I volunteered for all of them and got picked quite often.

Got to see a lot of places in the Pacific.

If there's an island in the Pacific and the Navy's got a runway on it I've probably been there...lol.

[ResIpsa]

57. Thats unreal.

Did you see that jet who's cowling was coming apart on the way to Hawaii?? I try not to fly over sea water. If it can happen to me...chances are good... See me as William Shatner on the Twilight Zone in that situation, heh heh.
I always wondered what a service aircraft would be like.
They had a special on the B-52s during the cold war with bunks in them and apparently a bit about using the toilet. Short story...they tried not to bc they froze up. Whoever used it...cleaned it. Oh man.

.

[bluedigger]

3. I'm looking to get back into the hobby after forty years.

I've been watching some videos on youtube. Big fan of Andy at Andy's Hobby Headquarters. Watching his builds is therapeutic, lol. He also just started a Facebook group (the Mediocre Modelers Club ) a month or so ago, that has really taken off. Very international. As for types of models, I probably will concentrate on armor, but anything goes pretty much. Some links here.


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChnAgeghaNKLdftbfJY8zNA

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1771720973126058/?fref=nf

[ResIpsa]

9. Nice...

Swore off FB after my little brother died.
It certainly is therapeutic and it's good clean fun. Building a rather large Huey UH-1 after the Ken Burns Vietnam Series. 1:35 Scale.

[Sherman A1]

10. You Tube has some great stuff

I have found all sorts of modeling and home repair advice there.

[ResIpsa]

17. Yes sir.

Lots of good stuff there. That's how it pulls folks in no doubt. They helped throw our elections, so, easy for me to say no. TMI I guess.

[Liberal In Texas]

4. No interest in military...but

I'm trying to finish a 1/350 model of the Titanic that I started like 30 years ago.

Bought a new air brush (a nice Iwata one) and purchased photo-etched "after-market" parts for better detail.

It certainly is a slow process and time consuming but it's kind of cool to see it coming together. This time of year the weather really holds me up as my air compressor is in my shed and I just can't paint inside the house. Days that are warm enough and aren't too windy are few and far between this time of year.

[ResIpsa]

6. I'm certainly Anti War.

but I appreciate the engineering of war planes especially. I used to paint the lead figures for Dungeons and Dragons but....I've literally painted hundreds and haven't any left. Thanks for commenting.
I do have a couple Pirate Ships I haven't built yet.

[Liberal In Texas]

21. It's not an anti-war thing (which I am) but I just have very little interest in military anything.

[ResIpsa]

24. Right on.

Not a whole lot of models beyond that. I have built space ships and WW2 ships. German U-Boat. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Submarine. Land of the Giants Space ship etc.

[ResIpsa]

7. Air brusher eh?

After 40+ years I still rattle can and use tiny brushes w Humbrol paints.

[Liberal In Texas]

19. Yes, you just can't preserve the fine detail any other way.

Especially on photo-etched parts. The airbrush paints on at almost the molecular level where spray cans are much thicker. Now on some things I do use a hand brush and I have some spray cans to use on parts where it won't matter if it's airbrushed or not - which is a lot faster than messing with setting up and cleaning the airbrush. Whatever works best for you is just fine.

[Blue_Tires]

23. Haven't seen him for a while, but

a longtime DUer named The Magistrate was a hardcore modeler with a focus on WWI aircraft/vehicles IIRC

[ResIpsa]

25. Good to know.

Thanks.

[bluedigger]

28. The Magistrate was very talented.

A good DUer overall, and a fine modeler. I always enjoyed his posts.

[cab67]

27. Mostly WW1 aircraft

I prefer 1/72 biplanes, but dabble with aircraft from other eras and other scales.

[ResIpsa]

32. They're challenging.

Especially rigging the wings when they're that small. I have a few. A few more in boxes. Literally from the 70's.

[cab67]

49. As I get older,

I spend less time with rigging.

[ResIpsa]

51. Right...

who sees it anyway eh? Build for enjoyment. At this point I'm not going to be working on the set of any movies or whatever.

[cab67]

53. The great irony

is that aircraft from that era were much simpler machines, but the model kits are more complex. The couple of jets i’ve done took no time at all.

[uponit7771]

33. Electric Cold War Jets !!! Love scale modeling

[ResIpsa]

36. I have jets in boxes..

Still trying to get through the 1940's. I specifically appreciate the float versions of airplanes. Thanks for posting.

[bluedigger]

39. My flight instructor (back in the 80's) had a 1929 Waco biplane with a set of floats.

He rebuilt the plane after finding the frame and engine in a barn in Iowa. There was a set of floats that were with it, too. He hadn't rebuilt those at the time, but his dream was to redo the floats and go to the float plane fly-in in Greenville, Maine some day. I got one ride in the Waco (he looped it). It would have been spectacular on floats!

[ResIpsa]

43. Incredible

What a dream come true. Flew to Canada w my Dad in the early 70's to fish for Muskies. Landed and took off in 4 different Beaver Airplanes. It was so smooth...you only knew you landed by the water flying up beside the window. Thanks for posting.

[ResIpsa]

46. additional..

Dad had a Piper Cherokee. When we were aloft, he would let me fly it. Wondrous times. Thanks for your post.

[bluedigger]

47. Owned and soloed in a 1949 Piper Clipper taildragger.

Never flew again after I soloed. Army sent me to Germany and life interrupted.

[ResIpsa]

52. Extra cool.

Great old planes. Very nice.

[Beausoleil]

40. Mostly 1/144 US fighters and bombers, 1/700 US warships

Just small time stuff. I did it when I was a kid and decided to get back into it recently.

I found an old 1/96 USS Constitution at a garage sale and that started me back into it.

I found several 1/700 and 1/350 Spruance class destroyers, I was on one back in the 70's, so that's fun and interesting. I like models of the carriers I saw when I was in, but I'm currently working on a USS Lexington (CV-16), after we went to see it in Corpus Christi.

I have a small collection of unopened models I will start on when I retire in a couple years.

[miyazaki]

42. Used to be and still want to get back to it.

I concentrated on sci-fi, fantasy & horror model kits back in the day. It was such a joy to have the model/hobby shops of old then. Used to paint the D&D figurines as well. Quite a few of my model plane kits ended up being blown up by firecrackers.

The last kit I purchased decades ago was from Bram Stokers Dracula. I still have it in the box.

Never been married, but all the girlfriends in my life would always remark something like "you don't look like nerd, but you are nerd!".

[ResIpsa]

44. Interesting.

Yes those Monster Models were the rave for awhile. Aurora Kits. Really bad molds and thus huge cracks in them but what a load of fun as kids. The Ghoul used to televise monster movies saturday nights on channel 50 out of Detroit. Usually classics. Scary, but not the type to horrify a kid his entire life. The models dovetailed nicely. I think I had the Mummy and the Mad Dr.s Laboratory.
Still have Lost in Space Space ship in a big box. The "Robot' of same. The Roswell UFO and some others unbuilt. Can't bring myself to open them until I feel I can do them justice. Good things.

[ResIpsa]

45. I'm sure in their hearts, they were supremely happy you had a good clean hobby.

Could've been a lot worse. Idle hands are the Devils workshop....

[oneshooter]

54. Last model I built was the CSS Alabama

Took over a year, fully and properly rigged with cloth sails. It disappeared between the time I left for military duty and when I first came home 2 years later.

ETA It took me a year to research and properly rig this model.

[ResIpsa]

56. Thank for your service.

That sounds like quite a ship. They can take that long if you want them to right? Too bad it's gone. Never too late to get another one. I have a 6 foot Destroyer U.S.S. Bush (I know...) that was given to me that hung in a lighthouse. It's hand made. I got incredibly lucky to have it bc it was going to a museum. The good news about ships is you can generally cover them and keep them dusted off with a paint brush etc. Thanks for posting.

[Codeine]

59. I do a lot of wargame figures,

and the recent popularity of 28mm plastics for games like Bolt Action means that a lot of tanks and transport vehicle kits are being built. Italeri makes most of the plastics for Battlefront’s line.

We need a non-digital games forum. The gaming group here is heavily dominated by video games. Board games and miniatures need a place.

[Sherman A1]

60. Have you checked

The Miniatures Page (TMP) site ? I have found it to be interesting and it has multiple forums.

[Codeine]

61. I dont use the forum there.

Wayyyy too many right-wing shitheads and goofy personal drama. The site itself is a daily visit for mini news, however.

My current bug is an Osprey rulebook called Gaslands, which lets you play out Mad Max/Car Wars-style post-apocalyptic vehicular combat using modified Hot Wheels cars. Movement is template-based, very similar to what you’d find in Wings of War or X-Wing. It’s ridiculously fun.

[Sherman A1]

62. Like anywhere else on the Internet it can be problematic

But as I’ve previously mentioned Facebook groups and the TMP can be good resources. I have picked up several Osprey rules and they seem to be pretty good from what I have seen.