AAD and other things

Well, I hope all those who read this had a safe and fun silly season. We at Adelaide Gamer did, most certainly. Not much in the way of games though, except for a bit of Tanks. And a recce on some modelling, for when I get the chance.

In the World of Tanks I have seemed to shift up a gear in my playing style, although it isn't necessarily immediately obvious when viewing the stat pages I think I am playing a lot smarter than I was a month ago. This is reflected in steady kill ratios of 1 per game or higher, and climbing averages for experience across my stable (T34, T34-85, IS2, SU-85, MS-1(!)).

I have also joined a clan, the ANZAC Armoured Division (2nd Battalion) - or AAD2 for short. The core of the clan consists of committed long term WoT players, it was formed in April 2011. The original AAD is presently 89 members, the 2nd Battalion has 30. The 1st Battalion is the gang who will provide the armies when Clan Wars finally starts up a Asia-Oceania server and fighting the daily round of battles in the quest for World Domination at a time more suitable for oceania timezones than does the present North American based server (early afternoon aussie time).

When you realise the First Battalion is composed of those with top level tanks waiting for the clan wars to start, and that the Second Battalion is for the more relaxed, less developed Tanker, then you'll probably understand that I give no secrets away when I say that the plan is to hit the ground running when Oceania opens up for conquest, grab territory and hang onto it. Apparently there's some well established russian clans with the same idea, so it will be interesting.

On a more mundane level, the AAD runs a basic forum and Team Speak set up which, when combined with a little message discipline and the ingame information streams in WoT, provides good forums, meeting points, communications networks and information storage to run a pretty major operation. The TS server set up is good, with channels for individual platoons, companies, training ground players and miscellaneous use, as well as main lobbies. Very functional and focused, without being neurotic about it. Kinda like us ANZACs (Australia New Zealand Army Corps, from WWI and Gallipoli) like to think we are.

Oh. And I'm chasing down some putty for the T34-85 model, and eagerly awaiting the end of silly season so I can set up and use my new air compressor and spray gun.

And there's a Knizia game of the Hobbit to learn and play.

And S&T is releasing its Germany-Russia 1920 hypothetical game in a couple months.

2012 looks like being a very good year.

The day after the day after

I almost was a xmas grinch by throwing out our old tree when one of the elves dropped off a new one the day before the day before. Instead, I left it out on the roadside verge in case anyone who saw it needed a tree (with a little note saying they're welcome to it). No-one took it, and the bin won't have enough room for it for a week or two to come, but at least I avoided grinchisness.

As for the treasure ... a high grade micro air compressor (variable flow, water trap) and modeling airbrush plus fixtures, models of Fokker Dr VII (biplane) and 1:35 Russian Tank Crew, an Order of Battle of the Red Army's main fronts in WWII and a more detailed history of their armoured forces, and a military history 'daybook'. Treasure for those near and dear included 'The Hobbit' boardgame (a Eurogame designed by Knizia) and a pretty dramatic scaletrix track and cars (slot cars). So, Santa was kind indeed, and at least as perceptive as has been in past years.

And it was nice on the day after the day after the curse of grinchisness was avoided to finally take some time out and settle back into some solid driving on my IS-2 in World of Tanks. More on those adventures later ...

Rule of Thumb

Last week, I commenced work on my 1:35 tank model. On Sunday, I had hoped to complete the wheels and suspension, preparatory to the tracks. Seeing as it was a nice day, however, I thought would go and do some things in the garden. This, sadly, resulted in me being very un/lucky in that I managed to jamb my thumb pretty bad but not crush or amputate it (which was never-the-less very painful). Which put paid to my plan to work on the model. Who want's real blood on their model, afterall?

So I went and looked at modeling sites on the web for a few hours, discovering some most excellent youtube videos along the way. Particularly informative is this guy, who's detailed, understandable, knowledgeable and practical productions will be very useful in future. In retrospect, it was very good that I had this enforced time-out from the blood rush of pushing ahead regardless that comes with a new model. Vicariously looking at the detail of what will be required in future, the various stagings of the project, better enables me to determine what needs doing next (my ultimate question at any particular moment). I suspect that this is saving me a lot of grief down the track, and rapidly accelerating my learning curve beyond the old trial and error ways. Of course, it must be matched by skill development which will take time, but you get what I mean. But I digress...

After a couple of days of web research I was in the middle of a busy working week and couldn't really bring time and inclination together, so contented myself in confirming a probable Xmas delivery of a selection of appropriate decals. By that stage, it would be nice to have the construction done, or at a stage at least where minor variants are all that is required to match up with the particular decal and paint job that I decide on.

The only 'real' modeling job I've done since spraying my 67 parts of wheel, suspension and lower hull, with undercoat last Saturday was to grind the diameter of the axles so they fit the wheels a bit more comfortably. Without doing this the fit would be too tight to allow what I learnt from the videos was the advisable method of construction (put on the wheels to fit the tracks during their construction, remove them then prior to painting, glue them on prior to final detailing) and I would likely have experienced grief and heartache at some point.

I've also checked out what a modeling spray gun would be worth, to give the enamel coats of paint and varnish prior to the weathering work with brush and oilpaint. Luckily for me, the Mrs thinks this is a good idea. I'm a lucky man.

This leads to that

You know how it is. You go to an expo and come home with some model kits of a size and subject that you've never built before. And, after getting over the fact that there are over 160 separate track links that will eventually need to be put together to complete the T34-85, and checking that all the pieces are there (even if the decals are not) and only having one brief moment of gloom until find the piece that was knocked loose from the spruce somewhere in the last 17 years, and then looking at this site to confirm a few ideas about the turret and finding out that the model which I had been thinking of matching up with a tellermine wielding defender of the vaterland (ie circa early 1945) only to find out that the model is of the real model that was produced late in 1945 (ie after the war), I finally decided to start the thing anyway.

So I pressed out a few wheels and axles and wheel hubs, cutting off the attached spruce, filing off the bits of flash, finding out that most pieces fit together albeit a bit tightly but that some don't resulting in a bit of filing and shaving of the offending parts of the parts, learning how the glue works, thanking jah that I had approached the task conservatively, doing the parts for one side of the vehicle so I could work it better on the other side, and got to gluing.

And then I got to thinking about what should be painted when, as some things will be impossible to get to once the assembly proceeds (eg. the suspension springs) and some things will be difficult (eg. the inside 'flange' of the roadwheels). I realised that at this scale (1:35) any 'small' error is actually a 'big' error, so I want to do as well I can. So, while I let my mind work its magic in its dark recesses in a way that will hopefully bring forth the solution to my problem, I set about preparing myself.

Which means I have to sort out the odd collection of knives, blades, files, brushes, paints and other assorted and very miscellaneous modelling equipment. So, I open up the roll top desk into which I have been squirreling away such things since we got it about five years ago at some garage sale, and get to work.

Of course, when it all got too much, I went for a drive in my own T34-85 in the World of Tanks.

Model expo = models

This morning I took a break from playing World of Tanks to take Lizardking and the lads to the SA Plastic Modellers' Associations' annual expo. We got there about 11:30 and spent maybe an hour and a half on site (a large school hall in the heart of Adelaide). There seemed to be lot more viewers present as we left than when we arrived, and the vast empty table spaces between displayed models were filling up. So, we might have missed some of the treasures but we managed to savour what we saw without the disadvantage of crowds jostling us or anxious model owners snapping back against the tide of people.

Instead, we had a cool hour or so checking out the various display categories, and about half an hour at various of the stalls selecting our own wares to purchase.

My favorite individual model was a Dragon T34-85 (1:35), followed closely by a 1:72 Pfalz monoplane. Most impressive exhibition in my mind were the ships of Task Force 72, including a 3m long (!) work in progress of the HMS Hood and a 2m long jap sub. Besides being impressive scratch built models, these were WORKING ships, full R/C and working turrets, etc. The subs even submersed. The nice man said that the group meet at the boat lake in Bonython Park in the parklands, the last Sunday afternoon of each month, so I might head down there next Month (or even tomorrow, but they might have their ships all at the expo so I'll have to think about that one).

So, what goodies did we leave with? Lad #2 decided on a glossy book of American Supercars, and a three pack of 1:72 personnel transport models (Ketengrad, Kubelwagen and Jeep). Lad #1 settled on a 1:72 medieval bombard and crew, together with a 'Sheriff of Nottingham' 1:72 infantry pack. The Lizardking went for a Dragon (?) M4A3E8. And me? A Maquette 1:35 T34-85 and a Dragon kit of four 1:35 german infantry with their ambush equipment. Maybe I have some vague idea of streetfight diorama? I've never built a 1:35 kit before, nor have I constructed human figures before , so when I finally get both time and space to get to work on them I'm sure it'll be quite an adventure.

Needless to say, a good day was had by all. For me now, it's back to the grind of World of Tanks.

Hs 123 and East Front

Modelling

Have acquired an old Airfix model, an 1/72 Hs 123. The box was a bit old and tatty, and the fuselage pieces were off the spruce when I opened it, but otherwise all seemed good. I came across it in a quiet little stall, under some more 'standard' model kits, in the gloomy back corners of the Junction Market, one of Adelaide's largish weekend markets held in industrial size sheds. Even though it's probably 25 years since I last bought a kit model, seeing the spanish markings on the box art, how could I resist? Now I just gotta build the bugger.

And I seem to have stalled on the French figures. 1/54 scale figures are a lot of surface area to paint!

East Front

As you might guess, East Front II was one of the first games I loaded onto the new hard drive. Am almost half way through a mid-level complexity scenario (mixed regimental level). I'm playing the german mixed group of defenders in 41/42 against a largely infantry russian wave. As usual, it is the T34s which cause the most grief. Wayne and I are exchanging repartee when we send each other our respective turns. Pretty funny.

Awsome figures

I've just added a link to Jason's Historical Miniatures to the sidebar. Absolutely awsome sculpted figures of american revolutionary and civil wars!

I've recently come across some 1/32 scale figures which I'm thinking of painting up and came across the above site while looking for ideas. I bought some Russian WWII infantry figures, and some relatively high quality french napoleonic gun team models at a garage sale. I'll post up a little photo essay of the experience when I do.

Tony's Villa at Iron Mitten

Over at Iron Mitten, between August 31st and September 12th, Tony the legionaire has built a beautiful and useful Roman villa for use in the 28mm scale wargames of this wonderfully artistic blog's author. Very much worth a read from the bottom up if you are interested in how good models are made.

Reminds me of the castle that Jess and I made several years ago.

Modelers are everywhere

I was making myself a cuppa at work a couple afternoons ago and started chatting with fellow from another area who was wandering past. Within a minute I knew he was a scale modeller who was relatively keen (I recalled having spotted some aircraft pictures at his worksite once and drew the obvious conclusions). I told him of my recent trip to model shop (still haven't got a model plane kit, but will soon). Before long we were trading stories and advice snippets.

Next morning I find a printout of the home page of the South Australian Plastic Modellers Association (SAPMA) where I work. So I snuck into his area yesterday and left a photocopy of the pamphlet I grabbed from the Greenock Air Museum on my recent visit.

Modelers are everwhere.