Without a doubt, it’s insanity.
Oh man… now why you gotta be that way Sgt.? Bringing up numbers and sh!t? Now I feel my age - where’s my damn cane? :wink:
Some of you might be wondering why do I go through all the trouble of doing these mods when there are already models with much better detail?
I’ll enumerate.
1. I bought the games for the pieces. I’d be stupid to throw them away and spend the equivalent amount of the game itself in replacing the pieces.
The OOB models have merit and with a little work, can be made into much better playing pieces visually.
2. Most aftermarket replacement pieces like GHQ are made of metal. Metal barrels end up looking like spaghetti destroying the look of the rest of
beautifully detailed pieces. Plastic pieces react with the paint solvents so they chip less and are not in as much need of touchups as metal
models.
3. Weight. Plastic is lighter than metal. Aren’t the game boxes already heavy enough?
Physics dictates that Force= Mass * Acceleration. A heavier object that is moving generates more force. When 2 metal pieces get jumbled around,
their weight causes more damage as they hit each other and your beautiful paint jobs get marred with shiny bare metal showing through. Metal does
not have the resiliency of plastic so when it deforms from impact, the paint chips off. Hardly so with plastic as the plastic provides more support for the
paint since the paint is bonded to it.
4. Fun. I mod the pieces as a past-time and gain satisfaction in the end result. I’m proud of turning representative pieces into miniature models of
the real thing. I come from a modelling background so it is a natural progression helped by some OCD in detailing for realism.
5. Insanity. See above.
Hopefully you can gain some inspiration and add another dimension of fun to this game.
I also have recently accepted commissions as a way to allow my hobby to be self sustaining.
I’ll have to judge any offers on a case by case basis due to availability, labor, materials and workload.
This is a hobby I do after I come home from my job and have no desire to make this too time consuming.
Enjoy.
Wil,
Some of you might be wondering why do I go through all the trouble of doing these mods.
Fun. I mod the pieces as a past-time and gain satisfaction in the end result. I’m proud of turning representative pieces into miniature models of the real thing.
Hopefully you can gain some inspiration and add another dimension of fun to this game.
I also have recently accepted commissions as a way to allow my hobby to be self sustaining.
I’ll have to judge any offers on a case by case basis due to availability, labor, materials and workload.
This is a hobby I do after I come home from my job and have no desire to make this too time consuming.
––FUN. It’s a worthy objective. And you’ll notice that it’s a THREE-letter word. I think your very wise for taking that in consideration of any/all projects you do because working for others can very easily and quickly turn into a FOUR-letter word, WORK(among many others :-D). It’s a smart man that considers his options fully. Several years ago I ended up getting “burned-out” on painting railroad models for others. I used to enjoy it, but not nearly so much any more. You’re obviously an intelligent fellow, even if you “look like a twelve year old” :-D
––But seriously, Thank You for sharing your talented modelling skills with us all.
“Tall Paul”
Fun is a worthy point in that regard…
But I’m going with #5 with Sgt. :wink:
“V”,
––Yep, I’m sure a case of insanity could be made against almost all of us here on A&A.Org,…especially YOU!!! :-D
––But you know what? I’m having a He!! of a good time playing A&A and interacting with my friends here on A&A.Org.
----One day, (IF)whenever we get all of these units detailed and painted I’d love to have a bunch of friends like you over for some games. It’ll be great FUN! I’ll even let you play the English if you like.
“Tall Paul”
@Tall:
“V”,
––Yep, I’m sure a case of insanity could be made against almost all of us here on A&A.Org,…especially YOU!!! :-D
––But you know what? I’m having a He!! of a good time playing A&A and interacting with my friends here on A&A.Org.
----One day, (IF)whenever we get all of these units detailed and painted I’d love to have a bunch of friends like you over for some games. It’ll be great FUN! I’ll even let you play the English if you like.“Tall Paul”
HEY! I took their tests, I’m only a partial nut job.
Oh man… if I had the spare cash and time, I’d grab a flight next week - not only would it be a fantastic A&A venture, but your weather has GOT to be better as well… Oh yeah, I’d play the UK like no one’s business (though actually, I prefer playing the krauts - imagine that :)
It’s been weird warm here in NC. 71 Saturday and 73 yesterday. Almost had to turn the AC back on.
Thanks for keeping me posted SGT. 31 degrees here in NNNNorthern CCCCalifornia….I’m about to put some pants on if I can find any.
You definatly have a gift, patience most of all. I just finnished helping my 6 year old finish building his Dukes of Hazzard General Lee model and I was about to pull my hair out! Couldn’t get the G;;D;;;;d front bumber to sit right and of course, I got glue on the plastic windshield…I always do that. I laughed as I went to the garage to put everything away and thought of how you guys paint your pieces so well, i’d pop a blood vessel.
Well done!
Wil,
––I think I can express the opinions of everyone who sees your impressive modifications of these tanks;
Wow!
“Tall Paul”
It’s been weird warm here in NC. 71 Saturday and 73 yesterday. Almost had to turn the AC back on.
Why do you have to be that way? That’s just spiteful.
Love those mods Sgt! Wow… it’s gonna take a steady hand and trick brush.
It’s been weird warm here in NC. 71 Saturday and 73 yesterday. Almost had to turn the AC back on.
Why do you have to be that way? That’s just spiteful.
Love those mods Sgt! Wow… it’s gonna take a steady hand and trick brush.
NC Weather!! That was last weekend. It snowed the following Friday. !!!
Thanks V, and those are just the current models.
The HBG Stuart can be made into more variants with a bit more work but the hull is just fantastic.
What is with the HBG pieces? They have great and fantastic hulls and equally horrible turrets.
It’s like the sculptor for the hull is not the same as that of the turret.
Their M18 Hellcat is the only exception I’ve found to be great all around but it has a telephone pole for a gun.
I promised a while ago to show some of my scratchbuilds for the original A&A.
Well, they are here. I’ve also added some work which grew out of the desire for more accurate pieces in
comparison with aftermarket models by HBG and OOB models from later A&A versions.
The new pics are on page 1.
Thank you Sgtwiltan.
I particularly liked your 232 Recon 8 wheeler.
Herr Wittman,
I have added a spare wheel to that model and the additional frontal armor.
The problem with the model is that it takes 2 6Rad to make 1 8Rad.
The size is also a bit smaller but it works for me. I’m only making 6 for myself for the heavy schwadron
and might use the leftover parts from the second 6Rad to make some 222 for the leichte schwadron.
Wil,
––Very Impressive work! I can’t say I like anything more than the others this time as they are all EXCELLENT! You certainly know your “stuff”. Thanks for sharing. :-D
“Tall Paul”
This is art. I’m really astonished, how many details can be applied to a 2-cm unit, they look absolutely realistic.
How much time do you need for one tank?
A-D-D and motivation are the determining factors. A specific group of ten can take months from scratch.
But it can also take a couple weeks if I’m really excited by the subject. I like the A&A units since I can mostly
just add details rather than start with conversions for scale, measuring plastic and sanding or shaping. An already built base
cuts the time easily by half as the shape is already there. That is why I’m excited by all the new A&A and HBG pieces
since the base models also make the models much more uniform in dimension. Like I said motivation is the biggest factor on how productive I am.
These are amazing.
Thank you. I’ll have Paul’s modified HBG T34s and my own A&A modified T34s with russian green paint up this weekend.
Wil,
––I’m glad you’ve caught up in your other responsibilities enough to do some more modifying/detailing. Your work is amazing and much looked forward to. Go Team Warmachine!
“Tall Paul”
