Not a lot going on here at the moment, or, at least, there is a bit of construction work, but it's a slow grind and will take a while till I have anything more to report.
I have, however, finally managed to finish off the much-vaunted T34 chassis hanging from chains as it moves along the mass production line - inspired by images such as the below (dont look too closely though, as I notice I should have attached the chains to the upper portion of the vehicle, rather than how I actually did it - call it poetic license!)
And here are multiple pictures, from every conceivable angle, of my version of this iconic scene!
I added a few figures to give an idea of scale....
The base had "rubble" paper applied first, then a layer of cork debris built up, which was dry brushed orange with the odd dash of grey
When this dried, it was all dry bushed again with white, to bring out detail and give an impression of plaster dust
Then, I added extra detailing, including card painted grey then sliced up into random shapes to represent broken roof tiles, as well as small parts of transparent hard plastic packaging to look like smashed glass.
A few of the mdf bits and pieces I bought recently were also added, then the whole lot had PVA dotted around and over the "rubble" and I dropped real brick dust and some grey concrete like dust over the whole thing, including a few spots on the green iron frame the tank is hanging from.
It took quite a while to get everything done but I am finally there I think and happy with the results although some of the errors are pretty obvious to me... but its representational and on that level, it's as good as I need it to be!
Over the long weekend just past, we did a couple of short, local walks, so here are a few images, particularly for you poor benighted northerners, heading into winter at a rapid rate!
The first walk was through the bush at Alexandra Redoubt (for more info on this piece of our local military history see here Bydand)
View over the local countryside at the start of the loop through the surrounding bush
The Waikato River flows from south to north west, towards the Tasman Sea - the Redoubt was constructed to control traffic on this, the largest and longest navigable river in New Zealand
We have had a fair bit of rain recently and parts of the track were still a bit damp!
Two views of the Tuakau Bridge over the Waikato just to the south of the redoubt
A local grave, including a military reference - oddly, I just heard that old 80's song "19" today - it obviously was not only in Vietnam that some soldiers were that age...
Walk number two was just a local "reserve" in Pukekohe - Rooseville Park.
Some really impressive bird song accompanied most of our walk - I was tempted to try "filming" to record it, but previous attempts at this have not really been particularly impressive, and often, as soon as I start recording, the birds shut up for a minute, so I didn't bother trying this time!
Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and I hope you have another 60 - 90 seconds to leave a brief comment - if you don't comment, your visit did not really happen, you realise!



























A splendid piece of terrain Keith and very unique. Looking forward to seeing a spectacular eastern front urban battle !
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt! I have recently completed a series of three solo games based around my tank factory but maybe I should do one more, to "blood" my new terrain pieces?
DeleteFantastic work on the terrain!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Bill.
DeleteI like your hanging tank vignette a lot. Great idea. Nice report from the NZTB too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon, glad you liked both aspects of my post!
DeleteThat's a great bit of kit, Keith! Well done, Sir!
ReplyDeleteCheers Ray, it took me a while but I am pleased with the results
DeleteCracking idea for the tank assembly.
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm!
DeleteAwesome diorama terrain piece, Keith. Beautiful headstone marker too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean. Given the age of the headstone, it is in very good condition
DeleteGreat looking piece of terrain and nice scenery!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thank you Iain.
DeleteDon’t care where you attached the chains, the tank factory project looks ace to me.
ReplyDeleteThanksxJBM, I am happy with it too!
DeleteNow that is a great piece of scenery, I must say I will steal that idea!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Matt
Thanks a lot Matt...happy to provide inspiration and will be interested to see your version in due course!
DeleteA very nice piece of modelling Keith, it looks great, well worth the effort, should be great on the table. Some lovely scenery there, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie, it wasn't an enormous amount of effort, but it did take a long time to finish it off! Glad you like the local countryside shots too.
DeleteThat's come out really well Keith! Maybe a house rules that any units under it when hit by incoming fire, might have the tank fall on them as the chains are broken;)?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Steve, and maybe any units under it get a cover save from mortars and artillery but can't end their move there unless they pass a morale test. Not sure I would hide under a hanging tank. 😂
DeleteThanks Steve and Ben....sounds like a nightmare for Worksafe and the factory H&S committee....imagine all the form filling if workers were legitimately sheltering under the tank when it received a direct hit from a Katyusha or Nebelwerfer!!
DeleteThat worked out really well Keith, and I'm sure there must have been a hoist somewhere where they attached the chains to the bottom, for some obscure reason. It is a lovely piece and the rubble look terrific. Will you give the T34 any minuses for firing its machinegun from this position?
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence...no firing from up there...that is another H&S fail just waiting to happen!
DeleteWhat an excellent terrain sir!
ReplyDeleteThank you Michal, it's turned out pretty much as I hoped it would.
DeleteA superb terrain piece Keith
ReplyDeleteCheers Scotty. Nice of you to say so.
DeleteGreat work on the gantry Keith!
ReplyDeleteLovely walk through the bush as well.
Thanks Ben, I am glad you appreciated both scenic aspects of my post!
DeleteA cracking piece of terrain Keith…
ReplyDeleteIt looks like it will be a lot of fun to fight around…
You Southern Hemisphere also look lovely…
It is mostly Grey and wet where I am… ☹️
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly, I guess I am going to have to get it onto the table sooner rather than later!
DeleteWhere you are, it's often grey and wet in the middle of summer, isn't it?! Although last (and only) time I was in Nottingham, it was 34c during the day and still 21c at 1am!
An interesting piece of terrain that will certainly help set the scene. Would you use it as a possible objective marker?
ReplyDelete