Sunday, 11 January 2026

WW2 Red Army Scouts

Here is the next small installment of completed 3d printed figures - these ones all came from the Australian supplier 










I am also considering another Comic Book adventure based on an old skirmish level solo game - this time a Border Revers clash - so I took a few pics of some of the characters I may need 


And how Gemini translated her into a comic book image 



















And finally, always one of my favourite figures!




Now, at this time of year (summer holidays in the Antipodes) it would be remiss of me not to include a few images of a recent excursion into the bush, including a walk through a 500m gold mine shaft/tunnel, complete with glow worms.





A rather unique bit of fauna neither Ruth nor I recalled seeing before - it was feathery rather than spikey





First small tunnel







Rugged terrain!




And it was uphill all the way!








The main tunnel was reached after about an hour



It was 500m long and totally pitch dark in the central third, as its obviously not 100% straight




Glow worms!






Still practising the selfies so I am as professional as Matt!







My dear wife just asked, "When can you go for coffee?", so I need to wrap up now - it's a hard life, I tell ya!



28 comments:

  1. Matt does have a distinct knack for getting his noggin in the photo, doesn’t he? To me, your AI translations of figure to character are outstanding. Will be interested in reading your next graphic novel. Good to see that your AI work is not cutting into painting time or your unending NZTB gig. Now, go enjoy your coffee!

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    1. Haha.....thanks Jon. Lots more Red Army figures to come, the AI fad has not completely taken over, although I am enjoying playing with that, too! Now home after a nice coffee plus picking up an online grocery order

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  2. Great looking Soviet scouts Keith. I can imagine them skulking around the NZ bush.

    The AI pictures look interesting.

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    1. Thanks Ben let's hope there aren't any Soviet Scouts in the NZ bush - fortunately, I don't think we have anything they want, so we should be safe from great power neo colonialism!

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  3. Oh, love the Sowiet scouts! Great minis, beautiful painted (very like the camo!) and the dog! Fantastic stuff!

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    1. Thank you, Michal, I found them relatively easy to do - its a nice, simple camo - not like the SS or British paras etc!

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  4. I must admit I've always loved the Soviet scout's camo scheme and uniform, that just looks so cool! Great work in doing it on those prints Keith:). It is amazing what AI can do and obviously the more you use it, the more you can push the boundaries etc. Lovely shots of the bush there and I'm always amazed at how good the signage is for these walks.

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    1. Thanks Steve - glad you like the figures - the AI is fun, I now have a phrase I use to get the look I am after - once I got one I really liked, I asked another AI what description I would need to use to get a comic book illustration that looked the way my example did, and it told me! Yes, we are very well served by DoC (Dept of Conservation) in New Zealand.

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  5. Those scout figures look really good and a very nice paint job on them. The AI stuff looks interesting, should make for a good tale if you go for it. More stunning shots from NZ, your weather is a good bit better than we have here at the moment!

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    1. Thanks Donnie - yes, I have been following the weather situation via the BBC - I would say there might be 40-50 degs C between us and you at the moment - it was 27 here today (too hot for me, really) but in the Hawkes Bay I think it reached 40c!

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  6. Great looking figures Keith I like the guy with the dog and the queens/princesses are a lovely set not sure I would know what to do with them though ?

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    1. Thank you Matt. As for the female figures, I think they have all been on the table courtesy of Border Reivers games....where there is a will, there's a way!

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  7. The scouts look amazing, Keith.

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  8. Great work on the Soviet scouts Keith. As others have mentioned, I particularly like the one with the dog. Your AI-wrangling is also paying dividends.

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    1. Thanks Lawrence I am having a bit of fun with both hobbies at the moment!!

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  9. The scouts look amazing Keith, as do the pics from your walk. What a beautiful place.

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    1. Thanks a lot Chris, they're great figures to paint and the scenery in New Zealand is pretty good!

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  10. Good additions to your Soviets, looking forward to future groups. Nice additions to your comic characters (via the AI) and when I think of all the female character figures in your arsenal, we can expect more, I'd bet. And the trip photos are an awesome look at the varied countryside, tonic for our seasonal snow and mud landscape.

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    1. Thanks Joe, more Soviets coming soon (including some Lay -dees!), so your prediction re future AI representations seems a pretty safe bet. Glad you like the NZ scenery too :)

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  11. Amoeba pattern camo never looked better Keith - lovely scouts and really nice sculpts to boot. Especially like the mixture of weaponry amongst them - MP40!

    That trip looked suitably scenic too. Never seen glowworms or fireflies and any of the luminous variants of critters within nature so I am envious. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks Dai, the Amoeba pattern camo is nice and easy to paint! Glad you liked the tourist messaging too!

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  12. Great looking 3D print figures, and outdoor scenes as well!

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  13. Very nice looking Soviet Scouts Keith…
    We are currently experiencing grey wet weather… so colour me jealous…
    If only AI could change that 🤣

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly - our weather has changed significantly - unfortunately with what appear to be tragic results - you may even have heard about it in the UK. Parts of the east coast had 2 moths worth of rain in 12 hours.....

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