Monday, February 27, 2012

An Alarming Number of Small Bits

The fellows at The Guild have another build project, this one with a flak /antiaircraft theme, and I am a sucker for collecting little virtual medals.

I recall having a flakish model in a box of unassembled plastic kits, one that my wife eyes dangerously each time we move, and found it. It's a vintage (sounds better than old) Airfix Bofors 40mm flak gun with tractor and some of those poorly moulded but charming little Airfix guys. As I recall, it was a gift from a widowed parishioner who was cleaning out her husband's hobby stuff. I should probably make it before it gets cleared out with the rest of my estate.



A rather alarming number of small pieces, and my eyesight, patience, manual dexterity and tolerance for sniffing glue are not what they used to be. The paint scheme on the model box and decals are for a 7th Armoured Division gun in the western desert, a theatre I don't collect.

However, I found this photo of a Canadian Bofors in Normandy in 1944, a theatre I do collect.



So as you can see, I don't really have a choice, do I?

However, before I can think more about this, I need to get these chaps off my painting table before Feb 29th, the date of another Guild deadline for the year long Project Build. I have quite a few more ACW figures to do this year.

7 comments:

  1. The ACW figs look quite nice. I would be daunted by a model project like that now myself. I remember loving models up to High School. Have not touched a plastic model since.

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  2. Clearly you don't have any other choice but to face the challenge!!
    I had a similar nightmare with a Russian models manufacturer some years ago (cannot remember the name) who produces a Katyuska (spelling likely wrong) rocket launcher 1/72... with over 80 pieces... usually I don't swear but....
    Well good luck and looking forward to see that model and good luck

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  3. Nice find. I built that model kit when I was around 15, I remember I was quite proud of managing to put it together. I got another one now, bought a couple of years ago which I haven't started yet. I might do it for the FLAK build too.

    I wonder about the picture of the canadian bofors. Are the colours accurate? Especially the uniform colour. I never really got the canadian shade of uniform, other than that it should be greener than the british shade.

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  4. Looking forward to more sir, those confederates were really nice......

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  5. @ Chris: Thanks. They are not nearly enough horses for some of the scenarios in The Coming Thunder. I expect a few more boxes of Perry cav are in the cards for me.

    @ Annibal: I agree. Face the challenge! I confess I have been known to swear a few times myself, usually after sticking my fingers together with superglue.

    @ Laffe: Dunno about Canadian uniforms. I keep reading that the serge battledress fabric was a greenish shade, and the ones in this picture do look slightly green, but the examples I've seen in museums tend to look like British battledress, more brown. So I'm not sure.

    @ Angry: Thanks, mate. Should have that cav unit finished in another day, even if it takes an all nighter.

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  6. Right, this is all your fault, Padre! I have just ordered an Italian AA gun and entered into the group build.

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  7. H'mmm... I have at least one of those Bofors AA guns still in its box. Unassembled: that's bad... I've still got one goodish eye: that's good...
    Cheers,
    Ion

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