Commit Random Acts of Kitbashing Madness...

So here's a selection of some of the most recent things to roll off my workbench, from some more 1/72 scale  SOMUA S35 chars de cavalrie for my eternally growing and never ending 1940 French Army project to a mysterious craft seen buzzing through our kitchen! We shall begin with the SOMUAs, which were in 1940 among the best tanks available to the Western Allies to resist the German Blitzkreig:

These SOMUA S35s are in fact diecast models I bought on EBay. Upon arrival they were unceremoniously taken apart, sprayed flat black, then repainted by yours truly working from a superb new tome entitled Chars et Blindes de Cavalrie, 1939-1940: La 1re DLM au Combat by Erik Barbanson chronicling the combat history of the French Army's superb 1st Division Legre Mechanique from inception to the end of the French Campaign in June 1940. The 1st DLM was something of an elite formation within the French Army at this point in history, and gave a very good account of themselves against the German Army, fighting all the way from Belgium back to Dunkirk (and letting the German soldats know they'd been in a fight!). 

I repainted this trio of S35s based upon the color plates found in Barbanson's lavishly illustrated book using mainly Americana and Decoart craft paints, plus some Pelikan sepia drawing ink. The decals are a mixed lot of everything from Aleran to Dom's Decals meant for 1/144 scale WW1 French aircraft (yes, I play Wings of Glory!).

In the same manner, I repainted a well built 1/72 scale model of a German Sturmgeschutz III I also acquired from EBay. This particular model arrived airbrushed in a simple three color camouflage finish. I took that to the next level with some fancy brushwork turning the base scheme into a more art deco ambush finish, added decals from the spares box, a dab of ink and a dash of weathering, and this handy assault gun joins the ranks of my despicable Waffen SS kampfgruppe:

On the sci-fi front, two new grav tanks came gliding out the factory doors:

Oh, dear, looks like they may not like each other....


Finally, a mysterious object was sighted hurling through our kitchen recently:

More on the sighting of this mysterious and sinister craft to follow...

Some Inspiration for Trashbash 2013

OK, so I'm not entering the now infamous Trashbash competition this year, as I volunteered to serve as a judge and see to it that Metal Express provided prize support to the competition (a $40 USD gift certificate good ion the Metal Express online store!). 

However, this doesn't stop me from providing some inspiration for the participants who might be at a loss as to what to do with a dead computer mouse (which happens to be the subject of this year's Trashbash competition!). So here is my "Grav Hetzer" anti-gravity tank destroyer based on a dead computer mouse for your enjoyment presented in a step-by-step photo presentation of the mouse and other bits put together, in its black primer undercoat, and in its final completed form including decals from the spares box and a shot of Testor's Dullcote:

Bad as all this is, here's some more blasts from the kitbashing past, projects that saw the reuse of everything from plastic Christmas ornaments and cheese containers, to toothpaste caps and empty deodorant containers for your enjoyment and inspiration:

It's amazing how easily one can make a real kick-ass Escort vessel for Silent Death: The Next Millennium from an empty toothpaste or deodorant container and a handful of bits from the spares box:

And then there's the plastic old fashioned printer cartridge box turned Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader Imperial War Walker (Don't worry, he got a good home in the end...):

That's right, there's no shame to my kitbashing game (especially when an empty bottle of my wife's body wash is involved):

Empty coffee cans, empty humus containers, some wooden disks from Michael's craft store, a bottle of Tacky Glue:

... Lego bits, plastic rhinestones, Krazy Glue,  and then out comes the can of Testor's Flat Olive Drab, and all Hell breaks loose once again! Mwahahahahaahaaaa!!!!

Primed and Ready!!

Looking Ever So Fetching in Basic Black, Daaaahlings!!! 

And so now we take the finished anti-gravity panzerjagers outside and apply a coat of flat black spray paint...

Absolutely Faaabulous, dahlings! Just faaaabulous!!! 

So next we sit down to start painting... what's that you say, Zathrus? "Kull" wants to buy them?! All of them as they are in their primer coat? Well, he did ask nicely... but what do we do for the rest of our loyal cultists? What's that, Igor? "Build a second batch quick and paint them up instead?!" I knew there's a reason I keep you two around the workshop! OK, so get the parts bin and wake up the work gangs! We've got to get this turned around and fast!!!

So here they are, the second batch of four anti-gravity panzerjagers made from $1.50 plastic hairpin boxes from Daiso for your consideration, dear loyal cultists:

So I get to mucking about in the parts bins and I come across some intriguing parts and such, and I remember through the haze of academic delirium that Brian Roe is staging his Trashbash 2013 competition and this year's competition the recycled item of choice is the humble computer mouse and my mouse just conveniently *died* on me, and while I am a judge this year rather than a participant there's no reason I can't have a little fun and try and inspire others to the same depths of sheer kitbashing madness that I normally wallow in so....

The figure for scale is a 1970s vintage Ral Partha sic-fi trooper. I have a few of these classic laying about, and decided to paint them up for old time's sake, but that, dear readers, is for another blog entry! 'Til next time, people! And remember, parts is parts! And If yours truly can pry it loose, it's going in the parts bin!