Modern Stuff - 54mm

Sorry, It's been pretty quiet here. I'm halfway through painting a unit of HWG-Modelle Austro-Hungarian hussars and prefer to wait until they're done before I show it.

In the meantime, here's something completely different, things I did a couple of years ago.  First, let's build a Russian tank. $4 from Russian Traditions.  This is a very simple kit produced by Umbum (Umnaya Bamaga). Simple, it uses the familiar old "insert Tab A into Tab B" construction formula.

How's it look ?  Not too bad, really. I've also built a BMP-3 from this company, also an easy build.  That's an ESCI Warsaw Pact figure, a Czech paratrooper.

Now we need some figures.  These are plastic Russian cops, my paint jobs inspired by the Soviet VDV.  Made in Russia, I have no idea if they're still in production but they do pop up on eBay now and then.

And Caipo Americans. Not great, but cheap. You get a bag of guys molded in green & tan (naturally), about half of which look like this and the other half somehow got off a time machine from WW2.

HWG-Modelle (Wollner): Part I

Finished painting the first pack HWG-Modelle Austro-Hungarian infantry figures over the weekend.  Although the figures were sold as unpainted castings "HWG-Modelle", judging by the 38mm size and antique toy soldier style, I'm fairly sure they are Wollner figures.  Wollner dates to the late 1800's and they're still sold by Kober Toys of Vienna. But only as painted sets, so far as I know.  

"New models in preparation" ?  I only wish all of this stuff was still in production (Oh yeah, Turkenkrieg !), but I've been able to find nothing on the web about HWG-Modelle. The packaging looks pretty dated to me, perhaps sold new in the 1980's (give or take a decade).  I purchased these sets from the Flohmarkt section at Berliner Zinnfiguren.

Skinny guys and hard to hit with a Little Wars spring gun

The foot are easy to paint quickly on account of the slim, semi-round style.  The cavalry are also toylike but more rounded.  The riders are cast with their saddles and have to be glued onto the horses.

Too bad there's not of enough troops in this first group to field a battalion.  However, I have another identical set on order, as well as infantry musicians on parade (containing the standard bearer). Between the two, there will be 18 foot figures, which will have to suffice.

Spenkuch Hussars - 35mm

Just finished painting this small set of Imperial German hussars which I've had sitting in the box for a couple of years. The figures are attributed bythe seller to Spenkuch - perhaps they're not, but certainly the bleisoldaten style is consistent with Spenkuch.  They're semirounds, pretty flat though. 

They're the starting point of another idea, moving the imagi-nations forward in time to 1900.  This will allow me to combine the two interests of painting figures and building ships, thus bringing pre-dreadnought era navies into play.  Now I am painting a set of Austro-Hungarian infantry, 38mm Wollner castings.