Here's a card model I built recently, Paper Forge's BMP-1. The default scale is 1/48, a bit small relative to my troops which are more 40mm (give or take a few millimeters). However, 1/48 and 1/43 armor & vehicles fit the size of the soldiers well enough for my purposes.
This and other models such as the T-72, Abrams tanks and the Humvee can be found at Wargamer Vault, PDF file downloads for the princely sum of $1.99. Not bad at all considering that once you have the files, unlimited vehicles can then be fabricated at no additional cost. The parts sheets have a helpful conversion table giving the % of print scale to make the models as anything from 1/35 to 1/144.
For the Russian vehicles, the files come with two different versions, green and tan. The US comes in woodlands camo and tan. The Russian green is nice, with the appearance of mud on the tracks and hull. But the details on the tan version look a little crisper to me. In the case of the BMP, everything fits on one parts sheet.
This is a very well designed kit. Very simple to build, yet sturdy. The braces keep the hull true so that the tracks sit flush once you've completed the build.
And the end result. Yes, it's simplified in that there are no headlights, the tracks aren't flared out away from the hull and so on. But I think it captures nicely the look of the cramped sardine can for infantry that is the Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty. In any case, detailed or not it works just fine in my simple imagi-nations context.
I did some things to it, substituted a styrene cannon barrel (although you could just as easily go with the rolled paper), styrene driver's/TC's optics, used an extra parts sheet with cereal box cardboard-backed hatches and fenders to make the details pop a little more. And I painted the green camo pattern. Water is death to paper models, but you can get away with using water-based paint on them providing you dry the brush thoroughly after rinsing. The 40mm HLBS crew figure shows the vehicle is a bit undersized, but not outlandlishly so.
I'm now nearly finished with the T-72 and will post about it soon.
Interesting work proceeding here and in the preceding posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks, tradgardmastare.
DeleteI have to admit these paper models are attractive and could - were I not such a strong-minded fellow - lead me far astray. :-) As it is they could go far to fill in gaps in my Army Men forces!
ReplyDeleteI can't remember whether I have mentioned it to you, or whether you know of it: try 'papermau' for all sorts of paper models.
I like the fact that vehicle has so few parts!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like it, Ion. Yup, few parts, easy to assemble. I built a BMP-2 from another paper model company which was a lot more complex, and the end result was no better - a little worse even.
DeleteNice card model. It works well with your miniature figures.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jan. The T-72 has been done for over a week but I've not yet gotten around to photographing it yet.
DeleteIf you want more hlbs figs i have some for sale. Contact me at custer7thcavtmp@yahoo.com.
ReplyDelete