ADF Helicopters

20/07/201930/08/2015 by jbarton11

I’ve made some progress with my Australian Helos: a couple of MRH Taipans (NH-90 transport helos) and ARH Tigers (Eurocopter Tigers). The ADF use a 3 colour camouflage scheme and painting it has been a welcome change from the modern US schemes which are just one or two colours. The only painful part is the colour patterns are consistent between helicopters. I’ve tried to reproduce this, but obviously at 3mm it’s almost impossible to be precise.

First the Tigers – I did 7 of these (I broke the tail off one, and I don’t think I’d ever run all of them).

US Army Apache Helicopters

20/07/201926/04/2015 by jbarton11

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted. I guess with ANZAC day having just passed it should be something more Australian, but US Army count as an ally. Moving on, I’ve painted a couple of Apache gunships. Overall I’m quite happy with these. I’ve moved away from the black windows as I think this would turn the whole model into one very dark blob. The window adds a bit of visual interest and I’ve added it to a couple of other 3mm models that will be added over the next couple of weeks.

3mm Egyptian T-55 Armoured Brigade

20/07/201903/03/2015 by jbarton11

Another chunk of 3mm progress. And while not quite a full Brigade, there are 3 battalions of T-55s. First a couple of pictures of individual bases.

3mm Israeli Isherman Battalion

20/07/201917/02/2015 by jbarton11

It’s been quite the productive week, the last of the models I’ve recently finished is an Israeli Isherman M51 Battalion for Modern Spearhead. One thing I like about the Israelis is that you don’t need to paint huge numbers; I’ve got a huge number of Egyptian T-55s that will take a fair while to finish.

First I’ve got the commander: the rules just have him on the same base as the others. However, I’ve decided to base them very differently on 20mm discs. It makes them nice and distinct, without requiring a heap of work on a little diorama.

E-7A Wedgetail – Complete

20/07/201921/12/2014 by jbarton11

The final step in this build was to print up some custom decals. I used Bare-Metal Foil‘s decal film. This product is a clear film that can be printed on with a laser printer. They’ve a number of variations with different colours and laser printing options all available. It was simply a matter of creating some images and then finding a high enough quality printer to print them out. At this scale even the huge markings on these planes are still only 2-3mm across so you need a good printer. I printed the following image, note the three different copies. I ended up using one and a half.

ADF Air Units – O8 Miniature Review

20/07/201920/12/2014 by jbarton11

A large number of 3mm tanks, trucks and Helos arrived the other day: the core of my ADF strike group. Rather than just showing some finished models I’m going to show some pictures of how they arrive and provide some thoughts on Odzial Osmy’s (O8) miniatures. The numbers in brackets are the O8 product codes.

E-7A Wedgetail – Painted

01/05/202417/12/2014 by jbarton11

Another bit of progress with the Wedgetail this evening. It’s now fully painted – all it’s waiting for is for me to print and apply the decals and then give it a good seal with dull coat.

Not much to say really. The main colour is White Grey (VMA 71.119). The details are either Medium Sea Grey (VMC 70.870) or my standard black mix (50-50 mix of black and a dark grey). Lastly I used NATO Camouflage Wash (MIG-1008) to give it some depth and pick out the flap lines.

3mm vs 6mm

20/07/201916/12/2014 by jbarton11

Another member of my gaming club and I are planning on doing a bit of 1:1 AIW fighting in 6mm. As a starting point we ordered a few tanks, including some T-55s. Seeing as I’ve got some T-55s that also just arrived for my 3mm AIW it seemed like a great opportunity to compare these two scales.

Egyptian BMP Battalion (1973)

20/07/201910/12/2014 by jbarton11

I’ve finished my first Modern Spearhead unit. It’s the core of a Egyptain Infantry Battalion for the Yom Kippur war. I’ve still got to add the organic mortar company, but I’m waiting on an order from PicoArmor that includes those miniatures and a heap of T-62s.

The structure of this Battalion is 3 companies of infantry each mounted in BMP-1s. They’re not big companies so each has only 2 stands. With my basing of 2 vehicles per stand that means 12 tiny little BMP-1s plus one for the Battalion HQ.

1/600th Ultramodern Marines

01/05/202410/12/2014 by floppy

I am very lucky to know some amazing former US Marines, some of which server on Sea Kings and later on V-22 Osprey’s. So in an Ode to them I have painted up an ultra Modern Marine force for Hind Commander. I have completed the air part of the task force, the ground part of the task force is next.

Dropzone Commander vs 3mm

20/07/201906/12/2014 by jbarton11

Just a quick couple of pictures that give an idea of the scale of a couple of the smaller Dropzone Commander units next to a few different 3mm miniatures. The two DzC miniatures are the Prowler (orange/green coloured) and a stand of 3 Destroyers (Grey coloured).

E-7A Wedgetail – Radar Dome, Antennas & Winglets

20/07/201902/12/2014 by jbarton11

Today I finished the scratch building of the Wedgetail. The details that separate this from a normal 737 are the numerous antenna, bulges, radar domes and winglets that protrude from the fuselage. There are literally dozens of these, but at this scale they would be barely noticeable, continually break off and turn it into a little porcupine. None of which lend me towards adding them. However there are a few bits that need to be included:

Modern Spearhead Plans

20/07/201925/11/2014 by jbarton11

As well as Hind Commander I’ve been looking at a few of the other rule sets out there that can be used with 3mm. One that’s interested me is Modern Spearhead. While its intended as a 6mm rule set it works on bases that are 1 1/4″ square (30mm). This size base will work for 3mm as I can put 2-3 miniatures on the base to give more of a group feel. Each base in Spearhead represents roughly a platoon, so it should have around 5 tanks in it, but that will look like a car park. Before committing to anything I experimented with a few different configurations.

E-7A Wedgetail – Body work

01/05/202418/11/2014 by jbarton11

A sick day meant no traveling out to game tonight, but that did let me get a bit of progress on the Wedgetail. First up I removed all the bits I didn’t want on there: wingtips, landing gear and print. After a half hour playing with the Dremel and some needle files I ended up with the following.

E-7A Wedgetail – The start

01/05/202426/10/2014 by jbarton11

Mentioned elsewhere in this blog was my the start of my latest Hind Commander strike group. I’ve found my E-8C JSTARS enormously useful in my USMC task force and so I’d like to include another AEW&C asset in this force. They are also not typically available as retail models so provide a nice little conversion opportunity. My next task force is going to be an ultra-modern Australian Defence Force (ADF) strike group based on the Recon doctrine. The current AEW&C used by the ADF (operated by the Royal Australian Airforce – RAAF) is the E-7A Wedgetail which is based on a 737-700.

5mm Dice Frames Review

01/05/202416/09/2014 by jbarton11

Much to my surprise my 90mm hexes arrived after less than a week from ordering them. Maybe I’ve got low expectations provided by a life time of Australian retail, but I wasn’t expecting them for another week or two. Any way, I’m not going to talk about the hexes, because I threw something else random in with the order: 5mm dice frames.

USMC Transport Helos

20/07/201929/07/2014 by jbarton11

Just a quick update with another batch of USMC helos. There won’t be many more after this, I think the final piece of this force I’ll put together will be a few more AH-1Zs to round out a full strike group. However, with these 5 freshly painted helos I’ve got a fair amount of transport capacity.

First a trio of medium lift helos. The old CH-46 is still flown by the USMC, but is being replaced by the V-22 Osprey. I’ve not found a model of the Osprey I like yet, so this will remain my medium lift for the time being.

More USMC Vehicles

20/07/201909/07/2014 by jbarton11

This is the last batch of USMC vehicles and completes enough for an entire strike-force (rather than the half strike-forces we typically play with). The new additions are some HEMMTs and M-ATVs. The colours are the same as I’ve used previously.

First are 3 unarmed trucks (HEMMTs). Completely unprotected and pretty easy to kill, these are essentially just targets. However I quite like their look and they are big. The last picture has a AA battery to give some idea of the scale of things (the bases are 20mm wide).

Russian Armour

20/07/201907/06/2014 by jbarton11

I’ve actually painted some 3mm stuff. In spite of the name and purported purpose of this site is seems I do more of everything else, other than that. This is not everything, just a few samples of some modern Russian armour I’ve been painting for no particular game or game system.

First, some BMP-2s. I’ve got a full company in 1:1 (that’s 12 – 3 platoons each with 3 vehicles, a company commander and 2 vehicles for the MGs). However, here’s just a few pictures of a sample:

E8C – New Photo

01/05/202406/04/2014 by jbarton11

This is the first project that really hit this blog and so it seemed like a good spot to do some experimenting. One of the biggest challenges with photographing miniatures is dealing with the depth of field. Miniatures have a certain look when photographed. Namely a small part will be in focus and most of the image is slightly out. This really characterises photographs of small things. In fact there’s a technique called miniaturisation where people take a picture of real life scenes and “miniaturise” them to make them look like they’re actually pictures of small scale models. Here’s an example I found on the web (sorry the owner doesn’t allow direct linking.)

USMC Infantry Painting

01/05/202421/02/2014 by jbarton11

Note: this is a draft I had put up and delayed posting while I took some pictures. I just happened upon it and so figured I may as well publish. It’s taken me twice to publish it correctly too; now I have pictures. Quick little update vis-a-vis the USMC force that I wrapped up a … Read more

Hind Commander Battle Report

20/07/201924/11/2013 by jbarton11

Ultra-Modern USMC vs Soviet Hind hoard For those new to Hind Commander I’ve previously posted a quick synopsis on the game. The battlefield was fairly unremarkable, a few ridges and small stands of trees surrounding a large town that was just on the Russian side of the front line to the north. A small helicopter … Read more

USMC Wrap-up

01/05/202431/10/2013 by jbarton11

I’ve finished and even played a game with the USMC forces that have been built up throughout the life of this blog. I’d neglected posting about these of late, the last minis painted for it (some OH-58Ds in olive green) I hadn’t even posted about. So I’ve just taken some pictures and thrown up a … Read more

Russian Su-27 Flanker – Base Colours

01/05/202429/10/2013 by jbarton11

I’ve had these on my desk for a while and I’ve been itching to paint one in a bright blue camouflage scheme I spotted a while back. For some reason the pictures of these are always done in some crazy camouflage scheme. I’m not sure if it would work, but maybe the point is to … Read more

3mm Middle Eastern Town

01/05/202407/07/2013 by jbarton11

I’ve been doing some other projects for a little while, including working on my photography. However, I have done one little 3mm project: a small Middle Eastern town to act as both a strategic objective and small piece of obstructing terrain for Hind Commander. After all, what else would you do with a USMC force? … Read more

USMC UH-1Y Venom

01/05/202426/06/2013 by jbarton11

Another batch of helicopters. The other light helicopter used by the USMC is the U-1Y Venom. Based on the venerable Huey, the Venom is a utility helicopter that’s primarily used for transport. This one is pretty simple, the colours are essentially the same as the Viper. The only difference is there are no missle pods … Read more

USMC AH-1Z Viper

01/05/202412/06/2013 by jbarton11

Finally it’s time for some helicopters. We’re going to start with the attack helicopters. The most modern attack helicopter the USMC use is the AH-1Z Viper. The Viper traces its heritage all the way back to the AH-1 Cobra used during the Vietnam War and shares a lot of components (but not its looks) with … Read more

USMC Vehicle Painting

20/07/201930/05/2013 by jbarton11

Given the name of this journal is “NanoTanks” it is probably time for some tanks. My current build is an ultra-modern force for Hind Commander. Hind Commander is a miniature game focusing on helicopters. The particular force im building is mainly made up of USMC units with some attached USAF ELEMENTS. The E-8C build from … Read more

E-8 Build – Decals & Finishing Up

01/05/202422/05/2013 by jbarton11

Before applying the decals I did a pin wash into the joins on the wings and tail. I used AK-Interactive’s Grey Wash for Kriegsmarine Ships (AK 303) for this step. While not the intended subject for this range, I find this wash is good for light grey models and so perfect for the E-8C. Because … Read more

Brigade Models Buildings

20/07/201916/05/2013 by jbarton11

Just a quick little post to show how Brigade Model’s terrain looks next to some Odzial Osmy 3mm vehicles. Note that the buildings are meant to be in 2mm scale, while the vehicles are in 3mm. As such the buildings are a little small. However, if you put them in little built up areas then … Read more

Soviet Rocket Artillery Battery

20/07/201915/05/2013 by jbarton11

My E-8C project is on hold for a bit while I wait on some more decals arriving. This pause has given me some time to focus on another piece for my Soviet Hind Commander force. Namely, I’ve put together a Rocket Artillery Battery. In Hind Commander these forces are off-table so there are no rules … Read more

E-8 Build – Base Colours

01/05/202401/05/2013 by jbarton11

A bit more progress on the E-8 tonight: I’ve put on all the base colours. I used a grey primer as that’s what looked best when I did some test sprays on a piece of cardboard. Then came a layer of Deck Tan (VMC 70986). I use an airbrush for this type of painting and … Read more

E-8 Build – Body work update

01/05/202426/04/2013 by jbarton11

The model’s been sitting on my desk for a couple of days and I just noticed a casting defect. The front engine mount is not like the others. I’ve highlighted one of the original pictures below. Not a difficult fix, a couple of minutes with some small side cutting pliers removes the offending metal and … Read more

E-8 Build – Body work

01/05/202425/04/2013 by jbarton11

As a first project we are creating an E-8 JSTARS plane in 3mm (1:600). The E-8 is a modern AWACS plane that’s currently used by the US military. There aren’t any miniatures of the E-8 available at the moment so we will have to get a little creative. Fortunately the E-8 is based on the … Read more

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