Small Scale Military Headquarters

I just wanted to ask the Board a question. I'm thinning out some of my extras and have decided to sell off my BMC Marines and Japanese from the Iwo Jima playset. Should I offer them as custom painted, or just sell them unpainted? I'm not going to paint some up unless I feel that there is someone mor...

Looking in on this thread leads me to several comments... 1) the WC62/63 6X6 was an "odd duck" variant used by Infantry Regiments to tow light artillery (from about late 1943-on). Rarely found in other outfits. 2) The 3/4 ton 4X4 was EVERYWHERE! This was the WW2 equivalent to a pick up. They show up...

I'm sure that no one at 21C gives a hoot, but the Marines rarely (if ever) used the WC63 truck! That was an Army variant to haul the 57mm AT gun and the "baby" 105 in Regimental Cannon Companies. This was not a general issue truck.

As stated in the above posts, you need to decide what you are getting the vehicles/soldiers for. If you are collecting versus wargaming, etc your approach will be different. So far King and Country is the only line that can be counted on to appreciate in value for a "collecting investment". Personal...

Like many of the other ealier 1:18 21C tanks, the M48A3 is basically taken from a 1:35th Tamiya model. They scale them up, and add some big hinges for operating features. The basic criticism of the original Tamiya M48A3 is that Tamiya measured an empty tank so it sits a few scale inches higher than ...

For those of us that enjoy building or converting 1/32 scale figures, there is great news - Airfix will re-release most of the old Multipose figures again. Multipose is a model kit of six figures that can be easily modified to change poses, heads, weapons, etc. The subjects include: British 8th Army...

Never heard the M113 refered to as a "Gavin" before! Plus an "airborne" armored vehicle? Not exactly. Otherwise the old M113 series seems a much better choice than the Strykers, and cheaper than Bradleys.

I imagine the 88 will be the most popular, and it offers many possibilities, but don't forget that the US 105 won the war! It served from North Africa through Viet Nam and in all theaters of WW2. There are LOTS of possibilities for that gun and its various crews.

Actually the USMC used M4A1's (Cape Gloucester), M4A2's with early hull (Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima) , some M4A2's with late hulls (Iwo Jima, Okinawa), and M4A3s with late hulls (Iwo Jima, Okinawa). The 21C M4 is a mid-production/rebuilt M4 with 75,, gun. The COULD be rebuilt to an M4A2, needs new eng...

I'd like to see 21C make the previously announced Dodge 6X6 truck, plus the larger GMC 2 1/2 ton 6X6. We really need some US trucks! You can do all kinds of stuff with the Sherman chassis - a later hull, prefereably with the 76mm turret (I can supply full details on request). The previously announce...

Thanks for the photos. I usually model just WW2 US stuff, but that M113 is pretty cool stuff. Just needs the side guns and shield to make a full ACAV - wow! I have to admit that the German 88 AAA is pretty cool also, especially since the prime movers are already available. Nothing like having artill...

there are some of who would paint figures, BUT I don't know if you will like the prices. For a Conte US paratrooper, doing a basic job I'd probably charge $15 per figure, and even then I'd only be getting about $2/hr for my time. On the good news - the Conte figures are very nice and have some of th...

"Does anyone know where I can get the K&C "Sands of Iwo Jima" figures for LESS than $20 per piece? Stryker" 1) Theft 2) watch eBay and pray for the figures to come in at your price. 3)if you aren't picky about metal vs. plastic, get the BMC marines (from their Iwo Jima playset). They are made from K...

yes the Conte figures are slightly larger than "traditional" 54mm (1/32nd scale. The excellent King and Country figures have a different scale also, about 1/30th. The plastic Marines and Japanese by BMC are made from K&C masters and are large also. I have used a number of plastic and metal figures a...

One one hand it's nice to know that 21C hasn't forgotten 1/32nd scale. On the other hand NO ALLIED WW2 stuff! DRAT! Over the last couple years they showed us prototypes for a Dodge 6X6, an M3 Grant and US MG teams. We need these a lot more than another 88 (watch the flames erupt after that one!). St...

the M36 entered service in Europe in the later fall of 1944. Did not see active wartime service in Italy or Pacific.

the M47 was rushed through development because of the Korean War, but it never did fire a shot in anger in US service. The tank got to the troops about 1952 or 1953.

First don't forget that "M41" can be any number of things, you have to add the modifier..i.e " Tank, Combat, Full Track, 90mm gun, M48A3" for Vietnam Era stuff, or "Medium Tank M4A3" for WW2 stuff. So with that out of the way, there was a "Light Tank M41" as well as "155mm Self Propelled Howitzer M4...

word of warning - I bought an LCM3 set and the Dragon figures are very much larger than any other 1/72nd figures that I own. They seem like 1/64th scale to me!

My approach varies with the size and/or series. As many know, I'm a total GI freak. I enjoy the figures as much or more as the tanks and vehicles. In "true" 1/32nd (21C/FoV/Marx, Airfix) I really enjoy cutting, modifying or detailing the figures. Many of my 21C figures have been upgraded with better...

[quote="mburduck"]So, would the 105 with AP round make a good anti-tank weapon? According to a test conducted by the US First Army, yes the 105mm howitzer's HEAT shell (shaped charge warhead) would penetrate the frontal armor of a captured Panther tank at 500yds range (the only other US gun that cou...

yes the rear-of-turret stowage for the .50 cal. was a common feature of the later M4A3's. The brackets were added to all late production 75mm turrets, but by then the M4 75mm was almost done with production. All the 76mm turrets had the brackets and most (all?) of the 105mm turrets. As stated above,...

of course it makes sense to face an enemy with your strongest armor towards him. The turret traverse allows the commander/gunner team to see and start the engagement before the tank slews around. In certain terrain it may not be possible to turn the whole vehicle, or at least not fast enough. That's...

The assault gun platoon was the tank battalion commanders' "personal artillery". Remember this is WW2 and we don't have the instant communications. The local commander needed fire support at hand to take on dug in AT positions, buildings, bunkers and to help the mortar platoon lay smokescreens. As s...

The Monogram M34 was close to 1/35 scale (as are many of the old Monograms) versus true 1/32nd. Unfortunately the previously mentioned Minichamps GMC will join a large group of 1/35th models of GMC's that are more detailed and more accurate than anything Minichamps has ever produced. If you don't mi...

They are a great paint when thinned properly and airbrushed on. However, they are lousy for brush painting (IMHO). For health reasons I brush paint a lot more than spray and so I get good satisfaction from PollyScale and Modelmaster. When sprayed properly the Tamiya paint lays down nice and dries fa...