Eastern Front Railway Station

I recently came across this resin kit through a post on The Guild wargamer's forum.  

A quick check with Hobby Link Japan showed that they had one in in stock, and I finally got around to ordering it today.  

This will be ideal addition to the village buildings I already have.  It has a spartan, somewhat run-down look about it I like.  It should be fun to paint. 

All I need is a length of HO/OO track, and it's Tomasovitch the Tank Engine time. 

Autumn is here!

And I am really glad to be saying "sayonara" to the hottest summer I've known since coming to Japan nineteen years ago.  Natsu-san, don't let the door hit you on your way out.

In contrast, autumn means cool, dry weather and the opportunity get some painting in. My priority in the coming week (and I'm taking my "summer" (sic) vacation then) is to get some Napoleonics ready for a game next weekend. But then I want to turn again to the Popovs and get some undercoating done. While waiting for the black undercoat to cure properly, I'll brush up on my airbrushing techniques so that I can then "go green" on the first batch.

In other developments:

• As you can see from the photo at the top of the page, I received the Aleran decals I ordered from the Michigan Toy Soldier Company.  This included some Order of the Red Banner badges for my 12th Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment.  MTSC didn't have stock of all I needed, so I had to wait three weeks for the backorder to be filled. This was no problem for me, and they were courteous and kept me informed of developments, so I was happy with the service.
• I also ordered another six Zvezda T-34/76's from Hannants, so I now have all the T-34/76's I'll ever need. I should be able to field, at some point, an entire tank brigade for 1944 as well as 1943.
• Finally, after a long run with a strong yen, the Bank of Japan finally intervened and the yen is losing ground. This is good news from a business point of view even if it means the price of ordering overseas is no longer as cheap as it was. Still, job security trumps cheap models! The good news is that my recent orders went in before the yen fell in value, and what's more, I have now pretty well collected everything I need for the project I set myself, save a few tractors and artillery pieces.
 

 

70 years ago today...

While the Soviet Union slept, the Battle of Britain reached its climax. 

 

Long ago, but made more real for me by family experiences.  While my family was basically Royal Navy, my mother is from Sussex, where the threat of invasion was very real.  As a young girl living in the countryside, she was never evacuated.  She still remembers vividly watching the air battles unfold over her head. 

Here's to "The Few".   We owe them more than we can ever imagine.

Quantity has a Quality all it's Own.

Seen here in the form of six Easy Model pre-assembled T-34/76 tanks. 

Evidently white camouflage is not so popular with gamers and collectors, as these were being discounted at 450 yen each- about $5.50 Can.- at a large hobby shop here in Japan.  

Not the very best models out there- the gun mantlet has been simplified somewhat- but at that price I couldn't go wrong.

They will look just fine once I repaint them, replace some of the heavy plastic handrails on the side, and glue the tracks down to the top of the road wheels. 

A fine addition to the RKKA.  I was also able to get a slew 'o M4 Shermans for my US collection, as you can see here.