What are people buying?

[FreddBloggs]

Called Landmattress in Europe, basically the ASW hedgehog bombs on mortar fittings.

[Shahbahraz]

In my case it's not buying.

I saw the Helion sale, thought, hello, hello, and as I am on a '45 jag at the moment, I thought I would check out the Christopher Duffy 'Fight for a Throne' - out of print. Bugger, thinks I, so I will check for second hand copies.. £115!!!! WTAF?

[Shahbahraz]

28mm Matilda FROG from Butlers' Printed Models.

If you don't have a use for it in game, it can also convincingly model the steps up to an Aztec sacrificial platform. I have seen a couple of the Butler's models in the 'raw' and I am not impressed. Especially on rivetted construction, you can't file anything down, you can't use washes or drybrushing. I will be interested to hear your views when it arrives.

[FreddBloggs]

I have some small scale butlers stuff, there quality control is a little hit and miss.

The trouble is you need a resin printer to get a good effect, and they use a plastic one.

[RMD]

Matilda Frog was the flamethrower version. Matilda Hedgehog was the 'depth-charge' version.

Re BPM - I've had some good models from them and while they're not the best printed models out there, they are still better than some 'traditionally' sculpted and cast models. They also do a lot of stuff that nobody else does and an 'ok' model is better than no model. Their own piss-poor photography does them no favours, to be honest.

If you're looking for models of 'boxy' vehicles with vertical sides and flat or steeply-sloped surfaces, they're absolutely great. Where they seem to struggle is with shallow slopes and curved slopes. Here are some models of mine - namely M48 Chapparall SAMs and OT-64 SKOT APCs:

http://www.jemimafawr.co.uk/2019/04/25/ ... ed-models/

http://www.jemimafawr.co.uk/2018/09/05/ ... s-in-15mm/

[Vintage Wargaming]

I bought a resin Indian Pattern Carrier from Hobbyden. It took ages to come and when it arrived it was a disappointment. (It’s only fair to say I’ve had excellent and extremely helpful service from Brian since). I then bought a second IPC from BPM - my first purchase from them - and was really pleased with it.

I’ve also bought some colonial ships guns and then two Israeli tanks (superSherman and Centurion) and two Zelda M113 APCs more recently all for 20mm. I’m happy with all of them. Like RMD says some subjects are not easily available elsewhere, they are building huge lists of vehicles, they can’t be faulted on price, and you have a choice of five or six scales.

If you wanted a Zelda in 20mm the other option seems to be buying the conversion set from Foundry (which is about £12.50) and then on top of that you have to find and buy the base M113 Esci or Italeri kit.

They are what they are but as Wargames models they meet all my needs

[Peeler]

I've never been into Boyes.....

One would hope not ET!

[FreddBloggs]

Useless gun, broke more shoulders than it ever harmed the enemy.

[RMD]

I bought a resin Indian Pattern Carrier from Hobbyden. It took ages to come and when it arrived it was a disappointment. (It’s only fair to say I’ve had excellent and extremely helpful service from Brian since). I then bought a second IPC from BPM - my first purchase from them - and was really pleased with it.

I’ve also bought some colonial ships guns and then two Israeli tanks (superSherman and Centurion) and two Zelda M113 APCs more recently all for 20mm. I’m happy with all of them. Like RMD says some subjects are not easily available elsewhere, they are building huge lists of vehicles, they can’t be faulted on price, and you have a choice of five or six scales.

If you wanted a Zelda in 20mm the other option seems to be buying the conversion set from Foundry (which is about £12.50) and then on top of that you have to find and buy the base M113 Esci or Italeri kit.

They are what they are but as Wargames models they meet all my needs

Absolutely! I'd been waiting for an SKOT model to come along for years and I had the Polish infantry models for a couple of years without any 'proper' Polish transport. So when BPM did the SKOT, I jumped on it like a tramp on chips. That said, I only bought a few samples to start with, as I'd been put off by their own photographs - as well as by the slagging off by people who'd seen the photos, but who had never actually seen the models. As soon as the samples arrived I bought another 20.

For Cold War kit they're fantastic. Nobody else is ever going to do weird Italian M113 variants (should you need such things) and they're the only people who make a decent range of cold War AA guns, from the towed Vulcan to the twin 20mm Rh-202 and the twin 35mm Oerlikon (I especially want these last two to do a refight of Goose Green).

[Shahbahraz]

I agree, in a lot of cases, they are the only source of the kit. In which case, why not? And a big issue for me with printed models is that they make a lot of my standard vehicle painting techniques useless.