Review: 15mm British infantry and heavy weapons from Plastic Soldier Company

To serve as infantry support in my British/Canadian company I purchased two boxes of 15mm or 1:100 Late War British infantry and heavy weapons from Plastic Soldier Company...

A quick review of both boxes...

The Late War infantry box contains 144 models, including officers, PIAT-teams and light mortars. The models come in a nice variety of poses and the large number of miniatures means this box is enough to field a complete company of three platoons and command.

The Late War heavy weapons box contains Vickers HMG's, 3-Inch and 4-Inch mortars and a flamethrower. The set contains four of each of the heavy weapons, enough to provide the basic suport an infantry company needs.

Infantry sprue, fully packed with models...

Heavy weapons sprue...

As far as I can tell, uniforms and gear are all historically correct. Furtermore, the detail and character on these miniatures is very good.

Instruction manual... Quite straightforward...

For now I needed just a single platoon, but the rest of the models will be built as soon as I expand this company. I haven't even really started on the heavy weapons yet... The boxes contain enough models to build three platoons of infantry.

The completed platoon...

No PSC but 3D-printed... These Ram Kangaroos will serve as transports
for the infantry platoon...

The good
The boxes offer good value for money and cover all the basic needs whether you are starting an infantry company from scratch or just want to add some support to an armoured force...
The models are very detailed and I quite like the character of the models. I think these will paint up nicely.
The wide variety of poses means you can make each base unique.

The bad
None... Reallly? Nope... Well... Maybe... If I needed to offer some critisism it would be that some of the sprues had quite a bit of flash, but nothing that couldn't be solved with a sharp knife...

The verdict
PSC is always my first stop when it comes to buying 15mm miniatures. These Late War Brits are yet another great example of the quality PSC delivers. I will be back for more...

Review: 15mm M60A3 Plastic Soldier Company

Work hasn't slowed down yet, but I desperately needed to do some hobbying...

I decided to build a 15mm or 1:100 M60A3 from Plastic Soldier Company, and because I thoroughly enjoyed building it I thought I should write up a little review... 

Because it is not connected to any of my current hobby projects, this kit has been sitting on my desk for quite some time now. A shame, really, as it is such a nice model...

The details...

The box contains five models...

The building instructions, as easy as it gets...

Both sides of the sprue... All the parts needed for one M60A3...

The tracks consist of two parts which easily snap together... 

There is no way to get this wrong... 

The headlights are a nice bit of detail... A pair of tweezers proved
to be essential here...

Crips detail and a tight fitting model kit...

The 'finished' product...

The model has two hatches that can either be modelled open or closed. For this first model I opted to keep all the hatches closed.

To put this tank together I used a sharp hobby knife, a pair of tweezers and a small drill. For the main construction I used plastic glue, which I always prefer when working with plastic. The magnets were glued with super glue.

After the main assembly I usually add a brass antenna, but I must somehow have misplaced my container of plastic and brass rods. This final detail will be added as soon as I find them again...

The verdict...

The kit has everything I have come to expect from a company like PSC, crisp detail, tight fitting parts, high quality plastic and not a single defect to be found... Parts like the headlights or the stowage rack at the back of the turret really add to the model.

The parts were completely free of flash, so getting them ready for assembly was as easy as cutting them from the sprue. The model is easy to build and goes together really well, if I hadn't magnetized the hull and turret I would have been able to assemble it in a couple of minutes. 

In addition to the complete vehicle, the kit comes with two crew and some additional stowage. 

The model is obviously designed for gaming, thus some of the smaller parts are a bit thicker than they should be, scale-wise. Fine by me, as I would end up breaking them if they were any thinner...

Extra work...

I took a minute to drill out the muzzle of the barrel. Nothing fancy, just a small hole to add some detail to the barrel...

Because of my slight magnet fetish I had no other option than to magnetize the turret and hull (not because the system provided doesn't work, because it does). It takes a little bit more time and effort, but this makes my tanks compatible with my smoke plumes, which, you guessed it, are also magnetized... I have a fair number of PSC miniatures in my Flames of War collection, and all have received a similar treatment.

Below you can see the extra steps I have taken to add the magnets...

Step 1: drill the holes...

Step 2: cover the holes...

Step 3: put the magnets in the holes...

As you see, it's not exactly rocket science... I use 5mm magnets and a 5.5mm drill. The white bits are just scraps of plasticard, cut to size. These are glued to the inside of the model to provide a surface to which the magnets can be attached.

Review: 15mm Panzer IV Plastic Soldier Company

Now that my Company is ready for it's first tournament I figured I could do with another review... I need another Platoon of Panzers for the next tournament. Besides, you can never have enough Panzer IV, and I really like this kit...

This is by no means a new kit, as it has been around for a couple of years now (according to the PSC website it was released back in 2011). 

The Panzer IV from PSC comes in a box of five (they are also available seperately). The box will retail at around £20,00.

The PSC Panzer IV kit allows you to build three different variants: the Panzer IV Ausf. F1/2, G and H. Suitable for service in mid to late war.

I will be building the Panzer IV H as an addition to my -all plastic- German Flames of War Company.

The sprue is packed with options to build all three different variants, two crew and some optional stowage, like spare tracks and jerrycans... The box also offers a one-piece track option, which is very nice. Especially the older PSC kits have tracks that are made of several parts, nothing too difficult, but the single piece saves some time.

All parts cut out of the sprue and laid out... To the left are all the pieces that are extra, either as optional stowage or those that are needed for the other variants.

The PSC Panzer IV uses a straight-forward pin and hole to connect the turrets to the hull. I prefer to magnetise all my models. This step takes a bit more time, but ensures for a smooth turnable turret and lines up with my magnetised smoke plumes which I use as destroyed-markers...

The rest of the kit goes together in just a couple of minutes. For this I highly recommend plastic glue!

All the parts fitt really well, there are no glaringly visible gaps. The Schürzen will be glued on after painting, but could also be glued on prior, whichever has your preference...

This wasn't my first Panzer IV from PSC... 

I don't know if it's a deliberate fix or just a happy accident, but the dimples in the gunmount are gone... All my previous models 'suffered' from this little flaw.

Pro's:

Highly detailed yet easy to build

Three variant options, crew and some optional stowage

Doesn't cost an arm and a leg

Cons:

The box comes without any decals

Golden Grenade tournament

I've finished my Company for the upcoming Golden Grenade tournament...

This will be my first V4 tournament and my first proper tournament in almost two years... Come to think of it, I have only played three games of V4 so far...

 At 1200 points, it was quite a puzzle coming up with something that was reasonably balanced and for which I had the models available (I don't have that many Germans, yet)...

Decals? Check! Crew? Check! Weathering? Check! All finished and ready to go...

In about a month I will be taking this list and expand it to 1650 points for the next tournament... Just need to paint some more panzers...

A new Flames of War Project

With the release of V4 Flames of War I decided it was about time to re-boot my all-plastic German Army for Late War...

Triggered by the appearance of the plastic SdKfz. 231 8 Rad from PSC (which is an excellent kit, by the way) I set out to build an Aufklärungskompanie. I sold my old Company (Hermann Göring Panzerkompanie) and started building a new collection.

With an ever growing number of plastic kits to choose from, there are just so many options. The three main brands I have been using are Plastic Soldier Company, Battlefront and Zvezda, with PSC being my main supplier... In addition to these three brands I also use Shapeways to get 3D-printed models to fill the gaps between the main three ranges.

As the project is well underway already, I will start with a sneak peek of a selection of painted models...

Italeri SdKfz 231 & 232 6-Rad

I just finished painting my two 6-Rads... These models contain enough shades of grey to have a book named after them. 

Essentially the same model, with only minor variations. I chose to leave all the smaller details (antennas, mirrors and such) on the sprues, as those would quickly snap off anyway... Not to worry, there is still plenty of detail left.

The only part of the vehicles that I am not that happy with... I forgot to wipe away the excess wash from the spare tyre covers, leaving behind a nasty stain. Nothing a bit of paint can't fix though...

Fire support: Part I

With a capital F!

Not by design, but more by accident (a rather happy accident, I might add)... I picked up a Munitionsschlepper and only later found out that this particular model belongs to a rather large Mörser named Karl... So a short search and a couple of days later, one just happened to arrive by mail.

Both kits are made by Hobby Boss and are (at first sight) incredibly detailed. It is going to be a lot of fun to build these two...

I don't think they will be of much use in a game, but as far as projects go, this is something I can sink my teeth into. Now all I need to do is to find some crew to go with these...

20mm Italeri Panzer II Ausf. F

One of the first kits I picked up at the start of my 20mm project was this Panzer II from Italeri.

Well detailed but without being too flimsy, this was a nice model to build... I replaced the commander with a model from Plastic Soldier Company and added a few pieces of PSC stowage, too...

Just like my 15mm Flames of War models, this model has a magnetised turret. This way I can use my magnetised destroyed markers...

Getting the rubber/vinyl tracks right was a bit of a struggle... A long time ago since I had some experience with that. It took some time, but I think they turned out quite well. A good thing, as there are many interesting model kits available with this kind of tracks...

The kit comes with a set of decals... I chose to use the red numbers as they look good with the dark Panzergrau...

Together with a 15mm Panzer II from Zvezda I use for my Flames of War Blitzkrieg Germans...

Armored reinforcements (again)

Soooooo, I accidentally deleted the message I posted yesterday (labelled Armored reinforcements)... I decided to take some new pictures and re-post the whole thing.

Two 6-Rads, both from Italeri... These models are incredibly detailed and not necessarily designed for gaming. Lots of fine details (antennas, rear-view mirrors and such) which I decided toleave on the sprue after I snapped off the barrel of the gun (twice). Beautiful models and a nice addition to my 20mm collection.

Size does matter... A couple of Panzer III's... The model on the left is a 1:72 Panzer III J from Italeri. This particular model is from their "Wargamer Approved" series. No thin and fiddly details (like the aformentioned rear-view mirrors and such) and easy to build. The smaller model is a 1:100 Panzer III F from Plastic Soldier Company and is an addition to my Early War Germans for Flames of War.

And a quick overview of most of the vehicles I put together recently... Top row, from left to right: Panzer II F, SdKfz 232 6-Rad with frame aerial and another 6-Rad (all from Italeri).

Bottom row, from left to right: SdKfz 250 Halftrack ( Plastic Soldier Company), SdKfz 265 Panzerbefehlswagen (First to Fight), Kfz 13 Armored Car (S-Models).

Blitzkrieg Germans for Flames of War

I've been collecting and painting Americans for Flames of War for a couple of years now, building a Company suited for both Mid War and Late War. For this project I relied (and still do) exclusively on Battlefront models.

Quite recently I started with Early war Germans... 

In the picture below is my Leichte Panzer Company from the Blitzkrieg book. It's still far from done, but I'm aiming to finish these models before the Early war tournament I'm going to attend.

When reading through this blog you might notice that I have a thing for plastic models... For my Germans I chose to take this a step further... I am going to use only plastic models for this project. The Panzer II's and Panzer IV's are from Zvezda, the Panzer III's are from Plastic Soldier Company and the Panzer I's are from Minairons. The Stuka is from Victrix, and is in 1:100 too.

Getting the models I need/want in plastic is a bit of a challenge, as there isn't a lot of the Early War period equipment available (yet)... Choices have to be made, consessions have to be done... For now, this Company is adequate, and I'm also working on some very nice Panzer 38(t)'s. However, I am very much looking forward to plastic 88's and plastic Recce vehicles...