Goals (and why I haven't posted recently)

I'll probably blog sometime soon about goals, objectives, strategies and measures.  They're important in business, and useful to have in life generally.  For now, though, I'll have to explain why I haven't blogged much recently at all:  I've found a new (old) hobby:  constructing Airfix models.  I started with Airfix models when I was about 10 or 11 years old - old enough to be patient to wait for the glue to dry, and careful enough to plan how to construct each model.  I had a second wave of interest in my late teens and early 20s, and more recently earlier this year (courtesy of my 11-year-old, now 12-year-old son).

So this is what's been filling my time - building with my son.

Here's my first solo-ish project for 25 years:

  

The set is the Airfix 25 pdr Field Gun with Quad - one that I bought and built during my time at university.  I enjoyed the set, mostly because of the various figures that come with the set.  I've not painted any of my sets in snow camouflage before - and you'll soon see that I'm not a stickler for historical accuracy: I paint what I like!

   

I identified this figure as a troop commander (his flat cap compares with the helmets that the rest of the troop are wearing).  The Quad truck has a gap in the roof, and I decided I was going to stand the commander in the vehicle, peering through the roof.  Yes, he's a very easy target standing there like that, but I figure - why not? 

  

I drew out the overall scene on a piece of wooden board, sketching the position of the vehicle, trailer and gun, and the key figures.  We also have some injured casualties in our collection, and they featured too.  The trees were obtained cheaply from Amazon, and they are cheap, low-quality and quite small for 1/72 scale.  I used scenic roll (green) and white spray paint (generic matt paint) to deliver the snow.  The spray paint was cheap and it didn't spray evenly, but that worked to my advantage to give patchy but heavy coverage.

 

 

  

The final diorama included a Metcalfe model pillbox (the square version), some additional bushes (not shown here) and a good complement of trees.  I added some crater marks (but no depth to the scene) to explain the casualties, and then added some medics too (they were trickier).

Next?  A village scene, with a pair of Tigers ploughing through the remains of a continental village (somewhere).  As ever, it's all about the modelling, and has very little to do with historical accuracy!