So as I previously mentioned, there had been a lot of packing as I moved back home for a few weeks. On top of that was a ton of driving with me heading down to Boston one day, back to home the next, then back again, then home again... So much driving! On top of that, there has been snow storms, birthdays, medical things... it truly has been interesting times! That said, I have been able to squeeze in a tiny bit of hobby so let's take a look!
Eastern Reinforcements From The West!
I picked up the last of the vehicles that I need for the 12th Company... a GAZ-AAA from Rubicon Models!
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| Yay for generic box art photos... since I threw my box away too soon. Whoops! |
Now for those of you with some knowledge of WWII (which didn't include me until recently BTW), the GAZ is a truck that was built by the Soviets which means it's in entirely the wrong theater for me to include with the 12th, right?
Nope.
The GAZ-AA is actually a version of the Ford Model AA that was licensed to the Soviets by Ford motor company. Besides the USSR, the Model AA was also produced in other European countries including France. So yes, in this case, I can field a GAZ-AA... I just decided to go with the Rule of Cool and slap the extra set of wheels on it as well. The rivet counters are just gonna have to deal with it.
This was also the first Rubicon model that I've purchased and overall it's pretty nice. There is a bit more detail than you typically find on Bolt Action models, plus their range actually covers more vehicles as plastic kits. In fact, the only downside that I could find was gluing them together. All I had on hand was Testors glue in the blue bottle. This works great for Warlord stuff but Rubicon... not so much. It still works, but the time that it takes to get a solid bond is much longer. Once I realized the issue I did a search to see if this was just me or if this is just something I'd not realized. Apparently Tamiya plastic glue is the recommended type, so I'll have to try to get some of that in the future. As it was I made it work with the Testors with only a minimal amount of swearing so that seems like a win.
And with the Ford assembled, it also means that I have all the vehicles I need for the 12th to be fully mechanized and ready to go!
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| My motley mechanized force. Can't wait to finish painting them up! |
I have no idea how this motley assortment will fare but even unpainted I love the feel that it gives. The two trucks have MMGs attached to their roofs like they were pressed into service, and I swapped out the MMG on the from of the Hano for an HMG more fitting for the US M3. I'm hoping that I can start painting them this weekend, plus I still need to make sure that I have all my ground pounders sorted as well.
The Building of Decks And More!
Other than picking up and starting to assemble the GAZ, there hasn't been any mini related progress. There were boardgames though! Dominion, Trash Pandas, Radlands, Splendor, Clank! Acquisitions Inc... so many games which has shot me up to 35 games this year! Soooo much better than last year and the best part is the time that I've been able to spend with friends and family.
And that has been about it! I will be heading back out to the field soon which will in theory mean more time for hobby, but I'm starting college a week after that so... yeah, more interesting times. Still, I want to focus my hobby more while I am away so I'm going to narrow down the things that I bring down to work on. Variety is good, but too many options mean nothing gets done. I have some ideas that I want to try out for Core Space, plus I have all those minis that I painted! I also picked up the Outlands Delta Garrison terrain set from Battle Systems which I think will add some interesting variety to what I already have for Core Space. Oh, and there's a dragon that I want to paint. Until next time...
