"Current 1-600 WIPs (Vietnam)" Topic

Happily chugging away at these, happy with the camo and painting them up faster then usual.

link

Mig-17's, F4-E's and a B-26K Counter Invader. Why o why I keep converting stuff in 1/600 and smaller is beyond me, but I like Gunbirds (hence the nick) so I find this a good a reason as any to build them. AFAIK no practical gaming value anyway.

Enjoy,

Johan

Johan, the planes look great. Ive got to get going on my TD planes. Been tied up with 1/300 WWI.

Did that system using a ring magnet and ball bearing work? I tried that with two ring magnets with a bearing in between and it did not. Did using only one ring work?

Thanks, Allen

Hello Allen, I did not use that ball bearing and ring system, I just keep it on my Photobucket for reference, nothing more :D I use 1.5mm and 3mm magnets for the aicraft so it would be too much of a bother for me to do that. If I would one day find small triangle shaped magnets then those would be perfect, but hey, this works good enough.

Bases are 30x30mm as (as far as I know) the Thud Ridge rules prescribe, though I read somewhere it could also be 25x25mm for fighters and 30x30mm for bombers. My mate has the rules, I'd have to check it with him (Hello Toby, help me out would you?)

I ditched the original heights from Thud Ridge and replaced them with my own, 25mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm out of safety and economy reasons. I come from Mustangs originally and I want to add amore levels someday (around 10mm, really on the deck, and 125mm and 150mm, giving me 7 different altitudes). "Someday" is propably not in the near future though :D

I'm enjoying the 1/600's so much I'm really tied if I don't want to sell off my entire 1/300 jet collection. Fortunately these stands work fine with 1/300 aircraft as well, it just means I have to rebase every aircraft I have from pin to magnet :O

I know how you feel about the 1/600 planes. Ive got a lot of 1/700s for modern and 1930s air combat and would like to convert to 1/600 but cant convince myself that I have the time to paint all new planes.

Ive been experimenting with different stands to find some that work and which I like visually. The biggest problem with the system you are using is needing so many stands. Ihave had up to 25 aircraft in a game and use a 4 altitude level system which would require 100 stands or perhaps a few less. I just dont have room for that many. I dont like the telescoping stands and am trying to develope a stand where I can just replace one rod for another to get the correct height. None I have made look good though. Perhaps I am too choosey about this.

Something I tried for my 1/700 WWII aircraft stands. I took a thin nail and glued the base to a washer. Then you can use either thin tubes of plastic at differing heights that slide on and off of the nail. The aircraft all have a thin wire mounted underneath that slide into the tube.

Thanks,

John

Interesting, I saw a picture of my 1/700 Argentine Mirages on the site. Nice pictures!

Allen, yes, I know, I need more stands, but the 4 stands used now for the heights are one hell of a lot cheaper then telescoping bases, for the price of one of those I can do around 12-15 or more of these bases. And I have a way of displaying all of my aircraft in my display case as an added bonus, instead of packing them in dark boxes that might scare them. Painting wise I find I can do 2-3 in the time I used to do one 1-300 scale aircraft, though I'm 2 years on now and I learned some neat tricks to make speed and still get good visuals. Call me a Devlan Mud devotee :D

John, thats exactly the reason why I rejected that system, then you have a field of steel nails with aircraft on the side, you would still be taking them off anf putting on plastic rings so workwise there is no difference and I don't like seeing anything that should not be in the field (which is my main reason really). It works well enough, just not my thing.

Prince Albert, you are the cause of all of this evil, ever since you showed yours on the 1-600 Group. I keep your pic as a reference on my Photobucket. I assume you used 2mm rods though?

Love the bases. I've been thinking of a similar system for use with Mig Alley as an alternative to the fiddly tube method described in the rules.

Where do you get your plastic / acrylic rods from BTW?

The plexiglass rod I purchased from a Dutch online seller, bouwplastics.nl, cost me 2.74 euro for a 200cm rod (which the chopped into 50cm pieces for me to ease shipping an plastic sewer pipe, very kind). For my first set of 24 bases I used 150cm's worth of it, and I still have another 650cm left.

Gunbird: yes, I believe it was 2mm, from Tamiya (IIRC). Your pictures (and especially the models in the pictures) are most impressive. I take your comments as a great compliment, thank you very much!

Also, forgot to mention that I really like camo scheme on the Mig-21, I think I will use you as inspiration to complete my Thud Ridge aircraft!

If you need a reason to use the Counter Invader on the table, and can wait till towards the end of the year, I'm working up FNG:Over Green Hell for THW. It's mainly so we can have tons of helos zipping around the tabletop without a major bogdown, or having to spend $$$$$ on 1/72 or 1/48 scale models, and it all becoming unplayable.

Anyways, there'll be sections within on the French in Indochina, as well as the air war in Laos. All in 1/600 (or you can go bigger, if'n ya need ta).

/end sockpuppetry

The planes look fantastic.

David
tabletopreview.com

Thx guys, working hard to meet the self imposed deadline of Wednesdayevening. Just finished the letter and digitcode on the first of the Pahntoms, 3 more to go tomorrow. At least the migs just got their second coat of varnish and are happily drying. And I'm rebasing my Spooky gunship at the same time

Prince Albert: feel free to get some motivation out of it :)

Darby: Sounds great. I'd better speed work up on the rest of the gunships then.