"15mm DLD Near Future Armor Group (OOP)" Topic

A good long time ago I got some long out of production DLD vehicles from CPT Jake here on TMP. These have to be some of my very favorite near future vehicles, especially the various forms of the Komodo APCs. I got the MBTs and standard APCs from Jake and searched for some more vehicles and finally got the Command vehicle and a special weapon vehicle (AT). These have long languished on my painting table, so when I had a little time this weekend I finally got them finished. Slowly getting my forces together for some Tomorrow's War Games.

Please note that the fine barrels on the APCs are replacements for the very plain plastic rods that the vehicles came with. I used the far superior turned brass barrels from Scotty of Combat Wombat to pimp my APCs and the secondary gun on the special weapon vehicle. I think they look 100% better than the originals. combatwombatminiatures.com

The troops are Earth Force Droptroopers from Rebel Minis. rebelminis.com Direct link to the Droptroopers link

Muddy fields by Battlefield Architect and I made the hedgerows.

Hope you guys like them.

More pictures:
link

Jeff

Great looking vehicles and infantry. I always loved the look of DLD stuff. Always wished someone had picked up the molds and produced the items on a regular basis.

Wonderful stuff. Thanks for sharing.

What a superb looking armoured contingent, i hope they bring you hours of fun gaming with them.

Jeff, the DLD models look fantastic. I really like the wheeled AFV with the reactive armored turret. Is that the original turret or modified?

Great job!

If I had the money I'd love to pick up DLD's old molds.

The original didn't have reactive armor, so I suspect he added that on separately.

Thanks for sharing your pics. The vehicles look great.

The infantry blend in very nicely with the terrain too, as they should.

Great stuff, really interesting camo.

Thanks Guys. Glad you like them.

In regards to the question about the reactive armor, it was on the model when I got it, so I am not 100% sure if it came with it originally or not. I bought all of these vehicles second hand and they were mostly assembled, so it is hard to say what all was original. The only parts I intentionally added were the better barrels from Combat Wombat. One of the best things about the DLD kits was all the extra small parts they included to add details, easily seen by all the detail on top of the MBTs.

Jeff

What did happen to the molds and why did DLD fold?

Nice one Jeff ,those Combat wombat barrels on the IFV's are the business.
Currently working on one of the command apc's as anti ied "Buffalo" with rummager arm and crane for my ESU Combat engineers.

What did happen to the molds and why did DLD fold?

I think he just got too busy. A shame, still a great set of models.

-Will

Really, really nice work.

Nice models and nice work, matey.

John T

Honestly I'm shocked noone has tried to pick up the molds…

Could be hard if they don't know the original owner. They are nice models….

I believe the original owner of DLD was named David Dunn. I had read somewhere, a long time ago, that he ran into trouble with his job and had to move to a location where he no longer had the space for casting to produce the models. I think it also said that he was working a low wage job that made it difficult to front the money needed for producing the models after his financial downturn. For a while there were sightings at various local conventions, but those are also rather old now. I also heard that several parties had tried to buy the line, but at the time he was not interested in selling it. Been rather a long time since I have seen any new information, just lots of people wishing his stuff was still being produced.

Jeff

Hmm. Maybe if someone could track him down, they could offer something of a commission to him for each model sold in exchange for him selling them the molds? Everyone makes money, the customers get to buy them again. Everyone happy?

I tried to get some of these several years ago with no success. I know David was trying to get back into production. Lets just say that I am envious of you Jeff.

Jeff – had another (longer) look at the pics (especially the close ups). You've really done a very nice job on those, I have to say: very subtle work. Well done.

John T

"Maybe if someone could track him down, they could offer something of a commission to him for each model sold in exchange for him selling them the molds"?

I suggested that, eons ago, but no joy.

A shame, really.

David was a good guy to work with; I was really saddened to see him disappear from the gaming scene. The phone number I had for him from circa 2005 is defunct, as well.

Oh, and the reactive armor on the Komodo Fire Support Vehicle is molded on. I had that one for a while.

Thanks guys. I'm sad that these are no longer in production, but at least we have a lot more options now than were available back in 2002 when the models I have were made.

Thanks for the kind words John T. To be honest, these were painted in my normal minimalist style, but I did take the time for a change to do a little more work on the glass and the highlighting and dirt are added at the same time using some Tamiya weathering products over the dipped vehicles. It looks pretty good and is relatively easy to do.

Jeff

Jeff – the glass work was one of the things that attracted me to the job you'd done: neatly executed

John T

The new Antenociti APC really does remind one of the DLD Rhino, except it does not have that ugly driver's bulge sticking up on the front plate to starboard. Both of course more or less redos of the LAV and not sci fi enough for me personally.

I did like the DLD tanks however, which I think are essentially lifted from the old Colonial Marines Technical Manual.

Curious if anyone s still in contact with David from DLD – would sure love to see these return… Same thing would go for Force XXI…

Jeff, outstanding combat group you've got there! Well done indeed.

Leland R. Erickson

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Jeff

I've heard rumors that may make a lot of you very happy later this summer…

great job on the minis.

There's been a bit of buzz, but thats happened a few times over the years.

Even if they do it this time, I think time has passed this range by.

There was a time I would have been very happy, yes. At this point I'd compare their vehicles with lines with similar, fairly basic shapes, like say Old Crow.

Nothing particularly wrong with that, but at this point DLD is not the singular range of vehicles they were when they came out.

Agreed there is a lot more choice on 15mm vehicles market these days. The DLD models were/ still are nice but other manufacturers have caught them up and are easily on level pegging with them these days.

I dunno if I'd look at these specific models and say they're out of date, but I know where you are coming from. The above AFVs look good, an excellent paint job also helps. I would buy the above models, but other parts of the DLD range I can live without.

I don't think either Avamango or I have said they are out of date. It's just that they no longer have the OMG value they once did.

Indeed other companies are producing models that are equally as good and in some cases better than the older DLD range, i would still buy some items from the DLD range if they were to become available again but i would also buy from other companies that are now selling items that are just as good.

They are nice models and nice designs but one can – as many have said – now buy as good from elsewhere.

Reliability of supply is very difficult to establish (as I have discovered) and it is really what people want if they are going to game in a period, build forces and so forth.

Probably even beats consistency/prettyness of design, in some ways: ie, if you like it you'll probably buy it, sure, and if you don't you won't. But if you like it and can't buy it (except every other year when it's duck season [or rabbit season]) it tends to put people off and they don't invest (unless you just want to buy one item – one tank or one APC or something*).

When GZG in the UK carried the DLD stuff a decade or so ago I thought it looked very nice indeed. Now, there are indeed a lot of choices.

John T

* Which doesn't really fit in with what most eople seem to want

I really like them, something about them I can not quite put my finger on it. It might be that they fit in my own future war world.
The problem quite rightly as mentioned is supply. No matter how nice, If I cant order it regularly I'm not really interested.

I, for one, would buy a couple dozen of those APCs and tanks if they were readily available. Even if other manufacturers have met or exceeded the quality of the models, there is just *something* about the old DLD stuff…

I'm still a big fan of those APCs, the wide, flat turrets have a nice neo-soviet look about them. As has been said though, the availability would be the main point as to whether I could feasibly purchase them. I'm on a student budget, so it normally takes me a while of saving up before I can buy anything, so having stuff available all the time is a bonus.

this screams kickstarter!

I think CW is volunteering! ;)

I would dump so much cash on those 8 wheeled apcs. Wow, you have done a fantastic job on them too. Execellent work so very jelly!