"(Hopefully) Good news for SCW gamers" Topic

Following some months of hard working, I've finally managed to start a brand new miniatures company, willingly devoted to production of multi-scale hard plastic models and miniatures. It has been christianized it as Minairons miniatures (www.minairons.eu) and it's aimed at producing figures and vehicles straightly related to the military history of Catalonia --and the whole Iberian Peninsula.

After some thinking, I've chosen as starting range a selection of Spanish Civil War vehicles --either armoured or softskins. Minairons miniatures' first product is going to be that one whose 3D-printing protoype can be seen next:

That is, a fast assembly hard plastic Panzer I Ausf. A with two optional turrets: the standard one and the 20mm Breda gun "modificado" turret.

This is quite of a crude first prototype, naturally. PLA 3D-prototyping cannot provide a better resolution for our designs --but it excels at being a fast, cheap method for verifying your model basic characteristics and checking eventual flaws. Of course, final model will show sigificantly better detail and surfaces sharpness.

Each sprue will have up to 10 pieces for one single model --including both alternative turrets. Packaging of this particular model will include two to three tank sprues and a decalsheet suitable not only for Spanish Nationalist tanks, but early German and Kuomintang Chinese too.

Not to be too optimistic about term provisions, release should be expected for mid-late summer.

What scale: I would simply lie if denied to have PSC as a model of excellence. My aim is to follow closely their path --as long as I can follow it. Therefore, I'm planning to release my models at 1:72nd scale first but will produce them later at 1:100th or 1:56th too, depending on market response.

Wish you like it!!

Lluís of Minairons miniatures
lvilalta@minairons.eu

Cool stuff!

Nice!

Best of luck to you.

I look forward to your 1/72 models.

MRS Bunkermeister and I applaud you, sir!

Mike "Bunkermeister" Creek
mediatealways.org
bunkermeister.blogspot.com
sgtsays.blogspot.com

Very nice! Good luck, and I can't wait for your 1/56th version!

Hello

Good luck, don't forget 10mm/12mm/1/144 either :).

What's really missing is reasonably priced SCW/Interwar aircraft models. You could go from 1/56 to 1/144 with those as well.

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

Ooooh!!! Are you going to give us some T.26's too?

Looks very nice the PzI and T-26 in 1/100th would be tempting

Excellent detail. Presumably the little ridgelines on the tops of the turret and decking will not be on the production versions. Is that due to the 3D printing method?

1/72 scale SCW softskins and AFVs? You, sir, have my attention…

Leland R. Erickson

Absolutely brilliant news. 1/72 scale please! I know it's an expensive set-up but I hope you consider doing the full range of vehicles including armoured cars and, armoured and soft-skinned lorries. So I'm with Black Widow Pilot on this one. Also I suppose good 20mm cavalry are out of the question? Anyway, best of luck!

Looking forward to the 1/100 versions :)

Bring on the 1/100 versions.

1/72 definitely gets my vote.

Most SCW kit could be used for VBCW too.

Presumably the little ridgelines on the tops of the turret and decking will not be on the production versions. Is that due to the 3D printing method?

True, Tarleton. Such noticeable ridgelines are due to the particular 3D printing method used, which was the most appropriate one for my first prototyping purposes: no other than checking model dimensions were OK and parts fitted to each other correctly --at the expense of some loss of detail and ridgelines on surfaces. No such apparent flaws on final models, no worries.

What's really missing is reasonably priced SCW/Interwar aircraft models

I do agree GrumpyOldMan. I had also thought of this and, as a matter of fact, had also reserved a handful of neurones in my mind to prospecting it. However, I should get ensured first that my initial range enjoys satisfaction from the community, before starting any new range. That means sales. Sadly, finance is king here, over my own desires :(

Most SCW kit could be used for VBCW too.

That's what I suspected --in spite odf not being that familiarized with VBCW. I'd like to produce first those vehicles with a wider applicability: that is, those than can be used not only for Spanish Civil War itself, but also for other Inter-wars conflicts (either historical or imaginary) or early WWII. This is why my Panzer I aus. A will come with decals for German and Chinese tanks too.

About scales: I'm fully aware of the community variability of choice at this respect, and it would be my wish to fill as many 'ecological niches' as I am allowed to. My designing process is aimed at this. But again, market response is king here.

---

Now, I guess that some would like to follow more closely Minairons miniatures first steps. Perhaps a provisional blog could do the job, while "www.minairons.eu" is on the workbench?

Another request for 1/100

Felicidades Lluis,

I will follow closely the release of the models, as others TMP said, "reasonably priced" SCW/Interwar stuff is needed.

Mucha suerte

Alberto
washofbourbon.blogspot.com.es

¡Muy Bien! 1/72 is my scale of choice so I am very happy. Would love to see trucks, armoured and unarmoured…

Since everyone is throwing out their favorites. I would love to see some in 3mm-1/600. Robert

Great news!

But…isn´t 1/72 a risky scale to begin a new range for SCW? There are very few miniature manufacturers available in this scale for the SCW period and sales may be less substantian than 15 or 28mm.

Ruben, I would start my own personal case for choosing 1/72 with one word; plastic. Cheap sets of soft plastic figures and equipment plus many hard plastic vehicles, artillery and the rest.

True, only Barcelona Universal Models make specific SCW soft plastic figures (of variable quality) but so many other WW1, WW2, Interwar and others are open to simple conversion.

Add that to the extensive metal figure ranges from Bandera/HPC and Irregular etc. plus diecast model trucks and cars, plastic railway buildings and accessories and I can't think of a more suitable scale.

Of course other scales have their merits depending on what you want to do but I just find 1/72 the perfect "intermediary" scale between 15mm for a decent battle and 28mm which are only good for skirmish (I use 15mm "scale" buildings with 1/72 figures anyway because of ground-scale in rule systems and they look OK).

A big factor in my choice is probably my ageing eyes – anything smaller than 1/72 just doesn't have the visual spectacle anymore – or ease of painting!

Hello Lluís

To keep those few neurons occupied on planes :), here's some that would look really good:-

All 3D models from Flight Simulator

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

Good stuff, and the very best of luck to you!

To keep those few neurons occupied on planes :)

…you want my brain boiling up? :D

Sounds an excellent plan, good luck with the venture.

And once again 3mm-1/600 aircraft for me and some others I know too . Robert

Yep planes on 1/144 or 1/100 would be great, very useable for a FoW SCW. Armoured and civil cars would be great!
Hawker Fury would be geat if you consider planes, very beautiful.
Best of luck!

Sorry, I know the pictures are of a single prototype, but it looks awful to me.

It's your right, of course.

3D-print prototyping real purpose is anything but to please our eyes, however. It's aimed at providing the producer a tool for verifying technical stuff.

Sorry you don't like it, that simple.

Just a short note on the company itself: while its website ( minairons.eu ) keeps being under construction, news can already be followed through the following blog: minairons-news.blogspot.com .

This has got me rather excited!

Ditto The Abdominal Snowman:

I understand your position, and have no inconvenience in explaining the reason for it all.

When your aim is to bring your design into a galvanized iron mould for plastic injection, prototyping is more than just a matter of caution. Given that injection moulds are substantially more expensive than those for wite metal or resin (by thousands dollars!!), prototyping is a must. Not even once, but twice or as many as you need to get assured your design is OK.

You can never rely just on your appreciation by sight of the design, no matter how big the designer screen is, no matter how many times you make the rendered image go around, and up and down. This way, you must get a real stuff prototype and check on it everything that can be checked: not only general dimensions and look, but wall widths, barrel diameters and lengths, parts fitting and so. Anything coming to your mind.

We've experienced this before: the prototype you've had the chance to watch is the first one that passed my test --but by no means the first one to be made.

Best wishes,
Lluís

Just need The Late Queen 15mm SCW range to be availabkle again!

Cheers
Mark

Really looking forward to this range, plea be sure to keep us posted on developments.

Really exciting stuff, and I am finding the description of the process from prototype to production fascinating – I will be buying some of these I reckon :-)

Do the 1/72 look good with 28mm infantry? Normally something like 1/50 looks best.

Jpk