World War II Central

Bargain basement, unpainted miniatures! GHQ, Pico Armor, AB, Hallmark 1/6000

2018-08-12T16:23:00.003-07:00

I've had several unsuccessful attempts at painting this past year, and it seems likely that I'll never paint at the level I once did. With that, I'm clearing out several boxes that I've had on my shelf that I'll never end up painting. I have them all listed on eBay if you're interested. Most of these are brand new and unpainted and are listed for over 50% off.

http://shop.ebay.com/wwiicentral/m.html

I've got numerous big sets of GHQ, a big set of Pico Armor, and an AB Figures set. I don't have it listed on eBay but I've got dozens of WW2 1/6000 hallmark naval sets too. Take a look!

Pacific Warships

2017-09-23T22:05:00.001-07:00

I mentioned that I've been exploring a new "speed painting" method, here are a few photos. It's very similar to my past method but I've toned down some steps to make the process quicker: spray can instead of airbrush, quick strategic highlights instead of layered highlights, etc.

Let me know what you think.

-Tanner

More photos of past painting :)

2017-09-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

And... here are some more. Pacific USN early war and late war.

I'm still around... few old photos

2017-09-18T16:01:00.001-07:00

Yep, I'm still around. In fact, I painted some new 1/2400 just the other day using a technique that isn't too hard on my back. I hope to post some photos in the near future. In the mean time, here are a couple of photos from something I painted a few years ago. I was too lazy to take good photos so these quick phone pictures will have to do.

Tanner

More Wargaming Surplus Sell-offs

2017-04-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

I've been cleaning out my office and have a few more items that I've posted on eBay. Take a look if you're interested!

http://shop.ebay.com/wwiicentral/m.html

Painted Miniatures up for Auction. 15mm and 1/285

2017-04-01T16:38:00.001-07:00

Many of you know that I have been unable to do any real painting since back surgery last year. My painting style requires a lot of patience and focus and it's just too painful on my back to do this any longer. The pictures below are the last detailed miniatures that you will ever see from me :(

The miniatures below are also up for auction. They were a joint painting effort between my wife and I (she's very talented). Feel free to take a look at eBay if you're interested and please ignore the dolls up for auction (unless you like dolls of course). In addition to back problems I also have teenage daughters who no longer want anything to do with the dolls they've collected over the years, lol.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/wwiicentral/m.html

Thanks for visiting!

Tanner

Flames of War 15mm:

GHQ 1/285:

Wargaming Surplus Sell-off!!!

2016-06-04T19:16:00.003-07:00

I've been unable to paint on account of my back surgery and I'm clearing out some additional non-essential miniatures - both painted and unpainted.

Checkout eBay if you're interested in getting some great deals!

http://shop.ebay.com/wwiicentral/m.html

Some of the stuff includes:

1/6000 Ships - Painted

Timecast 6mm Stalingrad Buildings

Lots of 1/6000 Figurehead Ships - Unpainted

Lots of Picoarmor/Oddzial Osmy - USN and IJN

1/600 Picoarmor Aircraft - Painted with flight stands

Taking a Break... Back Surgery

2016-03-23T15:30:00.003-07:00

It's been a few months since I've posted any new work. In fact, I think I've had only 1 or 2 posts in the past year. This has been due to a heavy schedule and also chronic back problems that have plagued me for the past several years.

This reduction in posts is going to continue for awhile and perhaps will drastically change my ability to enjoy this hobby. A few weeks ago, I underwent back surgery as these chronic issues escalated and I began to lose feeling and muscle function in my leg and foot. Surgery went well and I'll be spending the next few months trying to become a new man.

If any of you have experienced something similar and have found a way to enjoy this hobby AFTER something like back surgery, let me know... I'm interested in hearing how you did it. I read and watch many of your blogs and websites, I'll be continuing to do that as I find it very enjoyable!

Take Care!

Tanner

Holiday Painting - 1/6000 Figurehead ships

2016-01-09T11:28:00.001-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted anything... I've just been too busy. However, I did get a chance to paint up some IJN and USN Naval Forces for my Solomons campaign. My son and I had a great slugging match (using Axis and Allies Miniatures rules) with the cruisers involved in the Battle of Savo Island. This time around, the USN had a pretty healthy advantage; the hard hitting USN Cruisers punished my IJN forces and all of my long lance torpedoes missed! doh!

With not much "free time" I'm enjoying the quick painting times on 1/6000 figurehead ships :)

Happy New Years everyone!

Round or Square?

2015-08-01T22:15:00.001-07:00

I spent some time today painting some Picoarmor that I had purchased a couple of years ago. This time I tried some different painting techniques and I used square metal bases.

What do you think? Do you like the round or the square/rectangle bases better? I've been debating all day which I like better and I can't make up my mind. I think the round look cooler, but the rectangle are likely more practical for gaming.

Round bases were painted a year or two ago... square bases painted today:

Lots of Hobby Items on eBay!!! GHQ, CinC, and Airbrushes.

2015-07-28T19:56:00.001-07:00

I'm on vacation this week and I've been doing some re-organizing of my hobby space. There are lots of items that I have barely used and/or may never use or paint. As a result, I've posted quite a few very nice hobby items on eBay at steep discounts. Swing by and check them out if you're interested.

WWIICentral on eBay

For example... Airbrushes:

GHQ and CinC Blister Packs:

And a few other items...

Hope you all are having a nice summer :)

Guadalcanal Gaming Mat and 1/2400 Ships

2015-03-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything... I have been productive, but I've been lazy when it comes to the blog :(

Here's what I've been doing: Prototyping a new "Iron Bottom Sound" Gaming Mat for my 1/6000 Navies (which are slowly growing). I created it with and without hexes... Let me know what you think. I'm considering some other potentials too: Midway, Samar, New Georgia (and surrounding Islands), etc. The Mats are 60 inches x 40 inches.

And... I also spent some time painting several GHQ 1/2400 Ships for a good friend. I don't have my light box working so I can't share my usual sharp photos.

Regia Marina:

And several Royal Navy Capital Ships:

I'm not much for words today but hopefully the photos are enjoyable :)

Thanks for stopping in!

Tanner

Rubicon Models 28mm Tanks - Gifts from Santa

2015-01-01T15:21:00.001-08:00

I'm happy to report that I received a handful of World War II Miniatures this year for Christmas! I also got lucky and received George Nipe's book on Kursk "Blood, Steel, and Myth" so all-in-all I made out pretty well :)

Earlier today I posted a photo review of the Warlord 28mm Plastic Infantry I received. Here is a run down on the tanks I got.

I received 2 Rubicon Models 28mm Kits. The first being a Panzer IV box set that allows you to model several different variants (F1, F2, G, and H). There are instructions and a decal sheet included... which is nice for me since I don't have many 28mm decal sheets.

I have to say that I really like these kits and I'm happy with how they assembled. There are some limitations with the kits (like the extra-wide inner road wheels); but I am more than OK with this considering I don't want to spend a week gluing a more detailed kit together.

Details are sharp and crisp and there aren't very many mold lines to clean. There were a few on the gun barrel, muffler, etc. but they cleaned off easily.

All of the parts fit together smoothly and I didn't have any problems with poor fit.

Once together and glued, I was pretty impressed with how solid it felt. I have a Resin Elefant that is a few years old (that I glued but never painted, lol); most of the details have busted off over the past few years with normal handling. I don't anticipate these details will be snapping off.

Putting this together reminded me of assembling PSC Vehicles...

I didn't do any measuring, but to the eyeball, Warlord Plastic Infantry look good in comparison.

The second vehicle I received was the Rubicon T-34; you can model a couple of different early turret variants.

As with the Panzer IV, I really liked the kit. I've heard some complaints of the tracks being a little inaccurate, but this isn't really a concern for me since I usually model tracks with a little dirt on them.

The sprue includes a handful of different options that you can model on the hull to your preference. I kept mine fairly clean.

Parts fit together very well and I had no problems gluing and assembling... took me about 30 minutes but I could have done it much faster.

I think Rubicon did a very nice job with the rear deck detail. It is a good combination of detail that stands out but isn't too exaggerated.

Top down view...

And with some Warlord 28mm Infantry...

This isn't much of a "technical" review and I'm not the type of collector/painter/gamer that worries about complete accuracy. But as a consumer, I give these an A+. They are sharp, easy to assemble, solid, and they look great! I hope I can say the same once I've had a chance to paint them.

I am looking forward to more products from Rubicon!

Happy New Year!

Tanner

Warlord 28mm Plastics - Gifts from Santa

2015-01-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

I don't often receive World War II related gifts for Christmas... and WWII Miniatures at that. This year however, I received some from my kids! (well... technically, the money they used came from me... but that's close enough).

For a long time now, I've been eye-balling 28mm Miniatures. I've wanted to try something that is both fun to paint and provides a lot of detail to work with. Several years ago I painted a Bolt Action figure and a Hanomag Halftrack; it turned out good but I never took it any further. I also received some Rubicon 28mm Vehicles; I'll review those separately.

First up for review: Warlord 28mm Plastic Infantry. I received the Blitzkrieg German Infantry Box:

And the Soviet Infantry Box:

The detail is pretty good and I love the facial expressions (with some exceptions)

Proportions are solid and a bit chunky, but I like that. "Realistic" sizing at this scale doesn't appeal to me. These should hold up to use, and I don't anticipate broken/bent barrels like I've experienced with smaller scale plastics.

Round bases come in each of the boxes as well, so you don't need to buy any extra (except in the case of prone figures).

Each sprue comes with bodies, legs, arms, heads, weapons, gear, etc. This is really a cool concept because it allows you to model so many different variants! I love being able to pick the heads and facial expressions that I want.

There are flash lines to clean up as you can see... but this really isn't a problem on plastics. It is so much easier to scrape these lines off than to endlessly file metal figures (I hated this on Battlefront 15mm!!!).

Some of the facial expressions are a bit weird... almost alien looking; but most of them look pretty darn good. I can only imagine how hard it is to sculpt eyes at this scale anyway :)

Not sure what's up with the green bases... but some in the German box were green and some were grey. Probably just older stock on bases.

Pouches, canteens, gas mask canisters, etc. are very easy to apply to the figure: just use a little plastic cement and they melt right on.

There are 40 Figures in the Soviet box and only 30 in the German Box... I believe the Soviet Box set is a little more expensive so this makes sense.

My opinion of these figures is very high! I like the detail, the flexibility, and I don't see anything that is historically out of place. Once I start actually painting them, that may change, but I'm excited to give these a shot in the near future.

Thanks for browsing and Happy New Year!

Tanner

1/2400 Germans and French

2014-12-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

I recently completed some French and German Warships, and wanted to share the photos. As usual, the incredible detail on these GHQ Models helps make the painting job easier :) Let me know what you think.

ALSO... I actually received some WW2 miniatures as a Christmas gift... This time, they are 28mm Plastics. This is an area of painting that I haven't done much of in the past. I'll be posting some "review" photos soon because I am impressed! Stay tuned...

Now, back to 1/2400.

German Gneisenau:

German Lützow and Graf Spee:

German Admiral Hipper and Prinz Eugen:

French Richelieu and Jean Bart:

French Dunkerque and Strasbourg:

Some USN and IJN Hardware

2014-10-29T20:00:00.001-07:00

Just sharing a couple of photos of some recently completed USN and IJN Ships. All are 1/2400 GHQ. Lemme know what you think.

Tanner

BB South Dakota, BB North Carolina, DE Butler's:

BB Kirishima, BB Hiei, CL Tenryu, DD Shiratsuyu's:

Little Tiny Guys! 1/6000 Figurehead Naval Miniatures

2014-10-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hi All... just wanted to post a few photos of some 1/6000 miniatures that I just painted. Overall, I think these are pretty good miniatures and they paint up pretty well. I wish that their Destroyers were not cast on the bases, but given how small they are I guess I understand why.

Let me know what you think!

Royal Navy: Ark Royal, Hermes, Eagle, and Argus

Kriegsmarine: Scharnhorst and Gneisenau

I added the masts with a little brass...

Custom decals for the decks...

With bases...

Wargaming Mats!!!

2014-10-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

They say that "necessity is the mother of invention" and this has always been true for me. I ended up designing a complete set of 1/2400 decals for GHQ Aircraft Carriers because no one produced them. This week I tackled another project that has been bugging me for many years and I'm excited about the outcome!

I've always struggled with convincing terrain. I have a love/hate relationship with GHQ Terrain Maker because they are not symmetrical and I'm tired of huge gaps... I finally gave up on them a couple of weeks ago. I figured Terrain Mats are my next best option because I just don't want to store a lot of custom made terrain. A few years ago, I ordered 2 mats from a well-known Wargame Mat producer and his service was absolutely terrible; after several months of promises and waiting ("they are shipping tomorrow") I finally asked for and received a refund. Not wanting to take that route again, I decided to try making my own.

Here are the results. I have terrible lighting in my den so excuse the grainy photos... I hope to have better photos in the near future. Each Mat has a light hex pattern overlay and are actually quite detailed. I'm very happy with the outcome and am planning to start on a slightly bigger design. These are about 3.5 ft x 5 ft.

Let me know what you think!

Grass Mat:

Ocean Mat:

City w/Rails:

I wish I could take credit for this...

2014-09-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

You know, for a minute or two I was prepared to post these pictures and say "Look what I just finished painting!". But then I realized that I just couldn't do that; it wouldn't be right (and my wife reads my blog).

Take a look at what she just finished painting! Pretty darn good! I asked if I could keep them for myself and the answer was "NO".

Anyway, here they are: T-70's, T-34's, KV-1s', and Zis-5 Trucks. Oh... and there are a few photos of some 1/2400 Carriers I finished painting: IJN Shoho and USN CV-10 Yorktown.

Italian Cruisers, Destroyers & French CV Bearn

2014-08-24T14:42:00.001-07:00

Here are a few 1/2400 ships painted by the Mrs. Her first Naval painting :)

CA Bolzano

CL Giuseppe Garibaldi

DD Navigatore Class

CV Bearn

Let me know what you think.

Tanner

GHQ 1/2400 German Graf Zeppelin, Bismarck, Scharnhorst, and Prinz Eugen

2014-08-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hi All... I wanted to share some 1/2400 ships that I recently finished.

Also, I'm working on some new naval terrain for myself. I apologize for the poor color in the photos, but hopefully it gives you a little sneak peak. It's based on hex tiles.

Let me know what you think :)

Trying Something New - PicoArmor

2014-07-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I purchased some PicoArmor for a change of pace. It's crazy small (I thought GHQ was small) and it's a very affordable Wargaming option. This weekend I painted up a few using only a paintbrush and non-toxic paints (inlcuding matte varnish).

I'm excited to paint a few more and maybe even build a small army. Let me know what you think.

-Tanner

One more picture... excuse the poor lighting. This is a great benefit of small miniatures; a full 4' x 6' game board (scaled down of course) on a single 1' x 2' Styrofoam sheet.

Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers

2014-07-23T20:36:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share some Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers that I recently completed: HMS Eagle, Hermes, Furious, Glorious, and Illustrious.

Let me know what you think :) Now... here's a dump of photos.

Recent Painting by the Boss

2014-06-10T21:12:00.003-07:00

The past few posts have shown off some painting that my boss (wife) has done. I've provided some color guidance, airbrush tips, and general technique advising but otherwise she's done this all on her own.

Here are the latest miniatures that she has completed; they've once again turned out very nice! Let me know what you think.

Panzer IV F1, T-34, KV-1, and M4 Sherman

And some Flying Tanks...

Up Next... Hitler's Navy

2014-06-05T22:23:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post a quick teaser of my next project...

Bismarck, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen. I replaced the stock masts with some brass rod (there's no way a half inch mast of GHQ Pewter would stay straight and true for more than 2 seconds!). At any rate, I hope to have updates soon.

Tanner