1/76 Airfix Bren Gun Carrier & 6pdr Gun

Crikey, it's been aeons since I've managed to do any model making at all. A shameful state of affairs! 

Anyway, on a recent trip into Ely my wife wanted to pop into the haberdashers, which is tucked away in the back of the Ely City Cycle Centre. This fab shop, a proper old-fashioned department store, also has a large model and railway section, up on the top floor. So I snuck in there and quickly and quietly bought me a few models!

Damn, such a cool looking beast!

My other Airfix 1/76 two-fer.

I got the Zvezda snap-fit Sd. Kfz. 184, or Ferdinand/Elefant. One of my favourite German armoured vehicles of WWII. I have versions by Fujimi (built, 1/76), Trumpeter (1/72, unbuilt), and now this'un (ditto). And then I spotted that they had a stack or two of the Airfix 1/76 'Vintage Classics' range of re-releases. I posted about these a while back, and mentioned that I might make some British stuff.

So I've made good on this promise to myself, and bought the 25pdr Field Gun & Quad, and the Bren Gun Carrier & 6pdr. Both kits have the added bonus of being two-fers, in that you get both a gun (& crew), and a vehicle. Today I started building the Bren Gun Carrier. In a fit of madness I decided to follow ye olde instructions to the extent of washing the sprues, and even painting the parts whilst still attached to the aforesaid.

Grey undercoat.

Olive drab base-coat.

After giving the sprues a wash and scrub in warm soapy water, and letting them dry, I undercoated and base-coated them all, first in grey, then olive drab. Khaki clothing, black boots and tires followed. It was then, alas, time for bed. So even now that I've clawed back a moments modelmaking, 'twas ever such a brief one!

Painting bits whilst still on the sprues, as per instructions!

Overcome with the urge to cut stuff of the sprues.

Amidst all the recent redecorating and DIY I reconfigured my mini-military workspace. It's not yet optimal, particularly in terms of lighting. I found painting this lot, even just blocking in basic colours, very difficult and draining, even with one of those magnifying headband doodads on... Well, until tomorrow... I must be patient!
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Well, back to the modelling workbench; I built the 6pdr gun. A fiddly little thing. I've also got a bit further with the Universal Carrier. The idea of painting the parts on the sprue? Which I've never done before...

Obviously when you remove parts from the sprue you wind up with an unpainted bit, where it was formerly connected. Then there's the way lots of the paint rubs off, as you handle the parts. And finally, any tight or ill fitting parts will fit even less well, or simply not fit at all, with the paint bulking things up. So, not a good idea, and I shan't be doing it again. Still, worth a try!

Newsflash! Airfix to release 'Vintage Classics'

Thanks to a recent-ish post from Legatus Hedlius (visit his excellent blog here), I became aware of the imminent release of a new old line from Airfix, that wonderfully iconic brand of plastic models that, whilst seeming quintessentially British, was actually started by a German chap, Nicholas Kove. You can read more on the Airfix story here, if you fancy it.

The cynic might think, 'Ah, right, at last, Airfix are coming clean about not bothering to update their older models,  and yet they're passing it off as a bold new addition to their range!' 

Certainly I think it wasn't good when they were selling these often very ancient designs/mouldings with updated artwork, which might lead to buyer/builder disappointment, when either the modeller was plain disappointed at certain shortcomings, or, if they're more clued up/inquisitive, they realise or discover the true 'vintage' nature of these models.

Whatever the reasons, I think it's a good development, as it both makes clear the hoary old pedigree of these kits, and - better still, in my view - provides Airfix with an excuse to revert to old logos and artwork for this line. 

I far prefer these lovely stylish old logos, and the often quite dramatic and sometimes even quite beautiful illustrations, to the supposedly slick but usually totally soulless modern packaging Airfix have been drifting into using in recent times.

I already have quite a few of these kits, especially the German WWII stuff. But I might well support this move by Airfix by buying some Allied matériel. Or, in fact, make that British stuff! The Bofors kit looks like fun, and a 'lindybeige' thing on YouTube where he rhapsodises about the Universal Carrier, marketed here by Airfix as a Bren Gun Carrier, has made me look at this ugly duckling of a workhorse afresh. Oh, and a Churchill tank... why not? Do Airfix also have a Vintage Cromwell kit?

It's worth noting that many of these - and all the ones I've pictured - are 1/76, as opposed to the more popular 1/72. Some of the items in this re-release range are already out, but others say 'pre-order'. And the ones I clicked through to, on a 'pre-order FAQs' link, said they should be out in August.