Robert Stuart

Have you looked at MiniArt's railway stuff? They offer European and Russian rails. There are a few other brands out there, though I don't know how they compare with the specifications.

Sounds your kit came from the same batch as mine - that was the figure that was wrong in my set. I spoke to Historex Agents and they helped out ... work out the parts that you need replacing, and give them a call.

Limit my votes to my stash? I'd have to crawl around in the dust, lifting my loft insulation! S'pose it'd be one way of making my choice easier, five out of seven is simpler than five from eleven ... BTW, didn't the early Ju88 and Do17 both have glass noses and gondolas? Obviously close derivatives ... I mean, who'd worry about a tail or two?

As @Troy Smith says, I have this set. Heads Up: My own had a figure from another set, so check the figures included in yours - one should have a police bonnet, the others should all have bicorn hats; all should have crossed cannons for their pouches.

Never too late - until the building over. Next thing to do is wait for the vote, (in November, I think), and cast your vote for the build

Hello Pat As I said in the artillery post, I've been distrracted by RL. On this build, I've made a few changes to the horse, very carefully photographed, only to find I had no SD card in the camera ... more detail to follow (hope)

Hello Pat, thanks for checking I've been distracted by RL. There has been some progress, mostly with the gabions ... more info will follow soon (I hope).

For the vegetation, I'd start by taking a look at model figure and wargaming scenery. The smaller grass tufts aimed at 1/35 scale modellers might be suitable too - a 2-3 mm tuft would scale out at about 6" - 9". Fields of Glory or Historex Agents, or model railway scenery suppliers should be able to help here. Alternatively, Woodland Scenics fine-leaf foliage can produce tufty ground work. For snow, I like Precision Ice and Snow, though other brands offer snow in this scale (Woodland Scenics among others).

A nice build of a nice kit. Will you use one of Tamiya's schemes?

Thanks Pat I'll keep an eye open for the beast beneath my feet ... After a bit of a delay, I hope to back to modelling. One reason for holding off on this one was that the horse didn't inspire me. Nothing wrong with his (her?) pose, just it was a parade pose, and a bit dull. So I ordered another two horses, to see if I could drum up some interest ... For what it is worth, Historex horse halves and heads can be ordered individually. One of the new right halves was kept as made, the left halves were split into front and hind quarters. And an appropriate re-mixing ... Gives us this - tacked together with Tamiya Ultra Thin A tad more drama?

I've been very quiet recently; dealing with RL, and not modelling. Hope that can change for a bit. A change of plan The cannon I have been modelling is a Gribeauval 8 pounder, the heaviest cannon that the original Historex offered. It is, in my view, a bit light for siege work, so, I'm moving to a heavier gun, one of Napoleon's belles filles (beautiful daughters). Over time, Nemrod, one of the companies that owned the Historex moulds produced a 12 pound canon (Canon de 12 Gribeauval). This uses the original Historex axel and wheels, but replaces the barrel and carriage with heavier items in resin. Nemrod 12 pounder parts, with 8 pounder barrel and carriage cheeks (arrowed). The most noticeable omissions from the new kit are a screw for elevating the gun, and some chains.

Lots of useful detail in that photo Ray, along with some complex tonal variations. The spill on that near-side front tyre is intriguing (to me), I'd've expected them to grease the hub, not use a fluid?

Mesopotamia sounds good @Ray_W, hope you can get ahead with the Model T.

You are counted too Ray. Does WWI Rolls-Royce car have wire wheels? That would be interesting.

Excellent, you are welcome too. 1/56 scale? I had to look that up ... looks interesting, there should be several options open to you!