LAF Post: Quest for the 1/144th ARL-44

Hey Internet,

I posted a plea for help locating an obscure model on the Lead Adventure Forum, and thought I'd copy it up on the blog too, in the off chance that a kind soul might see it here. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey LAF, 

I have rather odd request. I've been doing some google-fu detective work trying to hunt down a particular, illusive model in 1/144th scale - a French ARL-44. (https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://www.geocities.jp/nokaze36/sub0144.html&usg=ALkJrhjB7sGt8zExcekdlplmcvlE97nI4g)

I understand that a Japanese company called "Fairy Planning" or "Fairy Kikaku" produces a very nice kit, however I have been unsuccessful in tracking down anywhere that sells them. 

This site (http://henk.fox3000.com/fairey.htm) leads me to belive that 'Fairy Planning' might only sell within Japan itself, but I can't be sure of this. 

So, I was wondering if there was anyone in our little LAF community that might be able to help me out? 

If they do only sell within Japan, might anyone act as a middleman for me? or could someone who speaks the language pass on any details about the company that I've missed?

Failing all that, does anyone know anywhere else that makes a ARL-44 kit in 1/144th?

Thanks for any help,

MM.

* * *

What is an "ARL-44"? and why would you go to such bother to try and get one? I hear you ask.

The ARL-44 was France's first indigenous heavy tank design following their occupation by Nazi Germany.

It was designed in secret during the occupation by a group of bravely defiant engineers, with the idea that once France had been liberated they would need modern and powerful weapons to take the fight back to the enemy.

Due to this wholly unique development cycle, the tank turned out as the strange lovechild of a Char B and a Royal Tiger - taking the obsolete suspension from the former and the turret and armour configuration of the latter.



Arriving too late to contribute to the downfall of the Nazis, the ARL served in the postwar French military throughout the dawn of the Cold War -serving alongside a colourful mix of Panther and Sherman tanks and American armoured cars.



MM.

***

22-03-2015 Update: I have contacted the good folks at HobbyLink Japan, and they have since added this exact kit to their catalogue. Go them.

MM.

Cold War Commander Soviets: Part 3

Hey internet,

This is my hundredth post. Go me!

I had rather intended to bash away at my little Cold War Soviet project a bit at a time, but then I went back to work and was tied up for a month. So much for plans. Instead I've spent this weekend getting the whole lot done. 

Bar a pair of ‘Command Bases’ the force is now completed….until I decide that I need more tanks.

A Platoon of Four T-62s.  

A BDRM anti-tank Platoon. A Command vehicle and a pair armed with ‘Spandrel’ ATGMs.

And finally Six Squads of Mechanised Infantry and their APCs.

Also, the whole lot have magnetic bases, so I can store them in an old tin. 

MM.

Cold War Commander Soviets: Part 2

Hey Internets,

I thought that Id pop up a little update on my Cold War Commander stuff showing what I got done today.

I got three BTR-80s painted up. They still need basing and varnishing, but that is only a very small amount of work, so I count them as being done. These are very nice models from Minifigs, and aside from the pain of gluing the 8 wheels on to each one of them, they are lovely little things.



This, for those that are interested, is my jam jar of Black Ink.

Why a jam jar, you may ask? Because the pots that the stuff comes in are crap, and the lid exploded, so I needed a nice airtight container to put it in. Its surprisingly handy to use - its real easy to get just the right amount on ink on your brush by rubbing it on the inside of the jar.

I also finished putting together my four T-62s. Minifigs again. They went together without any trouble, and are nice models overall. I'm sure they will look the part after a nice paint job. Lots of fiddly lights and windows for me to paint. Not sure why, but painting the glass effects is proving to be my favourite part of doing these models.



And here is a picture of everything that Ive done to date;



So Far...
3 T-10m
3 BTR-80
Total: 6 Units

MM.

Cold War Commander - First Bits

Hey Internet,

Third post tonight. Yeah.

I managed to get the first few bits of my Cold War Commander force finished tonight. My small but incredibly heavy box from 'Minifigs' turned up this-morning and I spent a bit of time this afternoon cutting bases out of plasticard the easy way (grumbles!), cleaning flash off stuff and glueing my fingers to models.



I did some painting too. A few days ago I got some Japanese 1/144th scale models from Hong Kong. Got them on Ebay cheapy-cheap. For the cost they are very nice in honesty. They are nasty rubbery plastic, but the details are ok, and most importantly no one makes a model of a T-10 in metal.



I got them based up and sprayed, then game them a good lick of paint. They are a simple four-stage directional drybrush followed by a nice sloshing of black ink from my jam jar of black hat black wash. Not kidding. The ink is good, but the pots they sell it is are craptacular, so when the top shattered, I put the stuff in a jam jar. After that dryed, I just painted the mallet covering and the lights and sights and finished off with a bit of matt varnish to fend off the shinyness of the wash.



I know they are boring soviet green, but they kind of have to be. I think its quite a nice shade of green - nice and bright - much better than the green I did for my Flames of War Soviets. Bases just need flocking, think I'll go for a darn good scattering of a flock and staic grass mix to make them look at home on the green fields of Europe.



I also put some stuff together. It was rather a time consuming process, lots of bits with a fair bit of flash, plenty of mold lines to remove and stuff. I also had to cut out the bases. The models are nice after you put a little work into them, very chunky and gratifying. My only issue would be that the road wheels on the BTMRs are separate and as such required the filing down of eight wheels worth of mold lines and flash, before starting the arduous process of attaching them to the hull. Cant help but feel that it would have been better to have cast it as a single piece  but perhaps that just wasn't possible from a production point of view. Not a biggie, just means that it takes a good 45 mins to put each one together.



The T-62s are very nice models. No problems whatsoever with these, apart from the usual need to hack out the flash between the road-wheels with a scalpel. That's just a problem with most tanks though.

I'll probably have a bash at painting at least one of these two Formations tomorrow. Will post up again when I do.

MM.

What I painted today...

Hey Internet

I did a little painting today.

First up, a unit of five BA-10m Heavy Armoured Cars for my Flames of War force. Ive had these models for years, but they were in dire need of a repaint.

Also, I’ve got the first phase of my 12mm Terrain project finished – all of the buildings that I own in this scale are now painted.

MM.

The Start of a Town

Hey Internet,

I fancied doing a little painting today, so I dragged out some old Pendraken buildings (12mm/1:144th Scale) and gave them a lick of paint. I've had the things for years, so its about time they got a good covering.



This is just the first lot, I've got another ten or so on the sidelines waiting for their own treatment. I'm trying to paint them as 'modern' buildings, located in Africa, or Eastern Europe perhaps. I'm not sure yet.

MM.

Something a little different

This is sort of the first model in a new project.

A rusty improvised armoured car. 1/144th Scale, so only about 15mm long.

MM.