Hot Off The Press!

Back in December I did a mini review on some 3-D printed vehicles I got from Butlers Printed Models. This time round I’ve got some vehicles from Paint & Glue Miniatures, so I thought I’d feature them. I wouldn’t have bought these if I hadn’t seen Chris feature some of their other models over at Not Quite Mechanised, so I’m laying the blame squarely on him!

Bit of a disclaimer first – of the three models shown here (you can see them in the picture below), which are all quite nice, I’ve made a complete hash of painting one of them, so don’t judge that one on its paint job!

The three 20mm/1:76 scale models are (left to right) a Japanese Type 98 So-Da armoured personnel carrier, a Russian STZ-5 artillery tractor and a German 15 cm sIG 33 (Sf) auf Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf B, commonly called a Bison. None of these are particularly large vehicles, as you can hopefully tell from the Japanese cyclist in the foreground. I’m not going to do any background on the vehicles themselves in this post, since all of them will feature in some upcoming posts along with related vehicles.

The Bison is a single piece model and quite a complicated shape, since it consisted of a 150mm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun, complete with wheels, slapped on to the top of a stripped down Panzer I light tank chassis with some armour plate welded around the gun to protect the crew. The model has printed well and although there are some horizontal print lines on the armoured superstructure, these aren’t all that noticeable after a few coats of paint. I maybe thought this model might have been better printed in four parts (hull, gun and two tracks) because it was difficult getting a paint brush into some areas, particularly under the gun, but in the end I just used an Army Painter wash in a dropper bottle to get into those tricky spots (which are not easily visible anyway). Overall, a nice model that captures the character of this vehicle! I should mention that I’d originally bought a model of this vehicle from elsewhere that wasn’t up to scratch, so I replaced it with this Paint & Glue model and I’m very pleased with it!

The STZ-5 is available from Paint & Glue in two versions, with a canvas tilt over the cargo area or with the cargo area open. I opted for the version with the canvas tilt. This is a one piece model and pretty easy to get a paintbrush into all round. There are some print marks evident on the top of the canvas tilt because of its shallow slope that I maybe could have covered with putty, but they aren’t that obvious once it’s painted. Another model with plenty of character I think.

Lastly, the Japanese So-Da, a small but nice model that I failed to paint up decently! This came in three parts (hull and two tracks) and I think it was a resin print because the finish was very clean and it went together with no problems. I painted it in a three tone camouflage scheme, but then overdid both the black/brown wash and the drybrushed highlight, which on such a small vehicle just looks crap! I painted three other Japanese vehicles at the same time and made a hash of them as well! So, the base model’s pretty decent, but the paint finish isn’t!

So, overall, three nice vehicles from Paint & Glue Models! I’ve already got my next order placed, so I just need to get some painting practice in now!