Kit Bashing Figures – Easy Peasy or a PIA ?
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That sounds very cool Allan . Do you have any pictures to share ? I think SOLIDO metal military vehicles would work with BA as they are close to 1/56 IRC . Of course when they were available in stores I was building 1/35 scale kits , the only one I managed to find at a swap meet is an AMX 13 tank , nice body detail but lousy tracks IMO . Probably hard to find them now as mine was made in 1975 .
I finally got around to adding tank riders to my extra JPanther hull , I got 9 figures to fit . The 4 standing figures had their legs swapped around , the 2 seated figures used the upper torsos from the FJ kit and the legs with short boots from the plastic seated German set . I used the legs with the jack boots on my seated Russian figures . So much easier than trying to covert standing to seated figures so watch out for them during the Sprue sales . The 3 man kneeling MG team are loose so can be used on the table top . It was a bit trial and error getting the look I wanted , I ended up using arms from most all of the German plastic sets .
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This reply was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by
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This reply was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by .
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This reply was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by .
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Not sure how to attach pictures.
The kurzer 8 cm Granatwerfer 42 Team – figures from the German Heer Grenadiers and maybe Blitzkrieg sets. Mortar is a 1/76 Matchbox mortar shortened and slightly detailed. The Mortar bomb might be a British PIAT round (it was in the bits box.
Matchbox Dingo scout cars and Dinky Daimlers
Pound shop jeeps
Project Z female survivors rearmed as part of my “Last Defenders of the Reich”
Not WW2 but some Fantasy bodies with Russian heads rearmed with German weapons to be survivors in Zombie games
Some Romans given WW2 German gas mask cases and various WW2 packs and pouches to become Capsarii (battlefield medics)
As this is thread is about Kit bashing thought I’d upload one of the things I’m currently working on which is a Home Guard force (Sea Lion / Gigant book).
I am not a greatly skilled modeler but this kind of kit bash + I can do.The first 2 pics are my Volunteer AT squad complete with No68 AT grenade launcher (a SMLE with cup grenade launcher).
All models use the older British Infantry sprues as the base. Originally I was going to use the newer kit with old arms but it didn’t look right so bought another box of the older models (actually I got 30 as it came with an extra sprue and weapons frame).
Weapons are metal and came from Colonel Bills. The SMLEs had the bayonets cut off and filed down.
The Rile Grenade launcher then had the cup discharger cut from another Colonel Bills Rifle Grenade launcher pinned and glued on (this was from a very odd weapon set I bought a while back for another item in it) . Finally some Cu wire from an old set of headphones was wound around the stock as the bracing. The firing arm had to be bent (well straightened technically) and filled with some putty (it was hollow backed and didn’t sit well at the shoulder).
The Molotov is a straight arm swap and a Soviet arm which has the Molotov. I also used a Soviet arm as his other arm as noticed the Soviet arms seemed that bit chunkier than the Brit ones and wanted them to match.
Finally the 2 that don’t have the Grenade launcher had the bayonets on the side of their Gas mask case changed for one from the Commonwealth (or 8th Army) infantry sprue more correct for the SMLE. The Grenade launcher didn’t get this for 2 reasons 1. I figured he cant have a bayonet and the Cup Launcher fitted. 2. Most importantly I’d already stuck it on before I thought about the bayonet being wrong.
This about my skill level so next step is to prime and paint them.Finally the last model is my first WIP for the rest of the Home Guard. Its a very simply using the Springfield from the US weapons sprue to represent M1917s issued (in 30.06) to Home Guard. At 28mm / 1/56 the difference between the M1917 and Springfield are virtually indistinguishable anyway. When I paint them they’ll have a red stripe around the stock behind the muzzle as was done in the war to stop them being confused with Rifle No3’s (1914 pattern Enfields) which is identical to the M1917 (except the latter was re chambered for 30.06 rather than .303 and as a result could get a 6th round in its mag). I will also use the US infantry spues for BARs as some of the squad support weapons as BARs (Als0 in 30.06) werealso issued to Home Guard.
Anyway hope you like
Month or more posted this article. Thought I’d post some updated pics now I’ve painted up the AT team and my first small unit of Home Guard.
Those look really good . It’s a pity the early Brits and Germans aren’t compatable with the later plastics .. although I have used some of the arms on Rubicon figures . You never know where you’re going to find bits that work . Anybody tried cross kiting Wargames Atlantic arms with Warlord figures ?
Not done much hobby most of the summer but then went crazy in late September building a M3 Halftrack , a Matilda , a BMW motorbike , a half dozen Waffen SS & Brit Paras . Although the figure kits go together great . I’m not really liking all the molded on weapons , really cuts down on the kitbashing . Might have to pick up a box of Russians and Blitzkrieg Germans just for the weapon free arms .
Over the last couple of days I’ve been working on Russian tank riders for a couple of my own tanks as well as a buddy’s . I’ve managed to make 24 so far with very few leg swaps .
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I build my figures to fit in a specific spot on a specific tank so I tend to glue them on . That being said I do have a few generic seated figures that can be put anywhere if needed . I have had a few ideas for removable figure groups though . Tiny rice grain sized magnets might work in the figures feet if the plastic engine deck is very thin , probably wouldn’t work on resin tanks . I guess you could drill a hole in the deck and add your magnet but that would ruin the detail , not a problem when the troops are mounted but would look crap IMO when the troops are removed . You could drill tiny holes in the tank and mount pins in your figure’s feet . again the deck would look crap when troops dismounted . You could mount the troops on a thin plastic base ( maybe clear ) , easy to add . easy to remove . looks ?
You could glue the figures to each other so they end up in a 5 or 6 man set and maybe pin a foot or 2 to ensure they don’t fall of easily . although that would mean each set would custom fit to a specific tank .
As I have said before I don’t play Bolt Action so I have no need to have removable tank riders , but if I did play I would have use 2 tanks , both, weathered, decaled and covered in stowage the same , one with glued on tank riders , the other empty . I would also have figures identical to the riders mounted on ground bases to use when dismounted . I’ve done the same with Japanese figures in fox holes , I use a removable half figure ( torso ) in the hole and have an identical painted and armed full figure for when they charge thus leaving an empty fox hole . This also means your fox hole is only 1/2 to 3/4 inch above the table unlike those GW trenches which IMO look like crap
I converted a Regiment Games Naval Party figure from a Bren gunner to a Boys anti tank rifleman -the gun came from the Bolt Action British desert sprue.
The pictures show him as converted and then painted, the latter has an officer and the sniper as well.
Simon.
I’ve kitbashed all my Soviet Women figures just by exchanging female heads with the Soviet figure.
Harder conversions were usually finding an unusual figure and chopping off pieces and then replacing an item.
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