Tuesday 26 June 2012

Hind Commander: Oddzial Osmy Minis 1:600 WIP

Thanks to my new shed heater I quickly based up the Hind Commander minis despite the 13 degree Queensland chill (yes, yes, I know....)

 You can see my basing method; 2 3mm rare earth magnets allow the bases to be detached. That way, you only need a limited amount of bases, and the models themselves can be stored easily in a small sewing box.

I am a bit conflicted about them. They are finer and more proportionate than the Tumbling Dice 1:600 jets I own, but I have found with smaller minis a bit of exaggeration is good to bring out detail.

One of the offending scout helos in the foregound; for scale a undercoated 1:300 F4U Corsair in the background

I also, frankly, think the scout helos are ridiculously tiny. There is a point where a miniature becomes simply a "playing piece" and and it is so small to the naked eye that it could, no matter the detail, could be replaced by a bit of bent wire with some solder attached, and the Mi2s and Kiowas, for me, pass this point. 

I have a huge horde of undercoated WW1 and WW2 aircraft in 1:600 which I have dismissed for this reason. The larger modern 1:600 jets are fine but for me there is a point where they are no longer enjoyable to paint; the base, not the miniature, dominates. You can see the Mi2 in the picture below, from "tabletop range", looks a bit like a tadpole-shaped blob of metal compared to the other minis. 


 You can see the painted Tumbling Dice jets in the background; they are chunkier and their more distinct exaggerated detail lend themselves well to dark washes and drybrushing
 
More pics to follow when the paintbrushes come out tomorrow...

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