Downsizing- WWII minis

01May
by patmcf

Well hi everyone I have been a bit busy lately but have managed to get a bit of painting done.  I said this year is to tidy up some neglected stuff so in doing so, I came across some mini sets and decided to paint them up while I’m doing more figures for the next WWII diorama of medium size, or maybe larger, you know I can’t be trusted!

I won’t waffle on today as I know you are all busy so I’ll jump right in.  These kits are from Zvezda and they are designed for Gaming.  They come on small bases that can accommodate a flag that’s provided.  As you can see, I have omitted these and have just turned them into mini dioramas that I have mounted onto cheap spice jar lids (you will have seen me use these before).  I have also made some bases out of air-drying clay and used just regular military figures I already had, one being the large one of WWII Brits in the desert.  Some of the smaller ones I have mounted on plastic container caps filled with plaster, then spray painted and felted, very cheap and pretty stable.

I have a couple more Zvezda kits to do and then I will start making more of my own as the sets only cover Germans, Americans, Russians and Brits, anyway that’s the plan. Cheers Pat.

42 thoughts on “Downsizing- WWII minis”

  2. ericritter65

    I like the spice jar idea, It’s like a millitary diorama in a small terrarium!
    Coincidentally, I’m working my way through on of those Zvezda kits myself, planning to use the figures to give a sense of scale to 1/72 vehicles – here’s hoping the gaming figures run true to size!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. patmcf

      Thanks EC , they were originally just going to add to the variety of poses , so yeah I’m sure they will work well for you 🤔. Funnily enough I tried terrarium containers to start with until I spotted these in the K -mart store .

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. John@justneedsvarnish

    Oooh, I like these! 🙂 The Zvezda sets are quite nice and I’ve got their Russian 76.2mm infantry gun. You’ve got some of my favourites in your mini dioramas, Airfix Eighth Army, but I think overall I like the two soldiers crouching down net to the ruined walls!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. patmcf

      Thanks John I was pleased the way they turned out, I chose the Eighth Army guys as they are a bit bigger than most and sculptured up nicely. Oh I’m going to post some of the old sets soon and one mob is the
      Original Airfix Eighth Army , wow how figure making has changed in all these years. 😳🤔😅😅

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Colonel Mustard

    these Zvezda kits are great Pat – right now i am just finishing some 75mm German infantry guns from Zvezda (shame Zvezda is a Russian brand). Are those sneaky Airfix 8th Army men i see in there too??

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. patmcf

      Your right Will, it did cross my mind when I got them out but thought what the hell! Ah! well spotted , they are and I’m going to put up a post showing some originals I painted when I was a kid!! Ha Ha !! My says I’m still a kid !

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. patmcf

      Thanks M.B. It was a good little show to do along side the painting of troops for the next dio. I certainly looking forward to seeing your little ACW model I’ll be interested to see your painting skills. 🤔🤓I put your book on my birthday list for the one just gone but one of my daughters said it wasn’t available as yet.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. M.B. Henry

        Yes it will be available May 10! A week from today! I hope very much that you enjoy it. And don’t expect much with my painting skills hahaha I’m very much a beginner

        Liked by 1 person

      2. patmcf

        I think my daughter new that 🤔and I have a feeling it’s a belated birthday present. You may surprise yourself and find out your a natural😉, I have been painting for 56 years and I’m still pretty average .😅😅😅

        Liked by 1 person

      3. patmcf

        I’m not sure if you know this M.B. But it’s a good idea to wash your model in warm water with a dash off washing up liquid to remove the residue left behind by the moulding proceeder. 🤓

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Kuribo

    Its good to see you back to hobbying and working on some old minis at that, it sounds like. I’m always impressed by what you accomplish on these tiny miniatures and I look forward to seeing the diorama as well!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. patmcf

      Thanks Jeff, I’m determined to clear up backlogged ideas and catch up with what every one else has done now it’s winter 🥶, I’m going through my old stuff and will put anything of interest up on the blog and them clear out any I don’t want, just to gain some space.😅😅😅

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. Wudugast

    Mate, I’ve just realised how far behind I am on reading your posts – I’ve got some catching up to do! Great work on these as usual and very clever idea with the spice jar lids. Interesting that you find yourself looking to rationalise your collection at the moment, I’ve heard a few people – myself included – saying that recently. Good luck with the sort out! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. patmcf

      Thanks mate it didn’t take me long to see he value of these spice jars, being 50 P each as against 25£ at least for a custom made cap they come out way in front .😀You May be a little behind mate but I’m still checking some of the guys work going back to Feb😳.As I’m getting on I thought I had better rationalise the collection as the girls said “Dad it will all go to the tip”😢

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Wudugast

        What!!!! That’s heresy! Aye, I dread to think what might happen to all my old stuff. I’m planning to be buried in an elaborate tomb surrounded by all my miniatures arranged in ranks – just to give the archaeologists of the future something to ponder over!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. patmcf

        sorry mate TIM has already said the same so I’m busy building a pyramid in Graham’s field next door , I don’t think he realises that I plan to be placed there for my journeys to the after life, oh well he will just have to plough around it , I will suggest like you say to charge a fee to visit it and see all those little genuine antiquities alongside my mummified body😅😅😅

        Liked by 1 person

  15. Ann

    Those are pretty nifty. They make me think of my old battalion commander when I was a legal clerk at a supply & transport unit back in the early-80s. He really liked miniatures and had several interesting pieces in his office. I think he would have really liked to have a couple of your mini-dioramas in his office.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. patmcf

      That’s kind of you to say that Ann, and that’s the sort of thing I’m aiming at,something small and interesting and not the sizes I have previously made that would have taken up your old commanders entire desk😅😅😅.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.