Thursday, February 27, 2014

1/144 Polikarpov I-15 released

10GEA001 box
Polikarpov I-15 is the first model of our new 1/144th scale aircraft range. Just as its 1/100th scale counterpart, the kit consists of 3 resin main parts and 5 metal accessories, and comes accompanied by a decals sheet allowing the user to decorate the aircraft either as Soviet or Spanish Republican.
10GEA001 contents
As a novelty with regard to our 1/100 aircraft, the aircraft kit does include a pilot as well, but not made by ourselves this time --but kindly supplied by Peter Pig instead.
10GEA001 box reverse

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Benach M1935 Fast Tank preview

As maybe a few still recall, some time ago we had started working on the blueprints of an ignote Catalan tank project, that had been developed around 1935 in the same factory later producing the IGC Sadurní tank and carriers. Well, we're happy to show you our ultimate design of this obscure tank, that we've dared to name as Benach M1935 in behalf of its designer.
20IGV002
Our ultimate design is not as futuristic, star-wars-like as the first sketches made, but we find it to be quite more consistent according to blueprints. After having abandoned our starting concept of an egg-shaped tank, a number of features look technically feasible and likely now --such as the driver vision port, that in the tank egg version aimed to the right side rather than ahead; the new volumes concevied do allow now a reasonable amount of room left for driver, gunner and side machine gunners to stay together without hindering to each other.
Benach blueprints
A few features else have been added on our own, such as side hatchets for crew, vision ports at dome or rear hatches/radiator grill at the rear. True that none of them is shown on blueprints, but we've otherwise believed them logical and likely.

The sketches above show the tank running on tracks; we're now preparing some renderings on what would the tank look like once thse are removed.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Flakpanzer I ausf. A

built 20GMV001
This will be our first set devoted to a period other than SCW. It is the Flakpanzer conversion of Panzer I ausf. A providing mobile AA support to the German columns invading the USSR in Barbarossa. It is already being cast right now at both 1/72 and 1/100 scales altogether, although the 1/72 version will be released slightly earlier. They were scheduled for next May and June respectively, but we are now pretty confident to be able for releasing both before.
20GMV001 parts
The idea behind is to take advantage of our already made plastic Panzer I ausf. A for transforming it into a Flakpanzer, thanks to a few supplementary parts, mostly cast in resin except for gun barrel which is cast in white metal. The complete kit will then include all the pieces necessary (either plastic, resin and metal), so that what you'll have in box is all this:
20GMV001 kit
Oh, not to forget that our set will also be complimented by 3 crewmen, that are right now being sculpted at 1/72 by Juan G. Bautista of Xan Miniatures (the artist behind our SCW 20mm figures range, you know).
built 20GMV001
(Please note the figures shown in this picture do NOT actually correspond to this kit, but belong to Xan Miniatures' own catalogue instead; we've been granted permission for using them in this series of pictures, while the ultimate ones in early WWII German uniform are being sculpted)

Same for the 1/100 scale version. I do not have ultimate models of it yet, but this is what the prototype looks like (quite of the same thing actually, but a bit smaller):
15GMV001 prototype
In this case, the complimentary 15mm crewmen figures have been commissioned to another talented sculptor, who deserved to be given a chance in our opinion (besides, this allowed us not to distract Juan Bautista from his current proritary work on both his own brand and our so successful SCW 20mm range). You'll know about him soon.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

1/72 Sadurní Tractor & Howitzer released

20GEV014 box
We are proud to show you our latest release at 1/72nd scale: IGC Sadurní Tractor, in our kit towing a Schneider 155mm howitzer. Tractor itself is quite easdy to build, for it consists of a total of 10 parts --4 of which are actually optional, such as mudguards and up to 2 headlights.
20GEV014 parts
As for the howitzer and its limber, we've been able to solve them in a small number of parts too: just 9. Due to a photographer error (me!), the part destined to hold the muzzle is not shown in picture --this is why you can only see 8 pieces. Apologies for the error, I'm definitely bad at taking photos!
tractor & howitzer
As you can see, kit includes not just tractor and howitzer themselves, but also a white metal driver, a right side empty seat and a decals sheet including both historical and what-if or fictional markings. The whole kit retails at € 16.95.
whole 20GEV014 kit

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Nationalist Infantry concept drawings

No time for relaxing here. After having released both Republican Infantry and Republican Command & Weapons sets, we're now going for a similar couple sets of their opponents. So that we've already started discussing and defining our 20mm metal figures SCW range next step --Nationalist Infantry, quite logically. As some of you perhaps already know, our hired sculptor for this range is Juan G. Bautista (whose own figures brand is Xan Miniatures, BTW). Here below you can see the basic concept drawings we've finally agreed:
20GEF006
Just as its Republican counterpart, this new Nationalist Infantry set will comprise a total of 15 figures, representing 13 soldiers and 2 NCOs, all them showing different poses. We judge this number enough for representing a whole Section/Platoon, or at least a balanced part of it depending on the ruleset used; so that users can build an average company by just putting together a few such sets, besides of the related Command & Weapons set to come later.
20GEF006
As you can realize, concept art for the new set reflect a high aggressivity, as expectable in a winner army. All-regulation uniform will also be dominant, although some variations have been forecast (Those small green stars at some figures footing are there precisely meaning such further variation to be introduced)

More from Peter Pig

Italian Infantry Our catalogue has just grown with more stuff of Peter Pig. In order to increase our offer related to Spanish Civil War 15mm gaming, now we store Italian troops and equipment from Peter Pig's Range #08, so as to allow building the so-called Corpo Truppe Volontarie (CTV) Italian Army divsions that Mussolini sent in Spain in support of the Nationalist cause.

Renault FT-17 This includes not only Italian infantry, but artillery and tank crews too, as well as L3/33 tankettes. Besides, up to four different variants of Renault FT-17 tank have also been incorporated into our catalogue on a permanent basis.

PaK 36 In the end, Peter Pig's early WWII German and Russian Anti-tank guns are now stocked too. All these new items from Peter Pig can now be found on Minairons website, so as to allow 15mm SCW aficionados to combine their acquisitions of our own stuff with those of Peter Pig in a single purchase.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

20mm Republican Command & Weapons

20GEF002 box front
Our second 20mm SCW figures set has today started coming out from factory. A full first batch of Republican Command & Weapons sets will come in our headquarters on next Monday.
20GEF002 front view
This new set consists of 12 figures, 1 HMG model and a paper sheet with pre-printed, textured Republican Army flags. There are two Degtyarev LMG teams, one CS/Valero light mortar team, the three crewmen of a Maxim HMG, two officers/commissars and a flag bearer.
20GEF002 rear view
20GEF002 rear view
Here below you have a few captions else:
mortar team front view
mortar team rear view
HMG team front view
HMG team rear view
Command team
Our 20mm SCW Republican Command & Weapons set can already be ordered right now at Minairons website --although, as said, we won't be able to start delivery until next Monday. It's priced same as the Republican Infantry set --that is, EUR 15.95.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

A Chevy, our next 1/56 model

After Hispano Suiza MC-36 AFV and Henschel Type 33 truck, our next release at 1/56 scale is to be this one you can see below:
28GEV0018
28GEV0018
28GEV0018
It is 1937 Chevrolet 1.5ton truck, some of which were employed by the Spanish Republic --either built at Barcelona under license, or imported into Catalonia through the French border, some weeks prior to the Republican offensive along Ebro river. Model kit will consist of 16 parts, most of them resin --with a few exceptions to be cast in white metal, due to small size and/or fragility. Designing and 3D printing process has already finished satisfactorily, and we're now starting to work master moulds. We expect it to be born before Saint George's Day.