Sunday, March 11, 2012

Cyclopean delights

A while back I mentioned that RAFM had made a limited run of their 25mm Cyclops tri-wheels . I received mine a while back. Below are a few comments on the build so far.

The parts:


The vehicle body is a soft cast resin with the wheels, boiler top, smokestacks and small cannon in cast metal.  The body has a wonderful rough texture that gives a much nicer effect than flat plate would. The ventilation grid in particular had lots of crisp relief. This is the first resin cast I have worked with and I found it quite soft and easy to clean up. The boiler casting is clean and well detailed with rivets and re-enforcing bands. The smokestacks and gun were very basic and the stacks a bit rough in places. They do the job but I expect to replace them on future builds. The wheels however are works of art. Cleanly cast with no flash minimal mould lines and loaded with detail. I may try seeing if I can commission a run for other projects.

I had to heat the garage up beyond our sub-zero temperatures to undercoat with my usual grey automotive primer.  Drying took a long while and there was some bubbling on one model - entirely my fault.  For the first version, I decided to go stock, pretty much following the colour scheme on the website:

There is more dry brushing to do and more detailing possible but I am quite pleased with the results.  The next version will have a Martian dazzle scheme, tactical signs and perhaps some additional armament. The creative possibilities of this great little kit cannot be understated.

As for the rest of my Martian forces - I am not that great a figure painter so here is an arms length look:


 Yes - Lovecraft has put in an appearance stage centre. 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Best Laid Plans IV - Or UPS the Pirates in Brown

The latest update on my troubles with UPS. The package was refused and to be returned to the shipper.  I received a distraught email from him saying that UPS wanted to charged him $55 in U.S. customs and related fees to re-import the package back into the States.   Note that the package never cleared Canada Customs so in terms of tariffs, effectively never left the US. We have agreed that I will accept the package just so the minis don't wind up in the trash or some UPS employees pocket but of course UPS still wants to charge me for the privilege of delivering the package entirely on their terms.  More to follow.