60mm Cleaning

I am cleaning my 60mm armies.  The newest ones are recasts, but the vast majority of them are 40 to 60 years old.  I have had some of them since 1958 and got many off eBay.  Many are very dirty.  I am using these clear plastic boxes on my patio to clean them.

After a lot of experimentation I found OxiClean seems to work best cleaning soft plastic figures.

Here are some of the troops in ZipLoc bags waiting for cleaning.

Troops go into the water along with a scoop of the OxiClean.

The troops were soaked for 12 to 24 hours, sometimes with an extra scoop of OxiClean.

I stirred the figures every few hours to make sure they were all covered with water and cleaner.

Super Hero Update

I have built a Batman and a Robin in 1/72nd scale for my Battle Dice figures.

Taking a HaT figure from the Spanish Guerrillas I intend to make Uncle Sam.  The Human Torch will become the Sub-Mariner.  The Invisible Woman will be both Catwoman and Batgirl.

Here the Invisible Woman has had a cape and Bat Pouches added to make Batgirl.

This Roco motorcycle is becoming the Batgirlcycle. I added a cape, bat ears to the figure, a bow to the rear end and an Atlantic Russian Maxim machine gun shield to make the faring.

Catwoman; kitty ears added and claws too.

All Quiet on the Martian Front

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1117201778/all-quiet-on-the-martian-front-miniature-tanks-vs

There is a web service called Kickstarter.  They help companies raise money to fund projects.  You pledge a certain amount of money and if the Kickstarter funds reach the goal they are trying for, you pay the money.  At some point in the future you get your stuff.  There are risks.  If the company is late or does not deliver you may not get all you ordered or the product might not be as nice as you expect it to be.  It's a good idea for small companies to raise money for small hobby products.

Alien Dungeon is running a project called All Quiet on the Martian Front.  The idea is the War of the Worlds as written by H.G. Wells happens in about 1915, and the major attack is in the United States.  The US develops tanks and other weapons to defeat the Martians.  The Martians operate a large number of different kinds of war machines.  The project will use 18mm figures and models made in resin, white metal and injection molded plastic.

I have been working on a similar project for my US Army forces only in a slightly larger size.  My intention is to have a Martian attack for 1898, 1918, 1938, and 1958.  That gives me colonial era, World War One, pre-World War Two and Pentomic Army forces to fight off Martians.  I don't know if I will take part in the Kickstarter.  It is an interesting idea.

Robin

 

Cyclops modified to become Robin.  Name tag scrapped off, head swapped and cape glued on.

 

 

Cyclops with Robin prototype.

Robin with painted legs.

Robin with painted arms.

Robin with Batman, lots more Robin painted needed.

Robin

This is Cyclops from the X-Men.  What's a Batman without a Robin?

I heated him up under hot water and bent his arms a bit.

I am using this guys head.

I am using this cape from an unreleased Pegasus set.

 



Here is Cyclops with a new head, facing the other way, and a cape!

Batman

This is my unpainted Batman figure.  I cut the base off Magneto also.

I used very thin sheet styrene and tiny tile styrene for the Bat Belt and Bat Ears.

First bit of paint, he has the grey tights done.

Here is the near final version with blue cape, and cowl, yellow Bat Belt.

Essentially he is done, I am going to mount him on a Battle Dice base, but it's not ready yet.

Batman with the Hot Wheels Batmobile.

Magneto vs Batman

Playmates Battle Dice figures made over 60 figures in mostly about 1/72nd scale.  This guy is Magneto.  I wanted more variety and so I am doing some conversions.  First I cut off the flashes from his hands.

The first thing is to strip off the paint.  I tried everything and nothing worked, until I tried Goof Off.

I placed the figure in a glass jar and hosed the figure down.  The paint melted off as I squirted the Goof Off on him.  The paint remover was so strong, it melted the figure so I kept the use of it to a minimum.

Once the paint was off, I washed him with Simple Green to cut off the Goof Off.  My plan was to make Magneto into Batman.

Once the paint was removed, I added a Bat Belt and Bat Ears for Batman.  I am making the 1966 TV show Batman.

The Alternate Endings...

 

The helicopter takes the sick native back to the hospital.



OR Superman arrives to assess the situation.

Seeing the man is sick Superman knows he has to take the native back to the hospital.

Superman carries the ill man back to the hospital where he can get better.

OR a military chopper arrives when aid is requested for a sick native.

Troops wearing protective gear get out and test the air.

Fearing a worldwide outbreak, the village must be cleansed.

Flamethrowers destroy everything.

Chopper

The man from the canoe is carried toward the helicopter.

The ground crew warms up the chopper.

The men from the outpost are very worried about their new friend.

Swiftly he is loaded onto the chopper.

The engine roars and the bird takes off.

It's only a short trip by helicopter to civilized medicine,  a trip what would take days on foot.

Swamp Fever

The doctors have had their worst fears confirmed. 

The man has swamp fever.

Even with all these modern medicines they may be almost helpless to save him.

Even the natives know what swamp fever means!

They all could be at risk.

Assignment to these remote jungle outposts is dangerous enough with the bugs, snakes and giant carnivores, but swamp fever!

The man will be evacuated by helicopter right away.