Comparing 15 & 18mm SCW miniatures

* ERASED ARTICLE *

I had posted here a short article with a picture showing for comparison our first 1:100^th scale model side by side with the metal figures of up to 4 different brands making, or having made in the past, a range of 15 to 18mm SCW soldiers.

However, one of those brands has so strongly objected both article and picture, adducing to be severely harmful to their interest that --after some hours of tense, even angry posting and emailing--, I've finally decided to drop off the article from public show. Although still believing to be in the right to compare and let users decide after their personal tastes, when my own product is involved in the decision taking, I've later thought that it would be a nonsense to ignore the other side allegations --for in the end, no one owns all the truth, as commonly said here.

So better removing the article, before we all end up publicly quarrelling like street children gangs. If anyone is doubtful about sizes, scales and compatibilities of Minairons' models with whatsoever other products, I'll have no inconvenience at privately informing him/her, though.

Apologies to these people having seen their comments deleted --not to give any trace of that other brand's name.

Hispano-Suiza Project 3rd update

Design keeps progressing fast, after some issues detected have been solved. Please check the pictures below:

Next step will be designing turrets and other accessories, such as headlights and the pegs-and-holes system to attach parts to each other.

Please donate and help funding it! Crowd Funding campaign page: igg.me/at/minairons-28GEV008/x/2158183

Now stocking S-Models kits

Minairons Miniatures is proud to announce S-Models quick build models to be on sale on our www.minairons.eu website.

S-Model kits are some of an intermediate stage between those more complicate kits for modelers & collectors and our own, fast-assembly kits intended for wargaming. They're normally sold by the 2 in a box, with a price range around EUR 10.00 and 15.00 --depending on the model itself. Some include photo-etchings, most include a small decals sheet --enough for 1 to 4 variants of the vehicle.

Check a listing of them in our webstore!

Hispano-Suiza Project 2nd update

Our first 1:56^th scale beast is progressing fast. Here you can watch some captions of it:

Please donate and help funding it! Crowdfunding campaign page: igg.me/at/minairons-28GEV008/x/2158183

1:72 scale T-26 tanks painted

We are delighted to show you the superb artwork performed on our T-26 model by Rubén Torregrosa of Heresy Brush, who has brilliantly sorted out the issues of dealing with only poor resin prototypes!
Let's take a look first on its single-turreted "B" version:

It must be said in advance that Rubén has had a lot of work with the open hatch turret, due to the crewman figure's poor detail, that has forced him to simulate a number of features initially missing from the prototype itself (anyway, you won't have to deal with that trouble, for sure!). Here you can see results:

The prototypes you can see show no plates riveting, or details on mudguards such as shovels, levers and so; but the ultimate plastic model will indeed. Now, a couple of pictures on the twin-turreted "A" version:

Also, worth to be noted that models haven't been applied any markings, for these are still being printed. However, we would like to remark the ultimate decals sheets will include national devices of USSR, Finland, Turkey and Spain (both SCW sides). We'll be able to show them pretty soon!

Hispano-Suiza Project 1st update

Just started working on the thing --and finding first issues!

In short, there are no blueprints of the beast, not even a data sheet specifying its dimensions; so we've had to use a little imagination for guessing the vehicle's main dimensions. So good that someone back in the 30s had got the idea of fitting a T-26 turret on a Hispano!! Thanks to such improvement, we'll be capable now of calculating vehicle's length and height. The rest of its dimensions will be deduced by comparing pictures showing different views of it with this one.!

Thanks to the T-26 turret, it can already be said that the 1:56 scale model will be 13.90cm long!

(Indiegogo funding campaign page)

1:72 Panzer I B / Befehlswagen 1st prototype

We can already show you pictures of our next 1:72^nd scale model, which is no other than the Befehlswagen I B command tank, with option to be built as a regular Panzer I B. This is what the model looks like, compared to a Panzer I A hull:

Please note that the upper hatch dome is optional, so that you will be able to build the command tank without such part (as in the early version used in Spain) or including it instead (as used later in WWII). In both cases, you'll have the option to represent the hatch with either open or closed doors.

As said above, the vehicle can be built as a regular Panzer I B tank, by replacing the resin casemate by the plastic turret and platform the kit will include. Both sets of parts fit perfectly to each other, as you can see:

Worth to be noted that a couple of issues are to be fixed however. The first one, the command version MG will be oversized as to become the same diameter and length as that of the plastic turret. Secondly, we're still struggling for having a tank commander in time for release!

A latest hour piece of news on Decals: Just as any of our model kits, this one will come with a complete decals set depicting several national markings of the Nations having used this tank: Spanish Nationalist, German, Hungarian and... VBCW* BUF!

(*) A Very British Civil War, or VBCW in short, is a trademark owned by Solway Crafts & Miniatures, who have kindly granted us permission for using such what-if setting name in this decals set. As for BUF, it's the abbreviation of British Union of Fascists, a historical party forming one of the VBCW fictional factions.

1:56 Hispano-Suiza MC-36 Project

Well, that is. After lots of e-mails received and some time of hard thinking, we at Minairons Miniatures have finally taken the decision to launch a 1:56^th scale SCW vehicles range, alongside with those already started in 1:72^nd and 1:100^th scales.

It hasn't been an easy decision by any means. For starting a plastic & resin range can be financially considered more or less sustainable, if in one single scale; while a somehow risky but exciting business to endeavour it in two scales altogether. However, committing oneself to a third scale in parallel, at so a tender stage of our firm... well, quite far from sustainable, unless some help from requesting hobbyists themselves is provided.

This is why we've agreed to put our multi-scale commitment under crowdfunding. Not under the popular Kickstarter portal, because its use is restricted to USA and UK residents only; but under IndieGogo instead --for it allows us doing so, that simple.

We'd like to start such 1:56^th scale AFVs range with a rare, handsome and stylish armoured truck: the Hispano-Suiza MC-36, a competitor to Bilbao Armoured Car for equipping the "Guardia de Asalto" Spanish Republic's Police. Although finally lost the contest in favour of the cheaper Bilbaos, Hispano-Suizas didn't resign to lose their chance and saw action in Republican hands, in numbers of 5 – 15 vehicles, depending on sources. Some were captured by the Nationalists, and at least one of them experienced some improvement thanks to a cannibalized T-26 tank.

Please take a glance at our 1:56 Hispano-Suiza MC-36 Crowdfunding Project and support it!

15mm Panzer I A preview

We've been delivered a second testing batch of sprues of our upcoming 1:100^th scale Panzer I A, so that I've decided to assemble one of them and see what it looks like. For your appreciation, here your are some photos (apologies for their poor quality, I'm anything but good at taking pictures):

As it was just a test batch, no colour has been added to the plastic. Production sprues will be dark grey, naturally. Now here you are our Panzer I A compared to other tanks:

Compared to a Zvezda Panzer II (half painted, as you can see):

Now compared to a Zvezda Panzer III (primed):

Finally, compared to a Zvezda T-26S (half primed):

The good news so far. The bad news is that the batch has not been approved by us, because the sprues still showed a flaw. There was a peg missing --the one that should attach upper and lower parts of hull. The model can be assembled anyway, but this was evidently a mould flaw, and we want it fixed. This unavoidably means an additional delay of some weeks to our releasing expectations. We'll have to take some patience, it seems!