1/72 Bookmobile, available again

I'm happy to announce that, after a compulsory unavailability lapse, our 20GEV024 Ford AA Bookmobile can be found again on our webstore.

Some tooling had to be remade; and we've taken advantage of it for changing a bit the kits' composition, so that it comprises now a slightly smaller number of parts than before. We hope this measure helps users to assemble and paint their model kit with a little more ease.

This remodeling operation is seeking a secondary effect too --no other than making it easier to design and produce a future pickup variant using already created parts. This new model is already on the pipeline, so I'll be able to show WIP on it soon, hopefully.

New 20mm separate heads

We've just made available two new sets of separate heads for Spanish Civil War 20mm figures customization. These are the much requested Isabelino caps and Berets:

Originally intended as a forage headgear, Isabelino caps are suitable for regular troops of both sides, but also for Militias --either left-winged or Falangists.

On their side, berets can be used for virtually any troop type of both SCW sides --but are especially distinctive of Requeté Carlists, Basque Army, Militia and even tank troops.

After these two additions, our alternative headgear 20mm range now comprises up to 9 different sets. All them can be found on Minairons web shop.

New 1:72 Downed fighter

We've got now available a new piece of scenery for 20mm SCW gaming: a shot down Polikarpov I-15 fighter at 1:72^nd scale. As it can be seen by the captions below, model is resin cast from a single piece:

It can already be found following this link of our website, where it retails at €4.95. Just for persuading you to purchase it, please take a look at the pictures below, where the model shows as painted by Rubén Torregrosa of Heresy Brush:

New 1/72 Trubia-Naval tank

We are proud to announce that 1/72 Trubia-Naval tank will be released Monday 30^th May, once its boxes come out from printshop. While looking forward to these, we've already made the tank available for pre-order here.

As you can see above, model itself is quite simple, for it consists of just 4 resin parts for assemblying ease. Each box is to contain 2 of these, besides of 2 different weapons sprues allowing a wide choice --as well as a decals sheet containing SCW Basque markings for up to 3 tanks, and a larger number of Welsh insignia for VBCW!

This new Spanish Civil War 2-tank boxed set retails at EUR 21.95. Don't miss the chance and reserve yours now!

More SCW heads

We've just made available three new sets of separate heads for Spanish Civil War 20mm figures customization. These are Maghribian turbans and tarboosh, and woolen caps:

The new sets are sold in 3-sprue bags (that is, 9 heads in a bag) at the price of € 2.95 each. You can check here our current listing of separate heads.

Renault TSF Tank available

Accordingly to our expectations, it is now available our second Interwar range AFV at 1/72 scale - the Renault TSF command tank. One of these tanks was purchased to France by Spain, to be used as company command vehicle in the Rif War.

Model itself is quite simple, for it essentially consists of four hard plastic parts gently provided by HäT, complemented by four parts else in resin, these latter reproducing this version's fixed casemate. Set is completed by a decals sheet with markings for SCW Basque and Communist, both WWs French and VBCW Anglican League service.

Our new kit has been given reference 20IGV004 and can be purchased in our website at €10.95.

New 1/56 scale M1 Armored Car

After some months of silence regarding 1/56 scale, we are proud to show our latest release in such scale: the Interwar M1 Armored Car, a fighting vehicle that served in the US Cavalry in the early 1930s.

As you can see by the picture above, model is mainly resin and consists of 22 parts, 8 of which are white metal. Set is completed by a decals sheet containing several early US markings and US Cavalry badges. Such sheet can be acquired separately, too.

Priced at €24.95, this new model kit can be purchased right now from our website - or you can wait until our main dealers have got stocked from them. Minairons products are distributed in the UK by Plastic Soldier Company, and by Scale Creep Miniatures in North America.

1/56 M1 Armored Car, ready

An admittedly too long awaiting model, the Interwar US M1 Armored Car is ready for release at 1/56^th scale. Here below you can watch a sample superbly painted by Bruce Murray of Ready4action:

Despite the real vehicle not having seen any action, we believe it an exciting, useful addition to any early 20^th Century semi-historical, ucronic or pulp setting --let's say, VBCW, Mexican Revolution or ACW 2. With decals printed and models cast, we're now about to start box designing --so its release can be reasonably expected by early June.

Benach tank, available for pre-order

Despite the development of our first Interwar AFV has been hampered by every kind of obstacles, we have paciently managed to sort out each one, until the first complete models have started coming out from workshop at last - albeit at a rate lower than desired at first. So that we can now proudly show the first ultimate models of Benach M1935 fast tank at 1/72 scale.

Each boxed set contains 2 complete tanks, mainly in high quality resin with some smaller parts in white metal or plastic. Each tank is accompanied by the full compliment of alternative running gears - for building them as either in on-tracks or on-wheels mode, at choice. The full set is completed with a decals sheet with WWII Turkish, what-if WWII Spanish Republican, what-if Catalan Republican and VBCW Liverpool Free State markings - a lot of dystopic choices!

The new Benach M1935 fast tank is already available for pre-order at our website, while awaiting to have ready the last accessory part - that is being manufactured right now. We'll be able to start shipping orders in one week's time. Don't miss the chance and pre-order yours right now!

Heads!

We have just launched a new kind of accessory, hopefully complimentary to our developing range of SCW 1/72, or 20mm, figures. This consists of a several different sets of white metal small sprues, each one holding 3 separate heads in a particular headgear.

Our first released sets include male heads in either Adrian, Czech or Trubia helmets, and Pasamontaña caps. They're sold in single headgear 3-sprues bags --that is, 9 heads-- at the price of € 2.95 each.

A similar collection of female heads will follow next, while future developments will progressively include all those helmets/caps also used by our growing range of white metal figures.

1/72 Benach M1935 Fast Tank

Our long expected 1/72^nd scale model of this widely unknown Inter-wars tank design is nearly out there, for a first production batch has just started a few days ago. While awaiting those first ultimate models to come out from workshop, please take a look at this couple of samples masterly painted by Claudia Zuminich - these belonging to its first testing batch:

We reasonably expect to release it within due time - that is, on next month. Decals are already printed and box design is likely to start next week, so we must just wait for the first production batch to be completed.

It will be sold by the pair on a box, with both running arrangements for each tank - so that you can choose how to build each one.

SCW fans, please have in mind this tank never got into production - not even for prototyping purposes. It was just a workbench design we've brought to life - somewhat like the German E-50, E-75 and E-100 Panzer series. This is why we haven't included it in our 20GEV999 SCW vehicle series, but have started a new, separate 20IGV999 Inter-wars range with it. So this AFV is mainly suitable for fictional settings over those purely historical ones, naturally.

I guess that 1/72 VBCW, what-if and pulp gamers will be pleased, for the decals sheet for this tank includes fictional markings only: Turkish roundels (as if the tank had been ultimately purchased by this country as planned at start), what-if WW2 Spanish Republican roundels, what-if Catalan Republican markings (as you can see on the samples above) and VBCW Liverpool Free State flags.

New 1/72 Frontline Bookmobile

I'm proud to show you our latest product, a 1/72 scale Catalonian frontline bookmobile on Ford AA chassis. The Catalan Government pioneered during SCW the very first proper bookmobiles service in Spain, as a way to bring leisure and culture to the Republican soldiers. It consisted of a small fleet of adapted trucks/buses, whose task had to be visiting regularly field hospitals and rearguard encampments. One such bookmobiles was built on a Ford AA van chassis - and this is the one we've reproduced in this kit.

As it can be seen above, this is a pretty light and easy to assembly model kit. Most of its parts are high quality resin, except for a few metal or hard plastic parts. Kit is complimented by a white metal female driver/librarian, whom you can watch below:

And last, kit comprises a couple of optional resin panels, so as to convert the van into a windowed ambulance. Following such purpose too, a decals sheet is included containing the markings needed for either a Catalan bookmobile, a Spanish Republican ambulance and a fictional, humouristic British bookmobile.

This new model kit is already available from Minairons Miniatures webshop, www.minairons.eu.

New 1/72 Renault FT-17

We are delighted to announce the release of our first entirely hard-plastic model kit of this year, the Renault FT-17 light tank - definitely the most ubiquitous armoured fighting vehicle in History for, despite being considered as obsolescent since mid 1920s, it survived in battlefields well into the 1970s!! - If unbelieving, go ask the Soviet soldiers having fought in Afghanistan, what kind of armour did they meet in Taliban hands!

Back to this our new hard-plastic model, it is the result of a co-operative work with the HäT Industrie Inc. reputed USA company, by which the model kit has been manufactured partly by them, partly by us. This way, in each of our 3-tanks box you'll find 3 sprues including hull and running gear, other 3 sprues comprising 2 alternative turrets each besides of an MG and a cannon that can be fitted on whatever the turret you choose, and last one sheet with a number of different decals for several SCW Basque, generic Communist, VBCW Anglican League and 20^th cent. French markings.

As stated above, 1/72 Renault FT-17 tank is available either in 3 tanks + decals box, or single in bag (with no decals). 20GEC006 decals are separately available too. All them can be purchased at our www.minairons.eu website, or through any of our current distributors/ retailers as usual.

1/72 Ford AA Bookmobile preview

Besides of the recently announced Renault FT-17 tank, we hope to please all our friends with a second SCW 1/72 scale model kit - this one, a mainly resin softskin vehicle, with a couple hard plastic and white metal parts: The Ford AA Frontline Bookmobile. Here you have one of them superbly painted by Rubén Torregrosa of Heresy Brush:

Thanks to a couple side panels and the help of the accompanying optional decals, the model can otherwise be built as a Republican Ambulance:

Now, please watch both vehicles side by side:

We expect to release this new 1/72 model during September, shortly after the Renault FT-17. It will retail as a boxed single kit, along with the white metal figure you can watch in the pictures, and a decals sheet allowing you those two options above - besides of a humouristic third one, based on the ubiquitous "Keep calm &..." British WWII poster motto.