T-90A from model collect

Well its done! and despite the problems I have faced its been well worth the effort! And to celebrate the first Russian tank in Oronegro, its got a special base! A ruined factory, I hope you like it. Oh yes and there is one more thing I should mention... its blue :-) Thanks to Ben for this idea actually, he said I should do it like my Spetnaz and so although I left out the white that is what I have done! Oh yes and this being Oronegro this tank is not your usual T-90A no it's a T-90O, Just like the stealth challengers it has high-tech armour, advanced weaponry, the latest technology and an advanced Hydrogen fuel cell with diesel back up engine. making this tank not only equal to its western counterparts but in some ways better!

For more on the importance of these tanks go to this post: Russian tanks - Rebel factories, on my Oronegro blog

rolling through the ruins of a once busy factory this blue predator stalks its prey

being a civil war you have to win hearts and minds as well as impose your rule (do you like the juxtaposition)

A blue Russian tank... so its a Blue Red tank, and I am Blue Red Colour blind...

the fuel for the emergency diesel engine, which is used in case the hydrogen cell brakes.

I really like this tank. perhaps I shall get more.

I have done a post on the Oronegro blog about these... they are after all very important to WW3... more will be seen on that blog

And of course we need a comparison between this tank and its main rivals! the Challengers still have thicker armour but its no longer a case of one being far inferior! now all that separates them is the width of this armour. So now the Abrams and the Challengers have a lethal enemy. Can the Russian tanks now match the western ones as well as beating them with looks?

frst thing you notice is how the T-90A is shorter than the Challenger2

next you notice how the profile of the Russian is lower... that's due to the autoloader

Well there we go! I hope your all well, unlike me. off all week and it could take another 5 days before I recover :-(

Next up a ruined building for my friend in the Netherlands and then the Leopard 2 A6! the T-90 is going to have some serious competition in the looks department.

have a nice day/night!

The other blogs. the story and seeking help

Well to put it simply I am using this blog to advertise my two other blogs... Why because I can and I want to raise awareness of them. But there is also another Reason, I am looking for help developing Oronegro. That's right, I want your ideas! Why because I really do want Oronegro to grow into something we can all enjoy! How I would do this? when? or even why? is still something I am struggling to sort out. But the main point is... Oronegro can not remain mine alone, and I don't want it too. :-D

I needed an image, thought this would do.

first up the Oronegro blog itself! Oronegro a land of war its got all the information on Oronegro that I have decided is fixed in stone! for facts this is the place... but that does not mean that there are uncertainties, plans and other aspects of Oronegro as yet not fixed into the storyline. I have not added stuff in a while because I am still thinking of what to add, but if some of the ideas I make up and discuss in the next blog are approved I may add some stuff soon.

this brings us to the ideas and projects blog. Gowan's Projects and Crazy Ideas. first up this blog is not just about projects and ideas, its got lots of stuff, even things that I am thinking of getting. This is the blog that drives me forwards, here I get help and ask questions. you may have noticed my last post there discussion Oronegro sci-fi this is my latest discussion and one I really do want your input for. so if you like head over there and take a look.

I have also opened up comments to allow anonymous persons to comment on all my blogs once more. The spammers may come back but I'll just go back to deleting their comments and if it gets as bad as it did I can always close the anonymous comment ability again.

Note that the nations surrounding Oronegro are not my own, do not play with them. (except you Ion they are yours)

To start with the opening up of Oronegro to all, I will allow anyone who wishes to use the land of Oronegro as a battleground for their Russians and Americans or even other forces. good places for this are the desert like south around the town of el Minero (mountainous as well there) and the newer quite bleak cities like El Granproyecto. feel free to use the land of Oronegro. if you have any other ideas or plans just ask me and I'll see if you can use them... Feel free also to ask for using Oronegro is different era's the history of Oronegro goes right back to the end of the 15th century, go see the Oronegro blog for details on that.

once more have a good day guys! any questions or tips go to the projects blog or ask for my email and contact me with that... I have no face book so don't look for Gowan there (you'll get the wrong one)

 

Revell LKW 7t. mil gl (6x6 Truck)

its a large name, for a large vehicle. This kit was sent to me by Michael in return for some fine WW2 models. There is also a Leopard 2 A6 waiting to be put together, my favourite tank. this is a great addition to the vehicle fleet. and really useful also, this truck can be used by the Oronegrean army, the rebels or as the licence plates suggest the UN Germans stationed in Oronegro. I added my own crew, conversions of some old Esci nato ground crew. they are pretty generic. one is listening to his headphones or has ear muffs on, either one. The trucks camouflage was done by hand it was made harder by the fact I am colour blind. The green I thought was the same as that on the box was totally different. oh well. really useful for games also and scenarios. anyway here it is.

this is my best attempt at doing camouflage and a different base.

I never knew Richard Hammond was a member of the German army????

there was some problems with getting the parts to fit together, mainly because the glue destroyed the pegs which secure the joints

very, very dusty

not the best base colour wise but it was hard to think what would be right.

the "man hole cover" is left un-camouflaged, this is just a preference thing really, makes it look separate to the cab... of course it might be painted also.

well there we go. I am pretty tired right now, still stuff to do before I can sleep. I hope your all having a good time wherever you are and whatever time it is.  and I have a new follower :-D Greetings to fogsoldiers from fogs soldiers welcome to the blog.

And may I also take a moment to Remember the soldiers of the Australian, New Zealand Army Corps, the ANZAC's let us never forget their sacrifice! As a person from Britain it seems even more special as in the first world war and to some extent in the second these brave men did not fight for the freedom of their nation but rather for that of the mother country, for Britain. This sacrifice must never be forgotten not by the people of Australia and New Zealand alone but by those in Europe, Africa and Asia whose freedom was won by these brave lads from far away lands.

lest we forget.

A walk in the Hunua ranges and...

... some parliamentary fun. Well hello to you all what a week it has been, both here in New Zealand and around the world! First up My Heart goes out to those in the States, to those in Boston and to those in the town near Waco Texas where the Fertilizer plant explosion has occurred. But Let me tell you of a rainbow, in this week of darkness. and yes it is a rainbow! But First let us look at what I did last weekend.

last weekend the family and I decided to go for a walk in the Hunua ranges, they are not far from here in distance but they feel a world away in reality. the difference in amazing! we were not walking for very long but still here are some very pretty pictures of the landscape not perhaps at our doorstep but certainly in our neighbourhood.

Hunua falls themselves, looking quite small due to the draught

my sister out on the rock in the middle of a creek further along the trail.

past the steam and heading up into the hills

incredible that this place is so close to where I live yet it seems like a totally different country

very pretty, a small water fall not far from the big one

majestic Kauri trees they used to be common and huge

some very powerful water down there,looking down from the place where we turned around after walking for an hour.

Tree ferns or Ponga in Maori (I think thats how its spelt)

a fancy photo, through the ferns

coming back across the crossing, very pretty.

crossing back across the stream

looking down steam at the crossing.

is that a Gollum in the stream??? another sighting of the many mythical creatures which makes this country the home of fantasy movie production

A good Motto! perhaps one we should all have.

 And Now for the Parliamentary fun! this is the rainbow, almost literally! Gay Marriage and Gay Rights are something that in the 21st century people are fighting for, like workers rights, human rights and women's rights in the 20th century the 21st century will be defined by how we react to this issue. Now this Clip I am going to show you is no ordinary clip from the NZ parliament its a clip that shows how great our system is (not how great the government is/isn't), basically this speech is one that has set this system of government apart from the others...

 Well whatever your views on this I think we all must agree that we need more politicians who are willing to put a bit of humour into politics, its a nice distraction from the annoying things they usually do. Anyway the bill has passed which is why there is most definitely a rainbow to this week, love it or loath it this is a step forwards for equality in his country. I am straight but still I am very proud of this moment because I do have friends who are gay and I am glad that they are now entitled to the same rights I am.

have a nice weekend everyone! Its the holidays here now! YAY! so 2 weeks off for me to make the kits I was sent by my Dutch friend and hopeful to make that T-90 when it arrives. and once more I tell you that my heart goes out to those in Boston and Texas and to all others out there who have suffered during what has been a very eventful week.

have a good safe time everyone.

PMC's, Frogmen and the Cavalry

well hello everyone have I got a strange and fantastic line up for you all today! I have done an 8km walk/jog from my local black sand beach to our town... the annual Sand to Mud fun run, I wore a large backpack which was more cumbersome than heavy but I did it all to help raise funds for some friends school trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. lucky buggers, I am one year to old to go, sounds really fun anyway on with the figs!

First up some PMC's love them or hate them (depend on whose side their one usually) these guys are a reality in warfare and as such are in Oronegro also. a real mix here, some can also be rebels or special forces depending on the situation. A nice mix of Caesar figures, all except one are from the old special forces set with the one on the centre left being from their old WW2 resistance set.

All together! all these photo's are taken on my new table which is for wargaming and a workbench... my work room is the garage and I have to share it but its a start.

nice little scene. perhaps thats the clients car they are protecting

they here something out front

this guy has come out a bit dark in the photo but still that bandanna stands out

can you spot the badge? yes it is easy, but what do you think... I might make this a normal feature on some PMC's

 Now we come to the Frogmen! these men wear a highly experimental camouflage which tries to emulate the colour or the waters surface at night, it has greens and blues and whites which can either simulate moonlight or torchlight on the waters surface. I hope you like these guys. Again these are Caesar figs from their old special forces set (I will get the new one... I will find a use for the archer) it is annoying that their in only one swimming man when their are four on land, but hey I guess that in a game the single man would represent the fact they are hard to see underwater.

all of the frogmen, nice guys, Elhiem makes some as well though I don't think I'll get those

nice view of the camouflage

 Now the age of the cavalry man may be long dead but I think that even today a man on a horse can still be a threat, especially in urban warfare. this figure is a combination of a Hat allied cavalryman, a Caesar special forces officer and the Horse is from the Zvezda Macedonian cavalry set. sadly in the pictures the figure was not the focus of the image, rather the grain in the table but oh well. an interesting addition to the Oronegro story.

horse is an odd colour but I am afraid that's just the way things turned out

will he be useful? I don't know but a horse is still fast and if it kicks you body armour might not help

BTW if you were wondering what place I came in the sand to mud, even walking I managed to get 494th and it only took me 1 hour 10 minutes so not bad really. I hope you all have a good day, wherever you are and whatever you are planning to do.

T-90A dissaster solved... or great customer service

HURRAY great news I got an email back from Model Collect, they are going to send me a replacement! This is the best news I could have hopped for!

lets hope that  have no problems with the next one.

SO be careful with water temperature! but don't worry they are good people :-D

you can see this is a scary tank

that is all!

T-90A Dissaster... though mostly my fault

well I lack experience but even so nothing like this has not happened to me before, and certainly I am sure that it cannot be totally my fault...

from this angle all seems mostly fine

Well what happened... warping and deforming on a grand scale. . :-( OK I think that perhaps the water I washed the kit in was to hot but the water must not have been much hotter than the water I used to clean my other kits, and they had no deforming, none what so ever. I am not put off Model Collect but I am going to be more cautious in future.

but on closer inspection things start to  go wrong

I do take responsibility for the water and I do know that this is mostly my fault, but even though that is the case, this is the same process I have used before with no problems, so perhaps I can ask to buy a replacement at a reduced price. Though even this might be a hard ask. I have never faced a situation like this and I am totally confused.

this part has suffered the worst... I have tried my best to correct the problems but the problems go beyond bending, the plastic itself has got weaker in some places

heat can do this but it was

 now there is far more damage that this because all the spures also bent... once again this has never happened to me before. I have no chance of righting these wrongs because when I do, even by heating up the plastic again the plastic starts to come apart!

this is the most bizarre of the damage, I have managed to straighten out the tracks as much as possible but no joy. I know that tracks must be washed with care but again no problems in the past

Well I have no clue what to do, but this is a slight warning if you get this kit watch out for the water temperature. I am going to try and sort this out myself but still some support/advice for what to do in future would be really appreciated.

well I hope you all have a better time than I have, Well perhaps the sand to mud charity run will take my mind off it, that's tomorrow I hope that I can give you some good news then.