Middle East/Arab houses in 20mm (3)

Just a few more houses for Arab regions, again made quickly in card.

 

All entrances are just pieces of card glued to the walls which speeds up procedures a lot. Still plenty of places for miniatures on the roof tops.

 

 

 

The shop to the right had some tissue paper on the cover and some chairs and table from Faller (HO scale).

 

Lebanon 1982 - Latest 1/100th scale T-72's and Phantom's

A few more Syrian T-72's for the 82nd bgde of the 3rd AD.

The command T-72 had their telescopic mast made out of a metal sewing needle as I run out of that size of Evergreen tube. The spider web structure are plastic broom threads. Exceptuating the Zvezda T-72 close to you  all others are Battlefront.

The Phantom to the left is a repainted Fabbri model with an elongated nose made of GreenStuff. The one to the right is a straight-from-the-box Tamiya kit.

The 3 colour scheme is made of Vallejo Iraqi sand, GW Mournfang Brown and Warboss green.

All markings are, as usual, hand painted (Uauuu...) so it's good to keep some distance not to see the flaws :)

Lebanon 1982 - 1/100th scale Syrian Mig-21 and new aircraft stands

 

Tamiya 1/100th scale Mig-21 from Tamiya. Quite old moulds but recently re-released and proving Tamiya is a hell of  a brand. But I think many of us will never forgive Tamiya for never having made small scale tanks while making dozens of them in 1/35th scale! Bahhh, what a waste of fine plastic and talent, it remembers me GW...

 

 

Now for some aircaft stands. These champagne flutes can be found nowadays in supermarkets. They are plastic and cheap. Glued to balsa or other wood  bases  that you only need to texture and paint they make aircraft stands with a nice balance and capable of holding metal models. While glueing the flute to the textured base don't use super glue as it will release some white dust from the cyanoacrilate to the inside of the flute ruining the work. Use instead wood glue or hot glue.

It's always better by the dozen!

 

Turned upside down the flute has a recessed base which is ideal for ammunition and reserve tanks to enter and better support the model.

 

 

Lebanon 1982 - Latest aircraft for Syrian and Israeli.

Recently I bought in OLX in 2nd hand the full collection (52 models) of the Fabbri/Italeri 1/100th scale aircraft, at 1 Euro each,  that roamed the skies a few years ago. On those days I was already probably around other collectables and another collection would have been too much as this kind of buying doesn't stay cheap and besides you buy what you want and what you don't want.

Eleven of them suits the Lebanon 82 campaign both for the Israelis (pretty much) and (only a few) for the  Syrian.

As they come already painted and the seller had already built them I didn't have much work only a few new camouflages and markings.

Only the Hind on the top is new, the one to the left is a Revell model. The full squadron is ready in spite of the Syrian Mil-Mi-24 Hind didn't participate that much in the campaign as their crews were not familiar with their new machines leaving the main task of attacking the Israeli ground forces to the Gazelle fleet.

This Mig 29 was not in fact in Lebanon in 1982 but it will be useful in a 'what if' scenario.

The Mirage III was kept in reserve, with their task being left to their younger brothers the IAI Kfir.

The F-15 bore the brunt of the fighting in the skies with the usual zero losses against many as said by the Israelis and a few losses according to Syrian and even American sources. The 'Turkey shoot' that the Israelis annouced on those days over Bekaa valley may not have happened in fact. The Syrians admited their losses in the air - over 80 - but the Israelis may have lost 21 of their aircraft.

Plenty more to fly in the next few weeks, while the fever lasts. Stay tuned.

Lebanon 1982, 1/87th &1/100th scale Syrian SA-2 Guideline and SA-3 Goa (painted)

This is the final post of  the SA-2 and SA-3 Syrian systems with all parts - missiles and radars- already painted.

The SA-3 GOA system was uniformely painted with a scheme inspired on some of the 1973 T-55, with a green base with blotches of sand outlined in black.

 The SA-2 Guideline was painted in another uniform scheme more used in Lebanon by many others AFV´s, green base with blotches of sand and (a little) grey.

This camouflage scheme is the one present in many of the Damascus Tishreen museum  AFV´s and weapons systems.

Lebanon 1982, 1/87th &1/100th scale Syrian SA-2 Guideline (cont.)

These SA-2 Guidelines were made out of the usual materials: The rockets itself are aircraft missile plastic parts "frankensteined" from different kits and evergreen tubing and the bulky green part is made out of three 3 milimeters soft styrene sheets glued and sandwiched together and then carved with X-Acto.

 The full SA-2 Guideline battery with the Fan-Song radar.

The SA-3 Goa battery with the SNR-125 Low-Blow radar.

Lebanon 1982, 1/87th &1/100th scale Syrian SA-2 and SA-3 AA Missile systems

The main missile AA systems used by the Syrians in the Bekaa valley were the SA-2 Guideline and the SA-3 Goa attacked by the Israeli aviation in Operation Mole Cricket 19. The problem of using models of these things , as usual in 1/87th scale in particular, is availability  and price.

As my collection mixes 1/87th with 1/100th scale, scratchbuilding models to these scales is nice as can can always say the model turned out in "1/90 th scale" or in "1/88th scale", who knows.

The model above and in the next two pictures is the Low Blow radar attached to the SA-3 batteries.

The wheels are metal Irregular Miniatures from their Useful Range Artillery. The central control box is a piece of styrofoam (don´t forget to protect it with a thick coat of PVA glue before spray, or you will get a really small box...). The ladders and such are metal. 

The Radars themselves are Made-in-China toys and most of the details are the trustable Evergreen plastic tubing, sheet and rod along with other styrenes.

 This is the way how I produce quick reference for scratchbuilding: Google + attach images to word page + print =  that´s it.

 Try to capure images from the best angles and particularly B/W  and almost-to-scale images. Many times you can even use a ruler for measurements if the pic turned out in the wanted scale.

 The SA-3 themselves: several parts of 1/72nd aircraft missiles until you are satisfyed; Evergreen and other styrenes for other parts and you are done with it.

Same recipe for the Sa-2 radar, the SNR-125 Fan-Song. Much more complicated than the previous radar, this one has more parts in styrene. Superglue and Hotglue bonds everything in its place. The figure, a kneeled Skytrex 15mm already glued, gives you the size of the thing.

Next: SA-2 Guideline.

Lebanon 1982, 1/100th scale Syrian Mil-Mi -24 Hind helicopters

These ones weren´t really in Lebanon in 82 but they already belonged to the Syrian military. It were the Aerospatialle Gazelles who bore the brunt of all the helicopter fight on the Syrian side and with considerable sucess. The Hind crews were still training with their new machines. Based on recent footage available on the Web the camouflage is still the same after many years of Hind service in Syrian hands.

JMM: they already have some air support....

 This one is the 1/100th metal and plastic (die cast) Italeri Hind released with a magazine many years ago. Only now I looked at it with attention and repainted it in Syrian colours.

 
A few milimeters larger is the plastic Hind of Revell. I chose to paint the windshields because there are just too many kits of airplanes and AFVs in resin and metal in which we have to paint the glass parts that I feel this is the best thing to do. Of course it´s a pitty to spoil all the interior detail and the possibility of placing some crewmen, but it´s one of two options.

Lebanon 1982, 1/87th &1/100th scale Syrian T-62

My dear friend JMM, the artillery was not the last post for the Syrian of 82, but this one will be: the T-62, which by this date was the most important tank in their arsenal, at least numerically, and the mainstay of the 1st armoured division.

First some of the T-62 , left the T-62A (without MMG), transformed from the excelent Petner Panzers plastic kits from the USA in 1/87th scale and right, the T-62M, . This brand I think no longer exists, and I only know two kits made by them: the T-72 (same mould as the one once made by Roco...) and the T-62. I remember building the T-62 plastic kits (18 of them) and feeling glad on how all pieces glued so well, making me think these were the best kits ever. Besides the tracks were one piece, and some 15 years ago were some of the first to be seen (ahhhh... the Airfix Bren Carrier is some 40+ years old, right...?).

 The Petner Panzers T-62 fleet, is this case the 76th brigade of the 1st armoured division.

 A different camouflage, without the grey colour.

The Salvat 1/87th scale T-62. Each I find turns into a command vehicle with a little Syrian flag added.

 The Skytrex 1/100th scale T-62. This is the beginning of the  91st brigade for the 1st armoured division.

The full T-62 armada.

Lebanon 1982, 1/87th &1/100th scale Syrian towed artillery

130mm M46 guns and crew by QRF and a few Peter Pig (1/100th scale).

152mm M37 guns by Irregular Miniatures (from its Really Useful Range). Crew are Peter Pig and QRF.

Lebanon 1982, 1/87th &1/100th scale Syrian T-55

The T-55 was still in good use by the Syrians in the 1982 Lebanon campaign, but was already beeing replaced by the T-62. Nevertheless was still used by the 58th mechanized bgde of the 1st armoured division, the tank battalions of the 85th infantry bgde and of the 62nd independent bgde.

The first is a pair of 1/87th scale Salvat collectibles repainted for some of the T-55 of the 85th Inf. bgde seen in Beirut.

 These ones are CMSC 1/87th scale and sport several camouflages, including the 1973 scheme of brick red/sand/ and green outlined in black.

 This pair is Roco 1/87th scale. In the previous and following picture you can see the many details added to these old kits: figure; drum barrels; MMG; antennae; search light and stowage.

And now for the 1/100th models. These two are  Skytrex and really nice.

These four are Eko and had the same amount of added details as the ones from Roco in 1/87th scale.

The full group: the 10 of the top rows are for the large battalion (5 companies) of the 58th mechanized bgde; the 6 of the bottom row is for any of the other tank battalions (3 companies).