Thursday, December 31, 2020

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Happy Holidays To All!


 Here is Trooper's first tree, and my never ending battle to defend the decorations 

😛 Aren't the holidays fun? All the best to everyone!

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Holiday Greetings!

 



I asked but, I don't think Santa heard me ............
Shame as I was so looking forward to putting a few eyes out .......lol

Monday, December 7, 2020

Mecha Monday: Robotech Comics

 

Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name.

When Harmony Gold was releasing the first few episodes of its original Macross dub in 1984, it was discovered that Revell already had a Robotech Defenders line of scale model kits that included the transformable Macross mecha. The potential for brand confusion caused concern that Harmony Gold would have problems selling its own transformable Macross toys. Harmony Gold and Revell were able to come to a co-licensing agreement — when producer Carl Macek had the idea to combine Macross with Southern Cross and Mospeada to create an 85-episode television series, he chose to use Revell's pre-existing Robotech name and logo to strengthen the title's brand recognition.

Monday, November 30, 2020

Mecha Monday: Battletech - how to build a lance


The history lesson of Battle Value and how to build a lance! Some tools and resources for the new player to understand the evolution of "game balance" in Battletech and some tools on how to make 2 balanced forces to battle each other.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Tanker's Tuesday: Kampfpanzer 70 (KPz 70) Main Battle Tank (MBT-70)


The Kampfpanzer 70 ( KPz 70) was a joint project between the USA and Germany in the mid-1960s. The development ended in 1971 when the project was discontinued. The Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams main battle tanks are based on the results of the development work .

Monday, November 23, 2020

Sunday, November 22, 2020

GZGs New Releases

 UPDATE - SUNDAY 22nd NOVEMBER 2020:

TWENTY-THREE NEW 15mm PACKS NOW UP ON THE STORE!

As promised, a BIG batch of new releases is now on the store and fully available - more details in the News Posts on the store front page, please pop over and take a look if you have a moment!

Jon (GZG), 22nd Nov 2020.





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Saturday, November 21, 2020

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Monday, November 16, 2020

Kristian’s Stargate project



Kristian made a “working” Stargate model from the SG1 TV-show. It spins, the chevrons move and lights up and when a correct address is dialed, the wormhole is established. The wormhole is an infinity mirror effect. The gate is controlled with a DHD. You can check out the video presentation of the Stargate in action here:

Stargate 

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Veterans/Remembrance Day

 


The Eleventh Hour, The  Eleventh Day, The Eleventh Month,

known here in the States as Veterans, Day and as Remembrance
Day to the rest of the English speaking world. Most young
Americans have no idea that this day was meant to commemorate
the end of the Great War, or as it's commonly known The First
World War. To all those who served in the past and to those
who serve today, we extend or heart felt gratitude.

************************************************
 Tribute To My Grandfather (Written Several Years Ago)

Heinz Muller
My grandfather was my maternal grandmother's second husband, and therefore
of no blood relation to me however, I knew no other grandfather growing up. Both
my biological grandfathers lived until I reached adulthood but, I saw them not often
because of the distance of where they lived.
********************************
Papa Henni, as I knew him had one of the most interesting of lives, born in Germany
and growing up there after WWI in a small farm village in East Prussia, it was easier
to get to his uncle's fields by cutting through Poland! it even resulted in him getting
shot at by Polish boarder guards a few times. Because of where and when he grew
up he developed a great facility for language, he grew up speaking German, Polish,
Russian, Slovak, and later learned English and Japanese. He in early teens was an
ardent anti-Nazi, he told me of putting sand down the gas tanks of army trucks! He
then would put it like this; "I was asked to politely leave at the business end of a
Kar98!" Not surprising given another of his stories where he tells of his village where
half the houses are flying the flag of the Weimar Republic the other half the nazi flag,
his house had the old Imperial battle flag because his uncle Willy was convinced that
the Kaiser would return! So perhaps it was no shock that My grandfather would go
against the authorities...
********************************
In 1936 he came to the states with his father and later followed by his uncle Willy,
He became an American citizen in 1940 and after Pearl Harbor joined the US Army
and went to Training in Mississippi, where he also taught German to Officers
heading to Europe. He as A German was sent to the Pacific theater. His first stop
was for several months in Schofield BKS Hi, where he stayed in the same building
that I was assigned to many years later, I Quad. His tails of training there came
home to me many times as I marched over the same ground that he did many
years before me
 .
********************************
He went on to the Pacific theater where in one story he was watching a PBY being
worked on and a naval officer asked him "Sergeant do you like what you see, my
Grandfather replied as he said (like an idiot) Yes Sir" He was then asked could he
fire a 50 cal Machine -gun he replied "Yes sir , on the ground" the officer said it 
shouldn't mater...The next thing he knew he was in the right bubble manning the
50 cal flying out over the islands in a PBY. He didn't go too much into detail about
that other than saying he gunned allot of tomato gardens, later learned that was
slang for any Japanese installation. The next stories he told me involved running into
various islanders that were fluent in German! In the first story he is walking along
this recently occupied island and hears someone singing "Watch On The Rhine"
a very patriotic German song being done in flawless German, he walks up and
finds this little old man cutting vegetables who as it turned out used to work in the
German governors mansion. In the next story he and another German American
GI are at this elaborate ceremony 
where the chief is in the full black top hat and
tails but spats and no shoes. My grandfather speaking in German to his friend
said you think they could have got him some shoes...Then thinking nothing about
it is approached by the same Chief who proceeds in perfect German to apologias
for his lack of proper attire etc...My grandfather said he felt about 2 inches tall at
that point, lol.
********************************
The next things he really went into were how he learned Japanese from a Buddhist
monk while on occupation duty in Japan. I guess the reason I thought of all these
things was I turn 53 tomorrow 11 Jan, and was going back over the many things I 
learned from this very interesting man, and how it was really him that caused me
to make a career in the army. Sadly Papa Henni passed away just before Germany
was reunified and didn't live to see that, I'm sure he would had allot of interesting
things to say. The other reason that brought all this to mind was my friend Tim was
showing some of his Japanese aircraft models and my mind sort of went back to
these thoughts. There are so many other stories that I half remember now and so
many other life lessons he taught me, that of all the people I've met in my life he I
miss the most.....

Monday, November 9, 2020

GZGs Update

 NEWS UPDATE 9th NOVEMBER 2020:

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING RECENTLY - AND START DATE FOR THE CHRISTMAS SPECIALS!

Well, here we are in “Lockdown 2 - The Sequel”, and here’s a VERY long-overdue update on what’s been going on for the last couple of months.
It's mostly been business as usual… orders have been coming in, packets have been going out, and apart from that I really don’t know where the time has disappeared to!

Not a great deal has changed with the new lockdown, and hopefully the only thing you might notice from me is that some orders may take an extra day or two to go out, as I will be trying to reduce my trips to the Post Office to just two or three times a week rather than going every day.

While we’re all missing the Autumn shows, at least not having to prepare for them has meant a bit of extra time to work on new items.
Over recent weeks I have had a LOT of new stuff designed, sculpted/printed and got it all into master-moulds, so I have an absolute shed-load of new product codes to come as soon as I can get the production moulds made for them all - which is what I’m working on right now…

I will be running some Christmas Specials again this year, and the plan at the moment is to start them on the 21st November - all the new releases that I can get into moulds before then will be launched at the same time, so please check the webstore news shortly for more news - I may do a little pre-release teaser or two so you have some idea of what is coming!

Thanks to all of you who have kept ordering during this difficult year, it’s seen me through it so far and I’m very grateful to everyone - stay safe, keep well, and hang in there, it’ll all be over eventually….

Best regards, thanks for reading,
Jon (GZG), 9th November 2020.



Tanker's Tuesday: M1 Abrams Upgrade





The latest Abrams variant is an upgrade package, the M1A2 SEP V3. Many of its features are practical rather than sexy: upgraded computers, and a new Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) that allows the Abrams to keep its sophisticated systems running while the engine is off, improving the fuel

Mecha Monday: Robot Romance Trilogy Mecha

Super robots of the "Robot Romance Trilogy" anime series of the 70's (Nagahama's Romance Robo Series). Featuring Voltes V, Combattler V and Daimos .

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Three Musketeers (2011) New Wondercon Featurette Reel - HD Movie







A "Highly" far fetched but fun movie, might give this setting a go with Nicholas Wrights' Galleys and Galleons plus Fayre Winds & Foul Tides rule set.

15mm Wargaming for Fun and Sanity: Galleys & Galleons. Martian Flyer manufacturers &...



15mm Wargaming for Fun and Sanity: Galleys & Galleons. Martian Flyer manufacturers &...: I'm building up a collection, and I have several times considered converting Aeronef to the Ganesha family. Don't get me wrong, I l...

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Tanker's Tuesday: Detailed Analysis on Indian Tanks



This is a list of some of the present equipment used by the Indian Army. Most of the army equipment is of foreign design and produced under license in India but efforts are on to progressively design and manufacture equipment locally. The 41 Indian Ordnance Factories under control of Ordnance Factories Board manufacture most of the Army equipment like small armsammunitioncombat vehiclesartillerytanks etc.

Monday, October 12, 2020

Mecha Monday: Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team




Absolutely legendary scene from one of the best Gundam OVAs.

Friday, October 9, 2020

Attack On Miller's Town




The Rise of New Ukrainia


He spent the day with Tony from Brigade and we ran a game with some of his new troops: the New Ukrainian Planetary Defense Force

Attack On Miller's Town 

Hammer's Slammers Miller's Town

Monday, September 28, 2020

Mecha Monday: Alternative Armies HOF Giant Mechanoids



Small Soldiers - 15mm Sci Fi : 15mm Sci Fi - Alternative Armies HOF Giant Mechanoids: Who does not love giant murdering cyborgs?  Well, some time ago I repainted my GZG Crusties Mecha which were part of my Mechanoid/Cyborg Ens...

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Tanker's Tuesday: T-14 Armata Russian Tank




It has been obvious for some time now that the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has abandoned plans to mass-produce 2,300 T-14s by 2025, as was originally outlined in the 2018-2027 State Armaments Program. ...

Monday, September 21, 2020

Mecha Monday: GIGANTOR - Season 1



Gigantor is a 1963 anime adaptation of Tetsujin 28-go, a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama released in 1956. It debuted on US television in 1964. 

The series is set in the year 2000. The show follows the exploits of little Jimmy Sparks, a 12-year-old boy who controls Gigantor, a huge flying robot, with a remote control. The robot is made of steel and has a rocket-powered backpack for flight, a pointy nose, eyes that never move and incredible strength, but no intelligence (although he started to tap his head as if trying to think in one episode). Whoever has the remote control controls Gigantor.

Originally developed as a weapon by Jimmy's father, Gigantor was later reprogrammed to act as a guardian of peace. Jimmy Sparks lives with his uncle, Dr. Bob Brilliant, on a remote island. Jimmy usually wears shorts and a jacket, carries a firearm and occasionally drives a car. Together, Jimmy and Gigantor battle crime around the world and clash with the many villains who are always trying to steal or undermine the giant robot.



Monday, September 14, 2020

Tanker's Tuesday: Gur Khan attacks!:



Gur Khan attacks!: Обзор состояния танковых войск Вооруженных сил Рос...
Tanks of the T-80 family are represented in the army by the basic versions of the T-80BV and T-80U (produced in 1983-1998). Since 2005, a number of machines have been modernized and received the T-80BVM and T-80UE-1 

Mecha Monday: 60 Foot Robot



Designed after the popular Gundam robot from multiple TV series and manga, this is by far the largest robot ever created – and it looks just as awesome as we imagined. The massive robot, currently in construction in Gundam Factory Yokohama, Japan, is seen lifting and lowering its legs in preparation for its debut in October 2020, although that may be postponed due to the ongoing pandemic. 
60 Foot Robot 

Sunday, September 13, 2020

The Last Man


The Last Man — Gavin Rothery
The Last Man is a 20 minute apocalyptic science fiction short film inspired by cold war childhood nightmares about the end of the world.

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Dune Official Trailer



Dune is an upcoming 2020 epic science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve with a screenplay by Jon Spaihts, Villeneuve, and Eric Roth. The film is an international co-production of Canada, Hungary, the United Kingdom and the United States, and it is the first of a planned two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert, which will cover roughly the first half of the book.

The film stars an ensemble cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya Coleman, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa and Javier Bardem.

Dune is scheduled to be released in the United States in IMAX and 3D on December 18, 2020, by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Tanker's Tuesday Namer Israeli Heavy APC



Namer - Wikipedia
Namer, means "leopard" and also a syllabic abbreviation of "Nagmash" and "Merkava", is an Israeli armored personnel carrier based on a Merkava Mark IV tank chassis. Namer was developed by and is being assembled by the Israeli Ordnance Corps.

Monday, September 7, 2020

Mecha Monday: Imperator-class Titan

The Imperator-class Titan is the largest and most powerful variant of Emperor-grade Battle Titan ever deployed by the Titan Legions of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It is literally a walking fortress and is armed with much more firepower than the next Battle Titan in size, the smaller Warlord-class Titan.

Imperator Class Titan 

On youtube Imperator!

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Hot Wheels Motu Wind Raider




Just picked up three of these, might do something VSF with them : Hot Wheels Motu Wind Raider,

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Tanker's Tuesday: Lion of the Desert


Lion of the Desert - Wikipedia

Lion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical epic war film about the Second Italo-Senussi War, starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army) and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who attempted to defeat Mukhtar.

Monday, August 31, 2020

15mm British Gunboats




 This is an unnamable kit of a small British gun boat used on Mars. It works great with Highland Studio's 15mm figures.
This is an unassembled model of a 15mm aerial British gun boat model kit. Suitable for any 15mm Victorian science fiction miniature game. It's about 8.5 X 3 inches. The front gun is design for 1mmx .5 mm rear earth magnet.

Dan's shop