Retro 80's time + Blog News

Blog News

I now have an instagram account...

I'll be posting lots of miniatures that are already in the Eureka catalogue and stuff I've painted for Eureka, as well as scale model stuff, toys from my extremely un-focussed toy collection and maybe images from my book and comic collection too.

This link will take you there, or you can search on the instagram app for kosta_heristanidis so please find me and follow.

Having used the app for about two weeks, the ease with which photos can be shared is pretty appealing, and this is slowly overcoming my natural tendency towards secrecy. This blog will continue, as it's an excellent format for larger posts and continuing projects.

Takin' it back to the 80's

I've been enjoying Stranger Things 3, and was thrilled to spot men wearing Soviet NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) gear on-screen. 

Stranger Things 3, episode 5

Figures kitted out in this fashion made up one of the earliest sets of modern (by which I mean post-WW2, though these models are better described as 'Cold War') soldiers that I sculpted, and I still have a huge fondness for these models.

With that, I thought I'd share a couple of group photos. 

The range is quite comprehensive, with mortar, Sagger ATGW and DShK HMG teams, as well as flame-thrower, RPG and even specialised radiation-detection troops.

Here is some of the reference I used when planning this range. Hardback Salamander and Bison books showcasing the world's armies were commonplace in the late 70's and early 80's. I never used to rate them as a kid - but I have a fondness for them now and have collected quite a few.

'The Footsoldier' by Martin Windrow with illustrations by Richard Hook is a superb illustrated book published in 1982. My local library used to have a tattered copy which I borrowed over and over. I managed to find a second-hand copy in pretty good condition.

Osprey's 'Inside the Soviet Army Today' by Steven Zaloga with illustrations by Ron Volstad is packed with info, and Volstad's illustrations are always great. Try to get an actual printed copy if you can, as  Osprey's 'print on demand' books are pretty flimsy and poorly printed in my opinion.

Illustration: Richard Hook

Illustration: Ron Volstad

Here's a link to where these miniatures can be purchased, so if you're in the mood for some 1980's horror/sci-fi action, you know what to do! 

28mm Soviet Support Weapons, 1980's

Four new weapons teams are coming soon from Eureka Miniatures.

These join the 1980's Soviet troops shown here and here, which are already available here at the Eureka web store, or here at Eureka Miniatures USA.  They are designed for wargaming Soviet-Afghan War and 'what-if' Cold War scenarios.

As the sculptor and designer of these figures, I first needed to decide the overall look that I was going to go for with the uniforms. Soviet soldiers deployed to Afghanistan during the 1980's wore a wide range of uniforms, which also changed along the duration of the war. In the end, I decided to match the infantry sets that I'd already made, which is primarily a KLMK camouflage suit, over which is worn the 6B-2 flak jacket. Some figures' flak jackets are variants with integral pouches and pockets for AK magazines or grenades, others wear chest-rigs or webbing.

The Soviet engineers in the below photo are an excellent study of this combination.

First is an  SPG-9  Recoilless Rifle with three-man crew.

Next is a standard  82mm Mortar with two-man crew. 

AGS-17  Automatic Grenade Launcher with two-man crew.

And lastly is the NSV  Heavy Machine-Gun with two-man crew. While the above weapons are already available with the  Afghan Guerilla figure sets, this one is newly mastered. Extra NSV photos below.

                                Scroll down for the painting guide available here.

Modern Afghan Bikes.

New additions to Eureka Miniatures' 28mm Afghan Guerilla and Middle-Eastern civilian ranges are on their way.

Here are some shots of the militants that I recently sculpted (and just painted!) atop the 1980's style dirt-bike that I also mastered. As well as the armed guerillas, there is also a lookout (or 'dicker' in military slang) talking into a phone.

Alan Marsh sculpted the wonderful Afghan families, each balanced on a single bike, and also sculpted the Muslim civilian figures that I painted for this post.

The 28mm Afghan range is pretty complete now. There is also a Dshka on a ground-mount, as well as one or two other figures that I didn't get around to painting, but should be in the Eureka web-store soon.

Bye for now!

28mm Papuan Infantry, now with paint (and a Bren gun)

In my previous post I shared photos of the Papuan Battalion infantry figures that I'd just sculpted.

Here are some of those miniatures painted up, plus a painted Bren team that I made to round out the set. I adapted my usual skin-painting technique (detailed here ) for these figures, which will be on display at the Eureka Miniatures stand at Cancon later this month.

I thoroughly enjoyed researching and sculpting these, and I'm really pleased with the final result.

Finally, Happy New Year to everyone reading and following the blog, and all the best for 2018.

Kosta

28mm Papuan Infantry Battalion troops

In addition to sculpting the Australian troops featured in my last post, it was always my intention to sculpt some Papua New Guinean soldiers for Eureka Miniatures' 28mm World War Two range.

I had come across a short but excellent article in Wartime magazine and also found a few useful photos in books and magazines that I had on my shelves. A few quick image searches online and I had plenty of info and perhaps more importantly, inspiration to make a set of figures a reality.

During World War Two Papua New Guineans became famous for the invaluable role they played supporting Australian troops in the fight against Japanese forces. No fighting force can function without supplies, so the muscle power that Papuans used as bearers, to transport supplies through, up and over the brutal terrain of New Guinea was all-important.

It is, however, as stretcher bearers who assisted and transported wounded Australians that these men are better remembered. They were affectionately known as the 'Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels' by Australian soldiers who they carried from the battlefield back to first aid posts and transported to field hospitals.

Less well-known are the troops of the Papuan Infantry Battalions, six battalions of which had been raised and trained by war's end. They scouted Japanese positions and set up ambushes, but also guarded rear-areas and landing strips. 

Find below images of ten figures I have constructed using a set of dollies that I'd made. For the uninitiated, dollies are a sort of blank or basic figure figure that is used to create a number of poses, so that the sculptor is not starting from scratch for every figure. 

Also below are some photos from 'Khaki and Green' which was an Australian government publication from the period, plus another neat photo of some Papuan men wearing helmets. Note the photo of the Papuans receiving instruction in the use of a Bren gun; the men are wearing Australian Army style identity disks, something I'd not seen in other photos of Papuan infantry. The figures I've sculpted do not have identity disks, but I will add a Bren team to the set before release. The white metal areas of the figures have not photographed so well, but hopefully you'll get a good idea of what the finished figures will look like. No release date on these yet!

Eureka Miniatures 28mm WW2 Australian Infantry

I recently sculpted these World War Two Aussies, pics of some of the greens have appeared on the Eureka Miniature FB page.

These photos are of a selection of the figures that I've painted for Nic Robson to display on Eureka's stand at this year's Salute in the UK.

Like a lot of people of a certain age, I grew up playing with classic Airfix toy soldiers, and one of the best sets in terms of sculpting and animation was the World War Two Australians.

It seemed natural then, that when tasked with sculpting some WW2 Aussies for Eureka, that influence would be easy to see, though I've restricted the homage (or shameless pose-stealing) to only a few figures. Helmet-wearing variants are also on the way.

These miniatures represent Australian troops in Papua New Guinea, with a series of very well-known photographs by George Silk of the fighting at Buna being one of my main references, though a number of photos of Australian Independent Company Commandos proved very useful.

The soldiers in these photographs were much better supplied and so presented a far more uniform appearance than the Milita troops who fought the Japanese in the Kokoda battles.

Red Army World War 2 Support Weapons

Following on from the rifle and sub machine-gun squads, here are some images of the new 28mm WW2 Soviet support weapons and teams that I recently finished sculpting for Eureka Miniatures. 

First up is the PTRD 1941 anti-tank rifle with two-man crew. With a calibre of 14.5mm, the PTRD was a single shot bolt action weapon which was very widely distributed in the Red Army. 

Next is the classic Maxim PM 1910 machine-gun also with two-man crew. Carried along on it's Sokolov wheeled mount and easily recognisable with it's fluted water jacket.

And finally there is the M1940 50mm mortar. This was one of a few different light mortar designs issued to infantry units of the Red Army. 

                                             

...and here are all three teams together, plus a couple of the arcane reference books that came in handy while researching this project. I mean, what library would be complete without a copy of Know Your Antitank Rifles?

I'm on a bit of a roll with this whole WW2 Russian thing so you folks can expect this range to expand. I also have more post-2000 figures in the works too, and maybe even some scale modelling posts coming up.