Soviet anti-aircraft gun in 15mm

[josta59]

Here's a model I just finished (the varnish is still wet). This is the first of a collection I've started. I'll be modeling the entire 1982 run of Hasbro's G.I. Joe toy series in 15mm. This is the closest thing I could find to the G.I. Joe FLAK cannon.

[/url]

This is a Soviet WWII-era 85mm anti-aircraft gun, in metal by Irregular Miniatures in the UK. This gun is a strange choice to model something used by "A real American hero" in the 1980s, but it was the best I could do. The U.S. had similar weapons in WWII, but no one makes miniatures of those. I searched hard.



And only poor countries were still using anti-aircraft guns by the time Hasbro started making this line of toys. More advanced countries were only using missiles against aircraft by 1982, so Hasbro made an odd choice by including a gun like their FLAK.

The FLAK was my first G.I. Joe toy along with the action figures Rock 'N Roll (machine gunner) and Short-Fuze (mortar soldier). My next purchase will probably be a set of soldiers, probably the Vietnam U.S. Army mortar platoon sold by Flashpoint Miniatures so I can get a mortar user and a few others all at once.

And now I see I missed some spots on the tires, so I'll be touching those up soon.

[Whiterook]

That’s a super cool concept, making the collection in 15mm! I like that you can tap into the huge pool of 15mm gaming mechanics found in innumerable rules sets, and of course your home brew versions. 15mm is one of the top scales for wargaming miniatures, so you picked an awesome scale. I’m bomb to be following your progress throughout this series!

The gun is pretty close, really… I wouldn’t quibble over ‘exactness’, as even the G.I. Joe universe of the 80’s was conceptual, as opposed to the 12” dolls of the 60’s. Being a metal miniature makes it a bit tougher to scratch build, should you choose to do such… CA glue is harder to use with metal, where the wrong blow by hand or falling has the potential to shear off the joins; as opposed to plastics with use of styrene glue, which basically melts and fuses the parts together.for instance, you could saw off the barrel where it extends from the bottom-mounting plate; saw the exact length off the gun barrel end to the length of the represented GiJ model, and join them for the shorter barrel. It’s fine the way it is but, it’s nice to know there are possibilities!

Great job with this! I look forward to other threads on the next pieces to join the line up, and of course some gaming!

[josta59]

Thanks for the encouragement and ideas! I kind of like the idea that my version of G.I. Joe will be closer to reality, so I'm fine with this. Maybe the U.S. Army somehow acquired a Soviet anti-aircraft gun after WWII and modified it for the defense of their G.I. Joe headquarters in the eighties, when Cobra became a domestic threat.

My plans for this collection are to display it, but the pieces could certainly be used for a game. I chose 15mm because I found a few very unique pieces of equipment being sold as 3D prints in that scale. Those will look just like what G.I. Joe had. So the collection will be a mix of metal and plastic.

[Whiterook]

Nice! What are your display plans… in case(S) display. Or perhaps even on diorama base?

[josta59]

Mar 29, 2022 17:26:17 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

Nice! What are your display plans… in case(S) display. Or perhaps even on diorama base?

I might just put them on a bookshelf. It will take me quite a while just to collect all the figures and equipment, so I have lots of time to think about it. I might make them a grassy hill or something. Maybe with a flag.