Tim Wilding
Reviews By Author
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German Self-Propelled Howitzer - Wespe "Italian Front"Published:
The KitThe Wespe was in production from February 1943 until June 1944 by taking a Panzer II chassis, moving the engine to the front right and adding a fighting compartment with a 105mm howitzer in it. This kit is a re-issue of Tamiya #35200 released in 1996, but with two new sprues. The first new sprue has link and length track, interior details, and weapons. The second sprue has four crewmen in the action of loading and firing the gun. The decals are new and are for two Italian campaign vehicles, hence the “Italian Front” on the box. The kit includes a length of white string to be used as the tow cable. The other five sprues are from the original 1996 release. There are no photoetched parts or clear parts. The instructions are in a booklet form consisting of 12… more |
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Mud and WaterPublished:
Ammo by Mig Jimenez is expanding their line of acrylic diorama products with these products; Dry Earth Ground #2101, Dark Mud Ground #2104 and Slow River Waters #2204. These products come in a large mouth, 250ml plastic bottle. The Dry Earth Ground is a tan, gritty paste like it has fine sand in it. The Dark Mud Ground is a dark brown, smooth paste. The Slow River Waters is a slimy green gel. The bottle says you can pour this, but it seems way too thick to do that. Here are the descriptions from Ammo’s website to explain each product better: Mud: “Until now, many other brands have created products to imitate mud, based in acrylic resins, they create unrealistic uniform textures. Most are based on repackaged fine arts products and sold to modelers at a very high price. AMMO has… more |
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Ammo VarnishesPublished:
Sealing the paint before decals and weathering a model is an important step in preventing damage the base coat. Ammo by Mig Jimenez has released a line of acrylic varnishes (finishes) that are easy to use and are nontoxic. Here is the description from their catalog:
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One Shot PrimerPublished:
Ammo by Mig Jimenez has released a new line of primers that are formulated to be applied in one layer or “One Shot” as the bottle says. Ammo says this is formulated with a high gripping power that is self-leveling. They come in larger 60 ml bottle. It can be sanded after drying for 24 hours, does not need thinning, is non-toxic and has a no drip cap. I must not be pouring it incorrectly, because I had a lot of drips, then it splattered when I closed the lid. I wish it came in eye-dropper style bottle like their paint does. I tested the black #2023 and the grey #2024. Starting out, the most important step in using this is to remove the cap and take off the seal under it. I did not at first and thought the primer cap was already clogged. I used my Badger Patriot airbrush with a .… more |
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OilbrushersPublished:
Ammo by Mig Jimenez has developed a line of oil paints that are already thinned and come in a clear bottle with a brush attached to the cap. Here is their description for these oilbrusher: “The new OILBRUSHER is the ultimate and revolutionary modeling product. OILBRUSHER contains high quality oil paint specifically formulated for modeling use, diluted to the perfect consistency to be applied straight from the jar. The cap has an exclusive built-in high-precision brush to apply the color directly onto your model, without having to put the oil paint on a palette or a piece of cardboard. This evolution prevents the oil from drying out and wasting product unnecessarily. Furthermore, the modern container includes a dispenser-cleaner system that removes… more |
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Ammo by Mig Jimenez Catalogue 2017Published:
This is Ammo by Mig Jimenez’s 2017 product catalog (or catalogue in British English since this is translated from Spanish to this). This publication is large, 132 pages of glossy, colorful pages. It starts with a one-page introduction directly from Mig Jimenez. He writes a paragraph that I really think sums up modeling progression: “The difference between an average modeler and an excellent modeler is not based on the tools used by each of them, not is it based on the airbrush, paints, or models that they purchase. What really makes a modeler different from the others is their “experience”. The experience is not limited to models but includes all things in life. Experience makes us evolve, improve, move forward, discover new worlds, and take aim at new targets. In short, our… more |
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Faded - The Weathering Magazine Issue #21Published:
Faded is number 21 in the Weathering Magazine series published by Ammo by Mig Jimenez. They take one topic, in this case faded vehicles, and created nine articles to help the read improve their skill on this topic. There are 70 pages for these nine articles including many high gloss photos. The wide range of subjects should appeal to most modelers. There are three tank articles, a farm tractor, a submarine, a Star Wars A-wind fighter, a car, a railroad tanker car and a Messerschmitt BF109 airplane. One article of an Aussie M1 tank is a work in progress from the magazine before this one, the “Camouflage” issue. Most of the articles use only Ammo by Mig products, but a few use Tamiya paints too. The magazine is in the larger, A4 European style, since it is published in Spain. Since the… more |
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Camouflage - The Weathering Magazine Issue #20Published:
This is 20th magazine in Ammo’s weathering line. I really like how they take one topic and run about ten articles to explain how to improve your skill on this technique. The magazine is in the larger, A4 European style, since it is published in Spain. There are 75 pages of high gloss color photos broken down into 11 articles. The article’s models range from five armored fighting vehicles, a locomotive, a figure, a submarine and a Sci-Fi Maschinen figure. Each article is six to eight pages long and full of photos detailing the step by step camouflage pattern being used. There is no construction of these kits discussed, it is just all painting and weathering. I noticed that almost all the articles use only Ammo by Mig products. Makes sense since it is their magazine series. The… more |
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Ammo Paint BrushesPublished:
Here is the description from Ammo’s website: “The Synthetic Brush range made of high-quality fibers, offers great spring and color carrying capacity, making them an excellent option to paint medium and large areas of our models. The ideal brush for working with military vehicles, aircraft, groundwork, and all manner of scale models. Thanks to the fine point, smaller sizes are also suitable for detail painting. They are solvent-resistant and can be used with any paint type including acrylics, enamels, and oils. These are heavy duty brushes at a very economic price, making them a great option for all types of painting and weathering techniques and tasks. Both round and flat shapes can be used to apply washes, filters, pigments, splashes, mud, and a wide range of… more |
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Stony Steppe Diorama Grass MatPublished:
This product is a premade diorama grass mat that represents the steppe region of Russia. A steppe is a vast area which is usually a level grassy, treeless tract of land. This mat’s measurement are 5 inches by 9 inches, or 130mm by 230mm to our metric speaking friends. The mat is packaged nicely in a plastic, hanging container with a paper backing slid in and stapled. There is some grass and stones that came lose in shipping that make it look a little messy. This loose debris can be glued back onto the mat with a little white glue with very little effort. There are two colors of grasses represented, plus what looks like little tuffs of cactus needle fuzz. The different sizes of rocks look like the walnut kitty litter my cat uses but represents rocks very well. There also are… more |