So… The Answer is…

Greetings…

It is a 1:1 3D Printed Tiger Tank Muzzle Break…

I think it took a fair bit of building…

It was built in parts , then assembled, filled, sanded and then given a Red Oxide factory finish.

Given how much the replica weighs the real thing must have been difficult to handle… 

If it ( the muzzle)was damaged I can’t imagine how you would attempt a field repair…

My friend has files for the Ammunition and the Tracks… I have of course suggested that he builds the whole tank ( The biggest ‘ Part Work ‘ in history as my daughter said)… He didn’t say yes… but he didn’t say no 🤣🤣🤣.

All the best   Aly

So… What’s the craziest retirement gift…

You have ever been given…

I finally retired nearly two weeks ago (1st May)…

My apologies for not posting sooner.

I’ve been a bit busy / distracted sorting things/ stuff out… but I have managed a bit more re-basing and I have started painting some Shiny Napoleonics….Hurrah !

Anyway… back to my gift.

On my retirement day we had a fairly sedate but very enjoyable get together in Bugmans Bar…

And one of my good friends confused quite a few people by giving me this…

Can you tell what it is?

It is now living on top of my book shelves…

To say this was unexpected would be an understatement 🤣🤣🤣…

All the best.   Aly

More Testing Times…

Greetings…

Here are a couple more colour tests…

The first is of course the Hanoverian Light Infantry…

This has come out very nicely… There was always going to be a risk that it would be a bit dark but I don’t think it is…so hurrah!

The second lot of  are North Star 1672 figures…

I only have a few of these and when I came across them the Butterfly said “ put some paint on them “ so I did…

I painted them as a Danish Fyn Regiment Pikeman, a Swedish Dal Regiment Junior Officer and a Swedish Halland Regiment Musketeer…. All from the Scanian War.

I am rather pleased with the results…but I will not be adding any more at the moment as I have shiny little people to get on with…

All the best… Aly

Shiny Napoleonics… W.I.P.

Greetings…

As promised here is a W.I.P. Photo of my next Shiny Napoleonic unit…

They are (going to be) the Hanoverian Light Battalion Luneburg.

I was rather taken by this unit when I first saw it…Riflemen colouring but with the added interest of shoulder rolls and a Belgic shako.

The musician also has red shoulder rolls and shako cords.

The figures I have used are mostly Minifigs Intermediate BN1… British Infantryman Running.

It’s a rather nice active position…

Shoulder rolls and a few other repairs and adjustments were made with Green Stuff.

As can be seen… I could not get all of the original paint off the figures… What you see are the results of  one soaking in Dettol and two in Bleach… At this point I decided that life is too short and ended things there…

If I ever find out what the paint was/is I shall use it on the exterior of my house as I suspect it is Weatherproof/ Radiation-proof  and possibly Bulletproof …

These will be undercoated tonight…

There will no doubt be some more re - based Romans on their way as well.

All the best.  Aly

And an other Re - Based unit…

Greetings….

Here is yet another Re- Based Late Roman unit….

Once again… They have had new spears and a little bit of sprucing… Mainly to repair damage that I caused 🙄.

I think this lot have a bit of a Germanic feel to them (Don’t ask me why… they just do😁)… So I think they could be Romans/German Auxiliaries or Goths.

I’ve just finished prepping a new Shiny Napoleonic unit… I should get them undercoated tomorrow.

I will take a W.I.P. Photo…

All the best   Aly

Late Romans… Yet more Re-Basing…

Greetings…

Here we have another batch of my Re-Based new Late Romans…

Most of them have had a little bit of a spruce up and new spears…

The Command group was put together from a couple of spare figures… Something my friend David Bickley does… So quite in keeping with this collection.

Some of these will work well as Romans or Barbarian/Goth types and one unit will certainly work nicely as Romano - British or Romano - Gaul.

There is another batch being worked on and I have been prepping something shiny…flutter flutter 🦋.

All the best.  Aly

Pyrrhus of Epirus…Oscan/Samnite Infantry.

Greetings…

The Butterfly has fluttered on to a little project I started about a year ago…

Pyrrhus of Epirus… 

https://alystoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2025/02/pyrrhus-of-epirus-first-epirote-phalanx.htmlALYS TOY SOLDIERS: Pyrrhus of Epirus… The first Epirote Phalanx

This time we have a unit of Oscan/Samnite Infantry…

This is a very versatile unit, and can be found in most armies of the period and not just those of Pyrrhus.

As Pyrrhus fought Rome, Carthage and Hellenistic Greece I intend to eventually expand to cover all their forces…

The figures are Crusader Miniatures… Available from North Star…

https://www.crusaderminiatures.com/list.php?cat=1&sub=40&page=1Ancients - Ancient Oscans - Crusader Miniatures

The Tunics are… Warpaints… Dragon Red and Tidal Blue.

                             Citadel… Pallid Wych Flesh.

With contrasting edging…

The Shields are also… Warpaints… Dragon Red and Tidal Blue.

With a Foundry… Buff Leather 7B… Edging.

Everything was given a wash of Aly’s Brown Liquid and then re- highlighted with the original colours.

The paints are Citadel,Warpaints and Foundry…

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Painting-Modelling

https://www.wargamesfoundry.com/collections/paint-setsPaint Sets – Wargames Foundry

https://thearmypainter.com/en-gb/collections/warpaints-fanaticWarpaints Fanatic | Premium Acrylic Paints for Miniatures – The Army Painter 

The Bases are as always Warbases…

https://warbases.co.uk/

I am very pleased with this colourful little unit…There will certainly be more.

I am trying to clear a backlog of started and half finished units so the Butterfly will be getting a lot of exercise 🦋🦋🦋.

All the best.   Aly