Scaling Up Stalin's Eagles

                     

I love French supermarkets. They are packed full of useful things and I nearly always find something to fill a gap or add to a project. Yesterday it was three packs of 50mm flat head nails for €1.90 each, which may not sound very exciting but will be perfect as posts for homemade flight stands that can be used for 1/300th scale models.

The plan, which I've been thinking of for ages, is to switch over from the Raiden Miniatures resin and metal flight stands, which are permanently glued to my models, to magnet basing using the same approach taken with my 1/600th scale Tumbling Dice planes. The 1/600th scale models are great for playtesting and for larger games but 1/300th scale has more visual appeal and is better for participation or demo games, which need to catch the eye to a greater extent.

I'm going to make use of some Scotia Collectair Soviet and Japanese aircraft that are surplus to requirements, having decided not to do the Winter War in the immediate future, instead painting them up for my Khalkhin Gol Red Star Rampant project. The initial focus will be Scenario G from the Lard Mag article, Stalin's Eagles, which puts nine I-153 Chaikas of the elite 70th IAP against an equal number of Ki-27 Nates of the 1st Chutai, 24th Sentai.

The I-153's are from Scotia Collectair and the Ki-27's will either be from the same range or possibly from the now out of production Museum Miniatures range, if I have enough of them in the lead pile. These fighter aircraft are small enough to not wobble or fall off when magnet based but large enough to paint up really well, with the opportunity to add some really neat decals and markings. The Chaikas are also lovely models with loads of character.

If it works I may well try it out for East Africa games too.