Palm Trees

I got some palm trees from Amazon.

About 35 years ago I got a bunch of cheap palm trees but recently they have started crumbling.

These are taller than my old ones and are double trees.

It's a nice pack of trees.

They are all the same.

But palm trees don't vary much.

They don't all stand up easily but I will likely add bases to them.
 

Cheap Terrain

This is a little aquarium decoration piece.

It's a little taller than 3 inches.

I like that it is painted and ready to go.

Having the flat surfaces makes it good for 1/72nd scale troops to stand on.

This is painted in a forest or at least temperate zone scheme.

It has a couple holes in it which I like a lot.

Being terrain, it works well for any era, from cave men, to space men.

By having the holes in the piece, it allows troops to move though the terrain to attack or escape.

It would work well in deserts and at the shoreline.

The top done is pretty cool too.
 

T34, T62, Boxes

I got some open boxes from Amazon.  Here is a Roco Minitanks T-34 tank converted into an armored recovery vehicle.

The cardboard box is very white and is helpful for taking quick photos.

I have a lot of WWII and a few post WWII T-34 ARVs in the collection.

This is the photo box.

It's about a foot square.

It is also a bit disconcerting on it's own.

Which box is the inside and which is the outside?

This is my next big Cold War Soviet Union project, upgrading my T62 forces.
 

Soviet Skip Loaders and Painting Eggs

I buy a lot of little Chinese made die cast vehicles.

Many are generic construction equipment such as this skip loader.  I am no expert on skip loaders so they all look about the same to me.  So now that it has been painted, it is officially a Cold War era skip loader from the Soviet Unions' Red Army.  Along with it's comrades in the back.

More die cast vehicles, this time two decontamination trucks and a cargo truck.  Various countries in the old Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe made military equipment and sometimes it was used by the old Soviet Union.  Decon trucks are conversions from three vehicles.

More T54 tanks in for servicing and some freshly painted cargo box trucks.  Note tanks without hulls in the background of the photo.

I use this tube on the end of my electric drill motor to mix cans of spray paint.  It goes 40 seconds one way and 40 seconds the other way.  I use an old rag to help keep the paint can firmly inside the pipe.  Then just pull the rag and it drags the paint can right out.  Makes a lot of difference on mixing the paint well.  I also shake it up and down the old fashioned way a few shakes and as I paint.

I keep a bit of rubber exercise mat by the basement door and use it to kneel on sometimes if I need to be low and close in while taking photos or spray painting.  Gravel is hard on the knees.

Easter is a nice time to harvest a selection of eggs.  These formerly colorful eggs are being painted gloss white for use by Batman Villain Egghead.  They have been flipped upside down and are waiting for a second coat.  It will probably take three coats.  A couple of the sort of foam plastic eggs are not likely to pass inspection, their surface is scruffy looking when not colorful!