Penguin Park

This year Walmart was a cornucopia of awesome Christmas buildings. 

They come packed in this type of cardboard box that keeps them well protected.

They are also easy to open and check to be sure if the model is not broken, or to check out the model before buying.

Since I collect Batman 66 items, this seemed a perfect item for a Penguin lair.

The box is very festive.

But not on this side.  

The building comes with a light bulb so you can light the building, but I don't use them and donate them.

The top as a cute penguin diorama.

The polar bears look more like yellow Labrador retrievers.  And the polar bear is found at the north pole and penguins only live in the south pole.

Trained seal is cute.

The back of these buildings have  a big hole in them to fit the light bulb.  I eventually cover it with a window or other structure.

Interesting top view.  This is a good building for 15mm to 28mm I think.
 

Big Trucks and Little Trucks

Three searchlight trucks.  The dollar stores have sold a few different sets of construction equipment, police, fire and other vehicles that sometimes include a large generator trailer.

I chopped up the generator to fit sideways on a Roco 2 1/2 ton truck.

I am also working on more of the little Christmas trucks.

I am filling the roof holes with a bit of plastic sheet, gap filling super glue, and model putty.

Some of them turned out perfectly.  Others did not.  This is what they looked like after the paint removal.

The back of the trucks have an air hole in them because they are hollow.  I also patched them with gap filling super glue and putty, sanding them down afterwards.
 

Army Trucks in HO Scale

These little trucks are a variation of the little Christmas Trucks that I got a few years ago.

It has a low box body.  It had glitter on it and I got that removed with paint remover.  It reminds me of the old telephone trucks. 

I got this olive Krylon paint and it works nicely.

Not quite the same as the Testors Olive Drab which I like a lot.  I am using the Krylon as Post WWII Olive Drab.

It paint up really well.  Here with a search light truck I am working on a few of these too.

I have three searchlight trucks still to do.  I am also working on some resin bus I got a few decades ago.
 

A Message

The police and soldiers cease fire.

The crowd stands in silence.

The nearly invisible creature walks closer.

He addresses the crowd.

He tells them he will go in peace.

But they should not greet unknown visitors with violence.

The police and the crowd and the man behind the duel .50 caliber machine guns back up a bit and lower their weapons.

The creature vanishes!
 

Open Fire

The nearly invisible creature waves a hand as the police and Army confront him. 

They open fire!

The crowd is stunned at the sudden violence.

The creature is unscathed!

What will happen next?

The owner asks the creature not to harm anyone.

The creature has put up a force field that stops all the bullets.

Even the twin .50 caliber on the front halftrack fails to penetrate the barrier.
 

Radio Station Trouble

M3 halftrack converted to an armored car for rapid response by Military Police in the event of civil unrest.

Radio station KXKVI has an emergency.

The police, the Army and people from the neighborhood have responded.

KXKVI is run by a local man who has been doing experiments and they have gotten out of hand.

They police were unable to respond adequately in this small town and asked for help from the Army.

Crowds have been drawn to the noise and excitment.

It's a lot going on for a usually quiet location.

The owner of the station and his wife exit the building, preceded by an almost invisible being!

Police stand back across the street from the thing!
 

Iron Ace and Starship Troopers

This model came from eBay and I am sure it is long out of production.

I think it is a former Heller kit.  There was no pilot so I rounded one up and now there is one.

Iron Ace, his plane, and Rubberman and Black Mail his two main rivals.

I think it is an interesting little WWII group.

Working on my Action Fleet Starship Troopers figures.  I liked all the movies but I always figured it was rather stupid that they did not have any ground vehicles.  If they were not going to do the Mobile Infantry as jump troopers, then at least a few tanks and APCs would have been in order.  And don't get me started on their tactics.  I have added a few additional figures to the unit by painting other science fiction figures in the Starship Troopers colors.

I have also obtained and repainted a number of Matchbox, and Hot Wheels items to give them greater ground mobility and reconnaissance capabilities.  Also a large drone.  Last summer I stripped all the paint off these vehicles, except the drone, and repainted them. I also began adding decals but the weather got too cold for that and they will wait for summer again.  I also painted about 100 figures for this group from other non-Starship Trooper sets I had.