1:56 Spanish Civil War Hispano Suiza Armoured Car & 28mm Moroccan Regulares Tank Hunter Team

'Pretty' or 'sexy' are not words you typically associate with an armoured vehicle, but I think those words just might apply to this wonderfully curvy and characterful Hispano Suiza MC36.  This 'tiznao' (roughly translated as 'smudgy' in Spanish - thanks Juan!) was a cannibalized armoured truck manufactured by the Republicans during the early period of the Spanish Civil War.

This model is from the very talented folks at Minairons Miniatures in Spain. In a flurry of credit card induced euphoria I picked up this kit at Atlantica Hobbies in Madrid this past spring. The model shown here is 1/56 scale, but it's also available in 1/72 and 1/100 as well. It's a very simple kit, with perhaps 10 parts in total, including a nice up-gunned variant which features the turret from a T26 tank. 

Compared to my good friend Greg, who is a complete whiz with painting and detailing vehicles, I always have a tough time getting my head wrapped around how to best approach the buggers. Probably if I worked on more of them it would get easier. Anyway, I plodded along and went with a Soviet green foundation and weathered the bejeezus out it, thinking it appropriate based on the rustic environment of Spain at the time. The decals were a bit of a bear to work with, and while my application of them has a lot to be desired, I admit they certainly help to finish off the model.

I put on a SCW game last week for a few of the guys from the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts and Dallas rolled out this bad lad for a bit of mayhem. Funny thing is it didn't even blow up, which completely floored me, being a new model and all. Of course this means it will end up as a expanding gas cloud sometime during the next scenario...

I also completed a few other units in the lead-up to the game. One was this Moroccan Regulares tank hunter team. Excellent Paul Hicks sculpts from Empress Games. 

You know, nothing says HARDCORE like a of pair of loons who think effective 'tank hunting' means being solely equipped with a crowbar, pistol and a couple sticks of sweating dynamite. Yup, completely mental.

Pistol? Check. Crowbar? Check. Dynamite? Check.  Right, we're off.  Now, where's that pesky tank...

These guys are a welcome addition to my existing Regulares unit. 

Next up: Something for August 1914 and then Guardia de Asalto!