Monkey Notes – March 2026

Well, this has been a slow month in terms of modeling for me. I’ve mostly focused on finishing up the Leman Russ Strike Tank series. I’m almost done filming the last episode. It’s basically me making the thing look like a kid doused it in a mud puddle. Hopefully it will be a little more finessed than that, but you get the basic principle.

This kit has firmly established to me that I have pretty much moved on from aircraft. After building the two last year – both of which I did enjoy – it’s clear to me that Warhammer 40K and Ma. K are the sweet spot for me. I like scifi in general, but those two are what I always think about as my “next build”. And no matter what else I build that I enjoy, those two franchises always make me look longingly at my stash, wishing I’d done those instead when you get down to it.

I think the chief attraction is simplicity.

I like airplanes, but they seem too fiddly now. And from a weathering standpoint… boring. Gunpla is cool… but when you have 250 parts up on alligator clamps, that sucks the life out of you. Star Wars is fun, but I’ve pretty much built everything from that franchise I want to. (Some multiple times.)

But Ma. K and Warhammer 40K? The builds for those are simple. No drama. No crazy amounts of parts. Few if any alligator clamps (Pterodactyl clamps… mmm-hmm… Thank you Carl.) The fit is good enough. Not perfect. But good enough. The Ma. K stuff gets slathered in Mr. Surfacer, so that takes care of thoise seam lines. And more and more the Warhammer stuff either has none, or they can simply be converted into panel lines. On most kits, going from opening the box to priming takes very little time at all. The details are either at large scale (Ma. K) or so exaggerated (Warhammer) that painting is easy, and washes really provide a lot of punch.

And though Ma. K doesn’t have a huge amount of variation in terms of designs, they still grab me. In a way, they’re like Spitfires for me, back when I was an airplane builder. I built 85 of them. And with Spitfires, there are really only three major variations… short nose Merlin, long nose Merlin, and Griffon nose. Sure, there are other minor distinctions… but aside from the major one (wing shape) in later variants… it’s all pretty much the same. Yet, I built 85. So I’m good with lack of variety.

Of course, Warhammer has great variety. Everything from tanks to… you name it. Things that fly. Things that crawl. Things that roll. Things with angles, or no angles. And that’s just vehicles. While I no longer build many of them aside form what is organic to a vehicle, there are tons of figures. And the color choices – it’s literally all over the board. Everything from primary/secondary colors to military colors to outrageous patterns and markings.

So anyways… I’m finishing the Leman Russ. The final episode will be out in May, though which week I’m not yet sure.

Speaking of Warhammer

There are factions in Warhammer. If you’re not familiar with the game, just think “Axis versus Allies”, or “Galactic Empire versus The Rebel Alliance”, or “Moose and Squirrel versus Boris and Natasha.” And one of my favorite factions is the Astra Militarum, or Imperial Guard before the name was changed to protect the copyright.

What are they? Basically, little green army men. Or maybe tan. But, they are THE faction that 10 year old Jon would have taken to immediately because they would have fit right in to the epic backyard battles I had with my plastic soldiers and tanks. Even their size is pretty close.

So when I saw two new Astra Militarum kits announced for release later this year, I almost did backflips because 10 year old Jon was doing backflips.

The Centaur Rapid Strike Vehicle is… a halftrack. A proper halftrack. You could paint this in WWII colors and it would fit right in. The Hippogriff Armored Fighting Vehicle, stupid name notwithstanding, is a super cool armored car. It looks like a six wheeled Ferret, or a Saladin. Given that Games Workshop is in the UK, that makes sense.

I am really looking forward to painting and weathering these. Yes, they will be overpriced. (In the US, get them from Miniature Market – they sell them for less than GW.) They’re not yet available for pre-order, but when they are, I will drop a note in a future newsletter.

Assuming I remember. 🤪

Fun will be had by both of us… old man Jon, and 10 year old Jon. Heck, I think even grumpy Sergeant Bius may almost smile and tip his stained coffee cup in quiet salute.

I know this month is kinda short, and a bit “one note”, but… it’s all I got!

Happy day to you friends,

jon