Toy army - buying diecast models

I got into modelling to model, build kits in other words. But having began to dip my toe into the murky waters of building a war game army I am having to be a little more pragmatic. Building a war game army out of kits alone could get rather expensive and time consuming so I was pleased when the opportunity came along to buy a couple of diecasts which will help me fill some gaps in my Finnish inventory and save me some time and money in the process.

The first was a surprise find in my local ModelZone hobby shop - they had an Altaya T-34/76 Model 1942 on their sale rack for just £4.99. This fitted my plan exactly as I just needed one of these to complete one of my tank battalions.

Next up was a nice little find on eBay. Again it's an Altaya model, this time of a Steyr RSO/01 + Pak 40 Anti-Tank Gun 2.Pz.Div. Normandie (France) 1944.

I needed a RSO/01 for my heavy artillery company (the Finns bought about 30 of these from Germany) but plastic kits of this vehicle - if you can find them - are quite expensive display quality ones. So the Altaya looked a reasonable solution, but what made it a bargain was that it comes with a towed Pak40.

I just happen to need one more Pak40 to complete my Finnish AT company, and so at £9.99 for both - the RSO/01 and the Pak40 - it was a no brainer!

One word of caution if you decide this is a good idea is that the Pak40 is in the fixed towing position - you will have to do some knife work to convert it into the firing mode. Additionally, I am not sure how easy it is to repaint these sort of diecast models. Will the printed on decals cause problems and show through?

But anyway, for about £15 (the price of an AMC RSO/01 kit alone) I have two vehicles and a gun to add to my army!

This will save me time, money and allow me to concentrate my modelling time on other vehicles that have really captured my imagination.