Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIV #2 - Early WW2 Poles

 

My second submission for the challenge was a selection of early World War 2 Poles of the 10th Cavalry Brigade, sometimes called the Black Brigade.  It was the only fully operational Polish motorized infantry unit during the invasion of Poland. The figures are from a range called Kromlech Historical. Unfortunately they are now out of production, but a few stores still have some remaining stock. According to some posts I found in a discussion group, the sculptor who designed the range passed away, and the company is planning to revamp the line at some point. These were picked up at another hobby store I visited while traveling home from a re-enactment event back in April. I had seen these online for a while, but I had resisted buying any until now. 

First up is a wz. 1914/1919 Skoda 100mm howitzer and crew, along with a 3D printed Polski FIAT 621L truck done by a friend of mine. He had already printed off four for me that I had painted for last year's challenge, and he felt bad that one of the truck beds was warped, so he printed off another to replace it, so I now have five. I ran into a bit of a snag when I went to assemble the howitzer and found that the wheels were missing. However a friend came through with a pair of wheels from his bits box that solved the problem. They were actually some Warhammer 40K Ork wheels that started out being pretty chunky, but I sanded them thinner to fit the Skoda. The end result works for me. The howizter's base is MDF and came with the set. It is designed so that two of the gunners can be removed as a result of casualties. The other two gunners are sitting on seats on the sides of the trail, and the sculpting is well done so that the folds of the greatcoat fit nicely up against it.

 

 Next is a reconnaissance section consisting of two Sokol 1000 motorcycles with sidecars, and a Polski FIAT 508 III Lazik field car, with three drivers and five soldiers, two armed with Browning wz. 28 automatic rifles. The motorcycles are resin castings, while the field car is a combination of resin and metal bits, such as the front bumpers, windshield, steering wheel, and front seat. All the drivers and crew are metal. Everything went together nicely, although I did have to trim the feet of the field car driver so that he would fit into the front seat better. The motorcycles came with MDF bases, and I decided to make a base for the field car so that it would be easier to handle. The front bumpers looked like something that could get broken off on the gaming table. I quite like the sculpts of the passengers. Instead of the usual staid poses that one sees, the men have their weapons at the ready. The ones in the field car have a foot on the running board, ready to leap out, while the passengers on the motorcycles look like they are leaning into the wind as the bikes speed along.

 

 Lastly I have a section of motorized infantry wearing German WW1 style helmets and gas mask canisters, and armed with Karabinek wz.29 rifles, plus one man carrying a Browning wz. 28 automatic rifle. With the exception of the squad leader, all the figures were one piece castings. They came with 25mm round MDF bases, but since all but one came with a tab designed for a slotted base, I mounted them on some I had in my inventory already. Although some of the proportions seem a bit off, the animation in the sculpts is quite dramatic with lots of variation. One soldier has his collar turned up, while another is a left-handed shooter.There was only one figure that I modified a bit by trimming the length of one corner of his greatcoat that didn't look right.

 

 All of the figures and vehicles were painted using Vallejo acrylics and then given a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade. The Quickshade leaves the figures with a glossy sheen, so when the weather is warm enough to go outside, they will get a treatment of matt spray. The colour palette was essentially that laid out in 'Flames of War' for Polish infantry, with the exception of the tall boots worn by the 10th Brigade that were painted black instead of flat earth. See the illustration from 'Flames of War' below for the different colours used.