From the Challenge: Nazgul on Fellbeast and 1/48 Panzer III Ausf M

 

Last year (related to the Challenge!) I picked up the Battle of Pelennor Fields box set from Games Workshop, with the intention of painting this Ringwraith on a Fellbeast. And less than a year later, here it is already!

The paint scheme is pretty straightforward - tones of grey with the leathery bits washed (repeatedly) with GW Reikland Shade. The clever bit about this ain't the painting though - it was the construction of the model...

See?!? The kit comes with two "necks" for the Fellbeast, as well as two riders - both a standard (!) Ringwraith and the Witch King!

Here's the Witch King with his flaming sword. I used magnets to facilitate easy back-and-forth swappery. 

I countersunk a pretty big magnet into the body of the Fellbeast. Not too hard to do.

Then, I cut off the pins on the necks and superglued on 5mm magnets. They hold the necks on pretty securely and I'm happy with that. Nice of GW to provide two different necks as well as riders.

Next up was a Bandai 1/48 Pzkpfw. III Ausf M. While still equipped with the venerable KwK39 L/60 main gun, there were 250 examples of the Ausf M produced between October 1942 and February 1943, and they were deployed mainly to replace frontline losses - including at Kursk.

I painted the tank in an early-'43 camo scheme taken from the Panzer Colors book - yellow over dark grey. The grey is Mechanicus Standard Grey and Dawnstone washed with Nuln Oil, with Zandri Dust as the yellow overcoat. Decals are from Pedinghaus and the decal folder.

The Ausf M had a modified exhaust valve to facilitate deep wading, as well as the triple smoke dischargers. 

I did a bit more weathering on this model than I did on the previous Pzkpfw I models... some sponge chipping and dust application with Steel Legion Drab drybrush. 

I like how the yellow and grey camo turned out on this one. It'll be a good addition for mid-war gaming and it's in the correct 1/48 scale :-)

Happy New Year!

What a Tanker! - Girls und Panzer

Well, some folks were idly discussing Girls und Panzer ("Girls and Tanks", that Japanese anime franchise) and What a Tanker! I searched online for a good deal, and found a Girls und Panzer Panzer IVD, complete with its high school student crew.

It's basically a "super-deformed" 1/48 scale tank.






The hull and tracks are shorter and slightly wider than those of the New Millennium 1/48 scale Mk.IV's I have.




The tank commander from a 1/48 Bandai Mk. II does not look too out of place in the Girls und Panzer Mk. IVD's uP turret.






I sure we can cobble up some What a Tanker! modifications to simulate competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport. There's no need to use only the official Girls und Panzer models.

Winter Whitewash: Tamiya 1/48 Sherman M4A1

Readers will have seen Conscript Greg's copious updates on progress made with his winter WW2 Germans. He's amassed quite a few models in his project. And as these things go, his progress inspired me to assemble some opponents to face those Germans, if the coronavirus pandemic ever allows us to get together in person again, of course...

Fortunately I didn't have to go far for this Tamiya M4A1 kit... it was in the "Model Kits - Unbuilt" box in the basement, and went together very quickly. I built it as the later version.

I also used some resin stowage bits on this kit - the pile of stuff on the rear deck as well as the spare track links etc. on the front of the model are both from "Value Gear", an ebay seller offering tons of 1/48 stowage bits.

I painted the model Catachan Green and applied decals, then started in with the whitewash treatment. This consisted of stippled Rakarth Flesh to create a nice light base, followed by more stippled White Scar. I left a margin around the insignia markings as you see on most period photos. The vehicle was then mudded up with Rhinox Brown and Mournfang Brown.

I used a synthetic broom bristle for the antenna - these seem to work well and are pretty hardy.

Here's a better view of the Value Gear stowage.

Ready for some winter battles against Greg's Germans! Of course, it will likely be summer by the time we're able to get together...! But in the meantime, stay tuned for some more winter US Army content...

Targa Japan's 1/48 scale Maniac Collection Sdkfz 181 Panzer VI /Tiger I

I am always on the lookout for a good deal. I recently picked up online a Targa Japan Maniac Collection 1/48 scale Tiger I tank. It comes fully painted, and has multiple cross sections that allow you to look into the interior and crew of the tank. The model comes in 7 boxes, which combine together to give the complete model (and the boxes also look cool on the shelf).




On the back of each box is a breakdown of the boxes' contents.




It's an older "kit", dating from around 2006. Back in the day there were three variants offered for sale, in desert yellow, green and yellow camo, and (as mine) in panzer gray and light gray. The construction quality seems to be pretty good; it holds together quite well without the need for cement. Each box comes with a paper sheet on which there is printed copious amounts of information on the Tiger I tank, in Japanese, of course!






The detail is a little soft compared to modern kits and die-cast vehicles. Some of the mould seams and knock out marks weren't cleaned up before painting. It's designed to be disassembled and displayed, thus the gaping hole seams along the center-line of the tank and turret stowage box are obvious.







The ammunition seems to be accurately color coded according to German doctrine, with the yellow rounds = Sprenggranaten (High Explosive), and black rounds = Panzergranate 39 (Armor Piercing).













I picked it up for about the same price as an unbuilt Tamiya 1/48 Tiger I (Early Production) model kit (and the Tamiya model comes unassembled and unpainted, of course).

The Targa model was well worth the money I paid for it, despite not being a "serious" model kit.




It's perfectly fine for 28mm scale wargaming. Also, I will display it with the turret roof off when I demo "What a Tanker!" at conventions. Though the original tank is huge, there is just not a lot of room inside for the crew to do their jobs. It's a great illustration of why "What a Tanker!" emphasizes the friction of crewing a tank in combat.

What a Tanker! - Barbarossa

Recently I had folks over for another game of What a Tanker!

Barbarossa-era game, with 1941-era tanks. Same scenario: capture 5 objective markers on the ground for 1 VP each, and be within 6" of a fixed objective (the knocked out armoured car and command tank) at the end of the game for 2 VPs. The small markers would be dropped in place if the tank capturing them was destroyed.

Forces available for use included: T-34-76 (1941), KV-1A, BT-2, T-26 (1933), Panzer Mark IV D, StuG III C, and a couple of Panzer 38(t)'s.

Rolling for sides, Bill and Kevin were German, respectively fielding the 38(t) and the Mark IV. Frederick and I were Soviet, with the T-34 and the KV (I had been itching to play with this model, the oldest 1/48 model in my collection; ironically, I had never played with it until now).

Below, the Germans move to seize an objective. The block of buildings in the middle of the table ended up featuring prominently in everyone's tactics. I placed it so as to shield the two fixed objectives from each other, so no long range sniping by an objective holder.




The T-34 moved behind, then over the sandbag barricade.




Bill's Fast 38(t) whipped around the table, seizing two objectives.



My KV, being Slow, took awhile to get going.




Kevin's Mark IV moved in support of the 38(t).




My KV fired only one shot all game. It was a big one, knocking out the 38(t) with three hits scored and  all Bill's dice failing their Armour roll .






Bill's tank quickly re-spawned, and he soon re-captured his dropped objectives!




Meanwhile, the lumbering KV made its way down the board, grabbed one objective marker, then parked itself beside the German fixed objective.



Frederick's T-34 raced around the centre buildings, capturing two more markers.Both the 38(t) and the Mark IV chased it around the building complex, slamming shells into it but only forcing the T-34 to back up.






Bill moved to the Soviet fixed objective just as the game's time ran out. Final tally: Germans = 4 VPs, Soviets = 5 VPs!



As always, it was a fast, furious game, with a lot of canny maneuver by the lighter tanks. Next time we do early war, I want to run a Fast BT tank!

The boys have also expressed interest in doing some later war stuff. I have several Panthers, long barreled Mark IV's, a later StuG III, a Panzer II Luchs, some Marder III's, an SU-122, a T-34-76 (1942), and even a T-34-85 ready to take the field.