Another 1/72 T-34 from PSC

T-34/85 in 1/72 scale - plastic kit from Plastic Soldier Company, metal barrels from RB Models.

I hate to switch back to WW2 after there has been so much awesome Adeptus Titanicus escalation, but here is another bit of 20mm armour - another T-34/85 in 1/72 scale from the Plastic Soldier Company.  The commander is popped out of the hatch, a useful gimmick to indicate a platoon or company commander as required within various rule sets.

Machined barrel from RB models.

The new metal barrel in place on the turret.

There is one slight difference with this T-34/85 - I swapped out the plastic main gun barrel from the kit and used a metal one from RB Models.  I have seen other super cool advanced modeling/painting folks doing stuff like this. I'm no IPMS-type, but thought I would try it out for myself. The metal barrels are awesome, look great, and it is very easy to cut the plastic one off of the PSC kit and replace it with the metal component. This was gonna be SO cool...

View from the rear, tried to have the exhaust look a bit mucky.

Another view of the metal barrel...

And in the end it looks...almost identical to the other T-34/85s in my collection. It's not a huge change...more of a subtle difference. I love the idea of the machined barrels (and will probably try something like this on some 1/72 German tanks I am looking to paint, which have some elaborate muzzle brakes) but, at least for the T-34s, it didn't really change anything. Oh well - still fun to practice!

Decals are 1/72, also available from PSC.

Pretty easy to build, and straightforward to paint...these kits from PSC are addictive!

That's six T-34s for my 20mm Soviet collection.  I still have several boxes of these things from PSC...while I feel like you can "never have too many T-34s" there are some limits...I'll probably paint at least one more platoon, and then start painting some others in winter white-wash camo.  

A column of T-34s moves out on the gaming table...a total of six T-34s finished so far, more to come...

Painting more T-34s might be something I try during the 10th Edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, which begins on December 21st! Byron and Mike F are participating along with me this year, and while I encourage you to check everything out over at the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge blog page, be sure to watch this space as well, to see what existing and new projects are spurred forward by the Painting Challenge!

Even More Random WW2 Painting - Big German Guns

Some serious late-war firepower for my 20mm Germans

More random 20mm WW2 painting as we arrive in December - back to the German side of things. Here is a Pak40 anti-tank gun with crew from Plastic Soldier Company, and a scary King Tiger panzer from Britannia Miniatures.

Pak40 Anti-Tank Gun & Crew

Here comes Ivan...

I have a slowly growing complement of T-34s for my Red Army 20mm collection. To counter the red tide, we start with this Pak40 and crew.  This hard-hitting anti-tank weapon is an iconic part of the late-war German arsenal. The gun, crew and accessories are all from the Plastic Soldier Company.

Gun commander figure on a square base.

I divided the crew for the gun among different bases to accommodate the various WW2 rule systems we play.  The "Battlegroup" rules, for example, have extra loaders as an option available for most crew-served weapons in the game, so I put two of the loaders on a separate base with an ammo box to allow that to be represented.  I also put the gun commander on a separate square base, which will help him stand out as a "junior leader" in games like "Chain of Command."

Extra loaders on a separate base.

Another view of the loaders.

The details on these PSC plastic figures can be a bit soft in places, but these kits are a great value (see more on that below). This Pak40 will be sure to put a few T-34s out of action - or at least it will until the Soviet players either blast it to pieces or simply run the gun and crew right over with one of their many, many tanks!

The crew prepares to load another 75mm shell...I think I positioned the loader a little too "behind" the gun...wouldn't want to be directly behind that thing when it fired...

The PSC Pak40 box set is really remarkable - you get two guns, two crews, and you might think, "hey this is great." But wait, there's more! You also get two raupenschlepper ost vehicles - which can you build using TWO different cabs, and also choose between an open or enclosed rear compartment! OR...you can use the guns and the RSO models to build the very odd RSO Pak 40 SPG! Really an amazing kit from PSC! I'm still working on my first RSO model to give this gun team a tow option and a chance to escape from Soviet retribution after they have fired on a few enemy tanks.

Tiger II

The Tiger II - model from Britannia Miniatures.

I know. Who needs yet another King Tiger for WW2 gaming, right? These vehicles (thankfully!) represented such a small percentage of the overall available German tank fleet in WW2 - and even when available in some force, they suffered badly from mechanical problems and breakdowns, such that very small numbers tended to make it to actual action in the front lines.

On close inspection you can see where the casting had some issues...on the exhaust, and the chain on the hull...not the biggest deal, but slightly annoying.

Even with these factors, what can I say...I have a weakness for scenarios that feature the "big cats" in the late war.  This model is a resin-and-metal Tiger II from Britannia Miniatures. I picked it up as part of a second hand offering on TMP, unable to resist a "great deal" to add some of these ominous vehicles to my budding 20mm WW2 collection. 

The sculpting of the zimmerit was well done...even showing a few spots where the zimmerit has been shot/scuffed off. Some nice character.

I was excited when I closed the deal, but it was a bit of a let-down when I received the goods. The model is OK...but it is small. It seems more like 1/76 scale than 1/72 scale (which is the stated scale of all of my 20mm Plastic Solder Company models).  It is still bigger than my PSC T-34/85s...but doesn't seem quite big enough - even though the MG34 on the cupola is as larger or larger than that carried by any of my other 20mm troops.  The size of the model just seems...off to me.  It reminds me of the feeling I get when I see 1/56 scale vehicles on a table with 28mm miniatures.

There were also some casting challenges on the hull, always a risk with resin casting. A few bubbles, a few holes here and there, and the exhausts were snapped off in shipping.

But for all these challenges, there are many positive aspects to this model too. For starters, the metal accessories all fit very, very well. That doesn't always happen with these mixed media kits. And I have to hand it to the sculptors, they really nailed the zimmerit finish on the hull.  I like the look of the zimmerit on the German tanks...makes them look even more ominous than they already are! Finally, I got a great deal on this tank (and two more which came in the lot), and at the end of the day every Winnipegger loves a good deal.

That 88mm gun, with the huge muzzle brake, looks scary as heck.

I haven't painted WW2 panzer camouflage in several years, so was pretty rusty when it came to executing on this model...but it was good to practice and get back into the swing of painting WW2 panzers in a larger scale.

That's all for now - thanks for visiting the blog, and stay tuned for more.  The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge will soon be upon us...always some fun stuff there!    

More 20mm WW2 Randomness - 76mm Russian Gun

"Get that barrel lower - the fascists are STRAIGHT AHEAD!"

Here is some more random 20mm WW2 painting. This is another project which had been sitting on the desk, primed and base coated for like a year, and once I cleared off the German odds and ends from the same corner of the desk, I thought I should just finish this off as well.  This is a Russian 76mm gun.  The gun, the crew and the accessories are from the Plastic Soldier Company's very nice line of 1/72 scale plastic kits.

I built this more as an experiment than anything else - I had not attempted a large gun in 20mm scale yet, and this seemed like an easy one to try.  The kits from PSC are very, very nice.  In this case the gun could be built either as the 76mm or as (I think) a 57mm AT gun.  I felt the 76mm was a bit more "iconic" so I went with that for the model.

1/72 model kit from Plastic Soldier Company - highly recommended!

I believe the Red Army used these 76mm weapons both as direct-fire support weapons and as indirect artillery support.  I am one of those gamers that hates having indirect artillery pieces of any size beyond medium mortars on the table. But in this case I thought it would be great to have as an AT gun for the Russians...my modelling skillz, however, were not strong in this case - the gun still ended up with a bit of an elevation.  This is a good reminder not to let go of a model piece before the glue is actually dry...

PSC gives you everything you need - gun, crew and accessories...

I really have to credit PSC for the all-around excellence of these 1/72 plastic kits.  And I generally hate plastic kits, so I don't praise them mildly. With PSC you get nice guns, nice selection of crews and accessories like ammo boxes and spent casings.  You really get everything you need in one fell swoop.  I guess they could throw in a base or something, but since every gamer has their own preference for basing,  I don't blame them for leaving that out.

Something for the German players to watch out for when we try 20mm WW2...

This gun will defend the motherland in games of "Battlegroup", "Chain of Command" and maybe even "Bolt Action", and give the German panzer and infantry commanders some pause...

More Random 20mm WW2 Stuff

Assortment of 20mm WW2 stuff from PSC and Wargames Foundry

After a run of painting some Horus Heresy stuff, I wanted to get back to some of the WW2 stuff sitting in my rather aimless painting queue.  I started with some 20mm WW2 material - an odd collection of items from the Plastic Soldier Company and from Wargames Foundry.

Perry 20mm WW2 Panzer Grenadiers

The Foundry sculpts are part of a strangely stunted 20mm WW2 range they still offer.  I wonder if at one point in the past this collection was more established and complete.  I don't know the history of it, but when Foundry switched to its relatively newer and somewhat nicer (sounding) management, it seemed to come forward again.  You can get some 20mm WW2 stuff from Foundry again, and these figures are part of that range.

Fellow on the front right has rifle grenade - interesting sculpt

The figures were sculpted by the Perry twins, and they look really sharp, even if the range is really limited.  I thought I would try and get a few packs to put together a unit of Panzer Grenadiers in 20mm. My thought did not work out very well in practice.  The Perry sculpts are top quality, but the range is profoundly limited.  The MG34 teams are either prone (lame) or marching (terrible) - they are properly done sculpts, but one of the worst things in 20mm and 28mm WW2 gaming are prone MG teams and marching MG teams.  Panzer Grenadier squads have two MGs teams each, so I'm trying to find some more teams from other ranges.

The MG34 team are fine sculpts, but I loathe marching poses for MG teams - they look so out of place among a squad of troops otherwise ready for action

These figures are wearing camouflage smocks and pants...although I think pants can also be just straight up field grey.  I did a mix of pants: some in camo, and some in the field grey to give some variety.  I tried (again) to paint German splinter camouflage on the smocks, pants and helmet covers, but I didn't make much of a go...despite the number of helpful tutorials online, I can't really seem to get the German infantry camouflage to look right.  It's not terrible...just seems off. I hope I can get better with practice, but German camouflage makes me nuts...

251D Hanomag from PSC, 1/72 scale

You get tons of detail in these great kits

The 251D Hanomag is a 1/72 plastic model from Plastic Soldier Company.  Like their other 1/72 stuff, this is a fantastic model.  Very easy to assemble, lots of details, and paints up very quick. You get a number of extra bits as well - stowage, troops to sit inside, a gunner for the MG if you want one - it's great quality and great value.

8cm mortar team and radio man - 1/72 figures from PSC

Some other bits are also from the Plastic Soldier Company - up first is an 8cm mortar team to provide some fire support for the German infantry sections.  There is also a trooper with a radio.  The mortar team is from PSC's heavy weapon box, while the radio man is from their late-war infantry pack.

Panzerschrek team, 1/72 from PSC

Lots of nice detail on these 1/72 PSC figs

Up next is a Panzerschrek team, to try and hold off the T-34s and other scary Russian things.  Like the mortar, these figures come from the PSC German heavy weapon box.

Medic from PSC, 1/72 scale

Last but not least is a medic, another one of the extras you get from the PSC late-war infantry pack. Some rules like Battlegroup and Chain of Command have small rules that let you makes use of figures like this medic, so it was fun to paint up and we'll see if we can figure out how to work him into a game.

That's it for this bunch...up next, maybe some 15mm WW2...

Painting Challenge Wrap-Up, Part 3 of 3 - 20mm Odds & Ends

20mm WW2 Soviets from Elhiem

For my final entry to the Painting Challenge I just tried to finish clearing off the painting desk with some leftover bits from the projects that got me up and moving in the first place - 20mm.  I started painting some miniatures in this scale last fall, and finished quite a few more of them during the Challenge and I have been really enjoying working in this scale.

Up first are some 20mm WW2 Soviets.  These are spare riflemen from a pack of Elhiem figures.  As always, the sculpting can be a bit uneven, but the proportions are somehow still great, even compelling.  The tricks of the sculptor...fascinating!

More defenders of the Rodina

Ready to battle the fascist invaders

Up next is a more modern set - this is supposed to be a TV news team.  Once again, these are Elhiem figures.  I like having media figures as a "gaming garnish" on modern tables, but I find these sculpts are perhaps too ultramodern - I know cameras are smaller these days, but I still think most TV news people have shoulder mounted cameras.  Maybe that is just here in Canada...

"Reporting live from  20mm game..."

I tried to write "PRESS" on their helmets...that didn't really work...

One more Elhiem tidbit - this is a downed pilot.  It is supposed to be from a modern range, but could work in WW2 in a pinch.  Downed pilots always make for great objectives in skirmish games, as the ground pounders resentfully put their lives on the line to bail out some pampered flyboy...

Long walk back to base...

Great objective for games

And one more vehicle! During the challenge I painted a few T-34s for my WW2 Soviets, so I thought I would finish at least one Panzer for the Germans.  This is a 1/72 scale model kit from Plastic Soldier Company.  I can't say enough about how much I enjoy their 1/72 scale vehicle models - they are excellent.

1/72 Mark IV from Plastic Soldier Company

I HATE modeling the schurzen plates...as you can see at the back of the turret, I can never get them to sit quite right...

This is a late model Panzer IV, sporting the long 75mm gun and the schurzen plates, which from a hobby perspective make me !@#!@#!@ing bannanas as I hate painting them, then glueing them, etc.  But full credit to PSC - they make the process pretty easy/idiot proof, even for an idiot like me...

Very basic paint job

Ready for action in the eastern front

So that concludes another Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  In total I netted 1233 points of painting.  I easily exceeded my (low) initial target of 300 points, but in the end I did not achieve my (much more ambitious) revised target of 1500 points.  I finished in 18th place (just pipped by Byron - damn you!), which gives you an idea of just how much painting was going on out there around the world during the Challenge.  Byron and Kevin participated as well, with several excellent entries.  I encourage folks to go check out all of the entries (set aside some time - it will take a while!).  We'll see if Curt does another Challenge next year.

20mm WW2 Because Why Not

1/72 WW2 Russians from Plastic Soldier Company

I already collect WW2 figures in 3mm, 6mm and 15mm.  Dallas has an amazing collection of WW2 stuff in 28mm (just one example here).  I love gaming WW2, and I'm really lucky to be able to play many different games and rules sets, everything from a skirmish in rules like "Bolt Action" or "Chain of Command", as well as Dallas' own excellent "Blitzkrieg" rules, all the way up to company-level scraps in games like "Flames of War", to division-level abstract encounters in rules like "Spearhead". With this very fortunate background, it would make no sense to try yet another scale for this period. If we already play 15mm and 28mm, then what is the point of 20mm?

But on the other hand, hey - why not?  Logic has never really driven my hobby decisions...just look at the mess of different stuff on this site.

Platoon officer on hex, NCOs on square bases

Long before I came around the group, the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts played a fair bit of WW2 in 20mm. I believe they played Rapid Fire or Crossfire...or maybe both? I don't know for certain, but I suspect Conscript Kevin H may yet hold a small reserve of 20mm stuff. Conscript Curt (now in Regina) had a reserve of amazing figures from AB. Recently he came across them in his pile and started painting some up - see this great post on his Analogue Hobbies Blog.

LMG team on square base - all that wasteful space required because they are prone (sigh)

Curt's stuff got me wondering again about 20mm in the context of my own preferred area of focus in WW2 - the Eastern Front, particularly from 1943 onwards. I was further spurred to check out 20mm when I purchased a copy of the "Battlegroup" rules set, which is intended for both 15mm and 20mm figures. Taking the plunge, I picked up some figures from the Plastic Soldier Company - not too pricey, so kind of "low risk", plus the tanks (at least in 15mm) are pretty gamer-friendly for plastic models.

Nice figures from PSC - they look great in 20mm

I started with a box of some Russian infantry in summer uniform and a T-34 box from their WW2 Russian 1/72 range.  Here are some test models - about a squad and-a-half of infantry and a single tank.

Another view of the infantry

I am not crazy about PSC's 15mm plastic infantry - I find the details to be soft.  But these 1/72 figures are quite sharp, and it leads me to believe that, at least for infantry, 1/72 is the ideal scale for their models.  You get quite an assortment of troops for a good price, making this kit an ideal one to start with.

Check out the terrible job I did on the track pieces...I'm useless with these two-piece track sets...

I based the models using the same approach as I used in my individually-based 15mm WW2 stuff - round bases for grunts, squares for NCOs and a hex for the senior leaders of a unit (inspired by Curt C). 

Decals from PSC too - including Russian lettering for the turrets - I love that!

Russian WW2 infantry paint up fast - that's how a couple test models quickly turn into 15 guys in a week or so! The box gives enough infantry for a platoon of guys - either a rifle platoon, or an SMG platoon (although not quite both together). This is a very good value.  The only criticism I would have is that the poses of the LMG teams are either prone (blah) or marching (much worse) - they are sculpted well, I just find those two poses to be the worst ones for gaming (personal quirk - everyone else looks ready to fight and the LMG guys are road marching?)

Used oil paints and a old brush to do highlighting and chipping on the hull

The 1/72 scale T-34 from PSC is a fabulous model.  I still screwed up the tracks, of course, but you will not, because anyone out there will be a lot sharper than I am when it comes to modelling skills :)

With PSC T-34s, you can switch between T-34/76s and T-34/85s - very sensible!

A Russian tank from WW2 is a pretty quick paint job, but I experimented on this vehicle using a oil-paint detail wash, basically to pick out the plates, hatches and seams in the amour.  It was quite a striking effect.  The downside is that oil paints take like a billion years to dry, so you need to use Dullcote spray to set the paint and move things along, and I cringe every time I use Dullcote, certain I am about to wreck the model...

Anyway, I will never get to the level of the master tank painters like Piers Brand, but I look forward to messing around a little more with this technique, and I think 1/72 models will be a good means to do that.