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!    

Battle Report - King Tiger Fail (Bolt Action in 15mm)

German King Tigers lead counter attack (not exactly as depicted)

Last week Dallas hosted our regular game.  We played the popular (and excellent) new Bolt Action rules, but used 15mm models instead of 25mm-28mm figures. The scenario was late war Eastern Front, set in Poland in the summer of 1944, with a German counter-attack against the Russian bridgehead over the Vistula River.  The actual counterattack included the 501st Schwere Panzer Abteilung, equipped with King Tiger tanks, so this provided us with an excuse to roll a platoon of fabled "big cats" on to the table.

Panzer Grenadiers and Mark IV-H - models from Battlefront

King Tiger platoon - models from Battlefront.  This would be terrifying...in most games.....

The table was 6'x4'.  The Germans had to enter on one short edge and cross the table to exit the other short edge.  The German force included a platoon of panzer grenadiers in half tracks, a Panzer IV-H, and a platoon of four mighty King Tiger tanks!  The Russian opposition consisted of a blocking force of a platoon of infantry and a platoon of T-34/76s, and off-table reinforcements in the order of a company of 10 T-34/85s and another platoon of infantry.   The blocking force was able to occupy a ruined village at the centre of the table before the game started while the Germans marched on.  The Germans would have 10 turns to make the crossing of the table.

Russian forces prepare to try and block the German advance - models from Old Glory and Plastic Soldier Company

Germans would have to enter from the left side of the photo, and get all the way across to exit from the right side (across the bridge)

 Hugh and Dallas took command of the Germans while I played the Russian side.  Historically the King Tiger tank, although fearsome, was beset with all sorts of challenges - it was slow, and very prone to breakdown.  To reflect this, we slowed the King Tiger's move pace to 6", as opposed to the regular move of 9" for tracked vehicles.  The King Tigers were also prone to a "Scottish Check" if they ever tried a run order (i.e. double move) to reflect the tendency of the drive trains on the big tanks to break.  If a "1" was rolled, the tank would be immobilized.

One other modification - the sheer number of Russian units/vehicles may have made the game difficult, so we applied a kind of "hen and chicks" rule to the Russian tanks, making them operate in platoons.  If the platoon was to fire, all tanks would have to try and hit the same target.

T-34/76s move up into the village

"I'll just race through the village - what could go wrong?"

Even though we were playing a smaller scale, we left the ranges un-changed, so both sides were getting stuck in right from the first turn.  Dallas had smoked the T-34/76s by the end of the second turn, and my off-table reinforcements started to appear in the third turn.  The fortunes of the King Tigers took a turn for the worse...

T-34/85s enter from the flank - note the pin markers starting to accumulate on the Tiger in the village...

Dallas had one of the worst bad-luck dice-rolling evenings I can recall in a long time.  "1" after "1" after "1"....it was really something.  The Tigers would miss their shots, or miss the penetration roll, or fail to do anything serious if they did penetrate...it was something else.  Meanwhile, on the Russian side, we had some pretty hot rolls, and the T-34/85s were able to score a couple of kills on the big cats.

King Tiger hammers away at T-34/76s

T-34/85s arrive with tank riders for support

Hugh sent the panzer grenadiers in for an assault into the village, with the support of his Panzer IV-H.  I sent one platoon of tanks directly in to the village, and two more up behind the village in a blocking position.  Because of Dallas' horrible luck, we were able to slow the German assault to the point where it was not going to make it across the table.  Pressed for time, Dallas took the chance on double-moving his King Tiger tanks, and when it came time for the check on whether the tank would break down, he rolled...."1"s, of course.

T-34/85s advance over a bridge

Now THAT is how you take out a King Tiger! Double sixes on two penetration rolls...

Panzer grenadiers capture a building in the village

Russian infantry continues to attack

Crumps show the withering fire endured by the T-34/85s as they approached the village

The Germans still chewed up the Russian force - they lost two and a half squads of infantry, seven tanks knocked out and two more immobilized.  The Germans lost a squad of infantry, the Mark IV-H was immobilized, two of the King Tigers were knocked out and a third broke down.  We called the game at the end of the sixth turn.

Russian go after a German squad that got a little too close...

T-34/85s hammer the village

This King Tiger broke down during the advance...to add insult to injury, the T-34/85s later knocked it out!

This was my first run through the new Bolt Action rules and I was really, really impressed with them.  We played what was essentially a massive game - over 3,100 points of stuff per side. Still, the game moved fast. Keeping track of kills to the infantry (which were based in groups) was only a minor headache, easily handled with a tally sheet, "casualty caps" or some other such approach.  If you have WW2 stuff based for "Flames of War", feel free to give Bolt Action a try - I think you will enjoy it.

This King Tiger ALSO broke down during the advance

Looking back I think slowing the King Tigers down was a little too hard on the Germans, considering how much table they had to cover. But I think a more - er - "average" outing by the Tiger gunners would have changed things for the Germans.  I am looking forward to playing the Bolt Action rules again - and I am looking at using them for my Golan Heights project too.


Immobilized and burning King Tigers

The final turn - lots of wrecked tanks, but the German advance had been stopped

The platoon-based action for the Russian tanks worked very well too - it was a good way to have a great deal of armour on the table, but still reflect the Russians' relative lack of initiative when it came to the operations of their tanks.

Thanks again to Dallas for hosting.  I can't wait to play Bolt Action again.

Meanwhile, I expect Dallas will burn those dice...