Challenge Submission #12 - Soviet Army (Winter) Support Group and T34/76

 

Having completed all my PSC Soviet troops in Summer uniform, it was time to move to those dressed for colder weather in front of the gates to Moscow. I didn't get a huge number of miniatures completed this week as I have been experimenting with different materials to get a 'Winter look' to not only the bases, but the tank as well.

First up is a boxed set of Soviet Army (Winter) Support Group sold by Warlord Games. It consists of a Soviet HQ of two officers, a radioman, and a medic tending a wounded soldier, a Soviet Maxim MMG team, and a Soviet 82mm medium mortar team, all dressed for the cold in a variety of greatcoats, fur hats, felt  winter boots, etc. Each of these groups can be purchased separately, but you save $5 by getting the 'package deal'.

All of the minis were painted using Vallejo acrylics followed by the application of the Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade. This is pretty much what I have done up to this point with the Summer Soviets. I used AK Diorama products 'Snow' and 'Snow Sprinkles' on the bases to give them that frosty look.

 

Soviet Army (Winter) Support Group

Soviet HQ (Winter)

Soviet Maxim MMG and 82mm Medium Mortar teams (Winter)

 The second item is a 1/48 scale Tamiya T34/76 in Winter camouflage. The kit was very easy to assemble, even though a lot of the track comes as individual links. The chassis is made of metal, so it actually has some weight to it. 

Once assembled, the tank was primed dark brown, and then painted olive green using Tamiya acrylic paint. Since I already have four T34/76s in various shades of green, I wanted to put this one in Winter colours to go along with my Winter Soviet infantry. I first applied AK Chipping Medium to all the areas that I thought would get a lot of wear and allowed it to dry thoroughly. I then applied a heavily diluted coat of white acrylic paint to give it the appearance of whitewash that was starting to wear off. Once that was completely dry, I used water and a brush to remove the chipping medium to reveal the olive paint underneath. Finally I applied AK Interactive Splattereffects 'Wet Mud' to the tracks and underside to make it look like it had been driven during the Rasputitsa. I may decide to add more 'Wet Mud' to the road wheels, but I am calling it done for now.

 

 This is my first foray into Winter figures, and I am happy with the results. Now that I have the method worked out, I will be ramping up production to meet the quotas of Stalin's latest five-year plan.

Challenge Submission #11 - A Mixed Bag of WW2 Vehicles

I had a hard time focusing during the last week of January, ricocheting around from project to project without seeming to get closer to completion. Eventually things started falling into place, and I ended up with 9 completed vehicles. Some of these have been sitting in my 'IN' box for over a decade, so it felt good to finally get them ready for the gaming table.

First up is a DUKW with a British RASC driver. This was a toy dating from the 1960s that originally belonged to my younger brother. It suffered some 'battle damage' at some point, and my brother was no longer interested in it. I thought I might be able to fix it, and it seemed like the right scale for 28mm gaming. In fact, measuring its length and comparing it to the length of an actual DUKW, it works out to be 1/56. The only 'flaw' is that it only has a single axle in the rear instead of two. I have no idea who manufactured it, but it reads 'NOVELTY' and 'Made in Hong Kong' on the bottom. 

 

The broken pieces near the back and the front right wheel well were filled in using epoxy putty, while the front windshield was fashioned from pieces of clear plastic cut from a CD case. The crates and fuel drums came from a Bandai Maultier kit, and the driver is an old Bolt Action jeep driver that I had in my 'bits box' along with the rolled up tarp. It is now ready to ferry supplies or a squad of commandos across a river or from ship to shore.

 

Next up is a Kübelwagen Type 82/3. This was a mock-up scout car/armoured vehicle with a machine gun-turret atop the cabin. It was apparently built for decoy and training purposes. I bought this from Wargames Foundry decades ago. It came with the Feldgendarm, but I only painted up the 'Kettenhund' as I couldn't decide the colour scheme that would be most appropriate. Eventually I thought Panzer Dunkelgrau would do just as well as any other colour, and now it's finally done.

 

 Third on our list is a Bandai 1/48 SdKfz 3 Maultier that I picked up off Ebay. This was another project where I couldn't decide what colour to paint it, but I finally decided to go with Panzer Dunkelgrau with an Olive Green striped camouflage suitable for the Russian Front. The tarp was painted Tan Earth and given a wash of GW Agrax Earthshade. I then liberally applied Vallejo European Dust wash everywhere. The kit came with a cargo of four petrol drums and two large crates, but since nobody would see them with the tarp in place, I used them for the DUKW.

 

 Next is a 3D printed French Panhard 178 armoured car that was from the same run as the two painted by Fellow Conscript DallasE. I used a different paint scheme that is based on a surviving example in the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, France. I used Vallejo Gunship Green and Chocolate Brown with a sharp black line in between. I left off the fifth wheel, but added a muffler on the right side made from a piece of plastic sucker stick. Sometimes it helps a recce unit to not be heard, as well as not be seen. The decals were all ones that were kicking around in my files, so I didn't have to free hand any roundels. 

 

The fifth item is a group of four M5 Half-tracks to provide some additional armoured lift capability to my 2nd Canadian Division. I am not sure if these were used in any of the infantry divisions, so I may have to mark them up for the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. The models are either Corgi or Solido 1/50 vehicles that all came in different colours and configurations. One was an ambulance version that had a tarp on it, and the back door was cut out. The tarp was tossed in the 'bits box' while the missing door was replaced using thin plastic card. Everything was painted a uniform colour and then 'muddied up'. The verdict is still out on what stars should be added and where, but the vehicles are now ready to take to the field and move a platoon of infantry in relative safety on the battle field.

 

 The last vehicle of this post is a Warlord Games 1/56 resin and metal M10 Achilles mounting a 17 pounder. While this is a newer acquisition compared to some of the other vehicles, it sat on the shelf for a while before being assembled. When it arrived, the tracks were warped and didn't form a clean fit with the chassis. A bath in some boiling water and some careful pressure in the right places straightened things out to an acceptable degree and things proceeded readily from there. Two of the crew in the turret are part of the resin casting while the third crewman is in metal. All came with separate heads which can provide some variety if you want to field more than one. The tarps were added from my 'bits box'. 

The only two Canadian units that used 17pdr M-10s were the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment RCA of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division; and the 7th Anti-Tank Regiment RCA of the 1st Canadian Corps Artillery. Both Regiments would have had two batteries of towed 17pdrs and two SP batteries with 17pdr M-10s

 

 As I said in the title, it is definitely a mixed bag of vehicles, but they are now all done.Thanks for reading.

 

Challenge Submission #10 - No. 11 (Scottish) Commando in North Africa

 

To fulfill the theme requirement of one of the Challenge Quadrant planets, I painted two sections of No. 11 (Scottish) Commando, who were involved in 'Operation Flipper'. These are the first British North Africa figures I have done, but I am not sure if I want to expand my miniature collection further in that direction. I kind of bought them by mistake, and didn't realize until I opened the blisters that half of the figures were wearing shorts or 'Bombay Bloomers'. I was planning to just sell them unpainted online, but when I saw the 'Desert' theme on the Challenge Quadrant I thought, "I have just the figures for that theme."

The miniatures are by Artizan Designs and consist of an officer in a Balmoral, a sergeant wearing a Tam O'Shanter and kilt with kilt apron, and a dozen soldiers armed with a mix of SMLE No. 1 Mk IIIs, Bren guns, or Thompson submachine guns. I found the detail very pronounced, which made them quite enjoyable to paint, especially after painting all those PSC Soviets. In my usual style, I glued the figures onto 1" fender washers, added sand to the bases, and primed everything black using an airbrush. They were then painted using a selection of Vallejo acrylics suggested by the Artizan Designs painting guide for the 8th Army in North Africa. I also used some GW washes, specifically Reikland Fleshshade on all the skin areas, and Agrax Earthshade on the uniforms and weapons. All in all, I am pretty happy with the way things turned out.

Two sections of No. 11 (Scottish) Commando

No. 1 Section commanded by an officer

 

Close up of the officer with two supporting riflemen

No. 2 Section commanded by a sergeant

Close up of the sergeant with his kilt and kilt apron

 Thanks for reading.

Challenge Submission #9 - Soviet WW2 Infantry in Summer Uniform

 

This is the last batch of my Plastic Soldier Company World War 2 Soviets, a box of Russian Infantry in Summer Uniform. The box consists of three identical sprues, each consisting of 19 miniatures. Most are one piece moldings, but others have separate heads and/or arms. There is very limited scope to do any variation, but not even close to the multi-part sets from other manufacturers. As with the previous set I have posted, the sculpting lacks a bit in the third dimension, but you can't argue with the price. One can also see where some sculpts were reused with a change of head or switching from a standing to a kneeling position. Also the light machine gun figures were repurposed to become the anti-tank rifle team in the heavy weapons box.

With the exception of the prone figures, I mounted all the miniatures on slotted bases from Games Workshop that I had in my hobby supplies. In a few cases, I had to trim the molded base on the figure a bit smaller so that it would fit the dimensions of the GW bases. (The prone figures were mounted on bases cut from plastic card, but only after they had been painted.) Everything was then primed black with a rattle can. They were painted using Vallejo acrylics from the Army Painter Soviet Paint Set followed by a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade. When it comes to mass armies, this really works for me, as it quickly brings the figures up a notch in terms of appearance.

In each sprue you get 1 senior officer, 1 junior officer, 1 female medic, 7 soldiers armed with rifles, 5 soldiers armed with sub-machine guns, 1 prone light machine gun team, and 1 light machine gun team on the move. The total count is 57 Soviet infantry ready to repel the Fascist invaders

Смерть немецко-фашистским захватчикам (Death to the Fascist-German Invaders)

The four figures below show the limited 'mix and match' ability of the box of figures. You get three minis wearing a pilotka, and three wearing a helmet, along with three pairs of arms holding a rifle, and three pairs holding a sub-machine gun.

 

 

Thanks for reading. More Soviets coming soon.

Challenge Submission #7 - WW2 Soviet Anti-Tank Guns and Heavy Weapons

In my post from last week, we saw a major buildup of my Bolt Action Soviet tank forces. This week we are looking at giving the Soviet infantry some much needed firepower. All of the figures and weapons in this post are from the Plastic Soldier Company's 28mm range, specifically their boxes of 'Russian 45mm Anti-Tank Gun' and 'Russian Heavy Weapons'. 

The Plastic Soldier Company's range are an inexpensive alternative to metal, or even multi-pose plastic figures, although I do find some of the poses remind me of the cheap toy soldiers I owned as a young boy, especially those cast as a single piece. They are fine in length and width, but a bit lacking in depth. All of the figures were assembled, mounted on bases (with the exception of the anti-tank gun crews) and primed black using a rattle can. I painted them using acrylics from the Vallejo Soviet Paint Set. Finally everything was hit with Army Painter Strong Tone Quick Shade. The Quick Shade leaves everything with a glossy finish, so when the weather is warmer I will be taking these outside to give them a coat of matte spray to dull them down a bit.

 

The Russian 45mm Anti-Tank Gun box contains 2 guns and 8 crew figures. Each gun sprue has different barrel options to allow you to build any of the following: 45mm M1937 anti tank gun, 45mm M1942 anti tank gun or 76mm M1943 infantry gun. Since I am current working on an early Operation Barbarossa theme, I built my guns as the M1937 version. The set also contains ammo boxes, both live shells and spent casings, as well as a rifle and sub-machine gun to add to the ambience. Since the bases I used for my guns were getting a bit crowded, I shifted some of the ammo boxes to the medium mortar bases, and the rifles to the machine gun bases.

 

 

The Russian Heavy Weapons box provides you enough sprues to build 26 miniatures and 8 models depicting WW2 Russian infantry heavy weapons as follows: 2 x 3 man Pulemyot Maxima PM1910 machine gun teams firing, 2 x 2 man machine gun teams moving, 2 x 2 man RM-38 50mm light mortar teams, 2 x 3 man M-37 82mm medium mortar teams, 2 x 2 man firing PTRS-41 anti -tank rifles, and 2 moving PTRS anti-tank rifles.

Pulemyot Maxima PM1910 machine gun teams

M-37 82mm medium mortar and RM-38 50mm light mortar teams

PTRS-41 anti -tank rifle teams

 За Родину (For the Homeland) Thanks for reading.

 

1/56 Sdkfz 234/2 Puma Armoured Car from Bolt Action

The debate rages on over what vehicle scale is "correct" for 28mm models. I've always been a proponent of 1/48, mainly because my infantry is based on thicker GW-style plastic bases, and these just look more "in-scale" with larger 1/48 vehicles. However, there are some vehicles you just can't find in 1/48, so for these I turn to 1/56. This makes sense to me because without similar 1/48 vehicles to compare, the size of the 1/56 vehicles looks OK. Makes sense? Good...

Here we have a 1/56 Sdkfz. 234/2 "Puma" armoured car from Warlord Games/Italeri. I note the Italeri connection in particular here because this model is truly a 1/56 scale model kit, not a purpose-designed gaming piece. The vehicle's suspension is extremely well detailed and full of tiny parts that reward care in assembly.

 

Painting was more fun than building, in this case, although assembly took only one evening. The model was painted in a classic 1944 German three-colour scheme, with Zandri Dust, Doombull Brown, and Castellan Green washed with Agrax Earthshade. Tires were painted Vallejo Dark Rubber, a really great dark-grey colour.

Decals were supplied by Warlord with the kit and worked fine. After application the model was lightly weathered and matte spray varnish applied.

The kit even includes a commander figure. I had momentary indecision over whether to paint his uniform Panzer-crew black or SP-gun crew field grey - apparently armoured car crews were spotted wearing both - but opted for Panzer black after all.

Fun facts about the Puma... apparently it was never actually called (either officially or by the troops) the "Puma"! The turret was adapted from the cancelled "Leopard" VK1602 recce tank. There's Teutonic efficiency for you. Also, the vehicle was a quite modern "monocoque" design with the armoured hull serving as the chassis, rather than the armoured body being bolted to a frame as on previous designs. And last, logic prevails with this recce vehicle as it has two driver positions - front and rear - allowing the vehicle's radio operator to speedily extricate the Puma from danger by reversing out of troublesome situations.

28mm Panhard 178 Armoured Cars

  

Here are two Panhard 178 armoured cars in "28mm" scale (honestly not sure if they are 1/48 or 1/56)... they're from STL files found for free on the Internet and printed for me in resin by Conscript Byron. Thanks man! 

There are a few different paint schemes I've seen for these vehicles so I chose the one that had the most aesthetic appeal for me - this happened to be on a diecast model formerly sold by "King and Country", purveyors of painted toy soldiers in 1/35 (54mm) scale.

The scheme is basically Steel Legion Drab and Castellan Green/Camo Green, outlined with a mix of Castellan Green and black-grey. 

The numerals are decals from my decal folder, and the roundels and number plates were painted freehand.

I'm pretty happy with the models, as they were much much less spendy than the resin version sold by Warlord. The only weak spot on them is the wheels and tires - I think the tires should have a bit more "balloon" to them. Pretty good for a free file though.

These "Pan-Pans" will be good for the early-war scenario being planned by fellow Conscript Frederick. They should be effective on the gaming table too, packing a 25mm AT gun in the turret - enough to make a Panzer I or II jockey think twice.

The Panhard 178s will join my Char B1 bis, Renault R35s and Somua S35 in the display case... I love the French early-war camo schemes. The design and production of these vehicles was apparently somewhat fraught as well - as it turned out, turret production capacity lagged well behind that of the hulls, and ultimately General Gamelin determined that these light cars were ill-suited to modern battlefield conditions and planned for their replacement by heavier Panhard AM40Ps.