Hummel Time! Bolt Action 28mm Sdkfz.165 SP Howitzer

The Hummel is the first of the modern range of Bolt Action vehicles that I've built and painted, probably because the majority of my WW2 vehicle collection is 1/48 scale, and the Bolt Action stuff is 1/56. I've always wanted to build and paint a Hummel for my Germans though, and the fact is that there aren't any readily available Hummel models in 1/48.  

And the Hummel is so cool! Armed with a 150mm (!) howitzer, the Hummel was built on a hybrid Pzkpfw III/IV underpinning - driving and steering from the Panzer III and engine and suspension from the Panzer IV.

The Bolt Action kit in 1/56 scale is pretty simple to put together. The hull (including interior storage) is one big piece of resin, requiring little cleanup. The rear doors are cast in metal, as are the sFH 18 L/30 15cm howitzer (with separate metal sights), the crankwheel for the gun mount, the left and right barrel supports, the headlight, and the MG34 and its pintle mount. The left and right track and suspension assemblies are separately cast in Bolt Action resin. Unfortunately there were no assembly instructions included, and the pictures on the website didn't disclose where one of the metal parts fit - not a big deal though, it was obviously just a minor interior part. Other than this, the kit wasn't hard to assemble but one of the resin hull sides was a little warped. It straightened out fine with some hot/cold water immersion though. 

No decals are included, unfortunately, but I found some in my decal folder.

The vehicle was basecoated Zandri Dust, and camouflaged with Doombull Brown and Catachan Green. I then washed it in Agrax Earthshade, followed up with decal application and sponge chipping, as well as applying some mud and dirt around the lower parts. 

The kit also comes with three crew, cast in metal with separate heads. You get three heads wearing M-38 schiffchen (sidecaps) and one in an M-43 einheitsfeldmuetze (soft cap). This really sold me on the Bolt Action Hummel as I'm a sucker for open-topped vehicle models that come with crew.

I modeled the rear doors open, since the metal doors didn't fit the opening well in the closed position. I love that the ranging rods are cast onto the hull, a great detail.

Interior detail on the kit is super and is all cast-in.

Pintle MG34 is slightly fiddly but is a nice touch as well. 

 

Here's the crew pictured outside their vehicle.

I should also add that I tried out a couple of different matt varnishes on this kit. My usual go-to is Testor's Dullcote, but the can I've been using has gone satin-y... not good. I picked up a can of Winsor & Newton General Purpose Matt Varnish spray, but it took ages to dry, smelled pretty bad, and didn't flatten the finish much at all. Next I tried Tamiya XF-86 Flat Clear acrylic, brushed on neat from the bottle. It worked much better at flattening the finish. Not as good as Dullcote at its best, but better than the can I've got now.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the post, and stay healthy!

Battle of Chemulpo Bay, February 9, 1904

Remote miniatures gaming on Zoom!

Last week I ran a naval war game on Zoom, using Gridded Naval Rules, by Bob Cordery. We re-fought the Battle of Chemulpo Bay, which occurred on 9 February 1904, at the start of the Russo-Japanese War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chemulpo_Bay

A Japanese squadron attacked Russian forces trying to break out from a neutral Korean port into the open seas. Frederick and Dallas managed to navigate their Japanese forces remotely, against my doomed Russian force.

All the ships are 1/2400 scale resin models from Panzerschiffe. The beautiful cloth battle mat is from Cigar Box (you can have them add hex grids of various sizes).

Below, the Russian cruiser Variag, accompanied by the old gunboat Korietz.

 

The superior Japanese forces, arrayed into 4 divisions: 3 divisions of two cruisers each, and a torpedo boat division. Frederick ran two cruiser divisions: the lead division with the most modern warship leading, the armoured cruiser Asama; he also ran the Naniwa and the Niitaka. Dallas ran the third cruiser division (the Akashi and the Takachiho) and the torpedo boat division.

 

 

Initial setup of the opposing forces.

 

The initial stages of the battle, as the Japanese move to try a squeeze play on the Russians, who in turn used the cover of an island to shield themselves from gun fire as long as possible.

 

 

First blood to the Japanese, as the Korietz started taking long range hits from the leading Japanese cruiser, the Asama.

 

 

Just before the climax of the game. The Russians tried to cross the Japanese T, but were beat to the punch. Meanwhile, the Japanese torpedo boats had set up a nice deflection shot on the Variag.

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In only ONE turn of furious shooting and torpedo fire, both Russian ships were sunk, all the Japanese torpedo boats were sunk, and the Chitose took serious damage. A decisive Japanese victory!

 

 

 

Historically, the Japanese forces turned away from the Russians, to keep them at long range. 

However, in the game Frederick and Dallas played the Japanese forces very aggressively, getting into knife fighting range with their 8" and 6" naval guns, and torpedoes. (Click on the maps below to enlarge them.)

I used multiple cameras, but the hand held iPhone SE did most of the work, zooming in and out upon different parts of the battle area.

The simple rules and hex grid allowed the players to maneuver pretty easily. I look forward to trying out these rules again.

Star Wars Legion - Sabine Wren and a Gonk Droid

 

 Sabine Wren and a Gonk Droid, 1/47 scale figures for Star Wars Legion. Zenithal highlights and spotlighting with an airbrush, acrylic glazes, then details and blending with oils.

The Mandalorian is from FFG, and the droid is a 3D print from Skull Forge Studios.

 

 

For Sabine, her armour’s helmet and chest decorations are loosely based on her appearance in the series finale of Star Wars Rebels (see below). I also increased the contrast between her armour and under suit. The shoulder markings of the mythasaur skull are decals that I used decal solvent on to conform to the rounded surface, then over painted slightly with oils to give a little shading.

 

 

 

 

Team Yankee 15mm British Challenger Tanks and Harrier Jets

Fresh off the painting desk I've got a squadron of beastly British Challenger tanks from Battlefront's Team Yankee range.

I painted these in the same style as my Chieftains. Basecoated Catachan Green, highlighted extensively with Vallejo German Uniform. Camo painted with a mix of craft black and Mechanicus Standard Grey. The tank was washed with thinned Nuln Oil, then the green was re-done with German Uniform. Drybrushed all over with Ushabti Bone, then dusted up with the same. Tool handles painted Skrag Brown, machineguns and shovel blades done with Leadbelcher, fire extinguishers in Mephiston Red.

Each of the five Challengers in the box can be assembled as standard or with the upgraded ROMOR armour pack shown above. 

You also get enough alternate fuel drums to outfit the unit with those as well.

Three crew figures are included in the box as well.

As well as the alternate track skirts, you also get the ROMOR front hull armour add-on. No decals included with the box though. The Union flags were from my spares box.

Here's the standard armour configuration. Note track skirts and lack of reinforcement on the front hull.

Here's a closer look at the skirts.

Rear end sans fuel drums...

...and plain front end. I'm thinking that the Challys will be a useful addition to my British force. They're certainly worth a bucketload of points but they should be, with a front armour rating of 20 (standard) and 21 (ROMOR) and an anti-tank factor of 22 for the main gun! 

The Challengers are BIG... from left to right I've lined up a T-64, Leopard 2, Chieftain, and Challenger.

Crazy how much bigger this thing is than a Soviet T-64. Length of the Soviet tank hull is 6.54m vs. 8.33m for the Chally... looks about right I guess.

As if the Challengers weren't enough of a force multiplier, I also painted a pair of Harrier ground attack aircraft.

These are also from Battlefront... sort of. These are the new plastic kit Harriers that have replaced the previously offered resin kits. Good on Battlefront for offering plastic kits at a lower price than the old resin box, but that's not really the end of the story. The fact is that the new Battlefront Harriers are just repackaged sprues from "Ace Corporation". It's kind of funny actually... the sprues include landing gear and other parts that aren't even referred to in the Battlefront assembly instructions.

The box comes with a nice decal sheet though, including extra serials, tail flashes, and even roundels.

These two chaps should come in handy... being jump jets they can shoot at helicopters (!) and arrive on a 3+ each turn (!!)

Heh... another funny thing about the "Ace Corporation" sprues is that the canopy was obviously meant to be clear in the original (it was on a separate sprue from everything else) but in the Battlefront version it's cast in the same grey plastic.

I was thinking about getting some SU-25 Frogfoots for my Soviets and note that there are new "plastic kit" versions of those available from Battlefront now too... guess who makes a 1:144 Frogfoot kit? You got it, Ace Corporation.