Another German Gruppe Completed

I've finally completed the last of my German gruppen (squads) for my ad hoc kampfgruppe.  These are a batch of 28mm Black Tree Design (edited- thanks "Big Red") German Army figures.

 The 10-man gruppe has a sergeant with an MP-40 and nine riflemen, two of whom are carrying panzerfausts.  There is no light machinegun team with this gruppe, although if I can acquire one I'll add it and transfer two of the riflemen to the kampfgruppe headquarters.

I still have the tripod mounted MG-42 and crew, the mortar team, and a motorcycle with sidecar team to add before my Germans are completed.

Kampfgruppe Command and an Ersatz Gruppe Completed

These guys were easy and quick to paint.  Joining my WW2 German forces are the commander and senior sergeant of the kampfgruppe headquarters and a gruppe (squad) of troops drawn from ersatz (replacement) depots.

Please click on the photographs for larger images.

Hauptmann (Captain) von Pitzfeld and Oberfeldwebel (Senior Sergeant) Bergmann

These two figures are Warlord Games Germans that I got at a convention several years ago.

Gruppe (squad) of erstaz (replacement) troops.

As you may be able to tell from closer examination this gruppe has been drawn together from three different depots.  The four in the center are from one depot while the three on either flank are from different depots.  The camouflage schemes of their helmets are the "give-away."  Many German helmets were painted by the individual soldiers using commonly supplied paint and a rough scheme.  That's how I've done these.  The three NCOs -- one feldwebel (sergeant) and two obergefreiter (corporals) -- are armed with older Bergmann MP-18 submachineguns while the soldiers (gefreiter) are all armed with the Kar98K rifle.  These figures are from Pulp Miniatures, PGS08 & PGS10.  Their uniforms are rather dated but I am using them to represent the deterioration in the German Army supply system in late 1944 and early 1945.

Although I have more Germans to paint (rest of kampfgruppe command and heavy support weapons), I've switched to some British -- a rifle section, platoon command group and heavy weapons support.

Luftwaffe Feldtruppen - Completed

Well several days ago I completed the painting of my gruppe (squad) of Luftwaffe feldtruppen.  But first, let's take a look at their progress from the first report.

Please click on the photographs for a larger image.

The first three photographs show my initial try at the German splinter pattern camouflage.  Now I didn't try to duplicate the exact pattern, just went for an impression.

But the brown seemed to dominate so I added some more layering to the green as shown in the next two photographs.

I still wasn't pleased but I didn't want to get a brighter green as that would tend to counteract the muted approach camouflage takes, in my opinion having worn the Army's woodland pattern battledress uniform in the 1980s and early 1990s.  So I decided that this was 'good enough for government work' and completed the rest of the painting.

And here we have the finished product, a 10-man gruppe of Luftwaffe feldtruppen led by a grizzled veteran of the Russian Front.

My gruppe feldwebel is on the camera left while his companion is watching out for Amis panzers with his panzerfaust.

Hope you like these.  Now on to another German gruppe, this time a gruppe scrounged from ersatz (replacement) depots.

Luftwaffe Feldtruppen - First Report

As I began my reinforcement painting for my WW2 'skirmish' forces, I decided to start with a gruppe (squad) of Luftwaffe ground combat troops.  I had picked up a box of the metal Warlord Luftwaffe troops at a local convention a couple of years ago and now was the time to get them kitted out.

As many of you know, the Luftwaffe contributed some 21 division of non-flying ground personnel to the German war effort.  Originally assigned to the Russian front, they eventually fought in all theaters against the advancing Allied armies.

This gruppe will be assigned to Kampfgruppe Pitzfeld, a conglomeration of whatever troops were available to stem the incoming tide of the Allied forces in northwest Europe.

Please click on the photographs for a larger image.

 These are the first four figures that I've completed.  They wear the standard Luftwaffe blue field uniform and were the easiest to paint.  They are (from left) armed with a Gewehr43 and a panzerfaust, a standard Kar98K, an older MG15, and a submachinegun.

The other six figures are going to be more difficult to paint as they are all wearing either the Luftwaffe or the Heere (Army) splinter camouflage jacket or shelter.  This will be my first try at something as complicated as a camouflage outfit.  I'll post more pictures as the painting progresses.

This is the Luftwaffe pattern jacket.

And this is the Heere pattern.

So we'll see how close I can come.  Wish me luck and a steady hand.