From KenR: 1/700 HMS Forester & Foxhound (80 points)

 

Ship of the week has become ships of the week ! In what may be a vain attempt to finish off the military ships of Narvik I managed to get two Destroyers finished off this week, leaving me 1 Battleship and 3 Destroyers to do before close if Challenge in just 15 days.

HMS Forester is one of 9 F Class Destroyers a repeat of the E Class, she served throughout the War being involved at Narvik, where she escorted the Warspite. Forester went on to be part of Force H participating against the French at Mers el Kebir, escorting in the Med, Atlantic and the Russian convoys, chase the Bismarck and DDay, her crew would certainly have some tales to tell.

HMS Foxhound was also an F Class Destroyer, she had a similar career to Forester but was converted to an escort Destroyer and transfered to the Canadian Navy in 1944 and renamed HMCS Qu'Appelle, she also ended the war in one piece and her last duties were bringing Canadian soldiers back home after they served in Europe.

Both ships are 1/700 E Class Destroyer kits from Tamiya, the tooling for these is really old and they are the most basic of the kits I've done. The ridges along the Hull are a massive pain in the backside both for the decals and the weathering but they have turned out nice enough.

Foxhound is in a particularly interesting colour scheme, one I haven't seen on other ships and comes from wartime photos of the ship. It uses the high contrast of other schemes but the lower hull is split into two colours rather than having a single colour hull and a single colour upper. 

So that's two Destroyers at 40 points each for a total of 80. I have 2 Destroyers half built and Warspite on the go, but the easy wins have all gone. The remaining Destroyers are more advanced kits and Warspite is, well huge, my work pattern means I've only got 4 days left in the Challenge to get stuff done, so let's see.

TeemuL: As promised last week, there are two ships this week, well done, Ken! Older and simpler kits are not necessarily easier and funnier to work with, something you seem to have experienced first hand this week. Once again, you have managed to make the ships individual even though they are the same kit. Let's see if you can make a ship in four days for the rest of the Challenge, I'm sure there are several thumbs up.

From MikeF - Old World Empire & Sherman Tank - Fantasy Room - 70 points

 While working on my Steel Legion army, I've been picking away at a few other things. First up are some test models for a possible Empire Army for Warhammer: The Old World. Since there are no models for the Empire yet, I'm using 3rd party models to represent most of the units. I experimented with Wargames Atlantic Conquistador box to stand in for state troops. I painted them up in Altdorf colors and I think they'll look pretty good ranked up. I needed to keep the paint scheme fairly basic as I'll have to paint a large number of these guys. The models naturally have a more Spanish aesthetic rather than Holy Roman Empire, but I think they'll work. I really enjoyed painting the Wargames Atlantic models. They're simple sculpts that aren't cluttered with details that bog down batch painting. The torso and legs come in one piece and can be armed with a variety of weapons including spears, swords, halberds, crossbows and arquebus. The price is also decent as you get 24 in a box for under $50 CAN. Judging by current Old World pricing, Empire State Troops should be about $90 CAN for 20. 

I'm claiming the Fantasy room for this group.

Second up is a Sherman tank for the game "Tanks for the Apocalypse." The game is from Snarling Badger Studio and takes place in an end of WWII post-apocalyptic America where the survivors have salvaged numerous Sherman tanks from the Lima Locomotive Works in Ohio and use them to battle for territory. The tanks are often given home modifications which may help or hinder you in the game. I had a 1/48 Tamiya Sherman that I've been using as a test model for various tank paint schemes. I gave it numerous conversions and a non-standard camo paint job.

6 x 28mm models = 30 points

1 28mm vehicle = 20 points

Fantasy room = 20 points

Total = 65 points

Looks like this will be my final post, so I'll hopefully see you all in December. Thanks for visiting!

____________________________

Great work on these two very different projects Mike! Those pikemen look brilliant and will serve nicely for 'southern' Empire levies. I agree, the Wargames Atlantic sets are excellent. I've been using their STL versions and find the models to strike that balance between detail and not being too over complicated. Love the whacky post-apoc Sherman with it's blue Mickey Mouse camo. Also I see it won't run out of fuel or water anytime soon with it's jerry can reserve!

Thanks for pitching in with us again this year Mike. Hope to see you sometime this spring or summer when I'm in the 'Peg.

- Curt

From FrederickC - "Avanti Italia!" - Italian Army in North Africa (515 points)

 This week's submission is a force of the Regio Esercito or Royal Italian Army in North Africa consisting of a mix of Perry and Warlord Games miniatures, tanks and assault guns from Blitzkrieg Miniatures, an armoured car from Tamiya, and five 'toy soldier' trucks. While the North African campaign has always interested me, I didn't think I could justify painting up more Germans and Brits since I already had a sizeable force of each of those for Northwest Europe. Then fellow Fawcett Avenue Conscript, Dallas E, painted up some DAK and 8th Army, which was the tipping point. However, not wanting to just duplicate armies he had, I opted for Italians. I now have a force of a 43 man platoon of four sections and a platoon headquarters, a company headquarters, two machine gun teams, two mortar teams, an anti-tank gun, two tanks, two assault guns, an armoured car, and five trucks.

First up are the tanks and armoured cars. The armoured car is a 1/48 scale Tamiya kit, and the rest are from Blitzkrieg Miniatures. The M13/40 is a resin casting, while the rest of the tracked vehicles are 3D prints. The latter are much crisper in terms of the detail compared to the resin casting, but they had a lot of supports to clean away, especially around the road wheels. After all the vehicles had been assembled, they were primed with Army Painter Desert Yellow from a rattle can. They were then painted with various sand coloured acrylics and given a wash of Citadel Seraphim Sepia. Tracks were painted using Vallejo German Camo Black Brown, followed by a dry brush of Gun Metal. Finally everything got liberal washes of Vallejo Wash FX Desert Dust.

 

 

Built on the chassis developed for the L6/40, the Semovente 47/32 was an easy-to-produce tank hunter built as a stopgap measure to combat enemy armour. Mounting the excellent Elefantino anti-tank gun in an open-topped chassis gave the Italian forces some much-needed mobility in their anti-tank assets. The tank hunter initially fared well in the western desert, but lack of an armoured crew compartment became a glaring drawback in the system's design.

 

After witnessing the success of the German StuG in Europe, the Italians decided a tank of comparable design was needed. By 1942, the Semovente 75/18 was fighting for the Italians in North Africa, where it would distinguish itself as one of the nation's best tank designs. The 75/18 had a relatively modern gun, thicker armour than any of the M-series tanks, and it proved quite successful in service, capable of destroying all but the heaviest Allied armoured vehicles.

 

Italy's AB41 was the most-produced armoured car of the Italian armed forces. The Autoblindo 41 was produced by Fiat-Ansldo and saw service in several theatres, most notably in Africa. It was armed with a 20 mm Breda 35 autocannon and a coaxial 8 mm machine gun in a turret similar to the one fitted to the Fiat L6/40, and another hull mounted rear-facing 8 mm machine gun. It also featured two driving positions, allowing the vehicle to travel effectively in either direction.

 

The Carro Armato M13/40 was designed to replace the M11/39 in the Royal Italian Army at the start of the Second World War. It was the primary tank used by the Italians it their armoured divisions. The design was influenced by the British Vickers 6-Ton and was based on the modified chassis of the earlier M11/39. Its 47mm gun was superior to the British 2-pdr, but easily outmatched with the introduction of heavier tank guns such as the 6-pdr and US 75mm.

 

The L6/40 was a light tank used by the Italian army from 1940 through the Second World War. It was designed by Ansaldo as an export product, and was adopted by the Italian Army when officials learned of the design and expressed interest. It was the main tank employed by the Italian forces fighting on the Eastern Front alongside the L6/40-based Semovente 47/32 self-propelled gun. L6/40s were also used in the North African campaign. Its main armament was the 20 mm Breda 35 autocannon.

 

Next up are five trucks to transport my troops through the desert. These were part of a joint purchase with Dallas E, who found a source of these 'cheap' plastic trucks on line. In the end, they didn't turn out to be as cheap as expected/hoped. I have since found a source for them at Walmart. They are generic 'army trucks' that have a bit of a 'Chevrolet 30cwt' vibe to them. I didn't paint any national markings on them as I thought they could be used for either side in North Africa. They were painted with the same method I used for the armoured vehicles.

Finally we come to the troops. These are primarily Perry Miniatures Italians with sun helmets, plus a Italian Support Group boxed set consisting of a headquarters, machine gun team, and mortar team from Warlord Games. When I ordered the Perry Miniatures I was having some trouble with their website when I wanted to order multiples of the same figure pack. It kept increasing the number of packs of the previous choice. I thought I have corrected everything, but when the shipment arrived, instead of three packs of riflemen and one command pack, I got the reverse. (D'0h!). In addition, the Warlords support group all had steel helmets on, and I wanted all my troops in sun helmets. Dallas E had some left over helmets from his Perry DAK figures, and I had extra arms, pouches, and rifles left over from my Warlord Soviets and Blitzkrieg Germans. A bit of slicing, dicing, and gluing converted extra officers and NCOs to riflemen, and all but three officers to sun helmets. For painting I followed Sonic Sledgehammer's method for desert Italians, with some variation here and there on the order of painting, and the choice of colours. I used a lot of Citadel Seraphim Sepia wash on this project.

Warlord HQ group of two officers, a medic and a radioman

Support Weapons

Perry 47/32 Elefantino anti-tank gun

Perry and Warlords Breda 5C 6.5mm medium machine guns

Perry and Warlords 81/14 Model 35 medium mortars

 Last up is a 43 man platoon consisting of a 3-man headquarters, and four 10-man sections each with a section commander equipped with a Beretta 9mm submachine gun, a two-man team with a Breda 30 6.5mm light machine gun, and seven riflemen with either a Carcano M1891/28 or Carcano M1938 carbine. Some of the riflemen that were converted from officer figures are carrying either Moisin-Nagant carbines or Mauser rifles that were left over from my boxes of Warlord Games Soviet Winter Infantry or German Blitzkrieg Infantry. (See if you can pick out all the conversions in the rifle sections.)

Italian infantry platoon of four sections and a headquarters

Platoon HQ. The man on the right originally had a Beretta SMG

No. 1 Section

No. 2 Section

No. 3 Section

No. 4 Section

The points being claimed are as follows

 

57 x 28mm foot figures @ 5 points each = 285 points

 

10 x 28mm vehicles @ 20 points each = 200 points

 

3 x 28mm artillery pieces @ 10 points each = 30 points

 

Sylvain: Another point bomb this week. You just throw them at us and we love them! Again, your description is A+, as well as your miniatures. The army you are presenting this week is so neat and includes all the important equipment for that theater. Another great achievement for you!

From FrederickC - Early War French Division Légère Mécanique [New Acquisitions] (580 points)

My third submission for the challenge is a selection of early World War 2 French tanks, transports, and troops of a Division Légère Mécanique (DLM), or Light Mechanized Division. They are something that I have been thinking about for a while, and they have finally come together in time for this year's painting challenge.

 

First up are the armoured vehicles consisting of a mix of Char B1 bis, Somua S35, and Renault R35 tanks. The Char B1 tanks are 3D prints by the same friend who did my Polski FIAT trucks, while the latter two types are Solido diecast tanks that were repainted to give them a unified camouflage scheme. Historically the DLM tank battalions were equipped with Hotchkiss H35/H39 and Somua tanks, but I already had the R35s, so I went with that. The heavier Char B1 was not found in the DLM, but I always liked the look of it and added two to my French force. All the tanks were given a coat of USA Olive Drab surface primer using an airbrush. (In the case of the Char B1s, they got a coat of black primer first.) The brown and yellow were applied by brush, and then the whole tank got a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade. After the decals were applied, all the vehicles got a wash of Vallejo Model Wash European Dust around the tracks and road wheels.

 

 

 

The Char B1 served in the armoured divisions of the French army, the Division Cuirassée (DCr). It was armed with a 75mm howitzer in the hull, and a 47mm gun in the turret. Although well armed and armoured, it suffered from the design of a one-man turret, where the commander had to act as both loader and gunner as well. My two models are 3D prints done using an STL file I found online. There must be a flaw in the file because the right track system printed with the tracks misaligned so that they touched the fender at the back of the tank, and didn't sit evenly on the table. To solve the problem, I used a fine blade saw to cut off the right track, reposition it correctly, and glue it back into place using super glue and baking soda (or sodium hydrogen carbonate for the chemists in the crowd 😉). My friend used different resins in the two prints, giving one model more flex than the other. That was the first one where I sawed off the tracks, which worked fairly well. When I went to do the second model, pressure from the blade caused the back part of the fender to break off, along with part of the exhaust system. I still don't know where the missing piece went, and it has probably been sucked up by the vacuum cleaner by now. I was able to rebuild the missing area from bits and bobs from my box of scratch-building supplies. I also added radio aerials to both tanks, but I probably only needed to do that on one model. Radio sets were not distributed below command tanks in the French army.

 

 

 

The Somua S35 was considered a 'cavalry tank' in the French army, and was one of the main tanks in a DLM. It had good speed, adequate range, and a gun powerful enough to destroyed any enemy tank it was likely to encounter. Like the Char B1, it had to deal with the problems of a one-man turret, as well as poor mechanical reliability. Its suspension system was too weak, too complicated, and the cast armour made it difficult to repair in the field.  The models are Solido 1/50 diecast that I purchased years ago, but as I acquired them individually off of eBay, they had two different paint schemes. One was sold green, while the other had a random green and dark brown camouflage pattern. As well, one of the tanks was missing the gun mantle off the main gun and the turret machine gun, so I scratch-built replacements. Now they look like they belong to the same unit.

The last pair of tanks are Renault R35s that saw service with the French Bataillon de Chars de Combat (BCC), as well as some that were sold to Poland and other countries. It was armed with a low velocity Puteaux cannon. Again, it suffered from a one-man turret, and rather slow speed. Some of the men from the Polish 10th Motorized Brigade, having escaped to France, saw service in these tanks in May 1940. These are also Solido 1/50 diecast models picked up from eBay when they were still fairly inexpensive. One was originally solid green, while the other had a green and tan camouflage pattern on it. I prefer the look of the three colour green, brown, and tan, although all the various colour combinations were used in 1940.

Now we come to the transport part of this submission starting with six Laffly S20 TL trucks designed to transport a squad of Dragons Portés, or motorized dragoons of the DLM. These are again 3D prints done by my friend from an STL file I found online. The file generated a very detailed model, but one that may not stand up to the rigours of the wargame table. My friend said he broke off the two side mirrors and the windscreen while trying to get the first print he made free from the supports. Afterwards he adjusted the files to remove the support problem, and the rest printed successfully without any issues. I also managed to snap off a side mirror, and a rear tire of two separate models while prepping them for painting due to rather fragile axles on the models. Once again I resorted to the super glue - baking soda combination to get a strong repair. I also scratch-built replacement mirrors using some florist wire and a small plastic disc made using my leather hole punch. All the models were primed black, followed by a coat of USA Olive Drab. The seats were painted using Vallejo Tan Earth, and the whole truck got a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade, followed by Vallejo Model Wash European Dust around the wheels and fenders.

 

Repaired mirrors on the right

While I was working on the other vehicles. I remembered that I had a Tamiya 1/48 model kit of a Citroën Traction 11 CV staff car sitting in a box in the basement. I originally wasn't sure how I wanted to paint it up, but in the end I decided to add it to my French force. It was an easy kit to assemble, and I painted most of the exterior using an airbrush while the parts were still on the sprue. From unopened kit to complete vehicle in less than a day.

 

At last we come to the troops, in this case Dragons Portés. All of these figures are very recent acquisitions from Crusader Miniatures. We will start with a platoon of three squads and a platoon headquarters. Each squad consists of ten men, including a man carrying a Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29 light machine gun, and his No. 2 holding spare magazines. All the squads have an extra figure armed with a Viven-Bessières rifle grenade cup discharger, as this is one of the options in the Bolt Action rules. One of the squad leaders is carrying a MAS-38 submachine gun.

 

Finally we have have some support weapons consisting of two Hotchkiss machine guns, a Hotchkiss 25mm anti-tank gun, an 81mm medium mortar, and a 60mm light mortar. At some point I want to add some ammunition boxes and spent casings to the bases, but I didn't have anything appropriate in the bits box. That will have to wait until some point in the future, but for now I am calling it done.

 

 

For painting up the Dragons Portés, I followed the guide below from 'Flame of War' fairly closely since I had all the necessary colours in my inventory. Two exceptions are that I used USA Olive Drab instead of Gunship Green on the vehicles, and I used Army Painter Leather Brown instead of German Camouflage Orange Ochre on the soldiers' ammo pouches and Y-straps. After the figures were painted, they got a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone Quickshade. As mentioned in my previous submission, this leaves the figures with a glossy sheen, but I will spray them with a matt coat when it is safe to work outside. (It is currently -24°C, with a windchill of -33°C in lovely Winterpeg, Manitscoldout. 😱)

 

Since most of the vehicles and all the figures are new acquisitions, I will claim that Library category for this post.

 

 

 

The points being claimed are as follows

 

54 x 28mm foot figures @ 5 points each = 270 points

 

13 x 28mm vehicles @ 20 points each = 260 points

 

3 x 28mm artillery pieces @ 10 points each = 30 points

 

Library section 'New Acquistions' @ 20 points = 20 points 

Sylvain: If "Early WW2" were a family, I would be the "little" brother while you would be "BIG" brother. This is an outstanding submission in quantity, quality and description.

Quantity means the biggest point bomb ever for the Monday Crew.

Quality means an uncompromising paint job on these historically accurate miniatures.

 

Description means a text that reflects your passion and your research for this particular era.

Bravo!