Soviet Armor for the Motherland!

It's a long way from the masses of armor the Soviets would have put in the field, but at least now I have two tanks completed!

These are both resin kits from Warlord Games and went together rather well. Both were given an overspray of Testors medium green, followed by a wash of Citadel camouflage green ink, then duly drybrushed, tracks dirtied up, etc.

The T-26 is slated for duty in Finland. If you remember, I participated in the Baker Company Kickstarter and had hoped to get some Soviet tanks that way, but I think that is pretty much a lost cause. And lost money, unfortunately. But this little tank will do nicely.

I'm not as sure what I will use the BT-7 for yet. Someday I hope to expand my Soviet forces to include Barbarossa actions, but that is still a ways down the road. In the meantime, I feel good to get these two in the "complete" pile.

But have no worries, there are plenty of Soviet soldiers and a couple of T-34s in the stash, just waiting for the right moment.

Achtung Panzer!

I've been a bit of a roll (blitz?) lately on finishing up some vehicles that have been languishing. Here's the last of the recently finished bunch, a Pz IIc from Warlord Games.

Like the others, this was a crisply cast resin piece that went together nicely. My main hangup on this one was the turret number decals. I thought about going large, but getting them to lie down over some of the protrusions looked like it would be tough. So I opted for small - but I didn't have any! I ordered these 1/285 scale numbers from I-94 Enterprises, and they fit perfectly.

Paint was easy - Tamiya German Gray spray. Then simply wash, drybrush and voila. I do have a crew figure, but haven't finished him yet.

I may actually get another one of these - or three - to use in possible France and Belgium scenarios. One of these days I will actually get a game going!

Meanwhile, in Belgium

Here's a little gem, a Belgian T-15 from Warlord Games. That should scare the Germans!

Actually this is a very nice little kit. I painted it with Testors Olive Green, then gave it a wash of dark brown to give it the brownish green tint that seems to be uniquely Belgian. The turret roundel is a 1/144 WWI aircraft roundel decal. I had to paint a white circle underneath in order for the colors to show up. I hand painted the license - close enough. No idea on the number. The white "blob" insignia is also intended to be somewhat generic. Looks like the Belgians had several different insignia types.

I have yet to locate a T-13 model, which is based on the Carden-Lloyd carrier. I did get one of the 47mm gun carriers from Warlord, and have that on the bench as well. And I have an ACG-1 coming from Mad Bob's French vehicles Kickstarter that will be pressed into Belgian service. (I have much more faith in that Kickstarter, BTW. His Hungarian tanks are awesome!)

Also from Warlord I have painted a civilian truck, one squad of Chasseurs Ardennais and one of regular army. I'd really like to see Warlord finish up some support troops (machine gunners, especially) and officers to round out the line.

GAZ Trucks for the Invasion of Finland... and More

Some of you may have heard of the Winter War Miniatures Kickstarter run by Baker Company. Well, we're coming up on the three-year anniversary, and I have yet to see a single mini despite a rather significant investment. I've only backed a handful of Kickstarters, and this is by far the worst. No minis, no communication, nothing. What's worse, I even placed an order with Baker shortly after the Kickstarter ended for some Vietnam minis. Never got them. At least he answered my emails and said they were shipped and must have gotten lost in the mail. Still never got them. That's the ONLY time I have ever had a problem ordering from a company "across the pond." All in all I think I'm out about $300. That does not make me very happy. And I really wanted those field kitchens!

Rather than delay the project any more, I ordered some Russian trucks from Warlord. IF (BIG IF) I ever get the Baker ones, they will simply be added to the motor pool. You can never have too many trucks. But for now, my foot weary Battle Honors Russians can take a break, and the political officer can get out of the cold to operate the radio, assuring those in Moscow that all is going well...

These were painted with a simple coat of Testors medium green, then washed with a dark green and drybrushed field drab and earth. I didn't put any marking on them, one because I couldn't really find what they would be, and two because I wanted to keep them fairly generic.

Of course these will also see double duty on other areas of the eastern front as later war Russians get painted. The lack of canvas covers makes them a bit unsuitable for Finland, but they will have to do.

I also have a T-26 from Warlord in the works, since those from Baker are still in limbo. (And a T-34/76 and a T-34/85 and a BT-7....)

Now I have my eye on some buildings from Sarissa for use on the eastern front. Squirrel!

Sdkfz 221 ... Finally

Actually, this has been done for a while. I just now got around to taking a photo. I had to look, I first made a post in March of last year showing this Black Tree Design Sdkfz 221 in all its multi-piece gory, I mean, glory.

To put it bluntly, this was a challenge. Lots (and lots) of glue, filler, sanding, priming, more filling, and finally it started to take shape. I wish I had some in progress pics, but there it is. In the end, it turned out not bad. I still think it's a bit large for 28mm or 1/56, checking in at 1/50 or so, but as long as it's not parked next to my Warlord resin pieces, it should be OK.

And, I have to say, this thing is HEAVY. That's a lot of thick metal there.

One of these days, I need to get an early war game going. I have plenty now for some small forays in Norway, or even some messing about in Belgium or France against the BEF.

Not One, But Two Packages in One Day!

Well, well. What have we here? Not one, but two boxes waiting for me after getting home from work? One was expected. So let’s start with the other one – the smaller one.

Inside we find… a katyusha! Didn’t see that coming! This is part of the pledge I made with Mad Bob Miniatures Hungarian tanks Kickstarter last fall. I had thought it would all come in one bulk package when everything was ready, and I know he’s been working on getting crews cast for some of the other vehicles, so I figured it would be a bit longer yet. But this is cool!

Upon initial examination, this is a very nice model indeed. Very cleanly cast, and it looks super easy to assemble. It really is a remarkable design the way Bob went about constructing the rails and the rockets. Working with 3D printing and computer design has certainly revolutionized development of things like this. Based on my mockup, assembly should be a breeze.

I’m not sure exactly when this will perc to the top of the paint pile, but it is a more than welcome addition. Right now my eastern front plans are centered on the Slovaks against the Soviets, so I’m not sure where a katyusha fits in. But this was too good an opportunity to pass up, and I’m sure will look fantastic when done. That might mean more later war Soviets, start some Germans, and… there we go. Down the slippery slope again!

In the meantime, I can’t wait to see the Hungarian items from this Kickstarter, and the Pz. 38t’s that are destined for Slovakian service. Great stuff from Mad Bob!

(As for the other box, watch this space!)

220, 221. Whatever it takes.

Bonus points to anyone who gets that headline.

But what we're really looking at here is a 221. Sdkfz 221. German armored car. Sort of. At least the pieces for same. Lots of pieces. Lots of metal pieces. Lots of heavy, metal pieces.

This is the Sdkfz 221 from Black Tree Design, listed at 25mm, but it looks closer to 1/50 or even 1/48 than 1/56 to my eye and compared to the Warlord Games vehicles I have, including the Sdkfz 222. I'll try to get a comparison shot at some point.

I've actually had this for probably 10 years or so, but have never had the courage to attempt it. Now, with my German motor pool finally growing, I think it's time.

As you might suspect with an all metal kit, fit is, well, a relative term. At first it appeared horrible, but as I started filing and sanding last night, it started to get better. Not great, or even good, but not as bad. I think I can make this work. It's going to take quite a bit of epoxy, plenty of squadron putty and lots of good old fashioned elbow grease, but I think in the end it will make a reasonable armored car to support my blitzkrieging early war Germans. (Which, by the way, I thought I had three squads, but can only find two! Another order, perhaps...)

And yes, I've been slacking in the photo department, but I have completed six motorcycles (four with sidecars), a Pz Ib and a Skfz 221. I have a kubelwagen almost done, and am well along on an Opel Blitz truck and a Hanomag. The Hanomag is a Warlord plastic kit, considerably lighter than the BTD 221!

On a related note, I have also prepped and primed a second Belgian squad, so maybe soon there can even be a game.

So did you get the headline?

Oooh, Shiny. WW2 Slovakians, Anyone?

After backing the Kickstarter mentioned in the previous post for Hungarian tanks, the next thing to do, of course, was to start looking around for some infantry support! While Baker Company is planning another Kickstarter for Balkan theater troops, including Hungarians, that could be a while yet. Outpost does some Romanians, and there are some conversion options, but I started looking for something "different," and stumbled upon... Slovakians.

Yup, Slovakians used some of the equipment available in this Kickstarter, notably the Pz. 35(t). And best of all, someone - namely Bohemian Troops - makes the figs now! In the Czech Republic, which makes sense. And I'm always up for something... unusual. So after contacting the proprietor of said operation, off went an order, and two weeks later I am now the proud owner of a couple rifle squads of Slovakians.

Excuse the poor quality of the photos on my phone, but in general, my first impressions are I am impressed. These are very nice minis.

They were sculpted by Paul Hicks, and while perhaps they lack the depth of Crusader figures, or the facial expressions of Artizan, I would rank them right up there with the


best Warlord or Black Tree put out. Of course, there will be duplicates within a squad, but there are enough poses to keep things interesting. They aren't necessarily the most "energetic" minis I have ever seen, but at the same time the poses are convincing and realistic. The weapons look exceptionally detailed, especially the LMG. Sizewise, they seem a touch larger than Crusader, but match well with Artizan and BTD.

Production quality is excellent, with virtually no flash to speak of, and just minor mold lines to file off. I cleaned up a bunch last night and hope to get them in the painting queue soon.

Their uniforms are remarkable similar to Italians, and I'm already looking at some Italians to fill in some gaps in command, etc. And an Austro-Hungarian WW1 Schwarzlose MMG looks a dead ringer for the Slovak version, with a different helmet. The only thing I can't seem to find a reasonably easy conversion for is the Prada trucks used by the Slovakians. That could be tough.

I've started doing some additional research into Slovakia's role in WW2, and it is really quite a story. From Poland, to Russia, and then back home, these guys really were up against it, but were courageous fighters and represented themselves well. Mine will most likely be used in skirmishes against Russians. (That means I have to paint some Russians too!)
 
Anyway, that's kind of a rambling introductory post. I hope to have more details on painting these guys, and some actual real info on their history, in the future.

It's Still About Gaming, Right? Some CY6 Japanese Bombers

The initial purpose of this blog was to chronicle my hobby exploits in general, but I believe it was understood that the focus should be on miniature wargaming activities. Alas, there have been too few posts to that effect of late, so here is an effort to get back on track.

How about some Japanese twin-engine targets, er, I mean bombers, for CY6? The sharp-eyed will note there are two different types included in this initial half dozen. And you would be correct. I picked these up at a con in January, and pulled what I thought were six Sallys out of the bin marked, quite obviously, Sallys. Only when I got home did I notice the discrepancy, and found I had two Helens as well. Oh well, not really that significant in the grand scheme of things. I have six Bettys also awaiting paint (they might get the solid green treatment rather than the camo scheme shown here), and in the end they will probably all see duty as "Japanese twin-engine bombers." I'm fussier when it comes to getting the fighter-types accurately represented for the game. Does one really need 12 Sallys AND 12 Bettys, especially when gaming on a budget? Now I won't say a B-24 will do for a B-17, given engine count and all, but I can live with this.

Scotia models, painted with the usual mix of acrylics. In this case IIRC, it was IJA light grey, with IJA green and Chestnut brown. Most of my aircraft have been fairly clean, but I dirtied these up a bit. I drybrushed some aluminum paint to represent the chipping that is commonly seen in photos, and used a technical pen to go over panel lines, followed by a light black wash.

Now, about those Flying Tigers...

Dead in the Water Projects

Excuse the pun, but today let's look at one of those projects that I'm sure all gamers have that is simply dead in the water. You know. The kind entered into with great enthusiasm. One that perhaps struck a chord as one of your primary interests. One that got started, but then never went anywhere.

Such was the case with 1/4800 WW2 naval for me.

The original concept seemed sound. Replace the counters in the classic Avalon Hill game Bismarck with 3D minis. At the time (keep in mind by "at the time," I mean circa 1994. Yikes!), I had dug out the venerable old game from my 80s stash and reintroduced it to some colleagues. We actually had a couple good games out of it. For those who may not know, the advanced rules in the game are for all intents and purposes a miniatures rules set, building on the board game aspects of the basic and intermediate rules.

So somehow, and honestly I don't recall precisely how this small fleet came into my possession, I acquired these C-in-C 1/4800 miniatures. Lovely minis, actually. They painted up well, and look good mounted on thin card, a la the original game counters. I probably used Testors enamels at this stage. Clearly the Hood is in the mix, along with what looks like the Repulse. Then a few cruisers of indeterminate class, and some destroyers. Destroyers never played a huge role in the game, but I figured they could be useful for something.

Problem is, I never got around to acquiring any German ships. So these have sat in a small box all these years, following me on multiple moves. I occasionally wonder, "what's in that box?" So I get them out, look at them, then back they go, tucked into some dark recess of the cabinet. Sad, huh?

I probably should just order some other ships, but then I wonder who would I play? And with so many other projects vying for my time, well, you know. But it probably wouldn't take long to paint up a handful of ships. I just haven't been inspired yet. I mean, all I  really need are a Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, right?

I've always liked ships, and naval subjects. And the Bismarck campaign is nothing if not fascinating. There's also the issue of that Airfix Hood waiting patiently for me to build.



Some day. At least these are small and don't take up much room.

Some Kates

Today I present some Nakajima B5N Kates. These have actually been done for a while, I just didn't get around to posting them. I tried something a little different on these, and I'm not sure I like it. I used a Rustoleum clear matte finish in an attempt to save a few pennies over my standard Testors Dullcote, and they turned out with a bit of a semi-matte sheen to them. I think I'll stick with Dullcote from now on.

I have a bunch of CY6 stuff on the table in progress, but I find myself getting distracted by a couple of other projects that have been languishing for quite some time and I feel I should just go ahead an finish them. Updates as events warrant.

Some Nates

Here's the Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 Nates I bought at Spartacon all painted up for CY6. While not the best aircraft in history, these will provide good opponents for the Flying Tigers that are in the works, along with the Chinese Nationalists I intend to do at some point. These are from Scotia, painted in Polly S Imperial Japanese Grey, which may technically be a little on the lighter side, but it looked good to me, especially in scale, and even seems to have the slightest olive green tint to it that these planes reportedly had. So there you go.






















Also, a sneak peak at one of the Sallys in progress. More Flying Tiger targets!

Funny Looking French There...

I think I mentioned a while back that I was waiting for some early WW2 French I ordered to complement the platoon I picked up at Spartacon. Well, they've arrived. For the most part, they're good. But this one gave me pause...

Clearly it's labelled as a French Hotchkiss gun. Clearly those are not French gunners, and though it's a little hard to tell in the photo, that's not a Hotchkiss gun, either. Most definitely Germans. I contacted FRP Games, where I ordered them from, and let them know they apparently have a collection of mislabeled stock. I suspect it was a mislabeling done by Crusader USA, and isn't FRP Games' fault. Still, I asked them to let me know if they have any actual French. I haven't heard back yet, and I may not, as I suspect Crusader USA minis are getting scarcer by the day.

In the meantime, I guess I now am the proud owner of a German machine gun team. And while I do have a Bolt Action French gun team, I still wouldn't mind getting a Crusader one as well.

I do have to say over time I generally have had good luck with mail order, which has become the lifeblood of all my hobbies, including the Mustang restoration, the model cars and the gaming. Oh, there is the occasional foul-up with a shopping cart (how did I get two vials of the same paint?), and the occasional long waiting period, but for the most part the vendors I've dealt with have been good. And again, in this case I can't really blame the vendor, if you just read it, you'd think these were French if you didn't take a look or didn't know the difference.

C'est la vie. Or should that be, so ist das Liben?

P-40 Preview and CY6 Musings

Here's one of the P-40s from Scotia I did last spring. I have four of these. Last weekened at Spartacon, I picked up six of the new P-40B/C from Raiden. Four of them are destined to be Flying Tigers, the other US Army Air Corps, with an eye on at least one Pearl Harbor scenario. Ever since I was a kid, the P-40 has probably been my favorite WW2 airplane. Something about it to me is just what a fighter plane is supposed to look like. Plus, how can you not like the shark mouth?

In the meantime, I got the overall basecoat on three Nates and the undersurfaces of three Oscars done last night, and started work on the canopies and cowlings for the five Zeroes on the table. I've also got five Devastators pretty far along, and two Chinese P-36s just waiting decals. Waiting to receive those from Dom's Decals. Hopefully soon the airfleet will be quite a bit larger!

Also, I hope one of these days to update progress on how I plan to do stands. The first effort didn't work so well, but I have an idea how to fix it.

Some Germans While I Wait

While waiting for more of my French to arrive, along with a new assortment of Vallejo paint, here are some Battle Honors Germans I did a while back. I'll need to do a lot more, I suppose, unless I can talk someone else into doing some. I also have some fallschirmjagers to do, but my likely opponent also has those, so those are low priority for me.

I'm very seriously considering redoing my BEF figs. I used a black wash instead of brown, and it is just way too dark. Fortunately I've only done one squad and a Vickers team.

I also basecoated five Zeroes last night for CY6. So that project is ongoing as well.

I'm actually excited, I don't think there is anything on the agenda this weekend at all. A true rarity. I'm sure there will be the usual cleaning and housework to do, but I hope to get some good painting in this weekend. And eventually I need to get back to the race cars, too!

From Russia, With Love

I should have posted these before along with the Russo-Finnish report. Just some more views of my Battle Honors early war Russians in great coats. The basic color here is Testors Dark Earth. Lots of it, as you can see.

When assembling this force based on the lists in the Skirmish Campaigns book, I contacted Old Glory 15s directly, and they were kind enough to put together a special order of 50 (or was it 60? I forget now...) riflemen only, no officers or SMG- or LMG-armed figs. I don't often need to order large amounts of figures for this period, but when I do, I use Battle Honors. (I am the most interesting gamer in the world. Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Closing the Trap - Russo-Finnish AoF AAR

As mentioned, last week my old adversary and I got together and played a Russo-Finnish skirmish game. While I've had the figures (and for that matter, the rules), this was our first time playing a true Arc of Fire game one-on-one. While we had some hiccups, overall I think it went rather well and we both came away agreeing to try again some day. Maybe even get into another theater?

Anyway, we played one of the scenarios in the Skirmish Campaigns book, Closing the Trap. In this scenario, a group of Russians are desperate to break through the Finnish lines and get home to Mother Russia. Not that they would be greeted warmly there, but I suppose that is beside the point.

Jon played the Russians, I took the Finns. The Russians had two rifle platoons, a mortar team, and a political officer. I had a small HQ squad, a rifle squad, an LMG team and an MMG team. As events turned out, the MMG team was the dominant force on the table.

The scenario calls for the Russians to enter down a road, eventually cross an open area, and overwhelm the Finns at a roadblock through sheer numbers. They never came close. The MMG team kept them at bay, with repeated morale failures leading to most of their time being spent rallying the troops. The political officer was useful for a while, until he suffered a K result. Then entire platoons started failing unit morale checks, and the Russians pretty much hunkered down in the woods. The mortar team did some damage, but wasn't as effective as either one of us thought to would/could/should be.

As I said, we really had just a few hiccups. For example, I read a chart wrong on the first turn and got excited when I thought I took out Jon's first platoon's entire command structure with one blast from the MMG. It wasn't so, but that was OE, nothing wrong with the rules. We're still not convinced we handled the mortar correctly, and were confused about what to do when firing into a group of soldiers when some are broken and some are not, but overall things ran pretty smoothly. We both liked the card-driven activation system and the randomness it created. It did play a role.

One other big mistake I made was I thought my table would be too small to put on a decent game, so I went with the small scale distances rather than "large scale." This had the effect of really minimizing the Russian advance speed. Of course, they were struggling through deep snow, but still. We'll definitely go with large scale next time. And maybe we'll have a bigger table.

For now, here's some photos. All figures are Battle Honors.

The Russian viewpoint. Where are those Finns?

The Russian onslaught. Will numbers win the day?

The Finnish MMG team, which really took its toll.

Finnish LMG team.

The Russians tried, but just couldn't do much.

Manning the roadblock: A Finnish rifle squad.

Russian mortar team.

More Russians. Note the broken and confused markers.

Come on, Mother Russia awaits!