T30 75mm HMC - the basics and start of Number 1

For Tunisia.Scicily, I want some light artillery support. As I have the M3 75mm  AT guns, I already have the base vehicle for the T30  75mm HMC. With the purchase of the Airfix Parajeeps I also got the 75mm howitzers so that is now sorted.

The mount and the shield will be most of the scratchbuilding effort. The rest is mostly cosmetic and feeling my way around the conversion so the 2nd one will be much quicker.

As the base vehicle I'm using the M3 75mm halftracks (yes, the names are confusing)

Opend the backdoor, filled in the what I assume are hull stowage boxes, made a ammo rack underneath the future gunmount, and filled in the notch in the drivers armour plate....which is very, very bare so will need some work.

Testfitted one of the trailers...

And then cut down the base some more for a better fit.

The other one will be built tomorrow (I think) to the same level and after that I can do the gun mounts and the gun shields at the same time. After that adding all the small details etc. maybe invest/trade for some AB figures American 75mm gun crew, if I can find any.

(Wargaming) life is about making choices

It's been a busy week sofar. Monday I had my exam for Windows Office; Advanced that I passed with a 9.2/10, and I'm now looking over the next course and how this is planned. It's 8 lessons, cut in half by a 6 week summer holiday, so it would be 14 weeks till my planned exam, over 3 months! After chatting with the teacher we agreed to plan a exam on the last day before the summer holiday and see how it goes. As the course is about sales, adevertising and customer service, in which I have 10+ years of experience and a diploma from 2004, it means I will be spending quite a bit of time in the local library to study for the next 3 weeks to get it all into my system. So fingers crossed. The course after that is another 6 weeks, and I also have to pass my blind typing exam, but in theory, if all goes well, I could (in theory) finish my course 2 months ahead of schedule, so I can start the German Language course sooner as planned. Though tbh I still have not decided which one, the starter or the advanced course. I can read German, I can understand most German (be it on tv or live), my spoken German is way better then the average Dutch, but my writing skills are a bit lacking. In the meanwhile, I got a Spanish language DVD to play with once a week, just for funsies.

Right, back to the hobby.

2x M4A3 105mm guntanks for my future Iranians.....back to the past for me, if anyone remembers the ones I painted back in 2009, which got sold off when I sold my Iraqi army?

They are almost finished, just adding lifting rings to both of them in the right places and when the time comes to paint them, behead someone for the commander and maybe drop a few empty 105 shellcasings on the rear deck.

Did squat diddly building wise today. pent a good 30 minutes in the attic (always a smart move on a hot day, lifting heavy items in already sauna like environment and grabbed almost every single kit I have no need for in the near future.

That is another 50+ kist of stuff that is either the wrong scale, I have more then a few off already or are modern(ish) day fighter jets because if there will ever be a Battlegroup Modern(ish) the only likely aircraft you will see over a active battlefield are fighter bombers. A pure air to air fighter like a Tomcat or a Russian Stealth Jet is a bit pointless for the era (though I'm keeping 2 of those stealthjets to be built as wheels down versions for Black Ops games). Combine this with about 50+ resin kits, a couple of bags of metal miniatures and some painted stuff (yes, painted stuff) I have the rest of the week to bag and tag everything in one large list so it can go online in the weekend on the various groups and forums. Kim is really happy with my efforts of building as much as possible of what I want to keep and selling off what do not intend to use any time soon.

Plenty to do for the coming days. Including repairing my WIP Kursk Windmill as a knocked the fella down from a plank and one of the sails came flying off. Nothing a pin can't fix, and more motivation to get him done so he can join his brother.

Militracks survived!

Very tired, plenty of pain in my legs and back, but I would not have missed it for the world.

I have a load of pictures and videos up on my FB page (That particular folder is open to everyone) >> Militracks 2017 and if you are ever in the country when this event happens, I can reccomend it. I've been trying to go there for years and everytime something got in the way.

Pro's:

• Running WW2 German vehicles, lot's
• You can actually get a ride on one (if you pay)
•  Free acces to the museum
• Large military equipment market
• Amazing amount of spare parts (albeit not always in great condition)

Con's

• A couple of extra seats would be nice, especially for people like me.
• Shows like this also attract some......hmm, sympathisers of the wrong kind. One chap passed me wearing an SS shirt underneath his camouflage jacket, and a White Power cap on his head. Another in line in front of me had a swastika tattooed on the back of his neck. A diverse crowd indeed.
• The stall advertising his wares as "dug up from around Stalingrad" with a lot of rusty stuff and quite a few helmets with damage from explosions. I've seen videos of how they excavate and what they do with the soldiers bones and anything they can't sell.
• The amazing amunt of tat for sale. Toy guns, normal standard ammo tins that cost maybe 5 euros at the local army dump are sold here (and bought!) for a tenner, and lot's of cheap ass repro's

Oh well. I got to see my favourite Stug in the world (and yes, I toutched it) and made a few pics of how she looked after being driven for a bit. I also donated some money for her upkeep and a got a nice mug for it.

 Booty shot!

 On the way out, we passed alongside the track and Stuggie was out for its last run of the day, and even I, with my crutch, could keep up with her. He sure is treating her gently.

There were a couple of kit sellers at the market area as well. A couple with new stuff, one that I wasn't sure if they were selling second hand stuff for new prices, and a seller who turned out to charge a fiver for each kit that I grabbed. So after a small chat we had an understanding (when we finally stopped talking German to each other when we both realised the other was Dutch as well), and I picked up this pile of kits for a bit les then a fiver per kit.

Yeah, I'm a bad boy, I should not have, but the M6 is going straight into my USA box, the BTR-152 in my TW:2K or Taliban box, the T-55 also in the TW:2K box, the M60A3....maybe also the TW:2K box, or the Israeli or Iranian box. Humber Mark II for my British 8th Army, 2 5.5 inch guns for my Normandy British, another Bofors gun that might become German, and the Emergency set I've been wanting for ages, for a desert Ambulance and the other truck to be converted into a (civvy) medium truck.Also some electricl towers and a bag of spare bits for them.

Next week I'm starting the 1 kit build or 10 figures cleaning per evening, and to get a headstart I grabbed 2 FtF Fiats 621 from the stash (a review on those later), closed up both cabins, and almost completely built 1.

The Fiat, being basiclally a Ford, is suitable for a lot of things and quite a few historical periods. It comes with a tarp, which sits a bit too loose for my liking, so I added some thing plasticcard slivers to keep it easier in place. Suspension is also a bit weak, but more about that in my review.

Need to sleep now, tired.

Come on Eileen!

I survived a week of sunny Dutch weather, a couple of trips to the beach, and living in a small bungalow. I can check that off my bucket list :P Pity my knee started to act up thursday-ish (all that soft sand) and my depression decided it would be a good time to rear it's ugly head again. So instead of me cuddling the kids, the kids were cuddling daddy to cheer him up. Helped a bit, it did. All in all we had fun though, we learned a few lessons for next time, and took a lot of pictures :)

Us having a drink at the restaurant next to Sea Life in Scheveningen. The kids loved seeing all the fish and other aquatic animals. Sadly, they had locked the door behind us when we wanted to continue the tour (granted, it was 17:30) so the girls never got to see the penguins or complete their booklet with a stamp for the last part and a free sticker. (We went back to the entrance after this but this too was closed shut.....a shame).

In the evenings Kim and I chatted while she was making a puzzle and I managed to blow trough 1 Gig of data in a week, keeping up to date with the world and everything. Just couldn't log into most places as I don't keep codes in my phone :D Did manage to find a nice kit for a few euros to go with my P-51, and no shipping costs either as my brother picked it up for me on the way over for a visit.

For a later date, but should be a fun build :)

I spent my evenings plus a afternoon on the beach reading this book, The Forgotten Battle.

I've always been interested in reading up about the war affecting my birthplace, Deurne, but the few local books that I had never mentioned much other then the occasional crash of bombers, and then troops liberating Deurne, and then not much else. This book has changed that. I now know that Deurne was very lucky in that the front lines during Market Garden were very fluid and only solidified again after the Germans had retreated to the Peel area (Deurne lies on the Eastern edge of the Peel area). Also, it was interesting to read about the particular hardships suffered by both sides during one of the most miserbale weather imaginable. I know the Peel area quite well, so reading about tanks having to drive single file to get anywhere, and almost immediately bogging down when they got off the road, and the many, many close assaults with Flailtanks and the dreaded Shu mines and many, many other little details. To my surprise I learned The Americans and the Btits both took turns in defending the area, with the Americans being a lot less professional then the British. New to me was that especially the Allies stole everything they could get their hands on, and the destruction of quite a few landmarks like castles and windmills by extensive use of artillery and fighter bomber support. Mind you, the Germans did that too.

Someday, I hope to use this book and a few others to write some Battlegroup scenario's for it, maybe even a small linked campaign.

And now some serious news. I've been getting worked up over this meeting for a while, but today I got to plead my case to the UWV for referral (at their cost) to Werkmans, a agency that specializes in finding fitting jobs for highre IQ autistic people. After a mere 10 minutes (I guess my enthusiasm did it?) he said they would approve it, but they would need a proposal from Werkmans in 2 weeks starting now, and that they would only fund it for 6 months max (new government rules just in effect)
and all of it has to be started before my physical exam somewhere end of October/mid November. Tomorrow I have another meeting with my psychiatrist (whom I will tell I want no more medication) and after that I will email and phone Werkmans to get the ball rolling. The rest of the week is cleared and I will do more cleaning and selling of stuff and resting my knee cause right now it really, really hurts.

The Guild D-Day Speedbuild: C-47 with a twist - finished? and other ramblings

With little time to spare, I completely burned out and posted the following 4 pictures for the competition.

I posted it on a few forums too to finish my running topics, but I have not had the nerve yet to read the replies. On the one hand I just have bitten off too much then I can chew, but to be fair, with better focus that might have not been the case.

But to spill the beans a bit, last week I was diagnosed with Depression, and seeing this is my third time in 7 years I kinda know how it goes, and it ain't pretty. I truly don't care about anything right now, hopbby, wife, kids, myself, nothing. I spend 2/3's of the day in bed. When I do have bursts of energy it pisses off my wife and confuses the heck out of the kids, so I just go to my hobby room and paint there for 3-4 hours straight while watching Youtube tutorial (and Fallout 4) videos. Since this is my third time, and my docter is super worried I've been labelled Priority and have my intake tomorrow. There is a bit of discussion whether to admit me for a short period so I'm away from everything or have me over 1-2 days a week for therapy and meetings. To be honest I don't care what they choose for me, I just want to get rid of this black hole that is inside me and swallows everything, from energy to feelings. I mean, I don't even care about painting right now, and I love painting. I've been on a downhill slope ever since losing my job and it is spiralling out of control ever since the news that my knee damage is permanent, and I just don't see the light at the tunnel anymore.

It sucks, but that is the way it is. Having said that, I've managed to snap out of it 2 times before. I have every intention to do the same thing again this time. But I want to ask them to treat it differently this time. Dark moods are a part of me ever since I was a kid (but I never was a Goth or anything) but I never discussed that with my family cause I knew very well what they thought about people that don't fit in their little world. I did find out pretty quickly that being by myself and/or with others and doing hobby related stuff meant it got pushed back. For quite some time I didn't have issued with it anymore and I kind of forgot about it. I have the hobby (gaming, painting) to thank for that.

So what changed? I'm not sure. When I got older I started to run into more and more people who don't accept my hobby as being something a adult should do. That it is a waste of money. I stayed friends with people who either like or have the same hobby, and tried to get rid of the ones who disapproved of it. Problem is, the disapprovers in my inner circle are my next of kin. My dad in particular has expressed more then once that he would come over, dump everything in a trash container and that would solve the problem once and for all. They see my hobby as a problem, as a disease, a money pit. I've long since given up the fight to change their views. I hardly ever show off painted stuff on my own FB page and keep it mostly to closed FB groups, a few forums and my Blog.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, I've never been the best in expressing myself verbally. I can talk long stories but sometimes it is hard to tell where they start and where they end. It's hard to explain the problem when I myself can't understand my own problem most of the time. Does this mean I have no more love for the hobby right now. No, it does not. That I don't care about it right now does not mean I do not love it. It is just that 99% of it gets blocked and only 1% actually manages to get out.

Like what I painted in between painting burst of the C-47. A local friend of mine commented that he would like and try to revive the cancelled 2012 Afrika game and see if we might get 3-5 players and have a small campaign with them. Even in my blocked off state, this triggered something as I had spent a lot of time on the background of my faction, the mercenaries called Zwartwater, and gathered quite a bit of kit for them. Also, this happend just at the moment I was watching a documentary on Netflix called "Only the Dead"

During the chat I saw this on my screen:

A press SUV in Iraq, 2003

.....and I wanted to paint that. What I normally do these days, is that I see something I think of interesting to buy, paint and have, I just copy-paste the picture, print it, and stick it on my whiteboard.

This months "Things I wanna have" list

But I did not want to paint another SUV, as I already have a Press SUV/Armoured Car (see ZNN
I gave it away to Bryan of the Hobby Den, then painted another one which I still have not finished (just needs varnish) for my own collection). I did however see, while cleaning in the attic.....

The attic. Welcome to hell/heaven and my Nemesis!

...a built, based and washed Lada Riva from SandS

And then magic happend, as I got through my numbess and painted my little heart out. I even cut apart white bar decals to represent the tape used to mark the vehicle with TV. I kept the clourscheme the same. And this is what I got:

Just so passing gunships know what you are.

Plenty banged up

Oops, missed that bit of gloss paint next to the window, will remidy that

As much as I love them, SandS casts are rough and usually have plenty of air bubbles to clean up. Since I paint up most of my stuf as bangers, not always a problem, but sometimes it is just bloody annoying. But for the price he charges I really can't complain. He asks 6.50 Pounds for these and I get my Guild discount on top of that, and then some when I order up a bit more. Thinking about ordering up 4 or 5 more to paint up as Iraqi/Afghani taxi's. Also thinmking about planting a money tree. Hah!

And while I was at it, I even made rules for it in Battlegroup (Moderns).

Press chit. This replaces a 1. When pulled, play on enemy unit and put a Press vehicle/3 man team on the table.
1-2 Unit too busy to fight cause they are recording messages for Mom and Dad. - no action next turn
3-4 Unit goes all out and puts up a show for the Press - Free action next turn
5 Unit is portrayed badly in the eyes of the Free World and loses D6 BR
6 Press is unwelcome. Place chit on enemy unit instead

Optional: If you have a translator team you may add or subtract 1 from your roll.

Right, tomorrow after the meeting I will come back home, clear my hobby desk, give it a good cleaning and the decide what to do next. Taking a week or so off doesn't sound so bad right now.

Ronson, part 1

I've gotten into the habit, that if I want to do a project I like, I build scenery for it first. If the interest dies, at least you have a nice piece of scenery.

I've been looking for opposition for my 20mm Germans for some time now and I can't make my mind up about British or Americans (and completely ignoring the Guards army worth of T-34's I have for the moment) and as the Sherman works for all 3 of them....

Started by examening this photograph.

Damage, open hatches, ok. I had a ancient Esci M4 Caliope in my stash that has all open hatches so I used that. The Caliope part can be reused on a PSC M4 hull later on. I didn't like how it looked with just 2 holes and open hatches so I added a broken track from the single track whatever the material is, and bonded it to the hull using epoxy. As it turned out, even that wasn't strong enough in 2 places. Fortunately, I only needed to pin it in one place, next to the loop, so did that. Will cover it with dirt or something else later.

 Already removed the barrel lock as it was missing in the original photograph (as it took the hit) and started to fill up the holes for the tools and the wooden cast on tools (cause they would be burned off). Decided to omit the .50 cal too. Also now adding applique armour to the sides and turret with thin plasticcard. Hope to have her basecated and decalled by tomorrow, and painted by the end of the week. I might even find the other Esci M4 I have laying around and give it the same treatment.

Poldercon CY6! scenario - Old Crow - planning stage

The scenario I have selected for the Poldercon CY6! mission is "Old Crow". This is from the original rulebook. It desribes a mission by the 363rd Fighter squadron flying P-51B's, escorting B-17G's on a bombing run to Leipzig, being attacked by Bf-109's and Fw-190's. Things like spotting, visibility, sun side etc will not be used for the demo game, this is purely for flying and shooting.

What I need for this game is the following:

Germans:
2x Bf 109G-6
2xFw 190-A8

Americans:
4x P-51B
6x B-17G

After checking my extensive collection I find that the Germans are not the problem, they are easily covered. The Ameican side however is a problem. I only own 4 B-17G's, and 1 of those has the underside and top turrets filed down (what was I thinking??) so that is useless. I'll need to order 2 packs of those (ISA 280b at 2.80 Pounds per 2). Strangely, I also do not own any Mustang B's ( I could have sworn I had a few) so those will need to be ordered as well (ISA 283a at 2.00 Pounds per 6) but 1 pack of those will suffice.

After checking tons of planes I noticed that quite a few of them already had magnets drilled and glued in place, but worryingly half a dozen or so had shattered magnets, where the outer layer had peeled off and the magnet itself seems to have disintegrated? A few aircraft had small nailheads in the underside, which might be a safer bet as replacing a shatterd magnet from inside a painted aircraft is a nightmare, where the magnets from the flightstands are easily replaced. The nailhead would also help with hooking on the smoke trail for an engine fire. I'll go have a look for a box of small nails at the DIY tomorrow, can't be too expensive at the Hornbach in Tilburg where I have to be tomorrow to get started on clearing out the garage.

Painting wise I will start with the 2 German sets, see if I'm not missing any suitable decals and if so, order those along with the American planes when and if I have the money. I will paint them the same way as I'm used to, in pairs with the same scheme, but different numbering and/or prop colour. Old Crow and friends are easy, tons of info on that scheme for any particular date to be found, including D-Day schemes (always nice).

Which ia great scheme for the first flight, and to diversify I'd like to use another Fighter aquadron (486th) and go with this scheme:

Easy to see which group is which.

For the 109G-6's I think I will go with this, easy scheme for later war as well even if this one is missing the nose bulges.

Fw190's...Pips machine is pretty iconic. Also grey camouflage suitable for later war.