Finished: 15mm M10C, Sherman I's and Churchill Croc

Hi Folks,

Over the last couple of weeks I have been spending my paint and chat time (as it seems most nights I am painting I am also on a hangout...) working on finishing off my Anti-tank M10C battery along with my last Churchill Crocodile - and a couple of Sherman I's.

I managed to more or less finish these guys all off, bar a couple little fixes, over the weekend.

Things still to do include a little bit of soot here and there, a base for the Croc's fuel trailer and the magnetic sheeting for under the bases.

So, first up, my Self-Propelled 17 Pounder 'Achilles' M10C's. These guys are representing the 6th Canadian Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. Specifically vehicles of "B" Troop, 33 Battery, who advanced during the night attack along with 7 Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders during their attack towards Crasmesnil. The troop took no casualties during the night advance, although one of the vehicle commanders apparently shot up some German infantry with a Sten! During the 8th August the Regiment lost 1 Officer Killed, 1 Wounded, 6 'Other Ranks' killed, 12 wounded and 3 Missing.

This regiment was a Corps asset of 2nd Canadian Corps, 1st Canadian Army in Normandy.  This was one of three possible M10 units I could have added - the others being those of the 1st Polish Armoured and 4th Canadian Armoured Divisions. However as they were in action during phase 2 of the Totalise operation, I went with the unit present during the night attack. For those interested, the Canadian Government has made digital copies of a huge number of their countries war diaries free online.

The diary relating to the operation I am covering for this unit is located here. I have to say that it just shows how such records should be treated and makes the UK Governments efforts seem rather miserly and money grubbing.

Interestingly, prior to finding this dairy I had no idea that this unit was involved in the Highland Division part of the attack. Neither, it seems, were many modern authors. The main reference book I have for Totalise (written by a Canadian) makes no mention of these vehicles being present in the assault columns. Another interesting fact from the war diary was the line:-

"7 Aug 1944 - Attack to go in tonight at 2330 hrs. The C.O. moved Tac HQ to CCRA's report centre at MR063678 for period of "push". Welding of turret tops on M10s as protection against mortars and shrapnel completed today." (Emphasis mine!)

I don't have turret tops on these chaps, but I can see it being an option in the future. If anyone has any they are not using (they can be found in the American 4 vehicle box set) I would be interested in hearing from you. Failing that, I may buy some more to build as 3" armed M10's and do some weapon swaps on these guys. Time will tell! Also corrected after these pics were taken were the crew members beret's. For Artillery units these should be Khaki rather than black, and so have been re-painted!!!

I've also discovered that my source giving these units M10C's at this point was incorrect, and that it looks like the unit did not receive these vehicles until late August - so it looks like the 3" armed  armoured roof versions might be on the cards!

I also finished two more Sherman I's for my Squadron of 144RAC, tanks '83' and '84' of #3 Troop. my 14th and 15th Sherman (that I currently own, anyway!).

And finally the last (number 6!) of my Churchill Crocodiles. I still have the trailer to base and I forgot to update some of the decals, but I may just weather them a bit more heavily and forget about that! This Churchill has some of the great stowage from the Battlefront Churchill pack (as do many of these vehicles) but I love the use of the Churchill track links instead of the Sherman ones I had used previously.

And that, more or less, is that!

Post Gunuary!

Hi folks,

So with my artillery wrapped up for now, I have moved on to something that does not involve painting infantry figures! So I moved back to tanks (and technically, self-propelled guns).

First up some work in progress shots of the M10C's. They have been block painted and washed - awaiting highlights, foliage, varnish, decals, basing, etc, etc, etc.

Then we have a Churchill Crocodile - number 6 and the final addition.

And then two Sherman I's.

Still a bit to do on these vehicles, but nice progress aided by the Paint and Chat's I've been attending and hosting. Again, a lot of work still to do - but I'm getting there. Also working on two of the trucks I had which will go towards (surprise surprise) artillery unit transport.

That's all for now! Hopefully not too long before I get finished pics up. The M10C's and Churchill will finish off two units, with the Shermans being 50% of another.

WiP - 15mm M10C Foliage

Hi folks,

I've been experimenting with foliage on my M10C, and could do with a little input as to whether it adds anything to the model/looks natural, or if I should just give up on the idea. Opinions welcome as while I think it looks good, I think I might be a little biased!

So far, I have only added some to the camo netting on the turret.

I'm thinking I will touch up the 'branches' with a darker brown shade, as they are just the colour of the sea-foam sprigs at the moment. I am looking for genuine negative or positive feedback on this, as it is a big change from what I have done in the past (deliberately so, I wanted these to stand out as not being 'just another' British unit, with them being Canadian).

Leave a comment and let me know!

State of the Collection - 1st Video Blog!

Hi folks, a quick mid week blog post for me based on something I worked on at the weekend. Egged on by Paul to try out video blogging, and with the new felt table cover to try out, I decided to lay out my painted collection and do a bit of an overview of everything!

The video is a bit long and I could have prepped more (and remembered where the mike was throughout) but you get to listen to me say 'hey ho' several times in my Scottish brogue, so it's not all bad!

For those of you not keen on shaky camera work...

Let me know what you think of my first video blog! Constructive criticism welcome!

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The ongoing AoS* conundrums...

*AoS means Arm of Service, which was the small coloured or multi coloured box containing a  number found on British and Commonwealth military vehicles during WW2 - they denoted, in combination with the Divisional badge, the unit the vehicle belonged to.  

I've been away from home this weekend, as A's uncle died last week and the funeral was today. Just a small family event (slightly marred by the person doing the ceremony getting the time wrong and being an hour late... Oops).

Anyway, time away means time spent researching (without being mean, there's not a great deal else to do). With various models being prepped for construction, I thought I should try to research what decals I might need.

Firstly, I was trying to work out what (if any) unit with M10C 'Achilles'  supported the Highland Division during Totalise. I suspect that the answer will be in one of my books back home - but I had hoped Google might provide an answer. It has not. At the moment it looks like I may be painting them up as 5th Canadian Anti Tank Regiment vehicles. Which I think (???) may have a red and blue square with a white 2 on it and a white bar along the top - to represent Corps level troops.

The second unit I've been lightly researching was the AGRA supporting the attack - as the eventual plan is to get some 5.5" guns. Again, I'm not sure of the exact unit and I'm sure the answer will be in 'No Holding Back'.

Also on the research list has been S&S models, who are producing conversion kits for Plastic Soldier Company. This includes ARV kits to make Sherman ARV mk1's (I've done my own) and the German ARV's. But also AVsRE, including Churchill SBG bridge layers and Churchill Fascine layers.

While trying to find what markings to use, I came across this:

It appears to be a period document showing the full components of the 51st Highland Division with their associated AoS markings. A great find with one small mistake. The Arm of Service markings for 154 Brigade are a little mixed up. Every other source I can find confirms my Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were number 69 on a brown background, not 68 as indicated above.

Another thing I need to check is at what point 61st Regiment Anti Tank (the HD's integral AT regiment) got their SP guns and whether they used Achilles or went straight to Archers. I found some great articles on the use of Anti Tank weapons in the Commonwealth forces and the change in policy and growth in preference for SP guns instead of towed 17-pdrs throughout the NWE campaign. The Nachtjager book indicates that the 17-pdr units were disbanded, when actually they were converted to SP units.

So lots of googling, lots of annoyance at websites that have the same generic text, and more idea as to the lack of certain info online. I'll be sure to post my findings here - in case anyone else can point out a mistake or find the info useful.

Now to look into home made decals, because sure as dammit no one will make what I want in 15mm!!!

Edit - Update

In a prime example of why books are better for research...

In the 144RAC/7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlander's column, there were no M10C's. The HD took their own Battalion Anti-Tank platoon with it's 6-pdrs with them.  The nearest M10C's would therefore be from 56 Anti Tank Battery of the 6th Canadian Anti Tank regiment - part of II Canadian Corps allocation of troops (Corps level support). Oddly, the British columns took no towed or SP 17-pdrs with them while the Canadians did.

The Highland Division had, during the initial bombardment, support from 144 25-pdr's (it's own and 4th Canadian Armoured Divisions) as well as 48 Medium guns from 9 AGRA and 36 from 4 AGRA. And the artillery from the flanking divisions...