15mm Tigers and StuG's Finished!

Hi folks,

A quick follow up on the post from earlier this week. Dom's Decals came through for me much faster than expected so I was able to get the stuff finished today. These are Battlefront models (15mm) with the Tigers being metal and resin and the StuGs being plastic (2 of the older style models and one of the newer).

Tigers:

StuGs:

Almost Finished! German 15mm Battlefront StuGs

Hi folks,

So this is an 'almost finished' post as other than hull numbers, which I am waiting on from Doms Decals, these assault guns are done!

These are plastic kits from Battlefront and are 15mm scale. Two are older 'open fire' plastic models while the one with the commander is a much nicer newer plastic kit from the same manufacturer. 

This particular unit is representing (roughly) Sturmgeschutzabteilung 1344. 

This unit was the Panzerjager component of  344.Infanterie-Division, but was ordered to proceed to Normandy independently in late July 1944. One source I have states "Stu.Gesch.Abt.1344 reportedly crossed the Seine during the night of 2./3.August. it was reportedly marching from the area south of Elbeuf and arrived with the 89.Inf.Div. on 7.August."

Two vehicles of this unit were knocked out by the Highland Division/33 Armoured Brigade in Tilly-la-Campagne on 8/7/44 and a intelligence report dated 12/8/44 mentions the wrecks and identifying markings. The village was cleared on the morning of 8/8/44 so the wrecks seems to have been there for a few days when the report was published. During the battle for the village '3 German SP's were knocked out, 25 Germans killed, and 85 prisoners taken'.

This evidence then does put the the unit in the correct area at the correct time. There are also references within various unit diaries to German SP guns operating during the night attack phase of Operation Totalise. In addition to this, in the days immediately prior to Totalise being launched 10 German PoW's were taken by the Canadians in the vicinity of Tilly-la-Campagne belonging to this unit. The report is a little confusing, stating that the PoW being interviewed was captured on the 5th, but that his unit arrived on the 6th... It does state that the PoW had provided information that his unit was supporting the 89. Infanterie Division. So good enough for me!

3 x Stug III G's finished:

Need to sort the end of the gun barrel out on these guys! Base is slightly chipped already as well!

Also need a light dry-brush on the decal - but I'll wait till the others are on first.

From Wiki:

StuG III Ausf. G (Sd.Kfz. 142/1; December 1942– April 1945, ~8423 produced, 142 built on Panzer III Ausf. M chassis, 173 converted from Panzer III): The final and by far the most common of the StuG series. Upper superstructure was widened: welded boxes on either sides were abandoned. This new superstructure design increased its height to 2160 mm. The back wall of the fighting compartment got straightened, and the ventilation fan on top of the superstructure was relocated to the back of the fighting compartment. From March 1943, the driver's periscope was abandoned. In February 1943, Alkett was joined by MIAG as a second manufacturer. From May 1943, side hull spaced armour plates (Schürzen) were fitted to G models for added armour protection, particularly against Russian anti-tank rifles, but were also useful against hollow-charge ammunition. Side plates were retro-fitted to some Ausf. F/8 models, as they were to be fitted to all front line StuGs and other tanks by June 1943 in preparation for the battle of Kursk. Mountings for the Schürzen proved inadequately strong, as many were lost in the field. From March 1944, an improved mounting was introduced; as a result, side skirts are seen more often with late model Ausf G. From May 1943, 80 mm thick plates were used for frontal armour instead of two plates of 50 mm + 30 mm. However, a backlog of StuGs with completed 50 mm armour existed. For those, a 30 mm additional armour plate still had to be welded or bolted on, until October 1943. 

Along with these three I've also got the two Tigers 'mostly' finished. Just some weathering to do on the hulls, and turret numbers for the turrets. 

Turret is still glossed - waiting on the decals. 

That's all for now - onto assembling a detailing a whole load of very poorly put together Shermans now!  

WiP - German Armour

Hi Folks,

I had meant to post an update at the weekend, but time got away from me. Last week and into this week I've been working on my two Tigers and three StuGs which will finish off my German Heer list (for now, and with still the minefields and bunkers to sort out...)

So the Tigers came from Lee, and were in pretty good shape:

But I've discovered I am totally unable to just use models someone else has painted (sorry Lee!) and needed to do my own thing with them. Without touching the basecoat or camo, I ended up with this:

Mainly through a couple of drybrushes, new track colours, edge highlighting, etc. These pictures were taken mid week last week, and as of now the tanks are awaiting the decals to make them 101. Heavy Tank Battalion vehicles. Still bearing the gloss coat, so a little shiny:

I removed one of the turret hatches on one of the tanks and replaced with a closed hatch I had spare from somewhere - my standard setup is for only the command unit to have a figure out the hatch. Still weathering to do once the decals are on (red turret numbers, the unit markings and tactical markings) and the base is still in progress.

I've also been working on my StuGs, which are from a different unit so bear a different camo pattern (something I am going to try and replicate with my various German vehicles - the Tigers should all be painted similarly, etc).

Just the edge highlights done on these guys so far, still a lot of other highlights to do. Not looking too bad at the moment tho (this method of painting looks better at distance!!!).

So that's it - hopefully the StuGs will be ready this week - I'm not so bothered about decals for these guys as I can find scant info about the unit. Plus with it being a rare Panzerjager unit of a standard Heer high numbered infantry Division.... no one will make decals anyway!

Die Deutschen sind angekommen!

Hi folks,

Today I received a package from Lee over at 'A Figure Painting Therapy Project'. Lee had been downsizing his Flames of War collection and re-focusing on Bolt Action. His blog is well worth checking out and following, if you haven't already.

The package contained a range of German models which are going to form the basis of my OPFOR German collection. I was expecting to get a couple of Tigers and a platoon of Grenadiers, but the package contained a few unexpected surprises! This gets me off to a great start and should spur me on to get the basics of my possible German collection.

Some pics of what I received:

A couple of Tigers - I'm not planning on doing anything to these guys paint wise at the moment. I'm more than happy with the paint job Lee has done. Depending on how my own attempts at painting German Armour camo go will depend on whether I revisit these in the future.

A Grenadier Platoon from Peter Pig. Again, nice paint job on these. If I touch these it might be to base to the same style as my Brits - on the other hand, it might be good to have them look a bit different.

Company HQ with Mortar sections - this is a fantastic little group for me, as I was trying to sort out where to get only two mortars from. Just the A/T section to add to these guys.

MG42 platoon - another great addition.

These two are, I think, a Panzer IV L/40 and a Brumbar.

3 Panzer III's - I think these have a mix of weapons. I'm going to have to do some digging to find out if I can use them in any way - but they are free, so I'm not complaining!

Also in the package was a pack of Peter Pig infantry spares:

This includes some more surrendering Germans, a spare MG42 and some officers and halftrack figures.

All in all a great bunch of models that gets me off to a great start. Thanks very much to Lee for his generosity - both in providing all the models and paying for the postage. I'm extremely grateful!

I also have 3 plastic StuG's from an old Open Fire set which I will get built and painted. As I knew I was starting Germans, I did an audit of my paints compared to the various painting guides I have for Late War Germans. This resulted in me buying 16 Vallejo paints today before opening the package from Lee - the fact the models he has sent are painted are another massive bonus!

If I've made mistakes in my descriptions, above, please feel free to correct me!

And again, thanks to Lee - who by his generosity has provided a shining example of the spirit of the wargaming community!