From DallasE: Dug-In Panther (20 points)

Visitors to my house will likely recognize this model - it's been sitting on the sideboard primed for two years? Three years? Since the Earth began to cool? Who knows. But it's painted now. (In fact it had some grey drybrushing on the pavers but I re-primed over that a couple days ago). It's the "Dug-In Panther" model from Warlord Games' Bolt Action range. Can't remember where I got it (someone gave it to me as I know I'd never have bought it) but it's kinda neat all the same.

It's a resin casting, base and turret separate. The idea here of course is that the Germans have dug in a Panther tank basically as a bunker. Presumably the tank was nearly out of fuel with no chance of resupply, or suffered some nearly terminal mechanical problem, so the defenders dug a shallow ditch in the middle of the street, drove it in, and piled the paving stones back up around it.

I painted it in three-colour camo - base is GW Tallarn Sand, the green is Castellan Green/Death World Forest, brown is Vallejo Dark Brown/Steel Legion Drab. Then the model was washed with Agrax Earthshade, the dunkelgelb highlighted Tallarn again, and some sponge chips applied with AK German Camo Black-Brown.

 

The engine was done Mechanicus Standard Grey with Nuln Oil. Paving stones AK Dark Rubber/MSG/Dawnstone/Celestra Grey, and dirt started Rhinox Hide up through Dark Brown to Steel Legion Drab.

Honestly I can't see a great deal of use for the model on our gaming table as most of our WW2 games are set in countryside. But if we have a Berlin '45 game (ever) this will look pretty cool, as the Volkssturm gathered around it demonstrate.

Points: 28mm vehicle x1 = 20 points

Cheers,

Dallas

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What a cool ersatz bunker, Dallas. You'd done a great job both with the late war camo and with defining the bricks and freshly turned dirt. As you say, it will make a great objective for a Spring '45 game in Germany. Sort of a reverse 'Fury', eh? :) I pity the first Sherman/T34 to turn the corner on that street. Very nicely done, Dal.

- Curt 

 

From DougM - I think I have a case of the Vapours* in the Vogsphere (220 Points)

One last push this week...  again, all 3d printed, this time in 28mm, and for your delectation we have some of Imperial Japan's finest efforts. With suitable efficiency, and a Civil Service of many ranks, (in which admission and promotion could be won by beating your superior at Go), I present your Manchurian Candidates, a Type 89 and a Vickers Crossley armoured car.  I do love the Type 89 shot trap of a flat front, and the Heath Robinson nature of the armoured car. Suitable for early campaigns in China. 

Where would an army be without a fleet of bureaucrats ensuring strict compliance with camouflage schemes and making sure there were no unauthorised modifications? No sandbags or welded on track links for Japanese Armour. And of course, you need transport for the inspections. So the Kurogane Type A (looking remarkably like Noddy's car), and the later Type B, which is a US 'Pickup' or an Australian 'Ute'.

I have been playing Chain of Command games set in Malaya in 1941, and these are noticeable for the use the Japanese made of their light armour versus Commonwealth forces with virtually no anti-tank capability. I had already purchased 2 Type 95 Ha-Go tanks, but I thought I might try and print my own. Of course, in case of fails, better print a few, so with these 4, I now have 6 Ha-Go for a game system where more than two would be an extreme rarity. 

Finally, I mustn't neglect my Normandy Panzer Divisions. 12th SS Panzer were equipping with Panzerjager IV in June 1944, though none saw the first actions in the week after D-Day. Just in case, though, and an extra SdKfz 250 is always useful.. 

Not sure if the barrel isn't a little over-scale, but otherwise, nice little prints. Something else totally unsuitable for Bocage country, but well capable of bullying Shermans in more open terrain.

* those of a certain age will recall those one-hit wonders, the Vapours and 'I think I'm Turning Japanese' - recalling all the lyrics 40+ years later just goes to show how much spare capacity there is in the human brain.

10 x 28mm vehicles @20 plus 20 for the Vogsphere = 220 by my maths. And the Japanese armour is another Squirrel point for a total of 11 so far.

1/200 WW2 Japanese Aircraft

1/200 WW2 US Aircraft

1/200 WW2 British Aircraft

1/200 WW2 German Aircraft

1/144 WW1 British Aircraft (not quite enough for WW1 German Aircraft (doh!))

28mm German Armour

28mm Japanese Armour

28mm 12th SS Panzer infantry

28mm Indian Mutiny Sepoys

28mm Dr Who

28mm Austrian Napoleonic

From the Vogsphere, it's into the Great Abyssal and the inner ring...  how many can I zoom around in the next 4 days I wonder?

That's a great set of Japanese vehicles, Doug! No need to worry about having six Type 95 tanks - it just means that you'll have to expand your infantry forces so that you can play "Big CoC".

Tamsin (covering for Greg who has a household emergency to deal with)

ps Yes, I do remember The Vapours. For those who don't, but are intrigued by the reference:

From Mike W - 20mm WW2 British Armour (90 Points)

The whole unit of six tanks

Here are a group of six late 1944 British Sherman Tanks, from the North European Front, the aim was to represent battle hardened unit that consists of a number of older vehicles that have been through the campaign, plus a couple of newer replacements to help maintain the strength of the unit.

Left and Centre, two older Shermans and right a newer replacement

Centre & Right two newer tanks plus a more veteran one on the left

More close-ups of the tanks

Two veteran tanks centre and right, replacement left

So these tanks are old diecast toy tanks obtained back in the early 2000s for a project to build a British Armoured force that was around in the lead-up to the Rhine crossings. The project never went anywhere because the majority of the club's WW2 gamers were (and still are) fixated on early war Brits / French v Germans OR mid war German invasion of Russia.

Side view of a couple of the tanks

and another two

These models first given a series of modelling 'upgrades' to add stowage, tarpaulins, tracks and chains before they were given a couple of coats of US Olive Drab from Vallejo before mixing same with some white paint to lighten and applying a dry brush over the upper surfaces.

Tracks were painted with Gunmetal, as were machine guns and a light dry brushing of same around edges of the vehicles to represent wear and tear on the paint work.

and last two

Running gear and tracks were then washed in brown and black inks to give appearance of dirt, oil and general grime. Mud was also applied to the tracks and running gear in the form of a dry brush with khaki paint and other browns.

Markings were added using transfers - red boxes with a white 51. To be honest I'm not sure if these would be historically correct!

Example view of the detailing on the tank decks

I have based these models, using my usual techniques, as they have annoying 'runner wheels' underneath then to allow kids to push them on the floor, the bases are primarily to hide these.

A final scale comparison between the toy diecast tanks and the RAM Kangaroo seen in an earlier post

POINTS

6 x 20mm Tanks @ 15 Points ea = 90 Points

These look great Mike, I like the repurposing of the diecast vehicles.  I hope you did push them around the table making appropriate noises before fixing them in place on their bases.  I also like you veteran/fresh meat approach to unit composition.  To my untrained eye the die casts fit in very nicely with the Kangaroo and figures, but I expect the scale zealots to chime in to tell me I'm wrong on that account.