Konflict '47 Axis Stahltruppen

 With the latest issue of Wargames Illustrated there was a sprue of the latest plastics for the revised version of Konflict '47 - Warlord Games' Weird War Two game based on Bolt Action.

There were two sets of sprues, US jump Infantry or Axis Stahltruppen, I searched out the latter.

Here are the sprues.

There are parts to build three Stahltruppen (powered suits).

There are three right arms with twin-linked assault rifles (there is a loose twin linked assault rifle as well). 

There are three MG42 right arms and what I am guessing is a squeeze bore light cannon for anti-suit work.

There are also Panzerfausts for full anti-tank use.

There are an assortment of heads and ammunition, plus what looks like a grenade launcher and some scary looking knives.

Weird War 2 Mech Comparison

 Someone asked about the comparative size of various Weird War 2 mech, so here is a Galahad powered suit, a Guardian, M100 and an M5A6 Jackal.

"Carta Armatura" Carro Armato P43 bis tank - part two

Having glued the turret base to the turret, the gun to the mantlet and the commander's hatch, I undercoated the parts with Citadel Chaos Black.

I then dry assembled the running gear and the hull. Using masking tape, I masked the running gear and sprayed the hull and turret with Citadel Zandri Dust.

Once that had dried, I masked the turret and hull with strips of masking tape. This was then sprayed with Humbrol Dark Green (30) spray.

The strips of masking tape did mean there were some rather large patches of Citadel Zandri Dust on the turret roof and the engine deck.

The masking tape was removed and the paint allowed to dry.

The running gear was masked again, and the turret was installed on the hull. Masking tape in thin strips was then applied, ensuring it covered both the yellow and green areas.

This was then sprayed with Army Painter Leather Brown.

I have still to determine what to do with the running gear.

"Carta Armatura" Carro Armato P43 bis tank

In September 1943 Fiat and Ansaldo began development of a new "Heavy" tank design which could be comparable or better protected than the German Panther.

The result was the P 43 bis (an "improvement" on the existing but unproduced P43). The tank design featured heavily sloped armour (80-100mm), a 450 HP engine (possibly derived from the engine in the T34) and various main gun options ranging from the 90/42, the longer 90/53 and the larger calibre 105/23 guns. These designs never passed the wooden mock-up stage.

Last year Rubicon Models in cooperation with Heer46 brought out a model based on the plans.

Like the Krupp Steyr Waffenträger I bought last year, this is resin kit. The hatch for the turret is safely in the zip lock bag (and not shown).

The casting is smooth and required no work (I washed it with some scouring cream just in case).

Like the Waffenträger the parts go together easily. This has not been glued together (I will undercoat it before assembly).

The flat piece is the bottom of the vehicle.

The tank does not seem to have either a coaxial or hull machine gun. I might add an AA machine gun to the cupola.

For Weird War and Post 45 games, the plan is to assume that Fiat Ansaldo managed to actually build them in quantity and supplied them to German forces.

Sarissa Small Terraced House

At SELWG, I bought one of Sarissa Precision's Small Terraced Houses (and ordered a Medium Retail outlet and a Survivor Shack).

Here is the kit of parts.

Two sheets of laser cut MDF.

One sheet of card and the instructions.

Once I had assembled the MDF and added the card door surrounds, I masked the windows and the roof.

I then sprayed it with Rustoleum Rust effect spray to give it some texture..

The masking was removed and it was given an overall spray of Halfords Grey Primer.

The inside of the windows and the roof was again masked and the outside sprayed with Army Painter Skeleton Bone.

The windows and doors were sprayed with Army Painter Army Green while still attached to their sheet. Once removed, the edges were painted with Army Painter Army Green by brush.

The brickwork at the bottom of the walls was painted with Humbrol 237 Desert Tan and then the bricks were painted individually with a combination of Vallejo colours with a wet palette.

The top of the chimney was painted Army Painter Stone Golem. The roof was Vallejo Burnt Cadmium Red.

A wash of Citadel Agrax Earhshade toned the walls down. The windows and doors were then glued in place with PVA.

Westwind SOTR Paras Starter set - first squad

This is the first completed squads of Westwind's Weird War 2 British Paratroopers.

All five are armed with Assault Brens and are wearing body armour.

 One of the problems with airborne assaults is a lack of heavier firepower. These Paras are being backed up by an M5A6 Jackal.

I have not quite finished with the Jackal yet.

Shermhill Firefly

From a discussion on Lead Adventures, I present the Shermhill Firefly.

Warlord Churchill hull with a Warlord M4A4 Sherman VC turret (from my Hercules project).

You can see the turret ring will not fit between the hull sides.

Rubicon Waffenträger - base coated

So I decided to try the Rubicon Waffenträger is a subdued splinter pattern, masked using masking tape.

Westwind Stug Mech part two

So, as I mentioned the Westwind Stugmech had the feet attached to a base. I cut them off with a razor saw. I drilled through the hole in the foot to take the locating pin.

To attach the hip joint, I drilled through the ball joint out through the outer part of the leg. As you can see I have pushed a brass rod through to demonstrate. I then removed the rod and placed the hip joint against the pelvis sockets. I then drilled through from the outside. This was then used to pin the hip joint. The foot was then placed in position on the ankle ball joint and again drilled through from the underside, pinned and glued,

Once one leg was in place, the other leg was pinned at the hip and the foot attached to match.

The Stugmech with William Killian for scale.

A  Warlord Games Galahad armoured infantry suit.

A Westwind SOTR British Steel armoured infantryman.

A Westwind SOTR M100 Comanche walker

A Warlord Games SDKFZ 234/2 Puma armoured car.

 A Warlord Grizzly for scale.