WW2 - German Panzer I

 I finished the first of the tanks I have for the Afrika Korps this week.. 

Pz.Kpfw. I.

I've probably had this model for a decade. Originally I'd started painting it grey for use in France, 1940... but as the focus seems to be the desert at the moment, I figured I'd add it to the Afrika Korps collection... and if ever I get to playing games in 1940 France... I'll just buy another one... or three... 

I'm not super happy with the numbers and might redo them... or maybe just paint over them and not bother... 

Other German vehicles are on the workbench. I have a late Panzer IV (that I've likewise had for many years) that I'm trying to finish up and the Sdkfz 222 Armoured Car that I picked up last month and the first of the Panzer III that arrived last week (which I'm not feeling like I SHOULD have assembled them all at the same time in a production line...). 

I also have the last two Italian tanks on the workbench that I'm trying to get together and paint up... they're a bit more fiddley... 

Plus a bunch of re-basing/touching up/finishing off projects thanks to having taken stock of the Soviets yesterday... 

Panzers Arrive!

I went on a bit of a spree a few weeks back, ordering stuff from a few different places. The three Italeri Panzer IIIs I ordered arrived today...

Panzer III from Italeri

The plan was to use them for North Africa, but it would be for the latter part of the North African campaign as these can be built as the Ausf. J/L/M/N variants - which weren't available until later in 1942...? 

While I'm doing pretty okay with the foot figures this year - 179 acquired (purchased on traded for) versus 194 painted - I am getting a bit behind on the vehicles... When all the stuff I've ordered arrives, I'll have purchased 19(!) tanks, and I have thus far only painted 7! 

As tempted as I am to crack these open and get to work, I should probably finish up the Italian tanks!

WW2 - Italian Tanks

 After finishing up the Autoblinda AB-42 yesterday, I just carried on with the rest of the Italian armour and finished off the rest of the tanks that I have... so far... 

Italian Tanks! 

This one is a Carro Armato M13/40 - a medium tank that started seeing service in 1940 and was meant to replace the Carro Armato M11/39.. which looked pretty similar, but had the main gun in the hull and the machine-guns in the turret!? 

This model, like the two L3/33 are from Army Group North Miniatures. I picked them up... oh... probably a decade ago... I assembled, based and primed them. Apparently I based this one thinking I'd be picking up a pack of tank crew/commanders at some point...? 

I'd like to get some more of these at some point - or even some M11/39s (as I'm sure there were still some serving in North Africa at the time of the initial Italian invasion of Egypt in 1940. 

This is a pair of Carro Veloce 33 (CV 33) or L3/33 - wee little italian tankettes. They are incredibly small. I swear I've seen children driving around four wheeled ATVs in farm yards that were bigger than these!? I also read that 70% of the italian armour that served in North Africa were dinky little tankettes like these. 

I'm sure they are going to be absolutely useless in Bolt Action (unless fighting against a purely infantry force with no anti-tank ability... but I'd still love to get a few more of these - maybe three to fill out a full platoon of five. 

There was also a version that mounted an Anti-Tank Rifle in place of the machine-guns... I could probably do with a couple of those... 

There was also a version with a flame-thrower... I'm less excited about those.. 

All the Italian stuff so far!!

All of the Italians so far... but in nice neat rows so it's a bit clearer what I've got going on here... 

I've got an understrength infantry platoon with a platoon commander and three squads of 6-7 troops. There is also parts of a weapons platoon (and a weapons platoon commander?!) including a machine-gun and a mortar. Then there is the "Armoured Platoon" with a mix of armour, including the Autoblinda AB-42, Carro Armato M13/40, and the two Carro Veloce L3/33...

(oh, and the X Arditi Secion in the back... which probably won't often be fielded with the rest of these...) 

I have a few more infantry to finish up, which I would LOVE to spend all day tomorrow... but I have a book club in the evening (and I have not yet finished the book!!) So... might have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to finish them all off!!

There is a part of me that not only wants entire platoons of the tankettes and either M13/40 - or M11/39! But also build a small force of British with a few platoons of all the weird little early war tanks that they had for those first actions in 1940/41 (Italian invasion to Operation Compass) like the Cruiser Mk. I (A9), Cruiser, Mk II (A10), Cruiser Mk III (A13), Matilda, Mk. VI light tank, etc... to oppose it and play out some of those early actions.

But maybe let's see if I get around to playing ANY games with THESE before I go buying MORE STUFF!!!

Type 97 Chi-Ha Medium Tank (and the Imperial Japanese Army, so far...)

I think the Japanese force I have is the ONLY World War Two force that I didn't have any armour for... and... Honestly, I probably didn't NEED any... The Japanese did not have PILES of armour - I think there were a total of four armoured divisions and a handful of independent brigades, but MOST of those were employed in mainland China...? For my purposes I didn't feel I needed any since my initial plan was just to use them in jungle battles in Burma against my Chindits... 

Since starting up again with World War Two gaming again and making use of the Japanese against my friend Orions American forces, I got it in my head I should pick up a tank to support them from time to time... (since Orions force of Americans has an M10 tank destroyer!?). So I picked up a Type 97 Chi-Ha tank from Warlord Games (for the M10 to blow up!)

Type 97 Chi-Ha Medium Tank

This is only the second 28mm plastic tank kit I've built. I've built other plastic tank kits in 1/35 or 1/72... but for the most part, all of my other WW2 vehicles have been mostly resin and metal kits. This had a LOT of little fiddley bits that really wanted to stick to my fingers and not the model! 

In the end I persevered and got it all together...  

The Japanese force, so far... 

well... the stuff that can be worked into a Bolt Action army... or at least a first and second edition Bolt Action army... I have no idea what has changed with the new edition, but there are totally new army books coming out for all factions, so I'm guessing SOMETHING had changed in terms of army building?!

(and then I realized there are two men what should be with the Platoon Commander that are missing from the photo!? GAH!?)  

I also have these odd extras... Three more light mortars (one with a loader), 2 light machine-gun teams, FIVE officers (Seriously, how did I end up with SO MANY?!), and one spare anti-tank suicide bomber? (or maybe he's just an engineer bringing up some mines... Honestly, I'd like to replace the mines with some carrying case for light mortar bombs, so he - and the other one - could be no.2 for a pair of the light Mortars!?) 

I also have a few still to paint. Though, the only Japanese models I still have to paint for this collection are a group of a dozen cyclists and two snipers! 

I'm not sure I NEED anything else for this... I guess I could add an anti-tank gun of some sort... or maybe an infantry gun... Possibly an anti-tank rifle team (to replace the suicide bomber)? Additional/different options for tanks and other support vehicles....?  

I know there's a NEW EDITION of Bolt Action out, and with it the army lists and point values have likely all changed... but for the previous editions (the ones that I HAVE) this could be... 1075 to 1460 points in first or second edition (depending on troop quality), which is LOTS! I think the basic army was built around 1000 points. 

(Once I finish up the bicycle squad and snipers that would make the force between 1195 and 1626 point - if all was fielded (the lower number being regulars and inexperienced, the higher number if they were all veterans!) 

Great War - British Tanks

Repainted some tanks that have been sitting in a box for over a decade. I had this idea of doing A little campaign of seven to ten battles based on the Last 100 Days of the Great War using Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames. I've had the rules for ages and wanted to try them out. I've had the tanks even longer... I

 figured I'd paint them up as the first battle of the campaign would be Amiens and tanks featured fairly prominently in that battle, if I recall... the 4th Tank Brigade - with its 140+ MkV tanks were in support of the Canadian Corps. 

I have no idea if these are MkV tanks... I can't be bothered to figure out the differences... It's a British tank in the Great War, they all look pretty much alike... 

Two British tanks of the Great War - I don't know the Mk (I do know they are "male" and "female" varieties - a breeding pair!). I don't know the manufacturer of the models. 

Tanks supported by infantry (for scale). 

Yes, if you look close there are parts that are broken or missing. I COULD have tried manufacturing some... but that seemed like too much work for something that's probably going to see action in one game and then go back in a drawer never to be used again... and when I have SO MANY OTHER THINGS I'd also like to be painting that MIGHT get used... potentially could be used... 

Never say "never", I guess, though. If ever I DO think I'll get to using these on a slightly more regular basis... I'll fix them up a bit better! For now, they are DONE! 

Tallarn Leman Russ Battle Tank

I haven't managed to finish up the Shadespire minis. Screwy head and lack of focus made working on them a little difficult. Tanks are easy, though, so I finished up this Leman Russ tank that's been haunting the edges of may painting desk for far too long.



I bought it off eBay ages ago already assembled. So the  tracks are a bit messed up at the back and there are a few other things that don't quite match up... In fact when I got it the turret was glued down the the hull. I managed to pry it off and found that the older version of the Leman Russ had a separate ring that was glued to the base of turret - which has the tabs that fit into the slots on the hull the allow the turret to remain attached, but till rotate freely - it was glued on upside down so the tabs were inside the turret!? I actually managed to carve this off and flip it so now I have an operating turret.



Unfortunately the sponson guns were in there a little tight and, while they could move, it would just scrape any paint that was applied to the sides of the gun when they were rotated in and out of the sponson... so I ended up having to glue them in place...



I'd wanted to come up with some unit marking - and probably still will at some point when I get to the others. I was really torn as to how to number things or what other stuff to paint on there. I'd thought of using French WW2 tank identifiers (coloured card suites) but then decided against it...

I think it could have done with a bit more kit hanging off of it..



I though of using Arabic - as the Tallarn seem to culturally similar to Terran Arabs. This tanks name is supposed to be "Sala" or "prayer". I was thinking I might pick up a fifth tank and calling this the "Pillar Platoon" and naming each after the 5 pillars of Islam (Faith, Charity, Prayer, Fasting and Pilgrimage). I figured as new societies overtake others they often co-opt elements of the existing societies religion when converting them to their own. In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium, a planet that had been settled by Muslims at one point, when brought back into the Imperial fold after the Age of Darkness, might simply replace Allah with the Emperor...?

I got a little concerned I might end up on a C.S.I.S. watch list with all the Arabic words I was looking up... "Death", "Kill", "Jihad", etc...

I also looked up words I could use for names on my Scout Sentinets ("Swift", "Watchful", "Vigilant", etc...).

Of course "Tallarn" isn't a real English word so I couldn't translate it. I tried looking for faux Arabic scripts and tried Writing Tallarn with that... I'm not so happy with it. I may have to repaint that.. Maybe just try to spell it phonetically with Arabic script?

I do have three other Leman Rus tanks to assemble and paint, two will be battle tanks and the third will be a Punisher variant - with the Punisher gatling cannon (with the new grinding advance rule, it will spit out forty (40!) dice per turn at Strength 5! It will be named Zakat (almsgiving/Charity). If I add a fifth, it will probably just be another battle tank... maybe a Vanquisher...?


In other news...



Cabinets and lights went into the kitchen this week!

 

Starting to look a bit more like a kitchen every day...



The countertop people came on Thursday to make their templates. Unfortunately it won't be until the 18th that they will be installed... but hopefully the tile guy will be able to come on the 18th/20th, and the plumbers are books for the 21st/22nd and then it will all be done just in time for the holidaze!!