WW2 Tanks

In a slight change to the painting schedule, I re-painted a number of Soviet tanks for a game of What a Tanker, planned for Thursday at the club. These were previously done in a winter camo, but I was never truly happy with it. So back to green. I just need to add some decals when I get some to finish them off. These are all plastic Zvezda kits.

T34/76s

T34/85

IS2

KV1

I've also got 2 BT7s and a T60 that have been re-painted. They just need to have their basing done and will be available for Thursday night.

What have I been painting?

I've been spending some time trying to clear the loose ends on various projects in between painting the Quar. With my current Quar all painted up I thought I better post these before my memory fades. First up was the last 4 gladiators that I had. There was a Murmillo, 3d printed by Mitch, 2 Secutors and a Thraex from Crusader miniatures.

This brings me up to 18 Gladiators, 4 lions and a bear. I think I have most of the more common types covered. Probably just 1 or 2 more to complete the collection. Next up was a few bits and pieces for my Afrika Corps to represent the 609th Flak battalion for the Tebega gap scenario. There is a Sdkfz 10/1 SP 20mm and a Sdkfz 7/1 SP Quad 20mm AA. There is also an additional Quad 20mm AA gun.

The last things I painted up were 3 Scots Covenanter regiments for Simon. I do have a fourth nearing completion. Then I can paint up the lancers and dragoons and get them all posted off.

I'll be so pleased when the last of the ECW figures are done. I can hopefully make a start on my Republican Romans.

ECW and Early war armour

A bit of a mixed post as I work my way through Simon's ECW figures and interspersing some of my own stuff in for my sanity. Pretty certain there should be a law restricting how many ECW figures you are allowed to paint. So first up is the 5th regiment for Simon. This time in light green coats. They join the rest in the box to be posted off.

And now for my sanity, a few early war armour form my Brits and Germans. For the Brits, there is a Matilda II from Zvezda, this is a re-paint as was never really happy with the original colour scheme. For the Germans, A Marder II and 3 Panzer II's, all 3d prints from Mitch.

So just need some decals and the vehicles will be finished. Also my first batch of Romans arrived from Museum miniatures. Hopefully I'll get some time at the weekend to start prepping them.

Rapid fire Reloaded - first game

So last night my DAK forces got their first game in. A 200 point force with a 50 point support option against Mitch's New Zealanders commanded by Sean. Mitch concentrating on the rules and umpiring the game. Pretty certain we got a few things wrong with the rules, but they seem quite quick to pick up and easy enough to play. For future games a stat sheet for the vehicles in use for quick reference would speed  up the game while learning the rules. As you play them more, less need for a reference sheet.

I didn't produce a AAR so just some photos of the game. In essence it was a meeting encounter in the desert. My Panzers attacked down the left, knocking out a couple of Shermans before eventually being caught in a crossfire and forced to retire. On the right my infantry and artillery got into a slugging match with their New Zealander counterparts, by games end it looked about honours even.

DAK artillery advancing

Panzers sweeping across the desert

New Zealanders appear

First casualty of the day

1st company moving up to support the gun line

Let's get them two Shermans

Bren carriers. These were a pain all game

Bail out!!!

1st Sherman taken out

The second one up in smoke as well

1st Panzer IV taken out from a Grant hiding in the dunes

2nd Panzer IV knocked out by artillery

3rd Company deploy to support the Stug

Lots of New Zealander infantry advancing

So, we go again next week. Mitch is organising a smaller scenario as we continue to learn the rules. Must admit, I enjoyed the game and looking forward to the next one.

Last minute DAK additions

So with 1 day to go to their first game  I needed to add a little extra firepower to the army. First up is the Pak40 75mm AT gun, just in case Dave fields plenty of armour. The model and crew are all from Peter Pig.

Next up was a pair of 105mm howitzer. Lovely models from Forged in battle.

The last addition was a pair of 81mm mortars, these are from Peter Pig.

I've now got the last of the AT guns and crew on the painting table. I just need my order of MDF bases to arrive for them. Dave also kindly dropped of the last of the 3d printed vehicles for me. 7 sdkfz 10s to tow the AT guns. 1 though will be used for my early war Germans.

Once these are done I can get back to the last remaining units for the Marston Moor game.

More DAK

With my first game on Thursday night getting closer, a few more figures crossed the finish line. First up is a battalion commander with a 50mm mortar team and 3 spare bases of riflemen. These are all from forged in battle.

The second batch is some sdkfz 10s to tow my AT guns. These 4 are from forged in battle. Just need to get the drivers painted up.

Now I have a race on to get a few more pieces done for Thursday. Doubt I'll get them all done but I've a Pak40, 2 x 105mm howitzer, 6 Pak38s and 2 x 81mm mortar teams on the painting table.

A few more DAK vehicles

I've made some more progress on these. I am aiming at the 400 point force from the Tebaga gap handbook which should give a decent size force with plenty of options. So first up is a Sdkfz253 OP halftrack, an additional kubelwagon and a Opel Maultier command truck. These are all 3d prints provided by Mitch.

Next up is a couple of Sdkfz 11 prime movers to tow some 105mm howitzers, when I get around to getting them painted up, These are also 3d prints from Mitch.

The last two are a couple of Panzer IIs, again 3d prints from Mitch. I love these small early war tanks, useful for recce but not a real match against other tanks.

So another 7 vehicles were added to the pool. I've got four sdfkz10s on the painting table. There is also a number of AT guns to do but I need to order some bases first as I've run out.

DAK Vehicles

After my Normandy trip, I finally managed to pick up a paint brush again and get a few more vehicles done for the DAK. These are a mix of tanks and transports. First up is 3 more Opel blitz trucks. These are from Forged in battle. They are just a fraction smaller than the others I have and come with a moulded on base. I still added them to my MDF bases which hides the size difference.

Next up is another 3 Panzer IIIs. The workhorse tank of the early DAK forces. These are all Zvezda kits. Nice and quick to put together.

Lastly was a pair of tanks I picked up off EBAY. They were labelled as Panzer IIIs, but 1 is a Panzer IV. They are both Battlefront miniatures. They are slightly bulkier that the Zvezda kits. However the Panzer III has the short barrelled 75mm which I needed for the army and Zvezda does not produce one.

So I now have built up quite a collection of vehicles for my DAK forces. I will need to concentrate on adding more artillery, AT guns and tractors to round the army out.

So 31 vehicles done. I've got a couple of Panzer IIs's and 4 Sdkfz 10s to get done in readiness for their first game.