1st Armourfast M10 Tank Destroyer

This is my first of two M10 Tank Destroyers for my WW2 late war Americans, made by Armourfast. With its open turret, formidable 76mm gun and distinctive sloped hull sides, it is one of my favourite military vehicles in terms of appearance. Sadly the exposed crew compartment and substitution of speed for armour, in line with American tank destroyer doctrine, rendered the M10 a flawed design.

I followed a YouTube painting tutorial intended for a larger scale 1/56 model but found it really useful.

The link can be found below:

https://youtu.be/KUu-TX7EYOw

The main colours used were GW Deathworld Forest Green for the main body, GW Dawnstone for the tracks, and GW Steel Legion Drab for the mud weathering. The body and tracks were further weathered with GW Nuln Oil and GW Agrax Earthshade Inks respectively.

I used some spare furniture and accessories to create the impression of a busy fighting vehicle loaded with supplies. The two crew members in the turret come from Italeri US infantry set 6120, chopped a little on the bases to fit inside.

I have loads of WW2 armoured fighting vehicles in my collection in need of repainting and customising. By chipping away at one or two tanks at a time, I'm not overwhelmed, and really enjoy the individual revamps.

My next WW2 tank rolling off the hobby table will be my second King Tiger, from Pegasus Hobbies.

Christmas 2017 - presents

I've not had much time to update the blog over the festive season but whilst up in the Midlands I have received some lovely presents from Santa, in the form of 1/72 infantry and a surprise present of Darth Vader's TIE fighter! Happy days!

The Zvezda Prussian Grenadiers will finish off my as yet unassembled 1740s armies. Some will be painted up in dual French /Austrian uniforms and the remainder will be in blue coats to represent all manner of armies - Prussian grenadiers foremost but able to depict Hessians for an American War of Independence battle, or for my grander Fontenoy 1745 project, infantry of the United Provinces.

The other Zvezda box is some medieval French infantry - a great assortment of crossbowmen, men at arms and command figures. These will form part of my medieval project, which will consist of armies that can serve as both Agincourt forces or historically inaccurate War of the Roses armies. I already have most of the other sets from Zvezda for this task, including some peasant levies. I want to be able to play with multiple rules - so far One Hour Wargames and Lion Rampant will be on the cards.

The Italeri US infantry from the 90s are a little side project for me to have a break from all the musket armed models I am going to be painting in 2018, and is a sort of safeguard against a total burnout feeling. These figures will be forming part of a Team Yankee-esque coalition force facing off against Soviet units that are already in my collection. I just need to find some M113 APCs to accompany them.

The fourth box was a complete surprise from my girlfriend's parents - in 1/121 scale it will more or less match my Revell X-wing which I made in 2016. The kit itself looks like great fun to assemble and paint, and provides yet another diversion from my main projects... I wish I had more gumption with modelling!

Anyhow back to the seasonal festivities, Happy Christmas to you all!

M3A1 Halftrack with 75mm gun

This is my first of two M3A1 Halftrack models from Italeri. These are stopgap fire support Halftracks armed with the versatile 75MM, employed before the Sherman tank became widely available in the desert theatre. In my desert forces I want to be able to use them as either British or American, so I have omitted decals. Using the One Hour Wargames rules I have the option of using it as an anti tank gun. I tried battle damage on the sides of the vehicle with my clippers and with a fair bit of weathering, I thought it looks ok. The crew are one Revell Australian Bren gunner sans gun, and a Revell 8th Army NCO figure with a Thompson SMG; I figured the crew would carry some smaller weapons for close encounters with enemy infantry.

DAK Project - DAK Infantry, Fallschirmjager and support weapons

Here is my rough plan for my Afrika Korps army (tanks, antitank guns and heavy artillery not included). The models are Revell Afrika Korps and Italeri German Paratroopers (Tropical Uniform). Looking at using Bolt Action rules in the future I have created support weapon squads to bolster my standard infantry formations. I have a small command section of 3 men at the top of the photo, and can field 3 infantry squads of Afrika Korps infantry, 3 squads of paratroopers (Fallschirmjager), with a Paratrooper Mortar team and Sniper team. I will also base up an Afrika Korps flamethrower team, a team of machine guns (the infantry lying prone in the main photo) and another Mortar team. That makes 11 units and an optional command section to take on the Desert Rats. Sehr gut!