Crac des Chevaliers

Hetzers...

2012-01-20T13:51:00.000+02:00

"...gonna hetz", as the saying goes. Models by Battlefront, lovely crisp castings except for the track parts which are fairly worn and need replacing in my opinion. I copied the camo scheme straight out of Hammer & Sickle as I quite like it: the camo blotches are probably a little too large, but anything much smaller is beyond my skill at present with the airbrush. Came out OK nonetheless I think, except for the tracks and exhausts which are too bright at present.

CdlT

5.5" Gun Battery

2012-01-14T14:43:00.002+02:00

5.5" Guns, strictly-speaking half a battery of 2 Gun Sections. These were painted to match previous work done, Carriers and 6-pounders and Churchill IIIs.

I hate painting Matadors...

CdlT

Panzerwerfer 42 Battery

2011-11-15T19:32:00.000+02:00

The 15cm Panzerwerfer 42 auf Selbstfahrlafette Sd Kfz 4/1...really just a long-winded Germanic way of saying 15cm Armoured Rocket Launcher.

Pretty clean right now (yeah, what's new...), I might do some weathering, etc. later but for now they're good enough to game with.

CdlT

Sikh Company HQ

2011-11-01T12:38:00.000+02:00

Company HQ with two Blacker Bombards, something of a predecessor to the PIAT.

Although the bombards in Indian service never made it to Italy (probably never made it to Tunisia in fact, perhaps only the Western Desert) I obviously did them with the same basing scheme to match other units. A bit pointless otherwise.

CdlT

StuG G Platoon

2011-10-25T12:28:00.001+02:00

StuG G Platoon from the box set by Battlefront. Lovely models, one of my favourite armoured vehicles from the Second World War. They've been done for a while now, though I'm just getting to posting pictures of the completed thing now.

There is limited chipping, etc but it really doesn't show very well: I probaly shouldn't have bothered apart from the deeper scratches/penetrations on the side-skirts. Mostly, I'm still to afraid to screw thing ups completely, and unlike brush painting fixing major mistakes is a pain and very visible.

For paints, I used Vallejo Model Air Middlestone as a base, then a lighter version with some VMA Sand mixed in for highlights. Green camo is VMC Reflective Green, brown is VMC Flat Earth (= VMA Tank Brown), both used with Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner to thin. The spare track links show up very red in the pictures but aren't quite so bad in real life; still, I should make them stand out less. Lines and details picked-out with MiG Dark Wash, though I now prefer to mix my own with MiG oils.

Germans Crosses by Dom's decals: way better than Battlefront's ones: these at least are centered properly. I skipped any other marking as they're meant to be rather generic in use.

Considering that these represent vehicles No. 5-9 that I have airbrushed....ever...they didn't turn out too badly IMHO and I learn't quite a bit.

CdlT

Sikh Vickers MMG Platoon

2011-10-21T12:32:00.000+02:00

Sikh Vickers MG gunners, two whole platoons worth. I did something a little different with the basing, more of an arid Italy theme, but not too dry, with scattered rocks and grass, etc. I didn't want to do a Cassino theme, more South Italy during the 1943-44 advance by the 8th Indian Division, or something like that.

Two MMG Platoons plus a couple of extra command teams.

Company HQ with Blacker Bombards up soon.

CdlT

October FOW Tournament

2011-10-16T12:52:00.000+02:00

Another local tournament, fewer players than last time with several being "busy/working/chicken/the usual excuses" etc., which sadly left us with only 6 players on the day. Since we were there though, might as well get some games in.

My list:

British 7th Armoured Sabre Squadron (Reluctant Veteran)
Source: Turning Tide Intelligence Briefing

Armoured HQ – 2 Cromwell IV, add 2 Cromwell IV CS & ARV (270)
Armoured Troop – 3 Cromwell IV, 1 Sherman 'Firefly' VC (325)
Armoured Troop – 3 Cromwell IV, 1 Sherman 'Firefly' VC (325)

Recce Troop – 3 Stuart V (135)
Lorried Rifle Platoon – 3 Sections (140)
Anti-tank Platoon (SP), RA – 4 M10C (275)

1470 Pts (5 Platoons)

...basically building out the one I used before at the June 5 Competition: I added the SP Anti-tank Platoon as I expected more heavy armour, though they are quite fragile. Another Cromwell & Firefly Troop would probably have been better, but I haven't painted it yet.

I haven't added pictures below but they are in an album HERE (my games have hoards of Cromwells swanning about, shouldn't be too hard to spot). This report is almost two weeks late, but I've had other things to do so better late than never.

Game 1: No Retreat vs. JC Lehr Armoured Panzergrenadiers

Played on Table 1, modeled loosely on Battlefront's "Battle of the La Fiere Causway" with a few additions. Me attacking, I massed all but the 2ic and two HQ CS tanks on the left, the latter on the right to keep the infantry platoon in place. With 5 Platoons JC deployed a full-strength Lehr platoon on-table to my right, 3 Panthers in ambush (Lehr Panzergrenadier, 3.7cm AA and Nebelwerfers in Reserve). Oddly, no Kampfgruppe.

The Recce Troop made full use of their reconaissance deployment move, going 16" forward, then another 16" to basically be on the objective and preventing an ambush on the immediate hedgerow. Rifle Platoon doubled forward, Cromwells and the rest followed normally.

Not able to deploy on the hedgerow immediately behind the objective, JC deployed the Panthers behind it and drove up to it, firing at the Recce Troop but missing. The Panthers then "Stormtroopered" back from the hedgerow. In my bound (turn 2) the first Cromwell Troop pushed foward to make contact with the hedgerow the Panthers had recently pulled-back from, firing DF smoke at the beasts, while the Recce Troop held fire (Cautious Movement) and hugged the same hedgerow.

The next few turns saw reservs arrive for JC (Lehr Platoon, Nebelwerfers, 3.7cm AA) and the Panthers missing everything while Cromwells swarmed around the flank. A Firefly shot penetrated one but I failed FP, only to see it never remount and the rest of the Panther platoon get blown away the next turn. The infantry on JC's right stayed pinned for eternity, babysat by the 2ic and HQ CS tanks. Nebelwerfers and the 2nd infantry platoon soon followed the Panthers and I held the objective uncontested. 6-1 to me.

Game 2: Breakout vs Rudy Grenadiers (Rudy's Table)

With one mobile platoon, Rudy deployed 2 Grenadiers, Black Pioneer, 3 PaK 40s, Mortars and 2 Tiger Is (Re-roll Misses!) in his quadrant. With 5 Platoons, I deployed a Crowell troop in each with the HQ and 2 CS tanks in the lower right-hand corner. The objective were in the centre (obviously) with a village for cover and numerous BF cover stone walls/barricades: perfect infantry defensive country almost taylor-made for this mission.

Rudy did the usualy move for the objective, the Tigers decided they wanted to tangle with 7 Troop and its Firefly, KO'd one tank and the 2iC before the Firefly put an end to them. Sad face. PaK 40s KO'd a tank from 8 Troop, but lost a Pak in return.

Turn 3 and lack of reserve was remedied as the Recce Troop, M10s and Infantry came on. Two M10s died the following turn to a fluke mortar bombardment (I rolld two 1s, he rolled two 6s for firepower) and the other two to long-range PaK 40 shots. 8 Troop had their revenge as they gunned-down the PaK 40 (turned too far, no gun shields and in the open), the rest of the army poured fire into the Pionerers who, after the usual "run out with flame-throwers" move found they could't get an assault in and did nothing but bail a few tanks. They soon broke under the wieght of fire from CS tanks, 7 Troop and the CinC, taking the German CO with them. My infantry were pinned by mmortars, never unpinned. 8 Troop meanwhile killed-off Grenadiers, the Mortars and the PaK 40 Command team, and with 5 Platoons out of six destroyed and no CO, the British held the field. 5-2 to me.

Game 3: Cauldron VS. Ian's Grenadiers (Hill 112-inspired table)

Defending, Ian deployed Grenadiers and 4 x StuGs on-table, Pioneers in ambush: Grenadiers, Mortars, mixed Panzer IV and Panzer III platoon off-table, and something else (scouts?). I started with 2 Cromwell Troops and the HQ, the rest in reserve.

Pioneer Immediate Ambush was really a re-deployment. Game saw me taking 3 turn to kill 3 StuGs (too many failed FP). Ian's Panzer Platoon came on and killed 7 Troop's Firefly, my return fire (6 shots needing 4+, 12 needing 5+ with re-rolls) saw ONE hit scored, which was saved. Damn. 7 Troop died the following turn to stationary Panzer IIIs and IVs.

Turn 4 and things are looking a bit iffy, still no reserves. 8 Troop manages to kill a Panzer IV, fends off an assault by Pioneers and then destroys them with the help of the HQ Troop. The Panzers are eventually mostly dealt with, though one and the last StuG survive. Turn 6 my first reserve platoon arrives while Ian has all of his: typical. An assault by the HQ troop pushes Grenadiers off an objective. Turn 7 and as I hold it, Ian tries to do some damage before assaulting with Grenadiers but his dice go cold (about time!), all shots miss and the Grenadiers decide staying put in an orchard is preferable to assaulting tanks. 5-2 to me.

Game 4: Breakthrough vs Charles (my brother) and his US Paras

I sent the M10s on the flank march/reserve, rest on-table. Took on his 57mm ATGs, little bugger passed 3 gun saves for 75mm hits though an MG hit at least got one. Return fire was largely ineffective thankfully. TOT by the Glider 105s killed a Cromwell and bailed 2 others and a Stuart. Tank fire followed by an infantry assault clerared the ATGs, after which we pushed on to the objective, MG'ing anything that moved. AOP and 105 fire proved annoying, but actually did very little after that first bombardment.

My Rifle platoon meanwhle had a decent assault into a Para Platoon in an orchard near the objective, putting them below half (they passed) before pulling back. 105 fire then put my infantry below half and killed a Stuart, though the infantry passed their 5+ morale...twice (Cheap Fearless!). M10s came on bound 5 or 6, were assaulted by Para Enginners, lost an M10, counter-attacked and killed a few, then lost another bailed and I decided continuing was unfavourable, so pulled out. The Airborned Engineers then breakthrough assauted onto 8 Troop (w/attached CS tanks) and killed 2 CS tanks, I pulled the rest back and in my bound assaulted and killed of the Enginners w/Para CO. 4 out of 6 dead US platoons with no CO and nothing near the objective to contest = 6-1 to me.

Game 5: Free-for-All v. Nick's French Expeditionary Corps

Terrible mission for fighting Cromwells with Infantry. Basically game saw me deploy heavinly on my right, use Recce troop and Recon move to get as far foward as possible, then push forward with Croms and Stuarts to MG anything in sight. By turn 3 is was all over, though Nick's P-47 manages a pair of tank kills, M10s another befor disengaging (away from the objective...) and Croms, HQ and Stuarts overwhelmed an infantry platoon and 57mm ATGs on the objective. 6-1 to me.

So, 28 Pts from 5 games...OK-ish, though I felt bad for running over everyone. Even the promised Tigers and Panthers did little as their users are still too inexperienced using them. Without wanting sounding like a braggart, playing a game where you win easily becomes tedious after a while and this is the situation I face at the moment: I like challenging games, win or lose. My enthusiasm for painting and the like has improved, but not so much for gaming at the moment. I can't really thing of any way to help except perhaps use less formidable armies and just keep on with the teaching? Any thoughts on the matter (i.e. teaching new-ish players) is of course appreciated.

Hopefully in 6-12 months the standard of play locally will improve, and hopefully the more experienced players will put more effort into attending events...you know who you are.

Back to painting now. Will post again soon.

Honest.

CdlT

Staff Sergeant Lafayette Pool

2011-07-27T12:57:00.001+02:00

The Flames of War US Tank warrior from Cobra or Turning Tide, Staff Sergeant Lafayette Pool. Unlike all too many FOW "Warriors", Pool actually existed and had a distinguished career.

Lafayette Pool in a 1949 picture

Pool served in 'I' Company, 32nd Armored Regiment, US 3rd Armored Division, serving from 1941 to 1944. As part of the 'Spearhead' he saw combat in France, Belgium and German, leading 21 full-scale attacks during some 81 days of combat service. He and his crew were credited with destroying some 258 enemy vehicles, including 12 tanks, as well as accounting for over 1,000 enemy personnel and capturing more than 250 prisoners. During his career he was twice-recommended for the US Congressional Medal of Honor, though never awarded. He was however awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart, as well as the Belgian and French Légion d'honneur.

Pool served in three different Sherman tanks, the first being a 75mm-armed M4A1 Sherman, the second and third being up-gunned M4A1 (76)W, as depicted here. All his tanks were named 'In The Mood', the first and third vehicles were KO'd by enemy action, the second by USAAF P-38s mistaking US tanks for German. Serving in the third M4A1 76mm near Stolberg, Germany, on September 19, 1944, 'In The Mood' (No. 3) was hit by German fire and Pool was severely wounded, later losing a leg. A good summary of Pool's tanks can be fond HERE.

In 1948, now with a prosthesis, Pool rejoined the US Army to train the next-generation of US tankers, serving in the Korean War and until 1960 when he retired at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2. Pool died on June 1, 1991 at the age of 71 and is buried at the military cemetery of Fort Sam Houstan in Texas

(Taken mostly from the 3rd Armored Division Site, Pool index HERE, and a few other sources. Sources may differ as to numbers, though I've gone with those from the 3rd AD site.)

Battlefront's Lafayette Pool Model

Battlefront sells Pool in an M4A1 76mm version, and in game terms this usually makes the most sense. I've done this model to match with the previous 76mm Shermans I've done, but added the name 'In The Mood' to the sides of the hull. It's much larger than the real name was and done free-hand (with many touch-ups!) as I didn't have any suitable decals, but it looks alright I think. Front star decal and serial numbers are from BF, turret stars with broken circular surround by Dom's Decals

The real thing...

...and my attempts.

The rest of the tank I kept fairly uncluttered as I much prefer clean lines, so no extra track-links, etc., and limited stowage.

To me, Lafayette Pool exemplifies the spirit of the US Armored Division during WWII. Reading the exploits of individuals such as Pool and others who go largely unnamed, one can only be inspired by what they achieved. Battling against hardened opposition they succeeded in spite of the German's superior armoured vehicles: their stories should be required reading for all "panzer fanboi's". The accomplishments of likes of Barkmann and Whittmann sitting behind 4+ inches of armour and superbly armed might be impressive, but they simply don't compare in my mind with the likes of S/Sgt Lafayette Pool, Tpr Joe Ekins, Lt. G. K Henry, Sgt W. Harris, and so many others who fought without such luxuries

CdlT

US Combat Engineers

2011-07-22T13:08:00.000+02:00

US Combat Engineers, figures again by Battlefront.

Command team, 6 x Pioneer Rifle teams, 2 x M1917 HMG teams and 3 x Bazooka teams

I'd be interested in getting some Forged in Battle casts to see how they compare with the old BF range which is still IMO the best US WWII infantry range (don't get me started on the "new" range). Despite my liking for these figures, I still feel US infantry are a little under-represented in 15mm, which is a pity as they are an interesting subject.

CdlT

US Recon Infantry

2011-07-22T12:13:00.000+02:00

Battlefront figures, enough for an Armoured Rifle Recon Platoon or the Cavalry Recon dismounts. I'm not too happy with the pics, they are quite washed-out and the highlights on the jackets hardly show.

I detest that officer figure.

CdlT

Painting WW2 Hungarian Infantry

2011-06-13T12:22:00.001+02:00

As part of a new-ish project for me, I thought I’d detail how I intend painting my WW2 Hungarian Infantry Company. I started out with the intention of building a Motorised Infantry Company for Mid-War, though the local trend at the moment is to mostly play Late War, thus it needed to be “morphable” to both periods, something Hungarian infantry is particularly good at. All that really needs changing from MW Eastern Front to LW Stalin’s Europe or the Hungarian Infantry PDF is the support weapons, the basic infantry structure and equipment changes only slightly.

The guide below therefore shows collar tabs for the Motorised Infantry: I wish I had gone standard green for the regular infantry divisions now, but I already had a platoon completed with the blue so they stayed. Apart from the small details such as markings, I’m led to believe there is very little difference in appearance between Motorised and Regular infantry. The figure below is from Battlefront's Hungarian infantry range.

Starting over a black undercoat, I painted VGC Tan over the flesh areas, followed by a VGC Dwarf Flesh block-paint, leaving the Tan in the recesses (eyes, mouth, nose areas, between fingers, etc.). The figure’s bread-bag was painted VPA Canvas, while the rest of the figure was painted VMC USA Olive Drab

After this had dried (I usually paint a group of figures to the above level, then leave to dry overnight and work on something else) I block-painted the belt, ammo pouches, strap on the rifle and boots with VPA Leather Belt, the uniform with VMC English Uniform, the bread bag with P3 Hammerfall Khaki (any khaki will do).

Wood on the rifle was painted with VMC Flat Earth, metal areas P3 Thamar Black. The helmet was painted with a 1:1 mix of VMC USA Olive Drab and VMC Brown Violet, leaving a line where the rim splays outward and another fine line under the helmet, between the face and helmet. The flesh areas were then highlighted with VGC Elf Flesh, after which the helmet strap (annoying thing) was carefully painted VPA Leather Belt.

Now highlighting begins in earnest. The leather areas are highlighted with a 1:1 mix of VPA Leather Belt and VMC Light Brown, including the helmet strap which has a fine line painted toward the front of the strap. The helmet was highlighted with VMC Brown Violet, the uniform with VMC Green Brown and the bread bag was highlighted by mixing some white into the khaki previously used. The metal areas were painted VMC German Grey, followed by edge highlights of GW Codex Grey. Wood was highlighted with VPA New Wood.

Painting the M1935 Rifle

Battlefront’s Hungarian infantry range appears to be armed largely with the Mannlicher 35M rifle (to me, as opposed to the later re-chambered 7.92mm version, the 43M), so I painted it as such. The basic detail on the rifle is somewhat obscure: during clean-up I used a blade to cut away certain sections to better define the rifle. Don’t get too carried away with this or you’ll make the rifle too weak.

When painting weapons in 15mm I don't try to re-create them exactly, just paint a representation of the weapon emphasising the main elements while ignoring the more minor ones. This simplified approach captures the "feel" of the weapon without the need to go crazy

Now I got a little carried away.

For extra definition on certain areas, I applied edge highlights. Thus on the helmet rim I painted a fine line with a 1:1 mix of VMC Brown Violet and VMC Green Grey (886, not the other one) and a round area on the top of the helmet. The uniform was similarly given some extra highlight for definition, particularly on the edges on prominent folds, etc.., with a 2:1 mix of VMC Green Brown and VMC Buff. The bread bag also received a few extra lines for definitions, painted by adding yet more white in to the lightened-khaki used before. Lastly, the collar tabs were painted with a dark blue, followed by a medium blue as a highlight and to be more visible.

(Click for larger version)

The figures look pretty good close-up, but definitely also "pop" when on the table-top. Adding the extra highlights does take a little longer (of course) but I like the effect. I completed a single platoon some months back but haven't had time to do anymore for ages. Over the next few months I hope to expand the number of painted units until I can field an entire company and support weapons.

All for now.

CdlT

A Local Tournament Report

2011-06-07T00:13:00.000+02:00

On Sunday, June 5th I attended a Flames of War tournament hosted at the local club, Warzone in Kensington. The period was Late War, 3 games, 1250 Pt armies on a 6 x 4 table using the Missions Encounter (booo!), Fighting Withdrawal and Breakthrough. A number of new players attended which was nice to see, though on the day only 8 players showed while the two regular Soviet-players were absent....rest assured, Comrade Stalin has been informed. Pick it up slackers!

Disclaimer: The events described below cannot be independently verified, except by me. Good enough.

Knowing beforehand that I would be helping out with rules questions and the like (a lot...), I took an army designed for quick, fun games where I would either win quickly or die quickly trying. In reality the entire event was more to get some games in with different players, not to be super-competitive. Thus 'B' Sqadron, 1 RTR took to the field for its first few games. I fielded a Cromwell Squadron out of Villers-Bocage (no Turning Tide yet) and went with:

British 7th Armoured Squadron (Reluctant Veteran)
Source: Villers-Bocage Intelligence Briefing

Armoured HQ – 2 Cromwell IV, add 2 Cromwell IV CS (300)
Armoured Troop – 3 Cromwell IV, 1 Sherman 'Firefly' VC (325)
Armoured Troop – 3 Cromwell IV, 1 Sherman 'Firefly' VC (325)

Recce Troop – 3 Stuart V (135)
Lorried Rifle Platoon – 3 Sections (135)

1220 Pts (4 Platoons)

I could have added an ARV, but I still need to get one. Wouldn't have used it anyway.

The Tables

(Click on pictures to expand)

The Eastern Front table:

Somewhere in Normandy:

North West Europe:

North-Eastern backwater district of Somewheristhan:

I forgot to ask for army/force shots, ah well...

Game 1: Encounter vs. Ian's FE2 Grenadierkompanie

Ian, from memory had something like:

Grenadier HQ w/Panzerfausts (& Sniper)
2 x Grenadier Platoons w/Panzerfaust
2 Sections of 8cm Mortars
4 StuGs
2 Marders (of some sort)

My left deployment

He deployed the two Grenadier Platoons on-table, though should have at least put on the StuGs in place of one IMO. My Cromwell CO and two Troops massed on the left, 2iC w/Cromwell CS tanks sat on the right objective. Very simply, the left platoons quickly moved forward, MG'd any infantry in sight (only a couple of kills though) and then assaulted on turn 2 putting the opposing platoon under half, though they held.

The Cromwells swarm

The Grenadiers' last stand

The 2iC and the CS tanks also went forwards, MG'ing the right-most Grenadier platoon, then assaulting, killing a base but losing one Cromwell CS to a Panzerfaust before being forced to break-off.

The 2iC goes in...

...but Panzerfausts KO a CS tank.

Turn 3 and no reserves arrived, while Ian's right-most platoon was now simply shot to pieces, though they managed to contest for turn 3. Turn 4 again saw no reserves for Ian and with nothing near the objective to contest, game over, 6-1.

And then there was silence...

After the battle we had a chat about which platoons might have been better deployed (i.e. the StuGs on one objective) and the possibility of forming a Kampfgruppe to get to six platoons. From personal experience, I tend to favour deploying my most pivotal/expensive unit on-table, simply because my reserve rolls have been so awful for ages that if I don't, very often that unit does not see action at all. But then, my reserve dice are horrible. Nonetheless, Cromwells are nasty for infantry in a Mobile Battle scenario.

Game 2: Fighting Withdrawal vs. Rudy's FE2 Panzergrenadiers

Rudy had something like:

Panzergrenadier HQ w/Panzerfaust
2 x 2-squad Panzergrenadier Platoons w/Panzefaust
MG Platoon (1 or 2 sections, can't remember)
2 x PaK 40s
Infantry Scouts (of some sort)
3 x Panthers (joy...)

As a Tank Company, I would be attacking. Rudy deployed the Pak 40s in Ambush, the Panthers hull-down on the hill to his centre-left, Panzergrenadiers in the centre and his right, MG platoon on his left and Scouts somewhere at the back.

My Left deployment

My Right deployment

Panthers. At 1250 Pts. Great...

I used the cover of the hill on my left to deploy my Stuarts, Cromwell HQ and one Troop, Rifle Platoon in the centre, and other Cromwell Troop in the centre hoping to keep the Panthers honest. The Stuarts used their recce move, then another 16" to push far ahead, hopping to draw the PaK 40 ambush or prevent it's deployment. The HQ and Cromwell Troops followed. The Rifle Platoon advanced slowly in the centre trying to draw a little attention while hugging cover. The 2nd Cromwell Troop went forward but were able to stay out of LoS thanks to the buildings to their front.

The ambush...they missed!

Despite the Suarts puching forward the PaK 40 were still able to deploy, though a little back. They missed with the first two shots and two Stuarts from the Recce Troop succesfully broke-off out of LOS. Cromwells then moved up and unleashed a hail of fire, but numerous 75mm hits were saved. Return fire killed a Cromwell CS and bailed a Cromwell IV. Panthers moved to their right to KO my 2iC.

A hail of (ineffective) fire.

Return fire is more effective...

With the Panther re-deployment my 2nd Cromwell Troop motored 16" (12" for the Firefly) forward to engage the Panthers in the flank. Two hits were scored, both penetrated, and I rolled...1 and 2 for Firepower. Joy. On the other flank the Cromwells poured fire into the PaK 40s, but all hits were either saved or I failed more 3+ Firepower tests...this is becoming annoying. A single MG hit managed to get through and I rolled a luck '6' to at least kill one PaK 40. Go figure.

2 hits, 2 penetrations...2 bails.

Casualties start mounting.

The Panthers swiveled turrets to return fire on the flanking 2nd Troop, but only succeeded in KO'ing one Cromwell. The PaK 40 then KO'd my CO (forgot Warrior save though). In response I fired more rounds into the Panthers' flanks, though my shooting was poor and I again failed several firepower tests to result in 1 dead and 2 bailed Panthers. They passed motivation.

The Panzergrenadiers are forced back

On my left the last PaK 40 finally died and I assaulted into the woods, first with Stuarts (lost a tank to a Panzerfaust, then had to break-off) and then with the Cromwell Troop which succeeded in destroying the remaining Panzergrenadiers and their CinC. I consolidated onto the objective. In the German half the Panthers remounted, moved to fire on the contesting Troop but missed. In the following turn (Turn 5) I held the objective with no enemy teams contesting. Despite several burning tanks I had really only lost the CO, 2IC, the Cromwell CS tanks (HQ Platoon). 6-1 to me.

Just too far away...

Note to self: when you catch Panthers in the flank, pass your bloody Firepower tests.

Game 3: Breakthrough vs. Nick's US Rifles/Vichy French masquerading as Free French

Me attacking, though on the same table again...sucks. I put the Rifle Platoon in reserve, Cromwells massed to my left with the intention of over-running his 105mm battery, Stuarts to the centre to keep his infantry honest.

Massed armour on my Left.

Recce Troop, keeping the infantry in place.

Wait for it...

Bye bye 105s

The Cromwells duly swarmed forward, firing at the 105s though gun saves again thwarted my intentions. Return fire bailed a Cromwell CS, though it later remounted and an assault promptly finished off the pinned 105s. I also traded long-range shots with a pair of 57mm ATGs, though again gun saves mean only one died after several turns of firing.

A P-47 fly-by

Nick's aircraft (P-47s) make an appearance, but really are just a minor annoyance, claiming one tank only over the course of the battle.

The Recce Troop swans through the town, unopposed...

...only to get assaulted...

...and destroyed.

The Recce Troop meanwhile went on a joyride through the town, catching the flank of Nick's Engineers and reducing them almost to half. In the subsequent turn the engineers would have their revenge: pursuing a bit too far, I get assaulted, fail to pin with 11 dice (4 hits) and destroy half the remaining Engineer teams with defensive fire. I then get one Stuart bailed, and stupidly decided to continue with the assault (2 Engineer bases left) and lose another destroyed, the remaining tank breaking-off, then failing its Reluctant motivation test and departing the table. Thankfully, the Engineers also break after seeing the extent of their losses.

"The Great Swan"

In the following turn the Cromwells begin to arrive on the objective to support the newly-arrive Rifle Platoon. With no teams close enough to contest, the following turn sees me hold the objective unopposed (US infantry just an inch too short, should have moved to contest earlier).

End Game

I really shouldn't have lost the Recce Troop in this game. Breaking off after losing one tank would have been better, I just got a bit carried away: there were only 2 Engineer bases left, but I happened to miss with my assault rolls. Didn't really impact the game, though I lost a point because of it. Lessoned learned. 5-2 to the Desert Rats.

So 6-1, 6-1 and 5-2 put me in first place. Not that I really cared, but it was great fun using something that wasn't infantry: I've been foot-slogging for a little too long now. The Cromwell & Firefly Troops are awesome, very fast and versatile, but Reluctant can be a pain (obviously). Recce Troop Stuarts always fun. Rifle Platoon never fired a shot in anger over the three games, but given different opponents/missions they would undoubtedly have proved useful.

Picture album HERE.

From memory, the full result was:

Me/7th Armoured Squadron: 6-1, 6-1, 5-2 = 17 Pts

JC/German Panzergrenadiers: 6-1, 3-4, 6-1 = 15 Pts
Nick/Free French: 6-1, 6-1, 2-5, = 14 Pts
Colin/German Panzers: 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 = 13 Pts
Charles/US Glider Rifle: 6-1, 4-3, 1-6 = 11 Pts
Dave/7th Armoured Squadron: 1-6, 1-6, 5-2 = 7 Pts
Rudy/German Panzergrenadier: 1-6, 1-6, 2-5, = 4 Pts
Ian/German Grenadiers: 1-6, 1-6, 1-6 = 3 Pts

Thanks to Nick for organising the competition, and to all my opponents for the games. Hope everyone learned something, I certainly did.

CdlT

Blog Award Season

2011-05-02T14:14:00.001+02:00

It has been doing the rounds...

I am obliged to:

Thank and link back to the person giving the award,
Share 7 things about yourself,
Select a blog which you think deserves this award,
Contact this blogger and let them know about the award.

So for starters, thanks to Justin & Chris at the Model Dads blog for the nomination.

Seven things about me:

1. I slept late this morning. Woke to find Osama Bin Laden was dead. 'bout time.

2. I am a huge sci-fi fan: Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Farscape...

3....though I dislike both Star Wars and Star trek, so there.

4. I love the Gone with the Blastwave comic.

5. I am the slowest painter in the world. Ever.

6. The Commandos are my favourite army in Flames of War: Fearless Veteran and hitting on 2+ is too much fun.

7. Seven things is a lot to write about myself.

And now to nominate one of my favourite blogs for the Stylish Blogger Award: Krieg's Corner

An excellent site with some incredibly well-painted Soviets, good reviews and refreshingly honest commentary.

CdlT

Sources of Inspiration

2011-04-25T12:02:00.001+02:00

In the world of 15mm painting there are several painters that I consider to be of the first rank, i.e. those who push the boundaries to produce superbly painted 15mm miniatures. 15s can sometimes require a different approach when painting and this makes the work of these individuals that much more inspiring.

If you're interested in painting 15mm miniatures to a high standard, I highly recommend visiting the sites below as they have much to offer, in terms of content, inspiration and the process involved. However, what I enjoy most is the painter's individual styles which over time become instantly recognisable. Diversity in painting styles is an excellent thing, and can sometimes give you insight into ways of doing things you might never have thought of.

Below is simply a list of my favourites, not in any order or rating, merely those whose painting is inspirational and a pleasure to view. Relevant tutorials and other cool things noted:

Warpainter Brother (aka John Boultwood)
No site as such that I'm aware of, but a Photobucket album that contains many pictures of superbly painted miniatures. If you've visited the gallery section of the Flames of War forum over the past few years, you're bound to have seen his work. A great inspiration for me a few years back when I first started painting.

Ritterkrieg/Krieg's Corner
Damn Troy can paint. The smooth and subtle blending on his Soviet Infantry is simply awesome. Someone who definitely believes Soviet infantry deserve more than a simple base-colour & wash: his Soviet Infantry Tutorial is a gem, the Panzer IV F1 Tutorial likewise. A few good reviews of Forged in Battle infantry (British, Germans, Soviets and support weapons) and an insightful commentary into Battlefront's horrible Early War British and Germans, one I happen to agree with entirely.

Heresy Brush
Aka Ruben Torregrosa, whose painting you might have seen on Forged In Battle's vehicles. Some excellent tutorials: Masking vehicles with Blu-Tack, applying decals, paint chipping effects, and many other pages of interest. Definitely a site worth visiting.

Mas Alla del Muro
More superb painting from Roberto: from his excellent 15mm Hungarian Painting Guide and Hungarian StuG to the more recent Fallschirmjager Platoon.

WWII Central

Some of the best-painted vehicles in 15mm (and other scales) you're likely to see anywhere. The new-ish Plastic Soldier Company T-34s are superbly painted, though there are numerous other pages on the blog to explore in addition.

Though not painting-related, I feel I still need to mention the excellent terrain works of Big Gav at Sane Terrain.blogspot.com. Whether you are a Flames of War gamer or not, his terrain ideas and walk-throughs could apply to any period or scale and are well worth following.

CdlT

In the midst of painting block

2011-04-20T20:14:00.000+02:00

Though thankfully, I think it's beginning to lift.

Not much to post right now, just a washed-out pic of a WiP StuG Platoon (getting a bit of practice in with the airbrush). Still much to learn I fear, though it is quite fun. These still need a wash for depth and some other detailing: quite new at this airbrushing business so we'll see how I go.

CdlT

Painting British Infantry: Part 3 - Commandos and Airborne

2011-03-10T18:29:00.000+02:00

A long time in coming, and it took a long time to put it together. I've kept the commentary brief for the most part, but if you have any questions or want further explanation just ask.

Painting British Commandos

One of my favourite subjects from WW2 and my favorite army in Flames of War as well. Here I’ll be using a spare ‘Lord Lovat’ figure from the Battlefront Late War Commando blister (BR793) to illustrate a few points. This will be more for a ‘Late War’ feel: Normandy and the Orne Bridgehead, Walcheren, Wessel, etc., and is less applicable for earlier operations in the raiding era or in the Mediteranean. Commandos in earlier operations differed little in appearance from standard British Infantry, wearing standard Mk. II helmets and/or soft caps. Use of the green beret became more common from 1944 onwards, being worn widely in Normandy and beyond in North-west Europe as well as by units operating in the Mediterranean. Apart from the beret, the other main differences include the Commando Bergen, the Fairbairn-Sykes ‘Commando’ Knife visible on the right leg of many figures and the increased number of Thompson SMGs.

I’ll keep the pictures and commentary brief here since the majority of the figure is similar to standard British infantry as illustrated in Part 1: the more unusual aspect will be explained a little more.

After an undercoat of Humbrol matt Black No. 33 I painted the flesh areas Game Colour Tan, then Dwarf Flesh. The Webbing was painted VMC Brown Violet as a shadow followed by a VMC Khaki block-paint. The uniform shadow was then applied in the form of VMC USA Olive Drab, this also being used to correct any mistakes around the webbing and also as the shadow colour for any wood. The centre part of the Bergen was painted the same colour, but the two side pouches were painted in ‘normal’ webbing colours. The famous Green Beret was painted VMC Black Green.

Flesh ares were then highlighted with VGC Elf Flesh, the uniform block-painted with VMC English Uniform, metal areas and boots P3 Black, wood with VMC Flat Earth and hair where visible with VMC German Camo Medium Brown (not really visible in these pictures but it is on the figures). The central parts of the Bergen were block-painted VMC Brown Violet, followed by a highlight of VPA Canvas

Highlights were then applied across the figure: VMC Khaki Grey for the Battledress, VPA New Wood for the rifle stock, VMC German Grey for the boots and the metal areas, the latter being further highlighted with VMC London Grey. The webbing was given edge-highlights of VPA US Tankcrew Highlight, this also being applied to the central parts of the Bergen to represent the ‘trimming’ visible in historical photographs. If doing an army however you might simply want to paint the whole thing the same as the webbing.

The Green Beret was highlight with a 2:1 mix of VMC Black Green and VMC Deep Green, followed by a 1:1 highlight of the same colours (the green really did not photograph well, a better example of the process being shown below on the Airborne beret). The vast majority of photographs show the Green Beret worn without any badges, so that would be preferable. The hair, though you cannot really see it here, had a few vertical lines of a VMC GC Med Brown & VMC Buff mix (2:1) applied. Lastly, the leather strap of the beret was carefully painted black, followed by a quick highlight of VMC German Grey.

For more detailed explanations on certain details, see Part 1 of the guides.

Painting British Airborne

Airborne. As in ‘borne by air’, not bloody ‘Airbourne’ (yes…the ‘Airbourne Identity’….uh, no). Get it right.

I digress. British Airborne divisions were comprised of bother Parachute and Glider troops during the war, there being little visual difference between the two and even less in 15mm. Bother Parachute and Glider troops wore the famous Denison Smock, the Red/Maroon Beret and the rimless British Airborne helmet. The main difference between the two (in terms of appearance) will be in marking and beret badges. Here I’ve gone for a basic guide without markings, etc., as I used on my previous British Airlanding Platoon. Also, since the Denison Smock proved difficult to photograph properly on Battlefront’s very cartoony sculpts, I’ve employed a modified ‘bailed-out’ tank crew figure to illustrate the process. Webbing and other colours largely follow those used previously.

In the first picture the initial flesh work has been done as before. The Denison Smock has been coated with two thinned coats of VMC English Uniform. The standard Battledress trousers are painted as normal, while the beret was painted with VMC Black Red + a bit of black. The hair was painted VMC GC Medium Brown.

In the second picture you can see the hair more clearly, here with a few simple vertical highlights applied. The Denison Smock was block painted with VMC Green Ochre, leaving the English Uniform to provide definition around pockets, joins and a few major folds. Two slightly thinned coats of the Green Ochre are usually needed. Note that I’ve used a much lighter colour than the ‘real thing’: in my view it is pointless painting camouflage on 15mm figures if after you’re done you can see barely anything. In this scale, definition is your friend.

The real work begins. I usually start with the brown camouflage first, applying ‘swatches’ of the brown colour, here VMC German Camo Medium Brown as a shadow colour. I’ve painted jagged edges in an attempt to recreate the ‘Airborne Smock Denison Camouflage’ pattern which was initially applied by brush for its distinctive look, though the later manufacturing process maintained the same style. Even a few jagged edges will prevent the pattern from looking ‘blobby’.

After the brown shadow colour, a green shadow was applied in a similar manner, this time with VMC German Camo Dark Green.

The beret was painted for a very smooth look: after the initial VMC Black Red & black mix, a 1:1 mix of VMC Black Red and VGC Scarlett Red was applied. A final highlight of pure VGC Scarlett Red was then applied, leaving a ‘head impression’ on the top to add a bit of detail and interest (if any of this makes any sense…). Lastly, the leather strap of the beret was carefully painted black (helping to define the face and beret) followed by a VMC German Grey highlight.

Since this figure was part of an extra base to be added to the previous Airlanding platoon and I had left off badges on their berets, I left off any markings here as well. Feel to add the Royal Parachute Regiment badge or one from the various Airlanding Battalions on your figures berets.

For helmets, I paint an overall coat of SCC15 (Part 1 for recipe), wash with black, then dry-brush SSC15 again followed by a lighter variant: the bits of scrim are then picked-out in choice colours. I didn't take any pics of this, but there are a few old work-in-progress shots which might be useful.

Lastly, the camouflage was highlighted, the brown with VMC Flat Earth, the green with VMC Luftwaffe Green. A fine line is left of the shadow colour to give extra definition, but the overall effect is still very soft.

If you happen to have a whole army clad in Denison Smocks to paint rather than my single platoon, I’d suggest skipping the ‘shadow’ colours for the camouflage and simply apply VMC Flat Earth for the brown and VMC Luftwaffe Green for the green. Unless, like me, you're a sucker for punishment...

Finished Para group, ready to join their already-painted comrades (click for over-sized version).

CdlT

Hungarian 2iC WiP

2011-02-23T11:08:00.001+02:00

Something of a test piece for my Hungarian Motorised Infantry for Flames of War: as usual, the 2iC team 'volunteered'. The picture is a bit hurried and obviously still a work-in-progress as I haven't done the basing yet, etc. I'm fairly happy with the uniform, but a few other areas could use a lighter highlight.

Something more interesting to follow.

CdlT

The Rise of Plastic?

2011-02-08T21:17:00.004+02:00

If you've been following threads on various wargaming forums you'll have come across recent discussion on new 15mm or 1/100 plastic releases by the Plastic Soldier Company and Zvezda. The PSC 15mm plastic Russian mid-war infantry were released a while back, but their more recent T-34 release has caught my eye as a particularly good-looking product. Made with options for both a 76mm and 85mm turret, in pure gaming terms it is surely a winner. For instance, a 20-tank T-34 battalion bought from Battlefront comes in at 126.00 GBP (counting the less 10% you can usually find, and buying four boxes, individual blisters will cost a little more) compared to 20 from the PSC at....err, surely not....66.00 GBP. Almost half the cost, and the PSC vehicles come with two turret options, meaning you don't need duplicate models for you 76mm T-43s and your 85mm T-34s....someone has finally seen the light.

Miniature Review has reviewed both the PSC T-34 and the Russian Infantry, some good shots of the sprues can be seen here and further reviews on the WWII Central Blog.

Likewise, Zvezda announced several months back that they too would be releasing plastic tanks in 15mm, currently a Panzer II, Panzer III G, T-26, and T-34 (coincidentally, they have also released models of a Shturmovik and Ju-87 Stuka in 1/144 which might prove useful for Flames of War). These look to be very good value for money as well and might go to prove that not only the major marks/models of vehicles are viable to produce in plastic? Time will tell.

After all that I'm left wondering what impact this might have on metal producers of 15mm WWII vehicles, Battlefront in particular? Now of course there will be those who vehemently cry 'I'll never use plastic'. But I suspect, just like has happened in 28mm with releases by The Perry Brothers, Victrix, Warlord, etc., just as 28mm plastic has found its niche, so 15mm plastic eventually will as well. Developments should prove interesting and, above all, I think competition can only be a good thing.

EDIT: an interesting thread on the FOW Forum (login required): HERE (Possible hint by John-Paul that BF will expand their plastic components? BF's plastic Sherman track are awesome, others would be equally nice)

On another note my (much) younger brother has started a blog for his Flames of War projects, Behind My Hedgerow. Feel free to drop by, say hello, or tell him to hurry up and finish painting his US Paras. He'll enjoy that ;)

CdlT

Painting the US M1942 Paratrooper Uniform

2011-01-18T11:55:00.002+02:00

Just a quick tutorial, focusing more on the colours than the process. I decided to do two variations, since there seems to be widely divergent views on what exactly the M1942 Paratrooper uniform actually looked like: this is my take on it, not gospel. For what it’s worth I used the examples here (Picture example) as my main guide.

If you can get it, there are three more uniform variations in the old FOW Intelligence Briefing, ‘D-1’, so look there for alternate schemes. I've also left out reinforced patches on knees, elbows, etc., for simplicity.

The M1942 Variation I

I start from a black undercoat, doing the netting-covered helmet first. I failed miserably to get a good set of sequence shots with this: basically I start with an overall coat of VMC Brown Violet over the helmet, wash with black, dry-brush with Brown Violet, then again with Brown Violet mixed with something lighter (here, VPA US Tankcrew Highlight). Once that netting-covered helmet is done, the base colours are painted elsewhere.

The webbing (and scrim on the helmet) was painted BV as a base, then VPA US Tankcrew Uniform. Flesh VGC Tan, then Dwarf skintone. Leather items (Boots, leather straps on rifles, pistol holsters, etc) was done with VMC Flat Brown + a bit of black, wood with any dark brown and the overall uniform with Coat ‘d Arms 508 Olive Drab (or VMA Olive Grey). Metal areas black.

The uniform was then painted with VPA Canvas, leather with a 1:1 mix of VMC Flat Brown and VMC Red Leather, wood with VMC Flat Earth, entrenching tool handle and bayonet scabbard with Brown Violet. Metal with VMC German Grey.

Highlights were then applied, VMC London Grey to metal areas, VPA New Wood to wood. VGC Elf Flesh to flesh, VMC Red Leather to leather. Webbing was a 1:1 mix of VPA US Tankcrew Uniform and the highlight colour. The M1942 was then highlighted with a 2:1 mix of VPA Canvas and VPA US Tankcrew Highlight.

(Click for double-sized versions)

This was the colour scheme I had I my head, a ‘theoretical’ one if you will, but which when applied to a figure has one main problem for me: the lack of contrast. The colour is not ‘wrong’ to my mind, but too similar to the webbing. The result is a figure which is quite subdued and mostly Olive Drab: historical of course, but I wanted to try something else as well, hence the scheme below.

The M1942 Variation II

A brighter, greener variation.

Again starting from a black undercoat, I used a similar process as above.

The main difference here was painting the uniform from C’dA Olive Drab to VPA Canvas, but using a different highlight colour. In this case I used the suggestion by Evan Allen on the main Flames of War site, from his article on painting US Airborne Uniforms. Here he recommends a mix of 80% VMC 882 Middlestone, 20% VMC 893 US Dark Green for the M1924 Uniform. This I used to highlight the Canvas after the initial block paint, the other colours were identical.

(Click for double-sized versions)

Overall the figure looks a fair bit brighter and there is more contrast between uniform and webbing. This is not more accurate by any means, but it is more attractive on a 15mm miniature. That, to my mind, makes the miniature look ‘better’, and is now the scheme I personally prefer.

CdlT

The Flames of War Blog Ring

2011-01-08T14:18:00.000+02:00

Just a quick post for the Flames of War gamers.

Cannedflame2005/ Foxphoenix135 has started a 'Flames of War Unofficial Blog Ring', something similar to what From The Warp does for the 40K blogging community. The collection of painting and modelling articles alone makes FTW a valuable resource, even if like me you have absolutely no interest in 40K.

Something similar can only be useful to the online Flames of War community, so if you have a blog with content related to Flames of War (gaming, painting, terrain, etc.) I would urge you to have it added.

Flames of War Unofficial Blog Ring

CdlT

Once more...

2011-01-06T22:18:00.000+02:00

Happy new year, and all that jazz...I make no apologies for the lack of posts over December: I've had better things to do than blogging. Normal intermittant posting should resume next week. As usual I got next to nothing done over the 'festive season', but I did get a air compressor and basic airbrush setup working: still much to learn on that front though.

The 3rd installment of painting British infantry is still coming (note to self: make sure to have the required figures in future), plus I've also been experimenting with a few combinations for the US Para M1942 uniform, so I'll do something on that as well. After that, who knows?

Apart from various Flames of War projects I have decided this will be the year I re-start my Crusades project. This was going to be in 15mm several years back, but then I lost interest in most things 'ancients' (i.e. DBM, DBMM, FOG, etc). Inspired by the awesome Crusades-era battles at Olicanalad's Blog, the masses of Perry miniatures and the chronicles of 'Kermit the Hermit', I've decided to do it in 25/28mm instead. Not quite sure on the details yet, but the Crusades has been a favourite period of mine since...err, ever, actually. I feel it's high time I went back to it in some form. 28mm will obviously work out more expensive, but I think I do too much in 15mm as it is: the sheer spectacle of large formations in the larger scale simply cannot be beaten, and I am more and more looking for something that is 'game-able' and yet very visually appealing.

I have no other projects planned, but there are half a dozen I could start at the drop of a hat...

CdlT

CoD: Black Ops

2010-12-03T09:15:00.000+02:00

"May subtract substantially from free time meant for painting"

They always get you with the fine print...

CdlT

Tip of the Spear

2010-11-30T11:06:00.000+02:00

M4A1 76mm Sherman Platoon and HQ, vehicles by Battlefront. (Click for larger versions)

The devil is in the details.

Should be the last Shermans for a while....

CdlT

Detroit's Finest

2010-11-28T09:17:00.000+02:00

M4A1 Sherman Platoon, vehicles by Battlefront. Designed to match the first platoon I did: M4A1 Sherman Platoon. The pictures should largely speak for themselves. (Click to expand)

I tried to emphasise the rounded M4A1 cast-hulls with a double-highlight: an intermediate , just slightly lighter highlight, then a more confined, lighter highlight painted within the previous. It looks OK representing a softer edge without too much extra work (they're enough as it is!).

Rear deck view: lots of clutter and stowage added in addition to the pre-moulded resin bits. The painting thereof adds a fair bit more time but is probably worth it.

CdlT

Seek, Strike, and Destroy.

2010-11-27T12:47:00.000+02:00

US Tank Destroyer Section with two M10 GMC and recce elements for Flames of War. Battlefront Miniatures. (Click for larger versions)

Just one section here, with M20 Utility, Carbine teams, Command Jeep and extra Jeep for Mid War organisation.

M10s are definitely one of my favourite US vehicles of WWII.

CdlT

Painting British Infantry: Part 2

2010-11-19T22:59:00.003+02:00

NOTE: Part 1 has also been updated, while the Italian Theatre content has been moved to Part 2 and expanded a little.

Following on from Part 1, Part 2 will focus on painting British Infantry for the Mediterranean Theatre, in particular forces in Sicily and Italy from 1943-45.

British Infantryman, Italy (Spring & Summer) 1943-45

Figures from Battlefront, from their British in the Mediterranean range, blister BR762. IMHO the best British infantry figures they produce (I’ve just received some figure from the Guards Rifle Platoon and they might be even better). These are in light kit, wearing Khaki Drill shirts seen in warmer times: not particularly suitable for fighting in winter, for instance. Colours use are detailed largely in Part 1, with a few additions for the Italian Theatre:

Khaki Drill Shirt (Greener)
Shadow: 887 Brown Violet
Base: 50/50 Brown Violet and Khaki
Highlight: 988 Khaki

Khaki Drill Shirt (Tan)
Shadow: VPA 314 Canvas
Base: 988 Khaki
Highlight: 50/50 Khaki & White

Webbing (alternate, lighter variant)
Shadow: 988 Khaki
Base: 884 Stone Grey
Highlight: 50/50 884 Stone Grey and White

After clean-up the figures are undercoated black.

The flesh was shadow VGC Tan, base Dwarf Skintone. Brown Violet was then used as a shadow colour for both the Khaki Drill shirt and the webbing.

US Olive Drab provided the shadow for the Battledress, canteen and wood on the rifle and entrenching tool. The webbing was painted Khaki, followed by English Uniform for the trousers and Vallejo Model Air Olive Grey for the PIAT (below).

The shirt was then painted with a 50/50 mix of Brown Violet and Khaki, the webbing highlighted (confined mostly to the edges) with US Tankcrew Highlight. Wood and canteen Flat Brown, PIAT and case VGC Cayman Green, metal areas and boots black, then German Grey. The Flesh was also highlighted with VGC Elf Skintone.

The shirt was then highlighted with pure Khaki, trousers with Khaki Grey, wood with VPA New Wood, the canteen with Flat Earth with some US Tankcrew Highlight mixed-in. Metal highlighted with London Grey, Painted metal (PIAT, etc) with VPA French Tankcrew (confined to edges).

(Click for double-sized versions)

An alternate scheme for the shirt (more Tan in colour) is a base of VPA Canvas on the shirt while the webbing was done in the lighter variant, Stone Grey over a Khaki shadow colour.

The shirt was then painted Khaki, while the PIAT was painted in English Uniform followed by Khaki Grey as an (incorrect, as it turns out) colour for SCC2 Brown*.

*SCC 2 Brown was the colour British Equipment was painted for units serving in the Tunisian British 1st Army as well as lend-lease equipment sent to the Soviet Union. The correct mix from Mike Starmer: ‘SCC 2 brown is Vallejo 3 parts 873 US Field Drab + 2 parts 871 Leather Brown’. In the past I have simply use Battlefront’s suggestion which was 880 Khaki Grey: this is incorrect, even though I have used it here since this is just a single piece.

*An alternate colour for painted equipment in Sicily and Italy, particularly for 1943-44, is Light Mud, Vallejo 988 Khaki.

The shirt was highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Khaki and white, while the webbing was also highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Stone Grey and White. The painted equipment was also highlighted a little with 914 Green Ochre to add a little distinction from the trousers.

(Click to expand)

The finished figures show BD trousers with KD shirt and very sun-bleached webbing. Equipment also is in the older SCC 2 Brown, carried over from Tunisia perhaps? Note that the KD shirt can be painted with English Uniform as Battledress with rolled-up sleeves just as easily, as shown on the Sikh figures below. One point I will make is this: if the colours used for the KD shirt and the webbing are too close, they will 'morph' into each other: picking lighter colours can help differentiate between the areas which, IMO, is on of the main points of painting 15mm effectively.

Painting the SMLE No 1, Mk. III Rifle

The British largely used two bolt-action rifles during the Second World War: The SMLE (Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield), more properly known as No. 1 Mk. III and the later variation, the No. 4 Mk. I. The former was the most common in the Mediterranean, while the No. 4 was issued largely to the divisions intended for the invasion of France, making an appearance in other theatres later.

If you look at a picture of the No. 1 MK III (top picture), you’ll notice along the top of the rifle there are several sections which, unfortunately, most painters seem to simply ignore and paint metal. However, the appearance of the rifle is greatly improved if a little attention is paid to the weapon. The details on the BF models are often obscured by mound-lines, but they are visible on most examples, just faint. Before undercoating in the clean-up stage I try to emphasise these, cutting in lightly with a blade and attempting to re-form any detail obscured after removing the mould line. Generally, I do this on all areas e.g. webbing, sleeves, etc., but especially on weapons.

On to painting: the picture above shows a simple method I use for the No. 1 MK III to give the rifle a distinct look from the No. 4. The metal band midway down the rifle I tend to ignore, simply hinting at it with the shadow from the wood. Also note in the picture above the metal band between the trigger mechanism and the breach which, if visible on the figure, adds further detail.

The metal was painted black, then German Grey and finally London Grey/Codex Grey for highlights. A few well-placed highlights can really emphasise small details like the magazine and trigger guard. The final result is not a perfect representation, but a little time spent in an attempt to portray more accurate weapons is, I feel, well worth it.

Painting Indian Infantry, Italy 1943-45

Serving in Italy under British Command were Commonwealth forces from many countries. Some of the most unique (at least from a painting perspective) were those from India. The 4th, 8th and 10th Indian Divisions all saw combat in Italy and were comprised of a myriad of troops from different ethnic backgrounds such as Ghurkhas, Punjabis, Marathas, Sikhs, and so on. For the most part they wore standard British uniforms, wore Mk II helmets and used British equipment. Battlefront however chose to make a separate range to cover the Sikhs, with Sikh soldiers wearing the Pugri, a turban-like piece of headgear which makes their figures rather distinct. These figures are taken from Battlefront’s BR782 blister. While visually attractive, the Pugri is a pain to paint properly, and one must always remember that that vast majority of Indian troops simply wore helmets.

One of the more difficult propositions when painting Indian infantry is the colour to use for flesh: the wrong brown looks ‘wooden’, too dark and the colour doesn’t show up clearly, too light and they look more Caucasian. However, there was (and is) a great variety in shades of skin in India according to different ethnic backgrounds: from very fair to very dark and every hue in between. Suffice to say I went for an abstracted approach to painting Indian skintone, much like painting Caucasian really.

A darker variant starts with 825 German Camo Pale Brown over a general shadow of 941 Burnt Umber. This was then highlighted with 874 US Tan Earth, and the rest of the figure completed to put the flesh colour in perspective

Shadow: 941 Burnt Umber
Base: 825 German Camo Pale Brown
Highlight: 874 US Tan Earth

(Click to expand)

An alternate, lighter scheme starts again with a shadow of Burnt Umber, followed by US Tan Earth and a 70/30 mix of 874 US Tan Earth and 918 Ivory as a highlight.

Shadow: 941 Burnt Umber
Base: 874 US Tan Earth
Highlight: 70/30 mix of 874 US Tan Earth and 918 Ivory

(Click to expand)

Which colours you use will depend largely on the unit you’re representing or personal choice. These were just a few of the schemes I have used and I am quite sure there are many other alternatives.

In Part 3 I’ll get to a few other points such as Commando webbing, Berets and painting Denison Airborne Smocks in 15mm.

As always, questions, comments and feedback welcome.

CdlT

The Breville Gap – Game 5: 2nd Breville

2010-11-14T11:26:00.004+02:00

The 2nd British attack on Breville. My force was unchanged. Colin built one of his "custom defensive companies" with as many platoons as possible.

German Grenadiers (Fortress Europe)
Something like:
HQ & 3 Grenadier Platoons
HMG Platoon
4 x 8cm Mortars
2 x 20mm FlaK
1 Section Scouts
3 x Nebelwerfers
4 x Marder IIIM
Full FJ Platoon

No. 6 Commando (Orne Commandos PDF)
HQ, Lovat & PIAT
4 x Commando Sections
3 x Commando 3” Mortars
2 x Commando Vickers MMG
4 x M10 3” SPAT
8 x 25-pounders
Limited Typhoons

The Table, Germans deployed Grenadiers, Mortars, PaK 40s and more Grenadiers.

British Deployment

Turn 1 & 2

The British advance across the board, Artillery spots nothing and Air Support is not called

On Turn 2 a German Grenadier Platoon doubles on from reserve. Apart from that the Germans do nothing.

Turn 3

The Commando 4th Section moves up to assault the Grenadiers. 25-pounders provide the pin; the assault destroys two teams and the Grenadiers break-off.

Elsewhere, German Nebelwerfers and a pair of 20mm FlaK arrives from reserve.

Turn 4

Commando 4th Section assaults the (still pinned) Grenadiers again, destroying them over two rounds. They then Breakthrough-assault the PaK 40 and observer in the orchard (destroying both) and consolidate around the objective.

The German CO spots a Troop of Commandos across the road...

German Marders arrive from reserve. In their half the Germans also reveal their Ambush...of Fallschirmjaeger. From the picture they are plainly deployed illegally (within 6” and LoS). Despite an argument, Colin insists they can deploy there and I can’t really be bothered anymore. FJ were never present in the Orne region anyway, so our “historical forces” were already going downhill...

The inevitable assault forces the Commando to break off, and I then fail motivation for being below half. M10s also take fire, losing 2 vehicles to Marder fire. Nebelwerfers later snipe another and the platoon departs.

Turn 5

I smother the FJ platoon with artillery and MG fire, destroying nearly half the platoon. Commando 1st Section then clears Grenadiers from the southern-most house.

In Colin’s bound Scouts and 2 HMGs double-on from reserve. The FJ launches an assault against the house the 1st Commando Section just took, but drag in the Commando 3rd Section. Despite 12-odd shots I only manage 4 hits, but destroy 2 out of 4 assaulting teams. Colin then destroys a team, and the Commandos wipe-out the FJ in the counter-attack.

Turn 6 +

Commando 2nd Section, having been advancing up the British right under the cover of a smokescreen, now launches an assault into the wood.

Several Grenadiers and 2 HMGs are destroyed. All German platoons counter but to little damage, but annoyingly I then fail to counter and have to break-off.

At this time is getting late and Colin calls it quits. We had both lost 2 Platoons, but with 3 viable Commando Sections I believe could have take either objective in another turn, German platoons consisting of 6 Grenadiers, 2 Grenadiers, 2 Scouts, PaK 40 and Command team

Despite not having actually “finished” the campaign, Colin and I both agreed to call it a stalemate. Retrospectively we should have started this earlier I think, as we’ve both been using the current armies for a while now and feel the need for a change of forces and playing style. I also found the usual problem: keeping other people interested in a campaign of any sort can be tough. I suppose as I am very interested by the whole history of the forces and fighting in the Orne Bridgehead this isn’t a problem for me. A disappointing way to end the campaign nonetheless.

I should have Part 2 of the British Painting Guide finished in the next week or so, I’ve just been preoccupied with other things lately. I will also amend the posts: Part 1 will be re-worked and focus on British Infantry in North-West Europe, Part 2 Italy and Part 3 Commandos and Airborne. So they’ll be WiP for a while since I can never do things in the correct order, but ultimately the division into theatres should make more sense and be much more useful.

CdlT

The Breville Gap – Game 4: 2nd Amfreville

2010-11-02T10:41:00.004+02:00

With the initial British attack on Breville having failed, the Germans proceed to launch another attack on either the Amfreville or the Bois de Mont region. This might be a shorter report than usual: the game was a fair bit shorter as well!

Colin elected to attack again in the Amfreville region, but for game purposes we decided to set up terrain similar to previous tables and roll for a random mission rather than re-playing the same mission on a similar table. We rolled for Fighting Withdrawal: the Germans would be attacking. The forces were (roughly):

German Grenadiers (Fortress Europe)
HQ & 3 Grenadier Platoons
Black Pioneers
HMG Platoon
7.5cm Infantry Guns
3 x Nebelwerfers
4 x Marder IIIM
4 x Pz. IV H

No. 6 Commando (Orne Commandos PDF)
HQ, Lovat & PIAT
4 x Commando Sections
3 x Commando 3” Mortars
2 x Commando Vickers MMG
4 x M10 3” SPAT
8 x 25-pounders
Limited Typhoons

The battlefield: Commandos chose to defend the right edge; Germans would be attacking from the left.

The British deployment: 25-pounders at the back, wads of Commandos spread across the table, Vickers in the central wood covering the open ground. M10s in Ambush.

Commandos on the right defending the far complex, Colin’s tree objective in the field with the stone walls. Two mutually supporting Sections would have made taking this a tough proposition, and I correctly guessed that the main German thrust would be on the Commando left.

Vickers entrenched in the wood, covering the centre of the table.

The Commando left, another of Colin’s tree objectives. The last objective was placed centrally at the back but never entered the game. The Commando 4th Section was defending in the orchard: they would bear the brunt of the German assault.

German right deployment: Pioneers, Grenadiers and Panzer IVs. The MG Platoon was in the wood, more Grenadiers on the hill with infantry guns and Nebelwerfers behind them.

German left, the refused flank with Marders and another Grenadier platoon.

German deployment shot.

I wasn’t particularly concerned with any of this. I’ve attacked in FW quite a bit and one of the main things is to concentrate your force as much as possible while refusing the other flank, preferably with a mobile unit. I was pretty sure my defences would hold and the ambush had plenty of cover to appear from. That was the plan...

Turn 1

The Germans advanced across the board, successfully “Storm-troopering” all units forward: the Infantry guns dug-in, the Nebelwerfers failed.

In my bound I stayed GtG: artillery and mortar fire hit many German targets but Colin’s saves were good: a Pz. IV bailed and one Pioneer team destroyed, pinned Pioneers and 2 Grenadier platoons.

The RAF then showed up and KO’d a Pz. IV with rockets, bailing another. Yay!

Turn 2

All German platoons un-pin across the board and advance. The Pioneers swarm forward, but the flame-thrower is too far back to come into action. Scattered MG fire is ineffective, and the infantry guns get a lucky hit to pin where the Nebelwerfers failed.

The Pioneers go in!

But Commando defensive fire hits with 6 out of 7 shots (needing 5s) and they are forced to pull back.

In the British half the M10s are revealed and KO two Pz. IVs, the remaining survivor holding. Combined artillery and Vickers fire annihilates the German Grenadier platoon in the farm area.

Turn 3

The Germans un-pin on their right: the Pioneers surge forward now with flame-thrower in-tow, which bails an M10. On the German left the Marders and Grenadiers advance pinning the Commando right in place.

The Pioneers again go in: defensive fire fails to pin but causes several casualties. They destroy a single Commando team and the bailed M10.

The Commandos then counter and inevitably destroy the Pioneers over two rounds, losing another team in the process.

On the German left a desperate assault is launched against the Commandos holding the farm. Defensive fire again fails to pin but cuts-down half the Grenadier platoon which then fails to cause any damage (only one team in fight range remaining) and in turn is massacred by the counter attack.

In the British half of Turn 3 the Vickers MMG platoon is removed. The 4th Commando Section advances, intending to finish off the remaining Pz. IV and German Company Commander left alone by the barn. Two M10s move up to engage the Pz. IV, and miss, while the third M10 shoots-up the German MG platoon in the wood, destroying another platoon. 25-pounder fire then bails the remaining Pz. IV. At the end of the Shooting Step the Pz. IV fails morale, quitting the table and taking the attached German CO with him!

Turn 4

With five out of nine platoons destroyed and no CO, the German force quits the field and the Commandos hold the line. That became bloody for the Germans very quickly: their failure to get that first assault in with the Pioneers was unfortunate and allowed British firepower to take a heavy toll. Overall however the key IMHO to FW is concentration: as attacker you get to deploy after seeing the defender's positions, and failure to bring numbers to bear at a single point simply plays to the defender's advantage.

The next game will be a 2nd British attack on Breville: if that fails we might call it a stalemate, or maybe play another round. If the Germans can progress then we might continue, but I don’t really want this going on forever.

CdlT

Painting British Infantry: Part 1

2010-10-27T15:46:00.010+02:00

Part 1 will focus on painting British Infantry for the North-West European Theatre, i.e. from the D-day landings onwards until the defeat of Germany. Part 2 will follow on painting British Infantry for the Mediterranean Theatre, in particular forces in Sicily and Italy from 1943-45.

Guide to paint codes:
VMC = Vallejo Model Colour
VGC = Vallejo Game Colour
VPA = Vallejo Panzer Aces
VMA = Vallejo Model Air
P3 = Privateer Press Formula P3 Paints.

Below are the paint combinations I use when painting British infantry: they are applied mostly ‘as is’, i.e. no intermixing unless noted. However, if a highlight colour provides too much contrast for your liking, mix in a bit of the colour listed above it.

Flesh Areas
Shadow: VGC 066 Tan
Base: VGC 041 Dwarf Skintone/Flesh
Highlight: VGC 004 Elf Skintone/Flesh

Webbing
Shadow: 887 Brown Violet
Base: 988 Khaki
Highlight: 322 US Tankcrew Highlight

Battledress Uniform
Shadow: 889 USA Olive Drab*
Base: 921 English Uniform
Highlight: 880 Khaki Grey*

*Note: If you’re painting larger scale figures (e.g. 28mm) using something similar to the ‘Foundry/3 layer method’ then this will be too dark. I prefer a slightly darker colour as I don’t leave black visible in 15mm. In 28mm you might use VMC Burnt Umber, Chocolate Brown or Leather Brown as a Shadow colour. Similarly, tone the webbing down in 28mm: in 15mm I exaggerate so small details are more visible.
**Other options here include 879 Green Brown and Vallejo Panzer Aces 317 English Tankcrew.

Boots
Shadow: P3 Thamar Black
Base: 995 German Grey
Highlight: VPA 306 Dark Rubber/P3 Greatcoat Grey

Metal (on weapons, tools, etc.)
Shadow: P3 Thamar Black
Base: 995 German Grey
Highlight: 836 London Grey/GW Codex Grey

Canteen
Shadow: 889 USA Olive Drab
Base: 983 Flat Earth
Highlight: 50/50 983 Flat Earth and 884 Stone Grey/Ivory, etc

Scrim on helmets
Base: VPA 314 Canvas
Highlight: 998 Khaki

Wood (Rifle & entrenching tools)
Shadow: 889 USA Olive Drab
Base: 983 Flat Earth
Highlight: VPA 311 New Wood

SCC15 Variation I (Helmets & painted equipment, 1944-45)
Shadow: 888 Olive Grey and a bit of black.
Base: SCC15 Green*** (50/50 mix, 888 Olive Grey and 924 Russian Uniform).
Highlight: VPA 320 French Tankcrew.

*** SCC15 was the standard British colour used from April 1944 onwards for tanks and vehicles as well as most painted equipment, e.g. mortars, helmets, PIATS, anti-tank guns, and so on. There is unfortunately no exact ‘out of the bottle’ colour which matches it, so you have to mix it if you want the ‘perfect’ correct colour. Mike Starmer (he of great knowledge and expertise on British paint colours and camouflage schemes) recommends a 50/50 mix of VMC 888 Olive Grey and VMC 924 Russian Uniform: with an empty Vallejo bottle I simply measure and mark at 40mm and 20mm on the bottle, then fill half with one colour, the other half with the other and mix vigorously. This is the mixture I have used here, with lighter highlights to exaggerate the effect for 15mm.

SCC15 Variation II**** (Helmets & painted equipment, 1944-45)
Shadow: VMA 015 Olive Grey & Black
1st Base: VMA 015 Olive Grey
2nd Base: VGC 067 Cayman Green
Highlight: VPA 320 French Tankcrew.

**** The closest ‘out of the bottle’ colour I have found to match SCC15 is VGC 067 Cayman Green (or GW Catachan Green). This is a tad bit darker than the 50/50 mix and also a slight bit greener, but will work pretty well ‘as-is’, especially if you are after a ‘brighter’ look similar to my style. It is far better than the usual 924 Russian Uniform nonsense which isn’t early green enough.

British Infantryman, North West Europe 1944-45

The ‘standard’ late-war figures from Battlefront from the BR702 blister. If one was to be pedantic these figures are in Mk. III ‘turtle’ helmets, issued initially only to the assault divisions, i.e. British 3rd and 50th Infantry Divisions and Canadian 3rd Infantry Division, though many later made their appearance alongside the more usual Mk. II in other formations. Covered in netting and scrim in 15mm there is barely any difference, save the Mk. III is deeper and less of the face visible on the figure.

I undercoat in black and largely follow the same method I used in the Painting by Layers tutorial, so I’ll add a brief rundown here.

A thinned coat of VGC Tan is applied to the flesh areas and left to dry. The helmet is painted meanwhile, first with SCC15, washed with GW Badab Black wash (or simply well-thinned black paint, etc), dry-brushed when dry with SCC15 again, then a final (very light) dry-brush with VPA French Tankcrew. The Scrim is painted with VPA Canvas, highlighted with Khaki. Note that the strap on the front of the helmet is painted to match the webbing, not the hessian scrim camouflage.

Flesh areas are then block-painted with VGC Dwarf Flesh. The webbing shadow of Brown Violet is applied to webbing, rifle slings and anklets. This was then block-painted with Khaki while the uniform shadow (USA Olive Drab) is applied and in the process “cleans up” any mess from the webbing. The same colour is used as a show colour for the rifle wood, entrenching tool handles and canteen.

The painted equipment, here the PIAT and ammo rack, are painted with Olive Grey mixed with a bit of black. Note that the ammo rack should technically be brown as it was usually painted or varnished cardboard with metal frame, but for simplicity I went with green. The uniform is block painted with English Uniform, leaving OD in the folds and creases for detail.
Wood is painted with Flat Earth, boots and metal areas with black, equipment with straight SCC15.

The webbing was then highlighted with VPA US Tankcrew Highlight: this was confined to the edges mostly, to give various areas of the webbing some definition. Metal areas and boots were painted with German Grey, the metal areas then highlight with London Grey. SCC15 was highlighted on the edges with VPA French Tankcrew, while VGC Elf Flesh was applied to highlight the flesh areas. Wood was highlighted with VPA New Wood.

Lastly, the BD (Battledress) was highlighted with Khaki Grey, finishing the figures.

(Click to expand for double-sized versions)

Infantryman in General Service Cap, North West Europe 1944-45

This figure is taken from Battlefront’s BR790 7th Armoured Division Motor/Rifle Platoon, depicting an infantryman in GS cap with a mix of standard and light webbing. For the record, most (if not all) British infantry would have worn helmets in battle (Commandos and Paras somewhat excepted): these figures are a little different from the ordinary helmeted figures and they have a different sculpting style as well with some cracking poses.

Again I start with a black undercoat. VGC Tan for flesh shadow, followed by VGC Dwarf Skintone.

Brown Violet for webbing shadow. US Olive Drab for uniform shadow and for the rifle wood, canteen and entrenching tool where applicable. The hair is similarly painted with USOD for a shadow colour. While generally best avoided on helmeted figures, on others in Berets or GS caps I think that it looks better painted in.

The Webbing was then painted Khaki, wood on the rifle with Flat Earth, the hair with a light brown.

Flesh was then highlighted with Elf Skintone, metal areas and the boots were painted black. The webbing was edge-highlighted with VPA US Tankcrew Highlight. The Battledress was then painted English Uniform, leaving US Olive Drab only in the deepest shadows; more subtle shadows were painted over for now. This is one of the main differences between this figure and the one painted above. These have much more subtle folds: just comparing the trousers will show the gentle folds on the 7th Armoured Infantryman compared to the cartoon-like folds on the trousers of the figure above.

Highlighting now begins in earnest, the wood with VPA New Wood, metal with German Grey followed here by GW Codex Grey. A lighter mix of the light brown was also applied to the hair in vertical lines while the boots were highlighted with P3 Greatcoat Grey (not too visible, but then it’s not meant to be).

The Battledress and GS cap were then highlighted with VPA 317 British Tankcrew. English Uniform was left as a shadow colour in the more subtle folds for detail so as not to over-exaggerate the detail. A simple ring was also left on the GS cap to hint at the shape.

(Click to expand)

Finally, a 4th highlight was applied to emphasise uniform details. A 50/50 mix of VPA 317 British Tankcrew and VPA 321 Highlight British Tankcrew was made and applied to prominent folds and other areas where emphasis was wanted. The badge on the GS was painted GW Boltgun Metal & black as a shadow, then pure Boltgun Metal. Lastly, the leather strap on the GS cap was painted black and then highlighted with German Grey, finishing the figure.

Battledress Uniform Variation II
Shadow: 889 USA Olive Drab
Base: 921 English Uniform
1st Highlight: VPA 317 British Tankcrew
2nd Highlight: 50/50 mix of British Tankcrew and British Tankcrew Highlight

Using Khaki Grey or Green Brown mixed 50/50 with Buff/Dark Sand will be almost identical to the Vallejo Panzer Aces colours above.

I’ll add other info later to this post, in particular some painted examples of the 'Guards Rifle Platoon', really just LW British for NWE in Mk II helmets. The figures do look promising, perhaps even better than the Mediterranean British sculpts. Part 2 will cover painting British infantry in the Mediterranean Theatre. In Part 3 I’ll get to a few other points such as Commando webbing, Berets and painting Denison Airborne Smocks in 15mm.

As always, questions, comments and feedback welcome.

CdlT

Estonian SS WiP

2010-10-24T10:45:00.007+02:00

Finished a few test pieces for an upcoming project which will center on the Estonian 20. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadierdivision: the 8cm mortar platoon being selected as guinea pigs. The pic is a bit washed-out and the highlights on the lighter colours don't seem to show too well: not entirely convinced on the Pea-Dot yet either, so might have to try a few variations there. I also skipped SS runes and markings: not particularly inspired by anything SS, plus these figures are a little smaller than usual and doing markings would be an absolute pain.

Game 4 of the Axis of Attack campaign was scheduled for Friday evening but had to be called off as I fell seriously ill on Thursday night: still not 100%, but not throwing up every hour which is a vast improvement to say the least.

Quite a few works-in-progress on the go right now, with US 76mm Shermans and more Sikhs taking priority.

CdlT

WWPD and Forged in Battle

2010-10-11T08:18:00.008+02:00

If you are a follower of the What Would Patton Do blog you'll have noticed Steven, Joe and Sean have begun a podcast focusing mostly (though not exclusively) on Flames of War. This blog was fortunate enough to be the "blog of the week" in Episode 1, so thanks guys for that!

If you haven't checked them out, head over and listen to Episode 1 and let them know your thoughts: I think they're doing a great job and its pretty cool to have FOW-centered podcast.

Another miniature company you might want to check out is Forged in Battle. I meant to highlight them some time back but completely forgot until Heresy Brush posted some rather nice painted examples on the Steve Dean Forum yesterday, some apparently soon to be released. There is a brief review here which notes some issues with the resin vehicle parts, but this is similar to my experiences with BF resin as well, so I won't be judging them until I can get a few in hand. I am keen to see the infantry in particular and will hopefully get and paint a few in the future (he says as he has just dropped more cash on another spur-of-the-moment Eastern Front project....).

Despite being largely pro-Battlefront for some time I am of the opinion that another range (or two) of good-quality 15mm WW2 miniatures, if marketed well, would be a welcome addition to the wargaming fraternity. The recent BF price rises have made it worthwhile to "shop around" and, while I still don't think BF's products are exorbitantly priced, I think they could do better in several areas (e.g. small vehicles specifically) and competition is always a good thing.

We were meant to get another Axis of Attack campaign game in this weekend but real life got in the way at the last minute: hopefully the 2nd German attack on Amfreville will take place this week and, from my point of view, get soundly thrashed!

CdlT

The Breville Gap – Game 3: Breville

2010-10-07T12:39:00.016+02:00

After the German attacks on Amfreville and the Bois de Mont were repulsed, Allied High Command launches an attack on Breville in an attempt to eliminate the German salient once and for all.

My Commandos would be attacking this time in No Retreat against Colin’s Grenadiers, and I decided on a Night Attack. I brought:

Commando HQ, PIAT & Lovat
4 Commando Sections (Platoons)
Comando Mortars x 3
Commando MMGs x 2
Airlanding Platoon
Airlanding 6-pounders
Full 25-pounder Battery

(I forgot my aircraft at home so subbed in some of Colin’s AL 6-pounders, in retrospect a bad move.)

Colin’s lists confuse me at the best of times: he went with a 12 Platoon force, something along the lines of 3 x Grenadiers, MG Platoon, Mortars, Nebelwerfers, Black Pioneers & PSV, 4 Mader IIIMs, PaK 40s, 3-base scouts, 20mm FlaK, and a kamfgruppe formed from a few Grenadier teams and an MG....or something like that.

The table from my edge: Breville at the top where the Germans would be defending, orchards, hedges and scattered woods elsewhere.

Grenadiers w/attached HMG defend the German left.

Black Pioneers with two sections of wire hold the German right. PaK 40s, Nebelwerfers and Mortars on–table, 2 HMGs (?) in Ambush.

My deployment, consisting of (from left) Commandos, Airlanding, Commandos, 6-pounders , Mortars & MMGs and two more Commando Sections, 25-pounders to the rear. We are a little further forward thanks to the extra 8” deployment for Nigh Attack.

The British left, Troop commander and Lord Lovat & Bill Millin in the background.

The British right.

The German deployment: Black Pioneers (aka FJ) in foreground, Grenadiers above, PaK 40s behind Pioneers, Nebelwerfers and Mortars to the rear.

First turn, general advance across the British front.

Colin gets reserves first bound and brings on a Grenadier platoon. The Germans can see nothing in the darkness

The second bound continues the British advance, while the German get a further TWO platoons from reserve, bringing on Marders and Scouts. They still can see nothing, but so can the British observers.

Turn 3. The Airlanding move up the left through the woods intending to remove the wire while remaining hidden: a Commando Section trails intending to follow the same route. Another Section moves up through the centre orchard, while both sections on the left push forward.

Airlanding prepares to breach the wire...

...while a Commando Section trails.

In the German half of bound three, another two platoons of reserves arrive, more Grenadiers and two 20mm FlaK pieces, while night holds.

Colin also called fire on a few mm of an exposed Commando base on the right, hitting the platoon and pinning them. They would remain pinned for 4 turns as I cannot find anything above a ‘2’ on the dice....

Turn 4, daylight breaks. The Commando section in the centre orchard moves up to assault the pioneers. My 25-pounders fail to range-in on the pioneers, the mortars having fire smoke into the centre of the town. This would be the only range-in attempt the mortars pass the whole game. However a base from Airlanding platoon on the left has successfully removed the wire and they surge through to assault the pioneers. By keeping within the woods I only take 3 shots in defensive fire then kill two pioneer teams, including the obligatory flame-thrower.

Colin counters even though he will only fight with two bases, and scores one hit. I’m now in position to completely gut the counter-attacking pioneers, but fail to counter with a fearless roll, the fail the British Bulldog rolls as well.....

The pioneers consolidate back to their precious foxholes, forgetting the Commandos in the centre.

The Commandos move in...

They also assault and kill two pioneer teams, the Germans breaking-off afterwards while the Commandos consolidate in the orchard and into the house.

In the German half the final reserve platoon arrives (a KG of Grenadiers with an HMG I think?). The pioneers fail to un-pin, while other platoons move forward to behind the pioneer’s position. The PaK 40s reveal their positions by firing a few long-range shots. Scattered MG fire hits the Commandos in the house along with several rounds from the Marders, but does no damage apart from pinning.

Turn 5. The Airlanding and centre Commando section un-pins, the one on my right remains pinned still. The Airlanding surge forward out of the woods.

My artillery ranges-in a double-width template on the PaK 40s, pinning the Paks and pioneers but only killing a grenadier base to the rear. Commando SMGs in the house snipe a PaK 40 in the street.

The Airlanding platoons assault goes-in, destroying the PaK 40s and a few more pioneers, clearing the house as well. The pioneers fall back but pass motivation.

Up until now my basic plan was working. By pushing through the left wood the wire was removed, the pioneers flanked and combine with a Commando assault forced back, losing nearly half their number and the PaKs while I had lost only three teams thanks to the concealment of night. German reserves had almost all diverted to the centre to protect the rear-most objective and counter this threat. My real plan however was to now divert right with one Commando Section while the two others on the right (despite having been pinned for ages) would converge on the closest objective and eliminate the Grenadier platoon holding it.

So much for the plan. My dice now went cold.

In the German halt of Turn 5 the pioneers pulled back out of the line of fire. Nebelwerfer fire hit four Commando teams from the follow-up Section, and I rolled...

...for saves.

Colin then threw the 3-base scout platoon in against the Airlanding which had been pinned by mortar fire. With five shots I hit once in defensive fire, the scouts then missed two out of three assault rolls! I countered and then failed all four 3+ skill tests! WTF?

The scouts countered automatically, destroying three bases and the AL broke-off. (Insert long line of appropriate expletives here...)

Turn 6. I pull the AL platoon off, while other Commandos un-pin and get moving.

On the right, I intend to assault around and through the wire to push the forward Grenadier platoon of the objective (destroyed tank).

I then fail to range in with both 25-pounder troops and the mortars, rolling nothing above a ‘3’ in 10 range-in attempts...I then score 4 hits from SMG and Rifle fire, but cannot find the 5th and the Grenadiers remain un-pinned. The Commando section in the centre attempts a flank assault, moving out of the HMGs LoS in an attempt to pin the Grenadiers. However they draw in fire from the 20mm through Independent teams and take 5 hits....I then fail 4 saves, fail a fearless motivation check and the re-roll, again never rolling above a ‘2’.

With the Grenadiers still un-pinned I decide not to assault on the right. Feeling slightly sick, I and am now fairly screwed ;)

The German half of 6 sees the 2 HMGs deploy in the orchard from ambush. The lead Commando Section then takes 8 hits from the Grenadier platoon, and a further 8 from Marder and other MG fire. I fail ONE save (WTF???). The second Section behind takes 7 hits from the HMG ambush, and again I only fail one save. Ridiculous.

Turn 7. I un-pin, pin the HMG ambush and assault. I take 4 hits in defensive fire, then fail 3 saves...going well. The two remaining bases destroy the HMGs while the command team breaks-off and I consolidate into the orchard.

I finally get the other Grenadier platoon pinned as well and assault, but they score 5 hits with the help of the rear Grenadier platoon, and again I fail 4 saves...

Falling back with one team, I pass motivation.

With effectively only one platoon lost I could continue, but having lost so many infantry teams I call it quits, my sections consisting of 4 teams, 1 team and 2 teams. From looking great things all went to hell in a bound and a half and I won’t pretend I was anything other than disappointed with my dice.

Nonetheless, the Germans hold Breville and will attack out again in the next game after Colin decides which region to attack again.

....bloody dice...

CdlT

The Breville Gap – Game 2: The Bois de Mont

2010-09-24T15:49:00.006+02:00

In game one of The Breville Gap AoA Campaign German forces were resoundingly rebuffed at Amfreville and forced to re-direct their offensive efforts toward the Bois de Mont region.

A road ran through the centre of the battle field. In the centre left of the table (from the British edge) was the Chateau St. Come, across the road was the Mayor’s bungalow. As I forgot to bring my hedgerows we had to find some older hedges to use to flank the road to the bungalow. The rest was again largely made-up. Objectives are the destroyed tank just above the woods on the British right and the (by now thoroughly ubiquitous) “Parachutist hanging from tree” on the British left.

Apologies for the few blurry pictures below: I binned most of the really bad ones. Click for larger versions.

The battlefield as seen from the Commando deployment edge. As I had an unchanged army I deployed the 25-pounders and two Commando Sections on-table, Airlanding 17-pounders in ambush again, the rest in reserve.

The German deployment. Colin dropped a Marder IIIM for a pair of 20mm FlaK weapons, boosted the Black Pioneers to 3 Squads and exchanged the HQ Mortars for a 1 Section Mortar Platoon.

The German right. Fallschirmjäger proxing as Black Pioneers with flame-thrower.

The German left. Grenadier with attached HMG and Panzer IV platoon.

Turn one the Germans advanced, 2 Grenadier platoons, the Pioneers, MG platoon and Marders on the German left. On the right the Pz IVs move onto the hill while the Grenadiers on that flank sought the covered approach of the wood.

My turn saw no reserves, no air support. Commandos stayed GtG while the 25-pounders successfully ranged-in with a double-width template on the mess above. I hit 5 Pioneer Teams, 2 Marders, 2 HMGs & command team and 2 Grenadier teams. Colin saved all, save one pioneer team...

Turn two saw all German platoons un-pinning and surging forward to take the Chateau. Sporadic MG fire had no effect and the Mortars and Nebelwerfers failed to spot the GtG Commandos.

On the German right the Pz IVs did nothing much while the Grenadiers moved deeper into the woods on the way to take the Mayor’s bungalow.

In my bound of 2, no reserves, two aircraft for air support: Commandos remained GtG. The 25-pounders KO’d a Marder and a Pioneer team and the HMGs, while hit, all saved again...

The RAF also showed up and hit several teams from the Grenadier Platoon in the woods on the German right, only destroying one.

Turn 3 saw the Pioneers fail to un-pin, while the two Grenadier platoons sought cover in the woods and outlying buildings of the Chateau. A Grenadier platoon in the centre was in position to assault, but German template weapons either failed to rang-in or failed to hit. Scattered MG fire is likewise ineffective and with insufficient cover fire, the assault is postponed.

The Panzer IVs then execute a risky assault in the centre on the Commando Section holding behind the hedgerows. Two leading tanks bog on the hedgerow, one KO’d by PIAT fire. The Commandos then failed to counter attack (a “1”...), and again failed as the CO tried to rally them to no avail (a “2”...). They fell back into the orchard while the two operational Pz IVs consolidate on the road between the hedgerows. The risk has almost paid off...

...but the consolidation move will do them in. In my bound I deploy the Airlanding 17-pounders from Ambush behind the orchard (we use 12” LOS for normal orchards, otherwise treat thicker orchards simply as woods).

No Air support but the Airlanding Platoon doubles on from reserve on my left. The Commandos section in the orchard un-pins and moves up for the inevitable assault on the survivors of the Pz IV platoon, the other Section stays GtG. Artillery fire in ineffective, but 17-pounder AP rounds scream through the hedgerows to KO the two visible Panzer IVs, the Commando Section finishing off the last bailed tank in assault.

Turn 4, Grenadiers and Marders move up to provide supporting fire, the former intending to assault. The Black Pioneers with German CO attached un-pin and also move up to assault positions (lower right in picture above), the flamethrower targeting the house. Fortunately (for me) Colin rolls a 1 and 2 for his skill tests, but Nebelwerfers succeed in pinning the Commandos.

The Pioneers lose a base to defensive fire, then go in and destroy two Commando teams...

... while the Commandos counter and destroy four pioneer. The Pioneers counter again and destroy the 25-pounder observer, but are them wiped-out by the Commando counter-assault.

The pioneers die...

...and I consolidate by pulling back out of assault range of the waiting Grenadiers and taking cover behind the hedge.

On the British right the Grenadier platoon in the woods finally emerges to line the hedge, a little too late to support the Panzer IVs.

In my bound, no air, no reserves, the Airlanding platoon moves up to support the Commando Section in front of them. The Commando section un-pins and, noticing the lone German Company commander in the lower left hand picture, puts him out of his misery. Artillery fire kills a base on the British right, but nothing else.

Turn 5, the Germans open fire on the Airlanding platoon, scoring eight hits. I respond by rolling FIVE “2s”...the remaining three are assaulted and destroyed, while Marder MG fire hits two Commando bases lining the hedge and I fail both saves there as well! From things looking secure they now look quite difficult as I only have one viable Commando Section on-table, the other left with just one base. The Germans consolidate back behind the hedge, contesting the objective.

My half of turn five I pull the Sole Survivor in to the woods hoping to keep him alive, move up a 25-pounder battery commander to contest the objective and move several bases from the viable Commando Section to within 6”. Artillery fire pins the Germans, but does no damage.

Turn 6 Colin pulls his grenadiers back into the houses or woods and kills the Sole Survivor from the battered Commando Section and the Battery commander contesting. Long-range Marder fire also KO’s a 25-pounder. The Grenadiers on my right still advance very cautiously through the Mayor’s Bungalow, occupying houses but advancing far too slowly.

No air, but two Commando Sections comes on from reserve, one through the woods on my right, the other badly-needed on my left. The on-table Section moves to contest the left-most objective. The 25-pounders split fire, half the battery pinning the Grenadiers in the Chateau, the other half firing at the Marders, knocking-out one and causing the third to flee. Down four platoons the Germans are near breaking point.

Turn 7 sees very little German activity. My shooting is ineffective and I can’t be bothered to risk an assault before I have another platoon on the objective.

Turn 8, a last ditch German assault sees a 17-pounder and observer killed, the command teams pulls back to preserve the platoon. My shooting destroys this last platoon, putting the German Company below half and with no CO, they flee the battle field.

Commandos hold the line at Bois de Mont!

With both attacks having failed, the next game will see British forces in the region moving to attack the town of Breville itself in an attempt to eliminate the German salient once and for all.

I made a few mistakes in this game, most notable not using the SMG swap-out in the Commando sections. When simply defending this is not too much of a handicap, but there were several instances where if I had the SMG teams I would have been assaulting German platoons, templates never being completely reliable. I also need to get my Airlanding 6-pounders painted as the 17-pounders are too one-dimensional to fit into my Commando force. Drop the Air Support, and fit in the Vickers MMG troops as well.

On to Breville!

CdlT

The Breville Gap - Game 1: Amfreville

2010-09-22T17:07:00.004+02:00

So a mate and I had been talking of doing an Axis of Attack campaign for a while now (read months and months). Since we both had forces which would fit the area and combatants fairly well, we went with The Breville Gap campaign on pages 48-52, D-Day.

This covers German counter-attacks after the D-day landings and the 6th Airborne Division’s drop in the Orne Bridgehead area. German forces have managed to successfully hold onto the town of Breville and from there will launch counter-attacks in an attempt to re-take the bridges over the Orne River. The British naturally want to prevent this from happening and in turn eliminate the Germans in Breville.

Since the 1st and 4th Special Service Brigades were actively involved in the area I would be fielding No. 6 Commando from the Commando PDF on the FOW Site, using the “Orne Commandos” list. Colin would be fielding Grenadiers (ostensibly 346. Grenadier Division) from Fortress Europe. Both armies were set at 1750 Pts.

In the campaign the Germans have the option of attacking out of Breville towards either Amfreville or the Bois Mont region. If their first attack fails, they may declare it to have been a diversionary attack and attack again in the other region instead. Colin elected to attack Amfreville up first, so we set up the table using the (very short) terrain guide in D-Day. The Germans would be attacking in a No Retreat Mission.

The village at the top represents Amfreville. The terrain brief notes a few farms scattered along a road running from one table edge to the other, the rest was largely made-up. Also we had to discard much of the “pretty” terrain: an annoyingly strong wind kept blowing over anything which was not weighed down.

Initial Commando deployment: Full 25-pounder Battery, a 2-Section Troop and the Airlanding 17-pounders in ambush. Off table were two more Commando sections and an Airlanding platoon. The British also had Limited Air Support (Typhoons) Objectives are the destroyed tank on the left on the reverse slope of the hill and the cunningly disguised tree (with hanging parachutist) in the centre-right. Independents teams at the bottom, waiting to deploy.

The German Deployment: (from left) Grenadiers, HQ Mortars, Panzer IVs, 2 Squad Black Pioneers, more Grenadiers, Nebelwerfers, Marders, more Grenadiers & HMGs, 7.5cm Infantry Guns.

The German left.

The first German saw movement across the board, Grenadiers advancing everywhere, Marders hanging back a little and PZ. IVs attacking up the German left flank with Black Pioneers moving in to the woods on the German far left, another platoon of Grenadier following. German artillery failed to find targets.

The German Company Commander, advancing through the centre orchard with a Grenadier platoon, moved out too far ahead of the platoon. Just in 16” of three Commando Rifle/MG teams he was mercilessly gunned-down on the first turn. In my victory dance I forgot to take a picture...

Artillery hit a Pz. IV but I failed FP, Air failed to range in and everyone else stayed GTG. No reserves.

Turn 2 saw the Germans advancing aggressively up their left with Black Pioneers and Pz. IVs. Grenadiers continued to advance slowly through the centre orchards into the road fork. Maders moved down the centre road.

Nebelwerfers smoked the centre observer and my right-most Commando Section but placement missed the 25-pounder observer (behind the tree-line on the right). MG fire from Pz IVs is ineffective.

In my bound the Airlanding Platoon and a Section of Commandos come on from reserve, the latter doubling. Half the 25-pounder battery ranges in on the Grenadier on the centre road fork, pinning them down and killing a base. The other half of the battery failed to find any targets from the sea of Germans in front of them!

Air provided one aircraft which spotted a Grenadier platoon advancing lethargically up the German left. Despite needing re-rolls I ranged-in on the first attempt, had the entire Grenadier Platoon under the template and one from the Black Pioneers. I hit the latter, and killed an attached HMG and two infantry from the Grenadiers, pinning both platoons.

A view from just above the head of my 25-pounder observer and the ranged-in marker.

Marders coming down the road...

Turn 3 and German infantry across the board fail to un-pin, the 4th (rightmost) platoon beginning to advance where the others have stalled. Marders creep forward a little closer. Nebelwerfers pin the centre Commando Section. Frustrated, Colin launches the Pz. IVs against the Commando Section on the centre objective (above) who also have Peter Young in tow.

The Pz IVs pass bogging checks for hedge. The PIAT hits in defensive fire, but Shurzen save the tanks from any damage. The Pz IVs then destroy two Commando bases. The Commandos counter...

...and naturally the PIAT rolls a “1”. The others all hit, but do no damage apart from forcing the tanks to break-off

No reserves. I respond by ambushing with the Airlanding 17-pounders and moving previous reserves up further. 17-pounder fire is terrible: only one Pz. IV is hit and KO’d. 25-pounder drop shells on the road fork, killing two bases. Other artillery fire hits the Black Pioneers but causes no casualties.

One aircraft comes in again, deciding to pick on the still pinned Grenadier platoon at the back. Strafing successfully takes out another two bases but the platoon passes motivation and later moves to hide in the woods.

Turn 4 saw the German infantry un-pin across the board and get moving. The reduced Grenadier platoon in the centre moved up to assault the Commandos who still held a house in the farm, while the Pz IVs and Pioneers also moved up intending to get to grips. Combined Nebelwerfer, Mortar and MG fire pins both Commando Sections.

The Grenadiers in the centre assault, eliminating the base in the farmhouse but then are decimated by the counter attack, quitting the field.

The Pz IVs then assault and destroy the 25-pounder observer. Commandos counter, KO a Pz IV. Tanks counter, pass bog checks to fight teams in the house (!) and destroy another team. The Commandos then destroy the PZ IV platoon (the PIAT gunner finally wakes up) and pull back into the broken red-roofed house, passing motivation. The Pioneers advance using Shooting Was Too Successful to (mostly) line the hedge.

In my bound 4 another Commando Section arrives from reserve on my left. My left-most Commando Section, having had nothing to do all game, opens a withering fire on a Grenadier Platoon in the orchard in front of them, killing three grenadier bases and pinning the palatoon.

Turn 5 sees the German infantry fail to un-pin, Marders move a little further down the road and KO a 17-pounder. My bound five shooting is mostly ineffective.

Turn 6, Pioneers un-pin, move forward to assault with Flame-thrower in-tow. Marders also move forward to the edge of the village. Nebelwerfers pin the Commando Section. Unfortunately (for the Germans) the Flamethrower is too far back to fire, but the assault goes in anyway. Defensive fire drags in the Commando Section to the left of the main assault, pinning the Pioneers and destroying three bases.

In desperation the Marders assault, take a PIAT hit (which bails one) and are driven off by defensive fire.

My half of 6 sees the Pioneers wiped-out by Rifle/MG fire, artillery annoys the Marders and the Airlanding platoon hunts down the surviving Grenadiers at the top of the picture. With no CO and more than half platoons destroyed, the Germans quite the field.

Amfreville remains in British hands!

German high command’s official line was that this was the “diversionary” attack, despite heavy casualties. The real thrust will take place next game in the Bois Mont region.

CdlT

Jagdpanzer IV Platoon

2010-09-19T20:54:00.005+02:00

A platoon I never bothered taking pictures of before when they were "clean", then decided to weather them and got (quite a bit) carried away. Basically test pieces for a box of King Tigers which come really beaten-up, so a few new (for me) techniques tried on these in case I seriously messed-up. Click for larger versions.

I guess I'm trying to stick with my usual clean style but with a bit of weathering added: went too far on these in most places I think. The "chipping" also looks a little harsh to my eye: a softer approach might work better for my stuff.

I probably need to adopt a "less is more" approach in future, and stop doing the weathering late at night when I'm not really paying attention...

CdlT

Mired in Life

2010-09-19T12:17:00.001+02:00

I have been lately. Fortunately I got around to the local club this last Wednesday evening. Mike B brought his Soviet Udarny, and as the only LW German army I have at the moment is a Panzer Lehr Armoured Panzergrenadier company, they went to battle in the No Retreat mission.

As this was the first time I would be attacking I could try-out my infantry/half-track tactics. Panzer Lehr, attacking from the bottom of the picture below, successfully annihilated the first Udarny Coy in the village (lost 2 Pumas to flamethrowers though...must keep them in mind in future), pinned another in place on the hill across the river and were on the verge of winning when Mike had to leave and we didn't finish(wife stuck in a lift: he didn't have a very good evening, only got his first reserve company on turn 4).

Unfortunately only the first table shot came out, the rest of the pictures were very blurred: wrong camera setting and I was too busy gaming to really notice.

Yesterday Colin and I got together to game an Axis of Attack Campaign we had been meaning to do for ages: The Breville Gap from BF's book D-Day, pp. 48-52. We finished two games, both German attacks by 346. Grenadier Division on my Commandos in Amfreville and the Bois Mont. Quite a few of these pictures actually came out, so I'll do the two AARs during the week.

It amazes me what a few good games can do to arouse one's interest, release real-life frustration and get the inspiration flowing again.

CdlT

Recce Troop Stuarts

2010-08-25T17:45:00.007+02:00

Recce Troop Stuarts for my 1 RTR force, painted and photographed ages ago.

Each Armoured Regiment had 11 Stuarts which were assigned out for reconnaissance purposes as and where needed, usually in a patrol of three vehicles but occasionally also four or even two. As such they are not strictly speaking part of the Armoured Squadron but of the Regimental HQ, hence they carry diamond squadron signs.

Mine are inspired by several photographs as well as works by military modellers in 1/35 scale, the rest mostly made up as I went along. Unfortunately two out of three turrets had their aerial fitting broken and I couldn’t be bothered to send for replacements. The vehicle below was the first I did with hessian camouflage added: I tried to give an impression of many hessian strips tied together rather than detailed individual strips.

Still not completely sure on the highlights: I’ll be doing a few other experiments to see if I can make them better....or maybe I should just let things be.

Ah, and apologies for the lack of updates (again...), it has just been a really busy month and the blog and wargaming in general hasn’t been much on my mind.

CdlT

Cromwell Squadron HQ

2010-07-27T17:40:00.005+02:00

Well, half of it anyway: the 2iC in his Cromwell and two Crusader AA tanks which, even if I never use them, I simply had to paint. They are modelled on ‘B’ Squadron, 1st Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment, one of my favourite units of the British Army during the Second World War. Click for larger versions.

The Crusader AA tanks are attached from HQ Squadron, hence the diamond squadron markings, and based loosely on pictures of the original vehicles (below). Also, as this is based on 1 RTR in Normandy, the Regiment was the Senior Regiment of the 22nd Armoured Brigade; hence the red squadron markings and 51 with the 22nd’s distinctive Stag head Brigade sign paired with the Jeroba of the 7th Armoured Division. I’ve applied most of the “theoretical” markings: in reality the 7th Armoured seldom applied them all (or even a few) until 1945.

“Allakeefik”

“Skyraker”

Decals by Dom’s Decals: I pestered him for quite a while for the combined 51/Stag head decals and they are very well done, so thanks Dom. He has even done a set of tank names which includes those of ‘B’ Squadron, 1 RTR, so I don’t have to hand-paint them. I tried to apply the Allied Stars on the upper decks and turrets but this resulted in a complete mess (especially on the AA tanks) so I abandoned the attempt.

The green is Mike Starmer’s recommendation for British SCC15 green, a 50/50 mix of VMC 888 Olive Grey and 924 Russian Uniform, and it is definitely “greener” than straight 924 which was simply wrong to my mind. For comparison, the barrel on the back deck of “Allahkeefik” is 924, completely lacking the green and here appearing very drab by contrast.

Out of 20-something vehicles in the Squadron I’ve only managed to finish six so far, this half of the HQ and the Stuart Recce Troop.

CdlT

Saruman & Grima

2010-07-21T13:08:00.004+02:00

Painted these two largely as an exercise in painting white and black: Saruman the White (but not too white) and Grima Wormatongue, both from the GW Lord of the Rings range.

The white was a chance to use the P3 Shades. I started with a base of Hammerfall Khaki for the darkest shadows, then added Menoth White Base until painting pure MW Base, then into Menoth White Highlight, etc., and finally Morrow White. In the past I have always had trouble painting with Vallejo white, but the P3 shades are simply awesome. I also like the less-than-pure white effect here: as Saruman had turned to evil, it makes more sense to me.

I went for a very “soft” approach, applying multiple layers of thinned paint from one colour to the next, intermixing as I went. Very time consuming, and not something I will do on rank and file gaming pieces, but something I have wanted to try for a while now. I’m pretty happy with the cloth overall, though there are places where the shadows could be softer: something I need to work on.

The main part I don’t like on the figure is the hair: it’s just too strong a contrast for my liking. The face could also do with a bit more definition I think, as is the highlights appear too dark (or rather not enough contrast between layers).

Grima Wormtongue was the candidate for painting black. In the past I have always worked with black followed by dark greys as highlights which always ended up looking like....dark grey. Here I confined the greys to, well, the stringy bits on his arms and the fluffy-looking thing on his shoulders...technical terms these. Apart from this the cloth was painted black and only the very edges highlighted with a mixture of P3 Thamar Black and P3 Coal Black, the lightest highlights being Coal Black. This gives the black a blue-ish tinge, but to me was preferable to more dark grey. Dogey pics don’t show this too well though.

I kept the face suitably pale and tried to give it a wormy look, a slight reddish was under the eyes, etc. The Grima character in the movies was, for me, one of the better adaptations from Tolkien's work.

As always, C&C more than welcome.

CdlT

1st Army Carriers & 6-pounders

2010-05-22T13:23:00.001+02:00

A couple more 1st Army platoons, all done to match previous work as far as possible.

Carrier patrol with .50 cals (a Flames of War favourite...)

6-pounder Platoon

CdlT

1st Army Churchills

2010-05-16T12:40:00.003+02:00

Part of a British army I'm working on as a commission. I really, really dislike painting Churchills: there seems to be so much detail everywhere, but they do look rather good when finished.

Now I also need to convince Dom Skelton to do some tac signs and AoS numbers for all the Tunisia Churchill Brigades...

CdlT

Airlanding Platoon finished.

2010-05-13T11:39:00.001+02:00

Err...yeah. Finished ages ago actually, I'm just really lazy with pictures and struggled to get decent shots of these. Tried instead to do a few bases at a time.

(Click for larger images)

Won the “Best Infantry Platoon” in the Battlefront/Flames of War painting competition, so I'm not complaining...surprised, yes. Complaining, no :).

CdlT

WiP Airlanding Platoon

2010-03-28T11:04:00.001+02:00

A few shots of my WiP Airlanding Platoon, click for larger versions:

I've found adding a shadow colour to the Denison's camouflage, while a little more time consuming, brings out the camo much better. I've also tried to paint “swatches” of colour for a more authentic look: a bit difficult in figures this size, but as always suggestion is everything.

Seven more to finish the platoon.

CdlT

Painting by layers

2010-03-18T16:57:00.010+02:00

I thought I'd start a tutorial from the basics up, starting with the flesh areas. This has the advantages of giving me a bit of practice trying to get semi-decent close-up photos, as well as showing the order in which I usually paint figures.

I paint by applying several layers of paint, from darkest to lightest. This is known as layering, the 3-layer style, the Foundry Method, etc. Over a black undercoat, a shadow colour is painted, then a mid-tone, and finally one or more highlights. In 15mm however, I don't leave a black line between colours for definition, relying rather on the shadow colour to define areas in place of harsher black. Click on the images below for larger versions.

I undercoat with Humbrol No. 33 matt black enamel and leave to dry overnight: use whatever you like however, as long as it works for you. The figure here is a US NCO figure from Battlefront's US Infantry Range sculpted by Evan Allen. Colours used for flesh are all Vallejo Game Colour (VGC). I almost always start with the flesh areas, unless the figures have helmets covered with netting, in which case these are done first.

The flesh areas are initially painted with two, thinned coats of VGC Tan. I am not too neat with this: I don't try to mess over everything, but a bit of paint on other areas is no big deal as it will be cleaned up later.

VGC Dwarf Flesh is then used. I block paint with this, meaning basically that I paint the Dwarf Flesh over most areas, leaving the Tan showing in the recesses. These include the mouth, lines around the nose, the eyes, areas between the fingers, etc.

I block paint in two steps. Firstly, the nose and eyebrow areas are painted in a sort of “T” shape, even if the latter messes onto the helmet a little, and then the mouth area is painted, first the upper lip, then a “U” shape around...if that makes any sense. Secondly, the neck and cheek areas are painted in. As the middle of the face is now defined, the cheek areas are easily painted in, leaving the Tan where detail is required.

Most flesh areas are then highlighted with VGC Elf Flesh. I highlight the upper-lip, the nose (not the brow area unless very visible), cheeks, neck, fingers and hands, etc. The highlight I've applied here was pretty heavy, covering most of the Dwarf Flesh areas. You can leave areas on the cheek Dwarf Flesh to create further detail there, and so on. Generally I don't like my faces to look overly detailed at this scale, but that's just me.

Painting the face...

Next, the M1941 Jacket, webbing and leggings are painted with Vallejo Model Colour (VMC) 887 Brown Violet. The whole Jacket is painted, taking care to paint straight lines around the neck and sleeve areas bordering the hands, etc. The leggings and the strap on the Thompson SMG were similarly painted.

The helmet and any other olive drab equipment (Bazookas, the grenade here, etc) was painted with Coat d'arms (CDA) 508 Olive Drab, though VMC Brown Violet with a bit of black added would work just as well. When painting the helmet, the previous areas where the flesh messed onto it are painted over leaving a clean, rounded line between the flesh and helmet.

The M1941 Jacket was then block-painted with Vallejo Panzer Aces (VPA) 318 US Army Tank Crew. This is painted over most of the jacket, leaving the Brown Violet in the creases and folds as a shadow colour. The effect is quite subtle, but since the folds are quite subtle on these figures I prefer a smoother transition between colours. The figure below shows the first coat on the M1941 Jacket and the Green Grey webbing: the colours were too similar for my liking, so I later changed the webbing colour.

(Note: I started the webbing, leggings and straps below with VMC 886 Green Grey, but changed this later as there would not have been sufficient contrast between the Green Grey webbing and the colour chosen for the M1941 Jacket.)

The trousers, boots and wood areas on the weapon were painted with VMC 889 USA Olive Drab. The strap on the helmet was also picking out in USOD, while the webbing was re-painted with VMC 879 Green Brown as an alternate webbing colour. The helmet (visible on the left-had side figure) was painted with a 50/50 mix of CDA Olive Drab and VMC Brown Violet. A shadow is left just above the lower lip of the helmet: further highlights will pick this out more while attempting to produce a gradual transition of colour on the rounded helmet.

The boots were then painted with VMC 984 Flat Brown, the front strap on the helmet was painted the same colour. The wood on Thompson butt, fore-grip and handle was painted with VMC 983 Flat Earth.

The Thompson SMG was painted in shades of grey for a more NNM (non-metallic metal) look. First with black, then 995 German grey and finally the edges were highlighted with VMC 836 London Grey. This last colour is applied to the edges only, attempting to define the weapon with highlights. The wood parts were highlighted with VPA 311 New Wood.

The webbing was highlighted with VMC 879 Green Brown mixed with VPA Tank-crew Highlight (roughly 50/50). The trousers, initially block-painted with 826 German Camo Medium Brown, were highlighted with VMC 873 US Field Drab (mixed with some German Camo Med. Brown to tone it down a little).

A highlight was then applied to the jacket, a mix of VPA US Tank-crew and the highlight colour, again roughly 50/50.

The Helmet was done last, highlighting with VMC Brown Violet, then another thin layer of Brown Violet and Tankcrew Highlight (about 80/20) to the upper areas. The grenade had a few dot of this HL applied as well.

...and you're done. There are several alternate colours which can be used so please don't take these as the "correct" colours, they're just what I'm leaning towards at the moment.

CdlT

Luftwaffe on e-bay

2010-03-09T10:16:00.004+02:00

Never really had a use for these in any army: I fancied a Luftwaffe infantry force, but the sheer size of the army and amount of painting involved put paid to that.

If you're interested: Luftwaffe Jaeger Platoon

CdlT

General von Sauken

2010-03-07T12:22:00.003+02:00

Not much of an update I'm afraid. The "General von Sauken" command team, painted with the Vallejo “Panzer Aces” splinter colours for a change. While a little bright close up, it actually looks rather good on the table.

You can tell I've been busy...

Not.

CdlT

M4A1 Sherman Platoon

2010-01-13T17:04:00.006+02:00

Sherman platoon; supposedly for supporting my US Glider Rifle Company in Normandy. Not that I actually have a Glider Rifle Coy mind you.

I went with a standard Olive Drab scheme as I feel camouflaged US tanks are a little overdone. Basic US Olive Drab, black pin-wash over the details, then block-painted with a 50/50 mix of USOD and Brown Violet. Highlighted with Brown Violet, then edges picked out with a progressively lighter mix of Brown Violet and the Vallejo Panzer Aces colour “US Uniform Highlight”....don't ask.

Front Hull decals are the Battlefront ones from the box (and not very crisp they are) while the ones on the turret sides are Dom's and much nicer in my opinion: should have used them on the hull as well!

CdlT

25-pounder Battery HQ

2009-11-27T15:22:00.004+02:00

The HQ lot. Made up from an ad hoc mix of the LW British figures in Mk. IIIs helmets and a piper from the Commando blister. The other lads in berets (strictly GS caps) and the officer in peak cap are from the 7th Armoured Infantry blister. Forgot to take pictures of the OP Carriers, but they're not that exciting anyway.

(click to expand)

I still have a staff team to add with a mix of Highland Div, 6th Airborne and Commando Officers to add to the HQ group. Then the last Commando Section, an Airlanding Platoon, Airlanding 6-pounders and another 4 x 25-pounders.

CdlT

Highland Division 25-pounders

2009-11-14T09:45:00.003+02:00

The first 4 of a full battery (that's 8...) for my Commando: Orne Bridgehead army. I had bee resisting this purchase for a while: 60+ figure and eight guns is a fair bit of painting for one unit. But the double-width template is hard to resist when my Commandos won't be far behind...

The pictures aren't too good for the arty: the green does not seem to photograph too well, or perhaps my lighting is too strong (the helmets aren't shiny in real life, so that might be it). Shadow colour also need to be darkened I think, but I like the slightly darker green over straight Russian Uniform.

I'll add the HQ group later

CdlT

PaK 40 Anti-tank Guns

2009-11-08T12:24:00.006+02:00

PaK 40s, more from the Panzer Lehr fold. I went with simple dunkelgelb without any camo...much prefer it, especially on things with lots of small details like ATGs.

They have proved to be...completely useless so far. In their last game they missed five out of six shots deploying in ambush at point-blank range. Things can (I hope) only improve.

Off to paint now....

CdlT

Wasps & SCC15

2009-10-30T17:11:00.005+02:00

British tanks and most other vehicles in 1944 were painted in an overall scheme of a colour designated SCC15. Most people have difficulty finding the “right” colour for, say, the ubiquitous German Dunkelgelb or US Olive Drab. Not me. SCC15 is my nemesis.

Battlefront, fount of wisdom they are, have long recommended straight 924 Russian Uniform as the correct colour. I always though it too light and mixed dozens of shade searching for something that looked better.

In a discussion of the Flames of War forum Mike Starmer, something of an expert on British paint colours and camouflage schemes of the Second World War, recommended a 50/50 mix of VMC 888 Olive Grey and 924 Russian Uniform. This produces quite an attractive darker green.

For 15mm I used the mix 50/50 Olive Grey/Russian Uniform. This was applied over a shadow of Olive Grey and black and block-painted Olive Grey. Straight Russian Uniform was used for the highlights, mostly confined to raised details and prominent edges (However, I now much prefer the Vallejo Panzer Aces colour "327 Italian Tankcrew", avoiding the dull Russian Uniform altogether). The Wasps below were the “test piece”.

I'm pretty satisfied with the results and have commenced painting my Cromwell Armoured Squadron using the same colours. They received 50th Div decals (from Doms) because I had no others at the time, even though don't recall 50th Div using Wasps.

CdlT

Caucasian Flesh Recipes

2009-10-28T11:29:00.003+02:00

Blackfly on the Steve Dean Forum had been working on these for a while, collecting "recipes" from contributors on the forum. The finished results can be found here:

Caucasian Flesh Recipes

I've been using #4 for a while, but I suppose I'l have to try out some of the others as well, #7 for instance. I should post some larger 28mm stuff......of course I'd actually have to finish some 28mm stuff too....

CdlT

Panzer Lehr Half-tracks

2009-10-26T16:13:00.004+02:00

Panzer Lehr Sd Kfz 251/1 Half-tracks

Half-tracks are one-piece resin castings by Kerr and King, crew by Battlefront. First five of ten, the first platoon and the 2iC.

The camo scheme might raise a few eyebrows, but I do like it: simple, and suits my painting style, plus I'm aiming for aesthetically pleasing, not historical accuracy here. Based on a camo scheme of a Grossdeutchland Panther: brown might have been better than the pseudo Olive Drab, but honestly I don't care....bloody German vehicles....

(click full-sized versions)

The actual Panthers are a WiP right now.

CdlT

Lehr Nebelwerfers

2009-10-22T15:00:00.003+02:00

...for my Panzer Lehr Armoured Panzergrenadier force. Click for the full-sized versions.

Lots more to post, just no time right now.

CdlT

Could it be?

2009-08-16T20:55:00.008+02:00

A new post?

A couple of pics of figs painted yesterday...the new(ish) Engineer-Sapper figures. Just three test figs for now: I don't plan on starting this army just yet, but it will hopefully happen in the future.

Adding definition to camo is always something I unsure of...i.e. how much depth to add. Too much can muddle the camo detail, but I like to add at least some (as above) to show folds in clothing, etc. where there is no brown. This might need to be darkened in the above, or maybe I'll try highlighting the brown amoeba blobs to define them better. Or both. Forgot to highlight the boots as well. Leather is too bright. The "collar" should in fact be part of the body armour and not clothing, etc.

I drive myself nuts.

CdlT

Sikhs..and then some.

2009-04-11T20:38:00.009+02:00

Battlefont Sikhs. Click on the pictures to expand them.

EDIT: Added a few more, taken on a light blue background...the lighting is probably still a bit harsh.

CdlT

Bretonnian Lord

2009-02-26T16:57:00.003+02:00

What it says on the tin.

First 28mm mounted figure...probably not the best to start with! A little shiny in places because of the lighting, but otherwise he turned out OK.

CdlT

Beregond & Std. Bearer

2009-02-22T16:25:00.003+02:00

Std. Bearer of Gondor

Beregond

Highlighting on the black dosen't show up too well...its quite subtle in the pictures. Ironically, the Std. Bearer probably came out best so far.

Also uploaded new pics of my 1st/5th Queens Carriers. Wonders what lighting does...

CdlT

Eowyn, Shield Maiden of Rohan

2009-02-22T16:17:00.002+02:00

Came out OK...first female figure I've done.

CdlT

New AVsRE

2009-02-22T10:47:00.005+02:00

That's "Armoured Vehicles, Royal Engineers" for the uninitiated.

Delayed putting up pics since I've been working on my lighting set-up to try and improve my photography which, to be honest, is (still) not up to scratch. Still, I'll get there...hopefully!

CdlT

M10 3" SP Anti-tank Platoon...StuGs beware!

2009-01-13T18:27:00.004+02:00

Finished. M10 3" SP Platoon from 20th Anti-tank Regiment, 3rd British Infantry Division.

These have been painted to support my Commandos against the hordes of armour I'm facing lately. I painted them in a similar way to my 1st/5th Queens Carriers. Marking were kept fairly simple, 3 Div sign hand-painted, the rest are from Dom's Decals.

CdlT

Luftwaffe Jaeger Platoon

2008-12-08T18:23:00.005+02:00

Luftwaffe Jaegers. Meant to put these up last week, but completely forgot. Click on pics to expand.

No 5-man bases...I just don't do it any more unless it serves some specific purpose, e.g. for SMG teams, etc. The Panzerfaust gunner is a Skytrex figure (thanks Colin!), but I painted him without Camou for a change. Some of the pics are a bit out of focus...need a light box. Bushes are Woodland Scenics Fine Leaf Foliage...just something different.

The epaulettes are technically incorrect as Luftwaffe Jaegers would be wearing white.

The officer has a blued cap, the rest should as well, but I only found that out later.

CdlT

DBA Early Imperial Romans

2008-11-27T15:19:00.003+02:00

DBA Early Imperial Romans, figures by Corvus Belli.

All for now.

CdlT

1st/5th Queens Royal Regiment Carriers

2008-11-20T14:18:00.007+02:00

The test piece for my 1 RTR/7th Armoured. Universal Carriers from the 1st/5th Queens Royal Regiment, 131 Queens Lorried Infantry Brigade.

EDIT: Right, ditched the old pics and uploaded the new ones.

CdlT

DBA Later Crusaders

2008-11-20T13:23:00.004+02:00

No updates for a while...school's out for the year though, at last.

DBA Crusaders. Figs are Museum Miniatures. Not bad, painted a while ago but never used. Based LOOSELY on the Battle of La Forbie in 1244 AD. The Kingdom of Jerusalem knights are a little stylised, as is the spearmen base with blue shields, but I like the effect.

Pics shrunk...really not sure what I'm doing here...I just paint :)

Much more to come.

CdlT

Back online...

2008-10-30T22:59:00.011+02:00

Back online..after SEVEN MONTHS. But, on the bright side, wireless RULES!

In, err, celebration, I suppose, here are some close-ups of my completed Luftwaffe Jaeger Platoon. Click on the pics to expand

Now to base...

Chevalier de la Terre

Luftwaffe Figures

2008-09-15T13:04:00.004+02:00

Luftwaffe Test Figures...

...not bad; I'm attempting to do the whole platoon this week.

CdlT

Russians and, err, more Russians

2008-09-12T10:25:00.044+02:00

All the rage apparently. Anyway, here are the photos of Wednesday's game, though not very professional; I'll try better next time. I played JB twice in MW, while Colin and Mike played each other twice as well, though in LW. I completely forgot to take pics of the first game, which is a pity because there were mounds of dead Cossacks and burning SU 85s, but I did get some of the second which JB won...go figure.

Here JB counts out his Russian Tankovy...one hundred and one...one hundred and two...one hundred and three...one hundred and four.... I'm told the gent of the far right was acting as umpire...he looks the part, anyway.

My initial set-up. The mission was Hold the Line, my German Panzergrenadiers (DAK-based, but I fielded a Tiger for a change) defending against Ruussian T-70s, T-34s and KV 1s and 2s. First Panzergrenadier Platoon is on the right objective, Tiger I and two Mk III Ls in the centre, PaK 38s in ambush, second objective to the right of the right-most Panzer III. In reserve were Infantry guns, another Panzergrenadier Platoon and three mortars...not ideal for fighting an all-tank army, but I've won before with similar odds.

My plan was to hold the left-most objective with a full-strength Panzergrenadier platoon with attached 2ic and C-in-C (both panzerknackered) with a 'knacker Command Team. As long as I could counter-attack in any assault (which i should with attached CO), I felt confident that I could deal with the initial wave (always T-70s) and hold off the KVs until reserves arrived. The Tiger would hopefully have dealt with a few KVs by then as well, while the Panzer IIIs took on T-34s and the ambush waited until they couldn't possibly miss.

A good plan, perhaps. But, alas, it was not to be; the dice gods laughed at my foolishness...and laughed...and laughed....and laughed...

Panzergrenadiers await the Red onslaught...

The Tiger holds the hill.

T-70s and KVs.

T-34s in the woods.

Soviets advance...

...

T-34s cross the river, one succumbed to a Panzer III.

T-70s confront the German infantry.

PaK 38s revealed from ambush. With 9 shots I managed to score 9 hits. JB saved 8...ONE T-34 died. Criminal, just criminal...

T-70s and KVs. The Tiger managed to kill one...yes ONE...despite having Every Shot Counts as Tiger Ace Skill.

PaK 38s and a Panzer III duel it out with T-34s...

...the PaKs ultimately lose.

...

A Panzer III falls to a KV round.

Now, this was the crux of the game. The T-70s assaulted my Panzergrenadier and killed one base. The Panzergrenadier Platoon (incl. 3 Panzerknacker teams!) the failed their motivation to counter-attack, and then failed the C-in-C's re-roll; they fell back.

...

The Panzergrenadier then failed their motivation, leaving the objective barely contested, plus the PaKs were all dead... the two Panzer IIIs were dead by now as well...the Tiger crew ran away...

I conceded defeat; all-in-all not a very good show from my side, but fun nonetheless, despite some positively shocking dice on both sides.. Well done JB!

Other pics. JC on the left, yours truly on the right.

Colin on the right, Mike on the left. Mike, as you may have noticed, looks rather enthusiastic (the burning StuG at the bottom may have something to do with it...) while Colin puts on brave face.

The dog...'nuff said.

All for now.

CdlT

49th (West Riding) Division

2008-01-06T13:52:00.000+02:00

A belated Happy New Year to anyone who cares to listen. Not much has been happening over the “Festive Season” in SA, but then nothing usually does as the whole country appears to shut down for four weeks…I’m not complaining either.

My university registration has been completed for the first semester of ’08, finished today to boot. It looks like a mix of Ancient History, Anthropology, English and Psychology…and wargaming and painting, hopefully! Two more years to go…

Still painting like mad, having finished a British 3” Mortar Platoon and a platoon of Vickers MMGs and a few assorted command pieces. Nearly done the two Crusader IIs, then more infantry, the Cromwell Squadron, LotR Gondorians and 28mm Crusaders…why did I get myself into this?!?

In future I’m going to track my painting progress and post a monthly list of what I have (or, as the case may be, have not) painted in the last month. Thing might not be pretty, so consider yourself forewarned!

I’m also trying to get my grandfather’s records of the Second World War, but the extended family and co. seem reluctant to part with them for some reason I cannot fathom, especially since none of them know anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) about the Second World War. My grandfather died nearly 11 years ago and he never spoke much of the war from what I can gather from my father and uncles. Apart from knowing that he was in the 2nd Battalion, the Essex Regiment, in 56 (Sphinx) Infantry Brigade in 1944-45, I know little else. Initially 56 Brigade was attached to the 50th (‘Tyne Tees’ or Northumberland) Infantry Division until August 1944, also coming under command of the 7th Armoured Division and the 59th Division for periods, when they joined the 49th (‘Polar Bear’ or West Riding) Division. In terms of histories I have Patrick Delaforce’s Divisional Histories on the 50th and 49th Divisions, but the former makes little mention of 56 Brigade while the latter is of course concerned with August ‘44 onwards. Thus, from June to August 1944, I know nothing save for this comment is Delaforce’s “The Polar Bears: Monty’s Left Flank” which says:

‘The Pompadours’, the 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment, were raised in 1755 and took their name from the deep purple facings of their eighteenth-century uniform. From 12 June the wood near the village of Verrières was known as ‘Essex Wood’, where Tiger tanks took an appalling toll. A week later the Pompadours took part in the three-day battle for Tilly-sur-Seulles against the Panzer Lehr Division. Again casualties were heavy, and after 16 days in action they were a very, very tired battalion. Lt.-Col. G.G. Elliott had taken over from Lt.-Col. Higson after the 12 June battle. For most of July the 2nd Essex were at Parfouru l’Eclin, under most vicious stonking from Launay Ridge. Then, from 8 to 17 August under the command of the 59th Division, after several daring night marches they captured Forge-à-Cambro east of Thury-Harcourt. Brig. Ekins commanded the well-respected Sphinx Brigade when it joined the Polar Bears at Pedouze on Saturday 19 August.”

(From The Polar Bears: Monty’s Left Flank, Chapter 25, Pg 126)

Not much prior to August ’44 then, so I’ll have to keep looking.

49th (West Riding) Division Order of Battle, June 1944

(This is merely a provisional OOB, as I find more information I will update it. Any information is welcome)

70th Infantry Brigade

10th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
11th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish

146th Infantry Brigade

4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment
1/4th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
Hallamshire Battalion

147th Infantry Brigade

11th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers
6th Battalion Duke of Wellingtons
7th Battalion Duke of Wellingtons

Divisional Artillery

69th Field Regiment Royal Artillery
143rd Field Regiment Royal Artillery
185th Field Regiment Royal Artillery
55th Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery
89th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery

Divisional Engineers

289th Field Park Company Royal Engineers
294th Field Company Royal Engineers
756th Field Company Royal Engineers
757th Field Company Royal Engineers
23rd Bridging Platoon Royal Engineers

Divisional RASC

460th Company Royal Army Service Corps
482nd Company Royal Army Service Corps
483rd Company Royal Army Service Corps
118th Divisional Company Royal Army Service Corps

Divisional RAOC

49th Ordnance Field Park Royal Army Ordnance Corps
49th Mobile Laundry and Bath Unit

Divisional REME

70th Infantry Brigade Workshop
146th Infantry Brigade Workshop
147th Infantry Brigade Workshop

Royal Army Medical Corps

146th Field Ambulance RAMC
160th Field Ambulance RAMC
187th Field Ambulance RAMC
16th Field Dressing Station RAMC
17th Field Dressing Station RAMC
35th Field Hygine Section RAMC

Machine Gun Battalion

2nd Battalion Kensington Regiment

Other Units

49th Recce Regiment RAC
49th Provost Company CMP
49th Divisional Signals Royal Corps of Signals