Finished: Two 1:144 scale Spitfire IX

Hi folks,

Playing catchup on completed work again - figured I should get these done before my 2023 roundup post in a few weeks. 

These models are some long time lead pile lurkers - mainly as I was lacking in confidence in how to do them justice. The models are 1:144 scale Battlefront resin and metal kits (ACO13 for those interested) representing Spitfire IX fighter-bombers (commonly referred to as Spitbombers). Battlefront originally released these as part of the v3 'Road to Rome' allied book - possibly back in 2016?

Anyway, I'd picked up a pair of them over time - with the intention of doing some Spits for my Normandy games. 

I'll say here and now that I don't consider myself to be a modeller per say - I build stuff to play games with - so these are no perfect replicas. However, as much as I hand painted the stripes and undoubtedly bodged the markings and the likes, I'm pretty happy with these. 

The two models are armed with bombs, machine guns and cannon. They seemed to have been used in a divebombing role, which they were apparently unsuited for. The Spitfire IX (mk.9) was initially a re-engined Spitfire Vc - rushed into service due to huge RAF losses caused by the German introduction of the FW190. When development of the Spitfire moved on, the Spitfire IX's were relegated to other roles, such as divebombing and ground support. 

I nicked the flight stands for my Team Yankee SU25s, as I like to use the taller flight stands. 

Finished?!: 15mm M5 Halftracks - again

Hi folks,

Another outcome from my recent reshuffle of transport vehicles for the 17-pdrs was a re-working of the previous halftracks into a new unit. 

I have two planned units which would use M5 halftracks as transport vehicles. After a bit of a think I decided to re-do the 5 halftracks as part of The Lake Superior Regiment (of 4th Canadian Armoured Division). 

These 5 vehicles include four plastic PSC models and one resin and metal BF kit. In the images, you can tell which is which by the crew members - the Battlefront kit has pairs of soldiers. 

Previously, they looked like this:

The Battlefront model, in it's initial scheme of a Pioneer vehicle

The PSC models, in their initial A/T regiment markings

So these have now been re-based and given some weathering to decals and hull. I've added some tactical markings in green, and the appropriate divisional and AoS markings. A full company of these would have 12 halftracks and some command vehicles (possible M3 scout cars). 

It shouldn't take much to finish off the unit... but a project for another day. 

Finished: 15mm CMP Oerlikon SPAA

Hi folks,

I've continued to work on the bits and bobs of my lead mountain that have sat untended and grey for many years - completing some of the units that seemed like a good idea but that I've never gotten round to. 

Back at the end of 3rd Ed Flames of War Battlefront had a sale, and I picked up a set of four 15mm scale Battlefront resin and metal "20mm Oerlikon Self-propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (BR181)". Mainly because I liked the models and also as I was planning a foray into more D-day related stuff. 

These vehicles seem to have been far more common in the initial months in Normandy than you would expect. Prior allied invasions in Sicily and the likes had shown that the Luftwaffe would respond strongly to any invasion, and a massive aerial response was expected for the landings in France. When planning for Operation Overlord was being done (late 1943 - early 1944) the Luftwaffe remained a strong and dangerous opponent. The fall in strength from late 1943 until the landings was unexpected and a result of concentrated effort by various allied bomber offensives. 

As such, the AA component of the landings was planned to be far higher than you might think. British and Commonwealth anti-air units were pretty massive, and adding to this size was the late spring 1944 addition of extra batteries of SPAA 20mm guns. If you look at the air defences for the British Mulberry harbour as an example, hundreds of 40mm Bofors guns and whole regiments of 3.7" guns were deployed. 

Different units seem to have incorporated these 20mm additions in different ways, and they were gone from around August 1944. The 20mm AA was unpopular due to it's limited impact on enemy aircraft and crucially it's limited deployability in the packed Normandy beachhead. The 20mm rounds would not self destruct, and as what goes up must come down, they posed a threat to other surrounding units and ships. This meant that they could only really be used in positions where there was no risk of friendly fire due to AA fire returning to the ground - with such places being lacking in the beachhead. 

Having looked at some of the Canadian AA units war diaries, it seems like the 40mm Bofors guns far outperformed these smaller autocannons, however the 'heavy' AA units (with 3.7" guns) appear to have been most effective at shooting down enemy aircraft. 

As the campaign progressed and the feared Luftwaffe presence did not appear, the AA units were reduced in size - from 54 to 36 guns. 'Gunners in Normandy' states that this reorganisation freed up 234 officers and 6,660 other ranks for retraining as infantry or replacements for other artillery units. 

Anyway - onto the models. These kits were nice and simple to build, and look pretty cool in my opinion. Two crew per vehicle, and I avoided stowage as places to place it seemed limited. 

As usual, decals are a mix of Doms Decals, Skytrex and Battlefront. These vehicles are marked up as being part of 4th Canadian Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (from 3rd Canadian Infantry Division). 

Stay tuned for more (likely pointless) allied AA units!

Finished: 15mm CMP Quads

Hi folks,

As I mentioned in my last post, I did a little re-jigging of some of my units. Part of that process was the building and painting of four PSC CMP Quads, taken from the 25-pdr PSC kit. 

These quads were marked up as vehicles from 61st Anti-Tank Regiment, 51st Highland Division, replacing the halftracks which had been used for this unit previously. The halftracks will feature in a future blog article. 

While I was happy with how these models looked, it took some serious messing to put them together. Yet another example of a PSC kit not fitting correctly together. The roof just would not go on, and needed to be carved and filed on the inside to sit even close to correctly. 

I added a selection of stowage, just to individualise the models a little. Decals were my usual selection, though I've now used all my Doms Decals 51st HD markings, so I'm using some from Skytrex. The markings are somewhat covered by the weathering anyway, although they are a bit easier to see with the eye than the camera. 

These should probably have had the mickey mouse camo pattern on them, but I went with my plain green as it fits in better (and I didn't want to spend a lot of time working on transport vehicles that will barely see the table!).

Kitted out with limbered guns and the ammo trailers:

So another little scheme completed - one I'd been planning for a long time, having picked up the PSC box years ago. I do have a partial plan to mount and paint the PSC 25-pdrs in a limbered style, to be tagged onto the back of some BF quads... and maybe some Bofors guns... 

Finished: 17-pdr Ram Towers

Hi folks,

My first little selected unit after the end of my Team Yankee painting involved a little re-jigging of some existing units, and the painting of two new ones. I'd become aware over time that the Battlefront v3 information regarding Halftracks being used as towing vehicles in British and Canadian Anti-Tank units wasn't correct for the Normandy period. 

It seems that most units would use Quad tractors, with some using Crusader tows or Rams.

And having done some reading of the 6th Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment, RCA (the Anti-Tank regiment of II Canadian Corps), I had realised that this unit had a mix of 3" armed M10s and turretless Ram tank towers for their regular 17-pdrs. I've already got some M10s for this unit, and wanted to add the Rams as a nice unusual unit. 

I'd set aside four of the old 15mm Battlefront resin vehicles from my stash, and set to work. I'm pretty sure these are the wrong version of the Ram hull, but they'll do for my purposes. I quickly realised I wanted to make this unit look a little closer to some of the images of Ram towers I'd seen (see below). Laden with ammo and stowage and crammed full of gun crew. That involved a large amount of digging through my spare figures and vehicle crew models, as well as some chopping and squeezing... 

The process of sorting out the various units I wanted to update saw me rebase and apply some light weathering to my Skytrex limbered 17-pdrs. The guns had been on larger bases, but I scaled them down to match the towing vehicles. I'd also found some old Battlefront ammo limbers in my stash, and having seen these used alongside the 17-pdrs I thought I'd get them built, painted and added in. 

Decals were the usual mix, with squinty stars to mark these as Canadian units. I'd picked up some II Canadian Corps markings from Doms Decals back in the day, and modified some Royal Artillery markings to have the Corps white bar and AoS number 2. This was a bit rough (I can't freehand) so it was covered with a liberal application of weathering. 

 Aerials are my usual fishing line and the crew figures are all various Battlefront models. 

This unit is unlikely to get a lot of table time - but I love the look of limbered guns moving forward on the table!

Some of the photos I used as references:

Not my picture - Image used without permission for educational purposes

Not my picture - Image used without permission for educational purposes

Finished: WW3 Team Yankee Dutch project

Hi folks,

As mentioned in my last blog entry, I've finished all the units I had in the paint queue for my Team Yankee Dutch. As I swapped my only other painted army (my 10mm ACW) for other figures, this now becomes my only completed force!

These are 15mm Battlefront models (for the most part, with a couple of resin 3d prints from Butlers Printed Models). 

Well, completed at the moment. Time will tell whether I add any of the extras from the newest NATO Forces book. 

The finished project leaves me with a full Mechanised Infantry company, a Leopard 1 company, a Leopard 2 company, all the various support assets and a Recce company (which needs tanks from one of the other companies in order to be fielded). I've also added some earlier Dutch wheeled APCs, and some anti-tank jeeps. West Germany is represented by some air support and Roland Marders. 

It was mentioned by the guys when I was taking the photos at the end of the club games day in October (I have limited space now at home for pics like this) that there is a lot more varied tone to these models when seen in person than the photos of the finished models show. A mix of the lighting and the way that the weathering product I've used shows up on camera I think. 

I've now moved onto other bits and bobs - avoiding large planned projects for now in favour of clearing some low hanging fruit collection wise, and painting some of the odds and sods I have had outstanding for a while. More on those bits soon!

Finished: 15mm Dutch Leopard 2A4 troop III

Hi folks,

A quick post - much delayed at this point - on my final finished unit from my Team Yankee project. 

These Battlefront plastic Leopard 2A4s were painted prior to the Geopards, but I'd forgotten to document them. While preparing a post showing off the finished project I realised I'd missed it and for the sake of my end of year roundup... wanted to put something up. 

These were painted to the same formula as the other troops, so nothing new to report. I do need to go back and do a little standardisation of the highlighting around the gun barrels. 

Battlefront decals applied, usual fishing line aerials. Usual command tank with a commander for ease of picking out on the table. 

The whole Leo 2 squadron lined up. 

I'm slightly tempted to pick up 3 more of these models, just to get 3 troops of four vehicles.

Full army display post will follow soon. 

Finished: 15mm Dutch M113 C&V Recon Platoons III and IV

Hi folks,

Another catch up blog for models completed in the last month or so. This time, my final two Recon platoons. 

Platoon III

And Platoon IV (including the squadron HQ vehicle)

These are resin and metal Battlefront kits, with Battlefront decals and my usual fishing line aerials. 

These final platoons give me a total of 8 of these vehicles. They can be combined with Leo 1's or 2's to make up a Recce squadron. I may need another platoon of infantry to have the Recce section... but that's a 'would like' rather than a 'must have'. 

Finished: 15mm Dutch PRTL Platoon

Hi folks,

Powering on with my Cold War Dutch project, I oddly found my motivation flagging on the last few models. However, I managed to grit my teeth and get on with it - and it's all done!

One of the last units was a PRTL Panterluchtdoel Peloton. These are 15mm resin and metal miniatures from Battlefront. 

These vehicles were a parallel development of the German Flugabwehr Panzer 'Gepard'. These used a different radar that the German version. 

Nine complete crews were assigned to each platoon, allowing the three PRTLs to operate around the clock. The crews rotated from the PRTL to the stinger group (during the day), to rest. Hence in Team Yankee the number of Stinger units is limited to the number of PRTL units. 

As usual, Battlefront decals have been used, with fishing line as aerials. I applied my standard weathering to these. I have to say adding the weapons was a bugger, as well as balancing the turrets while painting them. 

Finished: 15mm Dutch M113 C&V Recon Platoon II

Hi folks,

Another little unit, painted alongside the three Leopards again. 

Two resin and metal Battlefront recce vehicles, nothing much to add from my previous post on these. 

I used my standard bits on these, Battlefront decals, fishing line aerials and magnetic basing. I've had to vary some of the green tufts, as I've run out of one type and the company I bought them from seems to be gone. I'll try a retailer I found on Etsy, and hope that the shade and size roughly matches!

Finished: 15mm Dutch Leopard 2A4 Troop II

Hi folks,

Painting has continued, interrupted by summer holidays and some time spent building Space Marines (of all things). 

I'm getting towards the end of the Dutch collection, just in time for Battlefront to announce the new NATO Nations book due out in October. This will add some new units to the Dutch, potentially Leopard 2A6s, Apaches and 120mm Mortar teams. I may add some more bits, and will definitely pick up the book. 

Another three Battlefront plastic Leopard 2A4s, forming my second troop. 

As before, Battlefront decals on these, and my usual fishing line aerials. Commander in the hatch of the lead vehicle. 

 

Finished: 15mm PAH Anti-tank Helicopter Flight

Hi folks,

Chipping away at my 'Modern' Dutch force. Thankfully the end is now in sight... until the new 'NATO Forces' comes up in the next month or two and adds more options. Unfortunately, as I look upon the dwindling number of models still to finish, my motivation is also dwindling. 

Still, one of the outstanding units had been some West German helicopter support for my Dutch. I'd been helped out again by Dave, who'd used his airbrush to lay on the camo pattern on these. I was really unsure about painting these, but had fun doing the Tornados so thought I would bump them up them up the queue. 

Armed with up to six Euromissile HOT missiles, these Helicopters entered West German service in the late 1970s and only retired in 2016. They were also widely exported and served in the armed forces of a huge number of nations in a huge number of roles. 

These particular models are Battlefront 15mm plastic kits. From memory, they went together pretty easily. The main rotor assembly has been magnetised to allow easier transport, and the flight bases have also been magnetised. Decals came from the box. I may revisit the glass on the cockpit at some point, and add some more detail. 

I've not done any weathering on the decals of either these or the Tornados, but I may revisit that in the future. I like the aircraft looking a little more pristine, I'll have to see how it looks on the table. 

I also accidentally discovered a way of easily pin washing these models (without mucking about with enamels, etc), something I'm keep to experiment with going forward. Basically, painting some water onto an area would then give the qualities needed to have the wash flow as required. I think this might work even better with acrylic thinner. 

And just for the record, here's my tracking sheet as it stands. Peach represents built models, with shades of yellow, orange and green used to track progress. The light green entries are models that are currently WiP.