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

Initial 15mm Sdkfz 251/1D platoon

Hi folks,

A bit of time has been spent over the last two weeks trying to get my first unit of German half-tracks to a state I was happy with. Unfortunately, this turned out to be more of a chore than I was expecting. I'm still not 100% happy, but seeing them based up tonight they actually look ok. Painting British stuff is a lot easier!

These are older Battlefront 15mm resin kits, with plastic tracks and wheels. 

I've still to add crew to them, which will come much later. Two will have machine gunners and passengers, while the other two will have passengers. 

I've based in my standard style, and added some foliage to the vehicles in the form of seafoam sprigs and leaf scatter. Not hugely keen on how this looks, but it helps break up the camo pattern a little. It also fits in with by SS tank units.  

Decals have been applies as usual, a mix of Skytrex, Doms Decals and PSC. 

Looking at them now, I've forgotten to add my usual dust weathering powder on the wheels and tracks, so will have to sort that. 

I really struggled with these, mainly I think because I went too bold with the camo colours, used the wrong brown, had to work to bring up the yellow more and to make the camo more subtle. My earlier attempts looked much more like the very late war hard edged stripes, rather than the more subtle Normandy camo. Still, the images I used as reference showed that this unit used a lot of brown and green on their vehicles, with only small amounts of base yellow showing. This is very different from the common schemes people use with a yellow base and small splotches of green and brown. I eventually tried multiple times, before resorting to using thinned down yellow and a stippling effect to tone down the camo pattern.

They look much better on bases, and I will use these as templates for the next lot. Thankfully, there isn't a lot of painting on them, if you know what you're doing!

 

Finished: 15mm Canadian Ram OP tank

Hi folks,

Busy times of late, leaving little time for painting. I did, however, manage to finish off a couple of units which had been work in progress after Christmas. 

First up is a Ram OP tank for my planned future Sexton battery from 23rd Field Regiment (Self Propelled), Royal Canadian Artillery. Intrigued by a period photograph of one of these vehicles waiting on the start of Operation Totalize, a few years ago (2017!) I set in motion a plan to have a suitable turret made by Butlers Printed Models. You can find the earlier blog article about this here. 

Suffice to say, this project has gone untouched for a while, as I focussed on other units. 

With the AHPC challenge coming up in December, and knowing that I might be a bit stuck for time over the first few months of the year, I decided to bump this model up the painting queue and had it prepped to work on along with the Polish Cromwells. 

Just to show the reference picture I was using:

I do have a further image, taken at around the same time and showing the same vehicle from a different angle (it's the 3rd vehicle in the column). While I can't spot any unit marking on the Shermans, there is a geometric diamond shape on the side hull of the lead tank, which would make it part of an HQ squadron. The Stowage and attempts at added armour indicate that this is not a picture taken in the UK:

This model consists of the hull of a Battlefront Ram Kangeroo, which was modified via green stuff to change it from the early mk.1 hull with the mini turret, to the later solid mk.II hull. Onto this, the BPM turret was mounted. I also added stowage and some bits of plastic offcuts to build some shape under the camo netting on the rear deck. The camo netting is a 1/72 scale product that I think works well at 15mm. The print quality of the turret is not great, so I added some additional stowage to the hull, and the camo netting thankfully covered up some of the rougher bits (print lines). 

I tried to paint the camo netting to show the strips of brown/khaki and green cloth interwoven through it. Aerials were added using fishing line. Decals were also added, marking this tank out as an OP vehicle from the above mentioned unit. I have 4 Canadian Sextons to go with this at some point, but not any time soon. The turret and hull were also magnetised. 

This tank, along with some Stuart Vs and Sherman DDs painted a while back, are currently my only Canadian armour for Normandy, but I have plans/models for more... here is the painting plan for the list including the Ram tank. 

Finished: 15mm D7 Bulldozer

Hi folks,

Another vehicle entry for the AHPC challenge! Only a single model for this last week, as prep for the game last Sunday and updating the 6 Pdr platoon (plus the NAAFI Truck) took up a lot of my time.

The NAAFI truck came 4th in the public voting for the 'Sport' round of the AHPC, so thanks to all who voted!

Anyway, for your perusal, a second D7 Bulldozer for my army:

This is the second of these vehicles, both of which as 15mm models from Skytrex. Long time blog readers might remember I finished one a few years ago (July 2015). I referenced back at the time I purchased the first model that a Bulldozer had been mentioned in 144RAC's war diary for Operation Totalize:

"Major Lovibond had gone on a good way towards the objective, accompanied only by a very gallant bulldozer who had been told to follow the tank in front and was faithfully carrying out his orders."

At the time, I believed that this Bulldozer would have been from 79th Armoured Division (149th Assault Park Squadron Royal Engineers, to be precise, part of 1st Assault Brigade) and as my RE Breaching Group required a Bulldozer, I decalled it up as such.

Subsequent reading and research seems to indicate that the D7's in the column may have actually come from (in part) the Royal Engineers 239 Field Park Company, part of 51st Highland Division. However, while I have a definite mention of two such Bulldozers being in the 144RAC Column, I don't think that the 51st HD had enough D7's to allocate this many per British column (they would have needed 6, assuming each column was the same - it seems that the Field Park Squadron's only had 3, according to the TOE I have seen).

Anyway, despite no current information confirming my guess, I decided I should have a HD marked D7. I like the model and it's already found a use on the table, helping construct a crossing point of the railway embankment in the last game. It also gives me the two I need for my column.

I added some stowage to the rear area, marked up with the usual recognition stars and edge highlighted with a light dusting of weathering powders. I also had dug out my original model for comparison, and realised just how much lighted my current painting style is. As a result, the old model also got some highlighting:

Nice big simple kit to put together, easy enough to paint! This model netted me 10 points for the challenge.

Finished: 15mm German Brummbärs

Hi folks,

Getting back to my German armour painting efforts with the completion of 2 Brummbärs. These have been on my desk since before I went on holidays in June. Hot weather, lack of motivation and work on my LCT really delayed completion of models that were almost finished.

I had planned to have all my planned German armour done by July, but I'm not into August with 5 Panther A's, 3 StuGs, a radio truck and some Kubelwagons still to do. The radio truck I will complete this week, but I think the other vehicles are going back to the storage depot for now. I've hit a wall with regards to painting German tank camo for now (which is scary given the number of half tracks I have to paint...). i figure it is better to get something else on the table rather than have more delays due to my lack of motivation with these models just now. Back to painting plain green for a bit I suspect, or maybe some Necromunda models. I've also ACW limbers to finish off...

Anyway, these two vehicles represent part of Sturmpanzer Abt 217, who were assigned in August 1944 to support the 89. Infanterie Division and who were therefore involved in Operation Totalize as the Canadian, Polish and British units moved through the area south of Caen. As a result, this unit lost several of it's Assault Guns to direct tank fire as it's positions were overrun.

There are not a lot of pictures out on the internet of these vehicles in Normandy, so I've just done my best to make them fit in with the rest of my collection. I decided that the side skirts made them look odd, and the pictures I found of destroyed examples showed no sign of the side skirts being in use, so I modelled them without. I've gone for some light foliage cover, but other than that the two vehicles are pretty plain.

One of those vehicles that's so ugly it's kind of cute...

Also of note is the fact that one of these vehicles came to me via Lee a while ago, and this is me just getting round to fitting it into my force - it does take a while, but I do get there!

In FoW, these Assault Guns can only fire directly and with a short range. However, my reading of their role and placement with the 89. Infanterie Division was to provide indirect fire support, which I understand the guns were capable of. As such, I think in my games I'll be letting these use the same stats as for the 15cm Infantry Guns in an indirect fire/bombardment role. Shout up if there is a particular reason you think this is wrong!

Finished: Command Panzer IV's and Flakpanzer 38t's

Hi folks,

Better progress with painting in the last week or so, with four tanks finished in this week. I've also managed to get the next two on the modelling table - a couple of Brummbars. I may also add my German radio truck, but will have to sort out figures to go around that.

These finished models are again for 12th SS Panzer Division.

First up, my two command tanks for my Panzer Companie. This time around, these are Battlefront models, which scale pretty well with the PSC ones. They do have slightly different hull shapes, but I am happy enough using these as my HQ vehicles. Again, some seafoam branches were applied - I've a new method of doing this, using gloss varnish instead of superglue, and matt varnishing before I put the leaves on. This sped the process up and seems to bond the branches well to the hulls.

These are numbered 704 and 705. 705 is actually the commander, while 704 is the 2ic.

To provide some cover from the dreaded Jabos, I've also got a couple of dinky little Battlefront Flakpanzer 38t's.

These are un-numbered, as I could find no decent info on what markings they should have. Online searches showed possibly the number 12 in use, but no context or confirmation that the vehicle shown was even 12th SS.

Gun crews received some greenstuff on their helmets, to make them the SS covered style. A small amount of stowage and some tree branches finishes them off. As usual, I also mixed up the uniforms, so they have a mix of Heer and various SS camo patterns.

Only the Brummbars, 3 Stugs, 5 Panthers, the radio truck and 3 Kubelwagons to do of the planned German stuff, so progress is being made!

Finished: 12th SS Panzer IV's

Hi folks,

It feels like these have been work in progress for quite a while, but this week I managed to get the final bits and bobs done! I normally give myself between a week and two weeks to finish a platoon off, but between waiting on decals and health issues (and time sunk into playing the new Battletech PC game) I spent more than 6 weeks on these. 

There are a total of ten 15mm scale Plastic Soldier Company Panzer IV (PzKpfw IV Ausf H) models in this batch, painted to represent tanks from the 1st and 2nd 'zug's' of 7. Kompanie, II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12, 12th SS Panzer Division. As per roughly 8 August 1944. Turret numbers for the two platoons are 715 to 719 and 725 to 729, as per the details in 'Waffen-SS Armour in Normandy - The combat history of SS-Panzer Regiment 12 and SS-Panzerjager Abteilung 12, Normday 1944'. 

I've organised a force to paint, although I recently picked up another pack of 5 of these which will give me a full company once painted. Two resin and metal Battlefront models provide the HQ unit. 

The force is based on the following diary entry:

8th August 1944, II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

"0630 hours: departure of the 5.Kompanie (with 5 Panzerkampfwagon IVs), the 7.Kompanie (with 12 Panzerkampfwagon IV's) and the assigned Tigers of the "Wittmann" Abteilung via Grainville and Hautmesnil towards Cintheaux."

Of note is the fact that 8 Tigers set out with them - within 6 hours, 1 had broken down before reaching the combat area and 5 were destroyed by allied forces within a few minutes - including Wittmann's Tiger. Three of these Tigers were likely destroyed by a single Firefly from the Northamptonshire Yeomanry (33rd Armoured Brigade) firing at around 800 meters, with the two others (probably including Wittmann) likely falling to the guns of The Sherbrooke Fusiliers (2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade) firing from a concealed position 450 meters away on the flank. Although tanks from B Squadron, 144 RAC also claimed one Tiger kill firing from the North of the Tigers position, while two other Canadian Fireflies fired from the North West... And at no point in the various versions of Wittmann's demise are the presence of so many Panzer IV's mentioned...

Also of note is the fact that the diary entry mentions no inclusion of Jadgpanzer IV's from SS-Panzerjaeger Abteilung 12, although that units diary entry states it was involved and eyewitness Canadian testimony states that two Jagdpanzers were knocked out on the Caen-Falaise road itself by the Sherbrookes. 

Anyway, some better shots of each Zug:

And some individual shots:

I'm not too pleased with the decals, but there are limited options for turret numbers in these ranges. My Doms Decals are for lower numbered Kompanies and the individual tank numbers don't include any 7's. I had thought about overpainting to make them a bit darker, but my hand painting it not neat enough. I may revisit in the future if I get round to printing my own decals properly!

As usual, I went for a bold edge highlight, which looks a bit odd close up on the camo, but I think the group shots at a bit of a distance show off the effect of this style at a bit of a distance. 

Next up the two HQ tanks (giving me the 12 7. Kompanie tanks) and a couple of Flakpanzer's. Hopefully these will be a bit quicker to finish!

Finished!: 15mm Wespes, 15.5cm sFH 414(f)'s and Quad 2cm AA guns

Hi folks,

Busy few weeks of painting for me, with one 'themed' challenge entry and two weekday entries.

First up, a battery of 15.5cm sFH 414(f) guns. These guns were French Canon de 155 C Modele 1917 Schneider Howitzers. The Germans captured a load of them during WW2, and not just from the French. The French had exported this gun to Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Poland, Belgium and Russia to name but a few users. The various versions from these nations all received different German designations. They used these guns for coastal defence and equipping 2nd line infantry divisions. 

While doing some research into 89.Infanterie-division last year, I came across an American post war intelligence interview with one of the divisions officers. He gave all sorts of interesting details about the equipment of the division going into Normandy, including this:

So I got it into my head to do a German battery equipped with French 15.5cm guns, and this was the result:

Four guns, which I entered in the 'BFG' themed round. You can vote for my entry (and I'd be very pleased if you would!) by visiting here and voting on the right. If your on a device other than a PC, you'll need to go to the bottom of the page and click 'desktop view' in order to see the voting panel!

Next up, I'd painted some AA guns - a battery of Quad 2cm AA guns, painted up with Luftwaffe crew:

And lastly a unit of 12th SS SdKfz 124 'Wespes'. Self propelled artillery mounting 10.5cm guns on a Panzer II chassis. These will form part of  1/Panzerartillerieregiment 12, part of the 12th SS Panzer Division (Hitlerjugend). Yes, I know - me doing SS! But they were present during Operation Totalize and if I'm representing all the forces involved then the SS should be represented.