Finished: 1:144 Hawker Typhoon

Hi folks,

Alongside my two recently completed Spitfires, I added another Typhoon to the collection - this being my fourth. Shown below next to one of the Spits. 

This was a 1:144 scale resin and metal battlefront kit I'd picked up 2nd hand quite a while ago. It had also languished on the painting pile for a long time, as I didn't desperately need another one. However, since I was painting the Spits I decided to get it done too. 

The addition of this model to the collection gives me two flights of two of these beasties for use in big games. Ideally, if I can find suitable models, I would switch two of these models over to being bomb armed, rather than having them all with rockets.  

I nabbed some of my Team Yankee flight stands to make these models a bit taller on the table. Decals are from the old BF aircraft kits. 

Finished! 15mm Typhoons, Aid Post and Forward Air Controller

Hi folks,

Aside from posting videos and laying out tables, I've been chipping away at the lead mountain. Having finished up a load of infantry recently, I fancied something a bit different. I've had a few ideas percolating in my brain for a while, regarding stuff I wanted to do for Battlegroup. The FoW v4 Scenario I ran earlier in the year opened my eyes to the possibility of including such units in those games as well, so I decided to put aside the infantry and move on to something that was a bit more of a diorama.

With regards to the RAP (Regimental Aid Post), there are not a lot of pictures out there of these operating in Normandy. I've read a few books which gave details of how these might be set up and run (mainly in the excellent 'Stout Hearts' book by Ben Kite), and saw a 20mm aid post done by the talented Piers Brand, before finally settling on something. I had read one account of a Regimental Aid Post set up in a field, which was subject to enemy fire. To protect the wounded and medics, some Universal Carriers were parked to offer cover. Combining this idea with the other images I had seen, I mocked up a base.

The plan was to use two Universal Carriers, a large base (initially the size of a beer coaster) and various casualty and medic figures I had. I eventually ordered a beer coaster sized laser cut MDF base from East Riding Miniatures in order to get the same thickness of base as I use elsewhere.

The end result was a aid post designed to be placed up against a hedge or building, which would give a decent representation while being tasteful.

I'm reasonably happy with the outcome. I had decided, based on other accounts, to use some of the dead figures I had - moving them to the other sides of the carriers away from the living. I've some medics, working to treat the wounded, and a couple of stretcher cases and walking wounded ready to be evacuated when the ambulance jeep next comes up. Some piles of supplies and the likes help dress up the base, and make it look a little more set up and planned. Another medic escorts a Jock carrying a wounded man into the post.

Both carriers have some camo netting on the outside facing - an attempt not to draw fire. I decided that a red cross wouldn't be represented here, but I might revisit - perhaps with a sign stood against one of the carriers.

My research into this area has opened my eyes to an aspect of the technical ability of the allied forces that I had missed in my previous reading. Stout Hearts has some excellent info on how the medical services in Normandy operated. The chain of treatment was pretty short, with most of the effort going into immediate triage, treatment and then evacuation. Within hours of being wounded a man could be on a flight back to England and a established hospital.

One story in Stout Hearts tells of an officer visiting an aid post to see some of his injured men. At the hospital he feels faint at the sights and sounds, and is invited to lay on a stretcher to recover. The exhausted Officer falls asleep - and wakes up being offloaded from a Dakota in England!

In addition to the aid post, I painted up a Forward Air Controller as an interim model. I'm pretty sure a Dingo is incorrect for this role, and it should be a Humber Scout Car or an LRC. I only had a Dingo to hand, so went with that for now. I've now ordered the special character set for the Guards which comes with the Humber and the M3 Scout Car with the RAF officer.

I've marked the Dingo up as a 154 Brigade HQ vehicle. I'd no cap wearing binocular figure left, so had to settle with a tin hatted RAF officer.

On call above, are three Typhoons - the one with propellers I painted a couple of years ago, and used as a template for the other two.

You can see from the bases that these are all different models! The two propeller less aircraft as Battlefront models - one white resin and one grey. Both vary slightly in size, which is apparent close together but not so apparent apart. The propellered aircraft is a MicroWings clip together plastic Typhoon 1b, which cost less than £3! Again, it varies in size, but not hugely. I have ordered BF bases so that all three will have the same base, as well as the extended length stands to get them a bit higher off the ground. I also did a little more weathering after these pics were taken.

I'd have loved to have them all the same, with the same squadron markings - but for now these will do!

Next in the painting queue, I've switched sides! I decided to crack on with my 5cm A/T guns for my Germans. I then added to this plan slightly:

5cm A/T guns, 7.5cm Infantry Guns, 2 and 3.7cm AA guns... might as well have something to shoot at Typhoons with!

I've also managed to finish some outbuildings and gates:

More on these later!

Completed Hawker Typhoon 1/144

I've spend the last week and a bit working on getting the various infantry models I had to a finished state. I'm pretty happy with them now, with the matt varnish going on them last night. I'll do another coat just to make sure they are nice and covered (and non shiny) probably tomorrow night. Then they can go on the shelf until the various guns and vehicles are completed. I am still aiming to try working on these a unit at a time rather than doing my normal process of getting all the models to a set stage before starting the next stage.

So tonight I also aimed to finish off my Hawker Typhoon. The plan had been to use some decals I had got to do the invasion stripes. Alas, these didn't work out the way I had hoped. I had to revert to hand painting them - and unless you look too closely, they look ok (at least, I think!).

When I took these pics the decal fix under the roundels on the wings hadn't dried yet, so they still look a little messy. Unfortunately between finishing the model and typing this my phone has decided to update to iOS7, so no more pics tonight.

Still, I am pleased with it, and I think that for a model that cost me less than £3 it's not too bad!

Here is the model alongside the decals I was planning on using:

The final version (as my phone is now working):

1:144 Hawker Typhoon

This week, in addition to getting my infantry army painter varnished and ready for highlighting, I have been working on my Jocks air support.

This comes in the form of a Hawker Typhoon, possibly one of my favourite WW2 aircraft. One of the few stories my grandfather told me about his wartime experiences was of watching these aircraft swooping down in near vertical dives to unleash their rockets on German positions.

This model was one I picked up earlier this year for less than £3. It's been assembled for a while, and being such a low cost model, it's not a great fit. I spent some time with it trying to fill in the gaps, but not too sure I made a great job of it.

So, here's the photos:

First, the underside - the aircraft had been sprayed Matt black primer. The underside was then painted in Sky Gray (Vallejo Model Color 70.989). This took a coat or two. The plastic kit doesn't have the detail of the Battlefront model, and you can still see where I filled in the landing gear spaces with green stuff.

Next I used London Grey (Vallejo Model Color 70.836) trying to follow the patterns from the pictures I found online. Apparently the camo by this stage in the war was applied in the factory using rubber masks, so it was more or less standardised.

I then

I then filled the gaps in with Reflective Green (Vallejo Model Color 70.890). One of the difficult parts was getting the line between the underside and the top colours right. I also had to decide what colour to do the guns - I couldn't tell from the pics whether these were a gunmetal colour, so I decided just to go for the camo colour that was nearest them.

A pic of the almost finished Tiffie. The guide I had said there was a sky blue band around the fuselage before the tail - I didn't lighten the blue I used enough, but I am still happy with the shade. I may lighten it later. The rockets I used Russian Uniform for (Vallejo Model Color 70.924) and for the propeller and leading edge of the wings Flat Yellow (Vallejo Model Color 70.953). The exhaust outlets were done in Brass (Vallejo Model Color 70.801). For the rocket pylons I decided to go with the base Sky Grey underside colour. Propeller blade were tidied up in black, and the canopy was painted on using Russian Uniform and some of the dark blue colour just on the black of the canopy. The tail wheel also was touched up in black. I've still the decals to apply, which will include the black and white invasion stripes.

Below are some shots of the model so far - I have still to decide on a wash (I am considering Army Painter mid tone).

Not the tidiest paint job ever!