Painting Panzers

So the weekend was spent painting more panzers..  loosely, since there was building as well as painting.

I was progressing the paint job on a Puma (Italeri), assembled two Italeri Quick Build Semovente, and assembled two S-Model H39/H38 Hotchkiss.  One of the Hotchkiss' is now being painted in French colours, (used this : http://pzm-workshop.foroactivo.com/t3-hotchkiss-h-39-paint-in-progress-oct-13-08 as a guide) and the other one (as a captured or 'Beautepanzer') plus the Semoventes are about to get a grey undercoat..  oh, and I kept on gluing single track links to the ESCI Marder III (horrible model). 

 

Here's a couple of Glamour Shots of the H39 before it gets weathered and chipped...   and this thing is tiny! I am amazed they could squeeze any crew in. I also had no idea what colour the French painted their tank interior so I painted it white. A crew member will be squeezed in there once I source one from the spares with a bit of green stuff and some surgery.

I see the imperfections..

It's way too clean, so there is a lot of weathering to come.

Apart from the Marder, the only minor hiccup was accidentally stripping some paint when applying decals to the French H39.

 

What's wrong with the Marder?  Well, maybe it is the mould release agent, or the plastic that was used, but it is slightly 'rubbery' in feel, the plastic does not glue well (or at all!) - the sprocket teeth are irregular and difficult to line up, there are ill defined locations for many of the parts, some warping, and a couple of pin ejector marks on surface pieces when they could so easily have been inside the part. It is (very slowly) building up into a nice looking model, but it isn't an enjoyable build.

D-Day - 6th of June

Peter and I played a game last night for the 70th Anniversary, seems like the only D-Day game played at the club.

6mm 21st Panzer Dvision attacking elements of British 3rd Infantry Division (supported by a Yeomanry regiment).

We used club terrain, 6mm models and BKCII rules, and due to a small error on my part, (I used the wrong calculator for the Brits), it was 3345 points of Allies keen to capture two vital crossroads - running into 21st Panzer coming the other way.

My phone camera unfortunately died after set-up, so I am waiting for Peter to post some of the shots showing Typhoons stalking the Normandy country-side, while burning Shermans litter the fields.

So here's the terrain:

And here's the action unfolding:

Typhoons stooging about - looking for some trade - Roger Wilco

British Command unit supported by Recce Regt Cromwells

British advance rapidly to the edge of the central village - Yeomanry in the lead

A similar group enters the leftmost hamlet

German Fallschirmjager plus Command beside the sunken road

German Left, PzIV and Rommel's 'Funnies'

The Typhoons first air strike

The anti-aircraft fire misses and German casualties start

British 25lb unleash a massive stonk onto open topped AFVs

But the British armour on the right cops a pasting

The Recce Regt and supports also take a beating

Oh - Oh, the boys in blue are back..

In the village, the Brits consolidate

View from rear of Brits left

The real winners a British artillery regiment

Fallschirmjager successfully close assault the remnants of the Recce Regt

German left moves up to cover the sunken lane

And get's hammered by 17lb AT, the Firefly, artillery and air attacks

At this stage, Peter conceded that 21 Panzer would not be breaking through to the beaches.

Cracking good game. Neither of us had played in a while - but I felt like we got through it all with minimal mistakes. Cheers!

Airbrush Fun!

A long long time ago.. (when I can still remember..) ok, a while back, I bought a very cheap airbrush from Japan. It has remained out in the Gimp Room/Man Cave ever since.

So tonight I decided it was time to see whether I could make it work. The last airbrushed I used was purchased from Humbrol in about 1978..   and this thing was decidedly hi-tech by comparison. But if you are going to do late war German camo schemes, it's virtually compulsory.

Much faffing about ensued - it came with its own mini compressor..  on a Japanese plug of course, but by plugging together three adapters, (Japanese plug to universal socket to Europe plug to Australian Europe adapter) and the consequent risk of conflagration, it worked. Then I had too many moving parts - (back stop for the spray needle - a switch that worked up down and back, plus a needle adjustment collar..). My first experiments were an unmitigated disaster. Paint too thick, paint too thin...   and then.. the Goldilocks moment... just right. Mental note to self - figure out some standard paint - water ratios and use a syringe. I'm pretty pleased.

Brown - Dragon Jagdpanther

More Brown

Compare with Brush-Painted Stug & ESCI Jagdpanzer IV

Italeri Puma awaiting the paint-shop

The Puma is for Thomo, after I swore like a trooper on playing with the ESCI Pz I. I even pretended to be a modeller on this one. I followed the excellent article on the Italeri Puma at the On the Way website. Ok, I didn't add the brass etched detailing kit. But I did remove some bits, thin bumpers, drill out periscopes, sand back the hull edge that shouldn't be there.  For some reason this picture makes the front tyre look out of track - I have bent it back slightly, and made sure they have the right toe-in. Frankly, the last time I built a Puma it was a 1/76 Matchbox version in about 1976, so I am just pleased all the wheels touch the ground ....

This one will probably get a primer undercoat and a brushed basecoat - then the airbrush. I am still not confident of getting the right consistency to do a proper basecoat. Practice make perfect so they say.

Oh, and if anyone has any recommendations for paint ranges that cover WW2 Military suitable for the airbrush without thinning, I am all ears.

The Starfish Returns!

Those who remember a previous post, will recall a Cromwell stuck down with bits of paper. It's my attempt at the British hessian camouflage.  Well, it's now finished.... ok, almost.

Needs dullcote and a commander...

Just awaiting aerials - and a crewman.

And a sneaky PzI. - ESCI kit, oh how I swore at those tracks.