Flames of War German Panzergrenadier Headquarters

I purchased a Flames of War box of the German Panzergrenadier Headquarters. In the box you get a bunch of resin, plastic and metal.
It’s a challenge though to see what goes where and on which bases which models go. I do think that there needs to be either better instructions in the box, or at least a good and explanatory guide on the Flames of War website. This is not the first or last model from Flames of War that has left me confused about what is what and where it goes on the model. It’s not even entirely clear about which infantry go together or clear instructions on how to base them.

Having said that once you know what goes where, the half tracks go together quite easily, though for some reason I got some super glue “ghosting” on the model.

The machine guns and gun shields were quite fiddly and do feel quite delicate.

I still need to add the main frontal armament, any crew and the crew equipment.

One thing I do like about FoW models is that in this set you get three different half track hulls rather than three of a single mould.

Here is one of the SdKfz 251s with a Tiger 1 E tank.

See the workbench feature on this boxed set.

Elysian Tauros Assault Vehicle

I’ve always liked these Elysian vehicles ever since we saw them first at GamesDay 2009.

4-wheel Tauros is used by the Elysian regiments as a long-range scout vehicle, mounting potent anti-personnel firepower in the form of either a Heavy Flamer or Tauros Grenade Launcher. Its four wheels are individually powered by advanced high-yield galvanic motors, allowing it to maintain speed even with damaged tyres – often giving it a crucial edge when faced with superior enemy firepower.

I have decided to use them with my Daemonhunters’ Army with my Tallarn Imperial Guard. Before I start any model I have a look online at what others have done.

Elysian Tauros Assault Vehicle

You get a small bag of resin.

Elysian Tauros Assault Vehicle

Before I got started, I washed all the resin pieces.

Elysian Tauros Assault Vehicle

A really nice model and doesn’t look too complicated to build, looks complicated to paint though.

Flames of War Tiger I E

The Tiger was feared so much by the Allies, that most German tanks were referred to as Tiger tanks. Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank used in World War II, developed in 1942. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of Operation Barbarossa, particularly the T-34 and the KV-1. The Tiger I design gave the Wehrmacht its first tank mounting the 88 mm gun, which had previously demonstrated its effectiveness against both air and ground targets. During the course of the war, the Tiger I saw combat on all German battlefronts. It was usually deployed in independent tank battalions, which proved to be quite formidable.

This is the Flames of War German Tiger I E. I was quite surprised by how many parts were in the blister. This wasn’t going to be a quick model to put together, especially with no instructions!

I decided to model the tank with the turret hatch closed. I first though glued the main gun into position and added the two turret hatches. I then added the two side skirts. These were quite challenging to glue to the side of the model.

I wasn’t entirely clear about the front hull hatches, there appeared to be four provided in the kit. I did look at a few models online, but wasn’t entirely clear about how they were stuck. I also almost missed the hull machine gun.

The final stage was gluing the tracks into place.

The other side.

The next stage is going to be a white undercoat.

See the full workbench feature on the Flames of War Tiger 1E.

Minotaur

Imperial Guard Minotaur now in the hands of Chaos, this model was entered into the GamesDay 2010 Golden Demon Awards.

Minotaur
Imperial Guard Minotaur now in the hands of Chaos, this model was entered into the GamesDay 2010 Golden Demon Awards. It won the Forge World Best of Show Award.

It won the Forge World Best of Show Award.

Chaos Minotaur

Airfix Cromwell Tank

Currently most picture of the new Airfix 1:76th scale Cromwell tank is of the 3D rendering. I was lucky enough today to get to see the actual pre-production model kit and sprues. The model can either be made with the wading gear (that was used on D-Day) or as it was used later on in the Normandy campaign without.

The sprues show a fair few parts, and unlike some of the new wargaming models that have come out recently, this is a model kit first with lots of parts.

Another view (this time from the top) of the Cromwell pre-production models.

Looks like a very nice plastic kit and for those who play 20mm, a welcome addition that has long been missing from the range.

Forge World Grot Mega Tank

I picked up the Grot Mega Tank at GamesDay 2010. It was available in limited numbers, but I was lucky enough to pick one up, before they sold out.

Designed by Stuart Williamson, the Grot Mega Tank represents the pinnacle of Gretchin-built Heavy Tank technology; an overpowering war machine that drives all before it in a storm of scrap and destruction. This full resin kit is festooned with unique details as you can in the images, and Stuart has designed each turret to be fully cross-compatible with Daren Parrwood’s Grot Tanks.
Hammered together out of junk, spare Mekboy know-wotz and unbridled Grot enthusiasm, the Grot Mega Tank adds even more firepower to the battlefield madness that has come to be known as a Grotzkrieg, terrifying Imperial Tacticians, Eldar Farseers and Chaos Warlords alike.

I really do like this model alongside the Grot Tanks. The model is very ship like with battleship style turrets and a prow shaped bow. It is a very ramshackle vehicle and looks like (as it should) if the grots have just thrown it together from parts lying around the battlefield and stuff stolen from a Mek workshop. The turrets are interchangeable with those of the plastic Ork vehicles and the Grot Tanks allowing you an opportunity to convert the Mega Tank into a different looking model. Useful if you were to get two.

Before making it up I had a good look at the pictures on the Forge World website.

You do get one big bag of resin.

Before I got started, I washed all the resin pieces.

I then cleaned the flash and removed the pieces from the sprues. You should always take care doing this as it is possible to break the parts as resin is much more brittle than plastic. The “sprues” for many of the pieces were huge and in some cases quite challenging to remove from the model. pieces. I was wary about breaking the parts when removing them.

See the full workbench feature on my Grot Mega Tank.

Flames of War Russian Armoured Train


Really enjoyed reading the article on a Russian Armoured Train on the Flames of War website.

The article has the historical background on how one of the Polish Armoured Trains was captured by the Soviet Union, re-painted and pressed into service. The article also shows how to paint the model.

I do like the look of the model and the green train with red stars is very effective, and as a model I much prefer it over the three colour camouflage of the Polish version.

Interestingly the train in question was later captured by the Germans and they used it.