flames of war Archives - Page 13 of 41

Australian Army Centurion Mk5

Battlefront have put up the details about their 15mm Australian Mk5 Centurion for Vietnam.

It’s a really nice looking model, very crisp with lots of detail.

I have already made the decision not to play games for Flames of War Vietnam, as the era isn’t one where there were lots of tank battles and to be honest that’s the main reason I play Flames of War. Secondly I already have way too many models to paint anyhow…

However looking at the recent releases and I will say I much prefer the castings from Battlefront compared to some other manufacturers I have been thinking if I could use the models for another era. For example I wonder if the NVRA T55 tanks could be used for Middle East battles or for Warsaw Pact for a Cold War era game getting hot!

My first thought when I saw the Centurion Mk5 was how close was it to the early versions, could I get away with using it for my Late War British forces in say a 1946 scenario? Only a handful of Mk1s were made when in November 1945 the Mk2 started coming off the production lines. The Mk3 did not enter production until 1948, so for a 1946 scenario, it would be the Mk2. The main difference between the Mk5 and the Mk2 would the main weapon, with the Mk5 having the L7 105mm gun, whilst the 1945 version had the QF 20 pdr. Though it would appear from the Battlefront site that the Australian Army Centurions were armed with the QF 20 pdr. So maybe not too much conversion work then?

I am going to try and find some photographs and see if any what are the differences.

Hovels Church

I’ve mentioned some 1/200th or 10mm Hovels Ruins on the blog before. I found the other day the church that I bought at the same time.

This has been undercoated black, and partly painted grey.

I will now take the opportunity to repaint it for Flames of War. Though obviously smaller than the 15mm or 1/100th scale of Flames of War, I think it will work fine as a background piece of scenery.

Rolling Stock

I mentioned the armoured locomotive a week ago, well here is the rolling stock to go with my Flames of War German Armoured Train.

I got an Artillery Car and an Anti-Aircraft Car (or should that be a Flak Car?).

Like the locomotive the main parts of the model are resin with metal wheels and components.

I know I really should have gone for an Infantry Car, but to be honest the thought of trying to glue together the radio aerials put me off, so I didn’t.

Flames of War German Armoured Train

After much consideration I did in the end get a German Armoured Train for Flames of War, well an armoured locomotive to begin with.

Though they were not used on the Western Front (as far as I am aware) it is my intention to use it against British (and American) tanks. Then again I might just get in a few Soviet tanks for a quick game.

As with most Battlefront models the kit contains resin with metal parts for the details. The engine and tender are two resin parts with the front, the funnel and the wheels in metal.

Next stage will be washing the resin, and cleaning the castings before constructing the engine.

More on the Flames of War ruined building

Having given the ruins from the JagdPanther boxed set a repaint using Citadel Base: Mechanicus Standard Grey, the next stage was some drybrushing to bring out the detail.

This now (to me) looks much better than it did before.

15mm Ruined Row of Three Houses

Having painted the roof tiles, I gave the remaining unapinted walls a basecoat of Citadel Base: Zandri Dust.

After painting the window sills and the drainpipes, as well as the debris, the next stage will be a dark wash.

Repainting the Ruins

Having decided I wasn’t happy with my progress so far with the ruins from the JagdPanther box, I took the decision to repaint most of it.

I used Citadel Base: Mechanicus Standard Grey to give the model a basecoat of dark grey.

However I kept the floor as is.

15mm Ruined Shop with Passage

Though not quite where I want the 15mm Ruined Shop with Passage, I wanted to check that the process I was planning or my 15mm buildings was going to look effective, so I gave the ruined end of the model a a wash of Citadel Shade: Agrax Earthshade.

I am quite pleased with the end result with using the wash, the roof tiles look a lot better, as I did that that the Terracotta was a little too bright when I first painted the roof that colour.

Maisons Françaises pour les Flammes de la Guerre

I do like the French style buildings that Battlefront have released for Flames of War. I was lucky enough to get a subscription so I have been getting a new house every month or so.

They are well made, well painted and I like the weight of them too. On the table they certainly look the part. I also like how easy it is to remove the roof, also to make single storey or three storey buildings.

So what do I think could be improved?

Simon said he thought they were a little too “clean” and what I think he meant by this is that they look as if the owners had just gone around their house, cleaned the windows, the shutters, fixed the guttering and whitewashed the walls. In reality, though a few houses would look like that, I would have liked to seen a more “lived in” look to the models. I might try and weather mine to give them a more (literally) weather beaten look.

Though I do like the design, I would like to see some differing styles, more so than just roof, roof colour, wall colour and shutters. The issue for me is that the houses are too similar in style. Maybe we just need more houses? I would like to see some cafes or shops in addition to the houses. Then maybe some farmhouses and outbuildings?

What do you think of the houses? What would you like to see?

Flames of War Houses

I was lucky enough to get into the Flames of War House Subscription (even if it was an accidental order). I now have a fair few houses and I took some photographs.

Typically after taking the photographs, two more arrived in the post, and the extra bits too, the house extensions and the walls. Ah well, time to take some more photographs methinks.