Category: flames of war

15mm Home Guard Bedford OXA

The Bedford OXA was a gun truck or improvised British heavy armoured car built during World War II by mounting an armoured body onto a Bedford OXD 1.5 ton truck chassis. 948 units were built in 1940-1941. The vehicle was used by British Home Guard units until 1942. As with many of my 15mm metal vehicles I don’t recall who the manufacturer was.

I gave the model a white undercoat. The next stage was a basecoat of Brown Violet (887).

This is a solid whitemetal casting.

I think it might need a second coat.

I also need to think about how best to “hold” the model so I can paint it more easily. Got use to painting models with bases for a while now, vehicles (especially small 15mm vehicles) take a bit of getting use to.

15mm Afrika Korps PzKpfw II

The Panzer II was the common name for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II (abbreviated PzKpfw II). Although the vehicle had originally been designed as a stopgap while more advanced tanks were developed, it nonetheless went on to play an important role in the early years of World War II, during the Polish and French campaigns. By the end of 1942 it had been largely removed from front line service, and production of the tank itself ceased by 1943.

Though you can buy a resin version of the Pz II I was plesantly surprised to find a plastic 1/100th scale kit of the Pz II in a model shop for just £1.25. Bargain!

Made my Zveda, a Russian firm, they also do a 1/100th scale RussianT-26. Alas the accompanying kits for infantry are 1/72nd and the aircraft are 1/144th. Would have been nice if the models were all in the same scale. It would appear from the back of the box that this was designed for some kind of miniatures game.

You get one sprue in grey plastic. I don’t have any other 15mm Pz II models, so difficult to compare it to other 15mm models.

I did manage to pick up three of them. I am going to make them up as PzKpfw IIs for the Western Desert.

Basecoat for the Universal Carriers

The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong.

Having given them a white undercoat, the next stage was to spray a basecoat of Humbrol Dark Green to the underneath of the model to add shadow. The next stage  was a basecoat of Warpaint British Armour.

Full workbench feature on the Universal Carriers.

Flames of War Cromwell ARV

Having given a basecoat of Humbrol Dark Green to the underneath of the model to add shadow the next stage was to do the main basecoat of Warpaint British Armour.

As you can see the basecoat has not coated the tank completely.

Looking at it, it might need a second coat, though I think a wash may solve some of the “white” problem.

Here’s the model with a second coat.

See the workbench feature on the Cromwell ARV.

Additional undercoat for the Universal Carriers

The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong.

Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by Allied forces during the Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as machine gun platforms. With some 113,000 built in the United Kingdom and abroad, it was the most numerous armoured fighting vehicle in history.

As with some of my other metal models I can’t remember the manufacturer of these.These metal models are not as well defined as the Flames of War resin models, so in the end I might use them for scenery or objectives.

Having given them a white undercoat, the next stage was to spray a basecoat of Humbrol Dark Green to the underneath of the model to add shadow when I do the main basecoat.

The idea is the keep the main part of the model with a white undercoat and the undersides to be darker than the rest of the model.

Full workbench feature on the Universal Carriers.

Flames of War Cromwell ARV

Having constructed the Cromwell ARV, the next stage was a white undercoat. I then sprayed a basecoat of Humbrol Dark Green to the underneath of the model to add shadow when I do the main basecoat.

The idea is the keep the main part of the model with a white undercoat and the undersides to be darker than the rest of the model.

The view from the underside.

Next stage will be the main basecoat of Warpaint British Armour.

See the workbench feature on the Cromwell ARV.

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. Having put them all together I gave the models a white undercoat. The next stage was to give the underbody a dark brown basecoat.

This will add shadow to the underneath of the model.

This is how they look from underneath.

I then sprayed the models with Warpaint German Armour.

As my can came without a nozzle, I have had a few issues using the temporary nozzle and as a result I oversprayed the model.

Not many problems, but as you can see in this view, one of the tracks on one of the models got a little too much paint.

I will probably see if I can “remove” the excess paint, otherwise this will be a very muddy SdKfz 251.

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.

One of the key questions I am facing now is how will I do the camouflage. The consensus ont the web is to use an airbrush. I would like to avoid that if possible as it isn’t as convenient or as quick as I would like.

See the workbench feature on this boxed set.

15mm German SdKfz 251 Armoured Half Track

The SdKfz 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was an armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by Nazi Germany’s Hanomag company during World War II. One of the most common, and best armoured of the wartime half-tracks, the SdKfz 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers of the German mechanized infantry corps into battle. Widely known simply as “Hanomags” by both German and Allied forces, they were widely produced throughout the war, with over 15,252 vehicles and variants produced in total by various manufacturers.

This is an old metal model that I think was made by SDD. I am using it as a testbed for which method I should use with my Flames of War resin models and I suspect in the end it will probably end up as a piece of scenery.

Having given the model a white undercoat I gave the underneath of the model an undercoat of Humbrol Dark Brown spray.

This will add shadow to the underneath of the model.

I then gave the model a basecoat of Warpaint German Armour.

The next stage will be to add the disruptive camouflage.

See the workbench feature on the German SdKfz 251 Armoured Half Track.

Constructing the Flames of War Cromwell IV

The Cromwell Tank was one of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in World War II. The Cromwell tank, named after the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell, was the first tank in the British arsenal to combine a dual-purpose gun, high speed from the powerful and reliable Meteor engine, and reasonable armour, all in one balanced package. Its design formed the basis of the Comet tank. The Cromwell first saw action in June 1944, with the reconnaissance regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps.

As with my Cromwell ARV (which I did first) I glued the track guards to the tracks and the main weapon to the turret and the hull MG to the hull.

I then glued the tracks to the hull.

I also glued the hatches to the turret.

This time I decided that I would not use the tank commanders.

Unlike the boxed set these models are all the same.

See the full workbench feature on the Flames of War Cromwell IV.

Undercoating the Universal Carriers

The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong.

Produced between 1934 and 1960, the vehicle was used widely by Allied forces during the Second World War. Universal Carriers were usually used for transporting personnel and equipment, mostly support weapons, or as machine gun platforms. With some 113,000 built in the United Kingdom and abroad, it was the most numerous armoured fighting vehicle in history.

As with some of my other metal models I can’t remember the manufacturer of these.These metal models are not as well defined as the Flames of War resin models, so in the end I might use them for scenery or objectives.

I gave them a white undercoat.

Full workbench feature on the Universal Carriers.