flames of war Archives - Page 34 of 42

Constructing the Flames of War French Char B1 bis

The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before the Second World War. It was a specialised heavy break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a “battle tank” fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm.

Within the blister you get the resin hull and turret whilst the rest of the model is whitemetal.

Here are the three resin hulls lined up.

They are smaller than I expected.

For some reason I had this impression that the Char B1 was a really large tank. Well compared to other Early War tanks it is, however compared to Late War tanks it’s quite small. Continue reading “Constructing the Flames of War French Char B1 bis”

Flames of War TOG2 Mid-War Monster

The Tank, Heavy, TOG 2 was a prototype British super-heavy tank design produced in the early part of the Second World War in case the battlefields of northern France turned into a morass of mud, trenches and craters as had happened during the First World War.

In the end it never went into production, but as part of the Flames of War Mid-War Monsters range you can buy it and use it in alternate history games. I liked the concept and the model on the Flames of War website is quite inspiring.

The Flames of War boxed set contains three of these monsters.

The hulls are quite plain in comparison to other tanks in the FoW range, however that is much more down to the actual design of the tank.

The tracks are two metal castings for each side. The turret is the same one that was eventually used on the Challenger A30, it was from a design perspective easier to use what was developed for the TOG2 then design a completely new turret for the Challenger in the time they had available and with limited resources.

However this is a different casting to the one found on the Challenger model. It looks like it should be pretty simple to put together, but first to clean up the metal and resin castings.

I do hope that we see future “monsters” for Flames of War, there are some nice concepts and ideas out there for both Early-War and Late-War, though I have a hunch that these did not sell as well as expected.

See the workbench feature on these huge tanks.

DUKW

The DUKW (colloquially known as duck) is a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck that was designed by a partnership under military auspicies of Sparkman & Stephens and General Motors Corporation during World War II for transporting goods and troops over land and water and for use approaching and crossing beaches in amphibious attacks.

The Flames of War model has a large resin hull with metal components.

15mm French Panhard 178

The Panhard 178 was an advanced French reconnaissance 4×4 armoured car that was designed for the French Cavalry before World War II. It had a crew of four and was equipped with an effective 25 mm main armament and a 7.5 mm coaxial machine gun.

Like some of my other models I am unsure of the manufacturer of this one, though think it might be SDD. It started with a white undercoat and I have started to paint the camouflage.

The FoW version is much more detailed and I will probably retire this model and use it within a piece of scenery.

Flames of War Sherman Firefly

Reading the army lists I realised I needed a Sherman Firefly either to accompany my Shermans or my Cromwell IVs.

The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British variant of the American Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17 pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon. Originally conceived as a stopgap until future British tank designs came into service, the Sherman Firefly became the most common vehicle with the 17 pounder in World War II.

Though the British expected to have their own new tank models developed soon (and were loath to consider using American tanks), British Major George Brighty championed the already-rejected idea of mounting the 17 pounder in the existing Sherman. With the help of Lieutenant Colonel Witheridge and despite official disapproval, he managed to get the concept accepted. This proved fortuitous, as both the Challenger and Cromwell tank designs experienced difficulties and delays.

After the problem of getting the gun to fit in the Sherman’s turret was solved, the Firefly was put into production in early 1944, in time to equip Field Marshal Montgomery’s forces for the Normandy landings. It soon became highly valued as the only British tank capable of defeating the Panther and Tiger tanks it faced in Normandy at standard combat ranges. In recognition of this, German tank and anti-tank gun crews were instructed to attack Fireflies first.

Within the blister, as with a lot of FoW models, you get a resin hull and turret and metal tracks and accessories.

See the workbench feature on my Flames of War Sherman Firefly VC.

British DUKW Section

Decided to convert a US DUKW section for use by my British forces.

It’s a boxed set of two models.

These are very nice models.

Flames of War TOG2 Mid-War Monster

The Flames of War boxed set contains three of these monsters.

See the workbench feature on these huge tanks.

Constructing the Flames of War Cromwell ARV

These are the resin and metal pieces of the Cromwell ARV.

I stuck the wading gear and hull MG to the hull and the front and rear trackguards to the tracks.

The tracks were then glued to the hull.

The model went together very easily and I am impressed with the detail on the model. Next stage will be the white undercoat.

See the workbench feature on the Cromwell ARV.

A glass of wine perhaps?

As well as the new Italian Monastery, another piece of new scenery for Flames of War will also be released on the 30th July and that is some Italian vineyards.

Fancy a glass of wine anyone?

Of course these vineyards would work equally well in France, though Normandy was more likely to contain apple orchards, other areas of France which the Allies fought through did contain vineyards. They look like they are made out of solid resin and I am not sure how effective they will look, as most vineyards are not as solid as these appear.

For example have a look at this real Italian vineyard.

As you can see yes there are lines of vines, but they are not very solid. I am thinking that using wire and foliage might result in a better looking vineyard than the resin models.

What do you think?

Photo source.

Forged in Battle 15mm French

I was recommended these Forged in Battle miniatures at a gaming shop in Birmingham. They look well casted and a similar size to Flames of War infantry.

I bought the mortar team and the rifle platoon.

Will be getting some Flames of War plastic bases for them too.