world war two Archives - Page 16 of 36

Flames of War Renault FT-17

The Renault FT or Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917, inexactly known as the FT-17 or FT17, was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history.

The FT was the first operational tank with an armament in a fully rotating turret, and its configuration with the turret on top, engine in the back and the driver in front became the conventional one, repeated in most tanks until today; at the time it was a revolutionary innovation.

France still had several thousand First World War Renault FT tanks in 1940. Over 500 of them were still in service in independent bataillons de chars de combat (BCC) tank battalions in the front lines. Although adequate for infantry support, they were totally outclassed by German tanks in a mobile battle.

It is one of my favourite tanks, I have always had a fondness for this little tank, probably as a result of making that Matchbox plastic kit of the Renault and the Char B1 when I was young. As I am creating an Early War French army I got some of these little tanks for Flames of War. I was pleased with the amount of detail in the model.

These were not in my opinion the simplest of models to put together. The model is not as easy as it looks, I had some trouble putting the tracks into the resin hull.

I like the fact you get two turret variants, one with a 37 mm gun or one with the 7.92 mm machine gun.

Undercoating the Flames of War Jagdpanther

The Jagdpanther was a tank destroyer built by Nazi Germany during World War II based on the chassis of the Panther tank. It entered service late in the war and saw service on the Eastern and Western fronts. Many military historians consider the Jagdpanther to be one of the best tank destroyers of the war due to the combination of the very powerful 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon and the characteristically excellent armor and suspension of the Panther chassis.

The kit consists of a resin hull and metal components such as tracks and track guards. After constructing the model I gave it 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.

See the workbench feature on the Jagdpanther.

Undercoating the Flames of War French Hotchkiss H-39

Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry because it proved difficult to steer while driving cross-country, instead being adopted in 1936 by the French Cavalry. From 1938 an improved version was produced with a stronger engine, the Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39, that from 1940 was also fitted with a longer, more powerful 37 mm gun.

Having made up the models, the next stage was to give the models a white undercoat.

See the workbench feature on the Flames of War French Hotchkiss H-39.

15mm German SdKfz 251 Half Track

The SdKfz 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was an armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by 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. However before it gets embedded into a ruin or similar, here are some photographs of it.

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

Wheeling the Dingo

The Daimler Scout Car, known in service as the “Dingo” (after the Australian wild dog), was a British light fast 4WD reconnaissance vehicle also used in the liaison role during the Second World War.

The Flames of War blister comes with three of them. I gave the vehicles a basecoat of Warpaint British Armour. I started to paint the wheels using German Grey (995), I might add some black to the mix though.

See the full workbench feature on the British Daimler Dingo.

Tracking the Challenger

The Tank, Cruiser, Challenger (A30) was a British tank of World War 2. It mounted the 17 Pounder gun on the Cromwell chassis to add heavier anti-tank firepower to the cruiser tank units.

The next stage was detailing the tracks and equipment. I started to paint the tracks using German Grey (995).

See the full workbench feature on my Challenger A30.

Tracking 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 first saw action in June 1944, with the reconnaissance regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps.
Having given the Cromwells a basecoat, the

next stage will be detailing the tracks and equipment. I started to paint the tracks using German Grey (995).

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

15mm German SdKfz 251 Half Track

Having given the model a basecoat of Warpaint German Armour the next stage was to add the disruptive camouflage. I thought long and hard about how to do this, and I didn’t have or really wanted to buy an airbrush, even though that appears to be the accepted method for doing late war German camouflage. What I did was take an old paintbrush and cut off the bristles leaving a quarter inch. This brush is then used to stipple on the camouflage pattern. I used Reflective Green (890) and Chocolate Brown (872).

I was quite pleased with the initial effect.

Though the official German manual during the war told how the camo pattern was to be applied, it said the raw paint mixture was to be mixed with petrol and sprayed onto the vehicles. Reality and short supplies of petrol meant that more often the camo pattern was “painted” onto the vehicles, sometimes with brushes and sometimes with rags.

I do like the effect that the airbrush gives these models, I am not sure if I have the requisite skill to do it justice on small models like this.

The next stage was to paint the tyres and tracks and I used German Grey (995). I then gave the models a wash using Devlan Mud wash from Games Workshop.

Quite pleased with the end result, though I think I might have used a lighter or thinner wash next time.

I painted the MG with German Grey (995) and dry brushed the model with Middlestone (882).

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

Flames of War French Hotchkiss H-39

Having made up the hulls, the next stage was to sort the turrets out. The metal components were fitted to the turret.

See the workbench feature on the Flames of War French Hotchkiss H-39.

Flames of War Jagdpanther

The kit consists of a resin hull and metal components such as tracks and track guards. I took the metal tracks and glued them to the hull. They were a good fit and certainly add weight to the model.

The tracks were glued to the hull.