world war two Archives - Page 21 of 36

15mm German SdKfz 251 Armoured 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.

Having given the model a basecoat of Warpaint German Armour the next stage will be 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 am quite pleased with the 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.

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

Basecoating the Flames of War British 17pdr SP Achilles

The 17 pounder, Self Propelled, Achilles was a British variant of the American M10 Tank destroyer armed with the powerful British Ordnance QF 17 pounder anti-tank gun in place of the standard 3″ (76.2 mm) Gun M7. With a total of 1,100 M10s converted, the 17 pdr SP Achilles was the second most numerous armoured fighting vehicle to see service armed with the 17 pounder gun, behind the Sherman Firefly.

Having given the model a white undercoat, and as I had run out of Humbrol Dark Green, I gave the models a complete spray of Warpaint British Armour.

Next stage will be painting some of the details and the crew.

See the workbench feature on the British M10 / 17pdr SP Achilles.

Basecoating the 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 was going to (as I have done with other models) give the TOG2 tanks a spray from underneath of a Humbrol Dark Green, however I ran out of paint after doing one. So in the end I gave all three models a basecoat of Warpaint British Armour.

The command tank has the commander sticking himself out of the turret…

The three TOGs.

See the workbench feature on these huge tanks.

Flames of War British Sherman Firefly

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.

After giving a base coat for the underneath of Humbrol Dark Green. The model was then given a spray of Warpaint British Armour. The Dark Green spray adds shadow.

As you can see from this closeup, the spray does give the model an even coat, and combined with the sculpting does show off the cast turret that the Firefly had.

Here is the Firefly with three regular Shermans (the resin models from Open Fire).

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

Flames of War British Challenger (A30) Tank

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.

Having given the Challenger a white undercoat. The next stage was a base coat for the underneath of Humbrol Dark Green. This added shadow and depth to the main (top) base coat of Warpaint British Armour which was then sprayed on.

Here is the Challenger next to it’s little brother, the Cromwell IV.

See the full workbench feature on my Challenger A30.

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. So having cleaned the metal castings, I glued the infantry to some wooden sticks using wood glue. I then gave the models a white undercoat.

See the workbench feature on this boxed set.

Flames of War British Challenger (A30) Tank

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.

Having given the Challenger a white undercoat. The next stage is base coat for the underneath of Humbrol Dark Green. This will add shadow and depth to the main (top) base coat of Warpaint British Armour.

As you can see from the top view, the white undercoat is still mainly visible.

See the full workbench feature on my Challenger A30.

Underneath the Flames of War British Sherman Firefly

The next stage is base coat for the underneath of Humbrol Dark Green. This will add shadow and depth to the main (top) base coat of Warpaint British Armour.

As you can see from the top view, the white undercoat is still mainly visible.

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

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 white undercoat, I undercoated the underneath of the three tanks with Humbrol Dark Green. This added shadow and depth to the main (top) base coat of Warpaint British Armour.

All three models were sprayed at the same time.

Next stage will be tracks and detailing.

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

Undercoating the Flames of War British 17pdr SP Achilles

Purchased a couple of Flames of War blister of the M10. They were on sale and cheaper than normally. Within each blister you get a resin hull and turret, metal parts and plastic tracks. Interesting to note that though both models have the same code and were purchased at the same time from one retailer, one came with a complete resin turret, whilst the other had a turret which was part resin and part metal! The resin turret is much crisper and nicer than the metal component. I decided that I would make these up as 17pdr armed SP Achilles variants and not as M10s.

I gave the two models a white undercoat.

In this rear view you can see the difference between the two turrets.

See the workbench feature on the British M10 / 17pdr SP Achilles.