world war two Archives - Page 28 of 36

Flames of War German Panzergrenadier Platoon

As well as buying the Panzergrenadier Headquarters I also was given the Panzergrenadier Platoon as a present.

In the box you get a bunch of resin, plastic and metal.

I do believe that I might need two packs for my army…

See more of the models for Flames of War on my workbench.

Flames of War Battle

These are the opening shots of a recent game of Flames of War. Alas the models were only painted to a “basecoat” standard, normally I wouldn’t play a game with “unpainted” tanks, but still have some way to go with the models and we are still working out how to play the rules. The game consisted of a German armoured column being ambushed by British armour.

Here a German Tiger is ambushed by a couple of M10s and some Dingos.

Cromwells and a Challenger are on the hill on the other side of the road.

The Germans have Panthers and Stugs in addition to the Tiger.

Basecoating the Flames of War Tiger I E

The next stage after building the model was a white undercoat. I then followed this with a base coat of Humbrol Dark Brown.

Alas the result was that the model was too dark.

Another view of the Tiger with its base coat of Humbrol Dark Brown.

So it needs a different basecoat colour…

See the full workbench feature on the Flames of War Tiger 1E.

Undercoating the Flames of War Tiger I E

The next stage after building the model is going to be a white undercoat.

I do find the white undercoat really does show off the detail on these models.

See the full workbench feature on the Flames of War Tiger 1E.

15mm British Trucks

These very nice 15mm British Trucks are from Simon’s collection.

See more photographs of 15mm miniatures for Flames of War.

The Matchbox and Airfix Influence

When I was young, before I started this wargaming lark, I use to make up plastic kits. In the main these were the pocket money kits I could buy from my local model shop and these were manufactured by Airfix and Matchbox. I recall preferring the Matchbox kits as they came with a piece of scenery.

As I paint more Flames of War models, and read the FoW sourcebooks, read books on World War Two, use the internet, I have started to realise how much my knowledge of World War Two vehicles and armour has been skewed by making those plastic kits all those years ago. They have also influenced what models I am buying and which ones I like.

So for example I am building an Early War French force for Flames of War. I am adamant that I have some Char B1 bis and the Renault FT-17. Less concerned about the Somau S-35 or the Hotchkiss tanks.

Similarily when looking for trucks for my German forces, who wants an Opel Blitz when you can have the Krupp Kfz 70 which is very similar to the Matchbox Krupp Kfz 69.

I think the only reason I have Cromwells in my Late War British force is that I had those thirty years ago in my 6mm Heroics and Ros World War Two force. Of course this year Airfix will be releasing a 1:76th scale Cromwell.

I recently bought a three pack of Dingo scout cars and I am sure that the Monty’s Caravan kit was a big influence on this purchase. Question, can I get a 15mm Monty’s Caravan?

Looking back over the old Matchbox and Airfix ranges you see some classic tanks and armoured vehicles and other military vehicles. It is these that I look at when buying new models for Flames of War.

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.
It’s a challenge though to see what goes where and on which bases which models go. I do think that there needs to be either better instructions in the box, or at least a good and explanatory guide on the Flames of War website. This is not the first or last model from Flames of War that has left me confused about what is what and where it goes on the model. It’s not even entirely clear about which infantry go together or clear instructions on how to base them.

Having said that once you know what goes where, the half tracks go together quite easily, though for some reason I got some super glue “ghosting” on the model.

The machine guns and gun shields were quite fiddly and do feel quite delicate.

I still need to add the main frontal armament, any crew and the crew equipment.

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.

Here is one of the SdKfz 251s with a Tiger 1 E tank.

See the workbench feature on this boxed set.

D-Day Landings

A 20mm demonstration game of the Normandy Landings.

Some very nice Hobart’s Funnies conversions in play, as well as a load of landing craft.

Very little sign of the Germans though…

More photographs of World War Two wargames.

Flames of War Tiger I E

The Tiger was feared so much by the Allies, that most German tanks were referred to as Tiger tanks. Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank used in World War II, developed in 1942. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of Operation Barbarossa, particularly the T-34 and the KV-1. The Tiger I design gave the Wehrmacht its first tank mounting the 88 mm gun, which had previously demonstrated its effectiveness against both air and ground targets. During the course of the war, the Tiger I saw combat on all German battlefronts. It was usually deployed in independent tank battalions, which proved to be quite formidable.

This is the Flames of War German Tiger I E. I was quite surprised by how many parts were in the blister. This wasn’t going to be a quick model to put together, especially with no instructions!

I decided to model the tank with the turret hatch closed. I first though glued the main gun into position and added the two turret hatches. I then added the two side skirts. These were quite challenging to glue to the side of the model.

I wasn’t entirely clear about the front hull hatches, there appeared to be four provided in the kit. I did look at a few models online, but wasn’t entirely clear about how they were stuck. I also almost missed the hull machine gun.

The final stage was gluing the tracks into place.

The other side.

The next stage is going to be a white undercoat.

See the full workbench feature on the Flames of War Tiger 1E.

Airfix Cromwell Tank

Currently most picture of the new Airfix 1:76th scale Cromwell tank is of the 3D rendering. I was lucky enough today to get to see the actual pre-production model kit and sprues. The model can either be made with the wading gear (that was used on D-Day) or as it was used later on in the Normandy campaign without.

The sprues show a fair few parts, and unlike some of the new wargaming models that have come out recently, this is a model kit first with lots of parts.