world war two Archives - Page 30 of 36

15mm Aircraft for Flames of War

One of the decisions that Battlefront did that I didn’t understand was going with 1:144 scale for their aircraft. Well not that I didn’t understand because it actually does make a bit of sense in some ways. Firstly from a scale perspective smaller aircraft will “look” higher up than if they were true 15mm. Secondly there are lots of plastic kits in the 1:144 scale making it very easy to find aircraft models that aren’t in the Flames of War range.

However one of the downsides of this is if you want to model an actual airfield for Flames of War or use a downed plane as a piece of scenery or an objective. In the forthcoming Vietnam range the helicopters are 15mm scale as they do sit on the battlefield. Ah well.

One range I have found online is Armaments in Miniature that make a wide range of 1:100 aircraft including gliders. They also make a nice range of landing craft too. However as they are US based and I can’t find a UK reseller, it would mean ordering from the US. Not that I mind doing that, and I do do it, however, adding on duty and VAT will double the prices so what are nice models, become very expensive models. It doesn’t help that there are very few photographs on the Armaments in Miniature website.
The traditional scale for model airplanes is 1:72 and this is great if you play 20mm games, however there are very few models in 1:100 the scale for 15mm and used by FoW for their tanks and vehicles.

Since I got into FoW I have been looking for aircraft models to use. The first I found were some Airfix pre-painted models for £5.99, not a huge choice, but you can get the Me109 for example.

I noticed that Revell did some similar kits, but these were of modern planes so not much use for FoW unless you were playing a Final Countdown style scenario. This is now even easier with the new Vietnam range if you wanted to use helicopters and tanks…

I didn’t get any of those, but continued to search and look at model shops to see what I could find.

So I was pleasantly surprised to find in Antics some Italeri die-cast planes from World War Two in 1:100 scale. I haven’t been able to find a list online of the entire range, but I did manage to pick up a Me109, an FW190 and what really pleased me was a couple of Early War French Dewoitine D.520 planes.

The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the opening of World War II. Unlike the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406, which was at that time the Armée de l’Air’s most numerous fighter, the Dewoitine D.520 came close to being a match for the latest German types, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It was slower than the Bf 109E but superior in manoeuvrability.

Now these are die-cast models so the detail is “lacking” and the finish is very glossy, but I think with some work these will look fine.

15mm “Austin 7” Cars

I have a few of these cars, I initially thought they were Austins but not so sure.

As with some of my other metal models I can’t remember the manufacturer of these. After a bit of internet research I believe it is an old SDD miniature. Not convinced totally, but other miniatures in the box it was in carry SDD codes.

I have given these models a not very good white undercoat.

My intention is to use them as transports for the Home Guard or for scenic purposes. I wonder if any manufacturer out there makes 15mm (1/100th) scale 1930s French cars?

15mm Universal Carrier

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.

They come with separate tracks.

I have thought about converting them into Panzerjäger Bren 731(e), these were carriers captured by the Germans and fitted with a triple Panzerschreck mount, probably the first armoured vehicle to be fitted with anti-tank rockets.

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.

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. The largest, most common, and best armored 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.

Like some of my other models I am unsure of the manufacturer of this one. However it is a completely metal model.

I want to use this one to test out my German armour paint scheme.

I might then use it to create a Flames of War objective.

Flames of War – Battle of the Bulge

One other line in the news from Flames of War caught my eye and that was a reference to the Battle for the Bulge.

Following on from Italy we will be heading into the Bulge at the end of the year as well as creating another set of compilations for the Christmas season as we did last year with D-Day.

It would appear that as they did with the D-Day compilations, late in 2011 we will see a similar compilation for the late war. I don’t know what new releases we will see, but we did get a few new releases for D-Day so we may see some new ones for the late war.

I would like to see two tanks in particular, the M24 Chaffee and the British Comet. These tanks are currently not in the FoW range.

The Light Tank M24 was an American light tank used during World War II and in postwar conflicts including the Korean War and with the French in the First Indochina War and war in Algeria. In British service it was given the service name Chaffee, after the United States Army General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr., who helped develop the use of tanks in the United States armed forces.

The Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34) was a British cruiser tank that first saw use near the end of World War II. It was designed to provide greater anti-tank capability to Cromwell tank squadrons.

It was armed with a 77mm HV, a derivative of the 17 pounder, with the result it was one of the few British tanks with the firepower to challenge late war German designs.

I would also like to see some Late War Monsters in a similar vein to the Mid War Monsters that we have seen before. As well as the German Maus, King Tiger II and E series, we could on the allied side see the Centurion and M26 Pershing. There are also the T29 and T30 US Heavy Tanks that could also be fielded.

Talking of Monsters, some Early War Monsters wouldn’t go amiss either, the French Char 2C would be one example.

So a fair bit to look forward to for Flames of War in 2011.

We will have railway tracks…

The latest issue of Wargames Illustrated #281 has a battle report involving the Polish Armoured Train. Well it is worth seeing how big that train is… the more I think about it the more I realise that £52 isn’t that bad for the model.

Anyway, as well as seeing the Renault Ft-17 light tanks in the battle report too, the interesting thing that was mentioned at the end of the article was that an A4 box of pre-painted railway track will be released on March 20th.

There are three good articles on the armoured train in the magazine, one describing the use of armoured trains by the Polish army, a battle report using the armoured train and a modelling and painting article for the armoured train.

Update: Photo of the new Renault FT-17 tank.

15mm British Vickers Dutchman

I have had this tank for sometime. Don’t remember the manufacturer. It actually took me a while to work out which tank this was exactly… I used this site as a reference.

Mechanically similar to the Mark IV, though armament and other features were like the Mark II, the “Dutchmen” were a 1936 commercial version. 40 vehicles were sold to the Netherlands. All 40 were taken over by the War Office in 1939 before export. All vehicles were used for training only by the British Army. The term “Dutchmen” or “Dutchman” was an unofficial moniker.

Though never used in service, in the event of a German invastion (Operation Sealion) they probably would have been used to help defend the country.
After a bit of internet research I believe it is an old SDD miniature. Not convinced totally, but other miniatures in the box it was in carry SDD codes.

Thinking about it…

Initially when I found out that the Flames of War Polish Armoured Train was going to be £52 I was quite surprised and a little disappointed that it was going to cost that much.

However upon reflection and discussing it with Simon, I have come to the realisation that £52 is what I should have expected and prepared myself for.

The German Panther A boxed set with five Panthers has a list price of £41. Whilst the German Tigers Marsch which as well as some dice and tokens, contains five TIger 1E tanks has a list price of £48.

So to get four large resin models complete with extra turrets, £52 isn’t actually as bad as I made out it to be. I suppose I forget how much Flames of War stuff actually is these days.

15mm French Renault R35

The Renault R35, an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R 35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. Designed from 1933 and produced from 1936, the type was intended as a light infantry support tank, equipping autonomous tank battalions, that would be allocated to individual infantry divisions to assist them in executing offensive operations. To this end it was relatively well-armoured but slow and lacking a good antitank-capacity, fitted with a short 37 mm gun. At the outbreak of the war, the antitank-rôle was more emphasized leading to the development and eventual production from April 1940 of a subtype with a more powerful longer gun, the Renault R40. It was planned to shift new production capacity to the manufacture of other, faster, types, but due to the defeat of France the R35/40 remained the most numerous French tank of the war, about 1685 vehicles having been produced in June 1940.

Like some of my other models I am unsure of the manufacturer of this one. After a bit of internet research I believe it is an old SDD miniature. Not convinced totally, but other miniatures in the box it was in carry SDD codes.

I am going to use this one as the test vehicle for my Flames of War French tanks to try out different paint schemes.

Tempted though to paint as a captured German version.

Photo source.

£52 for the Polish Armoured Train

Well we now have a price for the Flames of War Polish Armoured Train.

£52

It’s a little more, well a lot more, than I thought it was going to be. To be honest I didn’t know or guess what it was going to be. I suppose I was looking more at £30-35 rather than the £52 price point.

My original idea was to buy it and convert it for use by the Germans or make a British version for Operation Sealion. I don’t have or intend to get a Polish army at this stage. I think at this time I might just leave it alone.