Tag: 15mm

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.

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.

15mm British Light Tank Mk VI

The Tank, Light, Mk VI was a British light tank, produced by Vickers-Armstrongs in the late 1930s, which saw service during World War II.
Don’t remember the manufacturer.

15mm British Light Tank Mk VI

I have painted this model. I gave the model a black undercoat, I drybrushed it with some brown paint. It is in need of a re-paint!

15mm British Light Tank Mk VI

I may use it for scenery…

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.

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.

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.

15mm French Renault R35

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.

15mm French Renault R35

Photo source.