SDD Matilda II

Matilda II
By No 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Infantry Tank Mark II, best known as the Matilda, was a British infantry tank. The design began as the A12 specification in 1936, as a gun-armed counterpart to the first British infantry tank, the machine gun armed, two-man A11 Infantry Tank Mark I. The Mark I was also known as Matilda, and the larger A12 was initially known as the Matilda II, Matilda senior or Waltzing Matilda. The Mark I was abandoned in 1940, and from then on the A12 was almost always known simply as “the Matilda”.

With its heavy armour, the Matilda II was an excellent infantry support tank but with somewhat limited speed and armament. It was the only British tank to serve from the start of the war to its end, although it is particularly associated with the North Africa Campaign. It was replaced in front-line service by the lighter and less costly Infantry Tank Mk III Valentine beginning in late 1941.

This model is an SDD white metal kit that I bought in the 1990s.

Matilda II

SDD 15mm Tiger I

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E
By Capt. Tanner, War Office official photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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..

SDD Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E

I have already purchased a Flames of War blister of the German Tiger I E. This model is an SDD white metal kit that I bought in the 1990s. Unlike the Flames of War model this has just four parts.

SDD Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E

I am thinking that I might use it as an objective or in some kind of terrain, one of the reasons for using the image above as inspiration.

British Bedford OXD

British Bedford OXD
By Zandcee (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The Bedford OY is an army lorry built by Bedford for the British Armed Forces and introduced in 1939. It was based on Bedford’s O-series commercial vehicles with a modified front end and single rear tyres. The OXD was a general service vehicle, a short-wheelbase version of the OY, designed for a 30 cwt (1.5 ton) payload.

This is a photograph of a Bedford OXD in German army service in Hungary. So I was thinking I could paint it in this style.

British Bedford OXD
Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-715-0212A-26A / Kreutzer, Wilhelm / CC-BY-SA 3.0 [CC BY-SA 3.0 de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons
This is an SDD model I bought in the 1990s.

SDD British Bedford OXD

It comprises three parts in white metal.

SDD British Bedford OXD

After cleaning the castings the model will be stuck together and undercoated.

SDD Daimler 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. In 1938 the British War Office issued a specification for a scouting vehicle. Out of three designs submitted by Alvis, BSA and Morris, the one by BSA was selected. The actual production was passed to Daimler, which was a vehicle manufacturer in the BSA group of companies. The vehicle was officially designated Daimler Scout Car, but became widely known as Dingo, which was the name of the competing Alvis prototype.

I bought some SDD models in the 1990s.

SDD British Daimler Dingo

Not sure how I will use these, potentially desert models or as wrecks.

Another option would be to use them as part of my modern English Civil War background.

Repainting the King Tiger

I started to paint the camouflage on my old SDD German Königstiger. I used Chocolate Brown (872) from the Flames of War German Armour Paint Set.

Though following the painting guidelines from the German Armour paint set, I think the brown is too brown and needs to be more red. I think I am going to recover the dark brown and then use Cavalry Brown (995) which is redder and will I hope look better.

In the first instance though I painted over the brown and will start again.

One of the advantages of using an older model such as this, it allows you to make mistakes and not worry about ruining a model. In the end I will probably use this more as scenery, maybe a knocked out King Tiger, rather than as an actual gaming model.

Camouflaging the 15mm German Tiger II – Königstiger

After painting the basecoat on my old SDD 15mm German Tiger II (Königstiger) I started to paint the camouflage.

I used Chocolate Brown (872) from the Flames of War German Armour Paint Set.

Though following the painting guidelines from the German Armour paint set, I think the brown is too brown and needs to be more red.

15mm German Tiger II – Königstiger

The Tiger II (or as was informally known to the Germans who fought in it, Königstiger), was a 70 tonne heavy tank. It was first used in combat with s.H.Pz.Abt. 503 during the Normandy campaign on 11 July 1944.

In the process of sorting some old gaming stuff out I found a bundle of old SDD models. These are 15mm metal castings that I bought back in the 1990s. It makes me think that the other metal models that I have been painting are also SDD.

This box was mainly late war stuff and included a King Tiger. Having put the model together and given it a white undercoat, I gave it a basecoat of Middlestone using a brush.

I usually spray my 15mm models, but this time used a brush.

I am intending after finishing painting this model, to use it as a test bed for foliage camouflage.

15mm German Königstiger

In the process of sorting some old gaming stuff out I found a bundle of old SDD models. These are 15mm metal castings that I bought back in the 1990s. It makes me think that the other metal models that I have been painting are also SDD.

This box was mainly late war stuff and included a King Tiger. Having constructed the model, I gave it a white undercoat.

The undercoat has shown that the quite severe casting lines, something you don’t always get with a resin casting.

Constructed King Tiger

In the process of sorting some old gaming stuff out I found a bundle of old SDD models. These are 15mm metal castings that I bought back in the 1990s. It makes me think that the other metal models that I have been painting are also SDD.

This box was mainly late war stuff and included a King Tiger. The model consists of four parts: a pair of tracks, the hull and a turret. This is a very nice clean casting, but is quite a heavy model as a result.

It went together very easily, but doesn’t quite sit flat.

Certainly not as detailed as the Flames of War model, the next stage will be a white undercoat.

King Tiger

In the process of sorting some old gaming stuff out I found a bundle of old SDD models. These are 15mm metal castings that I bought back in the 1990s. It makes me think that the other metal models that I have been painting are also SDD.

This box was mainly late war stuff and included a King Tiger.

The model consists of four parts: a pair of tracks, the hull and a turret. This is a very nice clean casting, but is quite a heavy model as a result.