1/72 Panzer 4

Here is my latest re-vamped freebie I acquired from the recently published Combat Tanks magazine - a Panzer Mk. 4 in the markings of the 19th Panzer Division. The models are die- cast and plastic and are fairly basic, but detailed and robust enough for war gaming. Apologies for the quality of the photos - I used my phone.

They are pristine and need a bit of prep to get them realistic enough for the hell of the table top. However, being a Muppet, I never took a 'before' photo of the model to contrast;  suffice to say it was distinctly virginal and toy-like.

Anyway, enough waffle, I gave the model a series of washes using Citadel sepia, mud and black. Plenty of Vallejo dark earth and over the tracks and running gear to give it a suitably filthy, battle-worn look (sort-of). Finally, plenty of dry brushing using mainly grey and dark sand before mounting on a base - still got a small amount of static Steppe grass to apply - and it's ready to defend western civilisation in Mother Russia...

A couple of PSC Late War German Infantry for scale...

That's it for now,

Monty

Valiant Minatures 1/72 American GIs

I've just finished off four more of the freebie Valiant WW2 GIs I got hold of on a distant (pre-FOW) Wargames Illustrated. I really like these figures as they offer great value for money, with over 60 figures in a box, including HMGs, mortars and anti-tank weapons.

There is also a selection of additional heads, personal weapons and equipment, with a number of figures having separate arms to allow a lot of customisation. 

The figures are well made in hard plastic with crisp detail and very little flash throughout.

Here they are in front one of the Dave Graffam's excellent card buildings, whose range I'm increasingly using in games.

There is one fairly major downside to Valiant's range however, regarding their scale. While they are marketed as 1/72 scale, they are in reality quite bulky and closer to 28mm as seen below when compared to Plastic Soldier Company . This inevitably causes problems with scale compatibility and  limits you to using them solely in infantry-only encounters against other Valiant counterparts.

If this isn't a problem to you though, I would say the Valiant troops are among the best hard plastic troops currently available and would recommend them to anyone looking to field a cost-effective and well-equipped force,

That's it for now,

Monty

1/72 Scale T-34/76

In a previous post I mentioned that I had acquired a number of 1/72 scale tanks and AFVs that had originally been offered with Combat Tanks magazine; some of these would be suitable for my Nuts! WW2 skirmishing games.

Here it is, as found on the magazine and prior to new paint job; all very nice, but there were a number of issues that needed resolving. Firstly, I felt the camouflage scheme had to go, to be replaced with a battle-worn, 'rough-and-ready' appearance; it had, after all, been slugging it out on the eastern front. The radio antenna, too, needed to be removed as my Red tanks would have no electronic comms...

Here it is, following its various priming, washes, highlighting and basing etc; I had a go at re-painting (badly) Soviet propaganda slogans  on the turret which I'd lifted off the 'net, but, which I think adds to the vehicle's crude appearance; the effect I was after.

I'm happy with the overall result and the scale too, which fits in well with my PSC troops - not bad for a freebie - just got hold of a Panzer Mk4, so that will get a similar treatment in time...eventually ;)

That's it for now,

Monty

Plastic Soldier Company 'Cross of Iron'

Here is the latest of my Plastic Soldier Company stuff that I have (slowly) churned out since Christmas. The plan is to use them with my Nuts! rules and upon reflection I suppose I should have based them separately, however, they wouldn't have looked as effective IMHO. 

The MG42 team with 1 in 1 tracer loaded, I try to make my troops look suitably grubby and 'battle-worn'.

The Soviet DP-28 troops, my only real criticism with the PSC figures are their similarity of poses across all ranges, which I suppose keeps costs down on moulds etc... 

...and now, following a couple of head swaps, we have Sgt Steiner and Cpl Kruger from the classic 'Cross of Iron' film. These figures aren't finished yet, but I thought it was high time I posted something constructive...

I wanted to give Steiner a smock and tried to mould one with some Green Stuff, but wasn't skilled enough, so he he had to keep his M43 tunic, as worn at the start of the film...

Private Maag calls for reinforcements... the bases are yet to be (very sparsely) flocked as I intend these troops to be used in an urban, multi-level setting - due primarily to my lack of board space - and the fact that 'Cross of Iron' is mainly mud, mud, mud...

'Demarcation! Steiner coming in! Demarcation! Steiner!' Love that film...

That's it for now - more to follow...eventually,

Monty

Scratch-Built Terrain Part 2

Despite over 90% of my available spare time (which is admittedly  decreasing anyway due to a multitude of reasons) being dominated by the (IMHO) brilliant Battlefield 3 multi-player, I have been able to knock together some more scratch-built terrain and bits for use with either my 20mm, or, at a push, 15mm stuff.

Production and painting generally have been pretty non-existence lately due to a variety of reasons, apart from the xbox, so these few items are pretty exceptional, I suppose, if nothing else by the fact they actually got made!

My latest building and the largest so far, which I have dubbed 'The Reichstag' :) 

It has multiple areas and flooring layers to allow skirmishes to occur 'room-to-room' but more importantly gets around my lack of table space...

I went for a burnt-out look and wanted to contrast it against the other similar buildings I have made which I intend to use during the same games.

'The Reichstag' has the largest footprint (4 beer mat/coasters) of all my scratch-built stuff - most occupy singles or at most doubles - so this one stands out compared to the others.

Next up, my latest attempt at barbed wire entanglements - the last time I tried this was back in '96. This example is made largely from polystyrene, beer mat/coasters, cat litter and picture hanging wire. 

Smaller version, which I made first to see how they would turn out...

Finally, an urban rubble 'bunker' with barbed wire frontage - again using the same materials as above; this will provide a worthy objective during  forthcoming encounters...

I think I probably now have enough bits 'n' pieces to finally stage a small 1/72 Nuts! skirmish game - bring it on!


That's it for now - right, where's my joypad gone?


Monty

Plastic Soldier Company 1/72nd Russian Infantry

Just finished the first batch of PSC Russian Infantry for use with THW's Nuts! skirmish rules. I actually bought them at Salute, but only got round to painting the first 10 (pathetic turnaround, I know) as I am so slow.

Have to say, I really like them; they are, like other PSC stuff, essentially the same figures (pose-wise) as their German and British counterparts; in a good way, though.

All my games are small-scale affairs and the plan is that this will be no exception, utilising some flattened, mashed-up urban terrain, which I'm knocking-up at the moment and should allow me to get round the lack of table space, while hopefully still keeping it in a typically chaotic,  Eastern Front setting...hmm...we'll see...

With that in mind, I tried to go for a 'Cross of Iron' look with these chaps, like the one I attempted with their German opponents. 

That ends my slightly pretentious update, I will get round to a few more bits 'n' pieces soon I'm sure...

All the best for now,


Monty