Archive for the ‘15mm’ Category

Project : Normandy Terrain boards stage 2.

Posted: August 15, 2014 in 15mm, Flames Of War, Project, Scratch Built, Terrain
Tags: , , , , , , ,
7

Slow progress on the boards but progress is

being made.

Ok so next thing I did was mark up with a big

red felt tip pen a general outline of where I

wanted everything to go.

Click on a picture to enlarge:

IMG_6210a

As you can see I had some help from a passing

Panther tank.

Then I started scraping out the styrene road

route using a screwdriver and sharp knife. I

also put down a tile size layer of styrene to

help build up the scenery.

IMG_6215a

IMG_6219a

The tile layer is built up using more tile

where required and is stuck down again with PVA glue.

The cocktail sticks are used to temporarily hold things

in place while the glue sticks.

IMG_6221a

The next part of the plan is the foundation for

the bocage hedges. As far as I`m concerned bocage

has just as much tree in it as hedge. So I`m using

twigs as trees and sticking them with glue into the

hedge lines. They will help the horsehair bocage stay

in place.

IMG_6420a

IMG_6421a

Some of you have probably noticed that my boards

have a permanent look about them. The plan is to make

the terrain 50/50(half fixed/half moveable).

Anyway that’s it so far.

Loyd Carriers

Posted: August 12, 2014 in 15mm, Battlefront, British, Flames Of War, WW2
Tags: , , , , ,
1

I needed something to haul my anti tank guns

and the Loyd Carrier was the answer. These are

Battlefront models and very simple to paint up and

only needed a slight modification here and there just

so they didn’t all look exactly the same. I have added a

few extra troops as well. Once again its 11th Armoured

colours.

Click on a picture to get a bigger picture:

IMG_7136a

IMG_7137a

IMG_7138a

British 6pdr Anti Tank Guns

Posted: August 12, 2014 in 15mm, Battlefront, British, Flames Of War, WW2
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Cheap to make, easy and light to tow and quick

to set up. Whats more the 6pdr could penetrate 68mm

of armour at 1000 yards, so good enough to deal with

Panzer IV`s.

These are once again Battlefront models and as you can

see I have only managed to complete two so far. I also need

a command team to go with them.

Usually towed into battle by a Loyd carrier 🙂

Click on a picture to get a larger picture:

IMG_7145a

IMG_7146a

Untitled-11

Untitled-12

Zvezda Matador AEC truck

Posted: August 12, 2014 in 15mm, British, Flames Of War, Zvezda
Tags: , , ,
5

Another £2.65 well spent and a great looking

truck just ready to pull a 5.5 inch gun. I did

a few modifications before painting including

adding a rolled up tarpaulin cover, front tow rope,

front load weight sign, front lights and a small step

up ladder over the fuel tank.

Click on a picture for a larger image :

IMG_6981a

IMG_7140a

IMG_7141a

IMG_7142a

25pdr Sexton Guns

Posted: August 12, 2014 in 15mm, Battlefront, British, Flames Of War
Tags: , , , ,
0

After reading up on the history of 11th Armoured

in Normandy it seems the artillery came to the rescue

of many allied units in combat and in some cases

literally were the difference between winning and

losing the fight. So bring on the Sextons and my

infantry will be forever more protected by a shield

of HE. One thing that I am still unsure about is

the nationality of the Sextons as 11th Armoured used

and requested artillery help from any and all batteries

available. So even thought they have 11th markings they

could quite easily be British or Canadian.

Click on pictures to enlarge:

IMG_7127a

IMG_7128a

IMG_7132a

Universal Carriers 15mm

Posted: July 24, 2014 in 15mm, Battlefront, British, Flames Of War
Tags: , , , , ,
2

Note the title of the post is the correct name but

everybody calls them Bren gun carriers 🙂

These beauties were used by the British and other

Commonwealth countries throughout WW2 and beyond. In general

terms they were too small, unreliable ,under powered,under

armoured and compared to the German counterpart hopelessly

out classed.

But hold on, because they were cheap and fast to build and

most importantly you could fix them with a hammer 🙂

The 3 below are Battlefront 15mm models with additional

stowage and extra troops. All 3 have Bren guns and one

has a Boys anti tank rifle(useless against most things).

Once again they are sporting 11th Armoured colours and

4th Battalion King`s Shropshire Light Infantry markings.

Click on an image to get a bigger picture 🙂

Untitled-1

Untitled-2

Untitled-3

Untitled-4

IMG_6973a

Project : Normandy Terrain boards stage 1

Posted: July 23, 2014 in 15mm, Flames Of War, Project, Scratch Built, Terrain, WW2
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
7

I have been making small bits of terrain for some time and recently

a lot of Western front WW2 type stuff. Unfortunately I have an

Eastern front type terrain board which has been disguised , very

badly as of late to look like Normandy 😦

So without a further thought of what I`m letting myself in for

and inspired by Arkiegamer ,its off to the shed and out with

power tools 🙂

Now I started this project a couple of months back and to be honest

I have been up to other things but in an attempt to get myself moving

its time to post up my progress and get on with it.

Stage one was to build the standard boards which I already use. By

keeping to the same sizes they will fit perfectly in my terrain storage

tower(sounds impressive but wait for the picture).

IMG_6946a

My terrain boards are 610 x 610 in size, which fit nicely on most tables

and are not to bulky to move around as a permanent set up board is out

of the question.

I basically cut out four battens of strip wood(2cm x 2cm) and sand off any rough

edges.
IMG_6192a

These are then glued down onto a 6mm MDF board using industrial PVA

glue.
IMG_6191a

IMG_6203a

Once dry a couple of small screws are screwed through the MDF from underneath

the board into the battens to add to rigidity.

Next up I use styrene boards which just happen to be the exact height of

the battens. Cut out the desired shape with a saw(best tool for cutting large

bits of styrene neatly) and glue down again

with industrial PVA, use plenty. Please note by industrial PVA glue I mean the

stuff builders use for sticking just about anything . You can also use wood glue for

sticking down the wood if you choose.

IMG_6202a

IMG_6200a

Now we have the basic battle board all ready for whatever you plan to do.

For my project I made four of these basic boards.

Just as a note in case any body is interested, this is what the basic costs

are but a large amount of the stuff I already had in stock. The prices quoted

make at least four boards.

1. 6mm sheets of MDF x 2 £10.
2. 2×2 lengths of strip wood x 2 £12.
3. PVA glue big pot £8.
4. Styrene in packs of 5 £14.
5. Small screw pack £3.

So £47 so far or $80 dollars for you guys over the pond 🙂

Compared to GW boards x 6 at £170 or $289 and I will have lots

of kit left over for more boards.

British Rifle Platoon 15mm

Posted: July 5, 2014 in 15mm, Battlefront, British, Flames Of War, WW2
Tags: , , , ,
5

Untitled-11

To put it bluntly these have been a royal pain in

the neck to do, literally. For the last two weeks I

have been unable to tip my head downwards, eaten all

the paracetamol and Ibufrufen stock in the UK and had

a sadistic physio therapist trying to rip my head from

my neck. I now paint in a very unusual and amusing

position. Anyway onto the rifle platoon.

Battlefront`s 15mm British Rifle Platoon(late)

gives you 37 metal figures including a Piat, a 3 inch

mortar and two Bren guns. Basic bases are provided as

usual.

I opted to use Vallejo paints instead of GW simply

because Vallejo have a very good range of WWII colours.

I use a variety of paints including P3,Vallejo and GW so

no extra costs. Saying all that there are GW paints in the

mix.

Couple of things that gave me problems apart from the neck

were a black base coat which makes its virtually impossible

to pick out details especially the webbing. Secondly I forgot

to add a bit of depth to the base so my men stood a bit

proud, but hopefully the gravel and static grass hides this ?

Lastly I wish I had added a few spare bits of equipment on

the ground, perhaps next time ?

Plus points, I love my new Noch puffer bottle and the

effect you get with it and I have taken a liking to Vallejo`s

Flat Earth colour 983. I have always used other colours for

earth but Vallejo`s seems to hit the spot for me 🙂

Click on a picky for a larger image 🙂

IMG_6750a

Untitled-1

Untitled-10

Untitled-12

Untitled-13

Sorry about the floating bases in the pictures. They are

still sitting on French out of currency coins for painting.

I`m thinking 4th Battalion Kings Shropshire Light Infantry

or 3rd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment to stick with

the 11th Armoured Division theme.

The World War II Tommy

Posted: June 29, 2014 in 15mm, Books, British, Painting
Tags: , , , ,
0

9781861269140

Nearly finished my 15mm British Platoon and to help me

with the painting I bought ,” The World War II Tommy”

by Martin Brayley and Richard Ingram and what an excellent

book it is. I have read and owned a couple of uniform guide

books before but this just leaves everything else behind.

Rich, colour photographs and loads of them covering all

uniforms between 1939-45 plus detailed descriptions of all

the kit and weapons. It even covers hospital clothing.

I found this book especially helpful for identifying what

exactly the bit of equipment you are painting as 15mm figures

have tiny bits on them(when sprayed with a black base coat

it makes things even harder to make out). What also stands

out is the photographs themselves. They have been modelled

perfectly with WWII back drops and if turned to black and

white would be hard to distinguish from the real thing.

This book is the one stop resource for everything British

for the painter, modeller and wargamer.

Hope he plans to do a German and American book next 🙂

Teddy Bear Fields

Posted: June 1, 2014 in 15mm, Painting, Scratch Built, Terrain, WW2
Tags: , , , , , ,
8

As I was building in the shed I went all out and

had a go at Teddy Bear fur fields.

Once again trusty ebay did the job and up

turned a bag of hair. After reading online I

found an old pair of clippers and lowered the height

of the fur which must start at about at least 2 inches

or more. Anyway either the clippers were blunt or who

knows what, but it was useless. Plan B came into force

and out came the trustee scissors which worked a treat.

I cut a lowered section of fur through the middle so it looked

like a natural path.

Now for the colour. The fur comes as a natural creamy/

brown which is great as grass is usually that colour

towards the bottom, away from sunlight. I borrowed the

kids hogs hair brush(big fat thing) and dry brushed

acrylic paint into the fur, trying to only paint the

top third of the fur. I basically started with a dark

green and got steadily lighter.

1st shot after 1st lot of paint:

IMG_6275b

2nd shot, more paint:

IMG_6286b

3rd shot surrounded by bocage:

IMG_6370b

I think it worked out well and once surrounded by

additional terrain such as walls and hedges it will

look even better.

Older Entries
Newer Entries