Posts Tagged ‘British’

The stretcher bearers are from Black Tree Designs, otherwise known

as EOS Orbis Black Tree Design.

These guys are for my Commonwealth Crete force and are made of metal.



A word of warning. The figures are quiet nice but the company is

completely useless. Don’t just take my word for search around on the

internet and read the tales of disappointment. I gave up waiting for my figures

to arrive after numerous emails and phone calls which never get answered. Luckily

Paypal came to the rescue and got me my money back and eventually I bought the figures

off fleabay from a private seller.

I’ve been wanting one of these for my Bolt Action table and finally somebody

has decided to make one . A company called,”paintandglue

have made a 3d printed version which is ok but low on detail. Saying that I’m not complaining its

better than nothing by a long way.

The Challenger A30 was developed because of a need to have a tank that could mount a 17pdr gun

and take on the German armour. Unfortunately its slow development and cost(it was much easier and cheaper to

build a Sherman Firefly housing the same gun) made it almost obsolete by D-Day.

Even so a limited number(less than 200)reached the battlefield serving with the Guards Armoured Division and

11th Armoured Division in Normandy. The vehicle was unpopular with crew because of its large turret,

lack of armour and faulty suspension, but it was able to take on any German armour on the

battlefield.

My A30 is a an 11th Armoured vehicle with the 2nd Northamptonshire Yeomanry used in the reconnaissance roll.

The rifle section was the core building block of the British army organization of WW2 and was the chief instrument in Normandy in closing with the enemy and destroying him.
In 1944 the British rifle section consisted of ten men. The section was commanded by a Corporal who would normally divide his team into six riflemen, which he led and a bren gun team of two with a Lance corporal commanding (so two groups of 7 and 3 men).

The standard infantry man was equipped with a Lee Enfield number 4 .303 rifle and could fire at targets up to 550yds away. This bolt action rifle was reliable and accurate.

The section leader carried a 9mm Sten gun which even though was an inaccurate and somewhat unreliable weapon was favoured for its effectiveness in close quarter battles, especially as it was able to fire 500 rounds a minute.
Each section was issued one Bren gun and the two-man team that operated it was known as the “gun group”. The team consisted of a No1 who carried and operated the Bren and a No 2 who loaded and spotted targets. The No2 also carried spare ammunition and barrels. Additional ammunition for the Bren was also carried my all members of the rifle section. The Bren usefully also fired 303 rounds and had an effective range of 600 yards. It fired 500 rounds a minute

Individual riflemen were also equipped with grenades, the No 36 grenade and White Phosphorous grenade (Phosphorous grenades were used to produce smoke).

In combat the section centred on the Bren gun with its considerable flexibility and reliability. As the 1937 training manual,” Application of Fire” stated the lmg was main fire producing weapon and led to tactics revolving around this weapon.

In attack the British section would split into two. The Bren gun team of 3 men would move to the flank and provide suppressing fire on the target while the other group of riflemen(team of 7) would close with the enemy. Ideally the Bren gun would get to 90 degrees of the target allowing a cross fire between the two groups.
The rifle team would close with the enemy using grenades and bayonets to finish the job off.

Just an update on what I have been painting as of late.

One 5.5 inch gun with crew and an AEC Matador tractor to

haul it. The ammo pile is just a small extra I made.

I am in the process of building 3 armies for Bolt Action and

I `m slowly making head way. I am painting British ,American and

German.

First up is a British Army Command Group.

Second, British Forward Observer Team.

Third US Army Command Group.

And finally US 50 Cal HMG Team.

I am working on a PAK40 and Nebelwerfer for the

Germans which are nearly finished.

I have not gone over board with the Panthers and Shermans as they are meant for quick gaming.

Just enough to get me back into the flow.

The jeep and truck will be used for objective markers.

finish1

finish2

finish3

finish4

finish5

51a6Lhf7VlL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_

Another Normandy book I hear you say, well this time

its something different. Yes the subject has been heavily written

about but this book carves out a niche of its own in that takes

a different angle and ignores the general fighting and describes in detail

the way the army actually works.

Ben Kite the author has gone into incredible detail to describe the

ins and outs of army life and how each section of the

armed forces organised itself on a daily basis and interacted with other

branches to achieve and overall impressive fighting force.

The chapters of the book include:

The Infantry
Naval Support
Engineers
Artillery
Air Power & air support
Intelligence & Reconnaissance
Command & Control
Medical Services
Life In Normandy
Armour
Our Greatest Generation

To round it off and give you an idea of this books appeal, I

would rate this as the most important book on my shelves on

the subject of Normandy. The detail describing each chapter

is very impressive with narratives from soldiers explaining

how it effected them in their daily life in Normandy.

I think this quote from Major Joe Lawler Brown sums this book

up ,” A very fine book, ably thought out and extremely well researched.

It reads well and holds attention and interest…It will certainly

rank amongst the best books on the conduct of the WW2 and I wish I

could have had a copy in 1943 when I was first commissioned”.

…………………………………………………….

Lets hope Ben Kite writes a similar book from the German

perspective because I will be the first to buy it.

Typhoon2

Just click on an image to enlarge :

Its a Revel Micro Wings Hawker Typhoon 1B

which comes as an unpainted 1:144 scale kit at

tiny cost of £2.99. The reason I went for this kit

is simply the price. The equivalent plane from

Battlefront is £11.50 plus P & P so I`m onto a winner

straight away.

Now apart from a few plane kits when I was about 10 yrs

old this was all new to me. For a start the kit is

absolutely tiny so unless you have the fingers of a church

mouse your going to have problems. Some of the parts are so

small I needed tweezers to hold them. On top of the that the

kit is not the best quality in the world but for £2.99 I`m

not moaning. I followed the Flames of War rough paint guide

which used Vallejo colours and did all the stripes by free

hand which you probably guessed by the not so straight lines.

Overall I produced a basic table top paint job. Three things that

bugged me about this kit were the rockets under the wings which

were just bad quality model kit, the cockpit which fails to have

enough model detail and the decals. The decals were intended to

go over a non D-Day black and white striped plane so don’t look

correct.

Typhoon1

IMG_8483a

The photo below is the same as the black and white photo and

without the stand being edited out.

IMG_8447a

Finally I think a taller stand is needed ?

Anyway I`m off to straff some unprepared German armour 🙂

If you have some British recon in WW2 and your

fighting in Normandy and beyond you just have to have

a SOD(Sawn Off Daimler). Why, because it looks like something

from a Mad Max road movie and that’s super cool.

In an effort to keep up with fast moving columns and a lack

of small agile vehicles the British removed the turrets off

Daimler armoured cars and came up with this crazy vehicle. Often

used as a command vehicle this thing was all about speed and wind

in your hair. Basically find a panzer and then drive like hell.

Sod-1

Sod-2

Sod_3

Sod_4

Mine has a PIAT weapon(more for morale than anything else)

and some additional aerials.

I have been wanting to do a tutorial on painting

for ages and I finally remembered to take photos of

my work as I went along. This tutorial is aimed at

getting a basic to good standard on a 15mm Sherman or

any allied vehicle without using an airbrush. I use

a combination of Vallejo and GW paints.

Step 1: I assembled more or less entire the tank.Some

people leave the tracks off for painting.

Click on any picture in the tutorial to enlarge.

Tut_4

I sprayed the

entire tank with Chaos Black primer. Leave for 24hrs.

Tut_5

Step 2: Using a brush touch up any areas that the spray

can missed with Chaos Black GW paint. Just brush it on.

Step 3 : With a flat brush gently brush on Vallejo 924

Russian uniform over the whole tank. Please note at this

stage its not going to look great but bare with it. Also ensure

you brush strokes are in one direction down the length of the tank.

Tut_6

Tut_7

Step 4: Another coat of Vallejo 924 exactly the same

as before. It should now start to look better.

Step 5: Finally another coat of 924 and the colour should

be perfect.

Tut_8

Step 6: GW Agrax wash(basically a black wash). Gently put

it in all the small gaps and places shadow will sit. Do

not wash it all over the tank ! Don’t forget to do the tracks and

areas in-between and behind.

Tut_9

Tut_10

Step 7: Drybrush 886 Vallejo Green Grey using a flat brush

over all the raised parts. This will give you a good

highlight against the 924.

Tut_12

Step 8:
Decals time. Carefully cut out to size and put on

your decals. I put mine on with Micro Set and leave them to

dry over night.

Tut_13

Tut_15

Step 9:
Next up is the tracks. Some people as mentioned add

the tracks later making it easier to get your paint brush into

the area under the mud guards. Its up to you but I find it

possible with a small brush. Paint the tracks black.

Tut_16

Step 10 : First I use a HB pencil to literally

draw on the tracks leaving a silver shiny track look. Don’t go mad.

Tut_17

Step 11: Vallejo 818 Red leather dry brushed(small amount) onto the

tracks.

Tut_18

Step 12 : I then stuck on the wooden stowage and painted it Vallejo

Flat Brown. You can paint the tool handles at the same time. Later

highlight with GW Tallarn sand or Vallejo New Wood.

Tut_19

Step 13 : Tool heads and clasps are painted GW Leadbelcher and later

highlighted with GW Chainmail. Finally add an agrax wash.

Tut_20

Tut_21

Step 14: Optional weathering. Light dry brush of Flat earth on tracks

and lower running gear and bottom areas of the tank.

Tut_22

Step 15: Optional adding crew. The commander was added and I used GW

green stuff to back fill the large gap in the commander’s cupola and help

stick the twin opening hatches on. The commander was painted with English Uniform

followed by an agrax wash. I used GW Tallarn sand for highlights.

Tut_23

Tut_24

Step 16 : Testors Dullcote varnish spray to make sure your paintwork is

protected.

………………………………………………………..
I hope this tutorial was helpful and will make it easier for some

people to get started in the hobby without having to become master

painters. The picture below is what the finished product looks like

with a nice backdrop behind it and in the correct lighting conditions.

I think my tutorial pictures had a bit too much light in them giving

the tank an incorrect shiny look.

Tut_30

Happy painting .