DAK Transport

In the Desert war mobility is the  key. So my infantry will need plenty of transports to keep up with the Panzers. 

So the first batch is 5 Opel Blitz trucks, will need some more of these. The 2 on the left were printed by Mitch, the other 3 are from Paint and Glue.

Next up is 3 Hanomags. 2 of these had a miscast front wheel and the models were not as well defined. Mitch was going to throw them away. I persuaded him not to, used a bit of modelling pitty to create a dodgy wheel. They'll be fine on the tabletop.

Lastly is a couple of Kubelwagons and Steyr heavy cars. These were printed by Mitch with the exception of the Kubelwagon in the centre which is from Paint and Glue.

And here they are all together. Will definitely need some more as well as plenty of tractors for pulling the AT guns.

I'm getting down to the last few models and figures to complete before needing more. Shame I've run out of undercoat to get the last 3 Panzer IIIs done.

433rd Panzergrenadier, C Company plus supports

With all the rain yesterday in the north east, I got plenty of time to get some painting done. So here they are, C Company, 433rd Panzergrenadier. Like both A and B companies these are all from Forged in battle. Their boxed sets are great value.

Now all infantry needs supports, so I needed to get some of these added. These are the 1st 4 of 8 HMG teams. Their is also a couple of Pak38s (I need another 6 of these).

Lastly, I just had to have one. No German force is complete with at least one of these 'big cats'. Also it annoys Mitch. So a Tiger I from the plastic Soldier company. I've had this sat un-built for years. You may also notice I've started adding some decals to the vehicles.

Very happy with my output on these. 3 companies of infantry, 6 support teams and 11 vehicles in less than 2 weeks.  Still got a few things need adding, namely some trucks, more AT guns, mortars, AA Guns and a few more tanks. Hopefully get a game in when I get back from Normandy next week.

Should get back to the ECW shortly.

 

B company 433rd Panzergrenadier

In this interlude from painting ECW, I quickly completed the last stand of infantry for A company and all 9 stands for B company. There is also a light mortar and a couple of LMG teams. I would just need another company for a starting force for O'group. I also added another 5 vehicles to the collection. 2 Sdkfz222s, a couple of Panzer IVs and a Marder II.

Our other set of rules for this collection is Rapid fire reloaded. Thankfully the basing of the infantry is the same which is always a bonus. So here is everything done so far for the 433rd Panzergrenadier regiment.

I've now got C company on the painting table along with 4 HMG teams and a couple of Pak40 AT guns. Looking at a scenario that Mitch has provided I will be short of a few things, namely trucks, lots of trucks, AT guns, Howitzers and tractors to tow them along with a couple of 81mm mortar teams. There is also another 3 Panzer IIIs, at least they are already ordered.

DAK update

I finally decided on the bases for my infantry and also decided to add bases to the vehicles, just helps to prevent damage. The tufts are from some left overs from my WW1 Turks. They seem to suit the North Africa theme.

First up is the armour. 2 Panzer IVs F, 2 Panzer III and an early Stug III G. They are all Zvezda kits. Nice and easy to put together. For all the models I wanted to give them a campaign look.

My decals have finally arrived, so I can start adding them over the weekend. The completed infantry have also had the tufts added and I think they've come out ok.

I've now got a whole load more infantry prepped and undercoated along with 5 more vehicles. 3 of which are 3d resin prints that Mitch has done for me. 2 Sdkfz 222s and a Marder II. Along with 2 more Panzer IVs D.

Afrika Korps

So needing a bit of a break from painting ECW figures. I decided to take a little diversion and make a start on my Afrika Korps. I intend to use them for O'Group or Rapid fire re-loaded. I've picked up plenty of infantry with some support options to begin with. So first up was two Panzer IV F's. These were originally painted grey for use in What a Tanker, but would now form the start of some armoured options for my battalion.

They were undercoated in Humbrol Desert sand. I then covered in a sepia ink wash. Once that was dried they were both dry brushed with Iraqi Sand. I then finished them off with some dark grey applied with a sponge to raised areas to represent the yellow paint being worn away by the sand of the desert. Quite happy with how they turned out. Just need to apply some decals to complete them.

I also completed some test figures for the infantry. I've went with a mix of uniforms to give my DAK forces a battle worn and slightly irregular look. 

I still need to decide on the basing, but will wait until I get the rest of the infantry done and base them as a batch. I've got the next batch undercoated along with a Stug III G and 2 Panzer IIII J's. I've got a couple of orders in for some extra vehicles. 2 Panzer IV D's from Zvezda. A kubelwagon and 3 Opel blitz trucks from  Paint and Glue. Mitch is also printing me off a couple of Sdkfz 222's and some Hanomags. I also have a an un-built Tiger tank that needs putting together. Should keep me busy for a while.

More Covenanters

As I mentioned in the last post, I had made a start on another regiment of foot for the Scots Covenanters. Thankfully with today being rather sunny for a change, it meant quick drying time for the bases. SO they are finished ahead of time. I also completed another 2 mounted officers and casualty bases from Peter Pig. The officers actually complete all of out requirements for Marston Moor

I've also come up with an idea for labelling the bases of the commanders for easy identification as there will be over 30 for the game. I just need to get the text size adjusted and they should be good to go. Well at this point I think I'm rather fed up with painting pike and shot units so a little diversion is required on a new project is required. Then I can get back to the last few units required.

Covenanter horse and casualty markers

With a few days off work for Easter I decided to forge ahead and get some more painting done. First up is another regiment of Covenanter horse with a couple of extra mounted officers. These will just leave one more regiment to do, the bulk of those will be figures from Peter Pig.

 

I always feel that a project is nearing completion when you start the work on the extras for a game. These are the first of the casualty markers that I need. The figures are from Peter Pig. I added 2 dice frames as we will need to mark both hits and casualties for the game.

These were quick and easy to do, so I ordered another set, which should hopefully be here in a few days. I'm also hoping to get another Covenanter infantry regiment completed this weekend.