Soviet KV-1s heavy tank company...

Even though it came as quite a shock to German forces as they invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviets were never completely happy with the KV design.

Soviet KV-1 with the later cast turret

 

There were many problems as the Soviet mechanized forces deployed to meet the Germans head on, but lack of effective maintenance, lacks of spares and POL, ammunition shortages, poor training, and mechanical failures (particularly involving the steering clutches) led to high loss rates among the KV fleet in the first few month of the war on the Eastern Front.

 

KV-1 E with applique armor plates bolted on to counter expected German AT improvements.

 

 

By the summer of 1942, the STAVKA were thoroughly disillusioned on the design, meant to give heavy support to light and medium tank companies, the KV couldn't keep up with Soviet tank columns and were often too little, to late.  Part of the problem was that too much was added to the tank in terms of armor protection and technical improvements without any upgrade in the power pack.  This resulted in a slow, sluggish tank with a greater than expected logistics tail.

 

 

All KV-1 were pulled out of tank regiments and formed their own separate regiments and brigades to directly support infantry.  Also, the design bureaus delivered the KV-1 S ("speedy") with a smaller cast turret, and armor protection levels along the original specifications.  It was a more vulnerable vehicle, but it made up for it in mobility.

 

 

Here I have a company of 15mm KV-1 s heavy tanks, by Battlefront.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I prefer dry transfers to water-slide decals, and that is what I used for the turret numbers.  No unit in mind, just a generic system.  I used the sponge technique to weather the numbers, giving them a worn and chipped look. 

 

An interesting quirk I found  is that even though the commander is no longer the loader, and is positioned on the left side of the gun behind the gunner, his observation cupola has no hatch!  the only exit is through the loader's station, unbelievable!!

 











US Army "Modern" fireteam...

I wanted to take up the challenge of doing modern US Army troops, in what was at the time the field uniform, in UCP camoflague.  Between the color scheme at scale, and the dot patterns, it was a GREAT challenge, having to paint and strip several times before I arrived with a technique that yielded the results I wanted.  For your amusement...

The scheme is a basic light gray, with light green/gray and "Feldgrau" blotches mostly oriented in a horizontal plane.  I washed the helmets, crotch plates, body armor, elbows and knees in brown to mimic the dirt and grime, and how some uniform bits may be washed more often than others.

Now, just when I thought I had accomplished something, now the Army comes up with "unicam"... and I gotta start all over again.

I intend to use these for the new Force on Force modern skirmish rules.  I'm going 20mm, and it should be awesome!!

A little help for my... comerades!

 For your amusement, my first support unit, a company of 120MM mortars ready to lob hot steel onto the heads of the Hitlerite invaders!  In Flames of War terms, 130 points for 6 tubes (Red Bear), + 20 points for observers and trucks.  AT 3, FP 3+, range: 56". 

 I've decided to dig the battery in, making for a more interesting visual. The process wasn't hard, build the timber frame and pile up the gravel in front of it layer by layer.

 

   
The gun crews I patterned on the early-mid war
uniforms, using Polly S dust as a base, highlighted with Polly-S mud.  Fielding a Soviet army on a budget, these will work for early and mid-war armies, and will pass for later-war as well.  The mortar tubes were primed in Krylon camo-green, black-washed with painters oils, then highlighted with German panzer olive.

 For the timber-cribbing I used stir-sticks from a local coffee shop.  I split them width-wise into three, and tore them into the lengths I needed.  After super-gluing them into place, I coated them with a GW wood brown, then black-washed them in the joints, recesses, and seams to give it a more aged look.

I'm still not quite satisfied with the soil effects, and will be experimenting with finer grain materials, colors, etc.  Still, they should catch a few eyes on the table.

I look forward to ranging in with them, and putting some poor infantry platoon out of my misery!

PSC T-34/85's Finally Completed...

Finally!! I got there little monsters to where I want them, and am comfortable putting them on a gaming table.  I'm kind of a nerd about that, and get really self conscious about putting sub-standard lead, or plastic as the case may be, on the table.  This last tournament I entered was a real nightmare for me, as much of the force I fielded was little more than base-coated.  There was little I could do, if I wanted to play at all, and had to swallow my pride.  When my friend Scott MacPhee wasn't able to show, I really wasn't that put-out.  I would have been embarrassed and spent too much time making excuses, etc.


What I have for you today is a unit of Soviet T-34/85's, made by Plastic Soldier Company, painted in generic, oversized markings.  I base-coated the plastic in Krylon "ultra-flat camoflague green" spray primer.  The looked good but came off a bit too "olive" for Soviet equipment, so I applied a tint of Tamiya olive green to bring the base more in the direction of what Soviet armor generally looked like.  Next I applied numerous oil washes with red-brown and black, in separate coats and in combination, to provide shading and weathering effects.  The rear deck, and the vents received the lion's share of this treatment. Next came highlighting using Polly-S Panzer Olive green.  I just didn't feel comfortable going any lighter.

No historical marking schemes seemed to attract my attention, so I decided to do oversize markings and use what I had left over from my IL-2 box set.  I used the wing stars and fuselage numbers, in a single digit scheme, creating a generic Soviet unit, but giving the appearance of some sort of regulation or order. I had to "wing it" a little, as the decal sheet didn't have the "1" or "6" numberals, so a chopped "4" and a frankenstein combination of a "2" and an upside-down "5" did just nicely.  I shied away from the various coats of glosscoat, dullcoat, et al and just stuck with decal set.  What silvering did crop up I painted over with Tamiya Olive Green. Not perfect, but I think I can get some sweet results with more practice. All in all this decal experience was far better that past bunglings.

My overall painting style is what I call "Rabid Monkey" style, where models are liberally highlighted, but not also severely contrasted, and with some modest weathering thrown in.  The rear deck of tanks are a dirty, "diesely", oily area, and I wanted to reflect that.  I also wanted to distress the turret markings somewhat, so they aren't pristine and visually distracting.  I used the sponging technique, and I think I got really lucky!  The numbers, I think, have a great effect, and am happy with the results.

All I need to do now is repeat my luck with the 5 (6 including the Dedov model)  /42 turrets for mid-war units.  I've got 1/72 dry transfers coming soon so I'll keep y'all posted on that progress.

Battelfront and PSC T-34/85 side by side photos...

I'm gearing up for my first Flames of War tournament on the 10th, and am planning to bring a Guards (Red Army) Tankovy Battalion into the fight.  That being said, I needed a lot of T-34's in a hurry, and on a budget.  PSC seemed to be the way to go.  At $25 for a box of 5, vs a blister of 1 tank for $15 or a boxed set of 5 for $60... we all can do the math.

Assembly wasn't bad, but the track can be a bit fiddly, and I tried many different methods of getting that track on without too much trouble or the gaps that everyone seems to be getting.  I think I solved the problem to about 80%, by gluing the tracks on prior to installing them on the running gear.  It takes the patience to allow the glue to fully dry and cure, with a combination of "super" glue, and proper plastic cement.

Painting was easy, the PSC had good clean lines, but had little detail.  BF had less rear-deck detail, but more storage and clutter to catch highlight colors.  Still, I think they both turned out fine.  I used Krylon "Camoflague" green spray paint.  It's a primer, geared for plastics, and is WELL worth the expense.  It sprays very smooth, covers fantastically, and in this case comes out looking most like the US Olive Drab spray paint put out by BF.  I used that as my darker base, and higlighted liberally with Polly-S "Panzer Olive Green".  Two black oil washes for depth, and a brown wash for weathering, and here we are.

I still have some work to do, with one track still needing to finish assembly and basecoat/priming, the rest need attention to the track and tow cables.  I'm debating whether or not to add dust effects, or just keep them clean.

The Dedov model I'm using for my battalion command track, the rest I'm using for the line companies.  Right now, for the tourney I'll have to sub some Shermans, but another box or two of PSC tanks and that problem will be solved.  Wish me luck!

ASL to FoW Conversion Project... Episode 1 "Prelude to Luttich"

I had a wild idea a some time ago about taking Advanced Squad Leader scenarios and converting them to Flames of War.  Historical scenarios with FoW are something, I feel, that can be greatly expanded upon, as a taste of "something different", and a way to better embrace the historical nature of a table-top miniatures wargame.

For starters, I found a campaign of historical scenarios authored by Pete Pollard.  The campaign tackles the foiled German counter-offensive at Mortain.  Several panzer divisions, including SS units, faced off against (primarily) the US 30th Infantry division.

Here is the first installment, "Prelude to Luttich"...

"Near LaFantay, France, 6 August, 1944:  In the waning light of an early August day, lead elements of the 2nd Panzer division made contact with the US 30th Infantry division in positions located north of Mortain.  A handful of Panthers, supported by infantry, advanced on the northern units of the 117th Infantry regiment.  The Americans had set up a roadblock north of St. Barthelmy with a few squads and two 57mm AT guns."

Duration:  6 turns

Setup:  US player sets up first, using the following rules  reserves, ambush, kampfgruppe.
           
German player hold units OFF BOARD and enters from east board edge on turn one.

Victory Conditions:  To win, the German player must destroy both AT guns AND exit 9 infantry teams off the west board edge.  The US player wins by avoiding the German VC.

Forces:

US-  Elements of the 117th Infantry rgt, B company set up anywhere within 30inches of western board edge. All infantry and man-packed gun teams begin dug-in and gone to ground.

1 Inf'y command team (CO)
1 Inf'y platoon (3 RFL squads + bazooka team)
1 Inf'y platoon (3 RFL squads + bazooka team)
1 HMG team to be attached as needed
1 Artillery Oberver team (indep)
2 "Roadblock" markers
Off board:

1 Field Artillery Battery 6x 105mm guns (does not enter the board)

In Reserve:

1 Inf'y Platoon (3x RFL squads + bazooka team)
1 HMG team attached ton Inf'y platoon

In Ambush:

1 AT gun platoon (2x 57mm guns + Platoon cmd team)
company 2iC command team


German- Elements of German 2nd Panzer division & 3rd Recon Bn enter board anywhere along eastern edge.  All vehicles are limited to 1/2 movement for turn one.

2 PzGrn Cmd teams (Co and 2iC)
1 PzGrn Platoon (3x MG squads + PzFaust cmd team)
1 PzGrn Platoon (3x MG squads + PzFaust cmd team)
1 Kfz 231 8-rad armored car
1 Pz V "Panther" cmd tank

In Reserve:

1 PzGrn Platoon (3x MG squads + PzFaust cmd team)
2 Pz V "Panther" tanks


Scenario Special Rules:

Reserves-  Both the US and German player can roll for reserves beginning on turn 3.  US player can accumulate reserve dice beginning on turn 1 so, by turn 3, the US player should roll 3 dice for reserves.  US reserves enter from west board edge.  German player begins accumulating reserve dice on turn 2, so by turn 3 German player should roll 2 reserve dice.  German reserves enter from east board edge.

US AT gun platoon enters the game together as 2 seperate "platoons", the original with platoon cmd team and 1 gun, the second "kampfgrupped" with the company 21C and 1 gun. US gun teams begin dug in.

Map:  (3' x 5', click to see full size...)

Fairly simple, dirt roads, wheat fields, trees and bocage.  It is August and nearing the harvest so the wheat fields should be rather tall.  The large brown mass in the NE corner is a hill.

Aftermath:  "The 57mm guns fired 15 rounds at the lead advancing tanks.  Not surprisingly, none of the shells penetrated the Panther's frontal armor.  The lead tank's shot on the roadblock killed two men and destroyed one of the AT guns.  The remaining Americans withdrew, but were quickly re-enforced with more squads and artillery support.  The Germans faded into the woods as darkness enveloped the field of battle."


This one is going to be tough, the Germans outweigh the Americans in points by about 2 to 1 (using FE).  Good luck and enjoy!!

Flames of War "Basecoat in a Can" review...

As I'm slowly plugging along with my 12thSS Panzer Division FoW army, the time has come to add tank support.  What better support can an "HJ" grenadier ask for than from his brothers in 12th SS Panzer Regiment?  The best of these are Panthers...   so I gotta get busy!

I saw that BattleFront has released spraypaint specifically formulated for WW2 tank color schemes based on nationality.  The Germans, for most of the war (or the latter half at least), base-painted their armor using variations of a yellow-ochre, commonly referred to as "Panzer Yellow".  Now, unless you were lucky enough to own an airbrush, along with its accrutrements, along with the space, & skill to use it... you were left, in essence, "slathering" panzer yellow all over your miniature... with various results.

For all those who have done it, brush-basing your armor minis is a time consuming, torturous process.  One must somehow reconcile painting speed and coverage, all the while taking pains not to obliterate the fine detail of your mini.  BattleFront's spray makes the promise to not only improve paint speed and coverage, but also do this in an (argueably) historically accurate color.  This, for me anyway, has been a challenge... so when I became aware of this product, I was very interested in giving it a go.

Here we have what will become Max Wunsche's regimental befehlspanther, based upon the Ernst Barkmann boxed set by BattleFront.  I used a light-gray spray primer (as opposed to dark gray or black) with the idea to get as much "pop" in the yellow basecoat.  It was suggested that I mask the vehicle commander as the basecoat can get a little thick.  It does come out a bit thicker than a primer, and one must understand that these paints are not primers in themselves.  It is very recommended that you do prime your mini before applying the basecoat.

Immediately you see that its best to use many light, "gentle" passes with the paint to get best coverage, and to not ruin fine details like the zimmerit paste, nuts & bolts, handles, etc.  Overall I feel it did a fine job with the primed mini, the color looks good, and little to no detail has been lost.  Grade A.

Here we have what will be Panther "136" commanded by Scharfuhrer Hohnecker (kia).  This is a different story, as this mini was already primed and basecoated, and had camoflage (red brown and olive green) applied... but it didn't really "pop", so the plan was to strip the mini in PineSol and try again.  However, as we all know, the superglue that tends to hold these minis together also dissolved and one needs to re-apply all the bits and pieces.  Again, time consuming and irritating.  I'm a sucker for stowage, being a former tanker myself, and enjoy seeing the motley character of each vehicle.  Simply, I didn't want to do it again becuase I like how it is now.  I decided to experiment and see if the BattleFront basecoat can re-habilitate this mini.  As we can see, it does a fair job, some detail is lost but then again it is its third coat of paint, but quite acceptable.  The older paint is well covered, and I'm ready to bring this mini back to life.  Grade: B+

Lastly, I was curious as to how this basecoating would look on minis primed in black.  This schwimmwagen was primed and ready to go.  The coverage is decent, and although it wasn't deliberate, there seems to be a consistent "shadowing" in the recessed areas.  I may have been a little more conservative in the application of basecoat, but I do think I can do good work with this mini as it stands.  Grade: A

There you have it, a positive review of BattleFront's "basecoat in a can"... for 'Panzer Yellow' at least.  This is probably the most difficult base-color to work with (as opposed to various greens eh?), but I seem to have gotten good results.  Be gentle and patient, it doesn't work miracles after a heavy hand, but it should do the trick for you.  It had better, the stuff retails for about $12 a can!  So far I can say its worth it, I primed and based a platoon of 5 panthers (these and three others) in less that 20 minutes. 

Stay tuned for the finished products!!

-aus