From MilesR - 28mm WW2 Gurkha Infantry and a M3 Grant Tank (120 Points)

 My plucky little British force gets some reinforcements in the form of 21 Gurkha infantry and a M3 Grant tank.  First up the Gurkha's - these are metal figures from Warlord Games box set and while the sculpting is OK, the casting quality was abysmal - I think I spent 6 hours cleaning up or repairing these figures prior to priming.  The box set comes with 21 figures - 1 Officer, 2 Bren Gunners and 18 riflemen.  Gurkhas are very expensive in game points for Bolt Action but are usually worth it if used properly.

 I tired to paint these up for service in Burma and used Vallejo Green Gray (70.971) for the basic uniform and Khaki for the webbing.  I choose Green Gray to have a more worn look to the uniforms and like the overall effect.

 The figures painted up fine but I'd have a hard time recommending this box set given the casting quality.  In the future I think I'll stick with Warlord plastics which have become very good.

 Next up is a 28mm scale M3 Grant Tank from Blitzkrieg models.  It's an all resin kit with a handful of parts and is just superb - zero flash, crisp detail and a snap to put together. It don't have any decals yet and will add those at a later date.

 The M3 Grant and the US version the M3 Lee saw service in the desert campaigns before being withdrawn in favor of the M4 Sherman.  The M3 continued to be used throughout the war in the Pacific theater as it proved to be more than a match for it's Japanese opponents.  The difference between the 2 versions is the turret - the Grant (used by the Brits) had a cast turret while the Lee had a rivets and more angular one.

The Brits received just under 2,900 M3's and used them extensively during the North Africa campaign.  The Grants were a much need boost to the British armored firepower and could out range the German Pak 38 and 50mm main guns used by the Panzer III's.  Once the Germans adjusted their tactics one of the critical short comings of the M3's design was revealed - "spalling" due to the riveted armor plates.  When struck by a round the rivets holding the armor in place would pop off and become projectiles inside the tank making the tank very vulnerable at medium and short ranges.

I've also been working on some 28mm Nappy's due the the inspiration of Mark O's Austrian onslaught - I'll never be able to match his numbers or quality but will throw a few more Frenchman into the mix!


From Curt:

Another excellent entry Miles! While the figures may have been a pain to deal with the Gurkhas will be a great addition to your growing collection.  Also, that Grant looks terrific, especially with the weathering along its rivet lines and plate edges.  Did you know that the Soviets were given a diesel powered Lee variant through the Lend Lease program? They has such a dim opinion of it that, with typical dark Russian humour, they wryly called it 'The coffin for seven brothers'.

Well done Mr. Reidy!