Monday 11 February 2019

From AlanD: More Fall of the Reich and a New Project (88 points)


This week I had the pleasure of painting a box of 8-rad German armoured cars from Battlefront. This is a terrific box set, enabling you to build 6 vehicles of the Sdkfz 234 series. I painted up 2 as Sdkfz 234/1s, a brace of Pumas and one each of the Pakwagen and Stummel.


All but one of the Pumas are painted as belonging to SS units, and are destined for games of Battlegroup Spring Awakening or Fall of the Reich. I even had a go at painting some bits of uniform in a very stylised SS pea-dot camouflage, which is sheer folly in 15mm!







Continuing on my terrain project, I also painted up a bombed-out factory to add to my urban layout.

I also started a new project this week. I have been wanting to make a Jugoslavian partisan force in 28mm for some time, mainly for the challenge of converting the figures. Nobody makes a suitable range of Jugo partisan figures, as their appearance differed markedly from the French Resistance or Soviet partisans that comprise most of what is available in 28mm. Consequently, after a lot of research, I've started trying to make my own. The first figure is a proof of concept test, being an easy kitbash from Warlord bits. There will be more.





So for points this week, I make it:

6 x 15mm vehicles = 48
6 x 15mm figures = 12
2 x 15mm half figures = 2
1 x terrain of 34x15cm = 20?
1 x 28mm infantry = 5

Adding up to 87 points, I believe. And now to bed!

A new project! Very interesting to watch this evolve. Was this inspired by your recent trip to Serbia? What makes a Jugoslavian partisan recognisable?

I've always liked the 8-rads, and I'll give a bonus point for the pea-dot camo. That's a WW2 German-appropriate 88 points.

Barks

20 comments:

  1. Great work Alan. The "Pakwagon" is one of my favourite vehicles...speaks to the desperate situation on the front line at that time.

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    1. If I recall correctly, Airfix used to produce a kit called simply 'German Armoured Car' - it was an odd hybrid which I'm not sure actually existed! Anyone else ever see this one?

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    2. Yeah, I used to have that. It was a mess, based on the Sdkfz 234/4 ar Bovington, which was missing its mudguards. Someone at Airfix spent about 20 seconds doing some research and gave it the mudguards from the earlier 231 series of armoured cars. I made a couple by using the mudguards from the Matchbox Puma.

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  2. Really like the 234s, Alan, these are lovely vehicles.

    Also very nostalgic for me, as the Puma was one of the first model kits I ever built; the old Matchbox range of 1/76 scale kits from the seventies was brilliant!

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    1. I hear you Evan! I loved that kit. I'm trying to remember what diorama base it had...?

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    2. I had to Google it- it was the damaged street with a small crater and a bend lamp, no buildings. I loved those Matchbox dioramas.

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    3. Yes! Those Matchbox kits were pure joy. Gosh, that takes me back a bit...

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    4. My favourite was always the wrecked shopfront that came with the 6-rad aroured car (I think?).

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    5. I liked the ruined building with the smashed swastika with the Pak 40, and of course the Jagdpanther smashing through a wall.

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    6. And the Firefly on the wrecked bridge!

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    7. There was the Wespe SPG on its cracked earth base with a palm tree and an Afrika Korps officer gazing into the distance with shaded eyes. Bit of a problem if you wanted to paint it up in the Ostfront colour scheme...

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    8. Especially since there were no Wespes used in the desert!

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  3. Very nice Dux! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for your Yugoslav partisans - I want to do something similar for Czechs but I think they can be done with some of the Soviet/Polish offerings.

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  4. Fantastic armoured cars, you've done a nice job with the camo.

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  5. Great looking 8rads and factory, really interested to see your partisans, will you be doing opposition with early war French tanks too?
    Best Iain

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    1. Eventually I'd like to do some opposing forces, but looking forward to making some partisan tabks first!

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