Greetings everyone!
Happy to be back for the first time in a few years! After letting the "I will surely get around to it" pile go out of control while away at school, the challenge has once again motivated me to chip away at the unpainted things in my collection.
For my first post of this challenge, I present 68 late-war Germans for my Battle of the Scheldt project. I started this project after reading an excellent two-part series by Tim Cook on the Canadian contribution to WW2. The watery battlefields of the Scheldt campaign immediately stood out as an interesting operation to model a few forces and draft a 'pint-sized' campaign around. Having finished my Canadians in the time between challenges, painting up a worthy adversary was long overdue.
For this particular force, I mainly used Warlord Games plastic SS and Winter infantry kits to create a varied core force of infantry and support specialists for my Bolt Action and Chain of Command games. I equipped them with the idea in mind that by the later stages of the war, they would likely have a mishmash of equipment and uniforms. As such, these troops have varying colours of greatcoats, smocks, and field uniform to reflect the diversity of equipment supplied or scavenged. Some are equipped with darker variations of the German field grey and the more orangey fall camo smocks, while others have been outfitted in more greenish variations of field grey.
Here they are broken down into some easier to view sections:
For a grand total of 68 Minis at five points per figure in 28mm, and a submission to the challenge theme 'Overdue and Returns', I believe this post is worth 360 points to kick off my contribution to the Challenge! At long last these figures may face their Canadian adversaries in full Technicolor after one too many games with matte black primer.
Thank you to Curt and the minions for once again organising this fantastic event! It has been a pleasure to see what everyone is working on and to once again be involved in the challenge. I think I will have German armour support to paint next, but after this long project working on cold weather forces I think it is time I turn my attention to something sunnier...
TeemuL: What a nice come back to the Challenge, Grant! Waiting for the last minute to make the first entry and with that first entry almost reaching your points target. :) I do hope you don't let the target to prevent you and you keep painting more and more. Your mixed uniform approach looks good, as well as the muddy bases.
What a points drop. Lovely work here.
ReplyDeletethanks!
DeleteExcellent points drop Grant and a fun project to boot. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I have certainly enjoyed working on it!
DeleteWhat a huge post! As a Canadian, I love to see someone gaining this campaign! Gritty and mucky.
ReplyDeleteThe grit and muck definitely appealed to me as part of the aesthetic for painting and as a unique challenge for wargaming. playing on tables with flooded fields and exposed roads under the watchful eye of MG42s presents an interesting challenge, but great opportunity to use LVT A4s and WASP IICs to even the odds!
DeleteThat is a great looking force to oppose your Canadians.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It feels great to have both forces painted up!
DeleteExcellent brushwork Grant!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteExcellent brushwork Grant!
ReplyDeleteA fine collection there
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteGreat painting Grant! You can never have enough of the PBI!
ReplyDeleteThank you! and indeed, better too much PBI than too little!
DeleteGreat work, figures really pop
ReplyDeleteThanks! I have been working on learning how to properly add highlights to minis
DeleteWelcome back Grant, I to have been away for a good few years and now enjoying the challenge to clear some figures from the lead pile. Your Germans look great love the style of painting, I look forward to seeing some armour
ReplyDeleteThanks! welcome back! I have some Panzer IVs and half-tracks that are almost finished to give the force something that can compete with Canadian Firefly crews
DeleteFantastic Grant, well done! There was a Dutch movie done in 2020 (De slag om de Schelde, The battle of the Scheldt or The forgotten battle). I haven’t yet seen it myself, but I think it’s on Netflix and it was reasonbly well received. Should you come this way sometime there is a very nice museum devoted to the fighting in the area near Knokke. Anyway, great figures and I hope to see more of this project!
ReplyDeleteI watched that movie around the same time as I was working on my Canadian force! Very much enjoyed it, can recommend. I will add the museum to my list! I definitely plan on doing some onsite research when I am next able to visit Europe.
DeleteVery impressive output!
ReplyDeletethanks!
DeleteLovely collection Grant - its always good to see so many variants in an army
ReplyDeleteThank you! I figured a strong number of variants would add to the war weary veteran force aesthetic.
DeleteWelcome back Grant, lovely start to your Challenge 👏
ReplyDeleteThanks! Great to be back!
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