More kits have flown the coop or sailed away

 

I might have got these models made one day, but what then?  I always like finished product I can game with.  But I am very happy these have gone to a good home.

Off to a good home

Over time I had collected a lot of plastic construction kits that I thought I would enjoy in my retirement.  Well, I got the enjoy retirement right, but the scale wrong.  In a bit of serendipity these have gone to someone who I hope will enjoy them in their pending retirement.

1/76th ish inventory - Commonwealth

This post kind of completes the inventory of my 1/76th and related scale forces.  There are more models in bits and pieces and quite a few as unmade kits.  So it goes.  Same goes for figures.

In looking at the various things I have included in this post, some are very old and some quiet new.  There is also evidence in evolution of my thinking as to painting, basing and organisation styles.  Note: Some of this units have been posted previously, mainly when I started this blog ten years ago.

 Mainly Airfix.  

There is a Hasegawa Grant and a Matchbox Firefly.  

Some scratchbuilding evident bottom right hand corner.

Some TLC is required.

 What looks like a complete armoured regiment.

Most of the Shermans are one piece plastic castings, brand unknown.

I can see that I lost heart halfway through when the second squadron turned out very green.

 A flash looking Matchbox Humber.

 I'm so fond of this model that you get two pics of it.

Detail looks sharper without the flash.

 This formation has been extensively posted on before.

This is as far as I have got with the great 5oth (Northumbrian) Division - Tyne and Tees.

As someone born north of the Humber I claim an historical connection!

 Some odds and sods (I have many more loose figures).

The three vehicles on the right are diecast by Oxford and are literally to die for.

 Looks like I started out with these guys for Command Decision

 and then started to move to Crossfire.

Note scratchbuilt Boys A/T rifle and PIAT.

The slender Airfix figures have a distinct early war feel to them

(unlike the more stocky Matchbox figures used for the 50th)

Some very old figures, based up for Crossfire.

The extra HMGs are just because, 

but also show a different attempt at a quick basing style.

The cutting of the Vicker's front legs, while tricky, pays off.

1/76th ish Inventory - WW2 German - infantry

A bit of a hunt and I found three boxes of German infantry for my 1/76th (give or take) scale army.

 Never finished reconnaissance unit of some sort.

Three different brands of scwhimwagens.

 Almost completed infantry battalion or possibly even regiment.

I'm now wondering where my Command Decision rules and Orbats are.

I do recall trying to be flexible so that the troops could represent 

the variations to the units over the course of the war.  

50mm AT guns were in short supply.  

As it is the 120mm mortar is scratchbuilt.

Volksgrenadier regiment.

Previously blogged in this post.

That post does include the OOB information I was using.

1/76th ish Inventory - WW2 German - sans infantry

After seeing this post by Archduke Piccolo I felt inspired/compelled to get out my WW2 German kit in the same scale.  These models go back to the 1970s (possibly even late 60s) and have been collected in bursts and drivels ever since whenever I have seen something I haven't been able to resist.  I was hoping to use Megablitz to actually make something out of them for wargaming. 

Some of these models might have been used for Command Decision, but I am pretty sure most have never been used on the table top (or in the garden for that matter).

 All sorts of brands in there,

including some scratchbuilt and diecast.

 Two of the Panthers are suffering badly from rot.

They were like that when I go them (cheaply so no complain).

 All sorts of kit and brands here as well.

Some deserve posts of their own.

Some I didn't even know I had.

Supplementary purchases (I think they were bargains).

Now, where have I stored the infantry?

Model Mystery Monday - Matchbox Sherman Firefly

Another one from Paul Foster's blog, http://plasticwarriors.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/model-mystery-monday_26.html

I had made one of these back in the 1970s and here it is:

As per the kit only with hand painted insignia.

Sometime in the 1980s or early 1990s I picked up a heap of 1/72nd scale stuff, so I now have five Fireflies in various states of repair/painting.

I also picked up a lot of standard Shermans and this is one completed squadron.

I started to add a second squadron but had a disaster with the paint.

And there is enough for a third squadron too.

Went the paint didn't go as expected I was also hit with a bit of self doubt: what was I doing?

Not sure what rules I was thinking of, could have been Command Decision or Spearhead.  Anyway, Paul's mystery model gave me an excuse to get them out and feature them in a post.

Model Mystery Monday - Matchbox SdKfz11

Over on Paul Foster's Plastic Warriors blog he has a regular Model Mystery Monday competition.  Occasionally something catches my eye and I have a flash back to happy modelling times (could be yesterday, could be last century).  Anyway, this one kindled some very happy memories:
http://plasticwarriors.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/model-mystery-monday_19.html

In my response I mentioned I had the featured model.  Paul's comment was that he was waiting to see it.  Well, wait no longer.

The Matchbox Sd.Kfz11 set came with this nifty BMW and sidecar combination.  Great pose.

The real treat was the model base (as with all the Matchbox sets).

I even added interior detail, padding out the walls with plaster and adding in some flooring.

I made up a crew for the gun (Airfix German mountain troops I think).  The seated crew that came with the model I didn't use - I was in my crewless vehicles phase.

I'm not sure, but I probably made this in the late 1970s.  Interesting to note (especially given my recent tail detaining of my Wings of Glory FW190), I didn't use the Nazi emblem on the building, the part that was supplied with the kit and was the item that Paul put up as the clue.  I expect I thought I knew better and that there were no Nazi's in the desert.

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division – Part 8

The Royal Artillery 74^th Field Regiment and Royal Artillery 124^th Field Regiment elements now complete.  Yeah!  The final delay was running out of matt varnish and having trouble finding some more, but job done now.   Along with some dug-in markers, there are also extra support units that I can use for Blitzkrieg Commander and Crossfire along with MegaBiltz – all bases covered. J

The basing has also been decided.  30mm square for infantry, 60mm square for heavy weapons and 90mm square for artillery.  Transport elements on a 40mm frontage.  This seems to give the look I was after.

The figures and models are Airfix or Matchbox, but there are two metal Hinchcliffe ring-ins commanding or assisting with the 25pdrs. I was pleasantly pleased with how it all turned out.  I had been a bit apprehensive about all the fixed basing, being more used to unbased models, but I’m very happy with the result

Next is the reconnaissance and engineering units plus signals and more transport elements.  Then the LAA regiment and perhaps the third Field Artillery regiment.  I would also expect to do an extra HQ element or two and maybe some more infantry (as I have them in some sort of shape in the “spares” box).  I’d also like to add to 5.5” battery.  Maybe some armour too, but before I get too carried away I need to do some German units to be their opponents.

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division – Part 7

Still working on the Quads which are now undercoated (Tamiya XF1 Flat Black) and one has its base coat (Tamiya XF58 Olive Green).  I also found the figures for the crew and they are nearly finished.  I’m thinking of basing the Quads and limbers together and not sure if I will go for 90mm or 60mm squares for the guns.  Probably 90mm as that will set my standard for field artillery.

Progress has been slower than expected as we’ve been watching Lost, Season 1 to 6, on DVD.

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division – Part 5

Time marches on and now all the infantry elements have been rebased.  So I now have the three brigades 69^th, 151^st and 168^th for the 50^th Division for the Megablitz rules.

These same figures also double up as an infantry company for Crossfire.

I'm also hoping that these same forces can double (or will it be triple) up for Blitzkrieg Commander (rules set has been ordered).

So far only one dedicated transport unit – a reconstructed Matador.  It is the first vehicle I undercoated black before painting.  In another first it is also the first to be varnished.  The matt varnish has a more satin finish to it, but i think that is my fault for not shaking up the can enough.  So it goes.  The infantry used to be gloss.  I didn’t fix the truck to its base.  I um’d and er’d for a long while, but decided not to at this stage.    I’ll keep with the loose look.

The next job is to start on the field artillery regiments, which will be more repair work.

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division – Part 4

Apart from the now finished 6pdr all the other figures I have had for a long time and these photos are just showing their final basing for the 50^th Division I am slowly building based on the Megablitz scale.

Typical photo style from me with one obvious exception and it was purely accidental.  It was taken outdoors and I think the bright sunshine and semi gloss varnish caused the interesting effect.  The other photo I like form this series is basically the one I redid of what I originally thought was a ruined shot, but this one has the focus on the pointy or business end of the 6pdr.

I also have to remind myself that the 6pdr was effectively in my scrap box before I rescued it for what is effectively my first WW2 war game vignette basing attempt.

The mortar is scratch built and the crew converted (old) Airfix 8^th Army figures.

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division – Part 2

I was going along fine until I had a disaster with the 6pdr.  I stupidly thought I could soften the plastic and straighten it out.  Duh!  All I achieved was to shrivel it up.  Grrrr

I have a spare, but no, I now have a mini project to scratch build a replacement leg (?) for it.  I had thought of cheating and hiding it under some camouflage netting or something, but I failed to find any inspiring pictures.

One of the Infantry brigades has progressed well and is now ready for flocking.

As is the Machine Gun Battalion.

I also have most of the bits for the rest of the Division.  Tim made a comment in his introduction to his creation of the 50^th: “This is the best of the Matadors in the division - the only one I didn't have to rebuild from near-scrap.”  As you can see scrap has been the main source for my 50^th.

There are at least two RA Field Regiments in there, plus something for the Royal Engineers and part of the LAA Regiment.  I can mash-up a third artillery regiment; it is just the bofors and recon elements I am short of (at the moment).