From GregB: 15mm & 1:285 scale WWII German Armour (42 points)

Greg has been bitten with the WWII bug as of late and so sends in this fine group of German armour in both 15mm and 1:285th scales.

These two tanks are 15mm Panzer IVs from Battlefront, one .

From Greg:

'One is a Mark IV F1 (with the short 75) and the other is a Mark IV F2 (with the long 75, probably my favourite tank).  These were "orphan" models I found while rummaging in my pile.  I had probably worked out some way to include them in my DAK forces (http://wpggamegeeks.blogspot.com/2009/01/21st-panzer-reports-objective-captured.html) back when I was originally getting them going, but either forgot about them, or lost them or who knows what.  Anyway, there they were in the storage box, complete with black primer, so I worked on them last night while the Jets were on TV.  I love the Mark IV panzers, especially the F2/G version with the long guns (but prior to the shurtzen plates), and they will be fun to use while blasting the Desert Rats on the table. 

I felt really rusty painting these up - I think the basecoat was too dark, and I didn't put enough between that and the Kommando Khaki, so the line effect etc is kind of jarring.  On the other hand, I imagine the desert was a bit rough on any paint job....

Another challenge I have with these models is getting the tactical numbers on the turrets.  The turrets have lots of doors, etc on the side that make it tricky for the otherwise very handy battlefront decals.  I used microsol to soften the decals, so at least I avoided too much silvering.  But they still look strange.  In hindsight, I should have just tried to steady my hand and paint them on.  Oh well - something for next time.'

Now, for the 'Spearhead' rules that we often play to represent large-scale operations, Greg shows us two battalion-level formations he's done-up. 


From Greg:

'A pair of RSOs with Pak 40s, and 10 Panzer IV Gs.  The gun crews are from Adler, and the rest are GHQ.  The guns are leftovers sitting around in the pending box.  The Panzers were birthday presents.  I put a bit of a brown camo pattern on a few of them and left the rest straight up panzer yellow, ready to roll into Kursk. 

The 10 models are sufficient to represent a panzer battalion in Spearhead.  The HQ model is on a round base.'

Next up...


'10 Hetzers from GHQ. As with the other Panzers, these would be sufficient to represent a late war panzer jäger battalion in Spearhead, with the model on the round base representing the HQ.

The detail and quality of the GHQ castings is amazing, but I wish they would consider brass turrets or gun barrels for the future....'

This group will give Greg 42 points. Can't wait to see these on the tabetop (burning or otherwise)!