Sunday, March 9, 2014

From AlanD: 15mm WWII Scottish Infantry & German Ferdinand Tank Destroyer (80 points)


From Alan:

Yes! Here's yet another project!
 
As any visitor to my blog know, I'm a huge fan of the Battlegroup series of rules. I've been loving playing Battlegroup: Kursk over the past year or so, and am also very keen on building up some forces for Overlord and (especially) Fall of the Reich.
 
To this end, I present my first platoon of 1944-5 Tommies. This is made up of a HQ base with PIAT, a 2" mortar and three rifle sections. In Battlegroup British rifle sections can choose to detach their Bren groups, so I've put them on separate bases. The platoon is from the 15th (Scottish) Division, with shoulder flashes supposed to suggest the red lion rampant in yellow circle of the Division.  


Figures are from SHQ and Peter Pig.



Here's an intimidating hunk of resin to strike fear into the hearts of Soviets in Battlegroup Kursk.
I was at my local vaguely friendly model shop when I spotted this Ferdinand from Battlefront and decided to add it to my German troops for Kursk. Despite the characteristic Battlefront price causing me to wince slightly($18 AUD), this was quite a satisfying beast to whack together and paint. 
However, given that these objects aren't cheap, I really think Battlefront could make a bit more effort to make the pieces fit better, and in the case of the Ferdinand supply hatch covers (round) that actually fit the hatches (square, in the case of the commander)
Anyway, grumpiness aside I'm quite looking forward to seeing this get pinned by Soviet artillery or run over a mine the first time I try to use it. 

'Vaguely friendly model shop', heh-heh, that made me smile. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big booster of my local hobby shops, but I have to admit that in my travels I have left some establishments wondering under what dank bridge did they manage to recruit the troglodytes 'working' the front desk. This being said it IS nice to see the product in the flesh, as it were.

Both the figures and the Ferdinand are excellent Alan. I'm quite intrigued by the basing of the infantry. Is that something recommended by the rules or a something of your own design?  It reminds me of the countless photos showing troops moving cautiously down the flanks of roadways.  Very evocative stuff. The camo on the Ferdinand is also well done. Shame about the hatch mixup - the beast must have rolled out of an Alsatian factory supplied with Schindler quality parts...

These jocks from the 15th Scottish and the Ferdinand will give Alan 80 points, enough for him to reach his second points target. Great job Alan!

10 comments:

  1. Thanks Curt! I meant to mention that Battlegroup is quite casual about the exact basing used, so I like to try to base figures in slightly more realistic formations than the FOW rectangular mass.

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    1. Well, you made a great (and very creative) choice with these. I'm sort of done with the FoW 'swarms' so it's nice to see a different approach.

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  2. A very nice addition to your forces.

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  3. Lovely work on the Ferdinand - one of WWII's most over-engineered vehicles, yet they forgot to fit a machine gun!

    The infantry are top shelf as well!

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  4. Your Tommies are nice but your Elefant is simply cracking.

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  5. Nice work Alan, especially the Ferdinand. I was wondering about the basing too. I like your rationale and it's great the rules are flexible enough to allow that.

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Thanks for your comment! As long as you're not a spam droid I'll have it up on the blog soon. :)