This week’s tidying up is a mixed bag of new builds, brushing up and/or basing to complete some more artillery units for the Red Army …
Last time’s searchlight unit was intended to go with an AA battery … they may look like soviet 37mms but are actually US lend-lease M1 40mm bofors guns (about 3,000 of these were received – about a quarter of those in service) …
(40mm AA battery with tows and searchlight truck … BF guns and Zvezda trucks)
(AA battery deployed)
I’ve gone for a slightly peculiar arrangement with one set of wheels apparently attached to the trucks, and the guns deployed cornerwise on a 30×30 base. Although this is neither one thing or the other it gives the look I was after both deployed and towed.
The guns are Battlefront/FoW, with crew by BF and PP … the trucks are Zvezda with a bit of extra detailing of the cabs …
The Howitzer battery has been around for a while, but the deployed bases were recently added and the bases needed landscaping.
The units is now fully finished … in addition to the Howitzers (True North/Old Glory) and their tractors, it has a command/observer team in a T-26 radio vehicle (Zvezda conversion) its own log (a Voroshilovets converted from the same TN/OG Kommintern that I’ve used for the main tows) and enjoys the protection of an attached AA unit …
(203mm howitzer battery deployed)
The really tricky bit was remaking the running gear to the Voroshilovets arrangement.
I sometimes see it suggested that there were very few actual production models of these radio/command tanks – yet they do turn up in photos from Finland (so either they got around a bit or there were some allocated to combat units.
They can be added to the range of vehicles that can be built from the basic T-26 model I think.
The anti-aircraft gun is one of a pair of SP variants I built from the Battlefront/FoW Zis truck a while back (but hadn’t fully finished for some reason) … now they are dry-brushed and landscaped.
I modelled them as mounted on heavier YaG style trucks using the bigger wheels from the QRF Gaz series. Otherwise both have rebuilt cabs and MDF and card adaptations.
Most of the rear is card, the gun is one of the many spare barrels you end up with in Battlefront/FoW gun packs and the crew is BF and Peter Pig. The mount etc. is scratch built.
For the SU-1-12 the gun is actually a PP WWI ‘stormtrooper’ gun (but looks exactly right set in its card gun shield).
Since I did these quite elaborate adaptations, I think Battlefront have released commercial versions. So i’m glad I took the time to make fairly convincing models which will stand up to comparison.
Finally, another addition to the long list of ‘what can you do with a Zvezda truck’ … Here I have grafted a fuel vessel from a pound shop tanker set onto a slightly extended Katyusha chassis.
I will probably attach this to some airforce ground units as they will need plenty of refuelling …
I’m quite pleased with this latest batch of rear echelon stuff – it has tidied up yet another set of otherwise unfinished projects … it give me confidence the I can get back to the long delayed trains and boats and planes …
P.B.Eye-Candy 