New Accessions – tidying up …

So, 3 items under the camera … Chris gave me a P&G SU-76i quite a while ago, and I’ve been meaning to get round to it … the SU-122 I did years ago. It’s a conversion from a FoW T-34 which I did mainly because I wanted the turret for one of my trains (I figured it was less of a build to put the assault gun casement on the tank chassis than to scratch build a decent turret for the train). It’s been sitting around in the tank division box with just a basic green coat.

Finally, there’s a big gun from Butlers Printed Models

SU-122

I’ve repaired a bit of damage, given it a drybrush and applied some decals. I suspect the bow tactical mark is a bit big but it’ll do. And there’s something on the roof to let the Sturmoviks know whose side you’re on.

SU-76i

This is a 3D print, and not to badly affected by the layering process. The only thing I didn’t like was the over-sized gun barrel (so I replaced with a bit of spare plastic). OK, I did do a bit of filing – but once the original gun was chopped off, there wasn’t too much to do.

I left the base blank for now as I didn’t quite know where the 76i would fit in – but looking around for contemporary pics, I can see it’s going to end up in the Winter box with a snowy base.

I swapped the 3D printed fuel tanks for some FoW ones. But, basically, it’s a nice little model.

Extra Heavy Artillery

This is a WWI British BL9.2 inch from Butlers Printed Models but they were quite widely used and survived into WW2. The soviets had some and deployed them in the Winter War against the Mannerheim Line.

I will happily use them in a generic way for siege artillery.

Here’s a Peter Pig Russian Officer alongside to give a sense of scale …

And here it is with a the other big gun options …

I think it will work quite nicely …

This is a Skoda siege howitzer of the type which some of the Axis allies supplied for the siege of Sevastopol.

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Russians!

The 198 ID project plus Chris generously donating some pieces that would make an ideal HQ for the operation against Rostov (completed in the last update) has given a distinctly Axis flavour to the blog – but there are Russians on the workdesk too.

With a refurb to some of these motorcyclists, I have added a couple of extra machines and resolved how I want to depict the unit .

It’ll be just like the other motorised soldiers … a big base (with the others, it’s a truck or carrier base) which is the unit in transit mode … to which you add a machinegun/leader base when the unit is fully deployed for action …

So, as shown here, between two scout units … all three of these units would just be depicted by the big base when e.g. transiting along a road out of action – add the extra base and it becomes fully deployed: ‘combat base plus supports’.

The m/c combo is a Piggie BMW, converted to M72 with DP …

(you just need to reshape the sidecar and replace the MG)

From the TofOandEs, some of the Motorcycle Battalions were all combinations, some mixed combos and solos (most of these are M72s, but I’ve slipped a Tiz 600 in there for a bit of variety – converted from the Piggie WWI bike)

The ‘wheelie’ is because I imagine the terrain to be bumpy. There is a good image of some motorcycle troops negotiating a very dusty ‘road’ in the Kuban …

In the b&w picture, there’s also one of those little supply trucks like the ones I put in the infantry HQs. It’s a Zvezda Zis, but I cut the plastic out to give them open windscreens. For a simple/speedy conversion, I cut out the complete piece, then add the door pillars back in from card (rather than try to take the window out without damaging the pillars – which is a nicer technique but requires a bit more finesse) ..

They also have a reduced carrying area (which in this case included a metal tilt from the spares box which will give it a nice, weightier, feel on the table). Anything to make these pickups a bit different from the bigger workhorses.

After a little flurry of blogs, I have some medieval things to attend to – so there might be a little pause.

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PANJE WAGONS

Back to more from the work desk … this could be ‘German horsedrawn (Part 3)’ or ‘Russian Horsedrawn (Part 1) or ‘198 ID (Part 2)’ … the panje wagon was pretty universal on the Eastern Front, so I did sveral together.

They are basically light, open 4-wheeled wagons, typically pulled by just one or two horses and were used to carry almost anything. I’ve been waiting to add one to each of my Russian Divisions (or brigades, depending on the scale adopted), and needed one for the Germans (so the pioneers in 198 ID had something to tow their kit around in).

(OK, I added another kettenkrad .. Chris’s NQM article on them persuaded me I needed more)

And while I was doing them, I completed the welfare stands allocated to the Russian HQs by providing the Concert Party with a cart …

I should probably find out the correct nomenclature for these fellows (from Peter Pig’s ‘dancing Rusians’ pack): early in the war years, the Red Army had propaganda units and political officers attached to ensure the men embodied the right values … as the war progressed, they appreciated that visits from famous ballerinas, and musicians giving the troops a good sing-along worked much better.

The welfare stands are ‘the other bit’ of the tail: medical units, padres, field kitchens and the like. Where appropriate (and, as always, it all depends on scale), these make ideal rallying points behind the lines. They could all be fields hospitals and ambulances, but I wanted a bit more variety.

They complete all the planned components in the Russian Rifle Division/Corps HQ units box

I reckon almost anything you need to support the infantry units can be pulled from this box now. It has three matching ‘HQs’ (across the top of the picture) plus (bottom left) the combined/overall HQ and (bottom right) some artillery and AA attachments.

Here’s 3 lots of ‘log, transport and welfare’:

The wagons are general, open cargo wagons from Museum Miniatures which I have slimmed down (narrowed by cutting a section out down the centres) and I have replaced the wheels with smaller ones (mostly spare Peter Pig ones).

The trucks are converted Zvezda ones, and pretty much all the figures are Peter Pig (as is the Kettenkrad).

To be continued.

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Lend Lease Bantam

Another post in quick succession!  I’ll park this here as it is part modelling, part review and part new accession.

One of the other new things I got from BPM was a Bantam Blitz jeep … and that has been shipped off to the Red Army (seen above with some other Lend Lease vehicles, somewhere in Ukraine …

First things first … it is a very neat little model, hugely inexpensive and is nicely cast.

(Butlers Bantam Jeep model stripped of its printing web but otherwise ‘out of the box’)

My only criticism is the solid windscreen.  I wasn’t disappointed, as it were, as the website pictures are clear enough … just it would have been nicer with the frame only, otherwise clear.

So (and here’s the modelling bit) I decided to remove the solid centre.

Technically simple … I drilled (pin vice) a series of holes, joined them up, then smoothed the edges to make it look nice and convincing.  Job done.

Actually, it wasn’t quite that straightforward – although the plastic seems hard enough to ‘model’ it is a bit brittle and (although I have done this detailing on the Gaz truck) on this model, it tended to fracture along the printing striations.  I broke it and had to stick it back together (hence you see filler in the picture below).

No matter – a sharper knife and a bit of bracing behind the screen would have prevented the problem (but you can file that observation under wise after the event)

I put a driver in from my junk box.  With a Battlefront head.

(Butler’s Printed Models: Bantam Jeep detailed up and painted by Yesthatphil)

The shape of the grille and bonnet are excellent , and the angles on the mudguard seem to be exactly right.

This is an excellent variation on the standard Willys jeep.

Nearly 50,000 jeeps were supplied to the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War … the majority were Willys MBs but many of the first shipments were Bantams, and the Bantam had a significant influence on the look of the home built variant, the Gaz-64 and 67.

Useful as a recce vehiclw, Staff car or as a tow for light equipment such as the 45mm AT/light gun.

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The 2019 Great Russian Truck Off

I have finally completed the long-heralded review of 15mm Russian trucks.

Of course, mid-war onwards, the most common Red Army truck might well have been the Studebaker (over 70,000 of these) … but I still enjoy that wargamer conceit of liking Russian trucks, Gaz, Zis, Yag and so forth for the Soviets, German for the Wehrmacht (although they used thousands of captured vehicles) and Italian for Italians etc.

(Studebaker … fully loaded, Soviet style)

That said, some 200,000 Gaz trucks were produced, and the Zis factory alone added over 80,000 of the Zis-5 model (which was also built in other locations).  You can also argue that neither of these is really a Russian truck (the Gaz being a Ford copy, the Zis an Autocar design) .  I digress.

(wartime Gaz truck … designated MM – note the wooden cab and simple bent metal mudguards)

So what is available and which is the best?    See the top of the page article on the Reviews page.

 

 

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Shiny new things

This might fashionably be called an ‘unboxing’ these days … actually I’m just saying some new toys arrived – a lot of little bits in a group order (Skytrex have a flat £5 fee for UK postage so it makes sense to club together when somebody wants something) …

My ‘something’ was the last contender in my forthcoming Great Russian Truck Off – a ‘shootout style’ comparison of what you can get these days to shift the Red Army around.

… plus, you will see, an artillery half-track, and in the background some Peter Pig Nebelwerfers and crew (well I decide the the Gaz truck could go into German service as I had, quite unrelated, realised that the German Army had no rocket troops (so if I was doing some shopping, I ought to fix that!) …

Anyway, back to the trucks … expect the full review in due course, but here’s a first impression of the Skytrex Gaz …

I hadn’t realised that the wheels were cast on.  That’s kind of a bonus as nobody likes fiddly wheels … the ‘fixings’, however, are pretty crude and _are noticeable on the finished models …

I’m not sure I like this, and may have to take a file to them (and probably add a rear axle – and that probably means the Skytrex model isn’t going to win the Truck Off) ..

I kind of knew this from painted ones I have seen – but, in all honesty, I hadn’t realised how grim it was under there.

It’s also a bit wide.

I may need to slim that beast down.  That’s a lot of truck for what is basically a ‘pick up’.

I will get the dimensions for the review lest it turns out I’m being unfair.  It is quite crisply cast, so will make a nice model (but to measure up to the best of the bunch, it might need some work doing) …

Anyway, look out for the big review … here’s a selection of contenders …

Some, of course, are Gaz, some ZiS … some are solid metal, some hollow plastic.  The prices range from £2.75 (Butler) to £6.75 (Flames of War) though the QC might work out more than that if you are shipping in from the US.

Anyway, that’s all for another day.

 

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Red Army Engineers and such …

Engineers come in all shapes and sizes, militarily.   We often use the term for assault troops armed with specialist weapons such as flame throwers or who are equipped to break through hardened defences or clear mines … or built positions and/or lay mines.

Engineers build bridges, fix things (and break things) manage decontaminations and of course deal with wire … emplacing or removing …

Not all of these are strictly engineering … but are all part of a range of technical support services that expand or enhance what the basic soldiers can do.

For operational games it is useful to have markers or distinctive figure groups that show which troops can employ these extra technical skills and perhaps have access to special equipment.

My ‘go to’ figure for engineer capabilities in 15mm is a stormtrooper carrying wire from Peter Pig’s WWI German range.  With a suitable head swap.

(Red Army engineers on a stick for painting … and finished: the men with wire are bottom left and 4th from the right)

The other figures are adapted to be carrying tools … axes, spades etc.

These figures are mostly to make up 4-figure ‘work parties’ …

Additionally, I want some motorised engineer battalions to add into mechanised divisions and I decided to represent these the same as I have represented similar German formations … in a truck with an extra base available if necessary to represent them deployed as fighting troops.

(work parties and trucks)

I decided to make the engineer’s trucks distinguishable from other generic trucks by adding the frequently seen A-frame hoist on the back of the vehicles …

(hoists made from alloy tubing and brass wire being added to Peter Pig resin Gaz AAA trucks)

This simple bit of modelling was finished by using modelling putty to indicate the brackets and rollers etc.

(finishing details and adding figures)

(trucks, work parties and combat-deployed bases textured in and ready for the vehicles etc. to be painted)

Prominent amongst the figures are some of Peter Pig‘s new Assault Troops in body armour – a very welcome addition.

(Soviet Assault Troops in body armour)

(Peter Pig Assault Troops in body armour)

I think they look the part.

Anyway, here are some photos of the finished figures and trucks

The final batch of work parties:

The guys at the front are a work party for a trains unit (hence carrying a section of rail) and the chaps with blue trousers are to go in the cavalry division.

I either made the added tools or raided them from a pack Donnington do as part of a Medieval camp.  Whether you can get the pack of tools separately I don’t know (maybe try having a nice word with Damien).

 

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Refuelling …

Just thought I’d share this picture I just stumbled on … you don’t always see this (and when you do, as often as not it is from drums) …

(Red Army T26s refuelling from a tanker)

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Some Heavy Lifting

This is another level back from the front and a little exercise to add some extra shunting capacity to my Russians.  The Zis-10 articulated truck …

I’ve made it from the Zvezda Zis-5 … it isn’t complex enough a ‘conversion’ to add to the modelling page – but I thought it make a nice little post for the front page.  Something different, it is another variation we can add to the list of things you can do with the excellent little truck models.

(The Zis-10 articulated truck)

Here are a couple of tractors I made previously (for shifting boats) …

(Bronekater being shifted by road – yes, this is how they did it)

Of course the gun crew is still on the deck as this model is generally deployed on a river.  You’ll have to use your imagination.

Here’s a quick assemby of a new Zis-10

I used the Katyusha kit because of the extra axles.   I could have have scratch-built the cargo bed but happened to have a spare one from a cheap die-cast toy that looked just about right.

(P.B.Eye-Candy – a 1:100 Zis-10 model based on the Zvezda ‘Art of Tactic’ kit)

I’ll base it up properly when it gets issued to a unit – but here it is with some green paint on it.

I’m quite pleased with it.

The Red Army has a bigger truck.

 

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LENINGRAD II … Red God of War

As we entered the main phase of the operation, Chris gave me a fairly open approach to reinforcements – so, concerned by the scale of the task, I called up more artillery, the Red God of War … indeed, I employed all the heavy artillery the front could muster.

(B3 Howitzers on the road up to Leningrad)

(Ski troops, supported by air, move around the frozen Northern flank)

The old front line gradually became a vast artillery park, ready to reduce the city.

(Gotterdammerung: the Red Army’s guns prepare to reduce Leningrad)

(a TB3 provides air support in the frozen North)

The Russians enjoyed almost complete air superiority for this campaign and it’s elderly supply fleet, reconaissance planes, as well as ground attack wings could operate virtually unchallenged.

Had the Germans put much into the air, they would have found daunting concentrations of ground AA …

(rail artillery defended by a light AA battery and searchlights)

Given these conditions it is perhaps unsurprising that the dive bombers were (finally) able to deliver a shattering attack on the Southern flank which had – until then – managed to hold up the advance on Oranienbaum.

(Heavy v Light dice for the dive bombers … n uncharacteristically hammer blow rich in sixes)

From the North East, the Ski troops were able to enter undefended areas evacuated under the heavy artillery bombardments …

… although stiffer resistance was maintained in the leafy Eastern suburbs and broken bridges slowed progress on the main line of advance.

(Leningrad NQM: Peter Pig Soviet Scouts making hard work of the garden suburbs)

Here’s a look at the situation as the Red Army retakes the city …

Despite stubborn success in some sectors, the German commander had recognised that the city had become untennable and began a pull out before getting cut off.  As the Germans raced for the roads, Russians flooded through the city and swept around the Southern flank …

(Motorised troops snake through Leningrad)

(Heavy resistance to the attempt to cut the road)

This was a race against time determined by local firefights.

(Trapped!  Or not?  … the fight for the line of retreat)

Tactically dominant, at the sharp end, the cavalry again proved unable to press their advantage (game note: bad dice, really ...) … and, beaten off by desperate firing, allowed too much to get away towards Oranienbaum and Kronstadt.

A doomed pocket had been left in the docks, and no more Germans were able to escape from Leningrad.

Final situation …

It was time to dismantle the game and put away the toys.

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