I finished a total of 17 tanks/tank destroyers this month. These were all 15mm scale and from Battlefront Miniatures. Thirteen of these were for North Africa, while four would augment my forces for my France 1940 scenario. The largest single number were nine Panzer II variants. I had purchased a box of five Panzer II’s previously, and built one for France 1940, but the box was short one tank guns. Battlefront made good on this, and sent me another entire box of five tanks! This allowed me to convert an extra British A10 gun I had lying around into one for a Panzer IIC. It’s not perfect, but should work on the tabletop. I also had a Panzer IVD from Battlefront, and discovered that it had two left tracks. Battlefront has done right by me on that too, and replaced that entire tank as well. I will probably take the extra Panzer IVD and make it into a wreck later on. So this post will review these 17 tanks I built and painted:
2 Panzerjager I’s (one for France 1940 and one for North Africa)(15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE100)
3 Panzer IIC’s (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX108) for France 1940
6 Panzer IIF’s (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GBX108) for North Africa
2 Panzer IIIE’s (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE030) for North Africa
1 Panzer IIIH (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE031) for North Africa
1 Panzer IVF2 (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE042) for North Africa
1 M3 Stuart “Honey” tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR006) – one captured by the Germans for use in North Africa
1 Tiger I(15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#GE070) for North Africa
I will review each briefly, and give bigger shots in the eye candy section. Of course, I list the paints and other materials I used at the end for those interested. And there were 61 decals!
PANZERJAGER I’S
In the end, I chose a camouflage pattern for my Panzer Army Africa version similar to what you see on the Marder II image.
PANZER II’S
There were nine Panzer II’s!
PANZER IIIE’S
I had two unpainted Panzer IIIE’s left over from France 1940. They were not easy to put decals on – so that was minimal.
PANZER IIIH
PANZER IVF2
CAPTURED GERMAN M3 STUART “HONEY”
The Germans did a good job of recovering all kinds of AFV’s in North Africa. This included enemy vehicles – so I decided that an M3 Stuart would be a good addition.
TIGER I
The last tank that I will share here is the centerpiece of the collection – a true behemoth – the early Tiger I. I modeled this one on the famous #131, which was captured virtually intact by the British in 1943 in Tunisia. A lucky British AP round lodged in the Tiger’s turret ring, and its crew abandoned it. Today, it is the only functional Tiger I on the planet and is at the Bovington tank museum.
Assembly of this model was NOT easy. There were 21 pieces and no assembly instructions, which is amazing given that Battlefront has assembly instructions for much simpler models. I also had issues with getting the tracks to fit the hull as there were no slots for the detents on the metal tracks.
I wanted to install a radio aerial, but in the end I decided that it was impractical due to the size of the model and the likelihood of future damage. I also wanted to include this Tiger as my “centerpiece model” in the January monthly painting challenge that I participate in – run by Azazel (whose blog is well-worth following).
So now, its time for…
EYE CANDY!
This was a big project – and now on to the Italians (and my replacement Panzer IVD).
I thank you for looking and hope this was enjoyable for you. What tanks are your two favorites (I know the Tiger I will be a big favorite!). Please share your thoughts and any feedback in the comments section!
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THIS TANK GROUP:
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Vallejo “Surface Primer – Black”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Battlefront “Dark Gunmetal”
Secret Weapons Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
Battlefront “Panzer Gray”
Vallejo Model Air “Base Grey”
Vallejo “Neutral Grey”
Vallejo Model Air “Green Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “Green Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “German Green Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “Light”
Vallejo Model Air “Cam. Grey Green”
Vallejo Model Air “Bright Brass”
Battlefront “Boot Brown”
Battlefront “Dry Dust”
Battlefront “Black”
Battlefront “Oxide Red”
Army Painter Quickshade “Light Tone” (wash)
Battlefront “European Skin”
Battlefront “Skin Shade” (shade)
Vallejo Game Air “Moon Yellow”
DecoArt “White Pearl”
Army Painter Quickshade “Mid Brown” (wash)
Army Painter Quickshade “Strong Tone” (wash)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Vallejo “Light Slate Grey” (pigment)
Vallejo “Light Sienna” (pigment)
Battlefront “Rommel Shade” (shade)
Battlefront “Bradley Shade” (shade)
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash)
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Gorilla Glue
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Gloss Varnish”
Microscale Micro-Set
Microscale Micro-Sol
Microscale Liquid Decal Film
1/8″ rare earth neodymium magnets
Appropriate decals from Battlefront
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish
Aleene’s poster tack
Sponges
Thanks for looking and for sharing your feedback!
ON MY RESEARCH MATERIALS
As for research materials, I used the same ones as I cited before – but for completeness here they are in case you are interested (you can find them on Amazon):
One by Jean Restayn:WWII Tank Encyclopaedia, 1939-45
One by the Smithsonian/DK:Tank: The Definitive Visual History of Armored Vehicles
One by Michael Green:Axis Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the Second World War (Images of War)
One by Robert Jackson:Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles Visual Encyclopedia
I would easily recommend all of these books as good resources for gamers and modelers.
I’ll cover each of the types individually, then some eye-candy shots at the end for your (I am hopeful) enjoyment. Of course, I will list my paints and materials at the end for those interested. I used my airbrush and standard brushes on all of these.
A10’s and A13
I finished three more cruiser tanks –Â two A10 Mark IIA’s and one A13.
A10 in the blister, as we say, a BAHGIN
A10 Assembled
A10 prepped for assembly
I find that cleaning, filing, and general preparation of these models does take a bit of time. I know that washing the resin parts is very important. My last step in cleaning the resin involves a gentle brush wash/application of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol to some of you) to it. This has been helpful I think – you just need to let that dry before handling or you may leave fingerprints on the resin. I also added radio antenna aerials with 24 gauge wire if the model would withstand the drilling and mounting process structurally. Sometimes, I just could not add one without damaging the model.
During the war, compared to the A10’s, the A13’s were much faster due to the Christie suspension and a better engine. Combat wise, they were not much better, and are not better in the game rules either. They are adequate foes for Panzer II’s and some Italian light AFV’s.
On all of my tanks I tried to use different FoW decals that seemed to make sense – they are so small! Of course, getting the decals to look sand-worn was important, and the pigment helped. Getting the decals to conform to the curved surfaces took many slow applications of Micro-Set, Micro-Sol, and Liquid decal film. Our hobby blog-guru Azazel mentioned using barely-moist sponges to lightly apply pigments, so I gave that a shot, especially on the decals. While I think I got a darker look, it did made the decals look less out of place, and I liked the effect.
Valentines
I picked up the two Valentine infantry tanks on sale at two different hobby shops. The track treads were a bit different. Of note, the Valentine II needed significant reinforcing with green stuff to come together as it was either poorly designed or not well made.
Valentine II in blister another Massachusetts “BAHGIN”
Valentine III in blister
Valentine II assembled
Repair work on Valentine II
For the Valentine II, I chose a Caunter camouflage scheme that was more bluish than what I had done previously with the A9’s or the Honeys. That would help on the tabletop as well – and the biggest difficulty was masking the appropriate parts of the tank for airbrushing the blue.
I am not sure how effective the blue scheme was in WWII combat, but as the British abandoned it my guess is not very. Still, it does look striking and different.
For the Valentine III, I went with a camouflage scheme that was more brown and sand. I also added two aerials to this one.
Crusaders
I definitely wanted to have a couple of Crusader cruiser tanks in my force. They do look good, though in combat their armor was not effective enough against their Axis counterparts.
My two Crusaders in blister
Crusaders assembled
Base-coated and ready for final work
I decided to use two different painting schemes here as well. The earlier Crusader II would get a sandy look, while the Crusader III would get a brown camouflage pattern.
M3 Grant
The British were not happy to get American tanks at first. They did invent the tank after all in WWI, and they were proud of them. They wanted the US to build British designs, but with the risk of the UK losing the war early on, we Americans balked and said we would only build US designs. That way, if the British lost, we would not have our factories tooled for non-American designs. One of these was the light tank M3 Stuart, another was the medium tank M3 Lee. To placate the Brits, a different and more rounded turret was made than that of the American M3 Lee, and that is the major difference between a Grant and a Lee. So, my tank is a Grant. In doing my research, it was interesting to learn that the sponson-mounted 75mm gun was more prized (eventually) because it had an HE round. That meant that the Grant 75 was far better able to deal with anti-tank gun crews, like the dreaded 88mm, than a solid shot AP round would have been.  In the turret, a 37mm gun was the main anti-tank weapon (though certainly the sponson gun was used in that role as well).
The M3 Grant in blister
Assembled, base-coated, and dry brushed – needs camo and washes
If the chassis looks familiar, yes, it was used as the basis for the M4 Sherman as well.
Churchill Mark II
The Churchill infantry tank made its unhappy debut in the costly Canadian forces raid at Dieppe (these were Churchill Mark I’s). The Churchill Mark II was first used by the “Kingforce” detachment (6 Churchill II tanks) in North Africa in October 1942, and Churchills were used in that theater and in Western Europe throughout the rest of the war.
I then masked this big behemoth (for 15mm). The effort on this tank took some doing – I needed a lot of poster tack.
Now my force was – as you Brits out there might say – “proper” in terms of game-worthiness.
That concludes the history/what-I-did section – now for the…
Eye Candy
Now it’s onto the Germans and Italians – which I hope to finish soon. But never soon enough…
Thanks for looking, and I very much hope that you enjoyed seeing these. Any favorites? Feedback? Winning lottery numbers? Please leave me your thoughts in the comments section!
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, AND FLOCKING USED ON THIS TANK GROUP:
Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
Vallejo “Surface Primer – Black”
Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
Citadel “Imperium Primer”
Battlefront “European Skin”
Battlefront “Skin Shade” (shade)
Vallejo “English Uniform”
Battlefront “Crusader Sand”
Vallejo “Desert Sand”
Battlefront “Worn Canvas”
FolkArt “Champagne”
Battlefront “Black”
Citadel “Agrax Earthshade” (wash)
Citadel “Nuln Oil” (wash)
Vallejo “Dark Sand”
Battlefront “Dry Dust”
Battlefront “Wool Brown”
Battlefront “Boot Brown”
Battlefront “Rommel Shade” (shade)
Battlefront “Bradley Shade” (shade)
Battlefront “Dark Gunmetal”
Battlefront “Dark Leather”
Battlefront “Oxide Red”
Battlefront “Tommy Green”
Gorilla Glue
Green stuff (kneadatite)
Tamiya masking tape
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Gloss Varnish”
Microscale Micro-Set
Microscale Micro-Sol
Microscale Liquid Decal Film
1/8″ rare earth neodymium magnets
Appropriate decals from Battlefront
Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Sky Blue”
Aleene’s poster tack
Vallejo Model Air “Blue Grey”
Secret Weapons Washes “Armor Wash” (wash)
Vallejo “Dark Yellow Ochre” (pigment)
Sponges
Army Painter Quickshade “Light Tone” (wash)
Thanks again for looking and for sharing your feedback!
RESEARCH MATERIALS
As for research materials, I used the same ones as I cited before – but for completeness here they are in case you are interested (you can find them on Amazon):
Two by David Fletcher:
British Battle Tanks: British-made tanks of World War II
British Battle Tanks: American-made World War II Tanks
One by Jean Restayn:
WWII Tank Encyclopaedia, 1939-45
One by the Smithsonian/DK:
Tank: The Definitive Visual History of Armored Vehicles
One by Michael Green:
Axis Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the Second World War (Images of War)
One by Robert Jackson:
Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles Visual Encyclopedia
I would easily recommend all of these books as good resources for gamers and modelers.
Poker chips were used for accounting and for tallying the score. Points/chips were awarded for tank kills, and for having your tank at the end of the game on the enemy side of the river. If your tank was knocked out, you re-spawned as a tank of the same value on the next turn, and the side of the player who killed you got chips equal to the value of the destroyed tank. These chips could be used in several ways. The team with the most chips would win, and chips could be used to purchase another tank, a tanker card, or upgrade an existing or re-spawning tank. Alternatively, you could keep the chips towards your victory points.
On one flank, a shootout occurred between a Panzer IIC and an R35 over a bridge on the French left flank. Initiative and the dice rolls went to the French R35, with the Panzer IIC taking temporary damage and being pushed back to its starting point, without damaging the R35. The German light tank barely managed to survive, exited the board, and re-spawned on the opposite flank to join the battle there. The little R35, a slow tank, had a long drive to rejoin the fray there.
On the other flank, the other French R35 took up position at base of the other bridge. Eventually, it got a few flank shots on the opposing Panzer IV, causing damage, and pushing it back. The R35, smelling blood, advanced over the bridge, and took up a protected position by the farmhouse. The Panzer IV had lost most of its command dice, and was heavily damaged. Eventually, the R35 knocked it out. At this time the newly-re-spawned Panzer II from the other flank deployed nearby, as did the StuG. The Panzer IV was also re-spawned here, and the R35 was in deep trouble. The new French player got his SOMUA S35 and hurried to relieve the R35. The battle eventually became one of both sides driving around the farmhouse and trying to get advantageous shots.
The Panzer IV got first activation, and missed the SOMUA! The SOMUA then drove like a bat out of hell, taking up position behind the Panzer II that was menacing the R35.
The Panzer II got activation next, and decided to avenge its comrade. A flank shot destroyed the R35. The next turn arrived with the SOMUA getting activation first, and lit up the Panzer II. The Panzer II re-spawned on the other side of the board, hoping to get some victory points by driving to the other side of the river. However, the R35 player re-spawned as well, and decided to use some of the French poker chips to get an upgrade, a heavy tank – the Char B1 bis – to confront this action.
The Panzer II crossed the river at a ford by the bridge, and turned to face the Char B1, who had crossed the bridge. As you see below, the Panzer II rolled a “10” for activation, while the Char B1 rolled a “7”, so it activated first.
(A side note here – in the rules, D6 are used for activation, but I have found that this leads to way to many “dice-offs” and slows play. Instead, I use D12’s, and if a player banks a command die “6” for the next turn’s activation, he/she gets to add two to the roll, so the math works out the same as the original game).
Back to the standoff between the German David and French Goliath…the Panzer II hits the Char B1 with a double -six roll, allowing it to get two extra strike dice – great news for the Panzer II. Unfortunately for him, the Char B1 is very heavily armored, and the hit fails to do any damage (well, maybe the paint).
The Char B1 returned fire, and you can guess the results…
The surviving R35 finally made it to the other side of the board and took up position behind the StuG, who was more concerned with the SOMUA. The R35 rolled well, the StuG did not, and the German assault gun brewed up into a ball of flame and smoke. This left the Germans with only a Panzer IVD, and even with re-spawning, the game had gone too far in the French team’s favor. The final score, with all the points for being on the other side of the river, kills, and purchase debits, was 58-14 in favor of the French. I think the scenario is still balanced, but in the end maneuver and use of terrain both really matter in this game, and the French did better job of both in this game. They also got some bad luck for sure. I may add some points to the German side the next time I run this scenario.
Hope that you enjoyed this post! Please let me know your feedback in the comments section!
The next Mass Pikemen game will be on February 16th at 2 PM at the East Brookfield MA Senior Center (110 Pleasant Street), East Brookfield, MA. We will be having a GASLANDS game run by Jared Burns.
Some of the items on the activity list below could be fairly called double-counting, but hey, no blood no foul! I tend to count projects in terms of their distinctive nature, ie the building/assembling/creating processes to me are different than painting, as is converting figures. I did not cast anything this year or make any molds as I still have plenty of figures to paint, and my hope is to knock out more of them in 2019, as I will not need to make as many game pieces/game aids.
This list, which is a separate page on my blog, helped me to stay focused. The adding of the hyperlinks that you see on the items below helps me to review past projects as prologue for future ones.
Thanks for checking this out – and good luck to all in 2019! Hope I keep you amused and entertained!
2018 Total Projects:Â 2,036
244 figures painted
0 figures cast
47 figures assembled
33 terrain pieces made or assembled
28 terrain pieces painted
10 figure conversions
867 creations or components sculpted or scratch-built
0 molds made
807 game pieces/game aids made and/or painted
January:Â 91 projects
Creations/components sculpted or scratch-built (91):
2 A9 Cruiser Mark I tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR020)
1 A10 Cruiser Mark IIA (Desert) tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR023)
1 A13 Cruiser Mark IVA (Desert) tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR026)
1 Valentine III tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR061)
1 Crusader II tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR032)
1 Crusader III tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR034)
1 M3 Grant tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR100)
1 Churchill II tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR070)
5 M3 Stuart “Honey” tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront Miniatures (#BR006) – Brits will get two, I am saving one for future Soviet Lend-Lease, one for future captured German use in North Africa, and one as an American M3 for future captured Japanese use in Burma or the Philippines.Â