In my last painting post, the Germans got some recon vehicles. For my Normandy Breakout scenario for What a Tanker!©, I wanted some American and British scout cars. I have some rules modifications and Bonus Attack cards for my games to up the action a bit – as well as to create a more rounded scenario – and recon is one of my additions that I will discuss and share in my next post.
I put some new edits to this post in blue! Mea culpa and read on please!
Back to gathering the models – I ended up with American M8 Greyhounds and Daimler Dingoes. It was difficult to find suitable 15mm/1:100 scale models. From Noble Knight Games, I found a couple of 3 Dingo blister packs of Battlefront Daimler Dingoes (#BR310 – now out-of-production). I got these a few days before I was scheduled to run the Normandy Breakout game – so time was not on my side. I built one pack for Normandy and will save the other one for North Africa. As for the M8 Greyhounds, I ended up buying a three-vehicle bag from Old Glory of Command Decision models (#CD207). All of these arrived the week of the game. Tick tock….
The Dingo trio came with bendy metal machine guns to mount on top, but I did not see these surviving tabletop play – or even being easy to mount. I think the Dingoes work well as I completed them. If I ever get a few Daimler Armored Cars, or any Humber Scout Cars, they would be easy and fun to add to the British forces. The Dingoes’ crews of two were not very detailed, but I tried my best. The Old Glory M8 Greyhounds did not come with crew, and I saw afterwards that you can buy crew separately from them; however, by then it was too late for my schedule. The M8’s also had machine guns, but these models are all metal. The 37mm guns on the M8’s were spindly enough, so for the same reason as the Dingoes, I left off the large machine guns.
CORRECTION: I assembled the Dingoes incorrectly and fixed them – see notes in blue and at the end of this post!
Normally, I set up my completed minis on a tabletop, but given that my game was coming up, I decided to take some shots of them in the sun on my deck railing (yes, the deck needs paint but will be replaced soon I hope!). This is after all Massachusetts – stuff weathers naturally!
The biggest challenge with these was their size, followed by the US stars on the M8’s for aircraft ID. It was different for sure.
My next post will detail these vehicles’ experiences in their little battle last Saturday! There was some action for sure.
Thanks for looking! Any favorites? Comments? Always appreciate your feedback in the comments section!
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE USED ON THESE VEHICLES:
- Gorilla Glue
- E6000 epoxy
- Vallejo “Flow Improver”
- Vallejo “Airbrush Thinner”
- Vallejo “Surface Primer – Russian Green”
- Vallejo “Surface Primer – Black”
- Vallejo Model Air “US Olive Drab”
- Battlefront”Black”
- Army Painter “Military Shader” (wash)
- Battlefront “European Skin”
- Battlefront “Skin Shade” (wash)
- Testors “Universal Acrylic Thinner”
- Vallejo “Light Brown”
- Vallejo Game Air “Satin” (varnish)
- Battlefront “Battlefield Brown
- Battlefront “Dark Gunmetal”
- Appropriate decals from Battlefront
- Microscale Micro-Set
- Microscale Micro-Sol
- Microscale Liquid Decal Film
- Vallejo “Gloss Varnish”
- Vallejo “European Mud” (Thick Mud)
- Vallejo “European Slash Mud” (Splash Mud)
- Vallejo Mecha Varnish “Matt Varnish
CORRECTIONS!
Well, I am a bit embarrassed to say that when I built my Dingoes I put the crews in backwards.
Yes, backwards.
We even played with them last weekend and none of us, being Americans, knew they were wrong. I should have paid better attention – but I was able to correct the problem – luckily I had used E6000 epoxy to mount the crews instead of Gorilla Glue so they were easier to remove. I did have to repaint them a bit and reapply varnish. I have changed the pics above to reflect that! My apologies to the British Army and the British Empire! It was not a 4th of July joke!
Mark A. Morin 
Very nice, Mark! 15mm scale Dingoes must be small and fiddly, so well done! And I’ve always like M8s as well. I like all of these and, funnily enough, I’ve never had models of either type! Will be interested to hear how they got on in a game and your thoughts on recce – I’m currently thinking about how to use HQ and recce units within tank games!
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Hi John, and I posted on TMP only to have one of your countrymen point out that I had the Dingo crews in BACKWARDS!! AAAUUUUGH!!!
OK, I’m blaming it on being an American! Never have I seen a Dingo before.
Just removed the crew, painted the wrecked paint, and will repair.
My apologies to the British Empire!
BTW, I will share what I did on recon next post. I do like the way I did it – and so did the players. Be interested in your feedback too.
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I realised you’d put the crew in facing backwards, but if they’d reversed the vehicle into a position from which they could observe the enemy, it would mean they could make a quick getaway if necessary, so I assumed you’d done it on purpose, given that you understand what recce is all about! There is an argument that says the manufacturers should configure the crew models so you can only put them in the right way! Between you and me, I’ve managed to stick the exhausts on my StuGs on upside down, which is why I never take pics showing the exhausts! So . . . no apologies necessary!
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Thanks John – I updated the post with shots of the proper crew mountings and comments in blue. Love your explanation though! Still, it’s not the only weird looking Brit vehicle in WWII – look at the Archer as pointed out in TMP: http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=510709
Hope these are better! Cheers!
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Brilliant work Mark.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Thanks Pete
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Very nice Mark. These will look all the more impressive when lined up on the able with everything else. Nice kits and good detail but cannot have been easy working in 15mm so very well done!
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As you will notice I had to readjust the crews! I think they are ok now. Thanks Dave for looking!
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Always a pleasure to look at quality work Mark.
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They’re so tiny – the Dingo crew look nice and cosy!! Nicely done sir 🙂
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Better now Alex as I had the Brits in reverse!
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Love these little Dingoes mate !
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I like them better now that I fixed them Pat!
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Well done on the quick turn round with the crew (that was not really meant to be a pun)! They still look great! It’s a tight fit for the crew mind you! I’ve always thought the Archer was quite a neat solution to getting a big gun on a small chassis – it trades off arc of fire for a very low silhouette (compare the M10 Achilles with the Archer). OK, it can’t fire on the move but that’s not what it was about! Maybe your Brits need an Archer (no pressure)! 🙂
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With that pun, John wins the internet for a day…
I’m wanting to see if I can do something different as terrain for my retro sci-fi games and also for Azazels’s July challenge.
I will be getting back to tanks someday I am sure!
Thanks John!
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To be fair it was a mistake quite a few of us would have made (at least those of us unfamiliar with the cars and who struggle to see that scale!)
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Thanks it still bugged the hell out of me!
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Great stuff! You’ve just reminded me that I had a little Matchbox toy Dingo when I was a child. If I ever find it (unlikely), I’ll have to update it into something for my miniatures collection. The Mates look pretty good as well! 🙂
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If only I had had such a toyi, I would have known the front end from the back! Thanks!
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To be fair Mark, the Dingo was pretty nippy backwards, and was designed so that the driver could reverse quickly if he had to.
Regards, Chris
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