My recent efforts on the hobby front have been focused on multiple projects. Some of these are figures and vehicles, others are terrain-oriented. These are all in support of the games I will run at multiple 2026 gaming conventions.
This year, I will be running Wars of Ozz and What a Tanker games. I am also getting back into retro sci-fi skirmish games with Combat Patrol:WWII. I have not run these games in a while and they were always a lot of fun. To that end, I decided to add more terrain to the mix.
As background, a friend, Chris Rett, 3D-printed three excellent generators for me way back in 2018 (I think). These were great terrain pieces. At that point I was still immersed in retro sci-fi skirmish gaming with Combat Patrol:WWII as my preferred system. However, I was on the cusp of jumping my focus to WWII What a Tanker games. Thus, the generators took a back seat. My gaming then went in sequence to What a Tanker, then Feudal Patrol for the Spanish Conquest in Mesoamerica. Finally, I moved on to Wars of Ozz. Recently, I felt a need for a bit more variety as I mentioned – so terrain is what I hit first.
The three generators would be useful for retro sci-fi apocalyptic planet scenarios. They would also be useful for some Wars of Ozz scenarios. This includes any involving Professor Nitpik and the Industrial City. That city was wrecked over 300 years ago in the “Last Great War”. Plus I could use it as part of a “Space Cowboys” apocalyptic scenario.
The generators at the start of the project.
I primed the pieces. Then I used AK “Corrosion Texture” on it. This allowed me to use different rust pigments and paints on it.
Primed with corrosion texture added and drying here.
After the corrosion texture dried, I used the paints and pigments to “rust them up”.
All rusted up!
Two of the models were identical – so I planned on using them symmetrically on a polystyrene base. Using sand and PVA, I had a substrate for the rust pigments.
Here I measured carefully to align the three equidistantly on the base. Then, I traced out on the base where they would be glued. The one odd generator is in the center.Here you see the sand applied over the PVA. Note that where the generators would go is not covered with any glue/sand mixture.
Once the sand mix had hardened, I assembled the pigments as you see below. I fixed all the pigments with pigment binder, as I have found that other liquids can dissolve the PVA/sand bonds.
Ready for gluing down the generators. Then, adding pigments to the base. As is my habit, I list all the materials that I used at the end of this post. This practice served me well here as older posts I did on rusty walls had some pearls that I forgot.
The generators were secured to the base by Gorilla Glue. Once that dried, I added the pigments to the base and fixed them with the binder. I then decided that there should be more detritus and wreckage here. I added some of my rusty Juweela scrap pieces. Then, I applied more rust pigments to them. These actions are shown in the gallery below.
Finally, in an effort to add some wasteland life to the piece, I added multiple different flocking tufts. Here are some finished shots.
Thanks again to Chris Rett for this gift, and sorry it took me so long to finally complete it!
I’m looking forward to having this on the tabletop. It will be a companion piece to my rusty walls and ruined buildings. It will also complement my ruined chemical plant. I will be making other pieces soon. Stay tuned! I hope that you found this interesting or useful. Let me know in the comments section.
Until next time.
For all of my previous posts on terrain projects, please see this page.For all of my previous posts on sci-fi projects, please see this page..
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THIS MODEL
Over the summer, happily, golf dominated my free time for the most part. I didn’t really have much time for hobby work or wargames. Blogging about what little I did complete or participate in fell to the wayside. The “little” that I refer to is work on my 15mm/1:100 scale WWII scenario, Operation Torch: Vichy Mounts a Counterattack. This scenario is part of a What a Tanker game. It is set in Morocco in November 1942. The Vichy French responded to the American landings during this time with an armored counterattack.
It is a little-known clash. France the June 1940 post-armistice was titurlarly neutral, and had the responsibility to defend its colonies against any allied invasions. At this time in 1942, the Soviets were under massive German pressure on the Eastern Front. They were begging the Allies to get in the fight against the Germans – anywhere at all. However, at this point in the war, the US/UK were not in a position logistically to assault Fortress Europe. They also lacked the necessary forces to execute such a mission successfully.
The invasion of North Africa – and the colonies of Vichy France – became the compromised option. Operation Torch thus came to be. In addition, this assault would open up a line of attack on Rommel’s rear. This would reduce pressure on the British 8th Army in Egypt. However, no one knew how much the Vichy French would resist.
My flyer for the game scenario.
As I write this, the 2025 golf season is over now. At least it is here in balmy Massachusetts in November. It’s time for me to capture my summer and fall efforts that led to my running this games at conventions. This post will cover some of my preparations, upgrades, and the actual games themselves. I will discuss the initial games at HMGS HISTORICON, then my upgrades, then the games at HMGS FALL IN! and EllisCon.
By the time I attended HISTORICON in July of 2025, I had the scenario pretty much where I wanted it. I had play-tested it with friends, and was ready to roll it out. This year, in total I have run the game twice at three different conventions. These are HMGS HISTORICON in July, and both HMGS FALL IN! and EllisCon in November. This makes six iterations so far since the spring.
For vehicles for the game, I have finished many AFV’s for that I have discussed in previous posts. Here below are those posts in reverse chronological order in case you missed them:
The vehicles for the gameAFV attributes for the game
In addition to the vehicles, many game aids also were on my to do list. Before HISTORICON, I made road sections and town bases out of poster board and painted them. I also built dice boxes and dice frames for ease of play. Plus, I needed more blast markers for destroyed vehicles.
I was making these dice aids to make play better. What a Tanker is a great game. However, for a multiplayer game at a convention, the activation sequence is not the greatest. It does not keep the players engaged. I decided to borrow Buck services Double Random ActivationTM activation methodology, and that seemed to serve the game well. I also added Bonus Attack Cards and other changes as discussed in the next section.
Overview of My Scenario Rules Modifications
The game uses modified What a Tanker rules. The major modifications that I use are:
The game starts with each player receiving $75 in Tanker Bucks.
Before there are any play or purchases of extra resources, there is a VICHY FREE ATTACK PHASE. All US vehicles on the table will receive both 1 French infantry attack and 1 French AT attack. This phase represents the Vichy infantry attacks that were repulsed in November 1942 prior to the armor engagement. This happens only once at the beginning of the game.
There is an ACQUISITION PHASE after the free attacks conclude. More vehicles and Bonus Attack Cards may be purchased. This phase happens once at the beginning of each turn.
Uses of Bonus Attack Cards in the game simulate infantry, anti-tank, artillery, naval gunfire, and air actions. These are deployed by scout cars according to each sides’ historical capabilities. These cards can be shared across the team. Bonus Attack Cards are purchased with “Tanker Bucks”, which also play into Victory Conditions. Having more Tanker Bucks at the games end is better, as high amount remaining wins the game. I allow teams to share their Tanker Bucks as well. However, you need to use resources to defeat the enemy. You earn $25 for each AFV or plane destroyed. See the card below to see the costs for acquisitions and for rewards. So, a balancing act exists for the players. Do they hoard their Tanker Bucks, or use them effectively against their opponent?
Costs and Rewards as shown on the requisition form.Vichy Bonus Attack CardsUS Bonus Attack Cards
To represent the French vehicles’ advanced age and mechanical unreliability. “OLD” French vehicles that try to move and roll a 3 or less will lose 1 die to temporary damage. Mathematically, there is an 8.33% chance of that happening. So a good number of the Vichy Forces are indeed OLD (mainly the armored cars and the FT-17’s). In addition, all of the French tanks and some armored cars are SLOW – which limits their advances. But, in the game, there are more of them, and not all of the French tanks are OLD.
Any vehicle touching a road can convert any die to a DRIVE dice.
Armored and scout cars may engage other armored cars and tanks with heavy machine guns or deploy Bonus Attack Cards. Also I have rules that show how devastating any cannon fire would have been against thin-skinned vehicles. Cannon fire causes double hits on thinly armored vehicles that are not tanks.
The US Army was inexperienced before these landings. To represent that, their status is GREEN at this point in the war. GREEN means their base roll needed to hit increases. It goes from needing a 6 on 2d6 added together to a 7 as a base number. Most of the French vehicles are SMALL. This necessitates an additional +1 to hit at short range. There is also another +1 at long range. Oh yeah, the Stuarts have just a 37mm gun. This means that the US has a tough time making damaging hits at long range against French tanks.
The US use of Bonus Attack Cards is limited to just the US Scout and French Armored Cars. The M5 Stuart’s radios got wet during the landings and were not working. Many French tanks in North Africa did not have radios. The one-man-turrets in all of these Vichy tanks made coordinating activities very difficult.
To represent the fight for air superiority, I added Bonus Attack Cards that allow the deployment of French Dewoitine D.520’s and American carrier-bases F4F Wildcats. These vie for air superiority and can also convert to ground attack missions with other Bonus Attack Cards as well.
Having air superiority enables the US player to deploy the Avenger TBM’s as spotter planes. These can improve US artillery accuracy significantly. They also can also bomb the French vehicles with depth charges (yes that happened). Lastly, Avenger deployment also opens up the chance for devastating naval gunfire from the light cruiser USS Savannah.
Modifying the activation sequencing methodology by using Buck Surdu’s “DOUBLE RANDOMTM ACTIVATION” method.
Because of the different activation sequence from What a Tanker, I now use three types of dice. Larger white d6 are used for COMMAND DICE (these let your AFV take actions). Larger colored d6 are used for ACTION DICE (for rolling for movement and firing). Smaller colored d6 are used for ACTIVATION DICE (to, well, activate an AFV in the game).
Scoring is done with TANKER BUCKS. Most wins at game end. See the rules file below (downloadable) for all the details.
I was asked to share my rules on the Facebook What a Tanker page. As I am a wicked nice guy (as we say here in Massachusetts), I am happy to do so. Below is the Word document that outlines all of the rules changes in detail. Feel free to download. If you use them, please do share your thoughts and experiences with me, I’d love to hear them.
Let’s look at some photos from the HMGS HISTORICON convention games next.
HMGS HISTORICON 2025 PHOTOS OF THE GAME
I ran the scenario twice at HISTORICON in July 2025. The games went well. Each side won once.
The tabletop set up from the French side. Note the painted poster board roads and town pavements.Each French player started with 5 vehicles. The number of American vehicles varied by player, usually 2-3 including one M5 Stuart tank.Set up with Tanker Bucks. I did eventually decide on $75 per player on each side with the differentials being the cost of resources.The players from the first game – the French won here.In the second game, the US won. This victory was mainly because Dan Eustace successfully used his Bonus Attack Cards. He successively achieved air superiority with Wildcats, then got the Avenger deployed. This led to calling in naval gunfire from the USS Savannah – unleashing a volley from its 15 6″ guns. The results on the French armor was devastating.
After the game, I pondered what improvements I could make. The tweaks in the rules are reflected in the file I shared previously. However, I need to add:
More game aids like dice holders
More blast markers
Better roads – I wanted rubber ones that laid flat and took up less space in a box.
Better town bases that also were rubber and laid flat on the tabletop.
Actual plane models to represent the aircraft. I was using photos on flight stands at HISTORICON for the planes, and I wanted better.
I wanted to read a book on the campaign that I learned about. It was recommended to me in a comment to one of my blog post links on TMP. It focused on this phase of WWII, and I planned to do this before I did any more hobby work. Rick Atkinsons’s An Army at Dawn is a true gem of a historical book, and a must read. This was my August effort.
Previous research booksAugust’s great read!
After reading these, it was time to get going on the additional “stuff” listed above. I knocked out the dice frames and similar tasks quickly. I had enough for 8 players, and now I was set for 10.
Building Dirt Roads and City Bases WIP Shots
Now it was time to make the roads and city bases. I stumbled on this excellent video on how to make rubber wargaming roads. It became the blueprint I used and I highly recommend his process.
Here is a link to the excellent video.
Below are progress WIP shots of how I built 54 sections of road and 4 bases.
What I needed included a small paint roller, a caulking gun, and paintable caulk sealant. It also involved cutting up rubber floor runner material. Additionally, play sand and chinchilla dust were used on the roads for texture.I cut the floor runner rubber with a box cutter on a wooden cutting board. I made the same number and types of dirt roads I had previously made with the poster board (54).
For a working space to work on the roads, I covered one of my gaming tables with paper. The sheets were secured with packing tape and this was sufficient to protect the table.
Here you see some of the road sections in progress. Sand and chinchilla dust were both rolled onto the caulk with a wet paint roller.The first tranche of roads drying……and here painted minus some final dry brushing.Then it was on to the city bases. I limited the width of the city bases to accommodate using a Green Stuff World Mega roller. The roller made a cobblestone imprint.Greg Priebe was kind enough to gift me the roller. Here I cut the first piece of rubber floor runner. As I did with the roads, I beveled the edges slightly. The edge angle was around 45 degrees.A caulking gun spread out the sealant. Then I smoothed it as you see with two different putty knives, before rolling the cobblestone patterns. This was the approach for all four bases – I just sized and shaped them differently.The painting scheme was basically the same for all four. Here you can see the imprinted cobblestones. To accentuate them, I used a Liquitex “Burnt Umber” ink cut with thinner. Then I let them dry before adding a quick dry brush.The final bases completed. I would place 15mm buildings on them.
This was far more economical than buying similar roads. Now that the dirt roads and town bases were completed, it was time to add my 3 aircraft.
Aircraft Model WIP Shots
My search initially was for the right three 1:100 scale planes, but that effort proved fruitless. No one really makes aircraft in that scale, at least not the ones that I was looking for. Most models were 1:72. I did find some die cast models that would work just fine. They are more like game status makers. Those diecast models were the carrier-based Grumman F4F Wildcat and the Dewoitine D.520. Both had flight stands – an important feature as I wanted their landing gear to be retracted in flight.
A bit of assembly for these two diecast models was required, but not much. That left the Grumman Avenger TBM to source. And lucky me, I found one on eBay – obviously left unassembled since at least 1979 – if not much earlier. It was an Airfix plastic model, and it was complete. The papers inside were amazingly yellowed with age as you will see. I had not built a plastic model like this since I was a kid. It was probably for sale back then!
The F4F Wildcat, the Dewoitine D.520, and the Avenger kit. It says “new”, but…I guess it was at some point in the 1970’s? 1960’s?The kit contents.The components laid out so as to figure it all out. The directions were fine. The decals were, well, as you can see, trash. I did order some replacements from eBay as you will see.
As for assembly, it went fine. I painted the three crewmen. The tail gunner will never be seen because the acrylic window was not too clear. As for the outside, I went with a Vallejo “Deep Prussian Blue” – it seemed closest to the box color. In my research, I saw several different color schemes for the undercarriage. Some were blue, some were two-toned. The model would be on a flight stand. This stand would not afford visibility to the bottom, so I decided that blue was sufficient.
Inside the wing – how old was this?The three crewmen and the rear landing gear and tailhook. The tailhook would not survive the build.Avenger TBM assembled and painted (and below in the gallery).
The last assembly from the kit for the Avenger was the rockets underneath. I assume that any depth charges would have been in the bomb bay – as unseen as the gunner underneath. So that works!
The rockets are mounted. Next, we moved on to applying appropriate decals. That proved to be the most difficult part.
The decals I bought were from the US and came via a modeling shop in Latvia of all places. I have no idea of the age – except likely post-Cold War I imagine. I used multiple coats of Microscale “Liquid Decal File” to restore them as best I could. Even with that, several of them disintegrated into multiple jigsaw pieces in the progress of placing them on the model. This led to my having to reconstruct the decals while wet. Ugh. I made it work.
The “newer” decal set.Latvia?
But wait – before all the decal work – I needed a flight stand! I made one with a 1/4″ wooden dowel, green stuff, and a 2″ acrylic base. I carefully carved out a hole on the model to accommodate the stand.
Then it was on to applying decals as best as I could.
Mid-stage with the decals. The tail and rudder ones were really finicky.
Finally the planes were done. I also built a special travel box for the Avenger. For the other two, the original package blisters served that purpose.
All three planes for the game, frontal view……and a side view.
Upon completion, I could mock up the tabletop in the cellar in preparation for HMGS FALL IN! in Lancaster PA and EllisCon in Danielson, CT.
Mock up of the Tabletop
I used photos of this mock up in my cellar to guide its recreation at both upcoming gaming conventions.
First up, HMGS FALL IN!
HMGS FALL IN! 2025 PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The game as set up in the H.A.W.K.’s room.The players in my first game. It was nice to have my Wargame Wingman Leif Magnuson in the game. Several Maine Historical Wargame Association members joined as well! As I am also a member of MHWA, that was VERY cool.The French tanks and armored cars were cautious about leaving a town here. The Mainers plot their strategy.
The US then deployed air, achieved superiority, and brought on the Avenger.
The F4F Wildcat about to dispatch the Dewoitine D.520.While US vehicles burn in the background, the Avenger deploys, and calls in naval gunfire……blasting the Vichy armor.
With that, the US won the first game I ran.
In the second game, the tables turned. The US never got going very well. Or, perhaps, the French were very lucky. Take your pick. I don’t have any photos of that game (apologies) – but it was a complete French victory.
Next up, one week later, was EllisCon.
EllisCon 2025 Photos
Here I also ran the game twice.
The first game at EllisCon had 4 players. Leif joined us again for both games. Here he strategizes for the French with his teammate Brian.A Laffly S15 TOE armored car is hit and burns early in the game.The US players are then hit hard, as the M5 Stuart “Beast”, and M3A1 Scout Car “Annie” are destroyed. The M3 GMC “Hurricane” takes cover in a brush firing position.Once again, though at a different convention, the Vichy armor looks to leave the town safely in the face of “Hurricane”.The French gain air superiority.An AMC Schneider P16 (the old armored car on right) uses its 37mm gun to destroy the M5 Stuart “Beast”.The FT-17 ” Marechal Foch” is taken out near r=the end of the game.
At the end, the Vichy claimed a victory, as their Tanker Bucks were more than the Americans total.
In game two, the fortunes reversed yet again. Leif played again and was joined on the other side by Gregg Belevick. Both were involved in my initial play testing of this scenario.
The players discuss their game strategies.The French players move up – and Gregg has a twinkle in his eye – does he have a plan?Yours truly GM’s the game. Photo courtesy of David DeVeauI guess Gregg did have a plan – naval gunfire! Convention history repeats itself as 5 Vichy vehicles burn on the Moroccan sand.
The US won this game with the last barrage destroying 1/3 of the Vichy force deployed at the time. A massive US victory!
I really like this scenario. So far, the victories have been 3 for each side. It seems pretty fairly balanced. It’s fun and highlights a little-known part of WWII. It’s likely coming again to a convention in 2026.
I list the paints that I used for the roads at the end of this blog post. For my records, I am sharing these materials I use for these projects with you, dear reader. You’ll see the list below detailing the process and materials for both the roads/bases and the Avenger torpedo bomber.
I hope that you found this tale of my journey interesting. If you do use my rules modifications, again please let me know how they worked out. If you have any questions, certainly throw them at me. I’d also enjoy any feedback on the work or this post in the comments section. Thanks in advance for that.
Lastly, I have compiled all of my posts on WWII games and projects. There is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.
MATERIALS USED
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE DIRT ROADS:
TrafficMaster Rubber Floor Runner from Home Depot, SKU 1003092882
DynaFlex Ultra Advanced All Weather Sealant “Cedar Tan”, (paintable caulking)
Quikrete “All Purpose Sand”
Chinchilla Dust
DecoArt Americana “Cinnamon Stick”
DecoArt Americana “Deep Ochre”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Sienna”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Umber”
Apple Barrel “Burnt Umber”
Vallejo Thinner
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE TOWN BASES:
TrafficMaster Rubber Floor Runner from Home Depot, SKU 1003092882
DynaFlex Ultra Advanced All Weather Sealant “Cedar Tan”, (paintable caulking)
Quikrete “All Purpose Sand”
Chinchilla Dust
DecoArt Americana “Cinnamon Stick”
DecoArt Americana “Deep Ochre”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Sienna”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Umber”
Apple Barrel “Burnt Umber”
Vallejo Thinner
Liquitex “Burnt Umber” (ink)
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE AIRFIX AVENGER TBM-3 MODEL:
Airfix Grumman Avenger TBM-3 1:72 plastic model kit
2025 was a great year for the TOB. The Committee is very happy with how we were able to get our events in – despite losing 1 tournament entirely and one curtailed due to rain. Many of you are new players and many have been playing for years – and we have a great group.
While my golf season is over, and my “wargame season” is now happening, I needed to give you all this TOB update. To my hobby and wargame followers – most of whom do not golf – I’ll be posting hobby and wargaming stuff here very shortly too, so keep looking here!
So what’s up for next year for the TOB? Well, we will have a few changes, and with my saying that, please understand that the changes I am announcing here are in themselves subject to change if the committee wants to do so. But, I am pretty sure these are settled issues, so I am sharing them with that caveat.
First, the dates – we may have some changes with our sponsors for specific tournaments, so I’ll leave that off for now. I don’t expect many issues with those.
Also, ALL OF THE 2026 EVENTS will be on SATURDAYS. No Sunday events are scheduled at this time.
2026 Dates for The Tour of the Brookfields
April 25th, registration opens at 8 AM, arrive by 8:30 AM, shotgun start at 9 AM
May 23rd, registration opens at 7 AM, arrive by 7:30 AM, shotgun start at 8 AM
June 13th, registration opens at 7 AM, arrive by 7:30 AM, shotgun start at 8 AM
July 11th, registration opens at 7 AM, arrive by 7:30 AM, shotgun start at 8 AM
August 1st, registration opens at 7 AM, arrive by 7:30 AM, shotgun start at 8 AM
August 29th, registration opens at 7 AM, arrive by 7:30 AM, shotgun start at 8 AM
September 24th – Draft Night for FINALS. STARTS at 7 PM at Quail Hollow. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
September TBD – Sign up closes for FINALS
September 26th – FINALS, registration opens at 8 AM arrive by 8:30 AM, shotgun start at 9 AM
Please put on your calendars! To qualify for the FINALS, you must play in 3 events – though more is better.
Entry Fees
Years ago, the TOB was generally held at both Bay Path Golf Course in East Brookfield and at Quail Hollow, alternating between the two. When held at Bay Path, members got a discount to play in the TOB. Carl Fitz has now renewed that tradition of a discount for full Quail Hollow members in 2026 (not those who are just weekday members) !
The entry fees will be as follows:
Monthly Events:
Non-Members: $85
Full Quail Members: $65
FINALS:
Non-Members: $200
Full Quail Members: $180
Entry fee covers cart, golf, skins, and the player pools. Skins will continue to be run by flight.
Want to join Quail Hollow as a full member?
This fee change makes full Quail Hollow membership an even better deal, so if interested call the course at 508-882-5516 and join the club! The club can let you know what full memberships cost.
What if I know an interested new player?
If you know a new player who is interested in playing in the TOB, great! We’d love to have them, but we need to have some control to both protect the field and to make sure we don’t have any no-show issues that hurt an entire team. Here are our guidelines:
Any NEW players themselves must sign up on one of the sign up sheets (at Quail Hollow or Still Harts Cafe) or on the TOB Facebook page. Others cannot sign someone else who is new up. Telling a Committee member is great – but NOT foolproof. Get them to sign up! Then, there is more to do (see below).
We need to vet any potential new players. We need to know their name (obviously!), age, and golf handicap (if any). If a new player has no handicap, we need to know where they play, what scores in general they have, and any other play info that would help. Typically, that needs to be shared live with a member of the Committee – and those are George Fiske, Brad Earle, Mike Kularski, Ed McLeod, Matt Desimone, and myself (Mark Morin). Connect via phone or the Facebook page.
For now, that is all – the Committee will be considering any rules changes before April’s event. Expect the sign ups for that event to show up in late March.
To all of you, from the entire Committee, please have a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful Christmas season! As always, I invite you to follow this blog (see at the end of the post to follow) – and to give me any feedback here in the comments section.
I promised back in August that I would post about my US M5 Stuart tanks. These would be the linchpin of my US forces in my “Operation Torch: Vichy Mounts an Armored Counterattack” games.
M5 Stuart in Casablanca.
Yes, the US and UK did briefly engage French forces of Vichy in North Africa in WWII. After the US Operation Torch landings, Vichy did put up a resistance. Technically they were supposed to be neutral after the 1940 Armistice. However, the Soviets were dealing with massive battles on the Eastern Front, and the US/UK allies were not yet ready to successfully invade Fortress Europe. As the Dieppe raid showed, it would have been a catastrophic failure in 1942.
The idea was to take off some of the pressure on the Soviets by getting in the war somewhere and tie down the Germans. French North Africa became the chosen option, with the hope that the Vichy French would welcome the US/UK invaders as liberators and not invaders. For a brief period in November 1942, both of these two options played out in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria – until the French there decided to cease resisting the Allies. Subsequently, back in Europe, Hitler was enraged at the Vichy capitulation and ordered his forces to invade the remaining southern part of France that was not yet occupied.
Back in North Africa in November 1942, one of the more obscure incidents of the conflict was in Morocco – where the French 1er Regiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique launched an armored counterattack towards the landing beaches. At that critical juncture, the 66th Armored Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division (and Sub-Task Force Goalpost) had just 7 M5 Stuart tanks that it could cobble together to intercept the French. Their M4 Sherman tanks needed a port to unload, and that had not happened yet.
I found this article/post by Patrick Chaisson to be an excellent description of the combat that happened in November 1942.
As far as a concept for a wargame, I liked the idea of a game that would recreate this clash of armor – especially as one side was green as hell, and the other fielded such a hodgepodge of elderly and obsolescent armor.
I ran this game twice at HISTORICON 2025, along with two Wars of Ozz games. All went well. I hope to post some convention shots in my next post (albeit very late). Unfortunately golf season was very busy this summer (well, fortunately for my golf game and not my hobby projects). Still, I keep my word. I thought I’d add a bit about the game as well, while saving specific game/convention photos for the next post. However, the game is coming back!
I will be running the game again twice at HMGS Fall In this November. Here are the inks – one is on Friday afternoon and one is on Friday night. I can handle up to 10 players per game – and I can scale it for fewer as well. as of this writing, there are still slots available.
My game poster. It marks my first foray using AI (Freepik) to generate an image. I wasn’t completely thrilled with the result, but it’s OK for a flyer.
The game uses modified What a Tanker rules. The major modifications that I use are:
Using Bonus Attack Cards to simulate infantry, anti-tank, artillery, naval gunfire, and air actions. These are deployed by scout cars according to each sides’ historical capabilities. Bonus Attack Cards are purchased with “Tanker Bucks”, which also play into Victory Conditions. Having more Tanker Bucks at the games end is better. Yet, you need to use resources to take out the enemy. So, a balancing act exists for the players. Do they hoard their Tanker Bucks, or use them effectively against their opponent?
Representing the French vehicles’ advanced age and mechanical unreliability. “OLD” French vehicles that try to move and roll a 5 or less will lose 1 die to temporary damage. Mathematically, there is an 11% chance of that happening. So the Vichy Forces are indeed slow. But there are more of them, and not all of the French tanks are OLD.
Creating a way for armored cars to engage other armored cars – and tanks, with heavy machine guns or Bonus Attack Cards. Also I have rules that show how devastating any cannon fire would have been against thin-skinned vehicles.
Representing the US Army as being totally GREEN at this point in the war. Their base roll needed to hit goes from needing a 6 on 2d6 added together to a 7. Add to that the concept that most of the French vehicles are SMALL, necessitating an addition +1 to hit at short range, and another +1 at long range. Oh yeah, the Stuarts have just a 37mm gun. This means that the US has a tough time making damaging hits at long range against French tanks.
The US use of Bonus Attack Cards is limited to just the US and French Armored Cars. The M5 Stuart’s radios got wet during the landings and were not working. Many French tanks in North Africa did not have radios.
Use of Bonus Attack Cards also represented that the US had both carrier-based air support as well as naval gunfire from the USS Savannah. I added F4F Wildcat’s and Avenger TBF’s for US air support. The F4F’s can provide air superiority, which allows them to also do limited close air support missions. Having air superiority enables the US player to deploy the Avengers, which can act as spotter planes for both artillery and naval gunfire. The Avengers can also bomb the French vehicles with depth charges (yes that happened). The French can contest the US air superiority by deploying Dewoitine D.520’s.
Modifying the activation sequencing methodology by using Buck Surdu’s “Double Random Activation” method. It’s the same one used with Wars of Ozz, Feudal Patrol, and Combat Patrol games.
Back to the Stuarts. The M5 vehicles are 15mm/1:100 scale. I sourced them from two places. I got an OOP Flames of War 5-tank platoon (plastic) from Noble Knight Games. I also bought five 3D-printed resin models on eBay from HobbyHouse&Miniatures LLC. The plastic models were fun to work on, and I was glad to have the additional resin ones. Historically, 7 M5 Stuarts were sent to counter the Vichy counterattack. When I drilled out the resin models for magnet installation, two broke in half (not the fault of the model, just me. In the end, I had 3 of those, making 8 models in total, which was fine given that seven were originally sent along with some M3 and M6 tank destroyers.
I worked on the M5 tanks in parallel with the M3A1 Scout Cars and the M3 and M6 Tank Destroyers that I have discussed previously. I tried to incorporate the gold stars and US flags that were unique to that period of the war. I also decided to give the vehicles hand-painted names:
Honey (my Mom’s nickname)
Dragon
Beast
Killah
Ellen (my daughter’s name)
Tabitha (my granddaughter’s name)
Caesar (my late cockatiel’s name)
Lynn (for my ever-so-tolerant wife)
The M5’s without their turrets, showing the basing and details. I list the paints and other materials used at the end of this post.The eight M5’s completed.The 22 US Army vehicles for my game in a Really Useful Box.The 8 M5’s on my tabletop.
This wraps up this post on my 8 M5’s. If you have any feedback – please let me know in the comments section!
Lastly, for all of my posts on WWII games and projects – there is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.
MATERIALS USED
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE FIVE BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR PLASTIC M5 TANK MODELS AND THE THREE HOBBYHOUSE&MINIATURES LLC 3D-PRINTED RESIN M5 TANK MODELS:
Green Stuff
Paper Clip wire
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 16 (½” x ½”)
What an amazing final we had for the 2025 Tour of the Brookfields! It was held on Saturday, September 27th at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Oakham, MA. We had 107 golfers. on 27 teams in 3 different flights. Let’s get into the results!
In the top flight, the Nicklaus flight, the team of Tom Gareau, Nelson Malin, Jared Danitis, and Lisa Persson won. They secured the victory by two strokes by coming in at a super 12-under par. Well done!
In the middle flight, there was a tie between two teams at -12. Team members were: Todd Allen, Paul Boulette, George Fiske, Doug Brown. The members of the opposing tied team were Adam Kettles, Ron McCann, Jarred Dandurrant, Ed Sanborn. A playoff of one hole would ensue with Adam Kettles dropping a 15-footer to win first place. Congrats to both teams!
Lastly, in the Palmer Flight, the team of Amanda Pierce, Jason Malin, Mark Bruso, and Jim Parker absolutely dominated. They achieved a score of 13-under par! This was the best score of the FINALS tournament. It also tied the best score by any team for the entire season, and won by 4 strokes. An absolutely stunning performance – wow!
Below you can see the results of all three flights. You can also see the closest to the pin results. Additionally, the Skins won by flight are displayed. Click on the images to get a better view.
Special thanks again to all of our sponsors this year:
Extra special thanks to Carl Fitz, Jim LeBlanc, Tara, Ed, Art, Kenny, Ron and all the staff at Quail Hollow. They work so hard to make the Tour of the Brookfields possible!!!!
Next Year and Some Photos
We hope to have all of our players return next year plus some more. Recruit a few yourselves! When we know some details, we will share it with you on the Facebook page and in this blog. The Committee hopes to meet before the snow flies to capture any lessons learned and make next year even better!
By the way, next year marks the 47th year of the TOB!!
Personally, I want to credit and thank the Committee for being a great team. George Fiske, Brad Earle, Ed McLeod, Mike Kularski, and Matt Desimone, you guys are AWESOME. It is wonderful to work with all of you on the TOB Committee!!!
By the way, PLEASE subscribe to this blog. You’ll get updates on the TOB. You will also get a good view of my many hobby projects. You can read or ignore them! You can also add comments here at the end of this post.
Now some photos from Saturday’s FINALS!! See you next year!!
The Draft night starts at 7 PM SHARP on Thursday, September 25th! All players are welcome, but A players need to come to pick their teams. The prizes and more will be covered there and then. If you need to make picking arrangements, speak directly with a committee member.
If an A player is late, we will still continue at 7 PM. Hence, please plan accordingly.
Arrive early.
Again, all are welcome and encouraged to attend the draft as it is a fun and exciting night!
As the FINALS for the 2025 Tour of the Brookfields season is Saturday, September 27th, I need to share information!! This blog post will have all of the pertinent data for all players. It will highlight the information for the A players. This information will give all players access to the exact same data to use for the Draft Night.
I will share the files here (which are downloadable) and screenshots of the files, with some explanations.
The “A” Players Ranking and Order of Pick Sheet
The screenshot below shows the pick/fill in sheet for the Draft Night, to include the 3 divisions/flights.
NOTE: ALL FILES AND SCREENSHOTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED WITH CHANGES AS OF 9/24/2025
In Round 1, the “A” players will pick in order starting with number 27. Ron Allen is number 27. Scott Fairbanks is number 1, and he picks last in the first round. Players can choose any remaining player (B, C, or D) from the player pool when their turn comes.
In Round 2, the “A” players will pick in order starting with number 1 (Scott Fairbanks). The second round ends with number 27 (Ron Allen). Again, players can choose any remaining player from the player pool when their turn comes.
Round 3 is the “WILDCARD” Round. Each flight will be randomly selected to go first, then second and then third. When a flight is chosen, all of the “A” players in that flight will then be also chosen in a random order. They will pick their final player from any of the remaining players from the player pool. At this point, they will also choose their starting holes at random as well.
The player field is shown below – in order alphabetically by first names.
Below, you can download an Excel file. It has both the the A Player rankings/fill in pick sheets and the 2025 field.
Consolidated Results for ALL 2025 Regular TOB Events
We only had a partial result for the Techo Bloc Open as we had to cobble something together with the monsoon that hit us. Notably, the Lamoureux Ford Open was rained out completely. The screenshots for each event is below, followed by a consolidated Excel file with the same information.
Lastly, here is the downloadable Excel called “2025 TOB Consolidated Event Results”:
I hope that you are looking forward to the Draft Night. I always suggest that everyone comes. You may help your A player with a pick. You may have knowledge that he or she does not. If you are not there – well you cannot help! Plus there are some extra activities that you won’t want to miss!!
The US Army had a lot of catching up to do at the start of World War II. This was true both in terms of vehicles and doctrine in the way of armored warfare. This included anti-tank units.
Initially, the US Army experienced internal squabbles about anti-tank troops and control. These were among the infantry, cavalry, and artillery branches. They disputed over which would control what were then-called “anti-tank battalions”. Interestingly, the Armor Branch (created in 1940) had little interest in that fight. It desired to stay focused on offensive operations.
The September 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers demonstrated the efficacy of anti- tank battalions. In June 1942, the Army created a new branch for this force. They also developed a doctrine to support their use (Field Manual 18–5, Tactical Employment, Tank Destroyer Unit). Tank destroyer battalions were then created and began to be fielded.
Developing doctrine is one thing – fielding self-propelled anti-tank equipment is another. When Operation Torch was launched, there were not any of the tank destroyers that you saw in later battles. No M10 Wolverines, M18 Hellcats, or M36 Jacksons – or even towed M1 57mm or M5 guns – took part in Torch.
Nope, at the start of the war, the US Army fielded just two models of tank destroyer. One was on an M3 half-track, which mounted the venerable 75mm Canon_de_75_modèle_1897. This combination was called the M3 Gun Motor Carriage (GMC). The other was the M6 Gun Motor Carriage (GMC). This was a Dodge Fargo truck with a rear-mounted M3 37mm gun. Defensively, needless to say, both of these types were not well-armored at all.
Offensively, while the 75mm gun could still pack an anti-armor punch, the 37mm was well on its way to complete obsolescence. Add to that the M6 GMC was rearward-facing. It would have to be turned around to fire, That would have been quite a challenge in combat. I imagine that it was inspired by the British use of portee anti-tank weapons. However, the main reason was probably the urgency of fielding something to fight in the anti-tank role. Add to that – US industrial might had not yet reached full production capacity seen later in the war.
M3 GMCM6 GMC
But you go to war with the Army you have. Tank Destroyer battalions were formed, consisting of a headquarters company, a reconnaissance company (including a pioneer platoon – Engineers!), and 3 twelve-vehicle tank destroyer companies. Each company fielded each one platoon of M6 Fargo GMC’s and two platoons of M3 GMC’s. Each M6 platoon had 4 vehicles, and each of both of the M3 platoons had 4. These would see combat starting in November 1942 during Operation Torch.
At that point, doctrinally, tank destroyers were by nature defensive forces. They were supposed to blunt any enemy armored attack or counterattack – obviously by destroying tanks. This would allow for counterattack by US tanks and infantry. Operation Torch would be the first test.
For my What a Tanker games for Operation Torch at HISTORICON 2025, I needed both types of tank destroyers. For the M3 GMC’s, I bought 6 from Old Glory (SKU CD-223A) and assembled and painted up just 3. I also found one Battlefront/FOW model (SKU US101) at HAVOC that joined the mix. Now I had 4 M3 GMC’s for gaming. M6 GMC were not easy to source – and I also had never heard of them. So my friend Greg Priebe agreed to 3D-print some for me. You may remember that Greg printed the French vehicles for me I previously wrote about here. He made Panhard 175 TOE’s and Berliet VUDB’s for me.
Thanks again Greg!
I was able to put together 3 M6 GMC’s with what Greg sent me. I worked on these in June as well.
June was a crazy month – and I was able to get these together before HISTORICON 2025. As for photos – well you’ll see what I have.
M3 GMC
The three Old Glory models are metal, while the FOW model is metal and resin. all are 15mm/1:100 scale. Painting the crews was challenging (and fun)!
Three Old Glory M3 GMC models are on the bottom, with the FOW model at the top of the photo.
I painted them up with both gold and white stars. The gold stars were unique to the North African campaign. I thought they gave a more authentic Operation Torch look. Apparently in November of 1942, standardization to white stars was not yet part of the US Army’s official painting scheme. Unlike my M3A1 Scout Cars, I freehand painted the stars. I found they looked better than my decals. For more variation, I either painted the stars on the hood or the grills. Also, each got a name – I used the decals that I had available. The names of these were:
BLOOD N GUTS
DESTRUCTION
HURRICANE
LUCKY
My 4 M3 GMC’s. From left to right, BLOOD N GUTS, HURRICANE, DESTRUCTION and LUCKY (the only FOW model).Close ups of DESTRUCTION and HURRICANE.
M6 GMC (FARGO)
These were all 3D-printed resin in 15mm/1:100 scale. I wish that I had been able to add crew to these. They were already so fiddly and small, that I satisfied myself with just having a driver. Even at that I had to do a good amount of surgery to get him to fit in his seat!
The M6 GMC’s washed after putting in magnets and ready for assembly and painting. I added magnets to each M3 and M6 to allow brewed-up markers to stick to the vehicles on the tabletop. The M6 GMC’s shown here painted staring at the back end of my Berliet VUDB’s. The M6’s are awaiting basing work and varnishing.
Like with the M3 GMC’s, I gave names to these as well. These names were the only differentiator for these models. The names were:
BUCK (for Buck Surdu)
DUKE
TEX
A close up of two completed models. Here, BUCK is maneuvering into a hide firing position. It would of course have to turn around to fire. Behind is DUKE moving up the road.A closer view of BUCK.
While the M3 GMC was partially effective in North Africa, the M6 was not. Clearly, both were very vulnerable to direct and indirect fire. As time progressed, they were both replaced by self-propelled vehicles with turrets and better protection. The M3 GMC’s were converted back into half-tracks. The M6 GMC’s were stripped of their guns, and were later used as just trucks.
In conclusion, I had some tank destroyers for Operation Torch games of What a Tanker! I also hope that you enjoyed this post on my early war tank destroyers. All that I have left to share on this project are my 8 American M5 Stuart tanks. I will also share a bit about my games at HISTORICON.
What did you think of these tank destroyers? Did anything surprise you? Motivate you to get some for yourself? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section!
Lastly, you can find all of my posts on WWII games and projects in one place. There is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.
The next lists are what I used on these vehicles. I review these lists for my own uses on future projects. For some of you, they may also be helpful.
MATERIALS USED
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE ONE BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR RESIN M3 GMC MODEL AND THE THREE OLD GLORY M3GMC MODELS:
Green Stuff
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Vallejo Surface Primer “USA Olive Drab”
Gorilla Glue
Battlefront “European Skin”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 16 (½” x ½”)
The 2025 Hardwick Crossing Open was the August event for the Tour of the Brookfields. Our sponsor was Hardwick Crossing Golf Course.
It happened on August 16th at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Oakham, MA. We had 92 players in three divisions. Apologies for this later post. I have switched from an HP PC to a Mac. There are some new things to learn!
Back to the event. Weather was once again great. Please note that we are getting to the end of the year already! There is JUST ONE more regular season event before the FINALS. All are at Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club:
Sunday, September 7th: Lamoureaux Ford Open
Saturday, September 27th: THE FINALS
To play in THE FINALS, a player must have signed up for three TOB events. For example, those who signed up for the originally rained-out TOB in April, get credit for participating as one event. You can sign up to play at Still Harts Cafe, Quail Hollow, or on the TOB Facebook page.
Back to the results from this year’s 2025 Hardwick Crossing Open. See the results and details below. You can get these updates automatically. Become an email subscriber to this blog. You can do this at the end of the blog post. The cost – nothing! It’s free!
2025 Hardwick Crossing Open Results
This event saw some of the best scores we have seen in a long time. For the second time this year, there were no playoffs. This was fortunate as we could not have had any playoffs due to another tournament right behind ours.
In the Nicklaus Flight, the team of Ken Jurczyk, Rich Johnson, Jared Danitis, and Mark Bruso achieved a new feat. They set the 2025 low scoring record with a great score of 13-under par! Incredible score!
Just two shots back in second place were three teams at -11:
Reece McLeod, Ron McCann, Wes Cassavant, and Sherry Peterson
Cory Heyes, John Markey, Matt Morrow, and Brian Leveille
James LeBlanc, Tom Foley, Robin Balicki, and Laurie Foley
Well done all!
In the Player Flight, yet another team won by scoring in double-digits under par! At -11 was the team of Tom Orszulak, Ed McLeod, Jake Malin, and Linda McLeod. Congrats!
Four teams tied for second place in the Player Flight at -7:
Gary Ward, Beth McCann, John McQuaid, and Dick LaPierre
Adam Kettles, Dean Malin, April Pagnoni, and Ed Sanborn
Ryan Auger, John Desimone, Rob Peterson, and Bob Ford
Kevin Paradis, Paul Boulette, Jim McKeon, and Barbara Orszulak
In the Palmer Flight, the team of Pete Peloquin, Sr, Brian LaCroix, Paul Sanborn, and Bob Weighill took top honors. They finished at 8-under par! Close behind them tied for second was just one team at -7.
That was the team of Brandon McEvoy, Rick Gemme, Kathleen Soltys, and Greg Wypych.teams at -7.
Superb golf by all!
As for skins, this was amazingly competitive. We changed the skins to compete by fight. As a result we had 13 skins that you will see in the chart below.
Lastly, the closest to the pin prize on the 17th hole was awarded to James LeBlanc and his team. Their distance was 4 feet, 5 inches.
Here are all of the results – first the overall results:
And the Skins:
Big congrats again to the winners and thanks to all the players!
Also, as always, thank you to Carl Fitz and Jim LeBlanc. We also appreciate all the staff at Quail Hollow. They work so hard to make the Tour of the Brookfields possible.
IMPORTANT!!!
The next tournament is in September on the 7th.
It is a Sunday!!!
It will be the Lamoureux Ford Open sponsored by Lamoureux Ford.
Sign ups will be coming down VERY QUICKLY – closing on August 31st.
Again, you can sign upfor this event up until August 31st. Teams will be published by the committee on September 3rd.
Remember, to qualify as a player for the FINALS on September 27th, you must play three events. This is the normal needed threshold, with very few exceptions.
Registration on Sunday, September 3rd will start at 7 AM, so please arrive before 7:30 AM.
PLEASE:
First, thanks everyone for being timely in arriving. It helps us to get going much faster, please keep that up.
Second, if you want to sign up, PLEASE use one of the three sign up opportunities. You can do this at Still Harts or at Quail Hollow. You may also sign up on the event section of the Tour of the Brookfields Facebook page. Texts do get lost or buried…so please use the lists.
Third, if you write your name down on the closest to the pin list, make sure we can read it. Also, ensure the distance is legible! If we cannot read it, well…you might lose out…
And finally, If you drop out for ANY reason after signing up, you need to message a committee member directly. We make teams on September 3rd. If you think you cannot play, please, please, please let us know before that date.
Lastly, I did get a few photos in as well – so enjoy!
PHOTOS!
As a special message for my wargaming/miniature/hobby readers – tank destroyers are coming!!
Now that I have shared all of the Vichy French vehicles that I completed on this blog, it is time for me to add the American models. These will also be used in my What a Tanker games for Operation Torch at HISTORICON 2025. I am starting with the American reconnaissance scout car – the M3A1 Scout Car.
It was designed and built by the now-defunct White Motor Company, with the chassis interestingly being a product of the Diebold Lock and Safe Company. It was a 4×4, and could do up to 50 mph on the road (80 kph). Many of you will notice how similar the M3A1 is to the M3 half-track. And for good reason, as the M3 half-track was a development of the M3A1 Scout car.
It typically carried a Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun plus up to two additional Browning M1919 .30 caliber machine guns. It was open-topped with armor on the chassis up to 13mm/.5″ in thickness. It could carry up to 6 soldiers in addition to the driver. A canvas cover was available for protection against the elements. The M3A1 was intended to be a reconnaissance vehicle, but its lack of protection made it less desirable than the M3 half-track in that role. In US use, it was relegated to rear-echelon uses after Operation Torch and Operation Husky (the invasion of Sicily). Over 21,000 were made, with over half of that number going as Lend-Lease, mainly to the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union.
For my Operation TorchWhat a Tanker games, I decided that these would serve as the cavalry scouts that would run into those quirky French armored cars that I’ve been posting about recently.
Sourcing of the M3A1 models came from two different places. I got two Battlefront Flames of War models (SKU US 300) from a flea market at the HAVOC gaming convention in April. These models came with crew and machine guns. As the Battlefront model seems to be out-of-production, I needed to look elsewhere for more models. I went to eBay as a second source.
There from Wolverine3d.com I found models with the tarpaulin covers on. Given that a) these were different from the Battlefront models, b) there would be no crew to paint (saving time), and c) very reasonably-priced, I ordered 5, bringing my total available to 7 M3A1’s. They were not too crisp, and made of PLA plastic, but good enough for tabletop use. I started work on them all on May 23rd, and finished them on June 2nd. As I was hurrying to complete the entire project, photography of in-progress work took a backseat. I did work on multiple types of US vehicles concurrently as well. I judged doing separate posts for each type was better for me and you dear reader!
I cleaned up the models and washed them. For ease of painting I then mounted a small 1/2″ square steel base under each M3A1 model. This would allow me to use magnets to support the vehicles while I painted them. I also drilled out and installed small neodymium magnets (secured with green stuff) so that I would be capable of using my equally-magnetized blast markers on any that got brewed up in a game. As for crew- I used my alligator clip stand and some wood screws on them as supports – in a painful way for them (if they were capable of pain of course).
May 23rd – the work begins.
After painting I added decals and labels. Each M3A1 got a different name. Because in Operation Torch there was a mixed use of gold and white stars on US vehicles, I varied their application as well with some home-made gold star decals. They were ok – but not 100% to my liking, and you will see the different approach that I took on the other US vehicles (in future posts).
The seven M3A1’s before I added any tufts as final flocking. The bases are 1.5″ x 2″.
Once completed, I took a few photos of them assembled on my tabletop set up.
M3A1’s in convoy from the drivers’ sides.M3A1’s in convoy from the other side.Close up shot of M3A1 “Fierce”. Each Battlefront model had a driver and two soldiers in the back. I also replaced some of the bendy metal machine guns with plastic ones from another kit.
This wraps up this post on my 7 M3A1’s. Remaining are I have 8 American tanks and 6 tank destroyers to share. Which ones? You can probably guess – rightly or wrongly! What did you think of the M3A1’s? Did you learn anything? Maybe I motivated you to get some for yourself? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section!
Lastly, for all of my posts on WWII games and projects – there is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.
MATERIALS USED
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE TWO BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR RESIN M3A1 MODELS AND THE FIVE WOLVERINE3D.COM M3A13D-PRINTED MODELS:
Green Stuff
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 16 (½” x ½”)
Yes – more armored cars of French origin are coming your way right here and now!
This post will cover off on the last three vehicle types that I built and painted for Vichy French forces during Operation Torch. All three here are armored cars, but each is definitely different and not commonly seen in tabletop wargames. I thought that that aspect alone would make for some interesting historical interest as well as game aesthetics.
Like the other inter-war armored cars – including the White-Laffly AMD 80’s and the Schneider AMC P16’s that I posted about here – these three were all models of AFV that were “good enough for the colonies”. The French Army certainly considered them as not good enough for defending against a potential German attack. Some were in France during 1939-1940, but most were in North Africa and the Levant. All of these were at least armed with machine guns, with the Panhard having a 25mm cannon as well.
Certainly finding appropriate 15mm/1:100 scale models of these was not easy. Luckily I managed to enlist the help of my friend Greg Priebe who 3D-printed two of these types. I did get the third type (Laffly S15 TOE) from Butlers’ Printed Models. Let’s look at each vehicle and model in turn.
The Panhard 165 and 175 TOE’s shared similar frames – with the 175 version being a modification/upgrade. The acronym “TOE” stood for théâtres d’opérations extérieurs – i.e. designed for foreign theaters of operations like the colonies. Greg printed for me two Panhard 175’s that I assembled and painted. In reality, it was, as you can see, very tall (9.1′). That’s just 1′ 2″ shorter than the M3 Lee!
Do not confuse the 175 with the more well-known Panhard AMD 178. The 165 TOE type was built in the early 1930’s with the 175 TOE upgrades happening around 1934. Maybe 60 or so were initially built and then so upgraded. It did have a 25mm antitank gun, so it possessed some light antiarmor capability. Armor-wise, it had just 6-9mm of riveted armor, so not much. These were really designed to work to keep France’s colonies in line.
Greg sent me a bag of the models that he printed in late April. I was able to cobble together two good vehicles from the pieces. After a good (but gentle) washing (I needed to be careful of the fiddly fenders), I drilled out and installed small magnets as you see below. This was to make the turrets movable – as well as to hold smoke markers if they got brewed up or knocked out in a game. For a painting scheme. I used a green primer base with yellow camouflage stripes, akin to my H35’s. All of my paints used are listed as references at this post’s end for those interested in such stuff.
Panhard 175 TOE’s drilled out with installed magnets.Panhard 175 TOE’s painted but before tufts and final base work was completed.Completed Panhard 175 TOE models completed, shown here in cover scouting for approaching US vehicles during an Operation Torch game of What a Tanker.
This was yet another Laffly-modified truck. These were common civilian truck chassis developed into a range of different military types, one of which was the Laffly S15 TOE. It was designed for colonial use in 1934, but was not delivered to the French Army until 1938 or 1939. It had a single machine gun – a Reibel 7.5 mm light machine gun located inside of a domed turret. I thought it had a unique look.
Unfortunately, my original purchased models were lost in transit. Yet, the company quickly sent me another pair of models – great customer service! They were crisp and very nice resin models. As I was rushing to finish all these vehicles (yes I am repeating that issue!), I have no WIP shots! For a painting scheme, I went with a sandy look.
My finished Laffly S15 TOE Models.
Berliet VUDB
The last type of Vichy French armored car that Greg printed up for me was a trio of Berliet VUDB’s. This type was made by – the Berliet company – which was in competition with Laffly and Panhard for French government contracts. It seems that all three companies got some business. One can only imagine what having so many armored car variants would do to logistics and the need for spare parts.
As you can see, it was a 4×4 armored car with a big spare tire. Some credit this vehicle with the accolade of being the first armored personnel carrier as it had space for a driver and seven soldiers. The vehicle even had ports on the sides from which soldiers could fire their rifles while riding inside. It was armed with two Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 Modifié 29 machine guns (the standard French light machine gun at the beginning of WWII). Armor was just 7mm thick.
” VUDB” is a French acronym for “voiture de prise de contact“, or “contact vehicle”. It was a scout car in US parlance and use. Sixty-two were produced between 1929 and 1932 – and originally were looked at to be used in the pacification of Morocco in the early 1930’s after the Rif War. There were a number of them in Morocco in November 1942.
As for the models, these were very solid resin prints. No assembly was required except for my usual drilling out holes for neodymium magnets.
My three Berliet VUDB’s at the start.Painted Berliet VUDB’s before I added labels and flocking on the bases. While a Berliet VUDB could have had two machine guns sticking out, the model only had the one out.Berliet VUDB’s on tabletop heading to the front.
That finishes off the 31 AFV’s that I assembled and painted for my Operation TorchWhat a Tanker game. All are in their glory…well their box…below.
31 French tanks and armored cars!
I have now caught up on all my French vehicles! It’s time to move on to the Americans next!
I have 22 American tanks, tank destroyers, or armored cars to write about next. All were used in Operation Torch in November 1942. These vehicles will be the topics of my next posts.
Please, I’d love to hear any feedback – were you surprised at anything here? Learn anything? Get inspired?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section!
Lastly, for all of my posts on WWII games and projects – there is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.
MATERIALS USED
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE TWO PANHARD 175 TOE MODELS 3D-PRINTED BY GREG PRIEBE:
Green Stuff
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
Mark A. Morin 