Treadhead week - WW2 British Armour, Part II

So this is a mid week catch up on the armour project, so far so good. Only one kit lefy assemble, a M3 Half track.

As a side project, I created a scenic base board to photograph completed models on. This was a lump of old hard board modified with polyfilla, basing sand and static grass. Hopefully that will improve photographs on this blog. Now I need to source a back scene for it.

 So a discussion on the kits....

 Butler printed models preying mantis. The print lines are a bit deep for my taste and the chassis detail is a bit sparse. Like the prototype, the centre of gravity means it tips over! This will need weighting to prevent this. Very quirky prototype.

 Warlord Games late war Bofors 40mm cannon. This was a pig to assemble and needed shims building for the out riggers made from plastic card. However it looks amazing when assembled.

 Warlord Games Lloyd Mk II carriers, simple, detailed and very easy to assemble. Going to be used as tows for the 6pdrs.

 Warlord Games Churchill. Already discussed in a kit review on this blog, an easy build. Blittzkreigs resin offering is just as detailed and very quick to put together. It is a bit thinner than the plastic Warlord tank. No cleaning up needed on the resin.

 Warlord Games plastic Sherman Vs. Quick and detailed builds. My favorite of their plastic kits.

 S & S Dozer blade was simple to attach and makes for a mean looking model when mounted on the Sherman V.

 Clearly Warlord have changed their kit as it is larger than the previous plastic kit. New kit to the left, old in the centre and a Rubicon M4 on the right. The new kit scales well against Rubicons. As you can see, some of my 'completed' armour needs finishing off fully.

Another side project is to complete three of these DD tank skirts by Urban Constructs to allow beach and river crossings.

Treadhead week - WW2 British Armour

Over the past year I have hoarded numerous armour kits from a variety of manafacturers. This week I am going to focus on assembling them as a break from regiments of Prussians! Hopefully the air brush bought last year will also get it's first run out. Priority is to fill the Sherman and Churchill tank troops. Then the wheeled recce troop.

Kits include:

1. Churchill Tanks (1× Warlord plastic & 1x Blitzkrieg resin NA75)
2. Sherman V (2 x Warlord plastic, one a S and S dozer blade)
3. M3 Halftracks ( 2 x Warlord plastic)
4. MK II Lloyd Carrier ( 2 x Warlord resin)
5. Preying mantis ( Butler printed models)
6. Comet (Warlord Resin)
7. AEC Armoured Car (Blitzkrieg resin)
8. Staghound AA (Blizkrieg resin)
9. Humber Armoured Cars (Warlord resin)
10. Bofors AA gun (Warlord metal)
11. CMP 15cwt truck (Rubicon plastic)
12. Humber utility car (Anyscale models)

• Also there is still work to do on the existing armoured force including detailing, weathering, transfers and trying to get some consistancy in style and look.

On completion of this, I only see myself doing conversions for niche RE, REME and RA vehicles, oddities and filling various holes in the force which should be able to cover the NW Europe campaign from D Day through to the Rhine Crossing; Berlin or Bust!

Warlord Sherman with an Urban Construct mine flail kit to create a Sherman Crab. Needs weathering.

Wespe 1/48 Bailey Bridge

Having amassed a sizable collection of WW2 late war British Army, I am now seeking to model the supporting engineering and logistic support element of the army not just the usual teeth arms. The most iconic of the British Army's engineering kit next to Hobarts Funnies, was the Bailey Panel bridge system. To my knowledge no 1/56 or 28mm scale Bailey bridge models exist, so a search on Ebay threw out the 1/48 scale Wespe Stok Foundation plastic kit.

Box art.

 The kit comes with four of these frames with the panels, braces, bearings and pads. The panels are quite flimsy and need care when cutting out.

 Seven of these brown plastic deck panels also come with the kit. 

Assembly of the panels with the cross girders. This is a fiddly process and actually feels like assembling a real bailey bridge! 

 The assembled kit. 

The assembled kit with the bridge crossing a gap. The Churchill Tank is by Madbob Miniatures and is of resin. The bridge actually behaves structurally like a real bridge with flexure at mid span and some torsional buckling when overloaded! For wargaming, the bearings will be on scenic base to raise it over my terrain river sections. 

My sole gripe with the kit is that the deck panels when laid out along the length do not reach the end. Some modelling will be required here.

1/48 Arii Chieftain Tank

Having been frustrated for a number of years in completing a small 28mm BAOR Cold War force for the lack of any available Chieftain Tank models, I was surprised to find these Arii 1/48 scale remote control tank kits on ebay for £8 a kit.

Familiar looking box art. 

The kit seems to be similar to Tamiya's Mk5 Chieftain MBT 1/35 superstructure tooled for 1/48. The moulding is surprisingly crisp and detailed although some components looked modified for the rigors of being a remote control vehicle. The hull, tracks and road wheels are generic for all Arii's kits and built for remote control motors. This makes the superstructure look high on the hull in order to fit the motors. Trimming 7mm from the back hull plate reduces this problem and seats the generic road wheels behind the side skirts bringing the tank back into proportion. The running gear is somewhat fiddly to assemble and attach the wheels to the spindles. The tracks are generic tank tracks made in a one part rubber loop. 

Completed kit with paint job with dry brush, awaiting decals and weathering. 

In conclusion this kit cheaply fills a hole in the current ranges offered for 1980s BAOR forces. It scales well next to comparable armour from HLBSC and at a pinch with Sloppy Jalopy's 1/56 cold war range. At £8 to £10 it offers value for money. I have another two kits to build up, these will be modelled with cam netting and stowage. It also brought about memories of clambering over the hulks of this once mighty MBT dug in on Longmoor Training area.