Bolt Action: 1940 France German Pz38(t) and the Sd.Kfz 251

 Now that they have dried from protective coating here are the rest of the figures I finished this week. These are two plastic kits from Warlord's Bolt Action range. First up is the Panzer 38(t) a workhorse and reliable tank for the Germans early war. Developed in Czechoslovakia by ČKD, the type was adopted by Nazi Germany following the annexation of Czechoslovakia.

The second vehicle is the Sd.Kfz. 251, it was designed to transport the Panzergrenadier (German mechanized infantry) into battle. Sd.Kfz. 251s were the most widely produced German half-tracks of the war, with at least 15,252 vehicles and variants produced by seven manufacturers. The utility of this vehicle led the German Army to develop the similar looking but shorter and lighter Sd.Kfz. 250 as a supplement.

As always thanks for looking.

Cheers

Kevin

Bolt Action: 1940 France adding a few more bits

 Painting time is way, way down right now. But I did manage to push these guys through. We have a German 37mm Antitank gun and crew, antitank Rifle team, and a sniper.

I have a couple of vehicles done at same time as these to post. Just waiting for them to dry to take photos.

As always thanks for looking.

Cheers

Kevin

SF3D/Maschinen Krieger: 232M Sandstalker

 I decided to go ahead and post my one fully completed Sandstalker with two more at about 80 percent. I haven't been able to finish them as I am right in the middle of a Macedonian army commission, and of course real life has decided it's time for me to take some time out from hobby. So this will probably be my last post for a few weeks. Hopefully I can get back on track by then.

Okay enough of bla, bla, bla. The only thing I did fancy wise is magnatize the turret. I used little micro dice to give it the elevated look, but ran out of those little dice so have to scrounge around for some more or come up with a different mounting system. The paint job was inspired by Krueger's Krieger who is a fantastic model builder. In the meantime dream Lawrence of Arabia when you check out the pictures.

As always thanks for looking.

Cheers

Kevin

Macedonian's

 One of my very, very rare painting commisions. Painting up an Alexander Saga Army for a buddy.

He bought Pikeman standing at attention and after a think I decided to only make the pike shafts 2.5 inches long. The three foot rule goes into affect here. From a distance they look longer than spears so will still have the Pike impression. They will be easier to store. Most importantly they will be less apt to be knocked over reaching across the table to move them. 

I filed the tips of the pikes, but they still porcupine’d me a few times, but drew no blood, so good enough.

I was researching what the infantry actually wore, and decided to discard all the "Artist" impressions and go with a more historical feel. 

The only thing I am waiting for are the shields. The shields they came with suck..... and my friend is having a friend print some off since Victrix shield pack is out of stock. When he gets those I will apply sheild transfers and that will give these figures a lot more color and life.

Here is a shot of eight done of the twenty four pikeman working on. 

As always thanks for looking.

Cheers

Kevin

SF3D/Maschinen Krieger: Y-15 Tank

 THE HARDEST PART

Warning orders have come down, you've prepared the best you can, the day comes and the FRAG order arrives, and you move up on the departure line........ and wait for the go word (hence the hardest part in the waiting).......

I did some minor conversions on one of the tanks by drilling out the commander's hatch and cutting one of Drew's new ground crew figures and fitting him in. I took a 15mm WWII Honey tank hatch I had extra and trimmed it down to fit appropriately and then added the sitting ground crew member to the front of the tank and I liked how it worked out. I magnetized the turrets, and other than filling a few holes etc. Here ya go!

There isn't much information available about the Y-15 tank as this was a scratch build by modelers (back in the 80's/90's) and had a very short narrative about them in some of Kow's books. To give you what little write up I could find I found this snippit listed below from a forum, and I can not verify if it's a reliable source or not, but I think it's a translation from one of the Kow Books Vol 1.

Y-15 tank

The tank in Pzkw.182

"The mercenary army which declared war on the Shutoral army had the tank Pzkw.182 in 2882 in it. The Shutoral army foreign legion and movement police party stationed on earth were immediately attacked by the mercenary army, which captured much equipment, arms, and vehicles, etc. ] The mercenary army organized tank troops, made up of the captured tank in Pzkw.182, and it began production of a copy named the Y-15 tank, formally under the newly established mercenary army central army arsenal.

The tank troops composed by Y-15 tank sortied in order to meet the advance guard of the SHUTORARL armies 56th armored army corps which descended to September 25, 2882 on Australia, and the 7th armored movement infantry division.

However, the Y-15 was comparatively small, compared to the large-sized Shutoral tank, and was out ranged by the prime tank group of the Shutoral army which carries laser of large power, and it was hardly able to to combat them. "

As always thanks for looking.

Cheers

Kevin

 The AFS I & II (Armored Fighting Suit)

A very important Armored fighting Suit for the Independent Mercenary Army early Was has started to become one of my favorites. Here is another company that I have just painted up (I use Slave2game packaging of 6 suits to a bag as a platoon, and three platoons to make up a company. Not anything official, just what I want to do). The following is a bit of knowledge about the universe these bad boys come from. 

23,491 suits of the AFS, including the Mk III, were the standard armored fighting suit of the Mercenary troops in the early stages of the war. 20,992 of these were Mk. II, a refined, more efficient, and better-armored weapon. Out of the rest, 2,314 were Mk I, which was the earliest prototype of the AFS.

Although the Mk I was a little inferior to the Mk II it was greatly invincible early on because the Shutoral forces had no effective countermeasure. It is said that the AFS Mk I was the single most important type of AFS during the war.

The AFS was an outgrowth of a strength enhancing exoskeleton, which was developed by a Mercenary engineer for use in remote regions where heavy lifting equipment wasn't available. This exoskeleton was then covered in a layer of tungsten steel and further strengthened by armored resin. A Prg.41 laser was added to the left arm as a built-in weapon. Using the AFS Mk I's onboard fuel supply, this weapon could be fired seven times on full anti-vehicular mode, or up to fifty times on a smaller setting (such as against infantry). The AFS was initially designed as a weapon for use in guerrilla style warfare, but with the overwhelming success of the suit, it was switched to mass production.

2,314 Mk I suits were produced at the central Mercenary production center in a former rock salt mine situated in the North American continent.

Only one major variation of the AFS Mk I was made, and that was a commander's suit. The FuG8-L radio was switched with a longer ranged FuG8-B radio. However, this was never too reliable and when these commander suits came in for repair or maintenance, the radio was usually switched back the more common FuG8-L.

The AFS P Polar Bear was simply the 'arctic' version of the AFS, adding better insulation and heating for the pilot and equipment.

Many AFS models had two hands, removing the arm laser and allowing for great flexibility, although at the loss of any inbuilt weapons. These were classified as the AFS Type E.

As always thanks for looking.

Cheers

Kevin 

SF3D/Maschinen Krieger: Goblin

"He appears as a giant, obese, bloated goblin (more akin to a troll) with lots of warts, lumps, and scars, and carries a large staff decorated with an animal skull, closely resembling a ram, adorned with shrunken heads."

Thus goes the description of the Great Goblin from the Hobbit, and we find that the IMA's (Independent Mercenary Army) Goblin is not far off from that description.

At first glance it appears obese, bloated, with lumps etc., but don't let that fool you. Owing to the success of the HAFS (Heavy Armored Fighting Suit) Jerry, the HAFS Goblin was a dedicated attempt to make a heavier SAFS suit. This suit would utilize many of the advances of the SAFS whilst adding heavier armor and greater weaponry, in this case an additional three 100 mm rocket tubes. The movement system of the HAFS Jerry was mated to a SAFS for the cockpit, with only minimal modifications to account for the lack of arms and differing weapons load.

I will point out that the HAFS Super Jerry (which was designed around the same time as Goblin, but  produced after the Goblin) is the next generation of HAFS Jerry suits. It contains more armor (especially around the legs and closed canopy), additional sensors - including the indirect sighting system found on the SAFS - and an all new weapon layout of a laser and triple rocket pack, similar to that found on the HAFS Goblin and HAFS Gladiator. In fact, the HAFS Super Jerry starts to share a lot in common with the HAFS Goblin.

I did some conversions on my Goblin's, I drilled through the tail to place and pushed through a metal wire for the antenna's located back there and drilled out behind the cockpit hatch to place another. The final thing I did was to use some plastic card and cut it to the proper size of armor to protect the joints around the legs and used a match to heat it up and shape it. Yes I burned myself the first time trying it. But that's another story. 

Here are a few snaps of these bad boys.

As always thanks for looking.

Cheers

Kevin