British hold the line

A reinforced British Brigade has been order by Wellington to defend a village to keep the the road open for supplies. The Brigade is made up of the 42nd Highland, 45th Nottinghamshire and the 3rd regiment of foot (Buffs) supported by riflemen of the 3/95th Rifles and the 52nd (light) Regiment. Attacking the village is 2 French 2 regiments (8th and 70th) of French infantry or 6 Battalions supported by 2 guns and the 4th dragoons.

The advancing French Brigade is under the Command of General de Brigade Jacques Sarrut.

The Brigade is made up of the 8th Line Regiment consisting of 3 Battalions under the command of Colonel Joseph Braun.

and the 70th Regiment of 3 Battalions commanded by Colonel Jean Dumariex

The infantry are supported by 2 X 8 pounder gun from Major Dupont’s Battery

In addition, the 4th Dragoons are eagerly awaiting any sign of weakness from the enemy.

On the opposing side is Major General James Kempt commanding the British forces. On the British left flank is the 42nd Highland (Black Watch) led by Major Maxwell Grant. .

To the right of the Highlander’s is the 45th Nottinghamshire Regiment who are also manning the building in the picture below. The 45th is commanded by Lt Col. Henry Ridewood.

Behind the 45th, in reserve is the 3rd Regiment of Foot (the Buffs) Under Lt Col. William Stewart.

On the far right is the 3rd Battalion of the 95th Rifles.

Behind the buildings is the KGL Hussars

1st of the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot

2022
10/10
CATEGORY
Napoleonic War
1 comment

Sd.Kfz. 251/3 (Funkpanzerwagen)

Building, painting and collecting armies is great but in order to complete the unit you sometimes run into important vehicles or parts that are not made in the appropriate scale. I was unable to find a suitable Sd.kfz. 251/3 command vehicle for my 2 armoured infantry companies. I decided to scratch build using a couple of Revel Sd.kfz. 251/1s.

I built a small fixture so that when I made the antenna from aluminum rod they were the same size.

Simple fixture

2021
09/30
CATEGORY
1/72 scale
Model Review
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1st King’s German Legion Hussars

The first 14

1 KGL Hussars in support of 45th Line

2021
09/30
CATEGORY
British
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WW2 Russian Army

1st Guard Tank Corp

Around 1000 men

2021
09/25
CATEGORY
Soviet Russia
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Pyrrhus of Epirus

2021
09/24
CATEGORY
Ancient History
Greece
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4th Panzer Defends Kromny late 1943.

A Company from the 171st Grenadier Regt, 56th Infantry Division is supporting a battery of 88mm flak guns from the 4th Panzer Div. on the outskirts of Kromny late Oct 1943.

Infantry covering forward positions with all roads covered by the 88s.

Russian first wave moves through woods supported by Motors and Artillery

2021
09/24
CATEGORY
4th Panzer KampfGruppe
2 comments

HMS Revenge and HMS Agamemnon fire on French ship of the line Bucentaure

Fire as she bears
2021
09/24
CATEGORY
Age of Sail
Navy
2 comments

Butler’s Rangers

Now that I have completed my Butler’s Rangers Company I have set up a small AWI skirmish size battle. On the British right hand flank the Butler’s Rangers have taken up positions in the woods with the guidance of a few native scouts.

 

On the British Left we have the 10th Regiment of foot drawn up in line with support of a 6 lb. artillery piece.

In the center, the British 15th Regt. is moving forward to take up position.

Opposite the Crown’s forces, the Continental 1st and 2nd  Pennsylvania Regiments are holding the block house and some fortifications. Although outnumbered, they have the advantage of being behind cover. The 1st Penn are holding the blockhouse on the right side of the American line while the 2nd Penn is holding the house fenced yard and redoubt on the left.

So the battle is set. For the Crown, Glory or for freedom from tyranny!

I will add more battle shots as the battle progresses.

2017
06/04
CATEGORY
AWI
3 comments

4th US Armored Division

Well it took a little bit longer to finish the remaining troops and vehicles of the WW2 US 4th Arm. Div. than I anticipated. Now that they are done, I can finally start the offensive against the German SS holding the town. My American Army consists of 2 company size combat commands with support elements.

_mg_0916

Tank Companies

The Tank strength of the division is 37 medium tanks (Sherman), 13 light and 11 Tank Destroyers for a total of 61.

tank-batt

Like the German army, there is a mix of tanks and weapons that span over a couple of years to be able to play different battles and to reflect a realistic attrition. Out of all the tanks and vehicles in this army my favourite are the M36 and M10 tank destroyers from Eduard despite some historical inaccuracies. When this army was started several years ago, there wasn’t the selection available today.

Armored Infantry Companies.

armoured-infantry

The two armored Infantry Companies have 254 men each in their ranks. Even though the organization is complete  most of the soldiers are plastic from multiple manufacturers. As time and new products become available I am slowly starting to replace those with metal figures such as AB miniatures. For example, my next project with these companies is to replace the current platoon mortar squad with the correct 60mm mortars and move the 81mm mortars to HQ.

Artillery, HQ and Support

As you can see from the pictures below, I do have a small sampling of 105mm M7 Priests and 155mm Long Tom artillery pieces. Even though I enjoy building the artillery I usually do not collect full units because of the pieces being off table during a battle.

artillery

The next picture shows an orders group with the commanding officers of Combat Command A and B with the General and some staff.

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Finally the angle of the picture below shows a Medics jeep, Military Police and recovery vehicles.

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The Battle

Now that the pictures have been taken it is time to start using the troops. The units will be shelved until they are called upon in the battle. Most of the area where the Armored infantry are displayed above will be replaced with trees with a gap going down the main road. These 2 scaled down Combat Commands will be tasked with pushing the Germans out of the town. The Germans have a motorized Panzer Grenadier company in the town with the support of armor and artillery. Even though the US Army has a 3 to 1 advantage in men and armor it is going to be a tough fight. I will be taken some pictures as the battle progresses so stay tuned.

2016
09/27
CATEGORY
American WW2
World War 2
1 comment

Italeri Kit 7010 Dodge WC51

After all the building, painting and pictures of my German Army I thought I had better finish off my American 4th Armored division before I start the next battle.  Most of Combat Command A and B are complete except for the second Armored infantry company (pictures coming soon). The 3 infantry platoons were built and painted but the A/T platoon and headquarters were still on the shelves. Unfortunately, when I was moving a couple of years ago the 3 infantry platoons were also roughly handled and those that were complete were damaged. After building and priming the halftracks and 2 1/2 ton trucks I started building two Italeri Dodge WC 51s to add to the headquarters.

The first thing that strikes you when you look at the box is the size of the box and the great picture of the vehicle rushing through a storm. On the back of the box is several nice colored pictures with markings.

Italeri 7010 1.72

The box is a little deceiving and way oversized for the contents inside.  I remember the smaller Esci box was not even filled when I built my first 2 Dodges 15 years ago. The original Esci # was 8039 U.S. Light Truck WC 51 3/4 ton. Actually the only thing that fits the box is the instructions.

Dodge truck 2

As with all old Ecsi kits from the early to mid 70s there is a lot of detail on the finished kit. This one is no exception. In fact for the size of the model it is probably a little overkill but overall it looks really nice when complete. The detail may be nice but the mold is showing its age. The amount of flash and the number of sink holes on this particular example took a lot of work and extra time to fix.

Dodge truck 3

The instructions are fairly straight forward and clear except on some of the steering components. Also there are errors that I found on the springs and the front pulley mounting which is not clear. The picture below shows just how detailed this kit is.

Dodge truck 4dodge truck 6

More sink holes even on A surface parts like the tarp. Some penetrating all the way through. More putty and sanding.

Dodge truck 5

Finished model. Now for the painting.

Dodge truck 7

The base coat I use for the American Army is a mix of about 90% Tamiya’s XF62 and about 10% Vallejo 915 Deep yellow. Dodge truck 8

Finished model ready to join the Armored Infantry Battalion HQ.

Dodge truck 10Dodge Truck 9

Overall a great little addition to the American army. It is getting hard to find these so I was fortunate to purchase enough for my requirements several years ago. It would be nice if the mold was refurbished if anyone decides to reissue this kit.

 

 

2016
05/11
CATEGORY
Softskin vehicles
4 comments