March 31, 2012

Lots of Painting Work for Battlefront Miniatures.

This week there were some serious Early War French releases that were painted up by yours truly.   I didn't realise that they were all being released at the same time so this will be a longer post than I normally do.  I thought I might reprint some of the FOW information from the FOW Website to go along with the pictures to add a bit of context to the pictures for those who might not know what they are. For more information and of course loads more pictures click on the links below to take you to their section on the FOW website.

As always comments are welcome.

Mark - aka The Colour Kiwi
:)

Panhard-Schneider P-16 (FR310)


Infantry divisions have Groupes de Reconnaissance de Division d’Infanterie (GRDI), or Infantry Divisional Reconnaissance Groups, to perform the traditional cavalry role of scouting and flank protection. In the motorised infantry divisions, the traditional cavalry are replaced with armoured cars and motorcyclists.


When the first five motorised GRDI were formed, the only armoured car available for their reconnaissance platoons was the old Panhard-Schneider P-16 half-tracked armoured car. Originally designed in 1929 as an Automitrailleuse de Combat (AMC), or Armoured Combat Car, it was replaced in this role by the Hotchkiss and Somua cavalry tanks.


The Panhard-Schneider P-16, like the later Panhard AMD-35, had two drivers, one facing forward and the other backwards to drive the vehicle out of danger away from the enemy in an emergency. Like the AMD-35, it was well armed, having the same 37mm SA-18 gun as the Hotchkiss tank.
The other two motorised GRDI were equipped with Hotchkiss H-35 and H-39 cavalry tanks, as no more Panhard-Schneider P-16 combat cars were available.


Panhard-Schneider P-16 (FR310)
For more pics click here.

25mm SA-34 Portee (FR160)


The term portee is used to describe a truck which carries a gun within its bed. The gun in question is not a permanent fixture of the vehicle and can be fired either while still within the confines of the truck bed or can be unloaded and fired in a more orthodox fashion.


The portee has the advantage of making the tradition static anti-tank gun more mobile and allows the use of fire and manoeuvre tactics. The portee would assume a firing position, fire at the enemy before quickly shifting to another location before its position was revealed by the enemy.

While the term portee is more often than not used to describe such vehicles used by British and Commonwealth forces during the early stages of the Second World War, the French had adopted the practice as early as 1938.


Laffly utilised their S20TL truck to mount the 25mm SA-34 anti-tank gun. These factory built vehicles featured ramps to allow for the gun to be disembarked and allow the gun to fire towards the front of the vehicle or pointing towards the rear allowing for a quick getaway after firing a shot. The windscreen was also modified to fold down to allow for a greater field of fire.


25mm SA-34 Portee (FR160)
For more pics click here.

S20TL Truck (FR420)


When the French Army decided to establish the Division légère mécanique or Light Mechanised Division (DLM) during 1932, one vital element needed for its success was the need to transport infantry on a grand scale. Therefore, a tender requesting submissions for a design capable of carrying ten men and their equipment was issued.


In the autumn of 1934, the submissions were whittled down the Lorraine 28 and the Laffly S-35C. The Lorraine Company won the contract. However, the Laffly Company weren’t discouraged by this failure and a year later produced the Laffly S20TL, a hybrid of their light S15 and heavy S35C designs.


S20TL Truck (FR420)
For more pics click here.

Laffly W15T Truck (FR410)


Most of the trucks used by the French Army for transporting equipment and personal were of civilian design. The only modifications performed on these vehicles to make them serviceable for the military was the addition of tow hooks to aid in the recovery of the vehicle. 


The French Army made a use of a number of 6x6 tractors, including the Laffly W15T. The Laffly W15T was a low-profile version of the Laffly S15T and featured the same bumper wheels that helped prevent the vehicle from bogging down when crossing trenches or rough terrain.  The Laffly W15T was a prime gun mover in the French Army and was commonly used to pulled the 47mm SA-37 anti-tank gun into battle.


Laffly W15T Truck (FR410)


For more pics click here.

25mm mle 1938 AA gun (FR545)


The need for light anti-aircraft guns became apparent to the French during the Spanish Civil War. The Hotchkiss 25mm mle 1938 was rushed into production fill the gap in the French arsenal.


This gun had been designed in 1932, and initially rejected by the French Army. This gun is provided with armour-piercing rounds and is used in a dual-purpose role.

Every division is supposed to have an anti-aircraft defence battery of six 25mm guns and many divisions had received their allocations by the German invasion.


25mm mle 1938 AA gun (FR545)
For more pics click here.

20mm mle 1939 AA gun (FR540)


With the Ju 87 Stuka playing such an important role in the German Blitzkrieg tactics, it became vital that the French Army employed a strong anti-aircraft defence to counter the threat posed by the German dive bombers.


Along with the Hotchkiss 25mm mle 1938 anti-aircraft gun, the 20mm mle 1939 provide the French with the tools needed to keep the dreaded Ju 87s at bay. However, stopping the German war machine in the summer of 1940 would prove beyond even the brave men arming these guns.




20mm mle 1939 AA gun (FR540)
For more pics click here.



























































March 26, 2012

Free Painting Time

It appears that i have a bit of free painting time coming up so im opening up for some contract work again.  Anyone interested in getting some FOW or other items painted feel free to contact me.

More FOW Professional Work

This week we have some lots of horses and some Finish guns.

75 PstK/40 guns (FI520)

75 PstK/40 guns (FI520)

More pics here.

Horse-Drawn Limbers (XX651)

First a Russian.

Horse-Drawn Limbers (XX651)

Second a German.

Horse-Drawn Limbers (XX651)

Third a civilian.

Horse-Drawn Limbers (XX651)

More pics to be seen here.

Supply Wagon (XX652)

Supply Wagon (XX652)

Supply Wagon (XX652)

Supply Wagon (XX652)

More pics here.

March 25, 2012

Well another game system has turned up on my doorstep - this one being the long awaited Field of Glory Napoleonic (henceforth known as FOG:N).



Ive seen a few rather off-putting comments on TMP and a few blogs regarding this rule set and i was a bit worried until i actually had a chance to look at the book.  Judging by what ive read from the book so far i believe these bad reviews are either overly harsh or haven't bothered looking over the rules at all - this is just my opinion and i may be wrong.

The first negative comment I saw was that the layout of the book was bad.  I own both of the other FOG rule sets and this book is as nice as the FOG:R (Renaissance) book which was a vast improvement over the FOG:A (Ancients) book. The second negative comment I read was that the index was really bad. This really depends on what you consider bad. Some rule sets have no index (Firestorm Armada) others have very detailed indexes (Battletech's new rulebooks). I think that the FOG:N rulebook falls somewhere in between. It has a index and although not massive it seams comprehensive. I suspect that playing of the game will show that it could be more detailed but i don't think that its a bad index (if it is then pretty much every game in my rather extensive collection would fall into the bad category. FOW 3rd edition and the new Battletech rulebooks being the only exceptions).

The quality of the book IMHO is excellent. Its a nice clean style, good use of colour and excellent osprey artwork helps bring the period to life and makes it a really nice book to look at and to read.

The book has rules for point based games that will be instantly familiar to anyone who has played any of the other FOG rule sets as well as Historical re-fights for The battle of Plancenoit (18th June 1815, between the Prussian and French) and the battle of Sacile16th April 1809, between Austria and France). The format they have used looks like they could expand upon this a lot in the two supplemental books that are planned.
Unlike previous FOG rulebooks the FOG:N book gives you detailed army lists for all the major countries involved in the wars. French, Austrian, Russian, Prussian, British, Spanish, Portuguese and Ottoman Turk armies are present. Its only one list per country but they allow enough options for you to get started right away without having to wait for the supplement army list books to come out.     
It will (Unfortunately) be a while till I can get an army together and play a few games and be able to review the game properly but hopefully this gives anyone who was slightly interested in this game a more positive impression than others have posted so far.  If you like the previous FOG rules I think you will like the way this game has been presented and i don't think you will be disappointed with this books' layout ect.  If you didn't like FOG:A or FOG:R from a rules perspective you may still like this rule set as it does do many things differently than the previous systems.

  


       

March 21, 2012

Battlefront Painting Work

This week on the Flames of war website are a couple of Romanian releases that i did up.

TACAM T-60 (RO100)







TACAM R-2 (RO105)



I personally find WW2 Romanian paint schemes a tad on the dull side. The vehicles themselves are interesting but the colour schemes they used are less then inspiring, but hey one of the things about being a professional miniature painter is that you paint what you are told to paint and not what you want to paint. The Romanians from a FOW point of view are interesting to play and i guess some people really like them so for those people i hope they enjoy the paint jobs i did.




 

March 14, 2012

More FOW Professional Work

Hey Guys

This week see's 3 new releases on the Battlefront Website that were painted by yours truly. This week has a Soviet army theme running through all the releases.

First up:

Reserve Artillery Battalion (SBX18)

Oh yeah baby - Russian 122mm and 152mm heavy artillery! Here's a couple of images from the site - more can be found here.

Reserve Artillery Battery (SBX18)

Reserve Artillery Battery (SBX18)

100mm BS-3 gun (SU520)

When i was given a set of these bad boy to paint i couldn't believe hold long the barrel was - A 100mm Anti-tank gun is just crazy! More pics can be found here.

100mm BS-3 gun (SU520)

100mm BS-3 gun (SU520)

Partizanskiy Company (SU805)

Last up we have the Russian/Polish partisans - these were really interesting to paint as they were almost entirely comprised of civilian clothing. Looking at as many images as I could find on the net for reference, I decided to keep the colour pallet fairly neutral and stuck to greens, blacks, browns, greys and blue - all common clothing colours of the time. Im really pleased with how they turned out. Lots more pictures of individual bases here.

  Partizanskiy Company (SU805)
 

That's it for the work stuff this week. For my own personal stuff ive been starting work on my First Firestorm Armada fleet but ill save the pics for another separate post.

I hope everyone is having fun out there with their hobbies whatever their flavour of the week is. :)

March 04, 2012

Gaul Heavy Cavalry

Hi Guys

Here's a new unit ive been working on for my Carthaginian's over the last couple of days.




Its a small Battle Group of 4 stands and not overly useful but they are a compulsory choice and one of only two choices that are armoured rather than protected.  I had a lot of fun painting these up and may well do up more (If you change them to Protected you can have up to 12 Stands of them.) I also just finished up 2 Battle Groups of Greeks totalling 16 stands but I cant seam to take a nice picture of them. Ill try again tomorrow and see if I can add a few nice pics.