Wednesday 23 January 2013

Rapid Fire! 20mm - 21st Panzer Division, Normandy 1944 - Pt 2





125 Pz Grenadier Regiment:
P-107 armoured (several variants) - Raventhorpe metal and Ready to Roll;
P-107 75mm PAK - (DRW- Don´t Remember Well... but it´s a French resin company);
P-107 unarmoured - Frontline Wargaming;
Lorraine 105mm and Somua Multiple Mortar(x20) - Raventhorpe
Citroen car - Die-cast DRW...
BMW R/75 - Atlantic.



192 Pz Grenadier regiment:
- There are few alterations regarding the origin of these kits in relation to 125 Pz Gr. Reg. The BMW R/75 are Fujimi and the Somua Multiple Mortar(x16) is scratch built as I don't know any manufacturer that makes the 16 mortar version.


A metal Raventhorpe P-107 followed by a Ready to Roll one. The main difference is that the Ready to Roll carries incorporated basing and crew. Only the MG42 figure is metal.

The infantry are plastic (ESCI, Revell, from european boxes and Afrika Korps), with several conversions and Irregular Miniatures (the one with panzerfaust).



The Raventhorpe P-107 with a very nice camouflage that I first saw in photocopies sent by Richard Marsh some years ago when we used to discuss 21st PD organization on the phone .

The figures are metal: an Irregular Miniatures from their Modern African range (suits ok, no?) and a Britannia MG42 firer.


The Ready to Roll P-107 with cast-on crew. Nice idea!


The full 125th and 192nd Pz Grenadier Regiments.


The DRW P-107 75mm with SHQ crew.


Another camouflage for the DRW P-107 75mm PAK.


A support company with Skytrex MG42 crew and plastic mortar and crew.


A command company of a Pz grenadier Regiment.


Some Lorraine 155mm had a different camouflage as proposed and discussed by Mr. AlainVierwitch in Panzer Voran! 21st PD supplement. I placed the ones with Panzer Grey camo in the support companies of the Pz Grenadier Regiments.


The Raventhorpe Somua Multiple Mortar (x20) with crew from ESCI and Atlantic.

                           

Raventhorpe Somua Multiple Mortar (x20).



The Atlantic BMW R/75.


The Fujimi BMW R/75.


Several more infantry conversions in plastic.



The Somua Multiple Mortar (x16) don´t exist in kit form, at least to my knowledge. I made one in Evergreen with some plastic die-cast wheels I thought would fit in and a pair of tracks kindly sent to me by Tim Wade of Frontline Wargaming.


The figures are conversions from several hard plastic figures.



I used a bedroll to disguise my ignorance about the interior of these machines. 


I made the infantry some years ago with too large stands. If done nowadays they would be smaller.


Pz Grenadier Regimental HQ (metal Irregular Miniatures and ESCI plastic).


The three companies of the FLAK 305 batallion.


88mm gun from SHQ.


88mm gun from Hasegawa with crew from Atlantic and Skytrex.


The Sdkfz 7 4x20mm from Hasegawa.



The Britannia Sdkfz 10 20mm.


The Sdkfz 7 prime mover with Britannia crew.


The powerful 200 Panzerjäger  battalion of the 21st PD equipped with 88mm PAK (Skytrex metal). One of the stand bases (to the left) is smaller as it needs to fit a Bunker for the Omaha beach scenario.


General Feuchtinger arriving late at the battle front after a Cabaret hard night ...Staff car from Frontline Wargaming.


FCM 75 mm PAK and 105mm from Alby with Britannia crew. I don´t really know if these ones ever belonged to this division, so just in case...


The Famo probably did, but I have no information on its use by the 21st PD. As this Division had no Panther probably they didn't.


Same with Marder I on Lorraine chassis (Skytrex). these were the two first models for the 21st PD I found just to understand later they were no part of the divisions. These two can fight for a German Infantry Division though.


Lancia (Skytrex) from rear echelon units like the Nachschubtruppen 200.


Citröen trucks also from rear echelon units.


Beute Shermans. It seems that 21st PD used some 20 or so of these captured from both British and Canadians.


Sherman from Airfix with Matchbox Firefly barrel.


According to RF! rules, three Sherman will represent all the captured Beute Sherman.


The figure is a metal Britannia with a MG42. You can also see the effect of PVA glue on HO train foliage making a hard and long lasting finish.


Saturday 19 January 2013

Rapid Fire! 20mm- 21st Panzer Division, Normandy 1944- Pt 1

    

The 21st Panzer division always filled my imagination since a little boy, with all that tranformed material from outdated French 1940 Somua, H-39, P-107 etc, which also included Russian guns.

Unfortunately this unit can only be properly done with those expensive resin and metal kits from France and England, but I made use of the much more affordable plastic and conversions whenever possible. On the other hand, having to buy (carefully...) expensive material you are forced to take extra care on the way you research, build and paint this big unit.

With 200 miniatures AFV´s this unit was made along several years with breaks for starting or coming back to other periods of wargaming. Due to this you can see different styles of painting both on vehicles and figures.

In this first part you will see 22nd Pz Regiment; Pz Artillery Regiment 155 and Pz Reconnaissance 21.



2nd battalion, 22nd Pz Regiment:
PzIV - Altaya;
Somua - metal Skytrex;
Cmdo Somua - Alby;
Pz38t Flak - Altaya;
PzIVD - Airfix;
H-38(f) -  Skytrex.




The H-38 from Fontline Wargaming with a ESCI commander.


This Airfix Pz IVD has a metal Britannia commander.


1st battalion, 22nd Pz Regiment:
Pz IV - Altaya; ESCI; Frontline Wargaming; Britannia (the one in the command section);
PzIII - ESCI;
Recovery PzIII - Matchbox conversion;
Pz38t Flak - Frontline Wargaming.



The Altaya Pz38t Flak, with a different camouflage to match the ones of 21st PD.


22nd Pz Regiment aproaching Périers ridge under the eye of a Typhoon Jabo...


The converted Recovery Pz III. A Matchbox hull with an Evergreen box and ESCI crew.


The Alby Somua command. A very fine and detailed kit.


1st battalion, Pz Artillery Regiment 155:
100 mm gun -Roco Minitanks (truly a 155mm gun in 1/87th scale);
122mm Russian guns - Irregular Miniatures;
French Prime Movers - Frontline Wargaming;
Somua Rocket Launcher - Raventhorpe;
Lorraine OP - Skytrex.



2nd and 3rd battalion, Pz Artillery Regiment 155:
Lorraine SP 150mm, Lorraine SP 105mm and Lorraine OP - Skytrex.


The three Lorraine SP and OP from Skytrex: left to right; 105mm; 155mm and OP.


The foliage I apply on all AFV is made of a hand mixture of HO train  foliage + white PVA glue from several brands. The material gets tough and can be handled by  any clumsy hands.


The full Pz Artillery Regiment 155mm.


The Raventhorpe Somua Rocket Launcher half-track.


The crewman are Preiser in 1/72nd scale from their Panzer crew at rest box.


The Russian 122mm and crew from Irregular Miniatures. There is also a crewman from the Sdkfz  251from ESCI. Here the figures are painted in an older block style painting.


The Sturmgeschütz - abteilung 200:
H-38 7,5cm PAK and H-38 105mm - Britannia and Altaya;
P-107 AA 20mm - Britannia.
H-38 OP - Raventhorpe.

This unit is exagerated in numbers but I just can't resist when I find one.


The H-38 of Alfred Becker: From left to right: Britannia H-38 105mm; Altaya H-38 105mm and Britannia H-38 75mm.


The only added parts to the Britannia model was the periscope; antenna and folliage/stowage.


The Raventhorpe P-107 AA carries a Britannia crew.


The small H-38 OP from Britannia.


The powerfull Pz Reconnaissance Battalion 21:
Sdkfz 250/9 - Britannia and ESCI;
Sdkfz 250/1 - Britannia;
Sdkfz 232 - Skytrex;
Sdkfz 233 - Britannia;
Sdkfz 222 - Britannia;
Sdkfz 251/1 and 37mm - ESCI;
Sdkfz 251 Flammenwerfer - Britannia;
Sdkfz 263 - conversion on Airfix Puma chassis.



 The recce  infantry is Irregular Miniatures infantry with some plastic ESCI and Revell's help. The infantry sports the caracteristic waterproof garments of the 21st PD.


The Britannia 251 Flammenwerfer.


Detail of the Sdkfz 251. Crew are plastic and metal SHQ.


There is no indication that the 21st Pz division had the Sdkfz 263 but this guy gave too much work to be left aside from this unit. Parts from Airfix and Evergreen on the hull of a Matchbox Puma with an aerial from ESCI 251 HT.



ESCI 7,5 cm PAK from the 5th company, with crew from ESCI soft and hard plastic.

 In the next few days I hope to be able to take some shots for the 2nd and last part of this post contemplating the infantry, pionneer and AA units of this division.