The French Infantry Corps 1915-18, Great War Spearhead rules in 20mm

This corps, as well most of my WWI miniatures, was built and painted decades ago. This forced the new ones to be painted in the same way as the previous ones, PVA primed and block painted, for the sake of consistency. This also allowed for a much quicker painting method and to bring reinforcements that turned divisions into Corps. Again most of the infantry and cavalry is plastic with plenty of conversions and tanks, artillery and airplanes are resin and metal.

Rapid Fire! Western Desert 1940-43 in 20mm - Ariete Division nearing completion

A number of Ariete units meet at Ras-el-Donnarumma oasis and prepares to defend it. This lot of models is one of the last for the Ariete armored division as this big unit is almost complete, only missing a few trucks and two artillery pieces. The models are Ace, StreletsR, MiniGeneral 3d prints and my own conversions and castings. 

Lets start with my own conversions. The decision of improvising - again - came after checking the Mirliton website. They have everything you need for WW2 Italian figures with beautiful detail and reasonably priced at around 1 euro per figure. The exception being the motorcyclists with each costing almost 10 euros, and two companies are necessary for the Bersaglieri regiment! Some quick maths made realize I would have to spend almost 200 euros for the 16 motorcyclists plus P&P. 

So I grabbed the French motorcyclist I converted from Airfix and converted it again this time into a Bersaglieri. The trousers were carved in order to show the boots, a new Strelets head was pinned to the body and some details were added in the moto for it to look like a Moto Guzzi.

The first to come out made of GreenStuff in a BlueStuff mould. The right arm and the rifle or Breda LMG were added later. 

After moulding the arm and gluing a rifle on the back you have a reasonable Bersaglieri motociclisti. 

The handlebar was also added after casting for a better detail. 

After painting, these Bersaglieri motociclisti became quite close to the original and somehow unique.  

Master Colin mentions one side-car per company in its first Desert supplement (Feb/June 41). I looked a bit everywhere for pictures of  Bersaglieri side-cars and only miniature brands have them which is strange as Bersaglieri side-cars would have caught the photographers attention for sure. What the Bersaglieri of the compagnia moto had were motorcycles for one (monoposto, 28 of them) and two people (biposto, 44 of them) and here might be the cause of the side-car indication. 

The only side-car used in these two companies was again the French one, this time the matrix model directly as I have enough French side-cars already. 

These last 8 MiniGeneral M13-40 concludes the tank regiment which now counts 30 models.

The models have some nasty printing lines specially at the front and turret top which had to be covered with PVA+acrylic paint. Stowage, antennas, sand bags, scratch built MGs and foot steps and CP models from Mark Brown were added to the originals. 

Thin armor but very brave men!

Two Schneider-Ansaldo 105mm guns were also added together with a few FO and command stands. All models are StreletsR. Another group like this is still missing to complete the division. 

Lastly some badly needed Fiat 508 Coloniales from ACE joined the division not before many hours spent gluing tiny pieces and picking many others from the floor. The figures are again Retrokit/Mark Brown models from the Netherlands.

Next: maybe a video on the Ariete division or a few more models for the division if mail allows.  Or some more French 1940, lets see. 

Rapid Fire! 20mm - Dutch army 1940

Now for the Dutch 1940. Most of the figures are SHQ 20mm with a few Atlantic plastic with Esci heads from their British colonial set.

Scharzlose MMG; Solothurn 20mm ATG; 4,7cm Böhler.

Infantry battalion.

81mm mortars. SHQ and Irregular Miniatures who also has dutch artillery  in their Really Useful Crews range.

Bycicles and Carden Lloyd tankette (SHQ).

Marine Battalion. Most of the figures are SHQ but there are also some plastic figures from Atlantic with overcoat and colonial heads to look like WWII Dutch.

DAF 36 and DAF 38 (Retrokit).

75mm Mod. (Irregular Miniatures/ Really Useful Guns range)

Krupp 120mm (Irregular Miniatures/ Really Useful Guns range).

3,75 Krupp (Irregular Miniatures/ Really Useful Guns range).