The DCRs for the 1940 campaign in 20mm and for Rapid Fire! wargames rules

Rapid Fire! Operation Barbarossa and beyond in 20mm - One more clash at Dubno/Brody

 

The battle of Dubno/Brody, in nowadays Ukraine, was the biggest tank clash of history with over 4000 tanks battling each other in a triangle between the cities of Dubno, Lutsk and Brody. To represent it in RF! terms you would need 800+ tank models for this short period of summer 41 in the East. It also includes some models that for sure are not the wargamer´s favorites like PzIII short 50mm; T-26, BT-7, etc (not counting a football field to play it all). Even if sometimes I exaggerate I don´t intend to reach those numbers due to the danger of bankruptcy and expulsion from home. Even so I´m around one Soviet Mechanized corps ( a mix of the 8th and 15th) and one full Panzer division for this short period of time without brown camouflage and short guns on tanks (a generic PzIII G/H/J based one, capable also of other campaigns like the Balkans and Greece).  

Two more giant T-35 from S-models were added to the 68th Tank regiment. With four now in the inventory maybe I´ll build another two and settle the issue:  the proposed ten by Master Richard is just too much considering they arrived in very small groups and many broke down. Hmmm... but 10 is tempting!..

Eight more BT-7 were added making a total of 15 enough for 2/3 Tank battalions depending on the unit. All my BT-7 are Mário Laranja´s great 3d resin prints. This company got a camouflage of brown 6K as used by some tanks of the 4th Mechanized corps in Ukraine. 

Again some 4th Mechanized corps painting influence with just a white triangle for air recognition on top of the turret. 

The markings of these two BT-7 came from 39th Tank Division at the battle of Uman. 

This kind of camouflage was taken from the 24th Brigade of Light Tanks, Rostov-on-Don. This camouflage was quite common and I used it also on my BT-5 and consisted of the basic 4BO color with stripes of 6RP and 7K.

The figures on these batch of tanks is Xan Miniatures from Spain. Probably some of the best around. 

A few more Xan Miniatures with the padded helmet. 

Lastly a pair of Self-propelled AA MG 4M-GAZ-AAA (Uffff...) from Minigeneral PLA 3d prints with Revell converted crew with the help of GreenStuff. 

The built is very simple and the result is quite sturdy. The soft plastic figures were glued to several parts of the vehicles for them to have a firm grip. 

The printed plastic had two coats of clear varnish before priming for the printing lines to become insignificant. 

The last batch of Mário Laranja's PzIII H necessary for the (undetermined) 1941 Panzer Division with PSC crews. 

This company commander tank got a turret MG. I'm not sure if this system, the Fliegerbeschussgerät (my goodness, he even knows German...) was used of the late versions of the PZ III short 50mm as all my references are for the late versions of this tank. Even so it looks nice and makes a difference in the lot. 

Next: Probably a video on the French DCR of 1940 or the last few British tanks for the 1st British Armored Division of 1940.

3e DLM for the 1940 campaign in 20mm for Rapid Fire! wargames rules

5e DLC for the 1940 campaign in 20mm for Rapid Fire! wargames rules

This is the smallest of the French division types for the 1940 campaing. The 5e Division Légère de Cavalerie (5e DLC) tried to stop the Germans in the Ardennes and fougth them at Sedan and Abbeville. Its very interesting due to its old material and number of horses. The figures and vehicles are a mix of Simon Soldiers (pioneers and artillerymen); Hat, Esci,Caesar, EWM, Lancer and LesArméesOubliés (horsemen, Motorcyclists and Dragons Portés); Resin prints from Mário Laranja (AMR33, Unic P107BU and Simca Cinq); MiniGeneral PLA prints (75mm field guns and Lafflys), SHQ (SideCars and motorcyclists), Wespe (Renault ADH), Altaya (Panhard 178), Skytrex (H39) and plenty, plenty of my own conversions.

Will McNally's Rules - AWI and the battle of Brandywine 1777 in 20mm (part 34) - Last few bits for the British

 

This another nostalgic post in which another army is finished. Can't be sure but probably my first British for the AWI were made around some 20 years ago and these were the last missing stands and figures at least for Brandywine in a collection of around 1000 figures. Still to be made are some 300 figures for the larger Washington's army at the same battle. 

 

These Ferguson rifles are converted figures from both Airfix bodies and Revell heads with some Milliput tufts on the headdress. 

Like this these little Ferguson men became quite reasonable. Very hard to make is unique fire mechanism of the Ferguson rifle and these poses were also chosen because they hide the missing details. 

The two last command stands missing were Howe's and Cornwallys themselves. The figures used were Hold the Line and Revell. 

Along a bulky General Sir William Howe rides a 16th Light Dragoon trooper both Hold the Line figures. The Revell figures to the right aren't true British with the Cornwallys figure on horse coming from the Prussian box and the foot officer from the Austrian box. 

 

More work with these ones. The last few batteries of artillery were made with some Revell Austrian and Airfix figures but most with converted infantry from Revell's box of British infantry. The limbers came from 30YW Revell horses whose harness didn't change that much along the years. 

And here they are. The guns are from Hold the Line and probably if you ever painted Revell British infantry from the AWI you probably recognize most of the figures. 

Next: a return for WWII or more Americans for Brandywine. Also a Pirrhic army is not out of the question as my Republican Romans are tired of calling names from their shelves to the Carthaginians on the other side of the basement.  

Will McNally's Rules - AWI and the battle of Brandywine 1777 in 20mm (part 33) - Sir John Vaughn´s Brigade

Brandywine's British army is closing completion with this last brigade of infantry. Now, only 5 guns, a few command bases and the two stands of Ferguson´s rifles are missing which is something I hope to have finished in the next post. Then of course still plenty of American brigades, mainly Militia, have to be built and painted and that will take much more time and probably a skip to other periods in between.

Vaughn's Brigade had three regiments of Infantry ( 4th, 28th and 49th foot) and one of Fusiliers (23rd foot). The Fusiliers are Airfix from the Grenadier box but the rest of the infantry is a mix of the usual Accurate and Revell but introducing the lovely PSC designed miniatures of the Hold the Line French and Indian Wars expansion set. 

The Hold the Line mounted officer is a one piece gem and it really plays the part of a British gentleman on horse. In fact the figure comes in white plastic and, as all in this post, is intended to be a game piece for the French but all bicorne figures in all sets of Hold the Line can be used in any army.  I really pity not being able to get the initial game as it brings 200 figures in different poses compared to this expansion set which carries half of that number.

I placed Hold the line infantry in the front rank of all the three infantry regiment. They are true 1/72 figures and the same height as the Accurate/Revell figures even if a bit more beefed up. The bases are too big so I cut them for three figures to fit in line. 

All blurry flag bearers are also Hold the Line figures. By 1777 the 23rd had already stored the bearskins with which they arrived to the American colonies but that headdress makes them distinguishable.  

The brigade's artillery is a mix pot. The limber's horse and driver is 7YW Revell with a scratch built carriage on Napoleonic wheels, the gun is Hold the Line and the crew is Italeri, Airfix and Accurate. 

Next: the last few stands for the British at Brandywine 1777.

Rapid Fire! France 1940 in 20mm - The Pioneers of the DLM

 Exiting the village of Didier Deschamps, reconnaissance and pioneers of a DLM advance under the protection of a battery of 155mm guns. 

The DLM was the only French big unit type that had three Pioneer companies, with all other types of units having only one or two. Each company was very big with around 200 men each with small differences in number depending on the type of unit. These figures are Simon Soldiers and portray the pioneers carrying mines, shovels and wire. A few figures have the FM 24/29 LMG instead of the more common and older Chauchat distributed among the pioneers. I tried to convert some Revell Chauchat firers but was out of metal heads and these had to do (Revell heads are too small in the WW1 French set comparing with these metal ones). 

The figures are beautifully detailed and the pioneer equipment is all there with anti-personnel and light AT mines, wire laying devices, shovels, etc. 

And here some close-ups to see the great level of detail of these figures. The second figure from the right carries the AT mine modéle 36. 

These Schneider 155mm C guns are MiniGeneral 3d prints with Simon Soldiers and Irregular Miniatures crews. This battery was still missing  as I built some time ago the same guns (Ace models) but with spoked wheels and thus proper for the DI. 

These three motards are SHQ with the discarded side-car. They will be used for liaison and command. 

Finally two offers small but beautiful Simca Cinq from Mário Laranja resin printer. 

Next: more Brandywine 1777. 

Will McNally's Rules - AWI and the battle of Brandywine 1777 in 20mm (part 32) - The 71st Highland regiment

The 71st Highland Regiment was present at Brandywine with three battalions totaling around 1200 men. It was thus the biggest regiment at the battle and it was kept as the reserve of Knyphausen Division and as train guards. 

The figures are in fact plastic game pieces in 1/72nd scale from the Hold The Line boardgame by Worthington Publishing and PSC. I lost my mojo for AWI a bit before the release of the original game with had some 200 beautiful figures inside. Later when the mojo came back I could only find in PSC the separate bags of  Scots and Hessians. Now finding Hold the Line figures after all this "post July" s##### is very difficult which is really a pity as they are really great. 

As you can see they go very well along Esci and Airfix pipers and they could go even better if  instead of clipping the base I had just cut a part of it. The figures were glued with hot glue and then with cheap super glue. The bond made by the two materials is extremely strong. 

All the figures are the same but with the colorful uniforms of the Scots the single pose gets lots of life. 

Most of them got red hair, of course! And they should have white trousers by the time of Brandywine but they also look much more Scottish like this. 

Two other poses were made from the original: officers and the flag bearers, using Greenstuff for new arms.

These three command stands are the ones with pipers and changed poses. I used wire for the first time for the arms of the officers waving the claymore sword which made some of them too long. Then laziness prevented me from changing them.

Next: France 1940.

Rapid Fire! NW Europe 1944-45 in 20mm - US Airborne and ground reinforcements.

The command group of Combat Command X of an US Armored Division meets in the middle of the Norman bocage. Fearful of a German incursion, the commander request all possible protection from the vicinity and so some Airborne 57mm AT guns and M8 HMCs shows up and make an impregnable ring of steel around him... What a bull###t story! Sorry, but nothing else came to my mind as an introduction.  

This time some additions to the US Armored Division and the Airborne Division. With the Dodge WC53 Carryall and the M8s HMC the Armored division is now complete and the Screaming Eagles finally got some AT protection and tows for the 105mm guns. 

The Carryall is a Matchbox die-cast model I found last month in a second hand toy fair. It looks to be in a smaller scale than the usual 1/64 of many die-cast cars and probably suits our 20mm size pretty well. New plastic wheels from Atlantic, antenna and covered engine (white paste) was added and it looks OK. 

And here it is together with some old metal US command figures, presumably SHQ, given by my friend Jorge Faria.  

The M8s are RTR and will be sent to the three mechanized infantry battalions and their assault gun platoons. The figures are Irregular Miniatures cut by the waist. I chose helmeted figures as for open topped vehicles.

The tiny M8 HMC become very colorful with plenty of markings. 

Half of the  US 57mm AT guns are PSC conversions (muzzle break erased, right side of front protection cut and shortened legs). The artillery men are converted Revell and SHQ figures ( these last ones with EverGreen first aid pads and pockets in the trousers). 

To the left you can see two SHQ 57mm guns and the two PSC to the left. 

Finally the Jeep tandem tows for the 105mm M1 guns were painted, as I had them built for years. The Jeeps are Frontline Wargaming attached to each other with the typical  'A' structure made of plastic card. The drivers are the usual plastic torsos with Milliput arms. To driver to the left is an old Airfix figure driving with his left hand and holding the Thompson with the right hand in a typical Cowboy style. 

Next: French 1940 or Brandywine 1777. 

Rapid Fire! Western Desert 1940-43 in 20mm - Rehearsal for another of Benito´s anniversary

 

This time out of Benghazi, at Ras-al-Sand-Green-Board, the Italian troops that will parade on the 29th of July are rehearsing their task far from the eyes of spectators...and spies. The black line dividing the two boards is obviously an irrigation ditch (eh,eh). 

When building and painting Desert Italians I try do as many as I can at the same time in order to catch some other armies that are far more numerous in the collection. This time two infantry battalions got a second life with some repainting (they were already painted for years and inside some old boxes but with the uniform color painted both on the helmet and puttees which was wrong) and the addition of the support weapons. Also some artillery and a few more tanks were added. Like this the Ariete division is not far from concluded. 

The second battalion of the tank Regiment is done with the third starting with the two models from the far left. The models are 3d PLA prints from MiniGeneral and Italeri double kits. 

The crew figures came from MBM Netherlands and very pretty they are. 

The MiniGeneral model is a late M13/40 as you can see from the cut down mudguards.

Generally I don´t bother opening the hatches in order to place figures. Simply new doors were made from plastic sheet and the figure was cut down to size. 

The M13-40 from Italeri is in fact a M14-41 as it has the perpendicular bars in the engine grill and the mud cleaner on the drive sprocket. With two antennas it becomes the Centro Radio variant used by command tanks.

These Fiat Dovunque 35 SP´s are MiniGeneral and all will go to the Bersaglieri regiment. The two to the left have Waterloo1815 47mm Elefantino guns from the Folgore artillery box. The ones to the right are original models with the Breda 20mm AA gun. 

The crews of the Elefantinos are converted French from Hat with Revell US Marine heads and GreenStuff for the plumes. The ammo box in the back of the figures was erased or  heated for it to look like a water canteen.

The Breda AA guns have firers converted from a number of parts until they sit properly (with the help of my trusty lighter). The ammunition supplier is a Waterloo1815 conversion and the driver is MBM. 

The 100/17 guns (ex Austrian from WW1) are Hat and they are an important asset of the infantry division. 

I tried to make new rubber wheels for them but left the idea very early due to its complexity. Besides these old wheels were also used and transported with the help of the Carellos Elasticos. 

Here you can see the variety of figures used to crew the 100mm guns: Esci, Hat and even some Japanese Atlantic legs on the top right Esci figure which also got a Waterloo1815 Carcano rifle. These 100mm gun stands are two sheets of cardboard glued together with PVA as I was lazy to cut them from wood. In the end I spread cheap super glue all over to give the base extra resistance, the trick Mário Laranja used in its Carentan houses. 

The second 149mm gun was added to the Corps Heavy Artillery Group.

The model is Italeri and probably ranks among the simplest models ever to be placed inside a box with the gun having just nine parts. The figures are outstanding and you can have plenty of extras from the three Italian artillery boxes made by Italeri (this one, the 90mm gun and the 3RO SP). 

An example of what you can do with the Italeri extras are command groups like this one. The Radio is a scratch built RF3C model. 

A piece of 3mm hard stryrene was used for the bulk of the radio and a piece of plastic broom bristle was folded for the antenna. 

The riflemen of the two infantry battalions were painted for years and stored in boxes. This time Grey Green was painted in puttees and helmets. A few helmets also got some ochre. All other support weapons and groups were made in the last few days as you can see from the different color of the uniform. I settled with Vallejo Desert Yellow for Italian uniforms and Citadel Balor Brown for vehicles. 

The Elefantino guns are Waterloo1815 with converted Esci Alpini and officer from the gun box with trimmed trousers in order to look like infantry boots (originally this figure had paratrooper´s trousers).

The RF1 man-pack radio in a command stand of a battalion. The radioman is Esci and the officer is Waterloo1815.

The 45mm Brixia mortar is a contraption made of multiple plastic parts with converted Esci figures. 

My Bersaglieri battalions already have the Breda as MMG so I scratch-built these old Fiat-Revelli  MMG´s from the Revell WW1 Germans also using the figures from this set. 

The Solothurn 20mm AT rifle was also made from various bits of plastic. 

The Ariete is almost finished but still missing are some 8 M13-40, heavy prime movers for the 149mm guns, 3 ton Fiats and the 508 'Coloniales' which means  that this division still needs a few posts to be finished. 

Next: a few US additions for Europe 43/45.