Rapid Fire! 20mm - British 1st Airborne Division, Arnhem 1944

The Arnhem buildings I've showed you many posts ago are finally complemented by the soldiers who fought on and around them.

My 1st Airborne division is still incomplete but some major engagements like Oosterbeek can already be played with these models. 

All these 6 pdr are built with Evergreen plastic. The crews are Esci, Revell and Airfix transformations. 

The 6 pdr jeeps (Airfix) have Evergreen parts for the ammo cases. 

Supply jeeps. The drivers are the old Airfix figures heated with a lighter and placed in their seats while still hot (and some still burning...). 

Matchbox Morris and 17 pdr.

The crews are transformations of several plastic figures with ammo taken from AFV  kits. 

Major Gough reconnaissance squadron. Most of the Vickers-K are scratchbuilt as well as the 20mm Polsten cannon. 

Medical and supply jeeps. The drivers are hard plastic Airfix with Valiant heads. 

The SHQ 75mm howitzers. 

SHQ command stands.

One of the 5 battalions painted up to now. All available brands are there. 

Some of the PIAT teams are made from the Revell infantry with Airfix heads. 

The radio man is a NATO Matchbox figure wıth a shorter rifle.

Plastic transformed figures again with Valiant Vickers. The two to the left are american but with all this smoke probably no one will notice!... 

And another one. This time everything is very British.

The same principle for the 3" mortars. 

The 2" mortar is a small Evergreen tube glued to another piece of plastic. 

Freshly landed.

A good part of 1st Airborne division is already made. Still missing are 2 battalions for the Airlanding brigade and the full 4th Parachute Brigade. 

I have 3 Italeri Horsa gliders on the construction cue and a crazy plan for some 2 Hamilcar gliders made from scratch.

Stay tuned. 

Alamo 20mm (part 3) - The armies.

  

The Texan "army". It is difficult to call it an army as it was a force around 200 men. 

Top left, the N.O Greys.

Down right, David Crockett's men.

Center, the main Texan force. 

The artillery was the most important part of the Texan defence, capable of sending shot and shrapnel on the attackers. 

Coronel Travis (Imex figure as the two next) with an added rifle.

The immortal David Crockett. Well, he was killed on this day...

Jim Bowie with his famous Bowie knife. On the day of the battle he was very sick and in bed were he was killed. Here he is in all it's glory gained in many duels.

A Texan artillery piece. Some other were siege artillery and others were former naval pieces. 

The Mexican artillery. Mostly Imex with Esci redoubts.

The Regimento Ativo Toluca  followed by the Regimento Matamoros. At the head of the column are the door breakers Zapadores (conversions using Esci and StreletsR figures). In the 2004 movie they are awesome!

The Regimento Permanente Dolores of Picadores (stingers). They are conversions of the Esci Polish lancers with Austrian 1805 heads. They killed every Texan that tryed to escape.

The assault ladders. Finally I have some usage to this  Esci old stuff. The artillery protections were also made from the same boxes. 

The Regimento Ativo San Luis followed by the Regimento Permanente Allende.

Skirmishers.

Detail of the Mexicans. For the plastic lovers you can recognise Revell, Esci, Airfix, Imex and many conversions. The greatcoats were part of the uniform of Mexican regulars so probably used in the night assault. 

The Mexican Estado-Mayor. Cós and the other generals are all present. 

Santa Anna itself. A conversion from a Italeri Napoleon figure  (quite suitable...) with a Russian General head.

Mexican markers for breakthrough (Esci French infantry officers from that crazy box which neither had 1805 uniforms nor 1812... Or had both depending if you see the figures from the front or the back...).

Regimento Permanente Aldama.

Regimento Permanente Jimenez followed  by the elite tiradores of the Zapadores, the best Mexican marksmen. 

Next: something else.

Alamo 20mm (part 2) - the Alamo compound

And now for the Alamo itself. Although the 1836 campaign is very interesting no one would care for it if it wasn't for the Alamo. 

This is a very austere group of buildings of obvious religious influence as the place was a former mission. 

I used mainly styrofoam and thick card for the buildings themselves and toothpicks or matches for the wooden parts of the revetments. Some roofs are pieces of cloth painted and textured to look like straw or thin wood. 

The Alamo seen from the west (from San Antonio de Bexar).

From the south. At the end you can see La Villita. 

The chapel was completely derelict by the date of events.

Entrance of the chapel. 

All eventual entrances for the chapel, as well as any of other parts of the Alamo, were blocked to create extra defences. 

The cattle compound. 

The north wall seen from the square.

The north wall was in worse condition than the rest of the walls as it served for target practice (???) for the texans before the battle. Yes, not a very clever idea: it was the place of the main attack by the Mexicans. 

The west lunette. 

The south west corner.

The south lunette guarding the main entrance. 

The abattis and defences of the south east gap. 

The south west corner seen from the Inside of the Alamo. 

The cattle compound from the Mexican side. 

The 17 parts of the Alamo ready to return to the shelves.

Next: the figures.