Rapid Fire! 20mm, British Armoured division - Sherman equipped-Normandy44

After some time away I'll show you my Sherman equiped Armoured Division for the Normandy campaign.

 When building a Sherman based brigade you can use it both for the Guards or 11th armoured division (this brigade can also be  one of the independent Sherman brigades, the 8th, 27th and 33rd armoured brigades - not  the 4th as this one had mostly Sherman II  with cast hulls).

 This division was built before the 7th Armoured (Cromwell based) I showed you some months ago and it's built around the Airfix and Matchbox Sherman 1/76th kits. These two are quite compatible but while the Matchbox kit is the Firefly, and thus a British version,  the Airfix is one of the initial US versions of the M-4. So lots of changes were necessary.

I started this division many years ago and you can notice different styles of painting as well as different approaches to modelling, with some models with lots of work while other are almost straight from the box. 

Most of the these Sherman have the M-34 main gun mantlet, the most usual both in Guards and 11th armoured divisions.

This is the junior regiment of the brigade (blue markings, number 53). It's the most recent and the one with more transformed models. Basically you have Airfix, Matchbox, Fujimi, Britannia and Frontline Wargaming models.

These Hybrid Fireflies are original Fujimi kits (M4A1). I used the Matchbox mantlet and 17 pdr barrels, some Airfix Jeep drivers with Evergreen phones ( bended  thin stripes of plastic with heated ends) and a barrel cleaning kit box also taken from the Matchbox kit.

 I also made a 2nd top turret hatch in liquid GreenStuff using a detail brush. After drying it can be painted as a normal plastic part. I also applied this hatch to all Airfix Sherman.

The modelled foliage was placed to compensate the lack of the seam that was clear between the cast and the welded part on the Sherman Ic Hybrid .

The Britannia Firefly with a few stowage parts added.

What about the 75mm barrels of the Fujimi kits ?

Well, here they are glued to the Matchbox kits in a way to have the allongated Sherman V in plastic. True plastic  brotherhood!

Some Evergreen side ammo protections and a lot of stowage and here you have them.

The small M-5 are mostly Frontline Wargaming. I placed a Fujimi Japanese tank commander as the helmet looks like British at least in this small guy.

The MG is also scratchbuilt in Evergreen.

All Airfix Sherman received a rear turret radio box, 12,7 Browning MG, ammo protection plates to the sides and a barrel cleaning kit box all made in Evergreen.

The middle regiment of the brigade (yellow markings, number 52) mostly Matchbox kits.

The same Shermans V 75mm converted from the Matchbox Firefly from two posts ago  painted and ready for battle. These two replaced some soft plastic Airfix Sherman who served this division with dedication for many years.  

The small Humbers are Frontline Wargaming with some Rocco Miniatures as crew. These 1/87 figures come from a modern German crew set but are quite big for this scale and they fit nicely with 1/76th scale models.

The Britannia M-5 with a very nice tank commander in that beautiful chunky style  of this company.

The senior regiment of the brigade (red markings, number 51). A mix of Airfix and Matchbox Sherman. 

The recce M-5 are turretless Hasegawa kits with 12,7 mm Browning MG and crew from the Falklands 82 Matchbox set.

These two came from Belgium many years ago and were from the grandpa of my friend Isabelle Houart. He must have been a great guy as he had dozens of unpainted Airfix kits - Sherman, Stugs, Panthers, etc -   and hundreds of figures with which he wargamed in his attic - reminds you someone?

 Isabelle brought the entire collection during several years, a bag each time she came here.

The Recce regiment. (White markings, number 45). Revell and Frontline Wargaming Cromwells.

The Challengers are Frontline Wargaming. Recently Tim Wade remodelled the Challenger but these ones are 1st edition models.

The Revell Cromwell with a Britannia crewman. This kit is probably one of the best around. 

When I was building the recce regiment I was not certain about the existence  of  Fireflies in these units. Just in case I built three Frontline Wargaming models. One of them is another Hybrid, again with the lacking hull seam disguised with camouflage netting as the original hull of this model is a normal cast hull M4A1.

Some more Hasegawa M-5 from the recce regiment.

Motor battalion. Airfix M-3 HalfTracks, Frontline Wargaming and Britannia Carriers, Britannia 6 pdr and White car. The infantry comes from Esci, Revell and a few Esci Commandos with helmets.

The White car from Britannia. A "54" (motor battalion) plate was added to the front as the original vehicle had no space in the frontal part for such an inscription.

The Frontline Wargaming Carriers are packed with soft plastic figures. I melt the legs of these ones up to the torso with a lighter until they fit inside. Hurry up doing this before it dries up and be careful with your fingers !!

Comand and mortar stands. All three mortar crew are Esci commandos with helmets.

The anti-tank company with Matchbox 17 pdr. Crew are mostly Airfix. 

Sexton regiment: left and right batteries are Ready To Roll and the centre one is Britannia. Jeeps are Matchbox.

Airfix towed 25 pdr artillery regiment.

Corps level Airfix 5,5 inch artillery regiment. 

The Airfix Matador becomes an attractive vehicle with the Mickey Mouse camouflage patern. 

Introducing the infantry regiment. Once again these first battalion figures are mostly Revell, Esci and helmeted commandos. The Bedfords QLD are Frontline Wargaming. The MG company is on the top right corner.

Second battalion has all-Airfix carriers.

Third battalion.

The full infantry brigade deploying.

A large Bedford QLT from Skytrex.

Airfix Carriers. The one to the right has a Matchbox Bren gun in an AA mount.

More Frontline Wargaming Carriers.

Bedford 15CTW. Close to camera there is a Skytrex model; behind, two from Frontline Wargaming.

The pontoon carrier Bedford from some posts ago already painted.

The full division ready to embark to Shelves Beach, Coimbra- Portugal. Still waiting for D-Day...

British armour in WWII is a pleasant subject for modelling and Wargaming with its US based AFV's and some nice indigenous designs. 

Next ill show you my Churchill 6th armoured brigade in Normandy 44.

Military Phokia, January 2014

The phokians, from nowadays Foça, Aegean Turkish Coast, were a formidable sailor and merchant people who dominated vast parts of the Mediterranean in the classical age from the Black Sea region to Spain. 

In Foça you can find a beautiful Byzantine - Ottoman castle guarding the twin bays. 

The arrangement of the wall stones is quite different from the western ones.

Three of the doors of the "5 doors castle".

Ottoman (Osman) inscriptions above one of the doors.

The castle was restored in the 80ies and it's a well preserved site and worth a visit.

Rapid Fire! 20mm - converting Matchbox Firefly to standard Sherman V

The Matchbox Sherman Firefly is a fine old kit which, with a little work, can be turned into a 75mm gun Sherman V. The main characteristic of this model was the alongated hull which also made a wider space between sprockets.

This is a particularly important version of the Sherman as it was mostly delivered to the British and a usual sight in Normandy 44.

The changes are: 

- cut the 17 pdr barrel (25mm at the final); 

- place two small Evergreen barrel support/protections at the beginning and sides of the barrel;

- cut the two sides of the gun mantlet and keep only the central one;

- cut the side hull protections. This part is quite tricky: pass the X-acto blade between the main hull and all along the side protection several times until you can withdraw the side protection with your fingers. Do this as many times as possible. Don't do it with a pair of scissors as you will probably break more plastic than you want;

- apply three ammo plate protections to the sides of the main hull - two on the right and one on the left side. I used my trusty Evergreen for the plates and for many other details ( in fact the only styrene available in Coimbra...). 

- make a mantlet out of GreenStuff for the hull MG;

- place a 12,5mm Browning MG on the turret; 

- scatter as many stowage as you can all over the back and side areas. Change the barrel cleaning kit to the  front hull on some of your Sherman as the real ones used to.

The final result makes a very different model comparing with the original kit.

This is also a cheap and enjoying way for you to have the longer Sherman V in plastic.

Next: my RF! Sherman equipped Normandy armoured division. Just finishing basing the lot and painting these last two. About 120  AFV models and 250 figures.  Stay tuned...

Rapid Fire! 20mm - Leyland Retriever bridge carrier

What to do if you have two Matchbox 1/76th Monty's Caravan?

Monty only ordered one to be made with the famous Italian body so if you have more than one model you are exaggerating. 

Looking for the usual inspiration on the Rapid Fire! supplements I found a 6xwheeled Leyland   Retriever  (RTR79) smacked in the front cover of the Scenarios for NW Europe 44/45. 

Here is mine: 

The basis is the Matchbox kit. The changes are:

- a driver from the Airfix Buffalo/Jeep kit.

- a petrol drum from a Hasegawa Churchill.

- a styrene Evergreen cargo area (6cm x 3cm) and some mudguards.

- and four electricity posts taken from the spare box and cut into shape. In the inside some broom black plastic rod was glued. 

Now this one is ready for the Airfix Pontoon bridge. 

Happy Christmas to you all!!!

Rapid Fire! 20mm - El Alamein British tank force

These are the latest models for my British forces at El Alamein. The Matildas are an extra for this campaign but still useful for other 1942 battles.

Some of the models are still offers from JF and JMM while others were old models of mine I had waiting on the shelves for years.

  

King's force Churchill III (Esci). This was the second time the Churchill was used (first was at Dieppe). 

After some research in the web and in some magazines I found that the base colour was green and the sand colour was the secondary one. So be careful as many modern drawings, brands and pictures tend to show the colours in the reversed way. 

Matilda are Esci with a PSC commander for the closer one.

Valentines from Esci and Fujimi. 

I tryed a new painting on all these new British AFV's: grey priming; block yellow ochre (Vallejo); brown wash (this is the new part and used instead of black wash) and finally dry brushed white + yellow ochre. This change follows a veeeery close look at the pics on RF! Desert books and supplements.

This kind of changes make some problems but more about this later on.

The Matchbox Chevrolet and Willys Jeep of the LRDG. The Chevrolet is towing a Planeta Agostini 20mm Breda.

Humber and Daimler armoured cars from Esci and Hasegawa. Enough for two RF! Cavalry squadrons.

Airfix Crusader II (closer) and Hasegawa Crusader III (back).

The Stuart from Matchbox with  Hasegawa crew. 

I also placed some red pennants on all my British AFV's. These are paper triangles glued to fishing string antennae. 

By the way: in order to place the fishing string in the upright position you need to pass your nails vigorously all along the lenght of the string. Repeat this method until it gets straight. 

This is my 8th army armour up to the moment. 

The annoying thing about stopping an wargaming period and restarting months or years later is that you generally have a mixed bunch of different coloured models  as you can see in this photo. 

Even if you use the same colours as before your painting style may have changed and things get pretty varyed and little uniformed. Well... Nothing that you can't survive ...

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LRDG. More than necessary for the RF! units but simply irresistible.  Besides you can play the original Barce raid from the old RF! Rules book in which the vehicle ratio is 1:2. 

Airfix 6 pounders and tow Carriers.

6 pdr portees with Esci crew ( Altaya).

25 pdr from Airfix and Altaya (far right).

Bishops (Esci) and M-7 Priest (Altaya).

I took the advantage of the big primer cloud raised on my back yard to paint another Somua (Heller) and FT-17 (Matchbox) for the French 1940.