Desert Rats update

First of the 8th Army troops finished, based in the same scheme as the Afrika Corp.

I am going to put some effort into the Airfield board next, I have been doing some research and hunting down scatter scenery I may use. The construction of the project will begin after Christmas.

Desert Rats reinforced platoon

 

This is the first of the vehicles for the the 8th army reinforced platoon, I decided on a camo scheme from the second battle of El alamian as its so iconic.Its not finished yet needs some weathering and some other small details

 

M4A1 Sherman (Blitzkrieg Miniatures)

Also hoping to add an M3 Grant this will be the camo scheme i will be using , watch this space.

DAK Bases + reinforcements

 

Finally decided on a colour for the bases of the north Africa miniatures, just have to add some desert tufts and they are complete.

 

 1st Squad plus 2 officers

 MG 34 Machine gun team

 Panzerbüchse 39 anti tank rifle team

Pak 36 Anti tank gun (Perry Miniatures)

North Africa airfield update

 

This is the airfield tower i am building . It started off life as a jungle tower from the (Sarissa Precision) jungle range. I have modified it to resemble a tower used by the germans in the North African campaign. I have replaced the roof with simulated corragated iron sheeting and the side panels to have also been replaced to match the gable of the roof. The roof will be painted with a suitable camo pattern , while i can get no pictures of roof camo from North Africa I am going to use a modified version of a camo pattern applied to aircraft by the Luftwaffe.

Quonset Hut from  (Dust Models) , these are nice as they match the corragated iron look and come in a pack of 6. I picked these up on Ebay very cheaply.
These will also have the camo pattern applied to them. I may also do some work on the inside aswell by adding bunks.

DAK reinforcements

A Panzerjäger I from Warlord Games added to the DAK army for the Battle at Fuka airfield. Still need a little more weathering and finishing touches.
I added the crew to make the model look a little more dynamic they are from the Perry Metal range.

Some DAK troops lead by an officer, these obviuosly need finishing off and the bases completed , I am waiting until I decide on the colour of the board before I start basing. These are also from Perry miniatures.

Deutsches Afrikakorps

While I will mostly be focusing on the battles undertaken by the 101st Airbourne in WW2 , I thought for a change I would build a North Africa board ,loosly based on the SAS Raid of a German airfield at Fuka.

This is one of the first vehicles I have for it , its a Panzer III J from (Warlord Games), though the Commander is from (die waffenkammer).

The 101st Airbourne D-Day board

 The 101st Airbourne D-Day board is now almost finished there are just a couple of hedgerows and trees to complete .I have also completed a Hawker Typhoon model to be used for airstrikes.

 Allied Guns make short work of the livestock

 An armoured column arriving at the farm

A searchlight makes a important target

Muddy track

 Have finally completed the muddy track for the farm. I am pretty happy with how it came out. It will look even better once it is painted and weathered. Just waiting for my paint delivery to arrive now.

 Used woodland scenics foam putty to do it and used a lolly stick to make the effect , also used the tracks from a Panzer III for the impressions. It takes quite along time to dry so gives alot of working time. once it is painted it is really durable.

Marking out the Farm

 Finally Got to the stage of marking out the placings for the buildings on the board. The whole board is going to be covered with a woodland scenics grass sheet and I will add tufts and other plants on top of it also the muddy farm track that runs around the farm will be added with foam putty to give a nice muddy effect . The main road and crossroads to Revonville will be on the opposite side of the board and will be lined with power lines , I'm also going to put a German sentry box and the entrance to the farm and maybe some barbed wire defence. In the centre of the farmyard I have added a searchlight to add to the general look and feel of the place.
While not necessarily  historically accurate it makes a fairly good Bolt action board.
More updates will follow as i complete more of it.

Bocage update

Have a couple of sections of Bocage finished now. I have used (Woodland scenics) bushes for the hedges in a mix of olive green and light green. I will probably add some small plants and some grass tufts for extra detail. The gate and wall are from the stone walls set from (Warlord games). I used Woodland scenics foam putty to make the furrowed ground and make the gateway look used, and given it several washed with (MIG) European mud and dust weathering powders.
The German Heer are and small selection from my German forces also from Warlord games.

German Armour

 Painted in late war ambush camo of the 1st SS Leibstandarte. Some of the armour from my german army, all are (Warlord games) models except the Luchs which is (JTFM Enterprises).

 Sd.Kfz 251/1 ausf C Hanomag

 Tiger Ausf E

 Panzer IV Ausf H mit Schurzen

Panzer II Ausf L (Luchs 5cm)

Operation Bocage

Operation Bocage has begun and is in the very early stages. Im going to need a fair amount of peices of various lengths and shapes and plan to incorporate some of the new walls and gates made by (Warlord Games) into the pieces to give some nice variety.

I have seen many how to videos online for Bocage scenery but in the end I took a few tips and decided to go my own way. Im using plasticard as the base as its thin and strong so when placed on the table only the smallest join can be seen between the table and the scenery peice, this is the same as i do for all my scenery, its slightly more expensive but i like the way it turns out, it also takes paint well and doesnt warp.

For the grass banks im carving up some bluefoam, its a miracle product one of the best scenery mediums i have found. Its going to be textured and grass and other plants added aswell as a nice thick hedgeline along the top , I will also add a few stones and rocks here and there plus afew trees from (Woodland Scenics) I am going to make them myself using their armature kit, which i used for my Port Royal model and the result were excellent.

101st at Marmion's Farm

Just a few of my American army list for Bolt Action. Some 101st Airbourne with some 2nd armoured backup.

Farm update 3

Finally finished the farmhouse plus one of the outbuildings. Tracked down the ivy i wanted at Salute2014, its Mininatur (plane-tree foliage summer).
Work is  progressing well on the final two sets of buildings for the farm, then its time to build the board.

 

Roof Tiles

The job of building the rooves for the farmhouse and the outbuildings seems neverending im sure it will be worth all the work in the end.

Farm Update 2

Working on getting the wall colour to look right at the moment, some minor imperfections and joins will be covered with a layer of ivy , probably Silflor.

Renedra Ramshackle Barn

 

Hay loft added with Wills Plasticard, still some minor detail work to be completed