The workbench has been full of figures in recent months while the paint queue of tanks, AFVs and guns hasn't been getting any shorter. So the last couple of weeks have seen the paintbrushes given a rest and the airbrush put back into action. It's been time to finish off several 20mm Second World War projects.
I have several of the Plastic Soldier Company boxed sets of vehicles and I don't always need all three of the models for the same force, which means I can do them in a number of different paint schemes. One of those I had in mind was using spare allied vehicles for lend-lease tanks used by the Red Army.
The first batch include a Valentine and a Sherman (M4A2) from the Plastic Soldier Company and a Matilda from S-Models. PSC do a set of Red Army decals that have come in very handy for this project. Crew figures are from AB Figures.
While not lend-lease vehicle I had a Dragon T34/85 which I've made and intend to eventually populate with tank riders from the lovely AB set (they are primed and waiting paint), in the meantime the tank itself was painted while I had the airbrush loaded with Russian green. All my other T34s are from PSC and the Dragon kit has lots of much finer detail that may make it a little more brittle for gaming but nonetheless a very attractive looking kit.
A much neglected part of my collection has been soft skins vehicles and that's something I'm starting to address for several of my forces. First up has been a few trucks from the PSC German truck set. An Opel Blitz and Opel Maultier and then a Mercedes truck which was built from left over parts from the truck set and a bit of scratch building.
Talking of transport, I've also added this unmotorised version - three mules and their handlers from the 172 Miniatures Japanese range.
Another fairly recent addition for the Japanese is a 47mm anti-tank gun and crew. This is from SHQ. I often find their figures on the slim side compared to the others I use but when used like this in a gun crew and not side by side with the others you can barely notice the difference.
Superb airbrush work.
ReplyDeleteI like the Lend-lease tanks - always fancied Soviets with Valentines or 76mm Shermans, so much more my style than T-34s, although my favourite would have to be a KV2. Going to have my first CoC game with Japanese on Monday - could be a learning experience. I shall prepare by re-reading your last Far Eastern campaign.
ReplyDeleteNicely done.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done! A clever idea to use the excess western vehicles for the Soviets.
ReplyDeleteI thought the answer to the post title might have been...."have a wargame".....😄 The actual answer has resulted in some lovely vehicles though, so more power to you!
ReplyDeleteMost splendid work Mark, I really like the subtle weathering around the wheel and track areas.
ReplyDeleteTruly a magnificent post, superb treatment of a wide range of tanks, trucks and nonvehicle units. Nice idea on the lend lease vehicles.
ReplyDeleteLovely work Mark
ReplyDeleteVery nice indeed!
ReplyDeleteSuperb painting all around.
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