Allied "Funnies"

As a follow up to the "Ersatz" Opel Blitz pictures published on the blog last month,  my miniature allied arsenal also has some "funnies" that were pressed into service many moons ago.

Sherman Jumbo

A repainted Matchbox Battle Kings die-cast toy that a mate of mine Iván gave me when we first met and started gaming together on a regular basis some 20 years ago. 

The Matchbox tracks were missing and were replaced with tracks off a Hasegawa 1/72nd scale M4A3E8 Sherman. 

The tank commander is an Airfix British Paratrooper.

Even though it's oversized and clunky, it's seen some action as a Sherman Jumbo in a couple of games over the years. 

When you compare it with a lovely detailed kit, like the Trumpeter Sherman below, it's toylike appearance is even more evident. Anyhow, even if it raises a few eyebrows when I next get it on the gaming table again I don't mind too much.

Roco M40 155mm / Sherman suspension hybrid

About the same time back in the early 2000's, my tiny, but growing US forces were in urgent need of some mobile artillery. Getting your hands an Esci M12 was difficult, but I had a Roco Minitanks 1/87 155mm M40, but without the HVSS suspension. 

A broken 1/76 scale Sherman came to the rescue and donated its suspension and tracks to the allied cause, giving birth to this strange hybrid.

It's small next to a Matchbox M40 kit, but on the other hand, it's only a little smaller in size to a real Esci M12 - which I now have thankfully through Ebay, (and also now some excellent Altaya M12 diecasts).

Sherman Dozer

The British Shermans below were all made back in the early 2000's.

We were going to game a scenario that needed a Sherman dozer. A few days before the game I managed to get a hot-wheels bulldozer from a toyshop, fixed the blade onto the front of one of the Shermans and hey-presto ! Not very pretty but you can see what its function is.  

I did recently get a real dozer blade for my US forces. The blade came courtesy of a kit from UM Models.  Not sure if my version is comical or just sad in comparison.

Thanks for visiting, hope you enjoyed the pictures. Will be back with some new stuff later in the month.

Cheers, John

1/72 Scale US Navy Landing Party - Dixie Cup Hats

Repeating here some photos from an old post that was wiped out when the site was hacked a few years ago.

We needed a Forward Observer Team to use as regimental support for a WWII Pacific USMC Platoon and using the Iron Ivan Disposable Heroes rules you get the option of either a Marine or Navy FO team.

I decided on a Navy team in white dixie cup hats and some “true-blue” navy gear. 

The hats were made with some thin strands of paper and white-glue wrapped around bare heads taken from other figures.

I wanted to use them in scenarios as a kind of Naval landing party, even for some pulp scenarios, having them stranded on an dinosaur and hostile-native infested island, crazy things like that.

The figures are IMEX, a mixture from the two sets of Korean War figures, all with new heads.

Aug-24, 2010

Airfix US Paratroops - Some Conversions

When these figures first came out in the mid-seventies I was very disappointed when I eagerly opened the box, only to discover that they were moulded in grey plastic !!  In my mind, they should have been made in the usual Airfix olive green plastic that all my other allied figures came in, I mean grey plastic was reserved for the Germans ....

(one of those original mid 1970s grey impostors in the foreground, and a more recent olive green offering from Heller)

Anyway, my childhood traumas aside, the set really does have some very well sculpted figures, albeit a little on the small side.

I had some pictures of these Airfix figures on the old and now defunct MiniatureZone website but until now I hadn't remembered to upload them here.

So here they are - these figures as you can see were moulded in good old olive green from a more recent offering by Heller - when I say recent, it's relative...... these were probably made about 10 - 12 years ago

The Airfix US paras lack a bit of heavier firepower so these little fellas got a few support weapons added.

Below, the standing figure on the left has had his Thompson replaced with a Bar taken from an old Esci US Para figure, while the MG team has been given a 0.30 cal Browning taken from the Revell US Paras set.

The mortar is from the Pegasus German set

Finally this one below was a complete bodge, it's supposed to be a hand-cart. Not very convincing, but I gave it a try at least.

And the figures once painted.

There are no parachutes in the Airfix set so we got a parachute taken from the Revell German Fallschirmjäger set, and the dropbag came from the Revell US Paras.

No bazookas for the Airfix guys either, the figure on the right had his carbine replaced with something a little more substantial.

And the rest of the gang, just vanilla Airfix US Paras

The figures are a joy to paint and they're well detailed and have stood the test of time, they still look good compared with more modern figures.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and feel free to comment. Will try to get another update soon, so keep safe and check back in a little while.

On the workbench

Some pictures of things currently on the workbench at present, all US Ardennes campaign related stuff.

A few old Shermans for repair + various Esci / Italeri / Revell sprues that have been sitting in a box for years waiting to be assembled. Even an old set of resin sandbag protections that have been added to an Armourfast Sherman.

Final flocking on the bases of some new US troops. Vintage Matchox, old Revell and some new Italeri.

An armoured Jeep. This is an S-Models kit. I don't really like photo-etch, I thought this kit came with the shield made out of plastic so I was disappointed that it came in flimsy brass. My mate Carlos offered to make it for me however, (good stuff Carlos)

The Stuart is another S-Models kit and the Greyhound next to it is a die-cast that needs weathering.

Finally, a last photo showing the size differences between an old Matchbox 1/76 figure compared to Revel and Italeri G.I.s 

The Italeri fellas are heculean in comparison.

Matchbox M-16 Half-Tracks

I've had these two Matchbox M-16 quad A/A kits sitting in a box for a good few years. Back when I built them the tracks broke and had planned to fix them but never got around to it.

(http://www.1-72-scale.com/2009/05/work-in-progress-matchbox-m16-half-track.html)





That was back in 2009 ...

and they've finally been finished today.



The tracks were replaced with some one-piece fixed track assemblies I got from two old wrecked Airfix Half-Tracks that came in a bag of "pre-owned" kits off ebay.



The original decals have long been lost - or used on some other kit - but I had plenty of stars in the decal spares box.

So , gven the time it's taken to finish these, it's clear I'm a very slow modeler - in spite of that, I'm pleased the way the old Airfix tracks work on these kits.

1/72 US 105mm Field Howitzer Conversion

A few years back I saw an article on Paul's excellent Plastic Warriors Website on using a cut-down Airfix 88mm Flak to make a 105mm US howitzer

http://plasticwarriors.blogspot.com.es/2010/06/m2-m101-105mm-howitzer.html

I needed a couple of these for my WWII US forces and inspired by Paul's original idea, I decided to put a couple of old Airfix 88s I had in the stash to good use.

The barrel of the 88 has been cut down and the shield comes partially from an old Airfix 6 pounder AT gun and the rest was made using some cut-down clear plastic sheeting.

The axle and wheels are from a trailer that comes as an accessory with a die-cast Altaya M16 Half-Track. The trail legs are flat plastic cocktail sticks.

Yep, it's a crude "representation" and it would probably raise a lot of eyebrows at an IPMS meeting, but I think once it's painted and on the table it maybe won't look too out of place.

I'll try and get this painted up and will post a couple of shots soon.

Battle of the Bulge - Keep Moving

Since the last post, things have kept on moving - not as fast as I would have liked, but at a fair pace.

The HaT / Armourfast M4A3 76mm tanks after having been base-painted, washed/highlighted, and mud-weathered, were given a couple of white stars on the turrets courtesy of the decals spares box - the Armourfast tanks unfortunately come with no decals.

They are also very sparse, no tools or any other kind of stowage, and the hatches are moulded shut, but in spite of looking very bare they are fine for gaming and are now ready for table 

The old Hasegawa M5 High Speed Tractor and 155mm Long Tom that were dug out of the old stash have now been repainted and are also ready for action.

As with the Shermans, after repainting the M5 also received a good dose of mud on the tracks.

Below the finished tractor and Long Tom, the Armourfast Shermans and a GPA Amphibious 1/4 Ton 4x4 Truck that was also on the painting table. 

I stuck a figure in there wearing a thick overcoat - he's from the Revell US Ardennes Infantry set.

While I was at it, I took a shot of that now finished 1/4 ton amphibious "Seep". It's from the Academy "WW II Ground Vehicle Set -6". I trimmed down and added a few figures to fit in there.

So a fair amount of progress, and more to come.

And to finish off, a taster of what's on the table at the moment.

We've got die-cast Altaya / Amercon self-propelled artillery, a Fujimi M30 Cargo Carrier, and trucks of various makes and from various sources - all of which will be repainted and might be finished shortly.

So come back soon, as time permitting there should be another update with work in progress.

New project - Battle of the Bulge

I had been meaning to start this project for a few years and finally, after much procrastination, I made a start.

We plan to get a campaign going and we have a fair supply of suitable German stuff already built and painted, but the US forces were unfortunately sadly lacking.

But, I do however have a large amount of WW2 US vehicles and tanks that I've accumulated over the years.

The problem is that the stash is made up of lots of unmade kits, various diecasts that need repainting, and a fair amount of old stuff & wrecks that need work to bring them up to standard.

First off some Shermans

The two Shermans on the left were already built and painted, I just want to "muddy" them up a little.

The top left-hand M4A1 76 is quite old, made many years ago and is an Esci M4A1 with a Matchbox (Revell) Sherman turret.

The other Sherman below was built and painted by a friend (Eli from La Rana Bucanera Website) who kindly donated the vehicle (and some others too that I'll show in a future post). I believe it's a Dragon kit

The two partially painted Shermans on the right are Armourfast M4A3 76mm. Very simple snap-together models, but nice and sturdy.

I also dug out these two old veterans from the stash which are in need a bit of care and attention and will both be getting a new paintjob  - a Hasegawa M5 Tractor and 155mm Long Tom.

We plan to game the campaign, using the Warlord Bolt-Action ruleset, and the their Battle of the Bulge Campaign book which I recently bought.

So, work in progress pictures will follow with the next updates shortly.