A Pair of 88's

This was my last official submission to the Analogue Painting Challenge and for me it was something of a 'belt and braces' entry as I have already reached my target (or I will when the bonus round points are added). I have literally run out of units to paint both for my WWII North Africa project and my Punic War project...I guess I'll just have to get online and treat myself! My last entry is something of a mish-mash of vehicles and guns from different manufacturers that sort of makes a cohesive unit but frankly doesn't conform to any army list.

First up are two Flak 88 Anti-Aircraft guns deployed in an anti tank role. The Germans were quick to realise that their powerful Flak gun could not only hit aircraft at high altitude but it also gave them incredible hitting power over very long distances horizontally. High velocity combined with flat trajectory and a wide flat landscape made these guns absolutely lethal in the desert. The preferred tactic was to set up the guns in prepared positions and draw British tanks into range by using their own tanks as bait. These guns have a few 'kill rings' painted on their barrels to show that they have already been effective in a previous battle. 

Supporting the 88's are two groups of additional Artillery crew. I couldn't fit the guns and crew on my normal sized base (at this scale I use small FOW bases) so I decided to mount the crews separately. The 88's are from Heroics and Ros while all the Artillerymen are by GHQ. 

I have also painted a command stand consisting of a commander and radio operator next to a Kubelwagon. Also present are two Kfz15's, a Kfz 17 radio car and an SdKfz 7 half-tracked truck.

Five Vehicles, two artillery pieces and sixteen infantry figures netted me a final 20 points to add to my total. And that's me done for this years Challenge. Its been great fun but utterly exhausting! 

M3A1 Stuart Tanks in British Service

One of my last submissions to the Analogue Painting Challenge were sent in earlier in the week. My entry was some M3A1 Stuart tanks for my North Africa project. Once again I have used models from the GHQ range and the fine crisp detailing more than justifies the higher price tag.

Five M3A1 Stuart Tanks in British colours

Over four and a half thousand M3A1's were produced between May 1942 to February 1943 and a significant number saw service with the British in North Africa. The British army designated the vehicle the Stuart III and IV (the Diesel version) but by now the vehicle was known to British tank crews as the 'Honey' because of its smooth ride and good performance, particularly in prolonged desert operations. Popular it may have been but its relatively small 37mm gun was no match for the latest German tanks now arriving on the continent and it would soon be superseded by the M3 Grant and later the M5 Sherman.

Racing across the desert

I have been wanting to paint these for some time and particularly wanted to try out a type of British desert camouflage that I have not tried until now. I'm really happy with how these turned out, particularly the camouflage pattern. I mixed the blue myself and think I have achieved the slightly grey blue colour that looks very similar to pictures I have seen from the period.

All round view showing the camouflage pattern, rusty exhausts and tools
stowed at the rear.

Five 6mm vehicles should earn me another 10 points in my quest to beat my challenge points 'personal best'.

Analogue Challenge 'Curtgeld' - Rommel

Over the weekend I finished painting my submission for the Gambler/Risk Taker bonus round of the Analogue Painting Challenge. Given that I am collecting figures for WWII North Africa and the Second Punic War my entry was only ever going to be one of two characters; Rommel or Hannibal. Way back in 2009 I painted the Hannibal miniature that was given out at Salute that year but I have never yet painted Rommel, and it just so happened that I had a figure sitting neglected in my lead mountain. Actually the model I have used isn't lead at all, its a plastic 1/48th scale figure from the Tamiya WWII Famous Generals set.

As the title suggest I'll be sending this figure all the way to the cold wastes of Canada as my 'Curtgeld'. I just hope the plastic figure makes it there in one piece. I sense a bit of custom made packaging in my near future. I bought this set of models while on Holiday last year. It was an impulse purchase while we wandered through the high street of a random Devon village and having chanced upon the only model shop for 50 miles (or so it felt) I simply had to buy something. Actually I think the shop owner was a bit startled by this wild eyed city wargamer wandering into his rural shop but I was still happy to push a little money his way in return for a kit that includes figures of Montgomery and Patton as well as Eisenhower and Rommel.

I have to admit that I struggled to paint this figure. its been a long time since I have painted a 28mm figure - having long ago abandoned it for 15mm and 6mm - and it seems I have unlearned a lot of the skill and technique required for this scale. I'm not as happy with how this model turned out as I am with my 6mm submissions to the challenge but in the end I just had to draw a line under it and says "its done, walk away"!. Fortunately the Tamiya set I got this figure from contains two of each General so I have another Rommel to work on at another time. Maybe when I have less time pressure to work on this I can produce a better result second time around. 

6mm Numidian Light Cavalry

Earlier in the week I submitted one of my last few entries to this years Analogue Painting Challenge. The end of the Challenge is bearing down upon us like an express train and the panic was starting to well up...despite the fact that I had done the math and was confident that I would hit my target of 500 points. I have been very happy with my progress throughout the event and my painting output has been significantly higher than it would have been without the imperative of the competition. My latest submission is very likely my last Punic War entry and nicely rounds off my Carthaginian army (for the time being at least).

The Numidian Light Cavalry have often been described as the best of their type in the ancient world at that time. Certainly they played a significant part in the victories of Hannibal and, ironically, in his eventual defeat at Zama. The Numidian horseman rode bareback and controlled his mount with a rope around the horses neck rather than with a Bit as did regular cavalry. Despite this the Numidian's were famed for their horsemanship and ability to harass their enemies with fast movement and manoeuvre. Riders didn't wear armour and generally were only protected by small round leather shields. They were armed with javelins but some also carried swords for personal defence.

I have painted these in fairly plain colours but have given them an assortment of hand painted animal hide shields.