Sunday Afternoon Game.

James and I had a game at one of local (ish) clubs facing off with my box fresh 3rd Armored Light Tank Company against a Panzerspah Lehr Company. We rolled the "Surrounded" scenario from the V3 book and with James being mechanised he was on the defensive, a difficult task for his manoeuvrable force facing my equally manoeuvrable light tanks! Unfortunately the lists aren't fully painted yet but I've only had all of the U.S. stuff for literally a few weeks and I've been painting them like a lunatic to get them table ready ASAP. I hope to have them finished within a week.

The lists were as follows:

3rd Armored Light Tanks:

HQ - 2 Stuarts
1st Platoon - 5 Stuarts
2nd Platoon - 5 Stuarts
3rd Platoon - 5 Stuarts
Medium Tank Platoon - 4 Shermans
Medium Tank Platoon - 4 Shermans
Armored Rifle Platoon
Armored Mortar Platoon
Understrength Recon Platoon

Panzerspah Lehr Company:
HQ - 1 Puma
Panzerspah Platoon - 3 Pumas
Panzerspah Platoon - 3 Pumas
Panzerspah Platoon - 3 Pumas
Panzer Platoon - 5 x PzIV
Panzer Platoon - 5 x PzIV
Panzerpioneer Platoon

This isn't going to be a batrep but just a few random pics from the game.

The first Pumas fall to massed Sherman and Stuart shots! Meanwhile the Panzer IVs form a secure gun line in the treeline using their concealement well and picking off Shermans and Stuarts alike across the open ground between them.

This lone Puma on the bridge was photographed at the end of the battle but he was one of the first casualties and successfully blocked the bridge slowing my Shermans progress over the bridge! This made them take a few turns to get into the accessible, open rear of the board instead of the single turn it would've taken n a clear road!

Stuarts manoeuvre into cover on the edge of a field ready to leap frog to the next available cover (which was a leap too far might I add!).

Stuarts race at the Panzer IVs in an effort to close their targets down then break for side armour shots, they actually bailed a few of the Panzers from the front. Unfortunately they all remounted and returned some withering fire on the headstrong "Spearhead" Division.

Flanking Shermans breakthrough to wreak havoc in the enemies rear, destroying or breaking the last Puma platoons and exchanging fire with the remaining PzIVs!

Aftermath of the "crop fight" leaves many burning Stuarts but has held up this flank for long enough to allow other forces into the rear. As you can see at the top of the picture, Shermans are rushing into the void left by Pumas.

Aerial shot of the end of the battle, company morale check was forced rather than anything clever on my part but I had the top objective capped with nothing to oppose me next turn!

Fast and Dirty Highlighting, For Use En Masse!

As the title suggests I'm looking for quick, easy effective ways to get my US Armour presentable and table ready, below is my current solution. The first highlight wasn't watered down enough and as a result has dried with a pronounced edge, on further coats I watered it further and it blended an awful lot better!

These pics were shot very close in and show how quickly and easily the highlighting was applied, I did this vehicle in literally 10 minutes. Speed, but to a decent table top standard is my aim on this project and I think this delivers? From 3 feet away this pops tremendously, I'm open to constructive criticism and thoughts.

3rd Armored Base Coat Testers

I've been using the FoW US Armour spray paint for these over a grey polyurethane primer and found that its colour match to Brown Violet isn't overly good. To this end I've been working on fast and dirty methods to bring the colour in line that I can do in batches, below are the results I'm going to be using.

You can see to the left the base sprayed vehicle and to the right you see it with a Badab Black wash and Vallejo Brown Violet heavy drybrush. Over this I'm going to try something new to me and try some over highlighting with basic panel painting.

 I'll update with more examples tonight/tomorrow.

3rd Armored Are Coming!

Been cleaning up, glueing and priming and base coating like a mofo! I've just started working on a few vehicles to try and figure out a real fast and dirty method of getting these guys on the board ASAP fully painted and based.

Still another Stuart, Recce and two more Mortar HTs en route!

Ruined building

Ok guys, update on the building was meant to take pictures yesterday however needed to charge my cameras batteries and by the time it was charged the lighting on my room was dire.

Anyway on with the pictures. The building has received a dry brush of middlestone and cavalry brown which gave a clay colouration. Also started working on the interior by painting the floor boards flat earth.

Next step is to do some darker dry brushing on the brick work and fill in any pock marks with black. After that it'll be window frames and shutters, dry brush the floor boards and then paint the inside walls.

New building update

Ok so I started working on the building today while I worked on my Lehr tank hunter teams.

I prepared the building with a base coat of Halfords grey body primer and gave it about an hour to fully dry. Once this was fully dried I then started on the brick work using Vallejo Cavalry Brown 982.

My brush of choice for this was the Games Workshop large dry brush.

Now I warn you, my painting skills are not up to that of Nathan' so please forgive my crude skills. Also this isn't finished yet as it need a few more layers on the brick work followed by a lighter shade, however once that is done the interior is next.

HS129 Cont.

Took some mroe pics of my HS129 today as I just finished his base last night and wanted to show the almost finished article. I still need to tidy up the wing edges and I'm waiting for some decent decals that will fit this scale before I progress any further.