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#101 healey36

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Posted 28 June 2021 - 09:18 AM

It's always interesting sorting through these ship models when trying to determine accuracy/versions. If the models are mucked up, often times the reference books are equally flawed.

The two Nevada models in the preceding posts are are a good example. Comparing/counting the casemate positions reveals a significant discrepancy The Viking Forge model includes thirteen, while GHQ has eighteen (possibly twenty-one, if those are guns adjacent to the conning tower above the forecastle deck, and I can't see if she includes the stern-mount). The 1919 edition of Jane's reported that nine five-inch were "removed from upper and main decks during War and ports plated up." The schematic in the 1919 edition, however, shows seventeen five-inch casemate positions. Silverstone's U. S. Warships of World War II reports that Nevada "originally mounted 21 - 5 in./51 guns as secondary armament but this was reduced after W. W. I". Stille's US Standard-Type Battleships 1941-45 (1) reports that "the secondary battery was reduced from 21 to 12 5-inch guns" shortly after completion.

For game purposes, the FAI ship's log cooks it down to six (three per side).

#102 healey36

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Posted 03 July 2021 - 10:04 AM

Bangor-class minesweeper HMS Seaham:

HMS Seaham

Viking Forge 1/2400 casting, guitar-string masts, ODGW etched base.

HMS Seaham was launched in June, 1941, built using funds raised by the townspeople of Seaham, a seaside village on the Durham coast. I hadn't realized that this sort of thing went on in Britain, but a bit of further reading revealed it was quite common, numerous vessels being built with town sponsors.

According to James Colledge, the Bangor-class was intended for a coastal minesweeping role, but was soon pressed into other duties including sea patrols and convoy escort. Being substantially shorter in length than either the preceeding Halcyon-class and succeeding Algerine-class, the Bangor-class was said to be a dreadful ship in heavy seas.

Seaham had a pair of reciprocating steam plants that drove twin screws to a top speed of around 16 knots. She was sent to the Mediterranean where she toiled for some 18 months, having a hand in the capture of an Italian submarine. In the months leading up to Normandy, she returned to Britain where she was converted to a rescue tug. All of her minesweeping gear was removed and her aft 20mm was moved behind her funnel amidships.

After the war, she was allocated to the Fishery Protection Squadron (today's Overseas Patrol Squadron), then sold to Burma in 1947 where she reportedly served as a tug and buoy vessel, then was converted back to a minesweeper. In 1948, some three years after the end of hostilities, the ship (now the Burmese Chinthe) was undone by her old nemesis, running afoul of a drifting Japanese mine, and sank. Some three years after VE Day, Seaham's war was finally over.



#103 healey36

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Posted 10 July 2021 - 09:24 AM

I've taken a break from the fleets for a bit to paint a few tanks for a mate of mine. After a recent MP game where the OB was run light due to a lack of models, he asked me if I'd help him add a few. His collection is an assortment of 15mm (1/100) stuff he's painted himself, stuff painted by mates, or stuff he's acquired "pre-painted", and it's comprised of models he's accumulated over many years. A few are plastic, some are resin, with the bulk being white-metal/pewter/lead castings. As you can imagine, the quality over forty years varies wildly, so I figured I couldn't embarrass myself (never a safe assumption).

 

He needed French tanks, primarily the light (H-35, H-39, R-35, R-39, and others) and a few medium (primarily Somua S-35). I offered to help out with the light tanks, of which he needed the largest number. His requirements regarding schemes and markings were minimal, just such that vehicles could be individually tracked on the table. That's pretty wide-open, playing into my anorak tendencies, lol.

 

Finding models was somewhat problematic. A quick run through my domestic suppliers turned up little, but it was worse than that. I soon discovered that quite a few of the old "go-tos" were no longer in the trade, some not even around anymore. The same with a number of the guys in the UK, and what models I could find there, the shipping cost was a deal-breaker. An effort to run down some NOS FoW turned up nothing, but that would also likely have proved too expensive. Having recently bought some ships from folks on Shapeways, I looked there to see if anyone was 3D printing versions of these tanks. That turned up nothing, but I hit pay-dirt on the online auction sites, finding a few sellers pushing out some very nice 3D models.

 

I needed to track down some reference materials on paint schemes and markings/numbering. There's a lot of information out there, much of it contradictory. Looking at photographs, I realized the schemes were pretty wide-ranging, with some relatively simple and others very complex. Markings were similarly highly variable. Since I wasn't tied to specific unit markings, a general description of French camouflage schemes and marking was all I needed...imagination would suffice for the rest. I have a copy of Zaloga's Blitzkrieg: Armor Camouflage & Markings, 1939-1940 and decided to use that for inspiration.

 

I started with the Hotchkiss H-35, a prewar two-man light tank that proved largely worthless on the field. They were originally designed primarily as support for the infantry, but would instead find use in the French "cavalry" outfits (although some would find assignment to the infantry as originally conceived). The prewar paint schemes, according to Zaloga, were pretty complex, primarily irregular bands of dark tan, red-brown, olive, and light tan, outlined in black. Shortly before and during those few months of the war, schemes became much less complicated as tanks were built, painted, then rushed to the front. Tanks assigned to the infantry, however, were typically just an overall olive drab, and I decided that, at least on this first attempt, the H-35s would get the infantry-support scheme.

 

French unit markings are complicated, leaning heavily on graphical representations instead of simple numbering. You've probably seen examples of the French "playing card" symbology that was developed during the First World War and carried forward to the Second. This, together with a liberal use of geometric shapes, roundels, and numbers makes it a bit hairy Fortunately, Zaloga provides a decent run-down of the logic. 

 

Finding decals was pretty easy. I reached out to I-94 Enterprises and picked up sets FR-100 and FR-101. With FR-101, there's enough individual markings to outfit quite a few tanks, but only two or three of each section (French equivalent of a platoon). If you're planning to paint all of the tanks for each section of a company, you're going to need multiple sets. They are relatively inexpensive, so not a big deal. Set FR-101 also includes a few tank names, something sanctioned by the French military and seen often in photographs. Zaloga doesn't go into great detail as to how naming worked, but based on photos I've looked at, it seems there was some logic to it, at least occasionally. 

 

The number of tanks in a section seems to range between 3-5, so a company of four sections had anywhere from 12-20 tanks at full strength. Units that have seen any significant action, typically less. French mechanical reliability was poor, so vehicle attrition was high, even without a shot being fired. In view of this, the numbers vary widely. The ODGW MP data-book and the GHQ website offer some decent TO&E info regarding what things would look like ideally.

 

So I ordered a bunch of tanks from different printers. Some are hull-and-turret two-piece prints, others are hull-turret-tracks/bogies four-piece prints. I'm using Loctite GO2 for assembly, which seems to work well. Paint is pretty much whatever is in the cabinet. It ranges from Humbrol and Testors enamels to Tamiya, Vallejo, and Howard Hues acrylics, along with some pretty generic acrylic craft paints from Michael's (I've had decent results using craft paints, but I use the pigment-rich more expensive ones). I have a number of Vallejo water-based washes which I use with a drop or two of Vallejo matt medium (70-540). I use an old (ancient) bottle of MicroSol for the decals, and when everything is done, it gets an overspray of Tamiya clear matte.

 

So that's it. I'll post a few pics of stuff as I progress. First up, the H-35 in 15mm (1/100):

H 35 C

H 35 D
These would be tanks 3 and 5 of 1st Section (Spade), 3rd Company (triangle).


#104 Peter M. Skaar

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Posted 10 July 2021 - 02:44 PM

Your French tanks look great, Healey!  So, all the decals are available through I-94?  I may have to get some if they are.

I actually have a fair number of GHQ WWII French tanks including Renault, Hotchkiss, Somua, and Char B types as well as their other vehicles and even have some infantry.  I admit that doing a France 1940 project is pretty far down on my priority list right now but who knows.  I am currently working on some things for Barbarossa, NW Europe 1944, and eventually back to North Africa as well.  That alone should keep me busy for quite a while.

Thanks for sharing you work.  Hopefully it will inspire others to paint and play more Mein Panzer.



#105 healey36

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Posted 10 July 2021 - 08:26 PM

Thanks, Peter. Painting and detailing these was fun. I did a dozen of the H-35s; now I’m ready to move on to R-35s.

Yes, I used I-94 sets for these (FR-100 for the roundels, FR-101 for the section markings, and RU-106 for the numbers, all 15mm-1/100). I have a 1/285 set from GHQ (D-14), which I’ve not yet used. I’ve got some 1/285-scale French stuff painted and detailed, with many blisters untouched.

My favorite part of the war is the first 24 months or so, a time when the tanks were less well-armored and the main guns were still relatively light. I gravitate to the somewhat esoteric, as you probably have figured out, lol.

#106 Peter M. Skaar

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Posted 08 January 2022 - 03:40 PM

No problem with the esoteric for me, Paul.  Sometimes its great to do things that everyone else isn't doing.  I have a fair number of various makes of GHQ Early War tanks and infantry including Polish and French.  Mind you, I don't have any of these painted yet but I do have them.

I also have Hungarian vehicles and infantry and Romanian infantry as well.  I have not put these in my painting queue either as I have several other projects for 2023 lined up for completion and some others to start on.  I will provide my project list here later.

Have a great 2023!



#107 healey36

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Posted 27 January 2022 - 11:01 AM

Lol, I want to have a great 2022 first!



#108 Peter M. Skaar

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Posted 27 January 2022 - 06:29 PM

Yeah, that's what I meant, Healey.  I'm happy the Forum is back and running at least.



#109 Peter M. Skaar

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Posted 31 January 2022 - 09:37 AM

I am working on some GHQ WWII German half-tracks for Mein Panzer.  These are going to be used in my mid to late War scenarios.  Here are some pictures of the group in progress.  Right now, I have 30 Sdkfz 251 and 250 half-tracks in the works.

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#110 healey36

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Posted 01 February 2022 - 09:34 AM

Looking good, Peter. What cement do you use to hold the figures on the nail-heads? I typically use a dab of rubber cement, but I'm hearing of folks using a spot of white glue.



#111 Peter M. Skaar

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Posted 01 February 2022 - 06:05 PM

Hi Healey

Thanks very much!  I use Zap-A-Gap cyanoacrylate glue aka crazy glue to hold them until I pop them off.



#112 Kenny Noe

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Posted 08 February 2022 - 10:34 AM

Looking good!!!  Glad to see some love for Mein Panzer!!



#113 Peter M. Skaar

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Posted 09 February 2022 - 03:38 AM

Hi Kenny

I do like the Mein Panzer rules very much.  I think they are a very good set of rules overall.  I do wonder why they don't get a bit more love on some of the other miniature forums such as TMP.  I do plug them when I can.



#114 healey36

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Posted 09 February 2022 - 01:15 PM

MP is a nice set of rules, with just the right blend of detail and abstraction that leads to and accommodates a playable set.

 

Not much going on here, yet it took days to produce another ship for the fleet cabinet, this being the French transport Golo by Viking Forge:

 

Golo
 
Added guitar string masts, fitted to an ODGW etched base. No label, as I expect Golo could pass for any number of coastal steamers seen during both wars.

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#115 Peter M. Skaar

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Posted 02 March 2022 - 08:52 AM

Hi Healey

Another great looking ship you have there.  These are interesting pieces on ships you don't see every day.



#116 healey36

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Posted 02 March 2022 - 09:22 AM

Thanks, Peter. I'll be the first to admit the fleet cabinets have a lot of esoteric items in them.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the Hanomags. Lots of nice versions there.

 

Not much going on here right now. The game group seems to have dispersed somewhat (temporarily, I hope). In the meantime, I started a 1/2400 version of Graf Spee by Viking Forge (when it comes to River Plate, I just can't help myself). This is a really old casting, so it needs a bit of work. So far, I've just added a couple of masts fashioned from bits of brass rod. Somewhere in the bit box I have a few Arado floatplanes. Otherwise, I might just leave it at that and begin the paint job.

 

Graf Spee


#117 Peter M. Skaar

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Posted 03 March 2022 - 09:02 PM

Thanks, Healey!  As I mentioned, I need to get back to doing some actual gaming myself.  There has been a lot going on the last few months including taking care of my Dad and Stepmom both in their 90s and my own bout with Covid which wasn't too serious but put me out of commission for a while.

I will be interested to see your Graf Spee when it is completed.  I will show some of the camo work I have done so far on the Hanomags but I have not done any painting in the last 3 weeks or so.  I hope to get back to it soon.



#118 healey36

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Posted 07 March 2022 - 06:59 PM

Peter, glad you and your folks passed through the illness and returned to health. Here we lost a number of folks, including a couple mates from the game group, both 70+. My wife and I both loaded up on shots and kept to ourselves as much as possible. Hopefully this thing is winding down now.

Barricaded in the house, one would think I’d have crushed the lead pile, but I think I’m worse off now than before it all started, lol. I gotta stay off the web...

#119 ProfGRP

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Posted 26 April 2022 - 09:59 AM

Does anyone model funnel smoke on WWI ships?



#120 healey36

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Posted 28 April 2022 - 05:43 PM

I, for one, have never tried it, but to be honest, I never found compelled to add simulated smoke. My game scale is 1/2400 and smaller, so I’m not sure how one would best attempt it.

Now, I’ve seen some spectacularly modeled near-miss splashes.






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