Civilians

I've had my eye on some non-coms for a while now to add some interest to my tables and possibly provide an in-game element of randomness, if I can represent civilians decently with rules that aren't too janky or overbearing.

The models I have painted here are a set of Civilians/ Refugees from 1st Corps. This dejected group  comes in a pack of twelve. I've supplemented this with the Runaway Couple pair and the Civilian/ Refugee Cart 2. In my head, I can picture countless WW2 films where columns of displaced families lined the roads or clogged up squares and junctions as armed forces attempted to maneouvre around or through them. 

I've had my eye on these guys for a good while, but have always had more pressing projects to buy and paint to make up my armies and terrain. This was always going to be a nice addition, but never a priority. But then my partner said to me recently, 'Don't you ever get fed up of painting green, grey or brown? What could you paint in different colours instead?' So, I showed her to 1st Corps civilians and a few others, and she very kindly bought the 12 figure pack for me! Now I had no excuse for not getting my other colours out.

To accompany the foot traffic, I've also painted up the Civilian/ Refugee Cart 2 from 1st Corps. I had to fill in a few air bubbles on the resin cart/ luggage (including the lower half of the mother's face), but despite that bit of extra work, I'm really happy with this model.

My Citroen Traction Avant, from Anyscale, has now joined the refugee convoy with the addition of a set of metal luggage from Rubicon Miniatures. The four pieces fit nicely- I was worried the scale, modelling might be slightly off, but everything fits perfectly. Now I need to come up with some rules for these unfortunate guys when finding themselves on a battlefield

Terrain- A Scattering of Stuff!

The saying that armies can get finished, but scenery just keeps on going is starting to feel like a truism for me... Now that I've got a reasonable amount of scenery made, I can start playing around with set-ups for my games. I really enjoy placing terrain on the table and seeing what I can arrange where. Can I make it seem believable? Would buildings fall in the positions I've put them in? What would sensibly go where? I like asking those questions, but don't always manage to reach a satisfactory answer. I'm limited by the terrain I have built and completed so far. Another building 'over there' might have just finished a layout off, but as I make more bits and bobs, I'm managing to make increasingly pleasing arrangements. But, ironically, as I've managed to put more scenery onto my table, I've identified a new problem. Things aren't cluttered enough!

What I mean by this is street clutter. Day-to-day detritus. The stuff people leave lying around to show that they exist in a place. People are messy, and people in wars even more so! Wargames terrain and tables can be clean and crisp and free from mess, unless it's a bomb-blasted cityscape, of course, but little details can add interest and enjoyment and credibility and don't need to be expensive or over complicated. From a game perspective, clutter can also provide valuable cover or cause blockages to movement and lines of sight. It can add colour to a game and help support a narrative. Or, as I've realised, it can just help make things look more interesting... 

There's a mixture of resin and 3D printed stuff here. The oildrums are all from Anyscale Models, a company I have used for quite a few bits and pieces. They have a wide range of 'clutter' and some really nice WW2 vehicles in 28mm scale and others. Well worth a check out. The barrels are 3D purchases from eBay and the crates/ barricades are from Charlie Foxtrot.

The water pumps are from Hovels, which I got at the same time as my resin bridge. The woodpile came in the eBay pack with the barrels, above.

Opel Blitz

This is an Anyscale Models resin that I'd had my eye on ever since I'd discovered the company. I wanted to include military debris on my tables, as some zones would be fought over multiple times and still have the wreckage from previous engagements littered around. I painted it up to look like the grey Opel Blitz in my Heer army, and added a few decals left over from the Warlord sheet. Thematically, it could be a strafed truck carrying important cargo that either side needs to retrieve, which could have a scenario built around it? Or, it could just be a cool piece of scenery blocking a road or junction. The second picture shows some 'clutter' loaded on the flatbed.

Sherman Tank

Same as for the Opel Blitz wreck, I thought some fighting vehicle debris would look good, and this Anyscale Models resin is perfect. They've got several other examples for different nations, but these were the two that fit my current armies. If I can find cheap vehicle models that I can bash up, I'll definitely add some more to my collection to represent roadblocks, ambushes and aerial strafing runs. I painted this Sherman to represent a British/ Commonwealth vehicle rather than  American. I need to get some divisional symbols, so Allied stars and War Department serial numbers will have to do for now.

British Airborne Pt.13- Engineers

 Airborne Royal Engineers

Here is the small squad of engineers that I have planned to include with my British paras for a good while now. Their transport, an airlifted universal carrier, has been waiting for them for quite some time, but I am happy that both have seen action on the tabletop for the first time together already here .

The models come from the metal British Paratrooper Section box from Warlord. I used some of the other models to flesh out my  Intelligence Officer's team but kept these five aside to make engineers. My aim is to use them to remove obstacles- barbed wire and minefields- on the table, so chose the grenade throwers to represent this tenuously. A LMG team and SMG armed NCO complete the squad. In some games, I will swap out the LMG team and add the flamethrower team I have also painted- they cost the same points and allow for bunker/ strongpoint assaults also.

I like how these guys came out. Overall, I feel these are some of the best British airborne I've painted. Brilliant- I'm nearing the end of the army and am finally getting the hang of it!

Russians Pt.11- Rota Razvedki Mounted Reconnaissance Squad

Here is the squad that will accompany my M3 White Scout car onto the table. Constructed from a mixture of troopers pulled from several different places, I was able to build this squad from quite a few already painted figures that needed only a few completing to finish off the squad.

All of the male SMG soldiers are troopers I have swapped out of my Tank Hunter teams to make way for Bad Squiddo's female soldier additions, which made up most of the squad for me, right there! The rifle-armed trooper with the beard was included in my LMG Squad, but I swapped him out to make my banner bearer a permanent addition to that squad. The NCO is an officer that came with the original Red Army box from Warlord (as did all of the other figures, bar one) and looked suitably gnarly and experienced to represent a veteran leader. The final member of the squad is a Bad Squiddo female trooper from their recent Kickstarter project. She's actually a tank rider, but I've transferred her into the recon troops. As one of the two rifle armed troopers, she can elect to stay in the scout car an 'man' one of the MMGs as per the Mounted Recon rule found in Fortress Budapest. Or, they can all debus and fight normally.

Russians Pt.10- SU-76 & M3 White Scout Car

SU-76

I like this little SPG. In BA it's a cheap and cheerful option before you get caught up in the bigger SU tank hunters and mobile howitzers. I like the basic nature of this vehicle- it looks cramped and uncomfortable for 3 men to live and operate in, so no wonder its nickname was 'Suka' or 'bitch' among its crews!

I like that the Zis-3 armament allows this little vehicle to work in a couple of different ways- as an AT gun and as a howitzer- which makes it quite versatile. This caused me quite a headache when I first started playing BA. I was getting my head around a new rules system and was having confusion with howitzers being able to fire indirectly or under open sights, and then, on top of that, I could opt to use this weapon as a light AT gun as well!

I got over that hurdle, but I think it meant I under-utilised my SU-76 for a good while as I figured out what it was best suited for. It's not just a smaller, more brittle StuG. It's got a fair bit of utility, and I've noticed it can slip under an opponent's radar as they immediately focus all of their attention on the T-34s...

Just a few of Debris of War stowage pieces added here. There's enough detail on this Warlord resin kit already. A firm favourite of mine...

Lend-Lease M3 White Scout Car

I had never considered an armoured car or similar type of transport for my Soviets because I had a squad of scouts already and wasn't particularly interested in collecting or painting anything to fill that slot in my army. But after reading the Fortress Budapest Campaign book, I became interested in the Rota Razvedki Mounted Reconnaissance Squad option that was detailed there.

I'd always liked the Warlord Lend-Lease Universal Carrier with Russian crew models, but found I preferred the M3 White Scout Car instead! The transport capacity is larger, allowing for a bigger squad, and the Mounted Recon rules give the option of leaving members aboard to man all of the machine guns on the vehicle.

The finished model is pretty much as it comes, with the only addition being a Debris of War petrol can. I like the crew members, looking as though they're scanning the surrounding countryside for danger. Next task (of many), is build and paint the squad that will travel in the thing...

Russians Pt.9- T-34s (+Tank Riders)

T-34/85 No.1

This was the first BA vehicle I purchased and built. Without knowledge of the wider range of companies out there at that point, I went straight for a Warlord plastic vehicle. In a min/max moment, I also opted for the T-34/85, but I intend to get some T-34/76 turrets to swap out for playing mid-war games.

I like this kit. I added a Warlord tank commander and a few pieces of Debris of War stowage to make the tank look more interesting and less bare, but wanted to keep it relatively uncluttered so that tank rider figures could be placed on the hull more easily.

T-34/85 No.2

As I wanted to grow my Soviet force to play larger games, I became aware of other companies that offered WW2 vehicles in different ways. I'd never contemplated 3D printing up to then, but came across Paint & Glue Miniatures and my eyes were opened to new possibilities. Here was a way to flesh out the number of vehicles in my force in a much cheaper way than if I relied on plastic or resin kits.

I wasn't disappointed. The model is light, robust, well detailed and serves it's purpose perfectly. The material it was printed in was bright blue, which was quite startling, but it painted up just fine. Since then, I have returned to Paint & Glue several times for vehicles for my German and British Airborne forces and have not been disappointed.

I chose to keep this tank free from stowage and additions because I had seen plenty of photographic evidence showing Soviet tanks appearing that way. Maybe the lightning speed that some armies raced through Eastern Europe and into Germany meant they didn't have much time to stop? Maybe Soviet propoganda shots avoided the more scruffily laden tanks? You see tons of pictures of Shermans with sandbags, packs and GIs hanging off of them... Either way, It meant I got to paint up this guy pretty quickly and get it onto the table. I like the wood saw strapped to the side and the mismatched fuel tanks.

Tank Riders

Another auto-include for my Soviets were these guys. I have one of my two Tank Rider/ SMG squads built and painted, but just needed the figures to represent them riding into battle. I bought two packs, knowing I'd get some multiples, and split them into two teams for each of my T-34s. I've only painted one group up so far, but the second bunch will get painted when the second SMG squad is finished, someday... 

                            

After the Bad Squiddo Soviet Women Kickstarter was completed, I now had another gal to add to this little group. I painted up the bearded LMG trooper beside her too, to make six tank riders in total, so I can have three on each tank when I finally paint up my second Tank Rider squad.

German Heer Pt.9- Tanks (& SPGs)

StuG III Ausf G

This is, hands down, my favourite German vehicle of WW2. I knew immediately that I wanted to include one in my force. This is a plastic Warlord kit, complete with schurzen armoured skirts.

I have a Pen & Sword book from their Images of War series that focuses on the StuG. It shows it's development over the years of WW2, using extensive archival photography. There are some excellent pictures from all theatres of conflict which proved really helpful. I particularly liked the pics of laden StuGs covered in all manner of stowage and equipment. As infantry support vehicles, they clearly got plenty of stuff dumped on them by the men they fought alongside. There was one picture of a StuG fording a river with a dispatch rider's motorbike slung on the back! This inspired me to cram tons of stowage onto the back of my StuG. When I later discovered the rules for Begliet squads that can ride on StuGs, I knew my decision was correct. I may sling a motorbike on the back at some point too...

Panzer IV Ausf H

I knew I didn't want to include Panthers and Tigers in my German force. Numerically, there were never that many of either, and I don't feel BA represents their enormous unreliability that well. They are enormous point sinks for an army list, and can be quite unbalancing/ dominating on the battlefield. No, I was always going to use Panzer IVs in my army- the workhorse battletank of the Wehrmacht.

There are so many excellent models out there to represent every kind of fighting vehicle in WW2. Plastic. Resin. 3D printed. So much choice. I went for a 3D printed model from Paint & Glue, because, at the time, I was on a budget, and it meant I could get a complete 2-part kit relatively cheaply and quickly get it onto the table. I've got several P&G vehicles in my collection, and this one was not a disappointment again. 

I tried to add shrubbery to this model to give extra camouflage, but ended up going way too over the top. The end result looked ridiculous, so I stripped off the clump foliage I'd applied and tried again. I was a bit more sparing the second time, and also added bits of a seafoam tree to vary the texture. I'm happier with the second attempt. If I add another Panzer IV to this army, I probably won't attempt this again, however.

German Heer Pt.8- Halftracks

Sd.Kfz 251/1 'Hanomag'

This was the kit included in the 1st Edition BA boxed set 'D-Day Firefight'. It sat in my garage for ages while I collected my Soviet army, and then got dusted off as the Germans got their turn. I use this for transporting my veteran Grenadier squad on the battlefield, mostly, but have used it for plenty of other squads.

I added stowage to make the vehicle look a bit more interesting, using a mixture of plastic components and Debris of War resin stowage. I also added a couple of passengers, which were included on the Sd.Kfz 251/10 upgrade sprue (see below) included in the 'Band of Brothers' 2nd Edition starter box. I couldn't fit them in that vehicle with the firer of the PaK 36, so included them here. I think this is an Ausf C variant- older and more complex to manufacture.

Sd.Kfz 251/10

I wasn't bothered in collecting one of these Hanomag variants, but it came in the 'Band of Brothers' boxset. I wondered whether to build it as a standard Sd.Kfz 251/1, but decided on a bit of variety instead. The reduced transport capacity of 8 is still decent, so I tend to carry my HQ and a weapon team or two, depending on the scenario being played. Again, I added some plastic and resin Debris of War stowage. This is a later variant Ausf D vehicle, I believe.

German Heer Pt.7- Transports

Opel Blitz Truck 1

I bought this Warlord plastic kit early on in collecting my German army, but didn't build it until much later. My big reason for getting it was the squad of infantry that can be riding in the back. I'd started painting my vehicles in Dunkelgelb yellow and camo colours, but wanted to paint this one in grey, to try out the paint scheme. Inspired by the model shown in the instruction booklet, I produced what looks like a more early-war German vehicle, but my rationalization is, perhaps this vehicle missed the directive to shift to Dunkelgelb in 1943-44? Either way, I wanted to paint a grey truck! I knew I'd get another Opel Blitz and paint it yellow after that, so grey it was...

I added some heads from the Grenadier sprue to the transported squad, so they tied in with the other infantry. I also gave the NCO a wine bottle to swig. Maybe he'll pass it around to his men?

Opel Blitz Truck 2

This is a 3D printed model from Paint & Glue. It's a simple, one piece vehicle, which allowed me to add another transport to my force quickly and cheaply. I've got no complaints about the model, it does what it needs to perfectly. I finished it off pretty quickly, though, and I think that shows. I will go back and add some more detail to this, I think...

German Heer Pt.6- Reconnaissance

 Aufklarungs Recon Squad

This nifty little force option appeared in the Operation Market Garden campaign book. I like scouts and recon troops in general, and was happy to see this addition for the German army. I followed the suggestion in the unit entry- NCO with SMG/ MP40, 2-man LMG/ MG42 team and 2 riflemen- for my squad to ride in a Sd.Kfz 250/1 reconnaissance halftrack. As a small unit of veterans, they are more thematic than game changing, but I like their mobility and the possibility that they can cause an opponent problems with their two LMGs.

I bought a single sprue of Warlord Afrika Korps for this squad as there are plenty of heads wearing goggles, which I think a veteran recon squad in a halftrack would acquire for themselves. This also made them stand out from all the other plastic grenadiers that I have in the army a bit more to identify their different role. I'm sure the cut of the tropical uniform is wrong for northern Europe, but I just painted them in feldgrau colours and they look alright to me. Job done!

The Sd.Kfz 250/1 halftrack is a Paint & Glue 3D print. I have several of their vehicles across all of my BA forces, and I really like how affordable they are compared to resin or plastic multi=part kits. I followed the camo pattern that I've used for my other German fighting vehicles here, but added a good deal of stowage to this vehicle because I wanted to emphasise the self-sufficiency of this unit and their function of ranging ahead of the main force. They carry a lot of stowage- mostly Debris of War resin, but also plastic parts from the Grenadier sprue again to tie everything in.

Motorbike and Sidecar

I like that this was included in the first BA Errata/ FAQ as an 'Armoured Car' option for German armies. I can picture these things zipping around in most of the WW2 movies I've ever seen, so to be able to field them in BA was difficult to ignore.

My only addition to this Warlord kit was a piece of stowage attached to the back of the sidecar, beneath the spare wheel. This rolled up tarp allowed me to paint something in Sumpfmuster camo to tie in with my late-war force. Without it, I felt the model looked too 'early war', even though I'd painted the motorbike in Dunkelgelb.

On the tabletop, this is quite a brittle little unit, but it has great speed and can be used to harry your opponent's flanks. Plus, as an 'armoured car' it can spot Hidden troops at greater distances then other units. Not bad for the points!