So, time to dig them out and show what the finished articles look like.
UNIC P107 U 304(F) troop carriers
These are 'built' straight from the EWM 'kits' with a resin body and white metal wheels, tracked running gear and MG42 mount. The figures are also those supplied with the vehicle, albeit I only used 6 of the 8 seated infantrymen provided. The camouflage scheme is taken from a WW2 photograph of this vehicle and gives them (IMO) a lot of character.
One slight niggle is that the gun shield on the MG42 mount on the P107 was different but I decided to let that pass.
The driver and commander have been glued into the front seats as shown below alongside the 150mm self-propelled gun.
The seated infantrymen in the back can be removed, as they are all attached by their feet to a false floor as described in a previous post (Becker's Specials - Build Complete-ish).
Sdkfz 135/1 150 SPG LS(f), 150mm self-propelled gun
This was also pretty much built straight from the 'kit', also with a resin body, and white metal gun mounting and recoil spade. The few minor changes also were also discussed in the earlier post.
The camouflage scheme for this vehicle was taken from this book which I had treated myself to; it's jam-packed with beautiful artwork.
Pak40 Somua MCG S307(f) Panzerjäger
This vehicle was the real inspiration for the whole batch as it's in the Too Fat Lardies 'Kampfgruppe von Luck' pint-sized campaign and Hans Hoeller's memoirs 'D-Day Tank Hunter'. Its camouflage scheme was also taken from the book mentioned above but slightly tweaked to match that in the photos of Hans Hoeller's book. As this was an ambitious kit-bash of the EWM P107 kit I shall indulge myself with a flurry of captioned photos.
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| Left side |
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| Right side |
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| Front |
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| Rear |
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| Close-up of fighting compartment |
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| Close-up of scratch-built tools |
It's not perfect, but I'm still pretty pleased with this effort, and it deserved the up-market crew from AB Figures (actually a Flak crew) who are secured by magnets in the figures and the seats. The biggest error is the retention of the seating down either side of the fighting compartment. This was error in reading the plans I used but fixing it would've undone much of the work put in and I doubted the structural integrity of the resin body would survive their removal so I decided to leave it as is.
Really nice work Rob, look forward to seeing them in the pint sized campaign games....thanks for sharing Paul T@EWM
ReplyDeleteThanks, it'll be a while before I play that campaign but it will get posted when I do.
DeleteThese look fab Rob…
ReplyDeleteI love those unusual Franco-German vehicles and the camouflage really makes them stand out… Maybe not what you would want with camouflage though 😁
All the best. Aly
Cheers, but they really break up the shape by confusing the eye and that is what you want.
DeleteA very interesting collection of vehicles and the camouflage has that sprayed on look to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased you said they had a 'sprayed on' look. That was just what I was going for on the S307(f), I specially cut up a brush to stipple it on; completely ruined the brush but worth it IMO.
DeleteNice eclectic range of AFVs, one of the very appealing aspects of the Von Luck campaign. Do you intend using the v1 elite rules for the Paras? Personally, I’d drop that and just give them an automatic red command dice. The opening scenario can end up very one sided if the Paras are not all there yet. Sometimes it’s wiser for the British player to try and inflict a few casualties before withdrawing gracefully before taking too many casualties themselves (which they can ill afford so early on).
ReplyDeleteThanks, but it'll be a while before the paras are ready. I was going to use them as per the v2 rules, not elite but all the junior leaders are superior so can activate as if either a junior or senior leader. I'm in the middle of writing up game 2 from the Gembloux Gap campaign and this time the dice liked me - did you see the AAR for the first game? A catastrophe of the first order.
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