Monday 23 November 2015

SOLD! For Sale: Painted FIW French for Muskets and Tomahawks


EDIT: These are now sold!

Dear readers, I have decided to sell my French for the FIW. This is a complete 200 points force for Muskets and Tomahawks consisting of:
10 Compagnies Franches de la Marine
1 Compagnies Franches de la Marine Officer
6 Canadian Milicien (Militia)
5 Huron allies (ie Indians)

22 models in total.


All the models are from Northstar, except the militia which are from Galloping Major. They are painted and based to a high wargaming standard by me. All the models are matt varnished.

I'm looking to sell them for £149 plus shipping from Sweden. Payment through PayPal.


To sweeten the deal I can throw in 12 unpainted FIW armed civilians from Redoubt Miniatures. For an extra cost, I can paint up these civilians to match the already painted miniatures.

Below are some more pictures of the miniatures. Please note, none of the terrain or movement trays in the pictures above or below are part of the deal.

If you're interested, please contact me at: jonas[dot]mockelstrom[at]gmail[dot]com

Thanks for looking!

The complete force.

Indians

Compagnies Franches de la Marine


Canadian militia

Friday 20 November 2015

Operation Winter Storm: Panzergrenadiers 7 – Marder III


Time to bring in the first vehicle for my Operation Winter Storm project. Not a regular tank though, but rather a mobile anti-tank gun in the form of a Marder III, Sd.Kfz. 139.

Always in search of more powerful ATG:s to counter the new heavier Soviet tanks like the T-34, the Germans began experimenting with converting captured or obsolete tanks to tank destroyers. These became known as the Marder series, and were armed with either captured Soviet 76.2mm F-22 Model 1936 divisional field guns, or German 7.5 cm PaK 40 ATG:s for later versions. This gave them the firepower to destroy the majority of Soviet tanks at the time. The Marders were not fully armoured, due to weight and the space constrains of the small chassis, and they were all open topped.


The Marder III was built on the Czech-supplied Panzer 38(t) and at first fitted with captured Soviet 76.2 mm field guns (Sd.Kfz. 139), and later with the PaK 40 anti-tank gun (Ausf. H and Ausf. M).

Because of their thin armour and open tops, combined with their high silhouettes, Marder III:s were very vulnerable to both tank and artillery fire. They were also risky to use in urban areas and in assault or close-combat situations. Instead they were best suited for defensive or overwatch roles.



Due to these weaknesses, the Marder tanks were subsequently phased out in favour of better armoured tank destroyers with lower profiles, such as the Jagdpanzer 38(t) (also based on the Panzer 38(t) chassi) and the StuG III. However, Marder vehicles were used until the end of the war.


This is a Battlefront model and a rather nice one except for the wheels and running gears which have very soft details. The kit went together very well. The only problem was the "lock" for the gun barrel (the triangular thingy pointing out at the front) which has a very small point of contact, thus making it a bit fiddly to glue in place.



I made the decision to go with Panzer grey rather than a winter camo to make this Marder a bit more versatile. I kept the model pretty "clean", with just some extra tracks at the front and some light weathering on the tracks and lower parts of the hull. However, looking at it now I probably should have weathered the transfers a bit more. And I still haven't decided wether to add an antenna or not – it certainly looks good but how practical is it on a wargaming model?

For the rust effect on the exhaust I used the excellent Rust Effect from Modelmates – so simple to use even I get great results!

Thanks for looking – have a great weekend everyone!

Tuesday 17 November 2015

Operation Winter Storm: Panzergrenadiers 6 – PaK 40


The Germans need something to counter those pesky Soviet tanks so it's time to bring on the heavier stuff in the form of a PaK 40 anti-tank gun.


The PaK 40 (Panzerabwehrkanone 40) had been in development since 1939 but after Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the Soviets began to field more heavily armoured tanks like the T-34 and KV-1 and the Germans found they lacked the necessary firepower to combat these. Thus the development was given an increased priority and the first PaK 40:s were used on the Eastern Front in November 1941. It soon became the main ATG used by the German forces during the later parts of WW2.


The crewmen miniatures are all from Peter Pig, while the gun itself (kindly donated by my good mate Dalauppror – cheers Micke!) is from Battlefront.


In keeping with the rest of this project, I avoided any fancy modelling on the base and just did some simple wheel marks in the mud (not really visible in these photos) and added a couple of ammunitions boxes.

Next up – the first vehicle!

Friday 13 November 2015

Operation Winter Storm: Panzergrenadiers 5 – HMG


Here is the next addition to the German forces for my Operation Winter Storm project: an HMG with crew. This is an MG 34/42 mounted on a tripod to make its sustained fire more effective. Obviously you need lots of men to supply this monster with all the ammunition it spews forth.


The miniatures are from Peter Pig, except for the righthand ammunitions guy who is from Battlefront.


As usual I painted them in a mix of winter gear and regular uniforms/greatcoats.


Thanks for looking – have a great weekend everyone!

Tuesday 3 November 2015

Operation Winter Storm: Panzergrenadiers 4 – Sniper Team

The next support team to be finished for the Operation Winter Storm project are some German snipers.


The miniatures are from Battlefront.


I'm not really that fond of diorama type bases, but here I took the opportunity to indulge in some light modelling as I thought it would suit the miniatures.

Next we're gearing up for the heavier stuff!