Sunday 13 January 2013

348 Sherman Patrol!

Hullo!

Well now, these are the two tank platoons I finished over Christmas to support my Flames of War 11th Armoured Division force:
They're nominally from 3 RTR (Royal Tank Regt), but please let me make the following notes:
1) I know the 'Taurus Pursuant' divisional markings are huge, but they're the only ones I could find and I can't make my own.
2) The decals are from the Plastic Soldier Company, as are 5/8 of the tanks in the pics. The Platic Soldier Company makes a an absolutely beautiful British Sherman/Firefly model - 5 vehicles for about £17 - which is a fraction of the cost of the Battlefront ones. Which leads me onto...
3) ...Yes, I know that the three resin tanks are US Shermans. They're the ones from the old Flames of War starter set. Sorry: I'm a cheapskate and not hell-bent on historical accuracy (see point 1, above!). The may be rotated out of service in the future...
4) Finally, note the lack of tactical air-recognition 'Allied Stars'. The force I'm compiling is supposed to be a couple of weeks after D-Day, and I've heard/read that a number of British units painted them out soon after landing. I don't know whether 3RTR did, but I'm rubbish at tiny free-hand and devoid of decals!

Naturally, this is their current 'transport solution':
 
The Germans'll never suspect Michael Flatley!

I was amazed at how drab and muted 'real' tanks are to paint after the deliberate contrasts we see in 40k...

Thanks all,

More 40K soon - and a bit of a history post too, methinks...

- D.

15 comments:

  1. Hmmm...It appears I forgot the red '52' flashes on the fronts of the hull. Bugger.

    Also, I should've noted that a couple of the guns frosted when I varnished them - I'll have to address that forthwith...

    ReplyDelete
  2. A fine outing of armour! Damn, I need to get on with my own. Size-wise, how do the PSC shermans match up against the Battlefront models?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm liking the transport solution for them but river dance! tell me that was a charity shop purchase.

    A good book about tanks on and after d day is By Tank into Normandy by Stuart Hills. Really good read.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks!

    Dai: the difference is almost imperceptible with the ones I've got, except the PSC ones weigh nothing (I put ballast in mine to give them substance), have a slightly lower profile (without the resin 'plug' beneath the BF Shermans' hulls) and are beautifully crisp.

    That said, I guess the old BF freebie Shermans were very old, very unloved casts...

    >Blitzspear: Yes. Yes it was. With tongue firmly in chhek. I bought four, and the others are great too!

    Thanks for the tip...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Now imagining you 'rivvadancin' '

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks great Drax! I especially like the painted crewman--he gives the tank a lot of character and I think you did a good job on him. As a fellow IG player, there's just something about the sight of massed tanks that looks amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. you're quite right about the 'muted' effect of painting real armor. all of the drabs and green/greys make for a very different feel than the 'hypercolor' super heroic schemes used in 40K.

    I find when painting FoW I need to use better lighting, since everything seems to look muted dark green/brown

    ReplyDelete
  8. >Zzzzzz: What can I say? - It's the "full length 98 minute spectacular"!

    >Dan: Thanks - he's even got the black tankie beret and badge! BTW: Wheaton, I see! 'Hullo' to the Western suburbs - my in-laws are all either South-Side or Naperville.

    >Farmpunk: in my experience, the worse the lighting, the better my painting looks! You're dead right though - it makes a real difference.

    Oh, and Blitzspear: I bought the book. Hooray ebay!

    For those of you in the UK on BBC iplayer at the moment there's a rather smug but interesting 2-part documentary on 5RTR.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very nicely painted. On my vehicles (generally 40K) I always try and put loads of shading and highlighting on them. Don't know whether it's just the camera but they look like flat colour, and the natural light works on it and gives it a very natural metal look. Might have to try that on my next WW2 vehicles!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey Drax--unfortunately, wrong Wheaton College. I went to the one in Massachusetts, not the one in Illinois. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. They look really good. Those PSC models look fantastic. I love how the corners of the hull are actually squared off (as opposed to the warped Open Fire shermans). The detail is very crisp. I especially like the detail on the tracks. How were they to assemble?

    I used Dom's Decals for the decals on my models. They fit well for scale and look pretty good in my opinion.

    I've added your blog to my blog roll at Rust and the City as I am excited to see more 11th AD!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dan - whoops! Thanks.

    Cameron - Why, thank you! The PCS tanks are an absolute dream to put together: they're beautifully engineered and yes, 'crisp' is just the right word to describe them. They come with a few extra bits and bobs too, but I've been conservative in adding them on.

    As for Dom's Decals: what an amazing range! Thanks for the tip-off: I ordered a tenner's worth about 5 minutes ago and I shall take great delight in re-marking my vehicles!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Glad I could help. I've been really pleased with Dom's Decals. I made a trade at the club tonight for five PSc shermans in the box still so I am looking forward to getting them and assembling them. I was kind of dreading the thought of assembling more of the shermans from open fire. They are pretty fiddly. I'm glad to hear the PSC ones are better.

    Looking at your pics made me realize I had the wrong bridging marking on my fireflys. I used the sherman's 30 instead of the 33. I will have to go back and change that.

    Looking forward to seeing some more 11th. AD. What are you planning to add next? I have 2 M10cs on my painting table and I am planning on adding some turretless stuarts shortly after that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also, did you get the squadron markings and war department numbers too? They are both a bit tricky to put on but really add some nice detail to the sides of the models.

      Delete
  14. Hi,
    i like your Blog!
    Anf i like your works!
    I follow you.
    If you like to follow me too, i’ll be happy!
    VioletPaint
    See you soon! ^^

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment!