First up, Battlefronts Jagdpanther platoon of three 'tank hunters'. Now these don't really fit with my Panzer Lehr forces, but this to me is one of those WWII vehicles that just presses all the right buttons...
There is something just 'menacing' about these armoured fighting vehicles.... I hesitate to use the word 'tank', as they characteristically, don't have a turret. A massive 8.8cm gun (the same as fitted to the King Tiger), which could knock out any allied tank, and a huge sloping armoured bow plate, which you can clearly imagine any allied tank shells just bouncing harmlessly off... These things must have been quite a terrifying prospect for allied tankers to come up against!?
From what reading I have found, only 12 jagdpanthers made it to participate in the Normandy campaign, though many more fought on the eastern front. So my reasoning for adding these to my forces, was that once the allies break through my Normandy coast defenders, elements of 326th Grenadier forces will be the next line of defense, and they get these tank hunters as a support choice. Can't wait to try them out...
The jagdpanthers are a cast resin hull, with metal tracks, barrels and other detailing. There was quite a bit of stowage options as extras in the box, but to be honest the resin hull already had a load of stowage cast on them, so I saw no need to further 'clutter' the hulls.
Painted in a German late war colour scheme, base of dunkelgelb, and broad stripes of green and brown, which when shade washed and then drybrush highlighted up, blend together quite well.
The Decals are by DOM. The BF box does include decals but I have found their German decals to be rather poor, with the black and white of the black crosses and tank numbers poorly aligned, as was the case when I tried the ones in the set.
Next up, some Opel Blitz 3 ton trucks. I originally bought these to be used as an optional portee mount for the 3.7cm FlaK guns I finished recently. But in reality the gun base plate would not fit in the rear truck flatbed, without cutting off the sides, which I didn't want to do. So in the end I kept the trucks as is. No doubt they will come in useful.
I can use them as transport for my panzergrenadiers, or perhaps as a supply truck for pioneers. They were widely used by the Germans, where mechanised transport was a priority. I could even just use them an objective marker...
Although not too clear from the pictures, there is a driver in the cab, who had to be painted first and glued into place before the cab roof was glued down. The rear canopy was an optional fit.
Next up a quick shot of another, and I think, last Panzerfaust command team I need for my Lehr panzergrenadiers.
The last platoon for today, is a Motorcycle and side-car BMW recce platoon. These are another of those iconic features of Wehrmacht forces, another image from my youth watching all those WWII war movies, just about every one of these movies had these motorbike teams roaring about.
They were used extensively throughout the war, and here are depicted in their late war colour scheme.
I have come to realise just how important recce troops are in the game, being able to scout ahead of the army's main forces, checking out likely ambush locations, and spotting hidden enemy troops, reporting their positions and thus making it easier to target them by your main force elements, thanks to the 'eyes & ears' rule.
Given the chance, once the recce role is complete they can also be used to quickly threaten exposed objectives. They each also sport an MG and can spit out a fair amount of fire power, for such a small size platoon. They can also dismount as required at which point they would need to be substituted by separate infantry teams.
A word of warning, they were a bit of a bugger to put together! All the crews come separate from the bike and the bike and side-car are also separate pieces from each other. But the worst bit was the fact that the 'drivers' arms and handlebars were also a separate piece, so you had to glue the drivers body to the bike, hopefully at the right angle, then glue the arms/handlebars into place between the two. Very fiddly! I spent a fair bit of time super-gluing my fingers together!
But my patience paid off, and I am pleased with how they have turned out. I look forward to trying them out properly sometime soon.
Finally for today, more WIP shots of my Normandy Beach. Another two bottles of Woodland Scenics water resin arrived in the mail over the weekend and these have been coloured and poured. I think its just about where I want it now, though I am tempted to add another bottles worth of resin before adding final wave effects.
Scott
