December 26, 2021

This last full week of 2021, I focused on my 15mm North Africa collection.  I began painting several Flames of War German APCs… 250/1, 251/C and the 250/3 (radio version).  With those complete except for a final spray of clear flat (It’s been cold and raining), I turned my attention to five Zvezda British A-13 cruisers.  I’ve recently decided I wanted to have some of my tanks to have tank commanders showing in the turrets.  I wasn’t happy with the hatch covers that came with Command Decision in terms of using them open, so I closed them all. When I recently decided to have some commanders showing, I did the first of that sort with my Germans using the Plastic Soldier Company’s Pz. IVF1.  They provide the hatch open or closed.  I have never done Zvezda before and foolishly believed they would be configured much like Plastic Soldier tanks.  I was wrong.  They only come with the hatch covers closed.  I decided to cut the hatch covers off, make a new open hatch out of Evergreen plastic, and used the hatch covers I cut off the Zvezda A-13s for the hatch covers.  It was a lot of work but turned out pretty good.  

My last work of the week was with 2 Gaming Models’ Pz IIIs.  In doing this collection I have been reminded constantly that manufacturers are not consistent in the size of the figures and equipment they produce.  For example, the FoW SdKfz 251/C is larger than the CD 251/C, but the FoW SdKfz 7 is smaller than the CD SdKfz 7.  That reality is very much the case when it comes to Gaming Models.  Their Lancia truck is just about the same as the FoW Lancia, but smaller than the Peter Pig Lancia.  I’m using a lot of the Gaming Models’ Lancia trucks side by side with the FoW version.  More to the point of this posting, the Gaming Models’ Pz III is very much smaller than any of the other manufacturers’ Pz III.  I bought a couple of the Gaming Models’ Pz III (or probably Craig included them as gifts) with one of my orders.  They are too small (significantly too small) to be side-by-size with my other German tanks.  So I could either dump them or find another use for them… I went with the second option, and have decided to use them as battlefield wreckage… in the distance.  As such I think they will work out well.  

December 19, 2021

I didn’t really get a lot done this week on the workbench.  The week was rainy and cold, and the garage was not an attractive place to hang out.  What I did do was continue to work on my 15mm North Africa collection with a continued focus on the Germans.  I painted a group of Gaming Models vehicles: four Krupp 4x6 trucks, two captured British Quads, and one captured British CMP 2 pdr in portee.

With the Gaming Models pieces done, I turned my attention to some Command Decision SdKfz 251/1 APCs. The CD pieces are a little crude, but all in all they painted up pretty well.

December 12, 2021

The workbench week began with kubelwagens for my 15mm WW2 North Africa collection.  These are all by Command Decision.  I did twelve of them.  The real problem was putting the DAK insignia on the doors.  I have had no trouble using that decal throughout this project, but the kubelwagens were another story.  That was due to the fact that the kubelwagens have small ribs/bands on the doors and the decals just didn’t want to sit on those ribs.  For the first time I found myself destroying some of those decals, but I finally got them on all twelve vehicles.  With two of the vehicles, I did some modification.  Out of one I created a medical vehicle.  The stretcher is a WWI Peter Pig piece.  The hood cover with the red cross is made from facial tissue.  The second kubelwagen modification was making one with its passenger door open.  I carved the existing door off the kubelwagen and replaced it with a door made of Evergreen plastic. 

With the twelve kubelwagons completed, I turned my attention to some Command Decision Sd Kfz 222 armored cars.  Because armored cars on both sides were everywhere during the North African fighting, I decided to buy another three packs (9 vehicles/AC) from CD and expand my German armored car force.  Those arrived last weekend so it’s time to get them painted.

I finished the workbench week painting two Krupp 4x6 trucks with PAK 36s (37mm AP) in portee.  These are by Gaming Models.  They are less than perfect in detail, but Gaming Models offers some additional variety options along with a reasonably cheap price.

December 5, 2021

My workbench week began with the painting of my fifth Plastic Soldier Company Pz. IVF1 and adding decals to all five (four painted the previous workbench week).  I next turned my attention to painting and decaling two Flames of War Horch Kfz 15s.  I followed that with the painting and decaling of the FoW Opel Kfz 68 radio truck, Saurer RK-7 (Sd Kfz 254). 

I next turned my focus to field cars by FoW and Command Decision: two Steyr 1500, four Kfz 16 light field cars and two Horch heavy field cars.  Fortunately, these pictures showed me some touching up I needed to do on some of the cars’ tires.  I did that touching up, but I’m not going to retake the pictures.