Boys and Old Men

Almost a year ago I mistakenly bought some Volksturm thinking they were Volksgrenadiere. I decided I would paint them up and just keep them in a box just in case I ever needed them. On a whim I took a dozen to see what would happen if I based them and shaded them without bothering to touch them up at all. It seems to have worked well. I am not sure of the make of the men. There are definitely two brands here, and I would guess at SHQ and Skytrex. But I can't be certain.

My infantry painting is only held up by my lack of pennies on which to base them. I use any cheap brand of wall crack filler to attach the figure, I then sprinkled cat litter on these bases to look like the rubble of Berlin.

My first Russians.

I finally managed to decide on a colour scheme for my Russians. I was then able to quickly paint some up and prepare them for spraying. I put together just one sprue of the PSC infantry pack, and the support weapons pack. Here are the results:

Pak 40 from Italeri

I bought the two-pack a while ago. The guns clipped together really nicely. I dabbed a little super glue on some places to strengthen. Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention and I put the limbs on incorrectly on one of the guns. I don't really know which, though. The guns and crews languished for months, unpainted, while I decided whether to switch to acrylics or not. I made the switch, and they were the first things I used a spray to undercoat.

I only took pictures of one gun...because they look the same. I chose not to base the crew and gun together. I am not sure why.

Anti-Shine purchased. Troops finished.

I have been adding to this mass of infantry for a couple of months now. I ran out of matt varnish spray a while ago, and have not had time to replenish my supplies. So I would complete soldiers, quick-shade them, and put them in my "to be sprayed" box. I picked some spray up this morning, and can finally post what I have been working on.

It is infantry galore. Germans, all of the PSC variety. Support weapons too! Support weapons were where I was woefully lacking.

Here is my first MG42 team. I have two more to make, as I only put together one sprue of support weapons. It is a monstrous looking weapon.

Here is my 120mm mortar. What a beast.

An 80mm mortar team. This is more likely to actually find itself onto the table.

A tank hunter team. It isn't my favourite pose, although I like the loader.

I love the pose of the Panzerschreck carrier.

Some infantry advancing cautiously past a field.

A squad of infantry.

Some Panzerfausts.

Looking forward to putting together the rest of my Germans. Heaven knows I need more.

Dear Diary...

...JACKPOT! I won a few auctions on eBay this weekend. Three were from the same seller, and arrived yesterday while I was out. Upon arriving home at 2am after work, it was a welcome surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed refurbishing the old Panther, so decided to get some more of those projects.

Here we have a Tiger II in need of a repaint, and the removal of some interesting protrudements (chrome says this isn't a word...) but otherwise in good condition.

Elefant needs gun repair, wheel repair and a repaint.

Crusaders, Stuart, Panzer III, Wespe, Humber, T 34, and possibly Matilda need repaints, and some need their guns stiffened up.

The Lee needs work done on its wheels. 

The Sdkfz 251s (I think) need repaintsand a little work done on the front wheels, as does the Krupp Protze and the other transport vehicles. 

The Sdkfz 231 needs a new radio system attached, along with wheel repair and a repaint (although it will just be into grey again.

I saved a lot of money, had I bought them as kits, and all I need to do is a small amount of repair, which I enjoy doing. Hunting down some Elefant wheels may prove problematic, but I will give it a go. I am sorry if I outbid you for these. I just really, really wanted them.