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Author Topic: The Thaw of '46  (Read 78662 times)

Offline Wyrmalla

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #615 on: February 09, 2019, 08:35:46 AM »
Ah, yes, I already have some "Bloody Mess" markers from my Fallout miniatures collection to represent critical hits. And that comment may have been influenced a bit by the front page of Reddit yesterday being on the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989. Hmn, but that's perhaps too heavy a topic for this silly thread.

Currently I have that set of German Zombies from Studio Miniatures, another twenty Soviet Zombies from West Wind, and then if I'm desperate for more, a load of Warlord Games plastics done up as zombies (West Wind heads). Though I'm thinking of chucking the Warlord plastics and sourcing some Konflikt 47 German zombies on the cheap (they have better proportions). Only ten of the Studio Miniatures set are painted so far, but I have a few weeks to finish the rest. I'm trying to nail the right skin tone at the moment, and will probably go for something more pallid than what I've tried so far. Ah, more pictures forthcoming as I actually finish them. :)


Offline FreakyFenton

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #616 on: February 09, 2019, 03:17:43 PM »
The Panther 2 and the T 44 both looks superb!  :o

Took your advice and ordered some goodies from Heer 46. Nice to see the stuff in scale though! And looking forward to the zombies, if you end up posting pictures despite them being very 'ridiculous' alternate history.  :D lol
"No human being would stack books like -that-!" -Dr. Peter Venkman

Offline Ultravanillasmurf

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #617 on: February 09, 2019, 05:54:06 PM »
I'm trying to nail the right skin tone at the moment, and will probably go for something more pallid than what I've tried so far. Ah, more pictures forthcoming as I actually finish them. :)

I did mine using Humbrol 90 as a replacement for rotting flesh (I sprayed the lot with PSC Field Grey first, flesh in Humbrol 90 then Citadel Drakenhof Nightshade.
http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.com/2017/02/zombies-hundreds-of-them.html

However after seeing Opponent Theory's tutorial:
https://opponent-theory.blogspot.com/2017/04/zombies-painting-tutorial.html

I tried his method on a freebie from Salute and then redid my Prelude to Woodbury walkers.
http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-walking-dead-salute-figure.html

An alternative is to use Citadel Rakarth Flesh, lighten with Citadel Wycth pallid flesh and shade with Citadel Carronburg Crimson (that might also be the recipe for Cave Goblins(tm)).
http://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.com/2018/03/punk-zombies-resurrectionist-minion.html

I hope this might be of use.

Offline Wyrmalla

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #618 on: February 12, 2019, 04:08:18 PM »
Hmn...




The things that you come across on the internet. :)

A Bulgarian pillbox made out of a T-34 with a T-62 turret. Enough foresight went into this for them to increase the size of the turret ring. Though as its a pillbox they removed the engine as well (which would get in the way of the turret. ...Not that I already tried fitting a T-54 turret to a T-34 and came across this issue).

Speaking of engines though, perhaps there's a solution to that problem...



Oddly enough Blizkrieg's T-54 turret fits Warlord's IS-2 turret ring perfectly too.  ::)

Hmn, so there's an idea. A prototype modification to bring the T-54 turret to the T-34 as some ill advised modernisation project. Obviously doing something about the turret ring and engine so it can actually support the thing. Probably not any extra armour though, as I suspect the new turret would already be messing with the weight distribution.

...Or is this idea just too silly?

Edit:

Also from Bulgaria. A Panzer IV with a Zis-3. Again a bunker, so not an actual tank - not that this has stopped other what if modellers. I do like Panzer IVs... :)



« Last Edit: February 12, 2019, 05:15:02 PM by Wyrmalla »

Offline Ultravanillasmurf

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #619 on: February 12, 2019, 06:31:11 PM »
Your first image does display as a complaint from Track-Link.

More interesting denizens of the 'net.

Okay, what is the source of the tank/lorry hybrid?

You do not see enough Panzer IVs in post war service.







Offline Wyrmalla

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #620 on: February 12, 2019, 10:44:34 PM »
The first image is just another angle on that T-34. As for the Hellcat, the caption I found was "M-18 Hellcat Bijeljina Republic of Srpska April 2000", pictured in some open air "museum". Presumably (hopefully) a training vehicle similar to that T-54 with a Hellcat turret from those regional conflicts.

More images here: https://forums.g503.com/viewtopic.php?t=201540

Syria was the main user of the Panzer IV post war. Some of the Eastern bloc countries had them for a time as well, though I suspect Romania was a user as they had repair depots for loads of German vehicles, and Bulgaria just used them as static defences. The blog WWII After WWII's articles on WWII vehicles in the Arab Israeli wars doesn't paint many of them in a good light, and they were quickly removed from inventory to again be used as pillboxes.

Offline Ultravanillasmurf

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #621 on: February 13, 2019, 08:12:25 AM »
The Osprey "Modelling the T55" book says that the T54 with the Hellcat turret (one of the projects) was due to the restriction on ammunition above a certain calibre, they could obtain the 90mm ammunition for the Hellcat but not the 100mm ammunition for the T55 gun. Hence the turret swap (and the replacement engine of your example I guess).

YMMV.

Offline Wyrmalla

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #622 on: February 24, 2019, 01:34:02 PM »
In the past err ...weeks since my last post things haven't been too glacial, but well, you may think that by the amount of stuff I'll be posting here today.

I did manage to paint up another ruin, which is now sitting happily in a box in a cupboard after playing a tank battle a few weeks ago. See, I can even post a poor quality image of that game here. Its the ruin in the top right ...I think.



Ahem, I'm now wondering if that's the first time I've posted an image of a game in this thread. Is it? Damn, well points for the low effort I guess. Ah, the incongruity of that board was in part due to not having all the terrain. ...As one of the other players thought we were playing on a Summer board instead of a Winter one, which explains why there's a big green puddle in the middle of the table. :)

On which note, this week we'll be playing another game with my figures. This time on a smaller board (though likely with the same amount of terrain. Note to self: add more Winter terrain to your ever expanding list of projects which'll never get done). Oh, and with zombies. That brings me onto the point of the lack of progress elsewhere, as I've been in the process of painting around fifty of the things. I'm still short another twelve for a game this Tuesday, and the rest are in one of those aforementioned boxes, but I suppose expect a post on that subject in future. ...Sorry to be a bit of a tease. :P

What has been done? Well this week was supposed to be more Soviets. And it was. Just not as many as I'd have liked though. I'll get onto that in a bit, but let me post some pictures first before you go running off on my for whinging about stuff too much like I usually do...

I needed some more Zombies to fill out the horde a bit more. Looking for options which fit the style of the existing figures (Studio Miniatures and West Wind) Clockwork Goblin's range from Konflikt 47 had suitably gangly proportions. When ordering those I had to add some other bits in to justify the postage of course. So I decided to throw some money at another set from that Weird War range. I'd looked at the SS Shocktroopers, but their exoskeletons and stockless rifles were a sticking point for me (or rather more importantly, that they're posed in a way which would make adding stocks difficult. You can have super human strength, but having something to brace a gun against would still help...). Instead the other elite infantry set "Daughters of the Motherland" seemed to have more going for it.



Well, I mean after I modified them a little. Namely getting rid of the original heads and giving them some more reliable steel pot helmets for one (from Statureque Miniatures. The gas masks are from West Wind - have fun finding those on their store...). I also went about adding stocks to their AKs where I could. Either just sticking on spare stocks where the poses weren't too bad, replacing the guns entirely (using a set from Crooked Dice - which is why some have larger barrels), or in one or two cases just giving them new weapons.

Other than that the big Hammer and Sickle emblazoned on their chests met Mr Craft Knife pretty quickly, barring one on the leader figure (who'll be happy to know she's can be both proud of the Motherland and a massive target for the enemy concurrently). Oh, and they all had their backpacks removed too. Which I was relieved to find were separate pieces unlike on those Paratroopers which I'd posted earlier in this thread (they also oddly don't seem to have straps on them, so look kind of out of place sitting on top of those trench coats as they would normally).






The new heads for one and removal of those Hammer and Sickles give them a look which brings them a bit more down to Earth into the setting I'm going for. They're still kind of a step away from being Imperial Guard figures, but hopefully will fit right in with those SS Stormtroopers in body armour which I'd made way back (who're already made from sci-fi models anyway). I'm chuffed how they turned out, and if it weren't for the price may have gone for more. Maybe they'll appear cheaper at shows in future. Otherwise potentially I may be looking at Statuesque Miniatures range of figures, who have a similar aesthetic to them (sans armour) - and if not, at least perhaps finding that old Commissar model I'd bought from them for my Fallout miniatures collection and giving her a repaint.

As for the rest of my Soviet infantry, that's stalled somewhat. I'd bought a load of Warlord Games Terminator Geni... sys (¬¬) plastic figures intending to replacing their guns with AKs (more from Crooked Dice) and do them up wearing WWII era Soviet Steel Bibs. Ah, unfortunately that's run into one major issue for now. See the gas masks which are on two of those above figures aren't the only ones I bought from West Wind. Nah, I have like forty. Problem is, they're "true" 28mm. As in more like something you'd see on a 25mm figure. And the Warlord figures, well, they're a bit too big for them. This isn't too noticeable on the Daughters of the Motherland figures, but runs into "shrunken head guy" syndrome when stuck on one of those Terminator models.



https://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/index.php?route=product%2Fproduct&path=195_198&product_id=1298

I know there's a load of 3D printed options out there, and companies do make appropriate heads with gas masks. Its just problematic that many of them are aimed at 40K, so finding ones which are suitably scaled is an issue. Germany and the modern period are also seemingly much more popular than the Soviets back in WWII, which was why I was into the West Wind heads so much (and disappointed to find out that they weren't the same size as ...damn near every other head that company makes). I want something which doesn't look quite as dated for the period as their other Soviet gas masks do (basic details, with an obtuse snorkel the front). A GP-5 or something.

Or seeing as they're going to be based around sci-fi models, I may as well do what I did with my Germans and go with period heads to reel back the silliness.


Right, meanwhile...

As far as WIPs go a few things have been worked on. But we don't talk about those, because in the state they're in they look like a 12 year old's Leman Russ kit bash to me. Here's a pair of things for talking points at least. :)

I don't see it being mentioned here, but it takes me so long to post stuff that I could have just forgotten talking about it. So bare with me if I'm repeating myself. When rifling through the old half built things I'd come across another of those "Eber" Sd.Kfz 251 mounted on Panzer III chassis. Here's my second shot at the concept.




This time around I went for a beefier armament instead of just a machine gun and did away with the roof passenger hatch. ...Because screw infantry even thinking about jumping down from there and not breaking a leg in a firefight. They'll make do with a rear door (and presumably a ladder). Originally it was going to have a T-34/76 turret and be in Soviet service, but that improvised turret on this already silly chassis was overkill on the "weird" war angel.

In retrospect the Panzer III chassis aught to be reversed (the exhaust remain at the rear) and something done about the Sd.Kfz 251's engine compartment. Though it remains based on that one video game vehicle, so liberties are taken when it comes to the practicality of some design decisions. I really aught to look into how the engines are placed in those Soviet tank/ truck hybrids and work out if they're moved at all in the conversion process, but meh, I have that stupid Panzer II with a 75mm gun on it, so shouldn't be making a point about how well conceived these monstrosities are. Its a truck bolted onto a tank chassis for Heaven's sake. ;)




With that rambling over (till the next time I post that thing), here's the state of another of my WIPs.



The T-34 based Artillery Tractor thing's had a bit of a redesign. Its cab and engine area are a bit more refined now, having gone through a few iterations (it was looking practically German at one point). Now its inspired a bit more by Soviet designs, just from a later period, as relying on the BTR-50 for this resulting in it looking like it had a massive forehead. Obviously I'm still working out things, which is why its a bit of a mess in the image (re: 12 year old's conversion projects).

With those changes the rear bed was also widened. It was just looking too piddly compared to the cab using the existing dimensions of the donor truck. Now its perhaps a bit more realistic (the sides can fold down to be flush with the vehicle) and there's no longer wasted space on the track guards. As for the armament. Well for the moment I'm not sure about that. I did but a ZPU-4 from Spectre Miniatures to use with this vehicle, but I wound up finding out that the gunner figure comes attached to some of the major pieces on the weapon, and I just don't see the value in the amount of work tearing the figure off and rebuilding those areas would take (especially when I can just use the gun for my modern Middle Eastern project).

Rubicon sells a quad Maxim Gun on an AA mount via their web store which may be an option. I've tried stick a Zis-2 and a Zis-3 on the back as well, but they won't fit without removing their carriages, and if I went that way I'd like to have some sort of cradle (I suppose I could build something appropriate myself). Other than just using this in its intended artillery tractor role, which its maybe a bit heavy for - and likely also wouldn't see much use as in the types of games we play (though I'm kidding myself if it'll be touched with an AA mount either) -, I'm not sure of what other options there are. It could do as an APC I suppose.


That's all which is in a state I'm willing to show off for the moment. Ah, hopefully all the guff between the pictures padded out the post a bit. There's other dumb vehicle ideas which have been started since I last checked in. Though some of those might need to be taken around the back of the barn and get shot for being a bit too asinine (that Vichy French tank destroyer which I think I mentioned began as the Hungarian Panther that was posted yonks ago). A Sd.kfz 250 mixed with a Puma's front end and lengthened tracks from a Sd.kfz 251 to give it full tracks instead of wheels was last night's project. ...But that's looking more like something you'd see in a game like Dishonoured than a WWII setting. Its a step away from having an Imperial Aquila bolted to the front. Maybe more on that later, otherwise its being called Old Yeller and you'll never hear about it again (I did mention it'd already began as a fully wheeled Sd.kfz 250 and a Puma based walker before I tore those up for this right?).

« Last Edit: February 24, 2019, 01:52:56 PM by Wyrmalla »

Offline Ultravanillasmurf

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #623 on: February 24, 2019, 04:36:12 PM »
You have certainly been busy.

Are the Empress Modern Russian heads with helmets and gas masks too modern?

Offline Ironclad Paul

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #624 on: February 24, 2019, 09:59:42 PM »
Great looking game!  Wonder who won and who lost?   And is that a destroyed Maus in the middle of the picture? Surely not..wonder who could manage to lose a Maus  ;)
Looking forward to seeing some close up shots of the ww2 zombie '46 game, to make me wish I was there.. 

Offline Wyrmalla

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #625 on: February 25, 2019, 02:06:11 AM »
@Ultravanillasmurf

Aye, those Russian heads would at least be having their helmets replaced. Ah, and well considering that the Soviets were using the GP-5 in this era, they'd be definitely a step up from those (less lung cancer).

Secret Weapon Miniatures do a head which has prospects. They're made for Games Workshop figures, and is perhaps a bit too German styled however. Its a problem of finding ones which are both in scale, and fit the look I'm going for.




@ Ironclad Paul

Oi, you can slink back to your garage Paul. Tsk, here's me going out my way not to mention your name three times in case you showed up. :)

Its all right. I'll go out of my way to "forget" to bring the zombies along again. Jard and I will just sit there playing a game of town planning for the night instead. Yes, that sounds much more my style of game. Hmn, why don't I have any lamp posts in 28mm scale...

Offline Ironclad Paul

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #626 on: February 25, 2019, 11:06:17 AM »
I don't know who would win a game of post apocalypse/'46 town planning between you and Jard!  You're both evenly matched I suspect in that department.
Anyway, carry on with this great thread (the best I've seen, but I do lean that way, as you know) and I will watch from afar with interest, but remember watch out if you say my name 3 times... I've returned to Glasgow before unexpectedly !

and behind all the fantastic tanks I will expect to see '46 lamp posts when I come back ;)

Offline Wyrmalla

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #627 on: February 25, 2019, 11:35:44 AM »
Perhaps if I can start a project in every one of this forum's sub boards that will rouse you from the Garage to come back up here and ...I donno, dress yourself in a Kaiju costume and stomp about destroying all of my dollies. Can't say that I've checked what the building's owner's policy is for club members acting like prats that much. :)


If I had more lamp posts then it wouldn't be post-apocalyptic town planning. Nah, then we could manage untouched urban areas to finally give up the pretence of this wargaming silliness and sit down to a proper city building simulator. Hmn, someone must have rules for connecting up the facilities and making sure we have the right zoning.

On an unrelated topic. *looks up from painting table* Hmph, none of you believe me when I talk about the "piles". Bodies in the basement sure, but...  Ah, here's some of those buildings I was talking about in that modern thread of mine.



Right. There's your look. I'd rate it that there's an optimal chance that some of that stuff will be painted at a point in the next decade or so, assuming that I'm not killed by one of the larger piles of crap (which the site inspector I had out seemed to be concerned about. Once they were snuggly buried under a few layers of toy soldiers though you can hardly hear their moaning anyway).

 ::)

Offline Ironclad Paul

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #628 on: February 25, 2019, 12:19:23 PM »
if your basement is ordered anything like your model storage boxes then it may well be dangerous to the unwary lol  poor models need looking after and some love too  :-*
maybe one day I can visit your basement and you can visit my garage, are we talking order vs chaos here?  the cosmic balance at work maybe..the universe moves in strange ways sometimes.
  I guess that's the strength of going to a club, you can blithely play and never know just how 'involved' your wargame friends are in the hobby, until you visit their home and get an insight, and maybe a shock sometimes.
  Carry on with the fantastic terrain building, yours are some of the best I've seen, photo evidence below from a recent game with your terrain (and a pic inside one of your buildings!). I rest my case.

And yes, sadly, once I did consider making a few mecha suits for a big game.   glad I didnt really  o_o

Offline Wyrmalla

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Re: The Thaw of '46
« Reply #629 on: June 07, 2019, 08:58:52 PM »
Here's me dropping in again to this project, as it takes my fancy to work on some more tanks. :)

I've been working on bits and bobs for my WWII collection in the past while since my last post, though progress tends to be sporadic as its split between this and the dozen other things which catch my interest at that moment. Recently then I have managed to paint a few things fairly quickly, though many other projects remain a work in progress obviously.

Here's the handful which're done.


E-75 in Soviet Service (T-E-75?)






After an order arrived from Die Waffenkammer I hadn't expected I found myself landed with a few kits which I'd otherwise reorganised my plans for. See I'd wanted another E-75, but with this order falling off the map for the better part of a year I had bought and made a pair after this hadn't arrived (Jeff at Die Waffenkmmer was able to resend it – twice – even in the troubles he'd been having recently, so I can't slight him for the muck up).

Which meant I was landed with a kit and no idea what to do with it. The thought of doing something weird crossed my mind, though Warlord's plastic Tiger II makes for a better platform for conversions. Instead I was boring and turned the Tiger II into an E-75 (of a sort) and just painted it up in Soviet colours like the Panther II.

Its not too outlandish a conversion of Die Waffenkammer's model. These E-75s are becoming a bit mundane to be honest. Take off the hull MG, add on a rangefinder, and then do some other weird stuff if you feel like it. I didn't bother replacing the engine deck this time as there was enough going on, though did give it the gun from Heer 46's Schmaltrum kit to make it look a bit different. Otherwise with it being in Soviet use there's some of their modifications – with a pair of bins and fuel drums from a T-34 at the back, and a replacement headlamp at the front.

I could have been more adventurous, but it seemed interesting enough with the new paint scheme. It'll be another in a line of foreign tanks in Soviet service as I find excuses to give them more vehicles from models I've already built (i.e.a  crap tonne of German stuff). Just slapping on Soviet colours to these already alt-history vehicles keeps them unusual enough for my liking, without delving into the gas turbine engines and other oddities that I find myself adding to the German kit.


Soviet E-10






Speaking of captured German equipment...

This time its less of the green splurge, and I instead mixed in a repainted turret on top of the original German paint scheme. Otherwise it remains pretty basic - with all the grime covering up for the lack of any camo scheme.

Regardless, another light tank for the Soviet forces- as I know I'm going to be inevitably as short on those as I have been for the Germans, as even with a few lighter vehicles being built, the heavies are always so much more fun to play with. :)


Chi-Ha / T-70 Hybrid Recce Vehicle (Y/T-70?)






The dumb things you do when you buy a kit, forget about it, throw it together into a dumb vehicle and say "meh, good enough".

My Japanese alt-history project remains where it was from the last time I posted anything about it. With Warlord releasing their plastic Chi-Ha kit, that made the resin vehicle I'd bought from them less appealing for conversions. There was other ideas (like sticking a Zis-2 on the roof), but this seemed like the most suitable for the resin kit without needless tearing it apart.

Not a lot of thought went into the background when throwing this together. I think it'd suit as a glimpse into the war on another front. Perhaps with things not going so well for the Soviets leading to the need for conversions like this. Or maybe its in service with local fighters somewhere in China – in a similar workshop to the one the Germans had in Romanian for converting captured vehicles to their standard? The Japanese front tends to be overlooked in alt-history media centred on Germany, so who knows what the state of the war over there is with Britain bowing out of the war in Europe (who knows, the Colonial powers could be duking it out the Far East, or around Oceania/ India).

Whatever, as I said I need more light tanks and this was a simple build. Just a widened turret plug to fit the Blitzkrieg Miniatures T-70 turret and some spare parts from a T-34 to Russiophy it. I've no idea how practical this would be as a real vehicle, but it looks neat. Like some parody of post-war cinema making mock up enemy vehicles from whatever tank they could get their hand on.


Chelovek iz Stali (Soviet Soldier in Captured German Panzermensch Suit)




Clockwork Goblin's German Power Armour suits have a nice dieselpunk look which suits the era perhaps a bit more than their other stuff. They're good and chunky. Once some of the sillier details are removed (like the spare magazines on the power plant - how is the wearer supposed to reach them with those shoulder pads?) they're pretty nice models.

With the squad of German Panzermensch I made (in need of a new paint job...) the idea was they were some super secret experimental program. Hidden away in the German heavy water treatment plants or deployed rarely in the field from E-50 based Heavy APCs. This Soviet example then would have had to be a rare capture (perhaps more common as the Panzermensch trials escalate), though indicative that at least a few had been captured, and this was one suit being field trialled to record the results.

It didn't take much to turn these into a Soviet figures. I just got rid of most of the StG-44 magazine pouches, replaced their heads with a Soviet ones with a sculpted on ballistic mask, and gave them a modified DP-27 LMG and AK. The DP-27's in the style of post-war modernisations, so I guess top of the line for the time. Just a bit of silliness to probably use in Zombie games or whenever I actually use infantry (I think we've played maybe one game involving infantry, otherwise we just use this stuff for World of Tanks style games – pretty fitting given the subject matter obviously)


Zombies



I suppose now would be the time to show off some of the zombies which I'd rushed through for a game a few months ago,so hadn't had the time to post any pictures of.

These have been used the once for a The Walking Dead game set in WWII. Where a group of Soviet special forces were sent out to discover the fate of some secretive Nazi weapons program, only to find the site overrun with zombies and a group of SS remnants fighting for their lives.

...At least on paper. All of the zombies wound up being killed by turn two or three and it turned into a shooting match. Um, because The Walking Dead doesn't seem to balance itself well for every model having a gun. Hmn. We'll have to rework things more in future so there's more zombies, but that'll mean painting more of these things.

Here's some snippets of the some 60 Zombies I now have. Depending on whether we run a WWII zombie game again I'll probably have to keep my eye out for more suitable figures at shows, as I suspect another 30 wouldn't go unused the next time we play .





The figures are a mix of Clockwork Goblin, Studio Miniatures and West Wind. With some of the Studio Miniatures models having West Wind heads for a bit more variety. There's a mix of camo in use by the Germans to give them more variety (if I paint more I'll add more patterns), as are the West Wind Soviet zombies a nice addition to break things up a bit.

I do have some 40 Zombies made from Warlord Games plastics. Those are chunkier and less animated however, which is why despite having made all of them, I rushed out to buy models from those three other companies instead. I could maybe salvage 10 or 20 to mix in with the zombies which are already painted, but the dedicated zombie models look better (I did sculpt over a few of them, but they just look too animated compared to the sluggish poses on the other figures).

(From left to right - Clockwork Goblin, Studio Miniatures, West Wind)




The Unpainted Tat

As for the state on the still yet incomplete vehicles.

Things have progressed somewhat on previously discussed models -though not to an extent particularly worth showing currently. ...I tend to work on too many things at once, so yes as those who follow my threads here will find individual progress can be slow. I'll relent and post some images of a few unfinished projects, which yes, I don't tend to like to show models off before they're ready for paint either, so these aren't at as complete a state as I'd like.


T-34-54




This crept up on me a bit as I was looking for a spare T-34/85 turret for a T-44. I didn't intend to make this vehicle from an existing model, but having stolen the turret from on of the German captured vehicles I'd made previously, I had to do something with the chassis. Of the T-34 Beutepanzers I have it was the least visually interesting, and with any long project you look back on older work and see their flaws (I want to repaint half these models...), so it was for the chop.

As for the actual conversion. It hasn't been too bad. Its based on another scale model representing the Bulgarian T-34/ T-62 hybrid if it were a functional vehicle. In particular with the engine deck being set back to allow space for the turret (unlike the real one where its removed entirely and plated over), giving the vehicle a bit of a M48 Patton look with its extended engine – and perhaps a bit more modern a style than the T-34.

The T-54 turret obviously still needs work. I've torn off the details on the original model which were overly simple to recreate them later. That's largely what's left to be done with this, other than rebuilding the front a bit where I'd removed details to add some extra armour on the original model.


LTTB




Another thing which has been on and off my workbench as it slips between flights of fancy. The underlying model is a 1/72nd scale IS-2. Working from an existing kit, albeit a modified one, makes builds simpler – even if of course that may mean the resulting vehicle isn't as accurate as it could be. ...I just hate building running gear.

The initial shape of the hull is lain out, but work on tidying it up and adding detail is still to come. Its not as accurate as I'd like – with the rear section being too wide due to the donor engine deck I used being larger than on the real vehicle. Though I'd like to think that was a simplification caused by using existing parts rather than manufacturing new ones. Which with a decent chunk of this vehicle being fictional due to the lack of complete blueprints, is something which can be overlooked.

Otherwise its also in need of a turret. The one it has on it right now will likely find its way to another T-44. The turret this vehicle has in World of Tanks is basically off of a T-34/85, meanwhile the T-44 variants can be a bit modified, making this plastic turret more useful for those than one which I can find in another kit. I may just buy a spare turret from Die Waffenkammer and pop that on. Nothing's a priority then.

Oh, and the road wheels are stand ins. I just needed something round to work from. Those will be redone later.


T-44




Still early days on this one. Ideally the plan is to produce a bit more period accurate a model than the T-44 which I already have. Adding in some details which I otherwise missed (like the extra vision block on the side of the hull for the driver – not found on later models), bulges on the turret, etc. As I have another two T-44s after this to build ideally this one will be a basis for what to change, though obviously the real vehicle were made over a number of years, so there will be some differences between models.

The idea for the moment is still to do the Assault Gun and a T-44-100. Which will have one vehicle using a static casement, and the other would be a modified T-34/85 turret – which is why I'd rather keep the plastic turret for that. I'd been looking at early T-54s (Object 137) as well as an alternative to the T-44-100, creating a turret from scratch to save the T-34/85 turret for the LTTB, but I think I'm more inclined towards the WWII era prototype rather than its post-war child.




German Armoured Car



The last thing with enough work done to be worth showing is something else German. ...I have to stop myself from making more Axis stuff instead of giving the Soviets a competent force, but I keep finding new ideas I'd like to build...

This one is a cross between a Puma and a post-war Spδhpanzer Luchs. I think conceptually an attempt to make the Puma chassis more suitable for modernisation (it was difficult enough sticking a 75mm gun on it), in the style of Post-War French armoured cars. This isn't the base variant of this armoured car, rather its some weird offshoot mounting the Kugelblitz turret. With the original idea being to create vehicle with that turret styled after the BRDM which then evolved into this. The base vehicle would instead be using a large calibre autocannon or gun in an oscillating turret, but this is still fine as it is.



The underlying model is a widened Warlord Puma kit, with part of the engine deck from the Panther at the back (just to keep things period consistent, rather than creating a more realistic one from scratch) and a turret by Heer46. Its a hybrid of those two German designs I mentioned – like a post-war vehicle made from WWII parts -, with some contrivances to fit this concept (the separate mud guard) which otherwise would have had it looking too modern for the setting. I'm chuffed on how it turned out; its modern enough looking for some games set in a later period "Man in the High Castle" style. :)

Mudguard wise they're based on a mix of both vehicles – though they don't reach all the way to the front as that's how they are on the Luchs. However the Luchs has a trim vane, which seemed a bit too advanced for the era so was left off. I may extend them further in the style of the E-10 with some thin sheet metal – there just to stop and dirt – something would then be removed in later models perhaps to allow for a trim vane.

Terrain




Segwaying into other things (is this the half way point of this post yet...? I had to add bloody headings to keep things from becoming just a word mess in this essay). Here's another ruin also in an unpainted state.

I may have shown off the one with this one before, as its been sitting around since I started building the ruins for this project over a year ago. It was bought to steal its tracks from for one of those Hanomag/ Panzer III hybrids I made. Looking back I could have used it for another conversion, but having wrecked tanks as part of your terrain is a nice feature (even if it does limit them to just WWII games ...unless your games happen to be taking place on an old film set).

----- End of part 1 (because LAF has a character limit? Who knew? :D -----
« Last Edit: June 07, 2019, 09:01:46 PM by Wyrmalla »

 

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