obsidian3d's Normal WW2 thread - Panzer Grenadiers added

[obsidian3d]

Operation Squad WW2 - Russian Infantry
(reposted from http://obsidian3d.blogspot.ca/2013/12/operation-squad-ww2-russian-infantry.html)

Several months ago I mentioned having bought a set of rules for World War II era skirmish gaming called Operation Squad WW2. Shortly after I picked up a set of 1:48 scale German Panzer Grenadier figures by Tamiya. Happy with the scale once I'd put a few together I headed off to pick up some more sets so that I could field squads from several different nations for the game. The second batch that I decided to put together was their Russian Infantry box.


HMG and assistants

The Tamiya figure sets are very price effective, costing anywhere between $12 and $16 Canadian. I put together 12 figures from the Russian set, and I believe there are still three figures left that can be constructed if I buy vehicles or want to add variety.


sergeant and lieutenant

Something to keep in mind is that these are not necessarily great gaming figures because they're a little fragile. They're models intended for display, not play. The construction time can be a little high due to the high number of pieces for each figure; consisting of one or two leg pieces, torso, one or both arms, head, helmet and a minimum of two accessories plus a weapon. They're not for folks with shaky hands or sausage fingers. That said, they are in similar scale with normal 28mm but more realistic in proportion (ie: a touch skinny). The detail is a little soft, especially on the faces, but they turned out well enough for table-top gaming.


medic and machine gunner

The lazy writer's painting breakdown:

- Vallejo grey primer
- GW Elf Flesh for flesh base coat
- mix of GW Desert Yellow and Bleached Bone for the uniforms
- mix of GW Black and Codex Grey for the boots
- Vallejo Model Air Khaki Brown for the greatcoats and cloaks
- P3 Hammerfall Khaki for the backpacks, pouches
- P3 Bloodtracker Brown for something I can't remember at the moment
- GW Gorthor Brown for the straps and belts
- GW Shadow Grey for the canteens
- GW Boltgun covered with P3 Armour Wash for the rifles
- VMA Russian Green on the helmets, shovels and large machine gun
- GW Devlan Mud wash over everything except the guns
- GW Khaki dry brush all the cloth
- GW Foundations Flesh to even out the skin colour

I used Army Painter Wasteland Tufts, with standard static grass on top of my regular basing technique and finally painted the edges of the bases black. Something to add briefly is that I wasn't aiming for strict accuracy with the colours; I just wanted something that would look good on the table.


grunts

The Devlan Mud wash was a little stronger than I'd intended (should have used sepia) and it darkened the yellow/tan of the uniforms a little more than I would have liked, but did give the figures a nice weathered effect that works well enough for soldiers on the battlefield. I also made sure to muddy up their boots and the knees of some, as well as the lower parts of the cloaks. I didn't want them to look like they'd just come off the parade grounds.


The full squad

I had considered using dip instead of the ink to give them one more layer of solidity and protection. However I was concerned that it would cover up too much of the detail, which is fairly soft. The next batch I have ready to go are the aforementioned Panzer Grenadiers, which I think I will try the dip on, just to see how it works.


Full squad at a slightly different angle

[styx]

Nice!

[obsidian3d]

Thanks. I'm happy with how they turned out. I'm looking forward to pitting them against my German squad. Should have them painted up over the weekend.

[Helen]

Nice work on the Soviets.

Cheers,

Helen

[Sendak]

Winner!

The Soviets are superb. They look as if they are an 'operational squad'.

Styrene plastic I suppose?

Germans soon I hope.

[obsidian3d]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

After I'd painted them I started making a list for them with the OpSquad rules, and decided that I'd like to add a medic. One of the guys with the red shoulder pieces seemed a good choice...so I put white crosses on there. In retrospect I guess they kind of look like Swiss flags, so I think I'll go back and reverse that. Likely no one will care except me, but now that I realize it it just looks wrong.

Yes I think they're the same material that GW uses for their plastics. I've had no problem using GW plastic glue or regular super glue on them. I prefer the super glue because it's easier to manage.

The Grenadiers are on my painting table now and already have a few basic colours on them. They'll be done by Monday!

[obsidian3d]

Operation Squad WW2 - German Panzer Grenadiers
(more photos at http://obsidian3d.blogspot.ca/2014/01/operation-squad-ww2-german-panzer.html)

During the summer I went on a trip to PM Hobby, hoping to pick up some Gesso and ended up grabbing these Tamiya 1:48 scale Panzer Grenadiers on a whim (impulse buying at its finest). There are nine soliders plus three tank crew models in the box, as well as a vehicle driver and a seated officer. I haven't got any vehicles to put them in, but I'm thinking that maybe now I need one! I'll have to take a look at what kind of vehicles are available in the "Vehicles!" expansion for Operation Squad WW2.

One thing that I liked about this box was the instruction sheet. Being a war gamer, most of us get so accustomed to receiving a box or blister container filled with a bunch of random parts and simply being expected to 'figure it out'. I suppose part of that is the manufacturer giving you the freedom to construct the model(s) as you like but for beginners, or lazy people (that'd be me) detailed instructions are great.



The casting quality is ok, but the detail on the torsos and faces is a little soft. Construction was rather time consuming due all the small pieces for each figure. I clipped out and constructed them one figure at a time, which seemed the easiest route so as not to get all the tiny parts mixed up, or lost. Something to note is that there are only a few bases (odd shaped, flat ovals) included in the set, so you'll want to use your own. I've used some 25mm bases from my bits box so that they'll fit in better with my other models.



Something else I liked about this box, is that there are some examples of camouflage patterns that were worn by these fellows, and the instructions mark the figures with the appropriate Tamiya colours from their paint range. While I don't own any Tamiya paints, they provide some nice paint charts here. I wasn't interested in painting them in camo, instead opting for a much easier grey and black uniform scheme.



As downside to the figures is that they are definitely intended to be models and not gaming pieces. The barrels of the long rifles are very thin and will break off rather easily if not handled carefully. Since I'm not gaming with any kids, I hope they'll survive. I was a little concerned that the 1:48 scale wouldn't look right against my 28mm figures, but they stack up closely enough. If you hold a 28mm figure up right next to one of these you can tell they're not quite a match, but at two or three feet away on the table they look just fine.

For my $16, these were a great investment and I have added several more to my gaming collection (see here for my previously completed Russian Infantry). I'll be using these models for Operation Squad: WW2, because they look good and are a cost-effective, historically accurate option for the game.

Paint recipes:

- primed with white gesso (darkened with grey paint)
- flesh base coated with GW Tallarn Flesh
- all black uniform parts, boots, belts and leather painted with a mix of GW Black and Fortress grey
- washed with GW Badab Black
- flesh washed with GW Sepia

White-uniformed tank commander:
- painted white all non-flesh with white
- used above black/grey mix
- washed everything except flesh with Vallejo grey wash
- GW Badab black wash on boots and belt to darken again.
- silver touches on the hat, buttons and buckles

Troopers:
- base coated with AP Uniform Grey
- GW Boltgun metal for silver piping
- AP Undead Flesh for some equipment and socks
- GW brown on wood
- P3 Bloodtracker Brown on backpacks
- rifles GW Boltgun metal with P3 Armor Wash