Battlegroup in 28mm - the 44th Infanterie Division project

[Gunbird]

Thx to a mysterious benefactor I have a 28mm WW2 project to complete!


Starting with the basics first. The backbone of each of my armies is a Infantry Platoon and I just tack the rest to it at a later date. I think I can do the same in 28mm.

Battlegroup Barbarossa; German Infantry Division Battlegroup, list starts at page 65.

Infantry Platoon (page 66)

Consists of 1 Platoon Command, 3 Infantry Squads, 3 MG Teams and up to 4 Support Options

    Command Squad - 6 men
    Infantry Squad - 7 men
    Infantry squad - 7 men
    Infantry squad - 7 men
    MG team - 3 men
    MG team - 3 men
    MG team - 3 men

Support options are:

    Combat Medic - 1 man
    Light Mortar team - 2  men and a 50mm mortar
    HMG team - Tripod MG-34 and 3 men
    Anti Tank Rifle team - 2 men with AT rifle
    Medium Mortar team - 3 men with 80mm mortar
    Anti Tank Gun - 28mm PzB41 gun with 3 crew (upgrade to 37mm PaK36)
    Infantry Gun - 75mm IG18 gun with 3 crew

So the basic platoon will use up 36 men. My benefactor has already paid me for the first 20 infantry that are all rifle armed, so that takes care of 15 men of the Infantry squads, 3 men of the MG teams and 2 men of the Command squad. BTD are having a 40% sale off this weekend only so I asked if I could get the following from him: 1 pack of officers, 1 HMG team, 1 medical team, 1 pack of LMG's  and 2 packs of SMG's. It turns out it is a few euros over budget,  but fills out everything but 1 LMG team.

So when it all arrives I have 34 men to paint for starters plus a HMG team and a medic as a buffer/teaser untill I need to source more second hand or cheap models for the mortar, the AT rifle, the AT gun and the IG gun options and then have a look at the command options

I am contemplating spending some of my own money on 28mm decals for the rank signs and helmet decals. Bolt Action do a nice set at 2 Pounds a sheet and I'm not going to paint details like that.

Of course, if we try Battlegroup a few times and he does not like it I'll just finish off the lot and sell it as a Battlegroup Starter army instead, cause I'm finding 28mm to be way more expensive then 20mm is. I do feel they will be fun to paint though, not at all that different then 20mm, so I'm hoping to do at least 5 figures a week and get the Infantry core done in 2 months time. On second thought, it could be a nice army to hold on to for Pulp purposes. We'll see!

Points to think about are:

    Basing? I don't like GW bases, I want mine to be as small as possible, so 2mm preferable. I've got a bag of 25mm round plywood bases of that thickness, and plenty of plasticcard for MG teams etc. Though....2 cent euro pieces are a cheaper option. Black trim.
    Base markers - same style as my 20mm so colour coded.
    Paint - I should have all the vallejo I need on hand, but better check in advance to see nothing has dried up during my 2 year hiatus.
    Background? - I've selected the 44th Infanterie Division to base these guys on as they fought from Poland to France to their demise at Stalingrad. You won't see anything of it on the figs but it is nice to have some history.

[Mr. Peabody]

As much as possible, we like to use Nickels (5 cent coins, 21.2 mm diameter) as bases for our 28mm minis.

Just sayin'. 

[FramFramson]

I'm more a penny man myself (a mere 19mm diameter), but it's nickels for the fellows with wider stances (a couple even have to be on quarters!).

[Mr. Peabody]

Yeah, pennies are sweet; they can work too.

[Gunbird]

You guys and your foreign money.    Why import when I can draw 2 cent coins from the local cashmachine? But I'll see what I do as soon as the figures turn up, maybe 2 cents is too small and I need to use 5 cents, I don't know yet. The 2 cents are 18.75mm, the 5 cents are 21.25mm.

[FramFramson]

Whichever cheap coin you use, you sure can't beat the price.

[Mr. Peabody]

Those 21mm coins should do the trick.

This will be a very cool project to follow. 

[tomek917]

Looking forward to seeing this progress!

[Gunbird]

Ok, a second hand lot of 20 riflemen from Portugal for 20 euros, a BTD order of SMG's, officers and a HMG at 40% off for 35 euros and another second hand lot from the UK of 38 troops including 2 mortars for 40 euros today. Almost 90 troops in under a week, all BTD, all Early War, for just over a 100 euros. God I love the hunt for wallet friendly armies.


With the new additions this is now fully complete troop wise.

        Command Squad - 6 men
        Infantry Squad - 7 men
        Infantry squad - 7 men
        Infantry squad - 7 men
        MG team - 3 men
        MG team - 3 men
        MG team - 3 men

I can now choose to spread the SMG's one per squad (as per the real TOE) and save some for the HQ options. Also, I've now filled the third MG team slot. With the new additions I can also field 2 80mm mortars,  a always handy weapon in Battlegroup (and real life). JP has mentioned he can supply me with a Russian greatcoated AT rifleman that should be converted to a German one for free.  So that is another slot filled in.

Depending on my painting speeds extra support options might be purchased at the Crisis show, but that is a big if. For now, the buck stops here (mostly cause I've depleted the funds I gained from selling plastic kits). Now to collect more "stuivers", 5 cent eurocoins

[Gunbird]

I've hit a small snag, the BTD order has arrived, and so has the first 2nd hand lot, but the 2nd bigger used lot seems to have gone missing I'm hoping it will turn up next week, else I'm afraid its a expensive write off and I'm lacking a lot of troops. Can't afford new ones anytime soon either, dammit.

[Gunbird]

Well, 1 parcel is now missing and that contains the bulk of the rifle armed troops as well as 2 mortars. Dammit.

After a good kicking by Piers based the first 19 figures, using a thinner basing sand I tend to use for 6mm just to see hwo it will look on 28mm.



2 officers, couple of NCO's, a medic, a MG-34 team, too many MP-40's and too few riflemen. But it's a start. Now the sand can dry, sanding tomorrow, basecoating on thursday and I don't know why I am rushing as I won't be able to do anything to them during my holiday......

[von Lucky]

I hope it turns up (had a few things go missing this year already so feel your pain).

[NurgleHH]

Would be interesting for me, if the dimension of the table should be raised for 28mm. It is not so much more than 20mm, but maybe it is a little bit to small for 28mm.
The rules are very interesting...

[Gunbird]

Well, the package is now officially lost. I've been refunded the money but being second hand it is not nearly enough to purchase the same amount of stuff new  :cry: I've decided to paint these figures anyway, and if I can afford it when this lot is done, to buy additional ones, unlikely as it seems as my financial situation has taken a turn for the worse that will last for at least a year leaving me with no excess income to spend on the hobby.

Maybe I'll get lucky and another suitable 28mm lot will be offered in the future.....

[Mr. Peabody]

Damn shame about the parcel. 

Here's hoping that if you stick with it, something will come along to make the project even better than you had imagined it!