Children of December - part 1

Children of December is a Malifaux Starter set.

There are six figures in the set, four of which are December's Fist (or Ice Golem) and three Ice Gamin.

The Ice Golem is a large figure, on a 50mm base.

 I undercoated the figures with Citadel Corax White (I also undercoated Rasputin at the same time).
Next I spray painted the Ice Golem and the Ice Gamin with Army Painter Ultramarine Blue.
The figures were then dry brushed first with Citadel Ice Blue followed by Ceramite White.
The figures were washed with Citadel Asurmen Blue.

The Ice Gamin were painted the same way.

Here are the four figures together.

Rubicon Panzer III M - Finished(?)

Here are some views of the Africa Korps Panzer III.

The model was undercoated black, followed by PSC German Tank Yellow.

Soft stowage was painted various shades of field grey and dark green camouflage. The helmet was also painted dark green. The boxes were painted dark green and black grey. The bucket was painted a mixture of Luftwaffe Grey and black grey. The crates were painted Vallejo old wood and shaded with Agrax Earthshade. The two sand bags were painted Citadel Karak Stone and shaded with Agrax Earthshade.

The track links were undercoated black and dry brushed a mixture of black and hull red. The final dry brush was Citadel Ryza Rust. A shade wash of Earthshade finished the track.

The edges of the armour were dry brushed with Army Painter Skeleton Bone, as was the stowage.

This is my attempt at the view on page 5 of the Osprey book on the Panzer III.

Rubicon Panzer III M - the continuing saga.

Well after a rather long Christmas break, I have returned to the Panzer III.

I made some modifications to the rear deck, removing one of the ventilation structures.

 I used the depression on the underside of the errant ventilator and drilled a series of holes, joined them using a scalpel and then filed it all square.

 I then glued a cover piece on the inside.

And then filled the cut out with some more plastic card.

 I used milliput to smooth out the surface (a Crooked Dice Corporal shares the workspace).

 It has now been undercoated with PSC German Panzer spray paint.

Grizzling... The M4A1 Grizzly

Previously I mentioned the T34 in "Dress up" at the IWM Duxford, there was another two vehicles there that were not as they seemed.

Canada started licensed production of Sherman tanks (as the M4A1 Grizzly), based on the M4A1 pattern (cast hull and Continental Radial Engine), however from their experience with the Ram, there were some minor modifications: the armour was thicker (some examples) and sloped more and the track used was lighter and simpler and did not use scarce rubber. The track required a different 17 tooth drive sprocket (the M4 used a 13 tooth sprocket).

They built 188. As US production of the M4 series was thought to be sufficient, production was then turned over to the Sexton Mk 2.

After the Second World War a number of Grizzly tanks were sold to Portugal. They remained in service until the 'eighties. It is this late survival which has led to their appearance in museums, as the other marks of Sherman were either lost or scrapped.

So, if you see an M4A1 Sherman, it might be a Canadian in disguise.

So, going back to IWM Duxford, here are some pictures of the example that was there in November 2015.

 This is a doubly dodgy paint job, Akilla was a welded hull tank (see surviving photographs) .

 General Steel logo on the glacis

The IWM Duxford Land Warfare hall is not convenient for photography as the exhibits are close together and poorly lit.

 Probably not an original style box.

The D-Day museum at Southsea (near Portsmouth) has an M4A1 outside.

References:
Wikipedia
Sherman Minutia page