Warlord Sherman V (M4A4) - decals

So the base transfers have been added and varnished.

The squadron mark (Squadron A) is from the Warlord Senior Tank Regiment Tactical Markings sheet and the War Department registration numbers are also from a Warlord set.

The division insignia are from the Warlord British Guards Armoured Division decal sheet and the
Tactical sign is from the Warlord (individual) British Armour decal sheet.

Rubicon Panther G - more work

Well, I have continued to lay out the camo pattern on this Panther G.

The base coat is PSC German Panzer Dark Yellow.

The thick camouflage stripes are Citadel Mournfang brown.

The narrow edge stripes are Humbrol Light Tan (237).

Some of the stripes do not line up well between the turret and the hull.

This still needs much filling in (and the chassis side parts alongside the nose).

Warlord Games plastic Cromwell (bit of a memory test...).

So after sitting on the shelf gathering dust for longer than I care to remember, I have made some advances towards completing it.

 It does not have as much stowage added to it (and the base model was completed before Rubicon brought out their German Stowage set). An HO scale oil drum with added straps and filler cap has been added to the right hand track guard. A box from the Warlord plastic Universal Carrier has been added to the left hand track guard together with a jerry can probably from the Warlord SDKFZ 251C kit.

One feature of illustration of the Cromwell is the presence of the squadron identifier on the boxes either side of the turret.

None of the decal sets have one of suitable size, so I decided to try and use the very small invasion stars from the original Rubicon M5A1 kit. I cut out the star in the ring and then cut the star out of the ring.

Warlord Games M4A4 Sherman V - base colours

So after a bit of a pause while other projects took up my time, I have returned to the Sherman V.

So it has received an undercoat of PSC British Tank spray.

The wooden boxes have received a base coat of Vallejo Panzer Aces Old Wood.

Edges have been highlighted with a mix of Vallejo WW2 Russian Uniform Green and Old Wood.

Metal work has been painted with Vallejo Black Grey (including chipping).

Note, the MG mounting hole has at last been filled.

Spinne Mech and the SDKFZ253

On the Lead Adventures forum there was a question about the sdkfz222 and the Clockwork Goblin Spinne mech.

I do not possess a 1/56 scale SDKFZ222, but I do have a SDKFZ253 and the SDKFZ250 has a variant fitted with the 222 turret, so is usable for a comparison.

SDKFZ253 and Spinne mech.

Spinne turret on 253 vehicle.

 Spinne turret compared to Warlord Games 37mm PAK.

I have replaced the auto cannon with an MG, as I feel that is more in keeping with the vehicle.

The 37mm gun does need some detailing, recuperator under the barrel and a more detailed breech and recoil path protection, based on the Warlord item.

Might check out the spare bits from the PSC Russian gun set.

Rubicon SDKFZ253 as a Totenkontrolfahrzeug

Rubicon released a kit that could build the SDKFZ250/1 Alte or the SDKFZ253.

Unlike almost all SDKFZ250 family vehicles (and German halftracks in general) the SDKFZ253 has a roof. It is not too much of a stretch to make the vehicle airtight which would make it a perfect vehicle for SOTR as a forward observer vehicle for V-Gas artillery and as a pinger control vehicle (Pingers are a radio controlled zombie which allows the directing of the normally uncontrolled zombies in SOTR).

Of course, making it airtight would mean that the crew might asphyxiate rather than suffer the effects of the V-Gas. So it needs some form of air filtration system.

The Rubicon Tiger tank kit has the desert filters as an option, and I did not use it on the first one I built, so I have a set spare.

First, here are the sprue photographs (Rubicon publish the assembly instructions on their web site).

Because the 253 has a roof, quite a lot of the bits are not used.

The kit went together easily (the problem with the parts not gluing together I experienced with the Studebaker did not occur with this kit). I basically followed the instructions except I have not glued the wheel assembly to the body, I will spray both parts with Citadel Chaos Black spray and then the body with PSC German Dark Yellow spray.

Left side

Front

Right side

Rear. The structure on the rear of the vehicle are the cyclone air filters from the Tiger kit.

 Rear again. This shows the jerry can holder. It needs some smoothing out. The rack and the box on the door are inspired by the photograph on page 56 of the Terry Gander book on the 250.

Comparison shot with a Bolt Action SDKFZ251.

It shows the SDKFZ250 series is tiny.

The Walking Dead: All Out War Solo game.

The Prelude to Woodbury box set allows the solo player to take on the Walking Dead.

So I pulled my trusty DBA board (24" x 24") out of retirement and placed some scenary.

Brian is scavenging for supplies when he finds a camp, whose former occupants now wander aimlessly. There are three supply counters, two on the vehicles and one by the tent.

 First round, Brian makes a dash for the barricade. As this is a noisy action, he attracts the attention of the nearest walker. The barricade prevents it making contact with him.

A lucky events card means no walkers move at this threat level.
Brian once again runs, this time using the car as a barrier. His second action is to shoot the nearest zombie (note a replacement die was used for the zombie die roll). Head shot Boom!

Brian has top check that he has not run out of ammo, lucky him passing the roll.

However this causes mayhem, attracting the attention of all zombies in range. Two are stopped by the car, but one moves into contact with Brian.

Bad dice rolling leaves him taking a hit with a bite! Luckily his jacket, though torn to shreds cancels the damage, so Brian lives to fight another day. No other zombies move into contact, so another round goes by.

All fired up, Brian has another go at a walker with his pistol. He downs the horror but not taking it out of the fight.

The noise attracts the walkers again but only one reaches Brian and he successfully defends himself, pushing back the blood stained creature. At the end of the round, the knocked down walker stands up again.

Brian makes a strategic withdrawal past one of the walkers then turns and shoots again. This time success, double head shot. He also makes the ammo roll.

Drawn by the noise the three remaining walkers close in on him. Only one makes it into combat and Brian manages a draw by defending.

The event card drawn gives lots of new walkers, but as there are only two off the board at the time, they are the only ones  to return.

Scampering towards the tent Brian again turns and fires, knocking down a walker, but attracting a lot of attention. The walkers stumble into the tent.

Brian reaches the pickup truck. Because the threat level is above his nerve he has to roll the panic die. He rolls "Quiet" and chooses to search the supply counter. He finds a crowbar. A walker also finds him. He barely manages a draw and pushes the thing away.

The threat level escalates, so before he can activate again the panic die is rolled.

Brian, stressed beyond his limit screams. This pushes the threat level to the end point and the game ends.

So, Brian survives but the scavenging is less than successful.

I am not sure if the shoot and scoot tactics worked, i will have to try it again and see if I can do better.