Show us yer stuff!

[BurtWolf]

Great posts Mk1 and Pete, and awesome work. I’ve never wrapped my head around all the different Sherman’s but can rattle off all sorts of obscure German one-offs. I need to bite the billet and dive into the world of the Shermans.

[BurtWolf]

And Mk1 I love the extra stowage you added- makes the models that much more unique abs realistic. Wish GHQ would make a stowage pack!!

[pmskaar]

Great work on that early M4A1 Sherman company, Mk1. I love how you opened up the hatch on the command tank and put a crewman in there.

[redleg]

Great looking tanks Mark & Pete! Historical question for you guys - did the Allies paint a lot of their armor sand or camo colors in North Africa? I've seen some pics of tanks in a sand camo with what looks like a bluish color, but I thought it was a British vehicle. Did the US do that, and did they paint half tracks or trucks in the same pattern?

[Mk 1]

...did the Allies paint a lot of their armor sand or camo colors in North Africa? I've seen some pics of tanks in a sand camo with what looks like a bluish color, but I thought it was a British vehicle. Did the US do that, and did they paint half tracks or trucks in the same pattern?

The Brits in the western dessert used a color scheme known as caunter for some time. This was a 3-tone scheme with sand (or light stone), gray, and slate. Either the gray or the slate is often portrayed as blue. Can't say if one of them faded to a bluish color in the North African sun, but I'm reasonably confident that the Brits did not in fact paint blue onto the tanks. Still it is popular to show it as having a blue component.

The US Army, when it landed in Algeria and Morocco, painted everything olive green. Period. Just olive green. The markings were supposed to be in white, but there is much evidence that some units still had the yellow stars that had been used during 1940/41, having not been repainted since the instructions ordered the change to white stars. However there was no camo in the regulations.

Once in Tunisia the troops kind of thought differently of the value of camo. In particular the solid olive green stood out starkly against the dull color of the Tunisian landscape. Many units began mixing buckets of local dirt with water, and slopping the mud over their vehicles with brooms or mops. Some covered their whole vehicles, some left un-mudded patches around their regulation markings, and some just did various striping patterns with the mud.


I have tried to re-create this kind of ad hoc splashed-on mud camo on my US M3 TDs.

At least that's what my research has shown me. Could be wrong. In particular I am reliant on other posters in various fora on the caunter scheme -- having not done any particular research into the British primary docs. (Although I am told it can all be found in G.O. 297 of November, 1940.)

Hope that helps.

-Mark

[redleg]

Thanks for the great info Mark! I learn so much on this forum! I guess that when I finally get around to building some US WW2 units I don't have to worry too much about different paint schemes.

[redleg]

I finished another piece of my DD-214 project. This is 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Air Assault) circa 1998.

Just to clarify, I did not serve in 1-503IN, but I am building full brigade combat teams (well, I'm building the killing stuff anyway - no support vehicles). In 1998-1999 I was in 2-17FA which was part of 2nd BCT / 2nd ID. The maneuver battalions in the brigade were 1-9 IN (Mech), 1-503 IN (AASLT), and 1-506 IN (AASLT). I'm working on 1-506 IN next and I'm going to do them in DCUs so that I'll have one battalion in greens and one in desert.







Battalion Commander:


Some M966 TOW vehicles from D Company (Anti-Tank):


Each rifle company consists of a CO stand, a 60mm mortar stand, and 3 rifle platoons. The rifle platoons each have a PL stand, an FO stand, 6 fire teams stands for the 3 squads, and 2 MG stands for the MG section.

[Mk 1]

Great looking stuff, Redleg!

Do I see that you are also among the wizened gamers who use pennies for your infantry bases? I look at the pics, and it just makes cents to me.

But alas, I see so much infantry and light vehicles, but no arty. From a redleg, there's no arty? Surely there is more you have not yet shown us...



-Mark

[chrisswim]

Watch out, ROD is expanding its great looking military … to expand its domain & control.
Very nice Mike.

[redleg]

Great looking stuff, Redleg!

Do I see that you are also among the wizened gamers who use pennies for your infantry bases? I look at the pics, and it just makes cents to me.

But alas, I see so much infantry and light vehicles, but no arty. From a redleg, there's no arty? Surely there is more you have not yet shown us...



-Mark

LOL yes I do use the pennies, I can't do anything else with them! And don't worry about the artillery - I am also working on 2-17FA, the DS Paladin battalion for 2nd BCT. Hopefully I can post a full brigade picture sometime soon!

[Cav Dog]

Nice work on the grunts!

[BurtWolf]

Wow Red, that looks sharp! Great work there!
I use pennies too, but your basing looks much better than mine. What’s your technique with them?

[pmskaar]

Great looking stuff there, Redleg! I see you have got the infantry painting bug. They look great.

[redleg]

Thanks guys! They're not museum quality or anything, but I'm thankful that I was just able to get them done!

Burt, I use gray pumice on my pennies to give them texture. I just slap some on the penny and then push the dudes right down into it and when the pumice dries they're stuck in there good. Dark brown paint and then a tan dry brush on top. I don't flock them, but that would probably make them look a lot better.

Up close they're not all that impressive, but for me handling them a lot and looking at them from a couple feet away it works.

[chrisswim]

Merkava IV finally painted in ChrisCam (Aussie Camo) for the CoC.




U







Mi-6 in ChrisCam for the CoC.