Tale of Two Cities (Week 2) Joe's US Armor Company

Greetings,

Mortar crews getting finished up ...

     Week 2 !?! Where did week 2 sneak up on me ?  How many times have we heard this as hobbyist and gamers?  Time to get to work and let the readers know where my forces are heading for Week 2.

     As a reminder, I am going with the US Armor Company.  They can be found in The Turning Tide book.  EasyArmy.com once again is helping me get the list to you !

Medium Tank Company (2nd A.D.)

USA Late-War

Platoon	Qty	Unit	Points
Headquarters
Medium Tank Company HQ (2nd A.D.)  p.201	2	M4 or M4A1 Sherman	180
Combat Platoons
Meduim Tank Platoon (76mm) (2nd A.D.)  p.202	5	M4A1 (76mm) Sherman	550
Medium Tank Platoon (2nd A.D.)  p.201	3	M4 or M4A1 Sherman	270
Weapons Platoons
Armored Mortar Platoon (2nd A.D.)  p.203	1 1 3	Cmd Carbine team M2 half-track with .50 cal AA MG M4 81mm MMC	110
Divisional Support
Tank Destroyer Platoon  p.231	1 1 2 2 4	Cmd Carbine team Jeep with .50 cal AA MG Carbine team M20 Utility M-10 3in GMC	320
Engineer Combat Platoon (2nd A.D.)  p.213	1 1 4 2	Cmd Pioneer Rifle team Jeep with .50 cal AA MG Pioneer Rifle team M1917 HMG team	195
Company Points:			1625

Source document: Turning Tide (D-Day)

     I decided to start with my 76mm Sherman platoon as well as my Armored 81mm Mortar platoon.  The Shermans can be found in the box set UBX05 M4A1 (76) Platoon.  As usual, I found 5 awesome sculpts with plenty of stowage and extras to make the tanks stand out.  I assembled all turrets with shut hatches except for the platoon leader sitting out of his hatch.  Stowage and 50 cals were also glued to the turrets.  Next I turned my attention to the hulls, adding stowage to each as well.  I sanded all tank treads and left them off the hulls for easier painting. Unfortunately we are experiencing a huge heat wave at the moment which places black primer on hold.  No fuzzy primer for this General.

De-Classified Production photo ...

     With the 76mm Shermans in line waiting at the paint booth I decided to move towards the Mortars.  I was lucky enough to have these already primed.  The Command half track is blister US200 M2 half track.  The 3 mortar gun teams were from the blisters US202 M4 81mm MMC.  I placed all crews on Popsicle sticks to make it easier to paint.  I touched up the interiors and placed the drivers first.  Here are the WIPs with the 81mm teams about 95 % done.

Before the heavy dry brushing and touch up details ...

      Stay tuned for Week 3 for finished photos and 2 additional platoons being assembled.  Next up are the US Combat Engineers and the M10 tank destroyer platoon.

Till then ... Keep the Paint flowing and the Dice rolling ...

Joe ... aka Mezz

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