Guest Book Review: Leichte Panzers In Action!

Max over at Fire For Effect! has written a pair of book reviews for WWPD. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I have- my Amazon wishlist has grown!

BOOK
REVIEW:

This is an older book, like most of the Squadron/Signal publications, and
can be found at larger hobby stores and online. Price is anywhere
from $2.99 (from Squadron/Signal on their monthly sales mailer) to
$10.99. The book was first published in 1974 written by Mike Dario
and color plates by the famous Uwe Feist. The book is soft cover in
landscape format with 50 pages, easily over 100 B/W photos and 6
color plates. The book covers all the light panzers from early war
which include the Panzer I, Panzer I Befehswagen, Panzer II, Panzer
35(T), and finally the Panzer 38(T).

The Panzer I section covers all versions (A-B and Befehswagen). There
are many great parade, training, and combat photos covering this
vehicle. There’s a great picture of the showing it with both the
2m aerial antenna and a large frame aerial like the Sdkfz. 221 and
250/5 (page 22). This is a rarely

Befehswagen

Figure
: Panzer I Command tank with aerial as seen on page 22 of the book.

photographed vehicle. The book also has technical data which includes production
dates and numbers.

The Panzer II section covers the early versions (A-C) and the last
production “F” model. Again, photographs cover training and
combat from all theaters of the war. Technical data is also
included. One of the most interesting pictures of the Pz. II is on
page 42. It shows a Panzer II F with a group of Marder IIs probably
in Russia or Italy.

Figure
: Panzer II either C or F model. Note the lack of a main armament
and possible two or three color camouflage. This picture was
probably taken in 1943 and either in Russia or Italy. Note the
zeltbahn covering the front of the turret.

It appears the Panzer II F is painted in tri color so it may possibly be
in early of mid 1943. It’s possible the vehicle may also be
smeared with mud. The vehicle is loaded down with extra equipment
(which is rare for German tanks). The two things that stick out the
most it is missing its main weapon and has an aerial antenna on the
rear deck. This and what appears to be a single digit on the turret
leads me to believe it is a command vehicle.

There are few pages covering the Panzer 35(T) which is the German
designation for the Skoda built LTM35. This is a captured
Czechoslovakian tank which preceded the 38(T). About 300 vehicles
were produced and the book has about 4 pages worth of combat
photographs. Technical data is included.

And finally the gorgeous Panzer 38(T) – Skoda LT-38. There are
unfortunately less than 8 combat photographs of the vehicle but they
are good for modeling. Technical data is included.

The book features 6 color plates. 4 in the inside of the book and two in
the rear cover. There are two of the Panzer I, two of the Panzer II,
and one each of the 35(T) and 38(T). They are full color photographs
and show color markings of the

Figure
: Back cover of the book showing Panzer 35(t) and Panzer II Auf. F.
For the value of the book it is well worth it.

numbers and divisional insignia. Also in the book are B/W drawings of the
vehicle from two angles. Included in the book are indicia of crew
uniforms and equipment.

Overall, for the price, it is worth having in the book collection. It covers
the basic models, interesting and useful photographs, and the color
plates are very helpful for painting and modeling.

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Display Trays

I now have 3 display boards/trays. These are infinitely useful at a tournament.

The first is the X Board by Battlefoam. I am not going to say much about it yet because we plan to review it in the next episode of the podcast. But- I do like it very much!




With some Kings for scale



This next one is a tray I made myself. Bought the core tray from Michael's for just a few bucks. Used glue and sand for the base, painted and flocked appropriately.





And lastly here's the desert one I just recently completed.

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Red sand at Ruweisat Ridge – 2 NZ Div vs. 27 Div 'Brescia' - Free For All

A friendly game in the perfect atmosphere :)

RED SAND AT RUWEISAT RIDGE

Ruweisat Ridge July 1942, 1st El Alamein
After a great victory at Gazala the forces of Panzerarmee Afrika led by Rommel had been in pursuit of the 8th Army. A hasty defence by the 8th Army at Mersa Matruh quickly collapsed and the El Daba position was overrun before the retreating units can take up postition and regroup. After that Auckinleck withdrew his army into a last ditch postition at Al Alamein. Rommel still presses his army on but they like the British Army were exhausted. Keeping the iniative Rommel's Panzer units captured Ruweisat Ridge and the Italian Divisions Pavia and Brescia moved in to hold the gains but were counterattacked by the 4 bgd of the 2 NZ Div. This is the story of 'B' Company of the 18 Battalion 2 NZ Div against II Battaglione Fanteria 27 Div 'Brescia'

Recommended reading:
Battle of Ruweisat Ridge

FORCES:

NEW ZEALAND INFANTRY COMPANY



B Company, 18 Battalion
985 points
6 Platoons
35 inf/gun teams, 6 tank teams

COMPANY HQ – 30

Major Playle (C/V)
2iC
Total 30 (2 Rifle teams)

COMBAT PLATOONS – 565

1st Rifle Platoon (C/V)
3 Rifle Sqd, light mortar
Anti-Tank Rifle
Total 195 (7 rifle/MG, light mortar, AT rifle)2nd Rifle Platoon (C/V)
3 Rifle Sqd, light mortar, Anti-Tank rifle
Total 195 (7 rifle/MG, light mortar, AT rifle)

3rd Rifle Platoon (C/V)
3 Rifle Sqd – Anti-Tank Rifle
Total 175 (7 rifle/MG, AT rifle)

WEAPONS PLATOONS –235

Scout Patrol (C/V)
3 Universal Carriers
Total 100 (3 Tank teams)

Mortar Platoon
2 Mortar Sections
Total 135 (3 rifle, 4 mortars)

SUPPORT PLATOONS – 155

Light Troop Crusaders (C/T)
3 Crusader II
Total 155 (3 Tanks)

For a further breakdown of the New Zealanders click below:
B Company

ITALIAN FUCILIERI BATTAGLIONE



II Battaglione 19°Reggimento Fanteria
Infantry Battalion
6 Platoons (46 teams, 5 tanks)
995 points

BATTALION HQ – 25

Tenente Colonello Melchiorre – Regluar (R/T)
2iC Tiziano – Passaglia Bombs
Total 25 (2 Rifle teams)

COMBAT COMPANIES –350

Fucilieri Company AS42
Primo 1 – Regluar (C/T)
Capitano – 3 Fucilieri Groups. Passaglia bombs, Solothurn anti-tank rifle.
Total 205 (7 rifle teams, 3 HMG, 3 47/32, 1 Solothurn)

Fucilieri Company AS42 Secundo 2 – Regluar (C/T)
Capitano – 2 Fucilieri Groups. Passaglia bombs, Solothurn anti-tank rifle.
Total 145 (5 rifle teams, 2 HMG, 2 47/32, 1 Solothurn)

WEAPONS PLATOONS – 60

Fucilieri Mortar Platoon – Regluar (C/T)
3 Mortar Sections
Total 60 (1 rifle PC, 3 Mortars)

DIVISIONAL SUPPORT –560

Light Tank Platoon – Elite (F/V)
5 x L6/40 Tenente
Total 150 (5 Tankettes)

Howitzer Battery – Artillery (C/V)
4 x 100/17 guns
Observer
Total 210 (2 Rifle, Staff, 4 howitzers)

Guastatori (Demolisher) Platoon – Elite (C/V)
2 Demolisher Squads –(7 Pioneer Rifle, 2 Brixia mortars)
200
For a further breakdown of the Italians click below:

II Battaglione

STARTING AND SET UP:
This was a friendly game and the first for my opponent Fabio. Both forces are from my personal collection and I decided to go for 1000 points with just enough goodies to teach all the basic elements. Choosing forces like this makes for very good games and allows the lesser units to come into their own, so no Tigers or Churchill tanks in this battle. Before we started I gave Fabio a choice of which force to play and he went with the Italians. The set up was basic for Free For All, objectives at either flank. The number of Fucilieri meant that his side of the board was well covered and the Kiwis would have their work cut out for them. Fabio had reasonable rolls on the 8 million bayonets with the only drawback is that the Company Commander (Battalion) was Reluctant if it came to Company/Battalion motivation.



T1 – Fucilieri
Fabio won the roll off and started the attack. One of the good things about FoW is that most things work out as you would expect and he elected to go for the small town and occuping the centre. His shooting was hampered by the mobile battle rule but his L6 tanketts sped up his left flank and caught my 1st platoon in the open pinning them with MG fire but only destroying one light mortar team after a series of successful saves.



T1 – NZ
The L6 tanketts presented a problem since the largest ridge was in between and from the start the NZ would have to react to the actions of the Italians. The choice was to advance behind cover of teh ridge, in the front of the ridge – not really an option on account of presenting them as a target for all the major Italian units or over, but this would be difficult terrain and restrict movement. The choice was to go behind and stay in cover. Infantry platoon 1 on the ridge decided to go to ground, digging in is dangerous in such terrain as it requires a re-roll to successful tests and being veteran and GtG means the L6s would from now on need a 6 to hit.

Platoon 3 on the left flank dug in successfully but the mortars had a hard choice. They had a good LOS to the infantry concentrated in the centre but staying in the open was dangerous without digging in. The target was too tempting and they fired catching 3 platoons, Guastatori, Company Secundo and mortars under the same blast but only killed 1 anti-tank team of Secundo but pinned all but the mortars.

T2 – Fucilieri
The L6s consolidated their postion and continued to rain fire on the infantry but were less successful. Fucilieri Primo started to occupy the houses and sent some infantry into the edge of the town. Since the New Zealand infantry was now dug in and next turn would be gone to ground they could no longer hit from long range with their Elefantinos and HMG but by placing the rifle teams in range and in buildings the New Zealand infantry could either suffer their fire and lay low or should they return fire present themselves as targets to the gun teams again. The Howitzer Battery attempted to fire at the middle tank. It is important that British tanks are only trained and present good targets. The howitzers ranged in on the second attempt but their hits were abyssmal and no damage was done. The Italian mortars were more successful and destroyed a British counterpart and pinned the rest.





T2 – NZ
One Crusader managed to get with in range of the L6s and because of Tally Ho fired twice and brewed 1 tankett. The Bren carriers took up a centre postion but out of range and LOS. Platoon 2 that started in a reserve position and platoon 3 advanced towards the centre as well. The mortars rallied and fired smoke to block some of the gun teams of company Primo.

T3 – Fucilieri
The strong advance of the New Zealand forces had upset the Italian plans and smoke from the mortars had rendered a few guns unusable. But the company could never the less muster a lot of fire against the advancing Kiwis in paticular from a HMG in one of the houses and they rained bullets at the PBI poor bloody infantry but it was as if fortune favors the bold and only one team was destroyed while they were pinned. Here Fabio also decided to move his rear gun teams from their positions to reinforce the rest of the company. Then the L6s moved towards the centre and utilised their high speed (half-track in the desert, counts as road 40cm/16") and could fire at one bren gun carrier and destroyed it. Tenente Colonello Melchiorre went to the center to encourage the Guastatori who had until then stayed pinned. The Italian mortars fired at the advancing infantry of platoon 2 and killed one team and pinned the mortars again. The Howitzers now had a choice, they were still ranged in but now only 1 mortar was under the template so Fabio decided to attempt to range in on a better target but failed to range in on all 3 attempts. Company Primo sent some infantry into the edge of the town. Since the New Zealand infantry was now dug in and gone to ground they could no longer hit from long range with their Elefantinos and HMG but by placing the rifle teams in range and in buildings the New Zealand infantry could either suffer their fire and lay low or should they return fire present themselves as targets to the gun teams again.



T3 – NZ
The turn started of badly when platoon 3 failed to rally and as it turned out the company commander Major Playle was too far away to influence them. The Crusaders raced back to the centre and fired at the L6s bailing 2. The Bren carriers entered the village and the combined fire of the infantry and bren carriers destroyed 2 infantry teams of Company Primo. The mortars rallied again but this time fired a barrage against Company Primo and killed of a light mortar of the Guastatori and left both them and Primo pinned.



T4 – Fucilieri
The L6 move back to the right flank and continued to fire at platoon 1 and destroyed one infantry team, in fact the L6s were starting to present a serious problem since they kept on nibbling at the New Zealanders with little danger of return fire except from the Crusaders. Tenente Colonello Melchiorre managed to bring the Guastatori back into action and they went to support Company Primo but were to far the have an immidate effect. Company Primo remained pinned that seriously affected their fire. This time the Italian heavy artillery ranged in on the Crusaders but only hit one that was saved by its armour. It was as if the artillery couldn't live to its standards.

T4 – NZ
This time Major Playle rallied paltoon 3 and the Universal Carriers sped to the left flank to catch the gun teams of Primo in the open and destroyed 3 teams. The mortars fired at Company Secundo and the mortars and pinned both and killed one infantry team. Platoon 2 advanced and was in a good postion to support platoon 3 next turn while the assault on the Fucilieri in the houses was devastating and 2 infantry teams and the platoon leader was destroyed. But this was not to be, he shrugged of the attack and came back as the Unknown Hero. Despite his great motivation the platoon failed to counterattack but stayed in the game even if they were below half strength. After the assault platoon 3 consolidated into the buildings and now held half the houses. The Crusaders took up a centre postition, mostly to draw fire to themselves but managed to kill of another infantry team from Secundo.



T5 – Fucilieri
Platoon Primo and Guastatori rallied and consolidated where they were firing where they could. Importantly the last remaining Elefantino managed to fire at the Bren carriers blowing one up and bailing the last. After this the crew fled. The artillery continued to fire against the tanks again catching 2 under the blast but failed to hit either. The L6s continued to fire at platoon 1 and again destoyed 1 infantry team. Still at the end of the turn it appeared that nothing would stop them from taking the centre.



T5 – NZ
Full of confidence platoon 2 advanced on the Guastatori but their fire and that of platoon 3 failed to pin any eyties. The Crusders used the oppurtunity to come round the ridge and now all 3 tanks could fire at the L6s, hitting each tank once and brewing 3 and bailing the last, who despite being fearless ran away. The mortars fired at Fucilieri Secundo to pin them to make their remaining Elefantino less effective.
When paltoon 2 assaulted the Guastatori it turned out that Company Primo was in range and the combined defensive fire scored just enough hits to pin the assault and kill 2 infantry teams. Platoon 2 retreated shaken from the experience.





T6 – Fucilieri
Saved at the last moment the Italians now regained their momentum. The Guastatori went after platoon 2 while Company Primo fired every available gun at platoon 3 and destroyed 3 teams bringing them to half strength. The Artillery finally did something against the Crusaders but only bailed one. Even after rallying Comapny Secundo could add did nothing more. But the assaulting Guastatori hit platoon 2 very hard. The remaining 2 infnatry teams destroyed one Guastatori in return but where then wiped out to a man. Fabio contemplated for a moment if he should advance against the mortars (which would have brought his Guastatori within minimum range of 2 mortars) but decided against it, the battle would be decided in the village and only the Guastatori were still strong enough to do the job.



T6 – NZ
Platoon 3 was pinned, platoon 2 was gone and platoon 1 was finally rid of the L6s but close to half strength. Only the Crusaders were left with enough strength to still pull off a victory. Thankfully the bailed crew remounted and the Crusaders advanced and platoon 1 followed them. Mortar fire was ineffective but the Crusaders MG destroyed the last elefantino team and left the way clear for an assault against Company Secundo and the Fucilieri mortars. They assaulted and only a single solothurn anti-tank rifle was between them and destruction. But never underestimate the power of small determined crews that after all the failed attempts af the artillery the small gun destroyed one Crusader and bailed another. The remaining tank was the platoon leader and destroyed one infantry team. Both fucilieri and mortars stayed in place and scored hits against the tank but failed to destroy it and it in return stayed in the battle and ended the solothurns valiant part. But again the Fucileri stayed in the battle and mortars and this time sent the Crusader off capturing the bailed tank. The Crusader remained in play but had retreated. The mortars were still at full strength but now only 3 teams remained from Secundo but they held.



T7 – Fucilieri
By now both forces where badly blooded and most of the fight had left them. The Guastatori moved to get closer to platoon 3 and company primo fired at the houses. The big success was when finally the Artillery hit the last remaining Crusader and this time sent it up in flames.



T7 – NZ
Almost anyone could see that the battle was lost so maybe it was in madness that Major Playle rounded up the remains of platoon 3 and readied them for a bayonet charge against Company Primo, platoon 1 also advanced and the mortars fired at the Fucilieri, failing to do damage against the depleted Company but killed of the mortar platoon leader. Major Playle and the platoon assaulted Company Primo and the Guastatori were just close enough to join the assault. The assult came through and killed off 2 infantry and a gun team. The Guastatori and Unkown Hero counterattacked and killed 2 infantry but they stayed in the fight and one guastatori and the Unkown Hero were killed. The Guastatori and Tenente Colonello Melchiorre stayed and destroyed one infantry and this time Major Playle fled with the one remaining infantry team of Platoon 3. Yet none of the participants fled the field even if Company Primo was now down to only 2 teams of the original 14 and had no platoon leader left.



T8 – Fucilieri
All that was left was the coup de grâce. The Guastatori and Tenente Colonello Melchiorre moved against the Major and the survivors. At the same time the concentrated barrage from the mortars and artillery finished off and broke platoon 1 the final assault saw the end of Major Playle and the reminder of the platoon.

T8 – NZ
At this point the New Zealanders had lost 5 out of 6 platoons and their Company Commander. Only the Mortars remained and without the company commander they fled.

CONCLUSION
The Italians had won, with only 1 platoon destroyed it became a 5-2 win but how do you say pyrrhic victory in Italian* Company Primo was down to 2 teams, Company Secundo was down to 3 teams and the Guastatori where down to 4 teams, all below half strength. The morale strength of the Fucilieri had held and secured a victory.



More importantly it had been a great game with highs and lows on both sides and even at the end it could go either way, all that was needed was to break any of those understrength Italians but that didn't happen. What did was we enjoyed ourselves and a good game by any standard is a perfect game for a beginer, made even better by a first time victory! The game was set in a very friendly atmosphere. Starting with a African dinner and then playing with vintage World War 2 music in the background, songs like Fanfara Dei Bersaglieri, In the Mood and White Cliffs of Dover along with inspirational speeches by Churchill, Eisenhover and Mussolini. With the game we drank a nice bottle of Chianti and as the evening progressed the commander of the Commonwealth Forces went with a more appropriate Scotch but all in moderation. This enhanced the enjoyment of good company and an exciting game and comes with my best recommendations.







*Vittoria di Pirro

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French 75s just finished

Just finished up this battery of French 75s. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out!

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WWPD News From the Front Episode 6!

WWPD News From the Front- Episode 6 "D-Day Extravaganza!"
-Steven, and Joe return with another new Podcaster- Luke! The gang dives in on the new D-Day book with an in-depth look at all the new stuff! They also interview Shawn Morris (The Terrain Guy), discuss terrain, and do a quick review of Stalin's Europe. This episode is very FOW-centric- be advised! Steven also rambles on just a bit after having a few too many, but the gang settles in and has a good time.

Download this week's episode directly: https://files.me.com/indierockclimber/gix8iu.mp3
Subscribe via iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wwpd-news-from-the-front/id398903039
Subscribe with other: http://feeds.feedburner.com/WWPDPodCast

Links discussed in this episode:
Shawn's Blog http://theterrainguy.blogspot.com
Sentinel Miniature Painting http://sentinelminiaturepainting.net
Fire For Effect! Blog http://wwiiminiaturewargaming.blogspot.com
D-Day Book Set http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&art_id=2197
Stalin's Europe http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=53&art_id=2244

e-mail us at WWPDPodCast@gmail.com

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Girls, Skeletons, and Slipcases

Just a quick update here. A few nights ago my pals Jaime and Dallas came over for some adult snacks and board gaming. We played "Midevil" which is made by the same people who make the excellent "Zombies!". The game is a ton of fun- quick playing, easy to pick up, and all around well done. Once there's a few beers in you, it takes on a whole new level of intense backstabbing and ad hoc alliance making. I have to admit- I prefer "Zombies" just a bit more, if only because there's a few more "screw you!" style cards in Zombies.

The Misses in her shirt

The premise for Midevil is essentially the plot to Army of Darkness. You are transported to a midevil world where an army of animated skeletons is the grim reality. We opted to replace the core characters with some 28mm cowboys for a little extra flavor. Sorry Bruce. In an evening of gaming, drinking, and pizza we were able to squeeze in 3 games- not bad! Would definitely play again, though I think 3 people is the absolute bare minimum needed to make it really exciting.

In other news, the shirts have been received well!  If you buy one- take a picture and we'll put it on the blog so the whole world can see how sexy the WWPD shirts make you look.  Everyone has been really impressed with the quality so far (like I said- they're expensive but I refused to let them look or feel like crap).

shhhh keep the secret.

And last but not least- make sure to tune into the next episode of News From the Front!  We plan to record it on Sunday and we have a hell of a show lined up.  We'll be interviewing Shawn Morris (AKA The Terrain Guy ), reviewing the FOW Battlefoam Army Case, and reviewing Stalin's Europe.  We will also spend a good amount of time giving the complete run down on a very special new offering from Battlefront.  I'll keep it secret, but suffice it to say it's a big 2-book collection and it rhymes with "E-Bay, Battle for Pants". 

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Girls, Skeletons, and Slipcases

Just a quick update here. A few nights ago my pals Jaime and Dallas came over for some adult snacks and board gaming. We played "Midevil" which is made by the same people who make the excellent "Zombies!". The game is a ton of fun- quick playing, easy to pick up, and all around well done. Once there's a few beers in you, it takes on a whole new level of intense backstabbing and ad hoc alliance making. I have to admit- I prefer "Zombies" just a bit more, if only because there's a few more "screw you!" style cards in Zombies.

The Misses in her shirt

The premise for Midevil is essentially the plot to Army of Darkness. You are transported to a midevil world where an army of animated skeletons is the grim reality. We opted to replace the core characters with some 28mm cowboys for a little extra flavor. Sorry Bruce. In an evening of gaming, drinking, and pizza we were able to squeeze in 3 games- not bad! Would definitely play again, though I think 3 people is the absolute bare minimum needed to make it really exciting.

In other news, the shirts have been received well!  If you buy one- take a picture and we'll put it on the blog so the whole world can see how sexy the WWPD shirts make you look.  Everyone has been really impressed with the quality so far (like I said- they're expensive but I refused to let them look or feel like crap).

shhhh keep the secret.

And last but not least- make sure to tune into the next episode of News From the Front!  We plan to record it on Sunday and we have a hell of a show lined up.  We'll be interviewing Shawn Morris (AKA The Terrain Guy ), reviewing the FOW Battlefoam Army Case, and reviewing Stalin's Europe.  We will also spend a good amount of time giving the complete run down on a very special new offering from Battlefront.  I'll keep it secret, but suffice it to say it's a big 2-book collection and it rhymes with "E-Bay, Battle for Pants". 

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Cromwell Painting Guide!

To follow up our discussion on the 7th Armored Division on the Podcast, we have this excellent article! Read more to see Pete's great work!


Painting British Cromwells by Pete Ellis

Materials Used :
Flames of War British Armor Primer
Flames of War Paint Brush Set
Games Workshop wash Brush
Green Brown (879)
Stone Grey (884)
Russian Uniform (924)
US Dark Green (893)
Beige Brown (875)
Green Grey(886
English Uniform (921)
Khaki (988)
Game Color Heavy Skintone
Game Color Elf Flesh
GW Boltgun Metal
GW Gryphonne Sepia Wash
MIG Pigments - Dark Mud P033, Dry Mud P232
Vallejo Pigmets - Brown Iron Oxide
Magic Wash : 1/2 Water, 1/2 Future Floor Polish, two drops of the old GW Black Ink, one drop of Brown Ink
Gale Force 9 Super Glue

After cleaning all of the individual parts I assembled the Cromwell tank as per instruction. I did not wash the resin as I've found Battlefronts resin models to take paint quite well, even without a good soak, and I've yet to have any paint strip from any of the models I've done over the years of thiers.
The next step was to prime the model using straight Flames of War British Armor Primer. I have tested this stuff before (I have alot of German armor...) and I've found it to be perfect straight out of the can. If you want a bit of a brighter color you can prime it over white, but I did not feel that to be neccessary for this project. Again, I have had no issues with flaking or peeling paint when using the primer as a straight primer with no prebasing.

After waiting a few hours for the Primer to dry I hit it with my Magic Wash mix. I picked up this mix from alot of trial and error. A lot.

I did wait for the wash to dry for give or take about 3 hours. After it was dry I hit it with a drybrush of Russian Uniform, followed by a 50/50 light drybrush of Russan Uniform and Stone Grey. After that was dry I added more Stone Grey and hit the very edges, again very lightly. You can always add more paint if you feel that you need more, but you cannot take it off as easily.
I then painted the Hessian Strips and Camo Netting Green Brown, the tracks German Grey, the front cables Boltgun Metal, the bags US Dark Green, the roll Khaki, and the tools and crates Beige Brown. After that was dry I added in some GW Gryphonne Sepia to the Hessian Strips straight out of the bottle.

Now to the fun part!
I used my MIG Pigments and started applying some weathering! I applied a liberal coating of Dark Mud to the track guards, road wheels, front fenders, a bit on the top of the turret, and some on the engine deck. I applied some Iron Oxide to the tow cables on the front of the Cromwell, as well as sparingly on the tracks and shovel. I applied a bit of Dry Mud on the very edges of the track guards and anywhere else I thought that it was appropriate.

For the next bit, I got a bit carried away and mixed a few steps in one. I took a clean brush and cleaned up alot of the weathering, blending it in more with the tank so I didn't have loose powder all over the place. I also used it to remove some excess where I went a bit overboard. I base coated the crews uniforms with English Uniform, and hit the skin with Heavy Skintone from the Game Color range. Once those were dry I hit them with my Magic Wash, and once that was dry I highlighted with straight English Uniform, then 50/50 English Uniform and Stone Grey. The Skin was highlighted with a mix of 50/50 Heavy Skintone and Elf Skintone. I took a bit of Boltgun Metal and hit the edges of the tracks, where I felt that the tracks would see some wear and tear. At that point I hit the tank with a wash of Rubbing Alcohol to fix the pigments onto the model.


And presto! You now have a single painted Cromwell Tank suitable for your 7th AD or your Guards army! Huzzah!

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