28mm Napolenoic "French" Elf Hussar

Several years ago I got some Alternative Armies Flintloque fantasy Napoleonic 28mm figures. The game is a skirmish system based in an alternate reality where the French are Elves, the British are Orcs, the various Germans are Dwarves, the Austrians dogs and the Russian undead. Some of their early figures are really nice, particularly from the boxed scenario sets. I painted a few but did not get round to the rest but now I quite fancy doing some more as you don't need a lot for a game. Here is the first one I did, Colonel Etienne Gerard of the 10th Crown Hussars.

A twirl in still photos to see all round the figure:

Russian IS 85 and KV 85 conversions

A brief post to show you two of the conversions I have made using Takara Russian JS 2 and KV 1 tanks - the IS 85 and KV 85, basically both stop gap heavy tanks until the IS 2 (or JS 2) arrived.

The IS 85 (or IS 1 or JS 1) I made after cutting off the guns from the Takara JS 2 model to convert some ISU 152s into ISU 122s (see my other post covering that). I replaced the gun with a brass rod which was straightforward but I then had to carve the front glacis of the JS 2 hull as the IS 85 has much less smooth front armour. I did this with a small file to get the vertical part and then used a craft knife to scrape the remainder to the right shape.

The KV 85 was more straightforward. I just cut the muzzle break from the gun of the Takara JS 2, sat it on the hull of a Takara KV 1 and repainted.

I know you can get at least the KV 85 from some metal manufacturers but I have so many Takara Russian tanks I was keen that they all match in terms of scale.

Russian SP guns part 2 of 2

And now for the second post featuring the Takara SP guns. This includes the ISU 152 (and three colour schemes produced by Takara) as well as my conversion to make the ISU 122. Also the Takara SU 122.

I have always loved the ISU 122 and 152 and with Flames of War you can use a lot of them so I can indulge my megalomania! I used a wash on all the tanks and a bit of a dry brush and extra 'mud' on the wheels.

Just a historical note for those that aren't already aware. We often refer to the JS 2 tank and the JSU 152 etc., but the Russian spelling of Joseph is actually Iosif and hence IS 2 or ISU 152 etc.

The unit has an IS 2 as a command tank, which is also Takara. Turret number has been added.

I have used all three of the Takara colour schemes, with one company in winter, then other two in green with the camouflaged version as the command tank. I have added some decals to help identify command vehicles. One command vehicle has a Pithead tank commander added.

For the ISU 122 I used the gun from the Takara IS 2 (or JS 2 if you prefer). That was so I got the proper taper on the barrel. I added a brass rod to the gunless turret to make a turret for the IS 85 (or IS 1) - I will do a post on my IS 85 and KV 85 conversions at a later date.

 The SU 122s, with the command vehicle again using a Pithead tank commander figure.

And finally, having used some turrets for KV 85 conversions I was left with some spare IS 2 hulls and I made into an IS-2T (or JS-2T) which is the recovery tractor version used later in the war (originally the Russians would just use tanks where the turret had been damaged and removed, later added a proper cover for the hole). I have more than I need of these so will list them on Ebay.co.uk from time to time (one listed as I post - search for 1/144 JS-2T).

Russian SP guns part 1 of 2

A couple of posts on my Russian SP guns. These are all Arrowhead Miniatures and then next will be Takara models.

So, three types of self-propelled guns: five of the SU 100, three of the converted Panzer III or  SU 76i, and at the back five of the more usual SU 76. As noted above, these are all Arrowhead and as with all my metal vehicles I have based them.

Some close-ups of the Russian conversion of the Panzer III to make the SU 76i assault gun. The commander figure is from Pithead. I really like these Pithead crew as they come with the hatches as part of the figure and so can be easily added to an already painted vehicles and no messing about - just stick them on top. Tank numbers are painted on - this is before I found the various decals available, but I like the effect anyway.

Now the more famous SU 76 or "little bitch":

And finally the powerful SU 100. Not got any SU 85s yet, which may be a project for the future. Crewman again Pithead.

German WW2 Artillery part 1 - 105mm battery with AT guns

The first of my posts on German artillery. This is a 105mm battery with some heavy anti-tank defense.

The artillery are Arrowhead FH18/40 105mm Howitzers with Arrowhead crew. The guns are in FOW log gun emplacements - despite being for 15mm they work very well for 10mm. I just added some flock to the emplacement bases.

The artillery tractors are Sd Kfz 7s by New Toys Millennium and just given a wash and dry brush.

The command stands are Arrowhead figures and the map table is made of some crates from Takara and the map is an actual WW2 campaign map, scaled down and printed off. The Kübelwagen is a Takara model with the detail painted on and given a wash and dry brush (the only thing for me with Takara is that while the basic painting is fine the detail is rarely painted well, so for the Kübelwagen the seats where not tidy and the canopy was just grey).

Part of the anti-tank defense are a couple of 88mm Flak guns. They are behind FOW sandbag entrenchments, for these I needed to repaint the sandbags and then wash and dry brush. The guns and crew are Arrowhead. The bases have shell crates which are Takara.

The final part of the anti-tank defense are a couple of Pak 43 88mm. The guns and crew are Arrowhead. The entrenchments are FOW again and these log versions just needed some flock added.

The RSO Ost tractors are Pithead.