Bench Update for 6mm US and Diabolical Terrain

 Most of the US armor was bought painted from I-94 Industries. The infantry has yet to be purchased but the support units are completed.

Really nice 3D prints from Diabolical Terrain 

Bench Update 6mm WW2 Germans

 So far the German army is almost complete. I am not flocking the bases as they will be used for the Battle of the Bulge and possibly Normandy. This is my first attempt in 6mm. 

Work Bench September 2023 part 2 - 6mm

 The GHQ armor is for a 2024 game for Fistful of Tows or Rapid Fire. They are placed on 20mm square and 20mmx30mm bases. I was able to finish the Panthers, King Tigers, Mark IV, Sdkfz 251, Opel Blitz trucks, mortar teams and MG teams. 

Work Bench Update September 2023

 Now that the American figures are completed I am starting on the German Panzer Grenadiers. I picked up these figures at Historicon. They were primed white with a base coat and several washes of Agrax Earthshade and Nuln oil between paint layers to get a proper Cammo look. 

I tried pea dot on a few fisures and other cammo patterns displayed on the box. The panzerfaust figure was fun to paint. 

I also notice that these are larger than the Caesar and Pegasus figures and won't look too good on the same table with the Italeri figures. These painted quicklyand are the better of all available kits.  

Work Bench Update August 2023

 I am working on 1/72 US infantry from Italeri. I love the figures but there is a problem. They are larger than the Pegasus or Caesar figures and I can't combine them in the same unit. So I will have to use these figures specifically for the game. 

This will give me enough figures for a full platoon including a mortar, radio and MG team. Enough for a skirmish game with the tanks. These figures are painting up much better the the Pegasus and Caesar kits. I am very happy so far. I hope to get a box of  US in Winter gear from Italeri but was unable to find any available kits from my local source. I thought I could use these and can always get more later. 

The other project is the Terminator game. My son and I looked and found some very good troopers from Copplestone. These are works in progress, they paint up very quickly. We looked at pictures from the movies during the future war dream sequences. There are a lot of gray drab color schemes. These will finish quickly and the bases will have rubble and gray stones. We still need to build terrain. 

6mm buildings bought at Historicon.

I made several 6mm terrain purchases for my deep dive into the Fistful of Tows3 project. I plan on a WW2 game involving US/German forces at the Battler of the Bulge. I am still deciding on which portion of the battle to pursue. Perhaps Kampfgruppe Peiper's drive thropugh Stavelot or actions involving the US 99th infantry division or another section of the vast campaign. I did decide to start with terrain. 

Battlefield Terrain Concepts has a nice selection and is always present at HMGS conventions. The bridge pack (3 bridges) has a nice variety of the types of bridges encountered throughout Belgium. I also bought a few village packs to add variety to my other building purchases. These are resin cast and I am not sure what they will look like when painted up next to the 3D printed buildings of  Diabolical Terrain. 

 https://battlefield-terrain-concepts.myshopify.com/

 Diabolical Terrain - I don't usually preorder items as I like to see them first hand before a purchase. The models are as nice as the pictures on their website. I purchased the Normandy town houses and countryside sets and was not disappointed. For $55 I was able to obtain 18 buildings to flesh out a game board. I was also able to get more buildings at Wally's basement for $1 a piece which I will post later. I will probably buy more building from this company to for other scales. The quality of the buildings from Diabolical are exceptional. There is no flash or clean up. They are affordable and the service is excellent. 

 https://diabolicalterrain.com/

 

     

                                                  

On the bench 5/18/23

 The Italeri Austrian infantry will be used for Grenz Infantry and mounted as light infantry.  This way I can use them for Volley and Bayonet as units or as skirmishing light infantry for General D"Armee 2. They are a slight taller than the HaT figures and they don't look good on the same base. 

I then completed 2 bases of Hungarian Infantry. I need to get another box of HaT Austrians Marching to finish 2 more bases. I was surprised how easy and fun it was to paint these cheap plastics. I think the result is better than I visualized. 

The Austrian line infantry were based 6 figures on a 40mm x 40mm base. 

I am using the mounted commander in the Austrian command box from HaT as an ADC or as a brigade commander depending on the rules to be used. They are on 32mm round bases, 

I hope to have both sides completed for a game by the end of the year. To take a break from the relentless sea of white uniforms I decided to touch up my early war Germans for a 1940 game against the French, The SHQ figures are over20 years old and they needed some extra touch up work. A little Agrax earthshade and fresh German uniform and new basing grass and they are good enough for me. I had no idea I had over 40.  

Italian Campaign update on costs

I am tracking the cost and I have spent about $250 to date. The figure count for artillery is the number of crewed guns. The purcases are over the last 14 months.  I need more Austrian command and Infantry. The Italeri Austrians will be used as Grenzers and fusiliers. 

Mfg	Description	Figures	Cost
Italeri 556080	French Light Cavalry	17	$15.09	1 box	HobbyLinc
HaT 8297	Napoleonic French Command	24	11.78	2 boxes	HobbyLinc
HaT 8146	French Infantry in Great Coats	96	12.79	1 Box	HobbyLinc
			9.50	Shipping	HobbyLinc
HaT 8170	French Guard Chasseurs	48	9.29	1 Box	HobbyLinc
HaT 8198	Austrian Grenadiers	60	8.49	1 Box	HobbyLinc
			5.70	Shipping	HobbyLinc
			-3.13	Rewards	HobbyLinc
HaT 8225	Austrian Ammunition Wagon	3	6.99	1 Box	Oakridge
HaT 8226	Austrian Cavalry Artillery	3	6.99	1 Box	Oakridge
HaT 8326	Austrian Infantry Marching	48	6.99	1 Box	Oakridge
HaT 8327	Austrian Infantry Action	48	6.99	1 Box	Oakridge
HaT 8328	Austrian Command	36	6.99	1 Box	Oakridge
			10.55	Shipping	Oakridge
HaT 8062	French Line Fusiliers 1805	48	8.99	1 Box	Oakridge
HaT 8229	French Artillery 1805	4	8.99	1 Box	Oakridge
HaT 8296	Early-Mid French marching	24	6.99	1 Box	Oakridge
HaT 8297	French Command	24	6.99	1 Box	Oakridge
			11.40	Shipping
Revell 02453	Austrian Dragoons and Prussian Hussars	32	22.95		Noble Knight
			5.00	Shipping	Noble Knight
Italeri 6015	French Dragoons	17	11.00	1 Box	Historicon
Italeri 6093	Austrian Infantry 1798-1805	48	9.99	1 Box	Ebay
			5.99		Shipping
Italeri 6093	Austrian Infantry 1798-1805	48	14.99	1 Box	Ebay
			5.99		Shipping
Bases	100x 40mmx40mm		18.50
	Total cost		$252.78