Tamiya King Tiger 1/48 Scale

Tamiya Tiger II +Warlord Miniatures

This model has been sitting half made in my garage for five years or so. Most of the pieces were still in the box so I put it together and dirtied it up on the grounds that a bit o'mud hides a lot of sins.

The figures are Warlord 28 mm which fit quite well with Tamiya 1/48 kits.

Krupp's Turret

This is an early version as shown by the shot trap under the turret front. Tamiya refer to this as the Henschel turret but, as all nerds kno, it is actually a Krupp's turret: Henschel designed the body.

I don't get out much - especially at the moment.

Engine Compartment

The round bulge on the turret left side was also eliminated in later models as it created a manufacturing issue.

Porsche also bid for this project with his 'revolutionary' diesel electric drive system but not even the Nazis were mad enough to go down that route - especially as they lacked copper wire, but hey, details.

The Tiger II was a ludicrous waste of resources. One source I have seen suggested it took as many man-hours to build as nine Shermans. It was clumsy, underpowered, unreliable and used petrol like Germany was awash with the stuff.

Battlefront at Rochester

Battlefront Games are best known for their hugely successful WWII game, Flames of War, but they have recently produced two other armour war games that show every sign of emulating the popularity of their illustrious predecessor.

The first is Team Yankee, as shown above, a Cold War battlegame.

And the second is Tanks, a skirmish level WWII tank battles game.

Both of the new games are simpler than the original FoW, in line with the modern trend towards streamlined wargames that can be played to completion in a couple of hours.

 Matt Sulley, Customer Service Manager at Battlefront UK, braved the arctic conditions to spend the day as Guest of Honour at a special open day at Rochester Games dedicated to all three products. He was surrounded by fans all day. Matt, second from right, is here seen discussing some of the latest Team Yankee models .

Rochester Games is becoming well known for putting on these 'specials', dedicated to a game or company and they attract a great deal of interest.

Turnout was rewardingly high, once again.

Mighty Maus

Warlord Games have just released the Pz VIII Maus in 1:56 scale.

The Maus was one of those lunatic German obsessions with gargantuism that bedevilled their war effort.

Only two hulls for this 188 tonnes superheavy tank were built before the factory was overrun by the T34s of the Red Army. It had a 128mm main gun and a 75mm as secondary armament.


The Maus made no sense at all either as a battle tank for real or on the wargaming table but, you know, I am going to buy one anyway.

Just gotta be done.

Review - Bolt Action ValentineTank

The Warlord Games Valentine is a great kit. The bulk of it is in four resin components: hull, left track, right track and turret, with additional metal bits and pieces. You get a commander as well. I chose a closed hatch as I intend to use it for both my British and Soviet armies.

The detailing is really crisp and there is little in the way of flash. I had very little cleaning up to do before assembly. Then it was simply a case of washing, spraying olive green, washing with MIG 'black oil' and drybrushing.

The Valentine was the most successful British Tank of World War II, which is all the more surprising when one considers that it was really intended to be just a stop gap. After Dunkirk new tanks were needed quickly and Vickers had a private design 'in hand' based on the mechanics of the A9 and A10 Cruiser tanks.

By WWII standards, the 16 ton Valentine was only a light tank. Marks I to VII were equipped with the 2 pdr anti-tank gun and had a three man turret crew (plus driver). Mks VIII to X shoehorned in a 6 pdr by reducing the turret crew to two and the XI had a 75mm general purpose gun.

The Valentine fought with the British Army in North Africa and was incredibly reliable - some managed 3,000 miles. By 1944 it was considered obsolete by the British and was replaced by the Churchill.

Around 8,000 Valentines were manufactured in Britain and Canada. Around half went to the Soviet Union who requested the production lines be kept open long after it had been phased out from the British Army.

The Red Army valued its reliability, small size, quite transmission, low silhouette and decent anti-tank gun. They seem to have used it as a specialised tank stalker. At close range (and the Valentine could get in close) the 6 pdr could take out any German tank with a side shot.

Soviet tankers used the Valentine from the Battle of Moscow to the final victory in 1945.

Highly Recommended

Review Bolt Action Priest SPG

The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was nicknamed Priest by the British Army because of the pulpit-like structure for the auxiliary machine gun.

The Warlord Games model comes in three beautifully shaped resin pieces, the hull and each track. There was very slight distortion of the tracks which were adequately straightened when they were superglued to the hull. Flash was absolutely minimal.

The guns, pulpit and a few other bits and pieces were metal: again flash was minimal and it all fitted together easily.

The model comes with three American crew: a loader, a commander leaning on the pulpit and a man with a walky-talky - that's showing my age!

As I wanted to use the SPG in my British Army I replaced the head of the loader, and the upper torso of the commander using a British armoured commander model.

The only issue I had is that the release-agent on the resin parts is rather fierce and I should have cleaned the model more thoroughly before undercoating.

In the Pacific, the Priest was preferred to the Sherman by US Marines as a direct fire bunker-buster because of the greater explosive power of the 105mm gun. The Japanese lacked effective anti-armour weapons, making such a tactic viable with such a lightly armoured vehicle.

A great model: highly recommended.

Fake Ardennes M10 (Panther)

This is a neat model from Warlord Games.

One of the German Panthers in the Ardennes that were faked up to resemble M10s.

Medway Wargames Club Poppy Day

This week was annual Medway Club Poppy Games Night.

Andy Singleton (ValleyForge Painting) and I staged a Tank War scenario based on Kursk. Von Singleton of the Gross Deutschland Division was tasked with taking a ridge line whereupon Comrade Johnski had dug in a pakfront of 45mm AT guns and AT rifles with selp-propelled guns and heavy tanks - to whit a Churchill and a KV.

In reserve, Johnski had a platoon of T34s from the Fifth Guards.

The left flank of the ridge came under immediate pressure from a Panther and two Stugs, which brewed up the KV.

The Soviet right flank did better withstanding an attack from three Stugs lead by a Tiger. The thick armour of the Churchill withstood two 88mm hits with only track damage. My AT guns took out two of the Stugs.

By chance my four T34s came on in just the right place to plug the gap on the left flank. The Panther and a Stug were blasted but the remaining Stug took out a T34.

I was confident I would soon take out the remaining Stug but two of my tanks missed their shot at point blank range and the third failed its morale check and ran away!!!

 I have taken the tank commander's name. He will be shot, his family will be shot, his pet gerbil will be shot and a bloke he once met in the pub will be sent to the gulag.

Finally got the Stug.

The game ended one turn early on a die roll.

All my T34s missed again, but the tiger didn't and when we counted up the trophies we had five each: a draw.

Mind you I am claiming a moral victory to Comrade Stalin because the Hitlerites never did take the ridge.

Men of the match were the Tiger and the Soviet AT Guns who did most of the damage to the fascist oppressors.

All told, the club raised £138 pounds for the Poppy Fund: £20 up on last year.

Many conga-rats to Mick who organised the event.

Review - Warlord Games T34/76 Platoon

I recently picked up a box of Warlord Games T34/76 Platoon in polystyrene - 'hard' plastic.

What you get in the box are kits to build three T34 models. You get a choice of three different turret types classed according to year of build. The Soviet Union had a policy of evolutionary upgrade rather than revolution in tank design to keep the production lines flowing. The USA had a similar philosophy with Sherman and light tanks - and the wisdom of this approach is supported by considering who won.

Also in the box were three tank commanders, eight infantry, and three sheets of tank decals.

The tanks proved to be very easy to assemble, 'chunky' fast-build models. For example, the track/wheels are a single unit. There is very little in the way of tiny detail that is not modelled-on. This makes the kits ideal for wargaming models because they are quick and easy to assemble and the finished model is very robust to handling and being transported around in the boot of a car. On the downside, they are not great display models - which suits me as I'm a wargamer. Modellers should look more to Tamiya or similar.

I chose to build three identical tanks from the middle period of the T34/76 production - sounds a bit like an archaeologist describing pots - to simulate the great tank battles of 1943. This is the period when the  Soviet and German were perhaps most evenly matched.

My tanks are 'Guards' with appropriate slogans on the turret, not that I have a clue what they say. I chose to use only one tank commander to indicate an HQ vehicle. Soviet doctrine at this point was for the commanders to remain inside the tank in combat.

I chose to make some extra specialist troops with four of the infantry models, a sniper team, and an anti-tank rifle team. The Soviets used huge numbers of AT Rifles in '43. They didn't kill tanks but they wore them down with damage to the running gear.

I built the remaining four figures as part of an assault team with grenades, SMGs (stick and drum magazines) and an LMG.

I also own a Warlord resin T34 and the tank hulls are not quite to the same scale - something people should consider when they get wound up about which tank scale to use with 28mm infantry.

And the great thing for a scratch-builder is that you get lots of lovely spare bits. I put one of the tank commanders in my BA10 armoured car model. The early model turrets will make great German bunker turrets and generally  will be fodder for VBCW stuff.

The gun barrels are from the extra stuff in Plastic Soldier's Soviet anti-tank gun kits. You get two guns for £15 with six gun barrels - four spare in every box.

I heartily recommend  Warlord's box of goodies: at £50 it is a great buy.

Review Warlord AMD-35, Bolt Action, VBCW

The AMD-35, also called a Panhard 178, was a highly advanced French 4X4 armoured car designed as a long range reconnaissance vehicle for the mechanised cavalry. It had a decent armament of a 25mm anti-tank gun and a coaxial MG. It also had a properly sized two-man turret with a top hatch.

This is another of Warlord Games new kits. It consists of a resin one-piece hull and one-piece turret. To these you only have to add the following: two metal axles, four wheels, a gun, a back under-plate and a top hatch which may be fixed in the open position.

Detailing is superb and crisp. Look at the rivets, for example.  Flash is pretty well nonexistant. Everything fits and locations are unambiguous. The painted kit easily takes a wash. I used Army Painter Dark Tone with a light anti-shine spray on top.

The decals are also from Warlord.

This is a photo of a real one.

The Germans took over a number of vehicles for anti-partisan use.

As a reconnaissance vehicle it was probably more useful in the turretless version, as in the British use of the Stuart light tank.

My complete collection of French AFVs from Warlord's Bolt Action range.


Highly recommended kit.

Review of Warlord Games Renault FT - 17, Bolt Action VBCW

The FT - 17 is one of Warlord's more recent kits and it shows. The attention to detail and crispness of the resin modelling is excellent. Everything fitted unambiguously together using lugs and there was almost no flash to clean up.

The kit consists of four resin sections: hull, turret, and left/right tracks. Added to this are a metal gun: you get a choice of two, the MG or the light canon, and the metal rear unditching plate which comes in two sections.

I painted it in original French colours.

The FT 17 was the first tank to adopt the universal tank layout of engine at rear, tracks to the side, and main gun in a rotating turret on top of the hull. As such it was a milestone.

FT-17s fought in WWI, the Russian Civil War, Polish-Soviet War,  various Chinese conflicts, Spanish Civil War, Winter War, WWII (on the western and eastern fronts), Franco-Thai War, Turkish war of Independence and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

It is not out of place in any inter-war campaign including VBCW.

About 2,750 were produced, which prior to WWII was a big production run.

I think I may get another.

Highly recommended.

Flampanzer II, Flamingo

I've seen some dirted up tanks in my time but this one takes the biscuit.

Beautifully painted model by Matt.

Andy Singleton's Bolt Action Featured

My friend Andy Singleton is one of the best Bolt Action professional painters I know so if you are in the market for some BA paint jobs give him a try.

Warlord have featured his work again on their website. The above photo of a Puma is just a taste.

Russian Guards on the Attack

Mixture of Warlord, Tamiya and Plastic Soldier models for a '44 Soviet Guards Armoured army.

Bolt Action SA 64 Armoured Car

The Soviet Union seem to have based this design for a light wheeled scout car on the German equivalent. Nearly 10,000 were manufactured from 1942 to 1946. The problem is that wheeled vehicles had very little tactical use in the Soviet Union as they really needed roads on which to operate. The Germans had switched to half tracks and light tanks for recon. by 1942.

The model is 1:48 scale from Tamiya.

Medway Club Megagame

On the 11th, The Medway Club is putting on a Bolt Action 28mm Falaise Gap Megagame to raise money for Remembrance Sunday. I have volunteered to bring extra armour to fill out the forces.

Two Tigers, Achilles, German guns and various transports.

More British stuff including three Churchills, a Sherman, Firefly and Centaur, an M5 light tank, a 6pdr and various carriers.

More German stuff including three Panthers, a PzIV, Stug, Puma AC, self propelled guns and carriers.

Tank War anyone?

Woop, woop!

Everyone welcome.

Bolt Action Review - Hitler Youth

This is the Section Leader who has acquired a Schmeisser and some ammunition pouches from somewhere. He's the sort of ghastly little prig who the Headmaster chooses for Head Prefect and who denounces you for smoking behind the bike shed.

His keen enthusiastic younger brother and you just know the annoying little tick is going to get you all killed.

The Head Girl, all jolly hockey sticks and panzerfausts. She's beaten up every boy in the school at some time or other.

The Head Girl's best friend.

Struggling with a Hitler Youth winter uniform and rifle designed for a much bigger boy.

Another set of fabulous figures from The Last Levy box. Full of character and ideal for all sorts of shenanigans. This range goes from strength to strength.