WW2 28mm 1/56th British Infantry Platoon Supports finale...almost

This almost completes the last of the vehicles for the British Armoured infantry platoon for my upcoming 1944-45 World War Two campaign.

Oh by the way I moved house again....chased away by villagers with pitch forks due to the metal bolts in my neck....

Just joking, I've finished renovating the old house, whilst the new house...(which is old) needs a lot of repair work on it, so no more house moves in the near future....unless this one falls down of course.

8th Battalion Rifle brigade 11th Armoured Division 1944-1945; 

The Infantry M5 Half-tracks:
I decided they can have 0.50 calibre machine gun each as I came across a photo of the 8th Battalion Rifle Brigade in Normandy 1944 where the M5 they're using clearly has a gun mount on it although covered with a tarpaulin.

 These American designed half-tracks are a lot bigger than the German equivalent sdkfz251/D.

 The red badge with a white 54 on it represents the armoured infantry Regiment

Just three half-tracks for the platoon, one for each infantry section of 10 men. These resin models were acquired from Warlord Games.

I need an M3A1 scout car for the platoon HQ probably a resin model from that excellent manufacturer Diewaffenkammer.

Next I managed to upgrade the Daimler Dingo scout car with a couple of crewmen.

 A 'Bolt Action' resin vehicle supplied by Warlord Games, no plastic vehicles for me.

 The Allied star is common on most vehicles of this period. The serial number is the British War department number.

 This curious little scout car has a front and rear driving position.

The 44 badge indicates the vehicle belongs to a reconnaissance Regiment. A Black bull on yellow rectangle indicates the 11th Armoured Division, and 4 on a yellow circle is a bridging disc, indicates the maximum tonnage for the vehicle, i.e. don't drive over a bridge indicating a lower load bearing number unless you want a swim.

This Dingo has turned out to be one of my favourite vehicles, oh and its armament would consist of a single Bren gun which could be poked out of the hatch in front of the observers position.

And a Daimler Mk 1 armed with a 2 pounder gun (40mm calibre) with an armour penetration of up to 53mm if you're lucky.

 This vehicle does have the green and black 'Micky Mouse' pattern on it, it's just not very visible in the photo.

 The radio aerials are 5 amp wires, I left them long so I could trim them when I felt like it.

 With a green fire extinguisher mounted on the rear wheel arch.

 The hatch slides back

 Again the bridging disc indicates 9 tons bridge load limit

The crew member is a 'bolt action' miniature

Both these armoured cars will be attached to the company HQ for the upcoming 1944-45 WW2 European campaign. They represent 'the Inns of Court Regiment' armoured car squadron.

And finally a mark IV Cromwell tank representing the 2nd Northants Yeomanry Divisional Reconnaissance Regiment.  I found a picture on Google which shows the tanks name as 'Oliver' so I suppose that would be appropriate for a Cromwell Tank!. (Oliver Cromwell being a prominent English historical figure).

The 2nd Northants were replaced due to heavy losses by the 15th/18th King's Royal Hussars also equipped with Cromwell tanks.

 I've tried to make these vehicles as accurate as possible, so the unusual bridging disc is a black number 28 outlined with a yellow circle.

 The Armoured Reconnaissance regiment is represented by the green & blue '45' badge.

Again a Diewaffenkammer model produced in resin. The colour scheme are dark greens with rust and light dirt. Just a tank commander needs to be acquired and some aerials added to the turret to finish it off.

Next I hoping to complete the remaining German armour and vehicles.

Anyhow All the Best,
Peter.

WW2 28mm 1/56th British Infantry Platoon Supports.

British Armoured Infantry Platoon - Supports

Vickers Machine Gun Team:

The last elements of my World War Two British Armoured Infantry Platoon are currently in the process of being acquired, namely a Machine Gun Team equipped with a 0.303 calibre Vickers machine gun mounted on a tripod and transported in a universal carrier, which could also be used as a mobile gun platform.

These guys represent an element of the 2nd Independent Machine Gun company of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers circa 1944-45.

Element from an independent Machine gun Company.

The kneeling figure ifs holding a field compass.

Bolt Action 28mm figures

The Northumberland Fusiliers Independent machine gun company uses universal carriers, I acquired one from Warlordgames, mostly a resin kit with metal parts and 4 crew including the driver.

 Also I acquired a universal carrier for the mortar element.

 The insignia white '64' on black denotes a mortar unit, white '54' on red denotes the armoured infantry regiment the mortar element belongs to, the black bull on yellow denotes 11th Armoured division and the '4' on a yellow disc denoted the tonnage of the vehicle for bridging reasons. I have seen universal carriers with 3 or 5 bridging discs on them.

 The mortar carrier has a whole bunch of shell cases stashed inside the vehicle, whilst the mortar itself is carried strapped to the back.

 Squaddies backpacks are carried in the MMG vickers universal carrier

 The fuel cans I painted red because I used to own a vintage one of this particular type, the red was to stop it from being used to transport water.

I find it best to fully paint the vehicles before adding the crew, but with these the drivers torso is part of the resin kit, so it's better to paint the head separately.

The three squads of my 8th Battalion Rifle Regiment are being fitted out with armoured infantry carriers.
The M5 half-track was the main British armoured infantry carrier, unlike the American M3 the British didn't mount it with heavy calibre machine guns, I think the reasons were firstly they are vulnerable to direct fire, also there weren't a lot of 0.5cal machine guns available. Three of these models were acquired from Warlordgames for my Armoured infantry, these models are currently a work in process at the moment.

A supply element for my mini campaign, consisting of a Morris 15cwt truck.

The truck is manufactured by 'Company B', the decals from 'Warlord Games Bolt Action' range. A coat of testors dullcote varnish will take off the sheen.

And a Daimler Dingo scout car as a reconnaissance or liaison vehicle for the company command element. Agian this is a WIP I have painted the crew I just need to find the time to add them to the car.

Anyhow that's enough for this week, got some German stuff to paint up next.
All the Best,
Peter.