WW2 in 28mm (1/56th scale) British Armoured Platoon 1944-1945

Hi, just managed to finish the third and final section of British infantry for my European Theater of War 1944-45.

3rd section of British infantry

Most of these have scrim (burlap) on their helmets added after I bought them from ArtizanDesigns.com, below is a short instruction on how to add scrim to plain metal helmets.

stage #1

ideally you want to add the scrim effect before you paint the figures but it really isn't essential, so here I've managed half paint the figures then realize I wanted scrim on the helmets.  

 stage#2

Acquire some 'green stuff' you can get it on ebay, roll the yellow and blue putty together until it becomes a green colour, this will remain pliable for hours. Place a small ball of 'green stuff' on the top of the helmet, then squish it down so it becomes a very thin layer over the helmet (i.e. you can see the helmet shape under it). then get a pin or scalpel blade etc. and prick tiny dints or dimples in the putty to simulate the texture of scrim netting.

stage#3

Whilst the green stuff is still pliable flatten some out really thinly on a mat and cut into strips approximately 5mm long x 1mm wide, then using your scalpel place the strip onto the helmet and fold it over in a wiggly shape, you can easily place 5 or more strips on each helmet. No glue is needed as the putty scrim sticks perfectly together on the helmet.

stage#4

Wait 24 hours for the 'green stuff' putty to harden.

stage#5

Undercoat with matt black enamel paint. Let this dry fully. then paint dark green undercoat and then paint successive layers of olive greens on the netting and light tans to represent the strips of sacking used for the scrim or burlap. 

 Both squaddies have their helmets camouflaged up.

That's it really, a neat and very uncomplicated way to convert your minis to wear scrimmed up helmets. It does make quite a difference to the original model.

Next post will feature the Sherman mark.Vc 'Firefly' for a 1944 European Theater of War game.

WW2 in 28mm (1/56th scale) British Armoured Platoon 1944-1945

I'm continuing to paint up my 8th Battalion Rifles - Motor Infantry Platoon with the 2nd Section (squad) finished and varnished pictured below.

2nd section 8th Rifles

The 2nd section is split into two unequal halves of:
Rifle Group
1 corporal armed with a sten gun
3 riflemen with SMLE rifles
1 rifleman with a PIAT (anti-tank weapon)
Gun Group
1 lance corporal armed with a sten gun
1 Bren gunner
1 loader with SMLE rifle

2nd section 8th Rifles

The Platoon HQ has been completed as well. Comprising 6 figures: The platoon commander (a lieutenant), the platoon sergeant and a signaller (radio op.) and 3 others, one of which has a small handheld 2 inch mortar used for laying a smoke screen.

Platoon Commander (Lieutenant) with a pistol and Platoon Sergeant with a Thompson Sub Machine Gun (SMG).

The third section will follow together with a quick guide to converting steel helmets to have scrim netting.
All these figures are 28mm miniatures I bought unpainted from ArtizanDesigns.com

WW2 in 28mm (1/56th scale) British Armoured Platoon 1944-1945

British Armoured Platoon  - (29th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division.)

Introduction.
I've been collecting 28mm figures for a World War 2 bash sometime in the future, starting with a British armoured platoon based on units of the 11th Armoured Division 1944 & 1945.

After selecting 'Rules of Engagement' (RoE) as my chosen ruleset I set about looking for miniatures which I'd like to paint settling on Artizan Designs WW2 range of 28mm figures representing the 8th Battalion Rifles the 'infantry' part of 29th Armoured Brigade

The Army list I have used is the new free to download 'British Motor Platoon 1944' available from: http://www.greatescapegames.co.uk/rules-of-engagement/downloads/orders-of-battle/late-war

8th Battalion Rifles - Motor Infantry Platoon  - indicating these Infantry can be equipped with M5 half-tracks.

The Platoon will consist of:
1 Infantry Platoon HQ section
the section is mounted in a M3A1 armoured car
3 Infantry sections (squads) (maximum of 2 PIAT and added as additional equipment)
each section is mounted in a M5 halftrack

Support Options:
1 Company support section sustained fire Heavy Machine Gun (2nd (Independent) Machine Gun Company of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers)
the section is mounted in a universal carrier

1 Company support section with 3 inch mortar
 the section is mounted in a universal carrier

1 Divisional support 1x tank (Sherman Vc for a 1944 game or Comet A34 for a 1945 game).

using RoE rules this gives me a Combat Effectiveness (CE) of 24

The Armoured infantry representing the 8th Battalion Rifles

This is the first section of ten men I've managed to complete this weekend, The section is split in two unequal halves of:
Rifle Group
1 corporal  armed with a sten gun
3 riflemen with SMLE rifles
1 rifleman with a PIAT (anti-tank weapon)
Gun Group
1 lance corporal armed with a sten gun
1 Bren gunner
1 loader with SMLE rifle

Bren gunner in the foreground, PIAT gunner in the background.

Each section of eight infantrymen will be mounted in a M5 half-track vehicle.

Each infantryman has a red strip on their arms with the Regimental name on it and the yellow badge with a black bull on it denoting that they belong to the 11th Armoured Division. The Corporal has a two striped chevron on his arms, the lance corporal just a single striped chevron.

I will crack on with the remaining 2 infantry sections and the Platoon HQ section next weekend.

Lance Corporal Smith performing a close recce through the woods

The PIAT (Projector Infantry Anti-Tank) was a somewhat limited tank killer.

I chosen Artizan Design 28mm miniatures WW2 range because they produce a good range of different poses also they're made out of tin alloy and they paint up nice too.

Most of the helmets are converted to have scrim netting and camouflage on them, this was achieved using 'green stuff' smoothed over the helmet then a netting effect marked onto it with a pin or the tip of a scalpel and finally small pieces of scrim (to simulate torn up strips of sandbags) rolled out into tiny lengths then curled up and placed on the helmet to complete the effect. I'll try and get some closeup photos next to demonstrate how easy and effective it is.