On the workbench - March 2014

Didn't manage to complete everything for February, partly because I was short of decals and had to order more. So for March I'm trying to get back on track and clear down some of the stash of kits, but there are a lot of tasks around the house and garden needing done as well.

The leftovers from February

• The pair of 2pdr portees
• The M3 Half tracks and bren carriers, which are waiting for decals)

Extras for March

• Two SYW Prussian Fusilier Regiments using the new HaT figures
• Three Matildas in cauter camouflage
• Two Priests in desert colours
• A Daimler armoured car
• An Ace 20mm Flak30 and 75mm Infantry gun
• A trio of old Airfix bren carriers to be modified to the mortar version

I'll also be at WMMS next Sunday

Egyptian Infantry in the Sudan

A last push and these were just completed hours after the end of the month. The figures are all the Stelets Ottoman Infantry in Summer Uniform 1877, but actually they are Crimean War figures according to PSR. The uniform is not correct so don't look to closely, but they look good overall.

The officers come from the Waterloo 1815 set

They'll be in action next week and hopefully they will perform better than history!

Ottoman (and Egyptian) uniform and flag details can be found on www.ottoman-uniforms.com

US Radio Truck and other bits

I have spent a while looking for details for the configuration of the Radio trucks on the CCKW chassis used by the US during WW2, but I could find little definite information on the web. Therefore this conversion is my interpretation based on the Airfix/Heller GMC kit. Taking a tip from Phil, the radio aerials are detachable and can be left on a magnetic paper strip underneath the vehicle for storage

Also included are a pair of Pegasus US turcks and a Fujimi Sherman with 105mm. The Pegasus kits were a breeze, but the Sherman was a pain, I'd forgotten how bad some Japanese kit instructions had been and I think the mould is beginning to wear.

Extra German Transport

AS I mentioned previously I thought I had more than enough German transport until I had to organise the 2nd Panzer for the D-Day+6 game. The couple of extra Pegasus trucks are now completed, along with a number of Kubelwagens that I had collected up in a somewhat battered state. I did add a few extra crew, but I couldn't do anything about the rather over-large drivers.

A pair of BA6s

My existing Frontline BA5s have been a bit prone to losing their wheels, so I eventually succumbed to buying a pair of the Pegasus fast assembly kits. They went together really easily to produce a nice model.



So now I have five BA3/6s and they were mainly used by the Soviets in 41/42 so perhaps I'll repaint a Frontline one as an Axis version.

A little extra - Saracen drummer

A late addition to my Saracens, inspired by a 15mm figures I saw somewhere on the web. It's a combination of parts from three different Hat sets, I'll leave readers to guess which!


I'm now tempted to make another for the Sudan, if I can source another camel - still waiting for the Hat baggage camels

French Dromedary Corps in Egypt 1801

Something of an impulse purchase. These are SHQ metal figures as there is nothing similar available in plastic. The Regiment de Dromedaires would really be used for patrolling, etc. and not really on the battlefield, but they do look nice. The figures are dressed in their late uniform aound 1800-1802. The figures were sold in packs of three, but only wanting four I added one of the French Generals from the same range as an officer.



On the right of the unit is one of the Generals accompanied by a couple of Strelets infantrymen. I've also added a few other bits, a couple more casualty bases and some mummies and sarcophagus (from an old Atlantic set)