Re-purposing with a Purpose

The other day, Willie came over and introduced me to Heroes of Normandie. Basically a boardgame and we supersized it with my Flames of War minis. This is another instance where we take a perfectly good game and add another dimension to it by using minis. Heroes of Normandie is a nice game with great graphics on quality materials. The caricatures of iconic WW2 movie roles is another nice touch. Check it out. 

Playing the basic scenario for my intro to this cool game

Flames of War unit stands fit nicely as well as the vehicles 

The most Iconic WW2 Half Track yet!

The ubiquitous Sd.Kfz.251 Half Track by Hanomag is one of the most versatile AFVs in German arsenal and one of my favorites. I also have this vehicle in a few scales. 

(click on the pix to enlarge)

Some of it's variants... 

Here they are in 15mm for use with my Flames of War miniatures in front of some HO scale prepainted buildings I got from my local model railroad and trains store.

In a previous post "More PanzerGrenadiers" (http://thehistoricalminiaturist.blogspot.com/2010/07/more-panzergrenadiers.html) I featured these infantry and half tracks that were acquired from two different sources. They were already painted which suited me just fine. The dunkelgelb (German Armor Yellow) was OK but was lacking due to a typical application of camo on these later paint schemes. 

I planned to repaint them to Panzer Grey. Also the infantry was finished with a semi-gloss which is not to my liking. I prefer all my minis to have a flat matte finish that really helps the weathering effects.

Since these were acquisitions I can only guess who the manufacturers were. My guess for the infantry is Artisan. Company B for the halftracks. Chime in and let me know if you know.

Because of the coolness of the Bolt Action rules and the relative ease of play, my gaming group got some renewed interest in WW2 skirmishing. So that meant that the day finally arrived for repainting these bad boys to my preferred color. Time to get them out of mothballs for a makeover.   

Done and shown here with a mix of my German troops from different manufacturers: Battle Honors, BTD and Artisan(?).

At one point I thought these half tracks were from Warlord but upon my investigation of their site and online store, their models did not come with an integral base, like these models show.

I've since applied matte finish to the acquired infantry and have modified some of them as the gun crew for this 251/10.

They're ready to fight!

Toe in the water... Part 1

I have mixed feeling about the holidays. They're great for catching up on things because of the relative free time that's available. On the other hand I get lethargic as well for a variety of reasons. As this year closes, I wanted a new project to get my teeth into. 

Gingerly getting my toe in the water again.

I craved some inspiration so I can start blogging about my latest creative push. I also needed a muse to get my juices flowing again. Eye candy is what gets me going. So I either watch some movies from my collection... 

*PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL THESE PIX ARE CLICKABLE FOR ENLARGED VIEWING.*

Opening sequence from 'Enemy at the Gates".

The ill fated Strelkovy charge also from  'Enemy at the Gates" 

or go on the web where it'll link me to awesome imagery.  

The ubiquitous SU-76.

The ubiquitous SdKfz 251 HT with 37mm gun.

Getting inspired yet? I surely did. 

And if you'd read my earlier posts you'll note that I'm quite a fan of Stalingrad and the Eastern Theater. My later projects involved lots of 28mm. Bigger scale and better detail for these aging eyes...  

A Stalingrad table we set up at Justo's house while he was still in Houston for a game day.

NKVD Maxim mg crew from BTD.

Assorted Strelkovy from BTD.

Fallshcirmjagers from BTD staging for a mission.

Stealthy Fallshcirmjagers on their way avoiding the T34 beyond.

"Take out those Stalin's Organs!!"

However, I did start out in 15mm when I was consumed with FoW. This smaller scale has its advantages. 

The infamous 88 from Battlefront for FoW.

A pair of Sd Kfz 7/2 with the 37mm AA gun.

My all time favorite German tank: the Panther!!

Looking through my collection I realized the wealth of material that I already have in hand. But like most gamers I'm a pack rat/collector/accumulator and I always want more!

Then recently, Chris Trevino from our group (who's NOT my muse) ran a few Crossfire games. That got me intrigued because I've been itching to use my already completed Flames of War (FoW) Eastern Front Germans and Russians for something else. Since I was burnt out of playing FoW I sadly put them in mothballs. 

Kubelwagens and Sd Kfz 7/1 (Quad 20mm AA)

Assorted Sd Kfz 251 HT and Opel Blitz

KV8 (flame tanks)

Panthers and Maultiers 

BA10M Armored Cars, Stuarts and Honeys

Mid War T34-76 

All of a sudden I got excited thinking about using them again with another rules set. I had to get them out of storage and back on the table! And what better way to do so than to start another terrain table.

'So why not another Stalingrad-ish, urban ruins with a rail yard to boot in 15mm?" I thought to myself. And this time, I'll do it better than my previous half-hearted attempts.

My recently sold generic and unweathered box cars on equally uninspired flocked Kato tracks.  

This was taken in February of this year where I staged them with some
of my FoW Soviet Scouts with a KV1 in support. 

After a little ruminating and eye candy research to get me primed I immediately set out for my local train store and Eureka! I found all kinds of cool stuff. Here's my latest acquisitions. 

Compare these beautifully weathered boxcars from the ones above.

Just a small part of my Stalingrad and rail yard table. The Kato tracks will
definitely be weathered and flocked just in case you're wondering.  

Scav Alert! Make sure that you do check out the consignment shelves of these stores b/c they're chock full of pre-assembled HO scale buildings, water tanks, towers, gantries, weathered boxcars, etc. that's perfect for 15mm.

Stay tuned...

15mm Buildings, Terrain, etc.

As a slight departure from the 28mm scale in my gaming collection I'm taking a break decided to take out my WW2 15mm buildings, terrain and accessories for some needed photo ops and posing. 


I prefer the Eastern Front so most of my buildings belong in that theater.

(click on the pix to enlarge)

Gale Force Nine - one of the first boxed sets that Battlefront / FoW partenered with and is well worth it.

JR Miniatures Russian Cottages (great pre-painted models but why oh why are they solid?)

Miniature Building Authority's Eastern Front Farm Buildings

The removal rooves are a must for any wargame system.

Miniature Building Authority's Industrial Buildings

Miscellaneous Ruins, Bridge and kit bashed and weathered plastic model Church (N Scale). It's large enough to fit a medium FoW stand inside. I know, this model's more appropriate for Western Europe but hey, it's all useable.

Miniature Building Authority's Power Plant - a must for the Eastern Front! 

Kato Uni-track (HO Scale) sections w/a weak attempt at flocking makes for real quick and easy rail yard terrain. Throw in a couple of generic, period boxcars and voila!

Soviet Scouts in amoeba pattern smocks advance with PPsh SMGs supported by a KV1.