That's Orks, obviously...
Everything's better with tracks!
...what did you think I meant?
So it's a bit of a long-running joke here on the blog that we don't mention my Orks, but no longer! Consider 2018 a Xenos-friendly year!
Cobbled together rear suspension/drivetrain...dead orky! (And composed mainly of tears and swearing!)
Orks are just made for kitbashing and converting, this is just a teaser of the orky goodness I hope to deliver!
Handro
Thought for the day; 'Green iz best!'
Behold, there is life in this blog yet!
After a few tough weeks we have had a flurry of activity with enough content to last a month....ish!
Anyway. Some time ago Brother Handro and I bought the Tank War starter set from Warlord Games. A fine set it was, so fine it sat untouched for an age. But no longer!
A nice tidy sprue!
I tried to make each one individual in its own way. The MMGs face different directions, the damage is different, and the central tank (to be used as my command tank in Tank War) has sand bag extra armour (albeit light!).
Im keen on adding camoflage to them also, similar to that seen here:
Perhaps this last one is closer to the level of cover my command tank has!
What do you think of the work guys? These have been primed since the pictures above and hopefully I can get some paint on them this year.
Der H
Welp, its been a busy few weeks. Lots of work, lots of real life shit going on, and a lot of time out of the bunker. However, we do have progress!
First off I'm keen to show off my T-34-88 (Brother Handro: "....or T-34-not-88"). I showed off this tank idea here, and was keen to get cracking once my T-34/ZP arrived.
To recap, the issues were nicely summed up by Tanks encyclopedia:
"The T-34/85 turret is hardly a likely candidate for holding such a long, heavy gun. It would probably cause the suspension serious problems – it is widely known that the attempts by the Soviet to fit a 100mm gun to the T-34/85 caused the suspension to buckle and break during firing. Secondly, there would have to be extensive and incredibly precise engineering in order to actually fit the huge gun in the T-34’s gun mount (and being able to give it any elevation or depression), something probably not available to any units outside of heavy factories of Germany. Thirdly, the gun itself was huge and complicated. In fact, the KwK 36 L/56 took up most of the internal space for the Tiger I turret. It is extremely unlikely that there would be internal space in a T-34/85 turret in which to accommodate such a large gun."
So....perhaps not....but the Pz IV-X kit did give me the opportunity to steal a Pz IV H barrel with a similar style muzzle break - Kindly donated by my good buddy Handro!
Behold...
The barrel was attached with some brass rod for assistance and gave the Pz IV H gun barrel and extra step up to the mount for the standard T-34-85 gun.
Spare track attached to the side of the turret with DIY track holders.
DIY plasticard stowage at the rear of the turret to match that seen on Wargaming.net's T-34-88 here:
So guys what do you think? Nice conversion or fictional nonsense?! Time to get it primed and painted! (Brother Handro: "HA!")
Der H
Thought for the day: "Seek no reward but the satisfaction of your Master!"
Today I am going to pontificate upon a conversion I am planning with my new T-34/ZP. The idea for this conversion came from the World of Tanks T-34-88 - a lovely little beasty that I run regularly!
There are several interpretations and accounts of various tanks (on all sides) using captured equipment in WWII. One of these is the account of T-34/85 sporting an 8.8cm gun from theTiger I. tanks-encyclopedia think this unlikely:
"The T-34/85 turret is hardly a likely candidate for holding such a long, heavy gun. It would probably cause the suspension serious problems – it is widely known that the attempts by the Soviet to fit a 100mm gun to the T-34/85 caused the suspension to buckle and break during firing. Secondly, there would have to be extensive and incredibly precise engineering in order to actually fit the huge gun in the T-34’s gun mount (and being able to give it any elevation or depression), something probably not available to any units outside of heavy factories of Germany. Thirdly, the gun itself was huge and complicated. In fact, the KwK 36 L/56 took up most of the internal space for the Tiger I turret. It is extremely unlikely that there would be internal space in a T-34/85 turret in which to accommodate such a large gun."
What ever the truth, It is very pretty, and in game terms would look good as a command tank in Bolt Action's Tank War supplement. To this end, when Warlord had their sale, I decided to buy a few bits!
The standard T-34/85 plastic kit (a thing of beauty!) comes with most of the parts needed including the hull, fuel tanks, storage box, turret and cupola seen on the T-34-88. The main changes will be the gun and the bustle. The gun had two main options; the Tiger 1 8.8cm (as in the story) or the smaller but similar looking PzIV gun from the PzIV H.
The Tiger I gun is larger (of course) and has three thicknesses, the Pz IV H gun has a similar muzzle break, but less of a step down.
The ammo box on the back of the turret of the T-34-88 is very similar to the Pz IV H turret box. HOWEVER, the other reason for buying the Pz IV is to force my good buddy Handro to make the PzV/IV aka Rammpanzer (hull of a panther with turret from a Pz IV). The ammo box is pretty vital for that plan!
The box on the T-34-88 could be made from scratch, and so I will try this before destroying Handro's Pz IV dreams!
I'll hopefully get this done this week and get some pictures up soon!
Der H
A conversation sprung up on Facebook's Bolt Action page (Seen here) about the Soviet 203mm B-4 Howitzer. This is a heavy (HEAVY) artillery piece mentioned in the Armies of the Soviet Union book from Warlord Games (The description can be seen in this post).
Weight
Combat: 17,700 kg
Travel: 19,000 kg
Crew: 15
Shell: Separate loading charge and projectile
HE: 100 kg (220 lbs)
Caliber: 203 mm (8 in)
RoF: 1 round/min
Muzzle Velocity: 607 m/s
Maximum firing range: 18 km (11 mi)
The conversation started with "Does anyone know of or can recommend a good quality one made in 28mm for BA?". Thankfully the internet responded!!
The main kits found are available here:
There is also a video on YouTube reviewing the kit...
I had previously bought from Heer46 - It is a very nice beasty, which to date has seen glue, Halfords grey and a nice Soviet green!
There is then the issue of rules/viability in game. Several comments on Facebook related to this artillery piece went as follows:
"Pretty much only an objective, yes?"
"It's a corps level artillery piece. It has no place in a platoon level game."
I can certainly see their point of view - It is a big scary piece of kit, and one that certainly wouldn't be common place in a field in the Eastern front...but then I saw this gif...
I believe this to be from Berlin and it shows this artillery piece being used as direct fire in urban situations to deal with larger emplacements or dug in troops. For my own part, I have the two breech-loading mortars which also fit this category, but in larger games, or games in which my Soviets are dug in/defending such a piece of artillery I think it is fair game....
....now if onyl I could find a suitable artillery tractor in 28mm....
...any way...I now leave you with some pictures of this gorgeous B-4 Howitzer in action. Check back soon for progress (hopefully!)
Der H
My order came in two parts - the first was the Soviet heavy infantry, the Soviet T-34/ZP and the Pz IV Ausf. F/G/H. The second contained the more modest portion of the order - a squad of Soviet Terror troops, a Pz IV-X turret and two blisters of the US army winter MMG teams (prone).
There are several projects planned here - the MMGs to go with my US Winter Airborne, the Soviet Terror Squad and Heavy infantry to go with my BA Soviets, and the T-34/ZP to have as both a T-34/ZP and a T-34-88 from Wargaming's World of Tanks. (Der H: "Handro! make the Kraft Panther!!).
The Pz IV is, in part, for that project! The bustle and the barrel are all I need - you can keep the rest Handro! (Handro; Score! *YOINK*)
Keep your eyes peeled for more posts over the next few days!
Der H
Though for the day: "In an hour of Darkness a blind man is the best guide. In an age of Insanity look to the madman to show the way."
One of the recurring features of this blog will be the Pledges! Each month we shall each make a pledge of a unit, character or other project from our endless hoards of grey and have them finished by the end of the month!
Last month Der H completed Lord Commander Eidolon, whilst Brother Handro bashed out a whole XV25 stealth suit team...
...lets see what we have this month!
I Der H, do humbly pledge to complete my Bolt Action winter terrain AND my Blood and Plunder Sloop! (Brother Handro: It's been sat there long enough!)
I Brother Handro, do pledge to complete one TX4 Piranha, as the Cadre compels me. (And as a test run for vehicle schemes!)
Lets see if we can make it 2 for 2!
TheHobbyButterflies
Welp, after a whole day of hobbying with my good buddy Brother Handro, I can now call my monthly pledge complete.
This month, and every month from here on, Brother Handro and I are pledging to complete something from our hobby wall of shame in order to justify this whole exercise.
For August Brother Handro pledged to paint an XV25 Stealthsuit team, with homing beacon and some form of drone - After today these look pretty near finished, so keep an eye out for those!
I pledged the rather meagre-sounding challenge of completing Lord Commander Eidolon of the Emperors Children, and so it has come to pass...
As with some of my previous projects (that I might get around to talking about...) I have magnetised the arms, head and backpack to allow complete customisation of the model (Der H: "Just in case....").
I have stayed pretty close to the Forge World scheme. The golds are a variant of my usual gold scheme, but I added Druchii Violet for the first time...I think it works.
The face was always going to be an issue as they are my weakest area of painting. This has altogether too many layers if I'm honest, but the final result is OK. Saying that, at least my camera recognises it as a face!
Overall I am reasonably happy with this character. What I am VERY happy about is that despite a pretty shit month in terms of real life events (even before my Kitten was run over) I have still managed to find some time to sit down, relax, and spend some time engaging in my hobby - It can't all be that bad then really can it...
Stay tuned for updates from Brother Handro on his August pledge, plans for the September pledge, and more general madness over the next few weeks.
Der H
Thought for the day: "The price of perfection is prohibitive" (Watch the video here!)