On the workbench - July part 3

When I got my TD Ju52s, at the bottom of the bag I discovered a float, which quickly proved to be designed to fit the big holes that I had earlier spent a lot of time filling in.  That got me thinking....

A quick blitz on the internet provided some nice pictures of Ju52 floatplanes, so at Salute I picked up 3 packs.  I also ordered some 1/600 photo-etch ladders, as pictures of these planes shows a permanent ladder attached from the left float to the passenger cabin door.

I then set about working out how to attach the floats with a more intricate structure than the original model.  The TD model as supplied is quite sturdy (always a positive attribute for war-games kit) and as the floats & undercarriage are under the plane, you won't see the attachment much.

But, what the heck!

Here are photos of the project so far - this is my "Mark 1", the ladder is not attached but otherwise it is finished......

The TD Ju52 Floatplane, what you get.....

I only "push-fit" attached the floats - they hold up well without glue

The "Mark 1" Ju 52 FP, which has all the add-ons from previous blogs plus detailed landing gear, which of course is invisible in this photo !

Not the best photo, but you can see that the gear consists of four struts per float.  There is a cross-wise brace that may be added to the "Mark II" model.  No ladder, as I was worried whether it would survive transport back to the UK for undercoating.

The Ju52 Floatplane was used by the Luftwaffe in all theatres of war (yes, in N Africa too, as it could load/unload in harbours or the beach).  There are some nice colour schemes to experiment with.

On the workbench - July part 2

Here's a quick addition to the Heroics & Ros 1/300 Dw D520.  I like to add small details to planes to give them a bit of individuality or to correct details that the manufacturer has missed.

The real plane has a radiator intake (? OK, I'm guessing) that is either side of the engine and parallel to and below the exhausts.  It is pretty prominent (check the internet) so I added mine from plastic rod, filed to the correct profile.  It seems to be round at the spinner end of the plane and almost flat at the tail end.  Here's what mine looks like:

On the workbench - July part 1

Here are a couple of modifications to the 1/600 B-17 G from Tumbling Dice

TD B17Gs (and I have a lot of these) sometimes have the top turret MG missing.  Here's an easy fix that also adds a little variety to your bomber stream....

USAAF B17 Gs had a defensive weapons upgrade over earlier models.  They got a chin turret and two armoured gun positions in the Navigator/Bombadier compartment, either side of the nose.  It is easy to model these two positions using a bit of plastic rod, cut to shape and sanded down....

Gallery - 2

Jg 1 sported a really neat chequered paint scheme in late 1943.  Here is my 1/600 take on it....

3 staffel, JG 1, highly visible!

With 1 Staffel following 

From the side.  TD planes, Dom's Decals + markings, Beacon transfers (1/285 scale) tiny checks.  

Gallery - 1

OK, I am very much experimenting here.  My aim is to have a separate page with pictures of my planes......

so here goes!

B 17s from 12 o'clock level.  TD planes, Dom's Decals.

Same planes from a slightly different angle.

Sturmstaffel 1 - Heavily armoured FW 190 A-6, A-7 & A-8s to take on the USAAF Heavies

From above - the effect is a little marred by the stands

Side view.  TD FW190, Dom's transfers.  The real model is sitting on a paperclip, what you are looking at is a lot bigger than reality.

On the workbench - June 2017 part 2

Albatross D IV & V from Jasta 5.  These take longer to paint than the RFC, as they are nice and colourful....

RFC RE8 & DH4.  The Re8s have exhaust stains on the upper wing

Photo'd in Natural light, maybe I need to add lighting? 

On the workbench - June 2017 part 1

Here's some photos of stuff on the workbench - painted but not yet varnished.  Photos were taken with my wife's phone - yet to be fully mastered by yours truly.  I've photo'd these on a white background - hopefully the planes stand out more clearly......

3 x B17-G  91st BG (red) & 94 BG (Yellow)  Black side hatches & marking triangles/squares are transfer paper.

448 BG B24-J - more to follow..... The open side hatches are squares of black transfer, as I find it really hard to paint squares.

Mitsubishi Bettys (now where are those British warships......?)

Tumbling Dice Ju 52 - part 3

The first batch of Ju 52 are now painted.  4 are from 2./KGrzbV 172 (in Tunisia), 1 is from the Deutsche Waffenstillstands Commission (based in Morocco).

Having spent all that time getting the undercarriage looking nice, you now don't see it.... !  They do sit correctly when landed and I'll photo them on stands, and thus flying, soon.

I'm looking forward to getting them varnished, probably in the Autumn.....  They will then have a short career as cannon fodder.....  roll on Operation Flax.

Busy with Life

I've not posted anything in a while.  I went to the UK in April for Salute 2017, which was really great.

My friend Mark and I had fun looking at the games and exchanging money for metal.

Back to Jakarta, I have got a number of planes painted but need another UK trip to get them varnished.....  so they will feature in the "on the workbench" feature.

Back in the game - FOW 2017-03-25

Last Saturday my "irregular" Jakarta opponent and I played FOW for the afternoon.  Chun Long hails from Singapore and had recently brought over scenery and fresh tanks.

We played a scenario based on the battle of Kursk, 1943 - I took the Germans and Chun Long the Russians.  The objective was a railway station at the centre of the Russian base edge.

My OOB was:

Tiger Platoon
Command Tiger Tank x 1
Troop 1 - 2 x Tiger Tank
Troop 2 - 2 x Tiger Tank

Panther Platoon
Command Panther x 1
Recon - 2 x 234/1 (8 wheel Armoured Car)
Panther Troop - 3 x Panther
PzIV Troop - 3 x Pz IV

The German force.

The Russians had lots of:
T34/76
Matildas
Valentines
76mm ATG
Su 100
ISU 152

Chun Long started with his ATG dug in on table, his tanks arrived in turn 1.

I deployed the Tigers to my left, the Panther team to my right.  My initial move was to send my Recce up the road, followed by the Panthers, whilst my Pz IVs stayed on a hill to give support.

Meanwhile my Tigers advanced menacingly & ponderously towards the Soviet defences.  My Recce unit got hit, took casualties & retreated off table, but had stopped the Soviets using the road. 

The Tigers traded shots with the ATG – Disaster!  1 platoon failed its morale test & retreated off table.

The remaining 3 Tigers then set about demolishing the oncoming waves of Russians, whilst on the right the Panthers advanced, halted & retired slowly, their path marked by burning Russian tanks.  

The Panther withdrawal - a trail of burning Russians...

The Pz IVs took a hit and retreated off table, the Panthers likewise a couple of turns later.

The ones that "got away".  The 2 Tigers only fired 1 or 2 shots !

The Tigers continued to shoot/reload/advance to the railway station.  88mm Ammo was getting low, as were Russian stocks of spare tanks & smoke markers.  One Tiger died on a hill, the remaining pair made it to the station and took turns to destroy tanks and ATG at will. 

The "Tiger on the Hill", with some of its victims....

In the end both Tigers succumbed to mass ATG fire, but having destroyed nearly every tank sent against them.  I was still within a whisker of a win.

The Tigers burning at the railway station

The Tigers were superb, with Soviet shot bouncing off or ineffectual.  Chun Long scoured the rulebook but could not find the “for the Rodina!” ram rule!

The end - from the Russian table edge. Panthers came up the road on the left, Tigers over the hill to the right

It was a thoroughly enjoyable and well fought game (…..and I lost).

Tumbling Dice Ju 52 - part 2

Tumbling Dice Ju 52 - undercarriage conversion & detailing

The second part of this blog looks at some other small additions to enhance your fleet of Ju 52s, thus enabling them to strike more terror / die with greater gallantry, depending on who has air superiority.

If part 1 seems too much, you can just use the wheels as supplied and add the following:

Ju 52 - post 2 - starboard exhaust

Ju 52 - post 2 - port exhaust

Ju 52 post 2 the dorsal gunner position

Ju 52 post 2 - gunner & MG

Ju 52 post 2 - the end result!

So there you have it, a neat Ju52 ready to take to the skies.  Due to my nomadic nature, my planes have yet to be painted, but I hope to add pictures of the final results later.

Thanks for watching!

Colin