2011 82nd Airborne

I have had these gents for entirely too long.  I think Major Bill asked me to do them a year ago.  Due to some painful annoyances in my digits and arm, I have not been up to getting much done on these.  I took a long time off from painting and Bill has been very cool about it.  Now, however, I am determined to finish them.  Having overdue work nagging me in the background of my life keeps me from feeling like I can work on anything else. I am very keen to do some 15mm Sci-Fi and maybe some 6mm or 10mm stuff as well.  However, I am linear in my processes so I feel I can't start those until the 82nd is done.

The 82nd consists of a 3 platoon company boxed set, the old one with the full 3 platoons and the extras like the supply carts etc.  The entire list:
1x Lt. Turnbull
5x Command teams
6x Bazooka teams
3x Snipers
1x Pathfinder marker
3x 60mm mortar teams
27x Rifle/Mg teams
A grand total of 159 figures!  All with the American flag on one shoulder and the "AA" Patch on the other. In reality, the shoulder patches are so small that I can really only suggest their presence with colors rather than a full rendering. Sure I could make them huge but then things look a little cartoonly in my opinion. They are painted to represent the green M1943 uniforms issued after Normandy but prior to Market garden.

Here is one example of the finished stands.

The helmets need to be a little greener I think. I do like how the crater effect turned out with the dirt being darker to reflect recent impact. 9 Stands have these, and 9 have stones of larger size with 9 stands being "plain".  This provides visual reference for platoon ident. without resorting to unsightly means.

Barkman, painted for Major Bill sometime in 2009.

 Camo is hand painted and drybrushed, as are the insignia and numbers. I think this makes German late war stuff much more appealing. Also, I used a rough style of paining over a black under coat to give it a nice table top cinematic appearance.

The Soviets showed up too in the middle of the photo shoot!

Some contracted 2010 work...

Some photos of the work I did for Major Bill in 2010. These were German Fallschirmjäger, US M-10 tank destroyers with scouts and Pantherjager. He also had me work on some Warmachine figs during this time. Cryx I believe.

Intel blackout!

I am distressed to report that I do not have a map update at this time. I am aware of the fact that the Germans won a battle and claimed some territory, however, the photos I snapped detailing where seem to have been stolen by partisans. (Yes, I saw the map when I shot the photo, and Yes, I have forgotten what I was looking at!)
Any details anyone can provide, please do!

Turn 4!

The Allies advance onwards towards the final showdown at the bridges. During the strategic moves, the Typhoons pounced on the slow moving Tigers bound for the front from Apeldorn, causing considerable havoc resulting in their delay for a turn. Elsewhere, more supplies were dropped as the Axis fighters decided to throw their limited air resources into the tactical pot.

Groesbeek Heights defended!

Only one battle took place this past week. One allied player, diehard Keith, against JP and JR. An intercepted Allied radio message sent in the clear reads as follows:

"Held Groesbeek last night(6-1) in a battle of crazy dice.  There were stupidly bad rolls (my artillery failed to range in on a 4 with 5 attempts) and some stupidly good rolls (my Shermans hit with 10 out of 12 mg shots on a 4, with Jason failing 7 of the 10 saves by rolling 5 1's and 2 2's to wipe out the platoon contesting the objective).

The Security firestorm troop was destroyed and the 2 88's retreated north.  The allied firestorm troops held their ground in Groesbeek."

 

Strategically, the Allies succeeded in interdicting the Tigers that were sent to the front with a swarm of Typhoons, but the Axis did gain a Panther and a few stragglers from earlier losses.

A map will be posted later in the week. In the meantime, have a Great 4th!

This weeks battle plan (Wed June 30th)

Some notes regarding strategy for this week.
Strategic map moves will take place first this week, before battles, so no formal plan can be developed until we see where everything ends up. Keep an eye out for areas where we can cut off supply, or open up routes for ourselves.
1500 points is still the standard.

Good Luck!