Motorising a Polish Infantry Company

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Quite a few of the games in the two September War scenario packs involve motorised Polish infantry, and although I had the basic troops, I didn’t have any of the vehicles necessary to represent either the 10th Motorised Cavalry Brigade or the Warsaw Armoured Motorised Brigade.

I’d thought about motorising my basic troops before, but couldn’t find anyone who did any of the FIAT 508 and FIAT 508/518 cars/jeeps/pick ups that they used, or produced an affordable FIAT 621 truck of the right type. If there’s one thing to remember when starting to collect a motorised formation, it’s the fact that they have a lot of trucks on their roster!

Then I was at Warfare 2021 at Ascot Racecourse, and got talking to Simon Ryan, who runs Syborg 3D Printing. As I was buying some tankers and bowsers (I love the wide range of “tail” vehicles that he does), I mentioned that no-one, not even him, did any of the Polish transport vehicles mentioned above. We swapped e-mail addresses, and a few days later I got a message to say that he could now print me as many of the various different Polish transport vehicles as I wanted, and sent me pictures of the CAD versions so that I could see what I would be getting.

This was too good an opportunity to miss, especially as the 508s and 508/518s were only £2 each, and the 621s only £4 each.

The Motorised Infantry Company

First up were the vehicles to carry the main infantry company (IABSM being a company-sized game). I needed one FIAT 508 staff car for the boss, and then a 508/518 jeep and two FIAT 621 trucks for each platoon.

The original designs for the 621s had open flat beds, but the pictures I had found online showed them with benches for the troops to sit on. A couple of e-mails to Simon and I had trucks with benches.

The jeeps came without drivers, but a rummage in the bits box provided them.

The Machine Gun Platoons

A motorised company has three types of MG platoon. First up are a couple of MG teams in two FIAT 508/518 jeeps; then there are four MG teams in two FIAT 621 trucks; and finally, my favourite, four MG teams each mounted taczanka-style on the back of a 508/518 pick up:

As you can see, although I just had the transport element for the integral two-gun platoon, I put seven crew members in each of the trucks: seven in the back, three in the cabin, for two five-crew teams in each truck.

Again, the passengers came from the bits box, which is why, if you look carefully, you’ll see a wide variety of helmets…although they all look just about the same in 15mm. The Uzis and Kalashnikovs that some of them are carrying are a different matter, but I’ve tried to paint them out.

The taczankas come with the stand and the gun. The standing crew member is a left-over American, the chap standing offering more ammo is a Peter Pig Soviet.

Anti-Tank Guns, Mortars and an Ambulance

Four more FIAT 508/518s were needed for the regiment-level anti-tank platoon; two more 621s provided transport for the regiment-level mortar teams; and Simon produced a rather nice hard-body version that can be used as a workshop, command vehicle or, as I have it here, an ambulance.

I used a slightly different version of the 508/518 pick ups for the AT tows: I thought they’d want to be able to jump out easily to deploy the guns quickly!

Again the crews for the mortars come from the bits box and are as cosmopolitan as before!

Motorcycle Reconnaissance Platoon

All those soft-skins can’t just motor forward willy-nilly, so I dug a pack of Battlefront Polish motorcyclists out from the depths of the lead mountain, and knocked them out to lead the way.

I only have one squad and the platoon commander, but will add a second and third squad with motorcycle combos as soon as Battlefront start producing them again.

Building and Painting

Building the models was easy: some of them needed the wheels putting on, but most came complete. The trucks needed the benched flat-beds stuck onto the frame, but that wasn’t too difficult. Getting the arms on the Battlefront motorcyclists to sit right (the drivers arms and the bike’s handlebars come as one piece so that you have to glue the rider in place then seat the arms and handlebars just so) was more difficult than assembling all of the 3D printed models combined.

To paint the models, I undercoated in Army Painter Army Green. I then block painted all the crew figures, canvas and equipment before covering everything with a GW Agrax Earthshade wash. I then washed the vehicles again to get a darker green (just the vehicles) and highlighted the crew figures. Didn’t take that long at all.

I did think at one stage that I should have painted every vehicle in the Polish three-colour camouflage, and there are artworks and pictures of models produced like that. I couldn’t, however, find any photographs showing either motorised brigade with camouflaged vehicles: most look to be the standard Polish brownish-green. My rationale was also that maintaining a fleet of vehicles in their camouflage would have been a nightmare for the workshops involved: far easier to realise that these are transport not fighting vehicles and stick to an easily-painted standard greenish-brown!

Quality

Some of the models show the graduated layers used in the printing process, but they just add a bit of depth to the look. Some of the wheels are a bit manky, and some of the edges a little “hairy” with loose strands, but nothing that doesn’t clean up quickly and easily.

Quality-wise, I would put these on a par with standard resin or metal vehicles and behind plastic vehicles…but I didn’t have to clip a whole load of parts out from a plastic frame and then glue or fit them all together. They’re also slightly cheaper (PSC £4.59 a truck, Zvezda £4.24 a truck), especially the cars/jeeps/pick ups.

Overall I’m very happy with my new transports for a Polish Motorised Infantry Company and supports. I got great service from Syborg and would highly recommend them as a supplier. I don’t know whether Simon will add these Polish models to his general listing, but I’m sure an e-mail would get you similar if you want them or, indeed, any other obscure vehicles. Highly recommended.

Artillery for the Gebirgsjaeger

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With the 17th Century Cossacks now done, I needed something to paint whilst I decide what’s next.

Regular visitors will know that I re-photographed a lot of my collection of 15mm WW2 figures over Christmas, and re-building their galleries inspired me to fill in some of the gaps.

One such hole was some heavier artillery for my German Gebirgsjaeger mountain troops, and I remembered that somewhere in the lead mountain lurked the figures I needed. Much banging and crashing and sorting through boxes and cupboards later, I found the packet I was after: a Battlefront special order of two 105mm GebH 40 mountain howitzers (the GebH is short for Gebirgshaubitze).

The GebH 40 was the heaviest mountain howitzer ever made, but still broke down into four loads on single-axle trailers towed by kettenkrads or five pack loads carried by mules. Some 420 were made between 1942 and 1945, firing HE, AP, smoke and illumination shells.

Manpower Shortage

So I had the guns but no crews…and with Battlefront working on a reduced inventory (COVID etc) I needed to delve a bit deeper into the Lead Mountain to see what I could find to use.

First off were a few Gebirgsjaeger infantry, including two officers who would now command the gun teams: two down, eight to go.

Next I found some spare crew for the heavy mortars already in the Gebirgsjaeger collection, and although they are obviously toting mortar bombs rather than artillery shells or charges, they would do: six down, four to go. That’s where I hit the wall: no spare German artillerymen anywhere!

I did, however, find some Battlefront British artillerymen in shirt sleeves and some spare Gebirgsjaeger heads from Peter Pig’s head swap portfolio. A snip, a drill and a pin later, and I had my ten crew.

Making a Match

The next problem, of course, was how to paint them to match my existing Gebirgsjaeger: something made more difficult by the fact that I’ve been using Contrast paints almost exclusively for the last few years and the Gebs pre-date that change.

Fortunately I keep a rough record of what colours I paint things: nothing fancy, just a spreadsheet with rows labelled things like “Headgear”, “Coat”, “Trousers”, “Boots” etc. To give you an idea, the list for the Gebs was so old that it pre-dated the new GW acrylic range, so I also had to look up, for example, the fact that GW Graveyard Earth was now called GW Steel Legion Drab and, as you will see, I still didn’t get it all correct.

Some advice to all you painters out there:

  1. Never throw any spare figures away

  2. Always have a supply of spare heads (Peter Pig recommended)

  3. Always write down what colours you use for your figures

The Finished Product

So here they are: two 105mm GebH 40 mountain howiters:

These look great…but I am going to have to repaint the greys because I now realise that the grey doesn’t match the Shadow Grey highlight that I used on my originals. Apparently I should have used a colour called The Fang but didn’t: I looked in the pot and thought it looked a bit blue.

So it’s back to the painting table for these guys when I get a moment: the colour will have to go on over the varnish but it’s only for a touch-up highlight so should be okay.

Here’s the infantry guns picture so you can see what I mean:

Next up: a massive bit of hole-filling for the WW2 Poles!

More WW2 Galleries Updated: Allied Airborne Troops, Late War Germans

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Six more galleries showcasing my collection of 15mm WW2 figures have been updated. This time it’s the turn of the Allied Airborne troops and the Late War Germans.

British

Air Landing Company 1943-45

Parachute Company 1943-45

There are a few gaps in the rosters that I would like to fill, but the thought of painting any more of the camouflage Denison smocks worn by the Brits is enough to persuade me to concentrate elsewhere!

Late War Germans

Gebirgsjaeger Kompanie 1943-45

Panzerkompanie 1943-45

Japanese Staff Cars and the Japanese Gallery Re-Vamped

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With everyone sleeping in until gone 11 o’clock this morning, there was time for me to finish off the two 15mm Japanese Type 95 Kurogane Staff Cars that I bought from Syborg 3D printing the other day:

These are absolutely lovely little models that, in the flesh, aren’t as layered as they might appear in the picture.above: the trouble with good cameras that pick up all the detail is that sometimes they pick up all the detail!

Syborg delivered these to me in just three days, and you get both versions in the same pack for the very palatable sum of just £4.

I can’t recommend these enough: just the thing to keep your Japanese staff officer from getting his boots muddy as he drives down the Grik Road!

Re-Vamped Japanese Galleries

In fact, these were so nice, and the house was so quiet, that I was inspired to re-photograph my Japanese collection against a jungle background as opposed to the rather stark, white background I was using before.

This actually took me an hour or so less than I thought it would (I had predicted 4-6 hours, but it took me three) and I’m very happy with the result. Check out the three galleries here:

Japanese 25th Army in Malaya/Singapore

Japanese 15th Army in Thailand/Burma

Japanese 14th Army in the Philippines

Here’s a selection of other shots:

IABSM AAR: South of Cherbourg

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Here’s a quick IABSM battle report from Sergeant Steiner’s excellent blog.

The Sergeant played through one of the free scenarios in the main rulebook: the South of Cherbourg game. This is an all infantry scenario with regular Wehrmacht defending against advancing US troops in Normandy in 1944.

Click on the picture below to see all:

IABSM AAR: Blenneville or Bust! #4B Reversed

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Here’s an after action report that shows how flexible the IABSM scenario books are.

James Moulding and friends played scenario #4B from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack, but with the roles reversed i.e. in the original game, the British are attacking defending Germans but in this game it’s the British defending with the Germans attacking.

Click on the picture, below, to see all:

Note that this report is taken from the IABSM Facebook page. I hope James doesn’t mind me reproducing it here.

IABSM AAR: Viking Panzers in Central Poland

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Another cracking I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum battle report from the pen and camera of Mark Luther.

It’s another 6mm battle fought at the Gigabyte’s cafe, and this time features a somewhat generic game based on actions to the east of Warsaw in August 1944 where the Soviets had sent masses of tanks through thin lines of the German defenders. The panzer units were then forced to scramble to cut those units off before they totally disrupted the front.

Click on the picture, below, to see all…

IABSM AAR: Anzio #10: Highway 7

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Another great 6mm I Ain't Been Shot Mum game from Mark Luther played at Gigabites Cafe in November 2021.

The scenario is taken from the Anzio: Wildcat to Whale scenario pack and features US infantry and armour assaulting a collection of four farmhouses held by men from the Herman Goering Panzer Division.

Click on the picture below to see all:

IABSM AAR: 83rd Naval Brigade in the Caucasus 1942

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Another superb 6mm I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum! after action report from Mark Luther.

This time Soviet Naval Infantry take on a German recce force in the north Caucasus in August 1942. The Germans were closing in on the port of Novorossiysk from the north and the Soviets had set up blocking positions before Verkhnebakanskiy. This represents the 83rd Naval Infantry Brigade's fallback spot. They were facing the 125th Infantry Division with some StuGs and armored cars.

Click on the picture below to see all…

IABSM AAR: Grudziadz

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Another great 6mm IABSM after action report from Mark Luther, this time featuring scenario eight from the September War Part One scenario pack (available from this website).

Played at Gigabites Cafe, Marietta, September 2021, the game involves the Germans attacking Grudziadz, a town in the Polish corridor in September 1939. The Germans thrust was from East Prussia i.e. they were actually attacking from the east.

Click on the picture below to see all:

IABSM AAR: Alt Langsow

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Here’s another great battle report from Mark Luther. The game was I Ain’t Been Shot Mum in 6mm played at the Gigabyte Cafe in September.

This was a pretty basic Soviet attack on the defensive line NE of Seelow , 16 April, 1945. Elements of the 26th Fallschirmjaeger Regiment were dug in forward/east of Alt Langsow and the 301st Rifle Division and 220th Tank Brigade were ordered to overrun them and head to Neu Langsow.

Click on the picture below to see all:

IABSM AAR: Somewhere in Flanders

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Another superb looking game of I Ain’t Been Shot Mum! from Alan Curtis and friends.

Lead units of 7th Panzer supported by elements of Tottenkopf Division bump into a BEF company with attached anti-tank guns deployed to contest a river crossing somewhere in Flanders.

An amazing set-up that is well worth a browse. Click on the picture below to see all:

IABSM AAR: Prokhorovka

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Off to Dave’s for my first face to face game of I Ain’t Been Shot, Mum since before lockdown!

The scenario was set on the Eastern Front in 1943, and based on an historical encounter. Elements of the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army (played by me) had to advance onto the table and take a village, Prokhorovka, defended by German armour. Yes, unusually for IABSM, this was to be an armour versus armour game with no infantry present.

I had what looked like an overwhelming force: a first wave of an HQ element, two platoons of three t-34s each, and a third platoon of three BT-17s. Following that, I had six more platoons of armour split into two more waves for a total of six more T-34s, three venerable KV-1s, three SU-76s, two SU-76is and, the piece de resistance, two SU-152 big beast tank killers.

If that’s what I had, I was a little nervous about what I was going to face. I’d been told to watch out for the new German Tiger tank: presumably I’d be facing about 20 of them!

Click on the picture below to see what happened: