Panzer IV E Platoon - Detailing

I've been doing things in stages. It's almost like this platoon of tanks is becoming a tutorial for me to reference when I start the next series of vehicles.

Rookie Mistake - Paint both sides of the tracks!!! You may have noticed that I primed and base coated the road wheels side of the tracks. When testing the fit of the tracks, the unpainted side of the tracks near the fenders was visible. Arggh! In a quick fix, I drybrushed black and panzer grey behind the vendors, along with two or three road wheels on each side of the tracks, to hide the bare metal. It worked. So that's a Memo to Self moment.

I did a horrible job with the lighting for the picture below. I may have to invest in a photography box ($99+) to bring out the details or move the workbench outside to take the pictures.

I wanted to show that I painted the tracks Red Leather and then drybrushed Gun Metal Grey over it. The effect really doesn't show up in the photo, unfortunately. Neither did the tools, which I used Mahogany Brown for the wood and Gunmetal Grey for the metal.



Here's the stowage that I painted. I couldn't find any reliable photos or pictures of gas cans to pick a color. I went with green just to break up the monotony of the panzer grey. The engine exhaust is also Red Leather. I need to tone it down. I may go with a dry brush of smoke.



I have Magic Washed the platoon and have plenty of decals applied. I'll post those pictures next time.

In other Early War News - -



Phil of Battlefront has announced that Early War has not been delayed and will be released in August. Huzzah! The unofficial release schedule Phil mentioned several months ago is official in that Poland / France will out in August. The following year will be next year and finally the Russia campaign (Barbarossa) will be arriving in 2012.

In other news, the Budapest book will also be out later this year! My modeling times may be split between the news Dogs and Devils book coming out in May (can you say Herman Goering Panzergrenadiers) and the Budapest book (non-zimmerit Panthers!).

Have a great weekend.

Thanks for visiting and any feedback.

Lions Den I - Recap

I want to thank Tim K for putting Lions Den I on and making it a great success. Instead of 18 players, we had 14 because players couldn't make it for one reason or another. Still, with 7 tables and a fun atmosphere, it was a great tournament.

Tim is a great TO. He provided regular updates on the time remaining for each series of games. He was there to answer rules questions or questions regarding the terrain features of each board. Tim put a lot of hours of his personal time to ensure that Lions Den ran smoothly.

Tables inside the Realm


More tables


Tim giving instructions before the start of the first game


An SU-152 belong to Peter H


Another piece from Pete's Russkis


Bill W's Sperrveband


Bill W's Flamers - Flame On!


More Flamers of Bill's


One of Bill's Hetzers


Nice basing by Bill


Hetzer and Hetzer


An 88


Bill W won Best Painted Army. Bill also won the tournament with three 6-1 victories. Bill is widely regarded as one of the best FOW players in the world. He went to New Zealand and won the LW Grand Tournament with a Guards force from Hells Highway book. His army was featured in an issue of Wargames Illustrated three months ago.

Bill's also a great and creative painter. I wish I had a chance to pick his brain, but I didn’t want to disturb his games. I think he carries his forces in two boxes (about size of shoe boxes) but the bottom of boxes is magnetized to prevent his vehicles and infantry stands from shifting. They are carry-ons when he flies to tournaments.

To sum up Lions Den, I was nervous about my first tournament and now can't wait until the next one I can attend.