Manda (Amachan) goes to the Eastern Front

So, the AK Interactive Diorama Puddles (AK8028) dried and shrunk again, I filled it in a bit more. But I definitely feel that adding the puddles with a wooden toothpick is the way to go forward from the start.

I know I am just milking the puddles when my health is like this….

So, here are the results of the last test. I was expecting the AK Interactive Diorama Puddles (AK8028) to shrink and it did a bit more than I was expecting, but that is fine. On the side of the tufts, I like the tuft on the left the most on this base, but when you look at my sources the grass should be a bit more dry. The summer in 1942 was really hot and dry causing issues to both forces.

I grabbed a bit more AK Interactive Diorama Puddles (AK8028) and put it in the the sunken areas to fill it back up. I may have to do this several times.

On a side note, at the moment I really don’t trust myself with any fine detail work, especially not when it includes sharp objects like a hobby knife.

Today was another challenging day, but I managed to get something done in the end…. So I grabbed base 12 as base 12 is best base.

I added a couple of drops of AK Interactive Diorama Puddles (AK8028) and spread them out using some little wooden pokey sticks, I can’t think of what they’re called. I know this will shrink a little so it doesn’t matter that they are a bit over the edges.

Then I grabbed a couple of different tufts, just to see what kind of colours work. I stuck those on using a bit of PVA as I usually do even though they are self-adhesive. We’ll see what I think when it has all dried.

So, here are the basing results form the last tests. The top row is 6-10, left-right and bottom is 11-12 left-right. I had already mentioned that 12 is the way I want to go forward.

Now for some sad news, I am not going to be able to keep up my challenge of trying to post something everyday. While it is great for my mental health, over the last couple of weeks my physical health has been getting worse. This is not related to trying to hobby everyday as I have been able to do that before, it is an illness potentially caused by my anti-depressants or if not could be far worse. I am still awaiting blood test results for that. While I will still try to do something and post something everyday, it is getting really really difficult.

WARNING! Do not use this method of stripping miniatures with cast resin figures, it will ruin them.

For this I am using 99.9% isopropyl alcohol, this also really softens cast resin figures making them impossible to strip or use, but it will solve all paints. Then I am using a pickle jar with a strainer, the same I actually use to clean my resin 3D prints, but since my printer is basically dead I can use it for this instead. I filled it with the alcohol, the alcohol is a little bit discoloured as I used this same bath to strip some miniatures before, but it is fine to reuse it many times over. Then I of course grab my figures and toss them in the pickle jar and let them soak in there for about an hour. The strainer really helps getting them out and this jar has rubber seals around the lid so harmful vapours won’t get out while it is shut.

So an hour and a half later, I lost track of time…. It happens….. I opened the pickle jar and this is what I find. So grab one of the miniatures out of the jar and you can see that the paint is already letting go. I then grab an old toothbrush, I just bought some cheap ones just for this kind of work as I found that more hygienic, just rub the miniature with the toothbrush for a minute and you’ll end up with a clean miniature. Now you can go through this process again in order to get an even cleaner miniature, but this will do for most cases.

And after that I ended up with some non painted figures, even the greenstuff hats survived the process.

We all know that working with chemicals has its hazards, when doing this you should wear gloves and do it in a well ventilated area. When working with stuff like this I usually do it in my airbrush booth as it is set-up to filter the air that it sucks in before it goes back out. My airbrush booth is also set-up next to a window which I have open when working with stuff like this and I also have a fan blowing air towards the window.

Today I am going to have a look at squad sizes and if I can make them more realistic on tabletop. Technically it is the base size that matters in Flames of War not the amount of models on it, so I feel like I can do it if I have enough models. So let’s do some basic maths.

The infographic above shows the panzergrenadier squad layout for late war, but it was very similar if not almost identical in 1942. The included MG34 assembly instruction says: “MG34 teams combine a machine-gunner with either two riflemen and an NCO, or three riflemen, on a medium base.” This doesn’t say that one of those riflemen it wants you to add is a machine-gun loader which is kind of odd. The info on the Flames of War website is a ton better, although this lists the same team as an MG42 team but with an far better idea of what each model is and what how they should be based. Now here is a minor rant, why are the models I got to make an MG34 team modelled with MG42s? A minor thing I now, both weapons served the same battlefield role and in the grand scale of things it really isn’t going to matter. So let’s get down to how many models I got.

1 PzGren sprue contains:

• 11 K98 Riflemen
• 2 NCOs
• 3 MG42 Machine-Gunners
• 3 MG42 Machine-Gun Loaders
• 1 Officer
• 4 Panzerfausts

I have a total of 4 of them.

1 German Grenadier HQ sprue contains:

• 1 Radioman
• 1 NCO
• 1 Panzerschreck Gunners
• 1 Panzerschreck Loaders
• 2 Officers

And I have 1 of those. So leaving out the panzerfausts and panzerschrecks as they are too late for the period I am building things for, I have:

• 44 K98 Riflemen
• 9 NCOs
• 12 MG42 Machine-Gunners
• 12 MG42 Machine-Gun Loaders
• 6 Officers
• 1 Radioman

From this I am building 2 platoons of 7 MG34 teams each. In each platoon 1 of those teams is the platoon command, so in total I need to make 12 MG34 teams. The infographic above shows the squad perfectly divided in 2 fire teams, so that is what I want to go for for each team. So for the 12 MG34 teams or 6 full squads I am going to need:

• 42 K98 Riflemen
• 6 NCOs
• 12 MG42 Machine-Gunners
• 12 MG42 Machine-Gun Loaders

For the commanders and unit leaders the Flames of War building instruction that were included tell me: “Base Formation and Unit Leaders on a small base with an Officer, NCO and a rifleman.” I am inclined to agree with that for the platoon leaders, but not for the company HQ. So for the 2 platoon leaders I am going to need:

• 2 Officers
• 2 NCOs
• 2 K98 Riflemen

Since I can’t find a good source of what the company HQ would look like, I am going with a slight twist to the Battlefront approach. 2 small bases with each 1 officer, 1 NCO and on 1 base a rifleman and on the other the radioman. Since in game they are listed as a MP40 SMG team if I have a spare or can get a model with an MP40 I will replace the K98 riflemen with one of them. So in total for the company HQ I am going to need:

• 2 Officers
• 2 NCOs
• 1 K98 Rifleman or model with MP40
• 1 Radioman

So in total I am going to need:

• 45 K98 Riflemen
• 10 NCOs
• 12 MG42 Machine-Gunners
• 12 MG42 Machine-Gun Loaders
• 4 Officers
• 1 Radioman

So in all I am short 1 rifleman and 1 NCO, I most likely can use an officer as an NCO model and I am pretty sure I can find some 15mm models to buy somewhere on the interwebs. Since it such a small shortcoming this is what I am going for with the Germans.

As manpower was becoming a problem for the Soviet Union in the latter half of 1942 the basic rifle squad was reduced in size from an 11 man squad to a 9 squad team. I want to represent the 9 man squads on the tabletop. Let’s get the elephant in the room out first, there are no SVT-40 riflemen on the sprues from Battlefront. Why not? I don’t know. I also can’t seem to find any out there either. Anyway let’s move on not try to get distracted by SVT rifles….. The DP MG and M1891 rifle teams, which I am now just going to call rifle teams because there aren’t any other rifle teams in the Easter Front Mid-War book, according to Battlefronts included instruction are build like this: “DP MG and M1891 rifle teams combine an NCO or DP machine-gunner with three riflemen on a medium base.” So that is 4 man a team and thus 8 a squad. Why is the SVT rifleman being left out? They also don’t have an assistant machine-gunner model, but I can kind of excuse that one as he wouldn’t really have much different equipment apart from maybe carrying a spare magazine or 2. So I want to add the SVT rifleman to the base of the NCO to make 2 team s 1 full squad. So let’s get over the models that I got:

So 1 LW Strelkovy sprue (That is what is written on the sprue) contains:

• 14 M1891 Riflemen
• 3 NCOs
• 2 DP MG Machine-Gunners
• 2 Officers
• 1 Komissar
• 1 Maksim HMG team

I have a total of 5 of these sprues so that gives me a total of:

• 70 M1891 Riflemen
• 15 NCOs
• 10 DP MG Machine-Gunners
• 10 Officers
• 5 Komissars
• 5 Maksim HMG Teams

So I want to make 2 hero rifle companies which in total contains 18 rifle teams split in 2 different fire teams, so 9 each. Team 1 contains the NCO, the senior riflemen with the SVT-40 and 3 other riflemen. Team 2 consists of the DP MG machine-gunner and 3 riflemen of which one will be counted as the assistant machine-gunner. So in total I am going to need:

• 54 M1891 Riflemen
• 9 SVT Riflemen
• 9 NCOs
• 9 DP MG Machine-Gunners

Each rifle company includes a komissar team as well and Battlefronts included instructions tell me: “Base the Komissar team on a small base with a Komissar and a rifleman or NCO.” To me having the komissar together with an NCO makes more sense so that is what I am going with. I need to make a total 2 komissar teams so for them I will need:

• 2 NCOs
• 2 Komissars

For the commanders and unit leaders Battlefronts included instructions tell me this: “Base Formation and Unit Leaders on a small base with an Officer, NCO and a rifleman.” Since the company leader does count as a DP MG and M1891 rifle team in game, I prefer an higher rate of fire rifle for the riflemen. So I will replace the normal riflemen with a senior riflemen with an SVT-40. I have 2 companies so I am going to need 2 teams and for that I need:

• 2 SVT Riflemen
• 2 NCOs
• 2 Officers

And then the teams for the battalion HQ count as just an M1891 rifle team and thus I will have normal M1891 riflemen, but otherwise the same as above. The battalion HQ consists of 2 teams and for those 2 I am going to need:

• 2 M1891 Riflemen
• 2 NCOs
• 2 Officers

And at last the Maxim HMG team. I plan to make 4 teams and the included Battlefront instructions tell me: “Base the Maxim HMG gunner and his weapon along with the loader and a riflemen on a medium base.” So to make 4 teams I am going to need:

• 4 M1891 Riflemen
• 4 Maxim HMG Teams

So in total I am going to need:

• 60 M1891 Riflemen
• 11 SVT Riflemen
• 15 NCOs
• 9 DP MG Machine-Gunners
• 2 Komissars
• 4 Officers
• 4 Maxim HMG Teams

So if I want to make them like this I am short 11 SVT riflemen and If I were to replace the SVT riflemen with the M1891 riflemen if can’t find any I would be short only 1 M1891 riflemen. So I am going to look for and explore my options for SVT-40 rifles, but may have to go with M1891 rifles sadly.

Can I get some respect for the SVT riflemen who seem to be sadly lacking in 15mm….. Honestly, why can’t I find any? Am I just expecting too much from 15mm?

I am going to do my best to make my squads as realistic as possible.

I have throughout the project been careful with listing my sources, but for these I really can’t seem to find where these images come from. I found most of them just randomly on the internet.

So, guess what, the last test still hasn’t dried….. Well that’s oil paints for ya when you don’t use anything to speed up the drying process, my mistake.

Base 11

So we start off with a base with AK Interactive Diorama Terrains Muddy Ground (AK8017) over it and tracks marked into them. I then thinned a bit of Abteilung 502 Modelling Oil Color Dark Mud (ABT130) with some white spirit to help it dry quicker. I accidentally thinned it a bit too much which will be a blessing in disguise I will come to with base 12. So I grabbed my hairdryer and dried it out a bit. Then I thinned some Abteilung 502 Modelling Oil Color Shadow Brown (ABT015) to a wash consistency with some white spirit and put that in the tracks. I then put over a drybrush of Abteilung 502 Modelling Oil Color Sand Brown (ABT245) followed by a lighter drybrush of Abteilung 502 Modelling Oil Color Dust (ABT003).

Base 12

So a similar base as before to start with, but this time I thinned some Abteilung 502 Modelling Oil Color Dark Mud (ABT130) to a wash consistency and applied that to the base. I then dried off the white spirit with my hairdryer. Then I went in with the wash of Abteilung 502 Modelling Oil Color Shadow Brown (ABT015) in the tracks and dried that off with my hairdryer as well. I then followed that up with the drybrush of Abteilung 502 Modelling Oil Color Sand Brown (ABT245) followed by a lighter drybrush of Abteilung 502 Modelling Oil Color Dust (ABT003) to get this result.

Some pictures of this process are sadly missing as I may have forgotten to take them….

And thus base 12 (right) is finally the result I was looking for all this time, quite happy I finally found it. Now I am going to let this dry and see what else I am going to add to the base as a final process.

I was almost thinking of subtitling this project as the search for mud….

I prepped 2 more bases to be painted. The results from the last paint test isn’t dry yet or it has dried a bit glossy, I’ll have a closer look tomorrow. But I am thinking that I want to use the painting technique of base 8 on the texture of base 6 from the previous test and that will give me the result that I want. I’ve prepped 2 so I have a second base to try something else if it doesn’t work and also because those are the last of my rectangular bases that are not planned to be used for anything. So these bases just got a layer of AK Interactive Diorama Terrains Muddy Ground (AK8017) with tank with wet tracks pushed in and my wheel tool, wet as well, rolled through.