50th infantry division Tyne Tees part 4

  Some completed passengers for my trucks and Bren gun carriers, I have a lot more on the complete this week, hopefully completed by the weekend. Crews are from the Britannia range painted with my normal British uniform over a black undercoat then washed in Vallejo mix of black and sepia, followed by a highlight of British uniform and khaki. 

Cheers

Matt

British tank crews

  As I am building a few British armour pieces this week I added some crew to the desk, the Britannia chaps look quite good and very happy with my finished figures. 

Cheers

Matt

50th Infantry Division Tyne Tees Part 2

 

 50th Infantry Division

This years big ww2 project is the 50th Infantry Division for D-Day to Holland. I have chosen my favourite 20mm figs for my Brits from my stash of Britannia miniatures. Painting has commenced and is more than halfway complete of the infantry figures after three days.

I will break this into the 69th division first, plus support elements, then perhaps another infantry Division later on. Rapid Fire rules so Battalions are around 40 figures.

69th Infantry Brigade

 69th Infantry Brigade 

• 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment

still in progress

• 6th Battalion, Green Howards 
• red flash behind cap badge

completed

• 7th Battalion, Green Howards

completed 

1st Assault Brigade Royal Engineers (D-Day)
6th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers

81 SQN 

Churchill AVRE fascine Built not painted
Churchill Avre Bobbin Built not painted

Churchill bridgelayer Built not painted

Royal Armoured Corps (D-Day)

Westminster Dragoons

HQ 

dingo built

M14 AA (not Purchased)

2 x trucks complete

M32 Sherman Armoured Recovery Vehicle (not built)

A sqn 2 x sherman crab flail tanks (not built)

C sqn 2 x sherman crab flail tanks  (not built)

141st Royal Tank Regiment (all of the regiments churchills names began with S)
I will model 

C Squadron commanded by lt Shearman 13 troop small turret number 13

Three crocodiles from 13 Troop landed at La Riviere where one floundered in a deep underwater crater and the other two crocodiles were able to get ashore.

1 x churchill crocodiles ("Sandgate" T173174H commanded by lt John Shearman MC) Built not painted

1 x Churchill crocodile ("Sandling "T173174  commanded by Sgt Reg Webb) (not purchased)

The two crocodiles supported the 7th Green Howards (69th Brigade, 50th Infantry Division) assault on the La Marefontaine gun battery (WN32) which contained four Czech 100mm guns located in fields outside the hamlet of La Marefontaine south of Ver-Sur-Mer.

Royal Marines (D-Day)
1st Royal Marine Armoured Support Regiment

A troop

1 x centaur

No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando

HQ coy (partial complete)

4 companies (partial complete)

Royal Artillery

74th (Northumbrian) Field Regiment

296th (4th) Durham

298th (1st) Durham

102nd (Northumberland Hussars) Anti-Tank Regiment

99th battery

2 6pdrs Guns and bren carrier

1 M10

288th battery

2 x 6pdrs and bren carriers

1 M10

198th battery (attached from 73rd AT regiment)

2 x M10

234th battery (attached from 73rd AT regiment)

2 x M10

25th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment

Polston AA 20mm gun and tow

1 x crusader AA

82nd LAA battery

Bofors AA battery

Next years project will be the DLI

151st Infantry Brigade 
6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
8th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry
9th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (left 30 November 1944, joined 131st Brigade, 7th Armoured Division)

Corps Elements 

61st Reconnaissance Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps

plus assorted trucks, medical and bits

cheers

Matt

British Heavy Artillery Units Normandy 1944

 

 British Heavy Artillery units Normandy 1944

This month I have been completing some British artillery crews and decided to do some heavy pieces, so a little research had to be commenced, so I thought I would share my documents.

59th RA 7.2 inch howitzer in action 2nd September 1944.

The British artillery units who landed after DDay made up 18% of the total 21st army British and Canadian troops on the ground, more than the actual fighting infantry percentage. the heavy regiments were general reserve assigned to army corps.

The heavy artillery regiments in Normandy were:-

1st Royal Artillery Heavy Regiment 

Batteries 

3rd Battery 4 x 7.2 inch Howitzer Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s
5th Battery 4 x 155mm Howitzers Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s
16 Battery  4 x 155mm Howitzers Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s
28 Battery  4 x 7.2 inch Howitzers Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

Location

Assigned to the 2nd Canadian group in July in support of operations including Tractable and Totalize 
tactical plate 1 white, on corps artillery tactical plate

51st Royal Artillery Regiment, Lowland (city of Edinburgh)

1st Battery   4 x 7.2 inch Howitzers Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

2nd Battery 4 x 7.2 inch Howitzers Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

4th Battery  4 x 7.2 inch Howitzers Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

6th Battery  4 x 6 inch Howitzer rubber tyres Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

Location

4th Army Group Royal Artillery in June 1944, supported 1st corps assault on Caen in operation Charnwood, then assigned to support the 1st corps in operation Estonia and the assault on Le Havre. Most commonly used in the counter battery role.

tactical plate 187 white, on corps artillery tactical plate

52nd Royal Artillery Regiment Bedfordshire Yeomanry 

417th Battery (Bedford) 4 x 7.2 howitzer. mk4 Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

418th Battery (Bedford) 4 x 7.2 howitzer. mk4 Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

419th Battery (Bedford) 4 x 155mm M1 long tom Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

420th Battery (Bedford) 4 x 155mm M1 long tom Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

Location

5th Army Group Royal Artillery

tactical plate 187, on corps artillery tactical plate

53rd Royal artillery Regiment 

8th Battery   4 x 7.2 howitzer. mk4 Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

9th Battery   4 x 7.2 inch howitzer. mk4 Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

24th Battery 4 x 155mm M1 long tom Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

25th Battery 4 x 155mm M1 long tom Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

Location

8th Army Group Royal Artillery

tactical plate 194 white on corps artillery tactical plate

59th regiment Newfoundland 

20th Battery 4 x 7.2 inch howitzer. mk4 Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

21st Battery 4 x 7.2 inch howitzer. mk4 Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

22nd Battery 4 x155mm M1 long tom Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

23rd Battery 4 x 155mm M1 long tom Scammel Pioneer trucks or Albion CX22s

Location 

3rd Army Group Royal Artillery

Tactical plate 179 white, on corps artillery tactical plate 

Available models in 20mm- 1/72- 1/76th

I am happy to use what I can get but do prefer 1/72 and 20mm to 1/76th scale, budget is always a consideration too.

7.2 inch howitzer

Early War Miniatures 7.2 inch Howitzer resin simple kit

Milicast 7.2 howitzer resin mixed media kit

SHQ 7.2 Howitzer  metal model

Thunder model plastic model (coming this year)

155mm M1 long tom

A number of plastic, metal, diecast and resin available

SHQ 155mm M1 metal

Wespe models 155mm M1 resin

Hasegawa 1/72 155mm long tom howitzer any model shop

Atalya diecast towed model only hard to get

Alby models 155mm resin 1/72 (closest to actual measurments)

Marusan 155mm a rare plastic kit from Japan

AHM 155mm a rare plastic kit model 

6 inch Howitzer

SHQ miniatures 6 inch Howitzer

Milicast QF6 rubber tyres 

Scammel Pioneer

a few models available

SHQ scammel artillery tractor metal model

wespe models scammel resin model

IBG models plastic Scammel Pioneer plastic

Thunder Models Scammel Pioneer (not seen this kit yet)

Albion CX22s

One model that I am aware of 

Fankit models Albion CX22s resin mixed media kit

Albion CX25 

only one model I am aware of

SHQ Albion CX 25

I hope that is helpful to 20mm wargamers

cheers

Matt

#30daykitchallenge progress part 2

 #30daykitchallenge part two

I been busy putting resin kits together over the last 10 days, plus some plastics. I have 9 more resin kits I should finish in the next few days, with lots of filling and hand rails and bits to be added.

Primarily British army kits this week.

Week two 17 completed

Armourfast Cromwell tanks, almost feels like cheating.....I am thinking about adding better lights, light guards and tow cables.....we shall see

Resin Traction avant....parts are missing, so a search is required for the bumpers and lights

RAF Forward observer  

SHQ Polson

Humber A/C

total completed kits   31

I have hit my goal of 30 kits, but will continue building for the whole month as I want to complete my British and Egyptian armour

 

cheers

Matt

#30daykitchallenge progress week 1

 Progress week 1 

So it begins I have been cleaning up resin and plastic this week with a lot on the table. I managed to hurt my back ago on Easter monday in the garden lifting out shrubs so have been watching movies rather than getting kits together. However I felt good this morning so sat down at my desk and banged these out quite quickly, ready for undercoat. 

Have started the plastic kits and the drilling work on the resin T62b tanks, adding details and filling the resin air holes which is a lot of work. I also pulled out some more plastic kits and have put them aside for later in the week as I am confident I will hit thirty kits easy for the month. 

14 completed

Diamler SOD command cars

AEC armoured car, metal barel

crusader AA mkIII

Soviet AA, resin prints, not a lot of clean up and assembly

one will join my rebels on a technical, one Egyptian, one Russian

Dingo scout car

M3 scout car

Diamler armoured car

cheers

Matt