WIP - Panzer IV ready for the snow

Here's a quick WIP report on some white washed Panzer IV.  I plan to convert these to Panzer IV J to use in the new Flames of War Devil's Charge army lists.  I had some extra Panzer IV that I was planning to repaint the camo; instead, I tried simulating a field applied white wash.

I'll be working on the details and modifications soon but wanted to share the white wash.  One part Vallejo White to Two Parts water to make it very thin and translucent.

Nebelwerfers Finished

Finished the Nebelwerfer platoon for Flames of War.  The soot and burnt rocket tubes was my first experiment with MiG pigments.  I used "Burnt Steel" to weather the ends of the tubes.

Panthers in Ambush Pattern

The first three Panthers using the Ambush Camouflage pattern are almost finished - two still need some details, decals, and a wash.

The one thing I can say about painting ambush is it's slow!  Each 15mm tank was about 2 hours.  Enjoy the photos.

FoW Obstacles

I've been experimenting with different methods for creating the standard 2" X 8" Flames of War Obstacles and have finally finished the first of the barbed wire and minefields.  Thanks to all who provided comments on the prototypes.

First, the minefield.  This turned out better than I expected and I'm looking forward to getting this on the table in the near future.

I used a piece of vinyl floor tile as the base and Liquitex Resin Sand to provide ground texture.  The signs are made of toothpicks and craft sticks.  The rest is a mixture of paint and washes.  The scorched earth is created using pastel applied with a make-up brush.

Next, I focused on creating six sections of barbed wire.  For details on the development process, please see the barbed wire prototype post.  Below are some photos of the final pieces.  I finally settled on using floral wire twisted around itself and then coiled around a pencil.  (Thanks to Chris at Huzzah Hobbies (http://www.huzzahhobbies.com/index.htm) for suggesting a pencil as the right diameter for 15mm.)

The coils were primed grey, dry brushed silver, and then had a light coat of MiG Rust applied.

WIP - Nebelwerfer

Thought I share a photo of my nebelwerfers nearing completion.  For these, I've been experimenting with MIG pigments, and I'm fairly happy with the results.

Base Markings

While playing Flames of War, especially with my Fallschirmjager company, I was mixing up which stands went with a given platoon.

FJ Command Team

I experimented with painting different color base borders, adding stripes or other painted identifiers, but I simply didn't like the way it looked.  Then, I borrowed (well, stole) a tip from my best buddy.  He works with a lot of 28 mm, and to distinguish a commander or special unit from the rest of a platoon, he uses some kind of unique scenery on the base - a flower, shrub, rock...

Using this basic idea, I added specific scenery to each of my FJ platoons - one is a "red" platoon and the other "white."  Using miniNature Short Blossom Tufts Summer (Product Code 726-22 S), I added a red blossom to each of the "red" squads and a white blossom to the "white" squads.  A third platoon can have no blossoms, if I ever get those painted.

I purchased the blossom tufts through Scenic Express  http://www.sceneryexpress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MN72622S

Some sample photos are below.  The first photo didn't quiet capture all the white blossoms like I hoped.

Command and three squads from both "red" and "white" platoons

Command and the complete "red" platoon

Company command and other independent teams don't have color markings, since they don't belong to any given platoon.  Below is one of the FJ observer teams based as an independent team.

FJ observers (independent) team

Some additional photos of the squads are below.

I tend to keep the colored blossoms toward the back of the base, where I can see them from my side of the game table.

Hope this gives some ideas for basing your FoW or other platoon-based figures.

Lions of Carentan

I recently finished reading Lions of Carentan, Fallschirmjager Regiment 6, 1943 - 1945 written by Volker Griesser.  

This may be one of the best collections of personal stories and observations about World War II. 

Clearly, it is told from the Fallschirmjager point of view, which can be a little unnerving when a reader from the USA or its WWII allies realizes the word "enemy" used in the book refers to our fathers and grandfathers (my grandfather, included).  However, I was often surprised by the moments of humanity shown by both sides of the combatants. The descriptions of the battles and the undertones of the political strife between the Fallschirmjager leadership and Hitler is an amazing story.  I recommend this book to anyone interested in the European Theatre during WWII.


For readers of Ambrose, Atkinson, or Reynolds, Lions of Carentan helps to fill-in more details and provides a glimpse into the minds of the Fallschirmjager: a unique group of the German military rarely discussed.


In addition to an intriguing text, the book is filled with many, many photographs.  I didn't count them, but I would guess over 100 photos are throughout the book.