Something totally different...

...something completely bizare and it won't happend again! Promise!

But I just have to show you guys my HMS Revenge, Imperial Flagship from Lego, set number 6271. Yes you read it right, LEGO! My legos have been in the basement for over a decade now and I decided it was about time to bring them out again. I had promised to my son that he would get my old legos in time and that time has now come. I told him what kind of sets I had and could build and he chose my redcoat ship made in the 90s'. She still lacks her sails as I need to wash them but otherwise she's complete. I only had to change two pieces as I didn't find the correct color ones. My future plan for her is to buy one or two more mid section and other needed pieces so I can fit three guns on her deck and maybe extend her to two masts.

"Hoist the colors!"

"Ready the guns!"

HMS Revenge

"Full sails! To new adventures!"

HMG Nests

A quick update to show you two finished HMG Nests. I will need to do 6 sections of trenches to have minimum fortifications.

I'm also working with two German objectives, a command "bunker" and an outpost.

Cheers.

Tactica Jagdtiger Chapter 3 - Confident Veteran

Previously I've taken a look into reluctant veteran and reluctant trained Jagdtiger companies found in Nuts! and Bridge at Remagen. So I think it's finally time to have a look into the heart of the most experienced and motivated Jagdtiger armed force to be found, a confident veteran 1./512.sPzJgAbt from Bridge at Remagen.

 

This force has the peak of motivation of any Jagdtiger armed forces so it goes without saying it also is the most expensive too. With whooping 395 points per Jagdtiger it also is the most expensive unit you can dream of having. This will also be your Achilles Heel as you wont get many Jagdtigers so you'll need to look else where for more fighting force. Luckily this company has it, with maximum of 4 Panzer IV Js and/or StuG G (late)s you'll be able to give your force some assaulting teeth and some more hulls. This though has a downside as these will come your opponents primary targets to knock out.

For AA you have two slots available, one as an organic AAA with either Wirbelwinds or Ostwinds. The second option is an allied platoon from Luftwaffe with either 88', 2cm FlaK38s,  2cm Flakvierling 38s or 3.7cm FlaK43s. All of the options are good in their own  way. The AAA options is rated as confident veteran so can be relied to stay standing a bit longer than their Luftwaffe counterparts who are rated reluctant trained and are of course allies and thus follow all appropriate rules.

With infantry you are spoiled with options and it all comes down to how you like to play your force. You can either go all half-tracked with two Panzergrenadier platoons, rated reluctant veterans, and an upgrade drilling H/Ts. Or you can take very good defensive infantry with Volksgrenadiers who have the option to take a panzerschreck. These come either as reluctant veterans or reluctant traineds, depending on your style and need. And finally we have the reluctant conscript Volkssturms with their tank terror panzerfausts. These guys can be an effective speed bump for enemy tanks but don't expect them to hold a flank on their own.

Next up we have the all cheerfull German artillery. Here you have all kinds of nice options from 7.5 FK40 (7.5 PaK40) to 150 sFH18s and 15cm to 30cm Nebelwerfers. Some of us might find big guns tempting but don't underestimate the smaller guns with their cheaper points. Volks artillery also comes either with 3 or 6 guns compared to normal German artillery platoons. You will also have two options for training, trained or veteran. For everyone the motivation is the same, reluctant, at this stage of the war.

Finally we come to the air support which has the Arado 234 bomber which is a great as it can't be intercepted and has a FP 1+ bombs. You also have the option for Me 262, also can't be intercepted, or FW 190F which are both good crafts.

1900 points

As with the confident veteran Jagdtigers you'll be using minimum of 785 points into your Jagdtigers alone (2 Jagdtigers), this list suits better to higher points games.

You might want to then take a look at the Panzer IVs and StuG G (late)s as a cheap option for hulls.

Here I've made one 1900 points example list which excels both in assaulting and defending.

HQ
Compulsory HQ Jagdtiger - CiC Jagdtiger 395

As the Jagdtigers are so expensive in this list I've taken just the minimum required, one in HQ and one in the compulsory platoon. It still is enough high AT and digging power.

COMBAT
Compulsory Jagdtiger platoon - 1* Jagdtiger 395
Panzer platoon - 4* Panzer IV J 350

I also took four Panzer IV Js to be my bodies and possible assault force. They are still good against medium tanks like T-34 or M4 Shermans. Just keep them out of fire as much as possible, and as with any German force Stormtrooping is your friend so do it right.

WEAPONS
Panzer Anti-Aircraft Gun platoon - 3* Ostwinds 180

For weapons platoon, I chose 3 Ostwinds due to their range, AT and FP over Wirbelwinds higher RoF. If you want you can get a fourth Ostwind by dropping 3 nebelwerfers.

SUPPORT
Panzergrenadier platoon with drilling 220
Panzergrenadier platoon with drilling 220

For first support choices I've taken two platoons of Panzergrenadiers as I think their H/Ts are great in defence and they give me the ability to use mounted assault. Also the drilling H/T upgrade is a great thing.

Volks Rocket Launcher Battery - 6* NW41 135

Lastly I've taken a battery of 6 nebelwerfers. They will give me smoke and the ability to pin with rerolls to misses which I think is great.

So there we have it, 1895 points and 6 platoons in total of 1./512.sPzJgAbt. This list is moderately good on both on assault and on defence. It has mobility, high end firepower, smoke, AA and staying power. One thing it lacks is recon but as with almost every German heavy tank list/tank destroyer list, you can't have it.

Tactics?

First of, you are able to defend thanks to Defenders of the Ruhr special rule and I suggest you use it, atleast for the first part of the match. In this stage your goal should be to take out any artillery and mobile AT units. This should last 2 or 3 turns.

Second stage is your preparation for assault. Move your Panzer IVs into position with your infantry and AAA. Jagdtigers should be used to snipe out any AT guns prior to assault. Use smoke to limit your enemys line of sight. Duration of this stage, 1 or 2 turns.

Last stage. Here you mop up any survivors. Use your Panzer IVs as a spearhead into assault followed by your mounted infantry. Why this way? Because the Panzer IVs can stand up the assault way better thanks to their armor and being confident instead of reluctant. Duration, remaider of the game.

Remember to concentrate your forces on one flank. It might be good idea to first leave the second Panzergrenadier platoon to protect your nebelwerfers but once the enemy starts to move his forces to aid the other flank, rush up and use smoke to cover your advance.

Don't be affraid to lose some forces. You can't avoid it.

Good luck Commander!

Modelling Carius and Jagdtiger

Hi all!

Before we had Winter War tournament in the break of January-February, I got some time on taking a look on different lists for 2./512.sPzJgAbt. I pondered on having a company full of infantry and heavy tank killers. During the tournament my wanting for this kind of heavy hitting list grew but only with 3 Jagdtigers it wasn't going to pull through.

So I got to get myself a fourth Jagdtiger.

In the tournament I used my only JT with a commander pocking out to represent Carius but that left me with a problem, how to tell a part my 2iC and the lonely JT platoon which neither had a commander visible (I could tell which one was which by looking at the gun barrel colors). So with the fourth I set to work to make myself an individual Carius model. I bought a normal Battlefront JT model from a sale and a platoon of tank escorts to have something special to add to this model.

It was then time to go to work and follow my plan (which you can find here).

First up was the conversion work. I added AA MG and some blankets, bags and a helmet for personalization. I also removed some details for a more individual look and checked places for the tank escorts. Then it was time for the paintjob.

I used Vallejo Black as an undercoat for the whole model. This helps me to create shadowlines to the model. Next I mixed Beige Brown and White to get a light brown basecolor. I then used masking tape to create camouflage pattern I was happy with.

Camouflage was done with Pale Blue Grey painted in two or three light layers. After removing the masking tapes I corrected any errors free hand. As you can see I did add some more patterns to the left side of the hull just before highlights as i deemed the left side was too bare. I did this free hand.

I then moved on to apply highlights to the PBG areas that were higher than the main body of the hull (ventilation, hooks etc.). I used PBG mixed with White to get a lighter color and picked up details. I then used pure White as an extreme highlight.

Highlights for the rest of the tank were achieved using my mix of Beige Brown and White with more White added. This time I only picked up most highest of surfaces. The extreme highlights were done by adding even more White to the previous mix.

The bag, camonet, tools and plankets first got a coat of Chocolat Brown followed by a coat of Beige Brown. Gun, MG, spare tracks, jack and tracks were painted grey with a mix of Black and White (I was out of my usual color of grey). For the camonet I did blops with Beige Brown. Exhausts were painted with Hull Red, washed with Nuln Oil and the highlighted again with Hull Red. Measurement poles on the right side of the hull were first painted with Hull Red and the stripes were done with White.

I used various greens on camonet and Beige Brown in several layers with Nuln Oil in between. I washed every detail with Nuln Oil. Once this was done I started to highlight all the areas with appropriate colors. For the green plankets highlights I used Beide Brown mixed with Russian Uniform Green in about 1:2. Brown planket was done with Beige Brown as a mid tone tooned down with Nuln Oil and then highlighting again with Beige Brown. The tracks I left without highlights as it seemed best.

Carius was only highlighted with grey. Face and hands painted with Dwarf Flesh, washed with Nuln Oil and Highlighted again with Dwarf Flesh. Belt and headphones were done with Chocolat Brown highlighted with Beige Brown. Headphones wire was highlighted with Pale Blue Grey.

Now as the Jagdtiger was ready, it was time to start painting the tank escorts. I painted these part by part and I begun from the clothes. First I applied an even coat of Luftwaffe Cam. Green. Then I mixed in a very little amount of Pale Blue Grey and applied that leaving a tiny bit of previous color showing to the deeper parts. I repeated this twice more adding ever so little more PBG into the previous mix. Later, after some suggestions (thanks guys at Flames of War FB group), I washed the clothing with watered down Luftwaffe Cam. Green. Helmets were washed very carefully with watered down grey mix and then to more darker effect with Nuln Oil. I tried to left some green showing in the helmets to create an illusional effect, I'm not sure if this turned out ok.

Leather and wood parts were first painted with Chocolat Brown, highlighted with Beige Brown, tooned down with Nuln Oil and then highlighted again with Beige Brown. Finally I did a extreme highlight with Beige Brown mixed with a small amount of Pale Blue Grey. Metal parts and cantines were painted with grey, washed with Nuln Oil and then highlighted with grey. Extreme highlights were done with pure Pale Blue Grey. Boots were left black, highlighted with grey and tooned down with Nuln Oil.

Finishing touches

As the painting of the camonet turned out to be a total fiasko, I asked some help from Flames of War FB group. From there I got very good advices to use roll bandage as a camonet after I've coloured it. For a tutorial on how to do camouflage nets I highly suggest you take a look at this tutotial. Thanks to these advices my Carius in his Jagdtiger is now finished.

Basecoat

All masked and camouflage applied

This is how it looked after removing the tapes

Highlights added

Finished Jagdtiger and Carius

Clothes done and ready

Finished Begleit Tank Escorts

All done and ready, camos added and escorts are ready to protect and serve!

Well here you have it. I hope this has enlighten you on how I did this model. I liked to work with this model and with all the little conversions. Perhaps I have to do another conversion like this some day :)

I'd like to thank everyone who helped me with this project, eiher with advices or any other means. And I like to thank you dear readers for reading my blog!

Cheers!

My sons first own tank and some other news!

My 3 years old son has wanted to have my tanks as his toys so I bought him one (not to use as a toy though!). Just built it with him and now I will teach him how to paint it.

This serves in two ways:
1. I may one day have a gaming buddy without leaving home.
2. As I'm a trained to use AT weapons in military, I may start teaching him some tricks and to identify different tanks and types.

He's so going to grow to be a good panssarintorjuntamies!
*Proud father*

In the other news!

I today got my order of fourth Jagdtiger and a Begleit Assault Platoon. This one I'm going to build to be my Carius so I'm going to give it some extra touches that will give him off at the battlefield.

Planned modifications are quite straight from the "Bridge at Remagen" -book, an MG to the back deck for AA usage and partial removal of side skirts. I may do some other modifications too but I haven't desided anything yet.

Also I'm quite not sure how I can do a camouflage that I've chosen with normal brushes, I don't have airbrush at my disposal nor do I have an access to use one. The camouflage has been chosen deliberately to be very different from my other tanks.

Pre-planned camouflage for Carius

One idea for the Begleits, though I may not use as many as four.

Hope you like the ideas. All comments and helps regarding painting, and conversion ideas are more than welcomed!

EDIT: Current stage of Jagdtigers conversions. Some changes possible. All ideas are welcomed!