1943: Battle of Kiev and Operation Sting

 Finished up the diorama for my "Battle of Kiev" Bolt Action German Army. Hoping I can lead it to more victories than what the 4th Panzers faced that November.

 This gem came from a Painting War magazine, top notch sculpt.

 Enemy at the gates inspiration.....

 "Get me those TPS reports!"

 3 man weapon team bases. All are magnetized for kill counting...

 The puppy has +4 penetration in close quarters combat. Also fires a mean russian LMG...

 The German Mario Brothers, just reminds me of those bricks you smash...

 Explosion modeled folks.

 Medium mortar made from a bazooka piece.... one of these days I will buy the actual mortar kit for an army....

 NCO "Badass". Nothing can stop him.

 Dead tank commander... maybe it would have rolled better if they had a live commander....

 Mist cloud....

 German MMGs line up for the Russian inexperienced horde....

 Pretty Bofors ready to go

 Panther 187's 2nd confirmed kill, another French tank...

 Hot tank on tank action. Late Night Operation Sting....

 Awaiting the USMC advance.

BARs and shotguns make mince meat out of even the toughest ambush order.

Not to blame dice....but lets just say those 3 bricks will not ever be leaving that hotel trash can... Time for a new dice order. Panthers don't not kill stuff, bad dice rolling doesn't kill things.... the new German national rules rock and I can't wait for 'Tiger fear" for these big cats. I really want to get these guys out more but I fear the hobby bug has bit and I am again torn in a new direction for a new army.... gonna keep it in the German family though. 

Batte of Kiev: Uncut

The first of my battle of Kiev diorama is going live! All the models are based and ready for paint! This is one image that really inspired this display piece. I also have just really wanted to do a German force since the beginning but never got around to it. Since making some battle of the bulge snow covered shermans, this cemented my terrain season for the force.

 The Bolt Action list rests in the eastern front because of the first introduction of the Panther tank. The rules are cool because for a reduced point cost, there is a fun theme of the tank potentially breaking down each time you move it.

 I also really wanted to make this piece be a giant action scene. Who remembers the Halo 3 ad campaign? This building has the debris explosions added. It is simulating an artillery round coming from above. Inside will be my very own ARC reactor....

I Tony Starked it and cut up some of these tap lights. They will be inside the building shining bright to simulate the exact moment the round explodes. Total Hollywood.

This thing rocked. I wanted to translate that to a World War 2 setting. Just absolute chaos with mini scenes unfolding all around. Each time you look at it you see something new.

 The models have a lot of Hollywood poses and each model is caught in its own heroic movie moment. This is a raw version. 75% of the special effects and fine details cannot be added until after painting. This half track has a T34 armor piercing round flying through it on its way to hit the panther....

 There are around 40 magnets all over this piece each allowing different models to be moved to bases for game play, special effects to be removed or attached. Blood splatters, snow clouds from shock waves, exploding bricks, ricocheting bullets, mid-air tank rounds, mortar muzzle flash are all in store.

The tank top comes off and inside is a PoweredPlay LED board. It is set to flicker to simulate sparking wires in the engine.

Bongiorno: Flower Power

Fun fact: Dr. Seuss illustrated tons of political cartoons during world war two. 

That brings us to the conclusion of Africa Orientale Italiana! While meandering through the desert our hero, Lt. Amedeo Guillet, takes his most trusted cavalrymen to reconnaissance the defenses deep in East Africa. 

 Armed with such weapons as the Beretta model 38 machine gun and traditional sabers. One of they're forgotten conflicts was when they charged the British 4/11th Sikhs Regiment of the 5th Indian Division.

 With the surrender of Italian forces in East Africa in 1941, our intrepid commander refused to surrender and retreated into the desert; to wage a 'Lawrence of Arabia' guerrilla war. Known to locals and British garrisons as, Comandante Diavolo.

 Now that I have these models all finished up and I see the cavalry squads arrayed, I may have gone a bit overboard on this conversion project. It started with some beautiful Perry French dragoons and a hack saw and ended with 20 more 40mm models... 2 full squads of cavalry in a WWII game...

 Decals are from Company B, a little large but in the end you wouldn't be able to really see them if they were smaller and would not want to really put them on a model either...

Having originally wanted to showcase the eastern front Italian cavalry regiments when they successfully charged against Siberian Infantry. The Africa Campaign had a more romantic nature to it, as much as war could relate to that.

 Here is 1st squad in the force. Having established some strong defenses, the Lt. surveys the scene.

 The mortar team takes aim, or maybe just picks some meadow flowers.

 In the rules, the Italians get the chance to place defensive works on the table.

 The Africa Orientale Italiana only supports the most modern and elite armored support. The Fiat 3000 (right) is based on the WWI French FT-17. The smoke screens these burning vehicles gave they're infantry was invaluable... The FT-17 kit is made by Trench Worx. Top quality stuff, some of the best.

 While the tanks maybe outdated, Italian artillery was quite renowned for bravery and accuracy. These truck mounted 90/53 AA guns were the siblings to the German 88. Often more deadly in anti-tank roles than anti-air.

 It could still melt the rivets off an American Stuart. (Looking at you Plastic Legions, it also works on armored cars...)

This was the inspiration for the uniform scheme, on the left is the Savoia cavalry man, the eastern front cavalry divisions.