Bolt Action Reinforcements (Panther and Siberians)

The three day weekend provided an opportunity to get some painting and modeling done this week.  I thought starting my Masters course would seriously hamper my ability to get any hobby projects done, but so far the work load has been manageable.

I have had some Warlord Siberian VETS on the bench.

Initial Siberian squad and support weapons assembled

I was able to finish assembling the remainder and start painting.  I like to use the Army painter dip on all my 28mm troops.

Block painted and dipped

Once the dip is dry I go back and add highlights, some details, dry brush and flock the bases.  I have a friend who is a great painter and has been providing me tips along the way as I tackle this new scale.  I have to say these are some of my best yet.  I know there is still still plenty of room for improvements.  As I learn new techinques I am tempted to go back and re-work older troops.

Completed Siberians with support weapons and Commissar

Full twelve man Squad

ATRs and Sniper team

Commissar and MMG team

Partial Squad, extra NCOs and LMGs

These reinforcements will allow me to filed two full Siberian Squads or up to four small squads. 

Next up I tackled a Warlord Panther Ausf. A Tank.

Completed Tank with the Box for reference

I assembled this one Saturday night after a long introductory Bolt Action game for some friends during the day who are just getting into the game.   I wish I could say this project went as well as the Siberians, but unfortunately I found this one very difficult due to the fact that the tracks were misshapen and the hull had some serious bulges.  These defects meant that  the tracks did not fit snugly to the hull and were slightly bent out.   I almost thought about contacting Warlords customer service again for replacements.  As that would have delayed the project several weeks I decided to press on.

After some shaving sanding and the use of C-Clamps the tracks were aligned and secure to dry for the night. When I checked back on it Sunday I discovered one side had shifted and was badly out of place.  As a result needed to be removed it and re-glue. This did not go well and the track came off in three pieces. In addition, I broke off a section of the inside of the tread as well as some bits on the upper hull by the forward hatches.

Not to be deterred I put the track back together like a puzzle and was able to get it properly positioned. The use of some modeling putty filled the gaps between the hull and track. I pulled out some styrene strip/ plasticard and was able to fashion the bits by the hatches that broke off the hull.  It truly was a test of my modeling skills.

Finally I was ready to prime and paint. From that point forward everything went smoothly. I did have some extra parts. Again being a Warlord kit no instructions are included. Finally I found a picture on the web which showed the light I had not initially included and have since added to make it complete.

 I opted to leave the side skirts off for now.

Panther Ausf A ready for battle

Rear of the tank which my opponents will hopefully never see :)

All in all I am very happy with how this model turned out especially considering the difficulties I had assembling it.  I was very close to scraping the project a couple times especially when I was piecing the track back together.  As it is now none of the damage is visible to the casual observer.

I guess I did OK as my son who is my primary opponent was impressed.  At the same time he declared getting a Tiger in now out of the question....Muuuuhahahha. :)

I have to say not bad for a weekend.  Now I just have to find time to put them into battle.