"Showcase: AGNM R40 and Panzer III" Topic

Hello TMP,

I have posted a Showcase of a couple of Army Group North Miniatures kits, the R40 and Panzer III.

Come take a look:

link

nice conversions. very well done!

Love AGN vehicles except for the cast-on bases.

The models I worked with did not have the cast on bases, as these were a special request. I'm sure if you let Andy at AGNM know your preference, he can cast the model without the bases

Umm, that's a Hotchkiss. The Renault running gear is quite different, as well as the hull shape.

Thanks, I will ask Andy if he will cast some without bases.

Hello, gentlemen. And thanks for the mention Dan.

I have been casting vehicles for customers without pouring all of the base for those specially requesting it. If you want to ask me through the info@ address before you buy any models, I can keep an eye out for the order and cast it up without bases. It still has the undercarriage filled in but the sides and most of the front and rear are unencumbered for those on that side of the "great basing debate". So you can't see between the tracks/wheels as with other models, especially plastic kit scale models, but it means that there's solid protection so you won't break a track as easily as with unbased models.

And Jeff's correct about it being an H-39 although I vaguely recall having seen a photo somewhere of a Renault (5 wheels and not 6) but with a '39 turret. :)

JTFM do the 39 conversion of the Renault with the Kegresse suspension: link

andygamer: Love your vehicles -- and their sturdy bases!

Yup! Definitely a gaff on my part, whoops!

I don't quite know how I managed to mess that one up!

Thank you, Jeff.

I think the pro-based side are often British and the pro-unbased are often Americans although that might change with the number of people playing Bolt Action and, not surprisingly, starting out with the Warlord vehicles.

And Jeff's correct about it being an H-39 although I vaguely recall having seen a photo somewhere of a Renault (5 wheels and not 6) but with a '39 turret.

Yes some Renault R35s did get upgraded 37mm SA38 guns (variously quoted as L33 or L35).

But …

The same is also true about Hotchkiss H39 tanks (proper name: Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39, or if you prefer H35m39 or just H39). SOME got the upgraded 37mm SA38 guns, and some got the shorter 37mm SA18 (L21) gun.

In other words … the turret and the gun does NOT define the H39. Some were made with the older SA18 gun, some were made with the newer longer SA38 gun.

What defined the H39 was the engine. A larger engine, with an enlarged engine compartment, and the resulting improvement in performance was what characterized a Hotchkiss tank as a H39. Visual identification is made by looking at the rear hull – the engine deck is almost (not quite) horizontal, rather than clearly sloping downward as on the original H35.

The Renault R35 used the same turret as the Hotchkiss H35. By May of 1940 some had the longer SA38 gun, most still had the shorter SA18 gun.

Some people have referred to upgunned R35 tanks as R39s or R40s. If you want to label it an R39 I suppose that's fine, but I don't think there was any such designation in the French military or industry. R40 was an entirely different beast, with an entirely different suspension (including side-skirts).

Wargamers may want to use the H39 or R40 as short-hand for tanks with better guns (and hence better combat stats), but that's not the way the French army rolled. The updated model numbers were all about automotive characteristics and mobility, not gunpower.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)