"Recent 6mm Work -- Show us your stuff!" Topic

Very nice touch on the Marder IIIs, Nashorn, and M=10s, rhabstclair! I plan to use some of the GHQ German artillerymen on my Marder IIs, and IIIs one of these days. I also have some M-10s and M-36s that will need crews as well.

The GHQ artillerymen and some of the actual vehicle crew type figures fit real well. The GHQ infantry on the other hand are just a tad larger than the vehicles so would look a bit big when placed inside.

Thanks Pete! Always nice to be complimented by a master-modeler!

Yeah, I was using the artillery guys. Bad news for them in their encounter with my snipper. Don't really have any use for leftover legs, unfortunately.

I think my next challenge is to sculpt helmets out of green stuff so I don't have to keep decapitating guys to put spare helmets on vehicles.

The GHQ website won't activate my account, so I'll try some here:

These are all GHQ, originally based for Spearhead. Like everyone else I'm developing my own ruleset for that scale too. :)

test image:

OK, that seems to have worked, so a couple more but I don't want to spam.

Dalem:

Good stuff!

The detailing and the decals really make for some lovely Shermans and Hetzers.

Are the "blank" spots on the artillery stands meant for future labelling, or are you trying to indicate trenches for the gun crews?

And … a propos the GHQ Forums … all of your prior posts should now appear, and (I hope) you are all set for future postings without further pre-approval purgatory.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

@Mark 1

1) Thx for the GHQ bump!
2) Sorry that neither my phone nor my camera have good macro ability – I will see to that.
3) I based everything on sheet steel squares, and for transport – HTs, horses, trucks, etc., put little magnets ont he bottoms. So I can have the arty/ATGs/IGs sitting un-limbered or limbered by just popping a loose truck or whatever onto the stand. Same with infantry, etc.

Should I upload more pics?

Excellent work on those miniatures, Dalem! Very well painted and I like the decal work as well.

Thanks Captain Pete!

ugh. bad focus.

I try to make the HQ stands a little interesting.

Those Jagdpanthers and the others also look really nice, Dalem!

They all look nice, don't they, Pete?

Lots of shading and detailing there that I appreciate. And … I also appreciate a bit of kit bashing from time-to-time, like that Battalion HQ unit! That one deserves a solo pic and some description. Very nice!

Great job, Dalem. And yes, please do continue posting. Every pic is a new jolt of interest and fun.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Old style labels on left. More info but small font and colors. Me & my gaming buddies are 20 years older now and 1 guy is color blind, so I've gone to the newer style on the right. A little less info but in my rules it shouldn't matter. Sorry these pics are so large. I could edit them down on imgur if it bugs people.

Gotta have some Stugs.

You have a very nice collection, Dalem! Great work!

@Captain Pete:

When I was introduced to miniature gaming back in Michigan in 1997, it seemed that the guys in the group had everything: Napoleonics, ACW, ECW, AWI, scifi, Warhammer, Franco-Prussian, Samurai, etc. Every time I asked if they needed more X so I could contribute my own figs (I'd been an armor/airplane modeler for years already so the painting didn't scare me) the answer was "no thanks, we have plenty already, no problem."

Then one night at John's he had a WW2 scenario set up. I asked "are there lots of WW2 minis and rules?"
Laughter: "Oh yeah."
"Would you say you guys have enough? Because that's kindof my area of expertise."
"Kinda dumb of us not to think of that, but not really. What you see ont he table is almost all of it."
"THEN I CLAIM THIS SUB-NICHE FOR MINE OWN!"

I think lightning shot out of my hands. Pretty sure it did. :)

Anyway, I started collecting 15s, then got into 6mm. I have pretty decent amounts of stuff painted up IF all I want is '43-'45 Yanks vs. Germans, as I am quite the Amerophile. (Ameraboo?)

Oh yeah, then I found out about 28mm. Have some of those too.

I have a decent amount of Soviet stuff, some of it even primed, but nothing painted or based yet. I need Brits and early war Germans next. Thanks for taking a peek at the pics. I'll try to take more and post them in the right threads.

-dale

Been a minute since I posted any pics.

Not that I haven't done some projects. But I've been so busy I have not gotten the pics together to post.

So here's one project I finished a couple months back. Here is another company of Shermans, this time mid-production M4A1s, to supplement the early production M4A1s I showed earlier in this thread.

There are appropriate for the ETO campaign. Too modern for Sicily, but might be mixed with the early production M4A1s for Southern France or Italy.

Here are all the tanks of the full company. Not shown are the extra non-tank HQ vehicles.

Each platoon has a platoon leader and a platoon Sgt tank, and 3 troop tanks. The HQ has the company commander and XO tanks. There are 3 platoons of 5 tanks each, and 2 tanks for the company HQ. So 17 tanks in total.

Command tanks have stars, and platoon Sgt / 2IC tanks have extra supplies on the deck. This helps me identify my command units at game time.

Here is a top-down view. They are all buttoned up except for the CO, who is shown out of the hatch scanning the battlefield through his binocs.

I miss my old Testor's Dullcote. I have found an alternate that claims to be "Dead Flat", but it just isn't as flat as Dullcote was. Also it seems to be a heavier coating, so these seem to have lost a bit of the fine detail when viewed through the camera lens vs. my prior work.

My photography was never really good enough to warrant the details of these superb GHQ models, so maybe the final overcoat of paint doesn't really matter that much.

For added muscle, when the scenario warrants I have some M4A3E2 "Jumbo" Shermans to add to the company. The GHQ Jumbos come with 76mm guns, which were comparatively rare and even then only a 1945 thing. So I have clipped 3 of the guns down to be 75mm Jumbos for use in the fall of 1944 as well as 1945.

I also have the ability to bolster the firepower of my ETO Shermans. Here are 5 Sherman M4A3 76mm tanks for 1944 and 1945, as well as 5 Sherman M4A3E8 76mm tanks for 1945.

You might observer something odd about the glacis plates of the M4A3 76's. I got these hulls mixed with the Jumbo turrets, and was frustrated to see the hulls had cable load points (Jumbos did not have these, as they were too heavy). So I carved them off, only afterwards realizing the hulls I was modding were for the M4A3 76s, and the Jumbo's hull correctly did not have the cable load points. Oops! Oh well, no one but I, and all who read this far into the thread, will be likely to notice.

So there, got some more tank porn up. Hope y'all enjoy.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

That is a great looking group of Shermans you have there MK 1!
It is nice to see more posts from you as well.

Currently, I have a company plus each of M4A1s and M4A3s for NW Europe done. Both types are an eclectic mix of 75mm and 76mm armed Shermans with some variations in details such as 3 piece vs 1 piece transmission covers, a couple early M4A3, a couple of 105s etc.

I have plans on adding to both groups to have at least 2 full companies, add some Stuarts, and now that GHQ has come out the the standard M4, some of those as well. Lots to do.

Hi Mk 1

I still use the Testors Clear Matte Varnish. I don't think this is Dullcoat anymore but it works for me.

I have a few jars of this and when I need to spray some on, I mix up a batch in one of my Testors jars and spray it out of my airbrush. It works well and I bought the lacquer thinner at home depot and it works really well.

Way back on p2 of this thread, when I showed my early production M4A1 Sherman company, I included this image of my company HQ's supply, maintenance and recovery sections.

Included is an M31 ARV, which was built on the M3 Lee tank hull. That's the ARV used in Tunisia, Sicily, and most of the Italian campaign.

But when the ETO campaign opened up, the newer divisions coming over from the States more often had the M32 ARV, which was built on the M4 hull.

So I have now also added a couple of M32s.

These are H&R models. They are adequate. I might even say decent. But these are not among H&Rs newer castings, and so do not get accolades on the modelling or casting details. Still, I use a lot of H&R stuff, and do not hesitate to mix these in as well.

To make them a bit more visually appealing I have festooned them with a bit of extras. I have added .50cal HMGs on skate rings taken from the GHQ M8 Armored Car set (I have a fair number of extras), and put some stowage around the hulls as ARVs tended to carry a fair bit of random kit. I have also mounted an 81mm Mortar on the front of one of the ARVs. I understand this was a reasonably common field mod, which gave the crews the ability to lay down a smoke screen several hundred yards ahead, and so beyond the location of a damaged vehicle, to give them better prospects for a quick and unhindered recovery.

The ARVs are the gating item for me in making armored company HQs. I easily have enough trucks and halftracks. But ARVs are more rare in my collection (well, not so much anymore). Every tank and TD company had one. So I do need a few to go around.

My US Armor now consists of the following companies:
- M3A1 Stuarts
- M5 / M5A1 Stuarts
- M3 Lees
- early production M4A1 Shermans
- mid production M4A1 Shermans
- late production M4A3 (75mm) Shermans
- M3 GMCs (Tank Destroyers)
- M10 GMCs (Tank Destroyers)
- M18 GMCs (Tank Destroyers)
- One battery (company) of T19 HMCs (105mm self propelled howitzers on M3 Halftrack chassis)
- Two batteries (companies) of M7 "Priest" HMCs (105mm self propelled arty)

Plus additional platoons of:
- M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbos
- M4A1 76mm Shermans
- M4A3 76mm Shermans
- M4A3E8 76mm Shermans
- M26 Pershings
- M24 Chaffees
- M6 37mm GMCs (Tank Destroyers)
- M36 90mm GMCs (Tank Destroyers)

At this point I think I have enough to mix-and-match up a decent force of US armor for pretty much any point in the war.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

That is a very decent collection of various tanks and other vehicles you have listed there Mk 1. You definitely do have a large variety to do a decent game with.

I will be adding more vehicles to my American forces at some point soon.

Been trying to put it all in place to let me fill a board wherever and whenever the occasion arises…

I mentioned the M7 Priests -- this was also a recent project I completed that I have not shown before. So why not now?

The vehicles are GHQ, and the crews are mostly (maybe all?) from the H&R US Artillery Crew set. I deliberately put different crew poses in the different vehicles. To me, it gives them more character if the crew figures are in a unique combination in each.

There were 6 guns to a U.S. Army armored field artillery battery (vs. 4 for the towed U.S. Army field artillery).

Each battery had an ammunition section, with an M3 halftrack towing an M10 ammunition trailer. All I can find available are the M24 ammunition trailer (from GHQ). This trailer was used for the lighter small-caliber ammo, while the M10, which looked similar but did not have the high frame for the canvas, was for heavier higher caliber ammunition. Oh well, I suppose I could have kit-bashed the trailers to bring their tarps down, but I doubt anyone but me will ever notice the difference (unless I post it online or some such…).

The company CO and command squad also rode in an M3 halftrack. I had a bit of fun building the HQ tracks with map tables for the CO to play with.

The HQ elements can also dismount if they want. The ammo squad would need to dismount to serve 'em up hot and ready for the guns, but the command squad would more often remain mounted for their work, I expect.

Here's a battery with it's HQ.

And here are two batteries, ready to go.

As with my towed artillery, I did not go all the way to making a full battalion. In part because, well, battery HQs are probably enough overhead for me at gametime. With a battlion I would not only need for each battery to have it's HQ, but then I would also need a full battalion HQ company AND a fire control center. That stuff can stay off-board for my purposes. Might just occasionally be a reason to have a battery or two wander on to the actual battlefield. In which case, I'm ready to go!

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

I mentioned my search for a replacement for Testor's Dullcote.

Here are some of the products I have considered:

Varathane Matte.

I rejected this. Too glossy.

Rustoleum Matte.

I also rejected this. Too glossy as well. But closer.

These were tried some time ago. I was losing heart. I found a couple small (hobby sized) cans of Dullcote on the back of the shelf at a local crafts store and bought them. But they didn't last long.

Then I found Rustoleum Deat Flat. I had pretty high hopes for this one.

The results are better, but still not to the level I was hoping for. Here is a bit of a closer view of my M4A3E8s from the recent set of Shermans I posted.

Still not what I would call "dead flat". Also it seems to go on a bit thick. Not at the levels I got with Dullcote. But perhaps the best I can find at this point…

I can't be the only guy on this quest. I would certainly welcome seeing anyone else's results.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Hi Mk 1!

My go-to matte varnish is Testors Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer. Since it is the Model Master brand it is probably no longer produced.

Mine comes in a small jar and I now mix it with Lacquer Thinner from Home Depot as my Model Master Lacquer Thinner is used up. Klean Strip is the brand from Home Depot and is much cheaper than the old small Testors jars and works just as well to thin the clear lacquer.

I shoot mine out of my airbrush which works quite well and leaves a dead flat finish.

If you are looking for a spray can, I have heard that Windsor and Newton is very good. I think you can get it at Michael's or maybe Hobby Lobby. I have not used it myself but hear good things.

I'm not sure how helpful this is but I wanted to get the conversation going at least and maybe some others will chime in here as well.

Hey Mk 1!

I just did a check of Burbank House of Hobbies on the internet.

They do sell Testors Dullcote in both the spray for $8.99 USD for a 3oz can and brush on in a bottle. I cannot say for certain if this will be just like the old Dullcote or not. Hopefully it still has the basic dead flat properties you are looking for.

I have used Burbank House of Hobbies to order my Humbrols lately and they are great.

Thanks Pete!

I have ordered several cans of Dullcote from Burbank House of Hobbies.

My good ol' Dullcote. Let's hope there have been no changes to the formulation vs. the Testor's Model Masters version of Dullcote.

And BTW – I think I might have visited that place a decade or two ago.

I recall a pretty impressive shop, but with only a "clearance" box of micro armor. Think I bought some British trucks. As mentioned elsewhere in the thread, I have not actively collected British kit since maybe 1980, but I do have some more recent items in my collection. Most were acquired when I was just itching to find some excuse to give a retailer a piece of my wallet and they didn't have anything in US, French, Italian, Russian, or Romanian for me.

But now I have another reason to shop there. Except that it's a bit of a loooonnnng drive for me now.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Hi Mark 1

Glad to be of help…. I hope.

Let me and the rest of us know how it works. I will be using my remaining Model Master Matt Clear Lacquer until I run out in a couple jars or so.

I do use rattle cans for the D&D fantasy figures I sometimes paint but neither the Army Painter brand nor Krylon seem to have that dead flat look.

Best of luck to you!