The Loose Association of Wargamers

I recently bought a small number of Allied WW2 vehicles I need to bring my US & British forces up to strength.


They are 20mm resin from Rapid Fire Re-enforcements' range.


You’ll see them on the work table in the below photo (+ my old, & very inaccurate diecast Corgi armoured car in the background). I’m pleased at the way they’re turning out.



Vehicle markings & stars are needed & maybe a little more weathering.

donald

That's not a bad group, mate. I like the look of that Firefly- there's some nice detail there.

Weathering is tricky. Too much and it looks like the vehicles have just escaped from Passchendaele. Too little and they're either a brand new unit or Guards. The trick is to weather them the way you want, not how someone else thinks they "have to be".

Thanks, Dal.
The basic look I'll be after is of combat vehicles, relatively new/serviced & re-painted, after a light shower removed most of the mud but after a light wind blew some dust over them.

Realistic? Not really.

donald

"Realistic" is a relative term, mate. Weather them the way you want them weathered. For inspiration here's a photo I took in Saumur of a diorama showing a poorly parked tank with a bit of dust on it. It's 1:1 scale and that's a real KV.1.

One of the things to remember about armour is like aircraft, in combat they can get mucky, moment they are out (even if only overnight laager) is they get cleaned by the crew. Especially the tracks and wheels, so they can spot any problems early.

Tanks are only grubby when in the frontline.

by FreddBloggs » 13 Jun 2023 23:44
One of the things to remember about armour is like aircraft, in combat they can get mucky, moment they are out (even if only overnight laager) is they get cleaned by the crew. Especially the tracks and wheels, so they can spot any problems early.

Good point, Fredd. I'd add that in service vehicles are not covered in rust, like stored-in-the-open museum and war memorial vehicles/guns tend to be. Patch-painting vehicles to prevent corrosion is a chore all vehicle crews know, and one reason older vehicles have "patchy" paint work until the next time they have a major service. My old "pie wagon" as an example below- yes, we were still using some Series II 'rovers in 1989.

However, the point remains that Donald is the only person that has to be happy with how he weathers his vehicles.

It's a Mk II, it is probably still running!

It could be, Fredd. The next year they took all our Series II and III off us and gave us 110's (Defenders). I got a brand new GMV (6WD 110 with repair shelter). Not a bad car but it didn't have the guts of the pie wagon, though it could carry twice as much- and the clutch worked.

Are pie wagons an essential element of an Aussie baggage train?

They were, mate. Though possibly not in the way you think. These days there's lots of acronyms doing the jobs the old 'rover pie wagons used to do.