Friday, November 20, 2015

Italians @ Malta, 1942: WIP M14, Light AT Gun & Medic

After Operation Sting this fall, I recognized the need for some additional units - a Medic, an AT Gun, and a medium tank. I happened to win a Soviet 45mm AT Gun and decided to convert it (back) into a German 3.7cm Pak36 (of which the Soviet gun was an almost exact copy of) for my Airborne. I removed the muzzle brake, sanded down the spoked wheels into disc wheels, and slightly rearranged the elevation controls. I then added prone Airborne figures from the Warlord Light Mortar team blister and a small ammo crate made out of plasticard. The base is cut by hand from 2.5mm plasticard sheet.

The Medic is also from the Warlord Light Mortar blister. He originally carried a carbine in both hands which I cut and sanded out and replaced with a spare left hand and a revolver hand from Reaper's 20th Century Weapons set. The revolver is a nice touch, since many non-combat units were issued the WW1-vintage Bodeo M1889 as a sidearm.

The M14/42 is a Blitzkrieg M13/40. I had actually intended to order the ugly, multi-turreted M11/39 but messed up the order! In any case, it's a cool little AFV. I added handholds and tow hooks from 20g copper wire, a shovel & hatch locks from plasticard, a pintle-mounted Breda (converted from a Reaper BAR, again from the 20th Century Weapons set), and Tamiya 1/48 jerry cans.



2 comments:

Weekend General said...

Impressive. Most... Impressive.

That's some really excellent modelling, Jeremy! Can't wait to see them painted.

DZoldak said...

Dude you are a rockin' hobbyist! Love the handholds on the M14 and the conversion work you did on the Medic. Bravo!