SPECIAL THANKS. I would like to thank Paul Watson for his sponsorship of several lead figure collections on this blog. Having decided to clear his spare/surplus figures, he generously forwarded them on with no other requirement than they deserved to be restored. I would also like to mention George S. Mills, who kindly furnished a quantity of plastic figures which greatly enhanced several collections.

Thursday, 2 December 2021

NEW ADDITIONS JUST COMPLETED

JAPANESE WW2

Just completed eight Japanese infantry. Several were charging and this battalion now musters ten, and their two-man light machine gun will be added later.

I had a few spare marching Japanese. Thought it would be useful to raise a crew to man a heavy coastal gun. When I discovered the Japanese were occasionally issued tropical fatigue uniforms in white, thought it would make an interesting addition.

Another scratch-built support weapon. The Japanese developed a rocket launcher late on in WW2, the 70mm weapon was not widely used but does add something interesting. 



Having constructed two Anti-tank rifles a few months back, have finally painted two additional crew and based this small unit.
My Japanese battalions include a light machine gun with two crew. Just completed two of these today.

GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
The film only shows infantry, ZZ Guards, Police, and prison guards, so I decided to give their artillerymen the basic grey uniform with the addition of black mountain caps, and a shako for the officer.

GERMAN WW2
Two light machine gun crews completed. The green/blue will be attached to the Hermann Goering Battalion. The second will serve with the Mountain Battalion.
Having previously completed new gunners for a PAK38, I drafted the former crew to a new scratch-built 120mm mortar.



SIEGE GUN 1870s 
Decided to clear an odd brass barrel in my spares box. I normally use plastic-card for new carriages but on this occasion some bits of hardwood. Seen similar guns for the mid-19th century.

MGB 

10 comments:

  1. More great work MGB - I really like the Siege Gun and crew - what were the crew originally?

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    1. Hi MJT, I picked up some old, broken Timpo west point cadets. Plastic oxidisation made them very fragile, so made a mould for pewter figures with separate heads. Added some home-cast Horse Guard heads, and miliput epaulettes, to make the 2nd Battery, Maryland National Guard c.1880 for my imaginary Dominion War. Subsequently, Paul Watson sent me a similar cadet figure in metal, presenting arms, he now has the rammer.
      Michael

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  2. All very impressive Michael! Your Japanese rocket launcher is perfect and adds a great deal of interest and variety to your units! The siege gun and crew are very unique and look right at home in their surroundings! Very well done!

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    1. Cheers Brad, its always nice to see the last few figures integrated so I can justify 'that' unit is complete, and tick the box. Got a few more figures to complete in preparation for some December games.
      Michael

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  3. Interesting - didn't know the Japanese wore white uniforms at times .

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    1. Hi Tony, I suspect it was a tradition from before WW1, and probably only used by fairly quite/secure garrisons, but cheap cotton uniforms were common, and the white fatigue uniform had green buttons, apparently. I've also seen an artillery piece which might also be white, it certainly looked lighter than grey!
      Michael

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  4. Replies
    1. Thank you, Mark, I'm getting through the projects, and preparing for an unusual war-game for late December.
      Michael

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  5. All of it looks wonderful! I'm impressed how quickly you went from new arrivals to painted and joining the battalion in readiness.

    Cheers!
    - John

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    1. Cheers John, I really get agitated having incomplete units when I know the answer has arrived, so I went to work clearing the odd figures. (In between decorating the bathroom, which I'm also anxious to complete before Christmas lol.) Must say, painting WW2 plastic is a lot quicker than restoring original lead toy soldiers, so that helps. But then, deciding to base the WW2 balanced it out somewhat.
      Michael

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