Happy New Year

  

Happy New Year to all of my Friends and followers, let us hope 2021 becomes a more normal year at some stage

Cheers

Matt

Seasons Greetings & a very Merry Christmas

 

Pegasus Bridge Build part One

Building Pegasus Bridge

The most famous bridge and coup de main of DDay is pegasus bridge on the orne river canal. I have commenced the tiles for the bridge and I am hoping to really produce a lovely table to be able to replay this famous event on the tabletop at Fench Wargame Holidays. I also plan to build the road bridge over the river also on a 5 x 12 ft table. 

For the bridge I am using the Raventhorpe Sentry 20mm Pegasus bridge made from resin. I plan to add a few changes to this plus make some improvements and additions to the piece . 

My plan is to remove the solid handrails and replace them with wire ones, drill out the girders and above the control shed,  file out the lifting beam arms, replace the cross beam, add plastic ladders and continue the light rail entry and exits off the bridge ramps.

drilling and filing out the girders, a bit of work and a mask and a vacuum cleaner nearby 

I hope to have this completed by next week.

Cheers

Matt

50th Infantry Division Tyne Tees Work in Progress Part 1 ww2 British

50th Northumbrian Infantry Division 

Tyne Tees

This month I have started on my 20mm Collection to complete some half completed projects in my project drawers. 

On the work desk this month are 100 plus 20mm British Infantry for the 50th Infantry Tyne Tees Division. I hope to have these completed by the end of this week. I have decided to build several elements of the division,  first up will be the

69th Infantry Brigade 

• Brigade Head Quarters 
• 5th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment
• 6th Battalion, Green Howards
• 7th Battalion, Green Howards
• support elements

I also plan to build the DLI, No.47 commando and the crab flails of the Westminster dragoons, plus RMASG, and other support elements, engineers, artillery etc for Dday and inland.  

I also have a lot of support elements and drivers to complete, plus vehicles. Infantry Figures are all Britannia miniatures which I like to paint, some of the crewed vehicles will have some AB and SHQ bits too. 

East Yorkshire flashes

The unofficial Green Flashes, not approved until after the war, I have found no solid proof that were worn in France

The official Flash which I will use

Cheers

Matt

Terrain Tuesday- Steam Traction Engine

Terrain Tuesdays!

 Each week until March, I have decided to spend some time on some terrain each tuesday, I will try to complete a piece or at least add some detail to a piece of terrain for my table, sometimes really useful or just a filler, results of today's efforts! 

Steam traction engines have always fascinated me, in my childhood I would often visit the neighbours saw mill that has a steam traction engine the dove the great saws that cut down the Australian hardwoods from the forests of New England Tablelands. Later in my teens when I joined the engineers we had as our regiments mascot a Frog and a steam traction engine (2/3 Feild Engineer regiment) and I volunteered to work on the beast. 

So with that in mind I picked up a Steam Engine pencil sharpener around 6 years ago, these are often found in Australian tourist gift shops, particulary in country areas and have been around for 30 odd years. 

First job remove the sharpener and the wheel assembly, add decent axles, then undercoat.

Next I scratch built the flywheel, and the housing 

Then a quick fit before I attach the linkages, then paint job green and red plus Brass work for the bling!

getting close, still some highlighting and bits to do

Mounted, I did F?U and forgot to add the rubber band belt......oh well nothing a bit of superglue will not fix.

Now I am not certain if it will drive a saw mill or a chaff cutter, both were widely used in Maine and Normandy during the war.

The Chaff cutter may be more suitable for Normandy/Maine

Second item I have been working on is a ww2 destroyed resin building, a refurbishment and completion of a part painted piece that has been in my collection for ten years or more. It suffered a little in the move so I decided to do a few repairs and touch ups, a bit more to do then complete.

cheers

Matt

West German Special Forces Cold War

I completed four splinter sections for my Cold War collection, all based on different bases to tell them apart. They are from the platoon 20 Israeli range. They will join my Bundesgrenzschutz SG9. Quite happy with the results.

cheers

Matt