Bocage Ambush 1944

Outstanding work..  One suggestion for future work, and you can take it or leave it..... I always carry the ground-color up onto boots and tires (  on turf and dirt roads- not pavement- that requires a bit of dirt & dust in the depressions between the lugs) with pastels... It goes a long way towards "tying" the figures and vehicles to the groundwork...

The figures' are super, and the camouflage is exceptional as well... Always liked the Heer "Rain" camo... Only one minor thing on the uniforms... The silver Tresse around the bottom edge of the EM feldblaus collars.. Only NCOs had that, Privates and Lance-Corporals wouldn't...

Overall, a truly outstanding piece and I especially love the wall... Looks like the real thing. Is it, or did you cast the rocks in another material?  Either way, it's really good...

Thanks for sharing it!

Hi Von Hammer,

Thanks for the comments and no worries ...well taken. You're right, the figures and gun look too clinical(clean). I have since started dusting the ground color up on my subjects. There's another old dio that I'll be posting that still is quite clinical unfortunately.

I'll also keep in mind the silver tresse, thanks...again my lack of knowledge on German uniforms at the time is pretty evident.

The wall is semi-dried spackle or polyfilla rolled and squashed into place. When dried, coated it with olive drab enamels and dry brushed with coats of olive drab lightened progressively with white and finally with just white.

Cheers,

Richard

Overall, this is a nice little vignette with all of the elements being nicely rendered.  Being a bit of a history buff however, I would say that by June/July of '44 you wouldn't have seen this particular piece of artillery on the Western front front-lines, especially engaging armor.  I also see a lot of seams and mold lines...I saw that you wrote this is an older build so I have taken that into account...overall, very pleasing to the eye... 

Manstein's revenge

Overall, this is a nice little vignette with all of the elements being nicely rendered.  Being a bit of a history buff however, I would say that by June/July of '44 you wouldn't have seen this particular piece of artillery on the Western front front-lines, especially engaging armor.  I also see a lot of seams and mold lines...I saw that you wrote this is an older build so I have taken that into account...overall, very pleasing to the eye... 

Hi Manstein, thanks for the comments. On checking references, the 7.5cm IG18 was used till the end of the war. There were still some surplus leftovers in Bulgaria and East Germany (now unified). The reason for its longevity was the availabilty of a hollow charged round. It could stop a tank at close quarters. The short barrel also gave it mortar capabilities and it could be manned by infantry. All these were well suited for the Bocage. I'm hoping to find reference pictures of its use in Normandy as it was supplied to German airborne and Mountain units being light and abled to be broken down for moving.

I wasn't as careful at removing all seam lines eons ago and they show up very glaringly in close up shots. Needless to say I didn't prime my builds then so couldn't see the shortcomings. Thought I'd get more flak on the rain lines on the tunic as they're huge when I see it now.

Cheers,

Richard

I'm no expert on the armor and / or uniforms- and I typically rely on Hans and Manny for that sort of accuracy anyway . Sounds like you got the goods on that. I agree that this is really well done; figures are excellent, and so is that groundwork! Also agree that the wall looks like the real thing. I did see the rain lines, but you got the point across. Doesn't make a difference to me, no flak here.

If this is an older build, I'm sure your current work is even more stunning. Great piece, Richard.

Steve

Beautiful job on that, i love all of it . Very well done

rtfoe

Manstein's revenge:

Overall, this is a nice little vignette with all of the elements being nicely rendered.  Being a bit of a history buff however, I would say that by June/July of '44 you wouldn't have seen this particular piece of artillery on the Western front front-lines, especially engaging armor.  I also see a lot of seams and mold lines...I saw that you wrote this is an older build so I have taken that into account...overall, very pleasing to the eye... 

 

Hi Manstein, thanks for the comments. On checking references, the 7.5cm IG18 was used till the end of the war. There were still some surplus leftovers in Bulgaria and East Germany (now unified). The reason for its longevity was the availabilty of a hollow charged round. It could stop a tank at close quarters. The short barrel also gave it mortar capabilities and it could be manned by infantry. All these were well suited for the Bocage. I'm hoping to find reference pictures of its use in Normandy as it was supplied to German airborne and Mountain units being light and abled to be broken down for moving.

I wasn't as careful at removing all seam lines eons ago and they show up very glaringly in close up shots. Needless to say I didn't prime my builds then so couldn't see the shortcomings. Thought I'd get more flak on the rain lines on the tunic as they're huge when I see it now.

Cheers,

Richard

Mic

I'm no expert on the armor and / or uniforms- and I typically rely on Hans and Manny for that sort of accuracy anyway . Sounds like you got the goods on that. I agree that this is really well done; figures are excellent, and so is that groundwork! Also agree that the wall looks like the real thing. I did see the rain lines, but you got the point across. Doesn't make a difference to me, no flak here.

If this is an older build, I'm sure your current work is even more stunning. Great piece, Richard.

Steve

 

 

Hi Steve, appreciated what you've said. I wish I had guys like Hans and Manny around when I was planning the Bocage Ambush then I would have used either the 7.5 cm Pak 40 or even a mortar squad. There's got to be a reason why ESCI mated the Falschirmjagers with the IG 18. I don't think it was used in Crete. Gotta find that elusive reference picture.

Cheers,

Richard

Bodge

Beautiful job on that, i love all of it . Very well done

Thanks Bodge, glad you love it...suddenly I feel like having a Macdonalds...

Cheers,

Richard

Manstein's revenge

If you can produce a ref pic of that gun being used during Normandy I'll send you a kit...

Hi Manstein, that's going to be a tough nut to crack...even pictures of the gun in other theatres and time are hard to come by. This build might even end up as a what if or a change of title to "Ambush, Eastern Front". Keeping my fingers crossed that a reference will turn up.

It's done so Shoulda...woulda...coulda is not what I usually dwell on and look forward to a better referenced build. I think I found the right forum.

Cheers,

Richard

rtfoe

Manstein's revenge:

If you can produce a ref pic of that gun being used during Normandy I'll send you a kit...

 

Hi Manstein, that's going to be a tough nut to crack...even pictures of the gun in other theatres and time are hard to come by. This build might even end up as a what if or a change of title to "Ambush, Eastern Front". Keeping my fingers crossed that a reference will turn up.

It's done so Shoulda...woulda...coulda is not what I usually dwell on and look forward to a better referenced build. I think I found the right forum.

Cheers,

Richard

Manstein's revenge

rtfoe:

Manstein's revenge:

If you can produce a ref pic of that gun being used during Normandy I'll send you a kit...

 

Hi Manstein, that's going to be a tough nut to crack...even pictures of the gun in other theatres and time are hard to come by. This build might even end up as a what if or a change of title to "Ambush, Eastern Front". Keeping my fingers crossed that a reference will turn up.

It's done so Shoulda...woulda...coulda is not what I usually dwell on and look forward to a better referenced build. I think I found the right forum.

Cheers,

Richard

 

I wasn't trying to bust your balls too much on a nice build but I have never seen that gun used in Normandy or even on the Western front after 1940...it was already for the most part obsolete at the start of the war...from what I know it was probably primarily used in limited numbers on the Eastern front, balkans and during the invasion of France and the low countries in 1940...a 75mm PaK would have been a much more common gun to ambush tanks in Normandy in '44...

No worries Manstein, glad you're around to get facts right. Wished the forum was around back then.

As we move on, we hope to improve our skills and set things right. The internet has made referencing and communication that much better.

I've got another old dio that's older than Bocage that might get the same treatment from the forum. I'll share it anyway.

Cheers,

Richard

Hey Richard, excellent work on this piece. I'll be doing some Germans sporting the same camo scheme shortly so I can certainly use this as inspiration!

Oh also, here's a pic I thought you might like:

http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=9286

Apparently, this gun WAS used in France, 1944...

Thanks,

Looks like he got ya on that one Manny

Pretty definative.....So....what kit are you sending Richard?

Well, that's what I like to see---research! I knew someone would scour the web when I threw the gauntlert down to prove me wrong...part of the fun.  Never say never when it comes to war.  Based on the look/state of the uniforms and the netting on the helmets I'll concede that it very well could be Normandy...PM your addy to me and I'll make good on the wager...

I will continue to assert that this gun was obsolete by '44 and most likely it was "hacked" by a static unit on the coast, along with anything else they could get their hands on---it certainly wouldn't have been used against armor with any degree of sanity...

Part of the fun indeed! Though there certainly isn't a lot on the web regarding this weapon. Thats the only pic I could find of it in Normandy and all sources, so far, say it simply served through the end of the war, though as you say, there were certainly better options.

Whether or not it was used against tanks isn't something I can tell you with great accuracy. However, I wouldn't put it beyond the scope of plausibility considering desperate times call for desperate measures. Especially considering the state of the German war machine...you of all people should know that

Thanks Jon for finding that picture reference and Indy for the support. It made this post a little bit more interesting.

Jon - If you intend to refer to my build for your next Dio, careful with the color scheme on the Fallshcirmjagers battle dress. I followed the box art on this, there was no color reference I could find then. It should be a bit more subdued and the rain lines would be pencil thin. I would use a technical pen loaded with dark olive green ink now instead of a paint brush to draw the lines.

I finally got a reference picture of the smock...see how fine the rain lines are. Also there seems to be two shades of the base color as seen on the ammo pouch.

Manstein - What can I say. The person who rightly deserves the kit is the one who took the picture in the first place. Who in their right mind, in the heat of preparing for the upcoming battle would snap a photograph of this particular gun instead of picking up a weapon to defend himself thinking that somewhere years later a bunch of guys were going to use the picture as reference to settle a dispute.

Anyway I'm glad I don't have to change the title to my dio. phew! Look forward to your comments, they're always welcomed. Keeps me on my toes to do a better researched subject.

Cheers,

Richard

Nicely done. I love the work and attention done on the standing rifles. Excellent.

Thanks Tigerman,

The standing rifles only got the straps much later when I was building "Hold until relieved". Glad you liked it.

Cheers,

Richard