AHPC Update 2

The first two weeks of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge are done and I thought now would be a good time for an update on my progress so far, and how I keep track of my target as the event unfolds.

Salute Loot and a New Project Alert!

So, I went to Salute on Saturday (see my show report here) and this time I went with a very focused shopping list. Some of what I wanted I didn't get because the trader concerned pulled out of the show, but I still managed to come home with a significant haul of lead and other goodies. 

A serious shopping haul

Lots of bases for my new project...and I still need to buy more! 

A few random figures for the Painting Challenge

A new Desert Battlemat from Geek Villan

Tufts and paints for my new project

And the 'first batch of minis for my new project - The French Foreign Legion in 15mm. These are Blue Moon miniatures which I bought from Old Glory UK. Also, features is an MDF fort from BLOTZ, a bargain at just £30. 

The Foreign Legion project will be my main task during the Painting Challenge this year. Hopefully, I will be playing with these by spring next year.

Italian M11/39 Medium Tanks

I seem to have been painting Italian Tanks in reverse order (mainly due to delayed orders) so today its the turn of the earliest of my vehicles so far, the M11/39 Medium Tank. These particular models are from Old Glory and are cast in white metal. The quality of the casting was excellent with minimum defects and flash. The only exception was some slight misalignment of the moulds for the turrets but I was able to mostly file this out.

Three Fiat M11/39 Medium Tanks

As its name suggests the M11/39 is an eleven ton tank that first entered service in 1939. It was a development of a specification originally laid down in 1936. and was heavily influence by the British Vickers 6-Ton tank, several of which the Italian army bought for evaluation purposes. The final evaluation tank was ready for inspection by Mussolini in 1938 and 100 units were commissioned. Lack of raw materials and other issues limited expansion of this to the 400 vehicles first envisaged and the development of the M13/40 made the earlier model obsolete.

The finished vehicle had a 3 man crew (commander, driver, gunner) but conditions were still cramped inside this tank. It had bolted and riveted armour plates ranging in thickness from 6mm in the floor to 30mm on the front. Main gun was the 37mm semi-automatic Vickers-Terni L/40 gun mounted in the hull. This was a common feature in several countries tanks of this period but the configuration was short lived. The main disadvantage was the limited traverse available to the gunner of just 16° to left or right.

An M11/39 in Egypt in 1940

The M11/39 was powered by a 12-litre 105hp SPA eight cylinder engine which wasn't really suitable for an 11 ton tank. Reliability for the overworked engine became an issue, especially in the desert where the conditions strained even the most mechanically sound vehicles. Despite its shortcomings this was an important step forward for Italian tank designers and the lessons learned would find their way into the larger M13/40 and M14/41. 

I have painted these in a camouflage pattern adopted by the Ariete division, 4th Tank Regiment, in Egypt, September 1940. It appears to share some similarity with Caunter but covers less of the vehicle and is a single colour. The aim however was the same, to break up the outline of the tank. However from what I have read it would seem that most camouflage patterns were a little pointless in this theatre of war. Dust, heat haze and the dazzling glare of the sun would have done as much to obscure targets as any colour scheme painted on them. 

Front, side and rear showing the National colours on the rear of the MG turret and the company identification colours on the side. 

A trio of Valentine II's

Following hot on the heals of the Italian M13/40's I completed earlier in the week here is a squadron of British Valentine II's. I would have had them completed a few days ago but I have been waiting for some unit insignia and divisional decals to arrive in the post. These tanks can face off on equal terms with the M13's which means I'm all set to play What a Tanker in the setting of the Western Desert. I have plenty more (earlier) tanks on the production line including some M11's and A9's and A10's.

The Valentine arrived in North Africa a bit late to take part in Operation Compass but it comes at the end of the 'early' period of the desert war that I want to play. The A9's and A10's are the starting tanks (Level 1 in the rules) covering 1940 to early 1941 with the next level including the Valentine. Basically I want enough variety of early desert tanks to allow a starting point for some linked games with progression for players to become tank aces.

Initially known by the catchy name "Tank, Infantry, Mark III*" (got love British tank nomenclature!), thankfully from about June 1941 it became known as the Valentine II. This tank had an AEC A190 131 hp 6-cylinder diesel engine with an external jettisonable fuel tank to increase range in the desert. The two man turret was a compromise to reach the specification for armour thickness of 65mm (a three man version had been designed with thinner armour but the concept was rejected) but the main problem was the choice of the Ordinance Quick Fire (OQF) 2pdr gun which lacked a High Explosive round capability. 

Despite these compromises - which meant the tank wasn't as fast as a cruiser tank and was more lightly armoured than an infantry tank - the Valentine II was a reliable vehicle and popular with the men that crewed it. The tank also had one other benefit; it had more potential for upgrade than the earlier A9's and A10's. This meant that later versions could be redesigned to carry the 6-pounder anti-tank gun and finally a 75mm gun which could fire both AT and HE rounds.

Fiat M13/40 Medium Tank

This is the first batch of 15mm tanks to roll off my production line specifically for use with What a Tanker!. The Fiat M13/40 was built to supersede the earlier and smaller L6/40 and M11/39 and served throughout the war. It was built with riveted steel plates with 30mm frontal armour (42mm on the turret) which when initially designed would have been comparable to the British tanks in service at that time. However while other nations tanks were developed further with welded hulls, thicker armour and more effective guns the M13/40 became increasingly obsolete as the war progressed.

Three M13/40's move cautiously through the Western Desert

The tanks had a crew of four with the tank commander doubling up as the loader of the 47mm gun. With so much to do, and with most tanks not fitted with a Radio, communication between vehicles of the same unit must have been hell. Powered by a 125hp diesel engine in this respect alone it was ahead of its time providing greater range and reduced danger of fire compared to petrol engines. The M13/40 was also armed with up to four machine guns (if one was mounted on the roof with a special flexible mount). Carrying 104 rounds for the main gun and ammunition for all the MG's its amazing there was any space left for the crew in this medium sized tank. 

Not the best painting I have done (missed some areas of flash that have been emphasised by the ink wash) but I may revisit these again at a later date. 

The M13/40 first saw service in Greece but as production was increased it was soon being sent to Libya....just in time for the British offensive, Operation Compass. Despite heavy losses and the increasing disparity between Italian and British tanks the M13 continued in service until the end of the North African campaign. While the tank itself could never be described as any more than conventional its crews gained in expertise, professionalism and bravery to become a true elite arm of the Italian forces in North Africa.

While I was photographing these I couldn't resist a size comparison between the tiny Italian tanks at the start of the war and a massive German King Tiger from the end... just in case anyone was in doubt about the pace of tank development during the war! 

Yes, these are both 1/100th (15mm) scale.

Tanks begin to roll in

After my recent play test of the new What a Tanker! rules I decided I wanted to play more of this game and that I want run a game at Reject HQ as soon as possible. I have a random selection of 15mm tanks left over from when I sold most of my collection a few years ago. I have enough 1944/Normandy tanks and terrain to play games in this period but in the end I decided the call of the Western Desert was too strong. Despite amassing a large 6mm collection for this theatre the chance to repaint some early desert war tanks in 15mm was just too much of a temptation. Nearly a hundred quid and 16 tanks later I have ordered a range of British and Italian armour to play What a Tanker! in the setting of Operation Compass, late 1940 early 1941. 

The first batch of models arrived yesterday, with some M13/40's from Old Glory. I haven't bought from this company before and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the castings and the speed of delivery. Apart from some minor warping of the tank deck (which won't show once painted) the casting is perfect and quite detailed. I'm  looking forward to slapping some paint on these.

I've also bought some Battlefront M11/39's and L6/40's to get me started with the Italians. For the British I have managed to get A9 & A10 Cruisers from PSC, some Valentine II's (also from Old Glory) and a Matilda II from Zvezda. An eclectic mix that will arrive over the next few days. I'm like a kid in a candy store and my enthusiasm is evidenced in the rolling of my wife's eyes whenever the post arrives!