1943: Battle of Kiev and Operation Sting

 Finished up the diorama for my "Battle of Kiev" Bolt Action German Army. Hoping I can lead it to more victories than what the 4th Panzers faced that November.

 This gem came from a Painting War magazine, top notch sculpt.

 Enemy at the gates inspiration.....

 "Get me those TPS reports!"

 3 man weapon team bases. All are magnetized for kill counting...

 The puppy has +4 penetration in close quarters combat. Also fires a mean russian LMG...

 The German Mario Brothers, just reminds me of those bricks you smash...

 Explosion modeled folks.

 Medium mortar made from a bazooka piece.... one of these days I will buy the actual mortar kit for an army....

 NCO "Badass". Nothing can stop him.

 Dead tank commander... maybe it would have rolled better if they had a live commander....

 Mist cloud....

 German MMGs line up for the Russian inexperienced horde....

 Pretty Bofors ready to go

 Panther 187's 2nd confirmed kill, another French tank...

 Hot tank on tank action. Late Night Operation Sting....

 Awaiting the USMC advance.

BARs and shotguns make mince meat out of even the toughest ambush order.

Not to blame dice....but lets just say those 3 bricks will not ever be leaving that hotel trash can... Time for a new dice order. Panthers don't not kill stuff, bad dice rolling doesn't kill things.... the new German national rules rock and I can't wait for 'Tiger fear" for these big cats. I really want to get these guys out more but I fear the hobby bug has bit and I am again torn in a new direction for a new army.... gonna keep it in the German family though. 

Batte of Kiev: Uncut

The first of my battle of Kiev diorama is going live! All the models are based and ready for paint! This is one image that really inspired this display piece. I also have just really wanted to do a German force since the beginning but never got around to it. Since making some battle of the bulge snow covered shermans, this cemented my terrain season for the force.

 The Bolt Action list rests in the eastern front because of the first introduction of the Panther tank. The rules are cool because for a reduced point cost, there is a fun theme of the tank potentially breaking down each time you move it.

 I also really wanted to make this piece be a giant action scene. Who remembers the Halo 3 ad campaign? This building has the debris explosions added. It is simulating an artillery round coming from above. Inside will be my very own ARC reactor....

I Tony Starked it and cut up some of these tap lights. They will be inside the building shining bright to simulate the exact moment the round explodes. Total Hollywood.

This thing rocked. I wanted to translate that to a World War 2 setting. Just absolute chaos with mini scenes unfolding all around. Each time you look at it you see something new.

 The models have a lot of Hollywood poses and each model is caught in its own heroic movie moment. This is a raw version. 75% of the special effects and fine details cannot be added until after painting. This half track has a T34 armor piercing round flying through it on its way to hit the panther....

 There are around 40 magnets all over this piece each allowing different models to be moved to bases for game play, special effects to be removed or attached. Blood splatters, snow clouds from shock waves, exploding bricks, ricocheting bullets, mid-air tank rounds, mortar muzzle flash are all in store.

The tank top comes off and inside is a PoweredPlay LED board. It is set to flicker to simulate sparking wires in the engine.