Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The Rising Sun


As you can see one of my upcoming projects will be Japanese related.I plan on doing the Japanese in WWII with an idea of basing them off the "Teishin Shudan" which were Japanese paratroopers.It's a rough outline and I need to do more research first before anything is completely decided.The time period will take place during and after the Philippines campaign where their uniform was basically the same as other Japanese infantry as they already discarded the paratroop look as their role became more as elite light infantry then as para's.
Some may be asking why Japanese WWII and the answer is threefold.The first is due to Helen Bachaus( http://tankgirl666.blogspot.com/)wonderful WWII Japanese which got my attention to this not often seen troop type.Some helpful hints would be nice Helen.:-) The second is the HBO series The Pacific which did a fine job of portraying the gritty reality of combat in this theater.Last but not least is TAG's offer of free miniatures to painters who will paint up some TAG miniatures and send the photo's in.With all three of these factors I just couldn't resist.As if that's hard to do.
For those following the German Fallschirmjäger in 28mm this is not a replacement project,but rather in addition to.I'm currently painting 15mm Fallschirnjäger while I'm waiting for ANGRIFF which is a DH supplement to figure out the platoon organization before continuing one with Fallschirmjäger in 28mm.Basically,just a short pause.The Japanese project will start small and I'll see how it goes if I want it to grow into something larger.

Cheers
Christopher

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Eagles on the move


Now that I worked out the camo schemes for my Fallschirmjäger I now opted for a group shot.This represents half of my first squad with the other half still in production.
Here the obergefreiter(corporal) is overseeing the placement of the squads MG 42 .The scene is taking place somewhere in Normandy.

Corporal in Splittermuster(Splinter Pattern) & Sumpfmuster(Marsh Pattern) camouflage.

MG 42 Gunner in Sumpfmuster 43'(Marsh Pattern)

Assitant MG 42 gunner in Sumpfmuster 44'(Marsh/Water pattern)

Jäger in Splttermuster(Splinter Pattern)
More is discussed on previous posts regarding each Jägers uniform for those interested.I'm currently working on the second half of the squad add will posts results when completed.I hope some of you are enjoying this project and thanks for viewing.:-)
Miniature Company-Artizan Designs

Fallschirmjäger test figure #4 in Sumpfmuster 43'(Marsh Pattern) & Splittermuster(Splinter Pattern)


This will be my last test figure and then I'll move on to painting them in small groups.Just a reminder that these test patterns are not to decide which pattern I'll be using,because I'll be using them all,but rather it it designed to see if the patterns and colors are working and that they look the part.
This Fallschirmjäger is wearing a Splinttermuster(Splinter Pattern) top and Sumpfmuster 43'(Marsh Pattern) trousers that also became more popular as the war progressed,but of course the Field Grey trousers remained the most wide spread throughout the war.Another feature is the Luftwaffe blue helmet that was used early in the war and was largely replaced by painted on field gray and camouflaged covers in the splinter pattern,but this veteran has continued to use the Luftwaffe blue variant.Eagles were also on the helmets for a short period at the beginning of the war,but were replaced with the eagle off and by the time of Normandy they really wouldn't be present and so I didn't add one.I also added a bit of weathering damage to the helmets and I hope it looks right.
He is also carrying the MP40 machine pistol(machine gun) that was a popular weapon carried by the Fallschirmjäger as it suited their role as close assault troops.
On to more Jeägers!
Miniature Company-Artizan Designs