15mm Flames of War US Armoured Rifles

[Gav0909]

Hey all,

So as you may or may not be aware I moved back in with my parents last November when I started a new job. Now while there are aspects of this that are good, there is one major drawback. My Dad won't let me airbrush in the house. That may not sound like a big deal, I know plenty people who do their spraying outside etc. However I was used to doing this at my modelling desk, and was partly responsible (I now realise) for my productivity.

Anywho, the result of this is that I am finding it hard to get much progress made with scale models in the time I can spend at the bench, as without being able to simply spray when I want I find I often can't do much. Hence my not finishing a single model since October last year.

I recently had a game of Flames of War with a mate and it reignited my interest. I had two FoW forces before but sold them due to lack of gaming opportunities. So I have decided to give a US Armoured Rifle Company (ARC) list a shot. So here, have some background on what they are.

Basically the US Armoured Divisions needed mobile infantry support. Tanks don't always work that well without some men running about to clear out buildings etc. So Armoured Rifle Platoons (ARP) were created, which was basically a small army mounted in M3 halftracks. There was usually 5 rifle squads, 2 light machine gun squads, a 60mm mortar team, HQ unit and numerous bazookas. And that was just one platoon! Plus the .50 cals mounted on their halftracks. So very mobile, very hard hitting units.

So in this log I will document my progress in building up this force. For those who don't know, when choosing a FoW army list, there are some compulsory units, then options. So basically for a US ARC list I must take an ARC HQ team, and 2 x ARPs minimum. In my probable force I will then back them up with a Tank Platoon of Shermans of various types (mix of 75mm, 76mm armed ones), a platoon of Tank Destroyers (I am using a Late War list, so I get 90mm armed M36 Jacksons), a small Recon unit and some Self-Propelled Artillery (Priests). To start with I bought myself an M36 Jackson platoon box.

So lets dive in!

This is a typical FoW platoon box. They are nicely decorated with artwork depicting the unit. There are also pictures of the built models on the sides and rear of the box, with the contents, bit of history, and an assembly guide (most FoW vehicles etc. are very simple to build).


Inside you get a compartmentalised tray (great!) with the various parts. In this case the vehicles are sold resin (separate turret), with ancillaries in metal (crew figures, gun barrel and stowage in this case). Older models will have the single piece tracks/fenders also cast in metal, but Battlefront (the company behind FoW) starting making parts for common vehicles (like the Sherman) as a plastic sprue. So in this case we get plastic tracks and since its a Sherman sprue there are hatches and 75 and 76mm gun barrels there as well.


I didn't take any WIP pics, well I did, but they were sent straight through FB message, so didn't save anywhere. But I will briefly explain my process.

The models were undercoated black, then sprayed Vallejo Model Air US Dark Green. This was lightened with a few drops of white and some modulation was applied, by painting the upper surfaces. I then painted the various details, such as tracks, roadwheels, tools, stowage etc. Then gave them a coat of gloss varnish before a pin wash of MIG AMMO NATO Wash. At this stage some chipping was done with Vallejo German Camo Black Brown. The models were matt coated before a green filter was applied, and some subtle rain and rust streaking. Decals were applied before the streaking etc. Tracks and running gear were weathered with some brown pigments, but I am not overly happy with this.

And so here are my first two finished M36 Jacksons. I will be doing the other two in the near future and will show the painting stages here.








Let me know your thoughts. Sorry for the wordy post!

[MarkVerploeg]

Nice work Gav
Very impressive when you think of the scale
Everything is so tiny

[Gav0909]

Cheers Mark.

I must admit that I don't find painting in this scale that challenging, in fact I find it easier than 1/35 haha. Everything is quicker (less to paint), and you can be a little rougher almost and still get a good finish.

I just bought 2 US Armoured Rifle Platoons, so when I get a HQ I then have the core of my intended force. Some artillery, some tanks and some recon and my list is done.

[Gav0909]

I have made some progress on these wee guys lately. I have built up and based the 1st ARP, so will get some pics of that up here this evening. I also made a start on painting a bazooka team as a practice for the colours, having never painted US infantry before I wanted to do some trial and error first.

Some pics will be up later.