German Army Armored fighting vehicle uniforms 1934 to 1945

Another video that will make painting your tank crew fun.

Evolution of the German Army Field Uniform 1933-1945

Excellent guide for German Army uniforms.  So many small changes over the course of 12yrs.

Operation Market Garden September 1944 lecture

Here is another great lecture by the Grosse Pointe library.  The series of lectures is on going about WW2.   Get yourself a drink and relax.

Video for "Men who would kings"

Great movies from the late 50' This is a complete full length feature.

Painting tips by Rod Davus

These photos are from a 40K facebook group.   Rodney technique is easy after see the pictures

USPS sucks..

I've heard a lot of complains on the various Forums about the U.S Postal services.  In the last 5 year they have became bandits.  Over charge for shipping package.  What I use to pay 5 bucks is now 10.50.   For the privilege  of using the USPS.   My mail is on crushed, smashed and stepped on.  Anything that is marked fragile automatically is stepped on.  Nothing like a big size 10 boot print on the package.  If the labels says handle with care is crushed on both edge.   Now we get to anything marked hobby shop.  Those just disappear all together.   For my packages I can track them to the Giant in New Jersey. There we get sucked into a black hole never to be found.  The USPS tells oh that is not a problem.  The package will show someday.  So why do I pay for express mail..  To the Post office that means nothing.    That only happened once.  I had ordered paint from a company on Long Island New York.  I could track it as far as New Jersey Monster postal center.   It never left there.  I waited 30 days and contacted the seller.  He give me a refund.  It way a 2nd day delivery.  That was in late April this years...   In August when I returned from the IPMS national that was held in Chattanooga TN.  There was the package with the paint.  It had a April post date.

   The latest was yesterday.  I ordered a magazine for Burbank House of Hobbies.   They are a large company. The package was delivered to my mail box.   I went outside immediately to get the mail.  As I holding the package.   Says." Why the envelope cut open".   Sure God made little green apples it was cut open.    The magazine was gone.  Only the packing cardboard was in the envelope.  The Post office stuck again.  I have filed a complaint.   As us all know in the U.S. is akin to spitting in the wind.

For your viewing pleasure if the package.

Close action ships of the line game.

Here is the  deluxe version of the Ships Log.  Below is the standard log sheet.

Tarawa 15mm scale using Advanced Squad leader.

I had to post this article off of facebook.   Robert Sternberg is a member of the ASL in miniature Facebook page.  I know everyone would love to have 6' x 16' gaming table.  Plus be able to print their own terrain

Hello all,
I have finally finished building Tarawa, or at least the 80% that I can fit on my 6' by 16' table. This was quite the undertaking. This entire table is scratchbuilt or 3d printed except the palm trees. Now I need to 3d print a bunch of landing Craft and play can begin. In either March or April I will be hosting A multi day gaming event with my buddies Al Davis and Bill Owen.

I live in a small town in Washington State and would happily love to host other players. I have cots, spare beds and a couch for those interested. Let me know if this interests you. There are also several motels in the town. Food and drinks will be provided.

Bob.

Wife is doing well

Thanks for the nice comments.  The second cataract surgery when perfect.  Now she has normal vision in both eyes.  The doctor said she may only need reading glasses.... Awesome

Sorry I haven't posted in a while

Been busy taking care of my wife. Last wednesday she underwent surgery to have one of her cataracts removed.  The first couple of days she had to stay quite.  For her it is not an easy things.  No reading books or computer.    The doctor didn't want any strain on the eye.   The cataract was removed and lense implant was put in her eye.   All I have been doing is going to the eye surgeon.  Tomorrow she is going to have the other cataract removed and a lense implanted.   It will be the first time since she was 4 yrs old that she will not need glasses to see.   The Doctor said she will need to have reading glasses.   Should be back to normal programing next week on the blog..

More of 3d Print Terrains buildings

Here are more buildings to look at from Jen's. These were taken at Crsis. The steamboat is next on things to print list.  The photos are from here:https://thrifles.blogspot.com/

Abandon Viking movie set.

Looks like the set was never used.

IDF Makmat Mortar carrier

Makmat

     Notes: The Makmat consists of a heavily-modified M-7 Priest (itself a heavily-modified M-4 Sherman tank), with the modifications designed to allow the Makmat to carry the Soltam 160mm mortar (an improved version of the old Soviet 160mm mortar).  Though there were not many built, the Makmat mortar does fire a satisfying-heavy charge of explosives, and throws general mayhem downrange.  Most of these vehicles are now museum pieces or have been sold to other countries; the last combat use of the Makmat by the Israelis occurred in 1982 in Lebanon.  In addition to fire support, one of the primary missions of the Makmat was to provide battlefield illumination.  This was especially important during the 1967 war, as most Israeli vehicles and troops did not have night vision equipment.  They should perhaps get the title of “unsung hero,” as the illumination (and fire support) they provided made many of their night victories possible in that war.

     The M-7 Priest base vehicle is essentially stripped down to its chassis; when the body is finished, the Makmat has a moderately-sloped glacis.  The driver is behind this glacis, with the driver in the front of the vehicle near the bottom of the glacis.  The driver has a hatch which locks open slightly above horizontal, or closes with the driver looking out through a vision slit near the top of his hatch.  (Note that while the hatch is open, he is vulnerable to small-arms fire and shell fragments, particularly in the head, torso, and arms.) The commander is essentially in the same place he would be on a Priest, except that the pulpit-like stand is replaced by a more conventional hatch and stand.  The commander’s position has fittings for a machinegun, and there is a ring mount, but in practice this is often not mounted.  Instead, a pintle is mounted on either side of the rear gun space.  The rest of the crew have seats in the rear; the rear area, behind the commander’s position, is open-topped.  The back of the rear area is normally locked straight out to provide more space for the crew to work in when using the mortar; a ladder is mounted on this folding rear deck, and when the deck is folded up and closed for traveling, the ladder folds flat against the outside of the deck plate.

     The suspension remains typical of a Sherman-series vehicle; however, the gasoline engine and manual transmission have been replaced with a 430-horsepower Cummins turbocharged diesel engine and an automatic transmission, with the driver having a conventional brake and gas pedal, a steering yoke, and a gearshift that can be used on the fly and allows operation in reverse, in the lower range of gears for steep hills or very rough terrain, or the upper range of gears for maximum speed.  Essentially, the entire drive train has been removed in favor of the more modern drive train.

     The Makmat mortar uses a heavy-gauge steel smoothbore barrel.  The Makmat mortar is breech-loaded; loading such a large-caliber mortar by dropping heavy 160mm rounds down the barrel would be impossible to sustain in a tactical situation.  To load the mortar, the barrel is lowered under by virtually the entire crew into its traveling position, opening the breech and allowing a round to be loaded.  The mortar is then raised again, and the mortar is fired by lanyard.  Raising the mortar back to firing position is relatively easy, as the mortar strut has a spring-loaded counterbalance mechanism.  When the mortar is in the Makmat carrier, the baseplate’s traveling wheels are locked into the vehicle’s baseplate, with the offside wheel being used to allow rotation of the mortar.  The mortar fires over the rear of the vehicle, but can be rotated through 360 degrees, with elevation and depression being from +70 to +43 degrees.  When mounted in the carrier, the mortar’s baseplate is locked into the floor, and the baseplate can be readily removed if necessary.  The mortar is supplied with two sights; one has less precise adjustments and is used for general bombardment; the other is used for more pinpoint bombardment, such as in MOUT fighting.