Soviet Armor From Trenchworx for the Eastern Front

If you are not familiar with Trenchworx, you should be! Trenchworx designs and manufactures high quality scale models for gamers and hobbyists. They design all of their models with accurate detail and ease of assembly. Trenchworx has had a three successful Kickstarters; Tanks of WW1, Tanks in Manchuria and Tanks on the Western Front.

One of the Manchuria tanks is the OT-26. The OT-26 or HT-26 was the first of a series of flamethrower tanks based on the T-26 light tank. It was produced by mounting a Model 1933 flame-thrower in the right hand turret of the twin turreted T-26 Model 1931. In early examples the second turret was retained, but it was then removed to make more space for fuel.

Trenchworx starts all models using in-house 3D printing technology and eventually convert to resin kits. Their resin cast products are manufactured in their facility in Sandy, Utah.

The BT-7 (Bystrochodnij Tankov or “Fast Tank” type 7) was derived from the 1930 American-built Christie tank, which had been perfected and modified into the BT-2 and BT-5 series. These were pure cavalry tanks, designed for speed, with good armament but weak armor.

The Soviet BT-7 was produced between 1935 and 1940. Several thousand were built during the opening stages of World War II and among those 154, BT-7A artillery tanks were produced.

The inspiration for the Trenchworks company began in July of 2013. Wanting to create models for their favorite table top war games and using the 3D printers of their parent company Worxsimple, it began with that simple statement of “wouldn’t it be cool to have…”

"We started with a T34/76 turret for one of Nate’s models. Next a Sherman 105 and Calliope turret was needed. After a couple of weeks of modeling and printing various kits, Dave said “Nuts to turrets. Let’s build a tank!” A week later we had a brand new Jagdpanther (cause why start small!)."

That very same Jagdpanther can still be seen on their Trenchworx home page and is still a favorite.
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Here you can see another fine example of their hard work, the T-28. The Soviet T-28 is a multi-turreted tank used between 1933 to 1945.  Over 500 tanks were manufactured.  The tank had one large turret with a 76.2mm gun and two smaller turrets with 7.62mm machine guns.

This Trenchworx (1/56) scale resin cast kit allows you to equip the tank with either the KT-28 76.2 mm gun or the improved L-10 76.2 mm gun.  The guns are interchangeable and attached to the turret with magnets.  Magnets are included for the main turret and the main gun.

Since the first tank rolled of the line at Trenchworx, they have designed, printed and shipped thousands of new models to customers around the world. Nate has been posting his progress on the BoltAction.net forums with great support, commentary and even model suggestions.

And now, the Soviet T-35 “land battleship”! This Soviet monstrosity was a multi-turreted heavy tank used between 1935 to 1941.  Weighing in at 45 tonnes, just over 60 tanks were manufactured.

The tank had one large turret with a 76.2mm gun and two smaller turrets with 45mm 20k guns and an additional five 7.62mm machine guns.

They apparently did not participate in the border wars in Mongolia, the invasion of Poland or the Winter War. By June 1940 they were seen as nearly obsolete and costly to operate,

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

Warlord Games German Panther for Bolt Action

Just a quick post to show off some German armor from Warlord Games Bolt Action line. This Panther comes in the Tank War box set and the buildings are from 4Ground. We've been having fun with Photoshop too! There is a lot more to post, hopefully in the next day or two.

Have A Great Battle!
The Old Crow

Bolt Action Gingerbread Stalingrad Battle

Had our first Bolt Action Tank Battle on the Gingerbread Stalingrad board! It was Jonathan and Kevin on the German side with two Panzers each.

Nathan had a Soviet Medium tank and a Sherman on lend lease from the USA. I ran with two T-34s.

Nathan started the moves by advancing his Sherman into the ruins for some cover. The Soviets moved two more tanks on before the Germans emerged to open fire on the Red armor!

There were plenty of misses due to the cover provided by the ruins. Quite a few hits were also scored which caused pins, but first blood went to Nathan as his Sherman hit and destroyed one of the Panzers.

After a few exchanges, one of Kevin's Panzers returned the favor by destroying a Soviet tank with a long shot.

The two T-34's commanded the center of the board from the Tractor Factory. One of Jon's Panzers took a hit and caught fire. However the crew was able to get the flames out and retreat from the building they were hidden in.

The Germans had the last three moves in turn six. Kevin's Panzer moved out  for a clean shot into the factory,  but failed to hit. So the game ended in a draw with one kill each.

It was a quick fun game with new players!

Stalingrad Gingerbread Tank War Edition!

In honor of this festive time of year we decided to indulge a little. So, we're thinking Stalingrad, Bolt Action, World of Tanks and Gnigerbread all go well together. Here is what we came up with.

Using Graham Crackers and traditional "royal icing" made from powdered sugar and egg whites we set to work. The crackers are pretty brittle so we used a set of dental tools and hobby knife to cut the window and door openings.

Here was the first test structure

and the next with it.

What would Stalingrad be without the tractor factory. Here it is in the early stages.

Here it is with the rest of the Gingerbread buildings. It even has a hammer and cycle sign posted above the entrance. For World of Tanks fans, this looks like a tier six match.

Russian, British, German and US tanks clash among the ruins!!

It was a great afternoon of fun.

Now to get the armies together and let the Bolt Action games begin.

About three years ago we built a Gingerbread Fortress which we posted here on the blog.

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

How To: Make Impassable Terrain for Bolt Action or Warhammer, Historical or Fantasy War Games

Having Impassable Terrain on your table top battleground gives you distinct advantages and equal disadvantages. It can cover your armors flank or block line of site for your casters fireball. No matter which you are befitting from, it makes your table look great.

We started with a hardboard base and a can of spray foam insulation. When using the insulation foam, there is always a little left in the can and you can't save it! So, spray the remainder on a piece of old cardboard and let it harden. Once it dries you can peel it off and place it on your hardboard.

You can use White PVA glue or a hot glue gun. We added bits of foam, rock and debris to fill in gaps and add texture

Once you have everything glued and its dry, add a base coat of paint. We always advocate checking mis-tinted paint at your local hardware store, Home Depot or Lowes. We found this ugly dark green which works great for terrain projects. We then used light green and grey to drybrush on highlights.

Then glue flocking and ground cover into the recesses and add any foliage. We used an eclectic mix of HO scale pine trees and bushes plus a few oddball pieces clipped from plastic floral arrangements.

We diod two pieces at once. That helps you keep working on one while the other is drying.

And there you have it, instant gracious cover or pain in the rear site blockers!

Enjoy

4Ground Polish Rural Dwelling Model Kit, The Eastern Front

4Ground produces great model kits and this Polish Rural Dwelling kit is another grand example. We showed you the Two Story Terrace and Ox Wagon, and now we'll move on to models we're planning on using on the Eastern front!

The kit seen here contains many swell components.

One of the interesting features on this particular kit is the cracked missing daub portions along the lower sections of the walls. The dwellings were built using woven sticks like wattle fences and then covered with a mixture of materials usually made of a combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw.

Here the mud daub pieces are removed and wattle pieces placed inside.

The interior is divided into two spaces. in the main area there is a fireplace made of the hearth and stone back wall.

Two additional layers build the depth and then a face and side plate go over top of them to finish it. A second stone hearth for cooking is added for a final touch.

Doors and windows have a nice blue trim and a variety of shutters are included.

The porch and roof have a nice wood grain finish and blue accents again finish off the roof.

For thatch, fur is included in three pieces. One for each side and a third for the ridge line.

Here they are in place.

Using PVA glue watered down, you can brush it on to give the thatch a more natural appearance. A stone and wood capped chimney adds the final touch.

Here are a few parting shots of this jolly good 4Ground  kit.

We continue to be impressed with the attention to detail 4Ground gives these model kits.

Have a great battle!
The Old Crow