U-Boat at Dockside

The supplies and the submarine are at the dock.  

The prototype JagdMaus with it's massive 150mm gun can take on any Soviet tank, but only one at a time!

The men are getting the supplies on board but will they be able to supply the boat before the Soviets break through?

The sound of gunfire draws ever nearer.  

Few things are more helpless than a submarine on the surface at dockside.

Look!  Is that tank Russian?!

The Last U-Boat Sortie

The last u-boat to sortie in World War Two prepares to sail.

The supplies and trade goods are on the dock, near the opera house.

The sailors are moving the supplies to the boat.

The vessel sits close to the dock.

A JagdMaus and a few naval infantry provide cover in the event of a Soviet Attack.

Soviet Anti-Aircraft Artillery

World War Two Soviet Union 37mm anti-aircraft guns.

Made by Zvezda in 1/72nd scale.

The barrels are very long and thin.

The model is flash free and goes together pretty well.

I built a couple of them and then mass built them.  Now they are being primer painted.

JagdMaus Super Heavy Tank Destroyer

Jagdmaus, by ArsenalM.

HO scale resin kit.

A 150mm gun on the Maus tank chassis.

An all resin kit, with some very large bricks of resin for the hull and the turret.

The tracks are a nightmare to put together but the rest of the kit is pretty easy.

Side by side with a US Army M4A6 Sherman tank.

The M4A6 never saw combat and was never shipped overseas, 75 were completed.
Unlike the JagdMaus which was never built, no prototypes were made, and likely never existed on paper either.  Both tanks are HO scale.

Batman and Joker

All around good guy Billy Hill has sent me a few 54mm Batman metal figures.

While the set is called Batman I am at a loss for the inclusion of all these figures since I am not aware of a direct Batman connection for all of the characters.  However, the Batman universe is vast and I am sure there is a connection that I am simply not aware of.  Here is Joker and She Hulk.  Joker I know, and while I have heard of She Hulk, she is not a character I am familiar with to a great degree.  I don't know the connection between her and Batman, if any.

She hulk again, same figure, in two different pictures.  Along with Thor, a great figure and wonderful pose.  Not sure of his Batman connection either.  I suspect She Hulk may get painted as a somewhat muscular Catwoman.

Thor is useful, in some comics he fights FOR Germany in WWII, so even in 54mm he may appear in some Minitanks size games!

Silver Surfer, as I know him he  is the Herald of Galactus.  I have the about 12 inch tall Hero-Clix Galactus and so this figure may serve him in 54mm size games and the1/72nd scale version might serve Galactus in Minitank size games.  Again, not sure of the Batman connection, but a good figure, I like that he is surfing on clouds!

Finally, the Batman himself.  A great figure.  Thank you again Billy Hill for providing me with these awesome figures.

M4A6 Sherman Tank

Sherman M4A6 tank and US Army troops training in late 1944.

The M4A6 had a diesel engine and was more fuel efficient than the gasoline Shermans.

 They were relegated to training and testing.

Only 75 were made out of an initial contract for 775.

This one is made by Heiser Models, resin with plastic detail parts, easy to assemble.

I got it from Fidelis Models, Poway, California, owned by my friend Randy.

Panzerzerstorer Panther

Panzerzerstorer Panther, proposed 12.8 cm L/55 gun on the Panther hull.

 The paper panzer was proposed in 1943 but cancelled in 1944, too heavy a gun for the platform.

This gun ended up on the Jagdtiger instead.

Another interesting never was tank from WWII.

Several companies make these kinds of vehicles in HO scale and I have several of them, they are really quite fun.

Soviet BT7 Tank in the Attack

It's early in the war and the Soviets make a rare counter attack.

The fast BT7 tanks make a quick break through in the lines.

The second line German troops without tanks or anti-tank guns are hard to put to stop them.

 The troops move in at the tanks slow to go through a town.

The tanks have outrun their infantry.

That makes them vulnerable.

Throw a grenade from between a few buildings.

Keep up a steady fire to knock out the vision blocks.

Infantry can do a lot of damage to a tank close up, if the men are brave!

German Shepherd Dogs

Somewhere a long time ago I got about a dozen of these long haired German Shepherd dogs.

So I went on line and picked out some good German Shepherd dog photos in the long hair version.

I think the dogs painted up pretty well.

The black seemed to vary on the real dogs so I painted it differently on the model dogs.

Sgt. Schultz, take the guard dogs out for their walk, and don't forget your e-tool.