Monday 30 January 2017

T17 Staghound, Natal Mounted Rifles, Italy 1944

© Golf Alpha Zulu 2017. All rights reserved.

At the end of World War 2, the South African 6th Armoured Division listed 15 Staghound T17E armoured cars amongst their equipment. It was not recorded how these were allocated within the Division, and according to Marshall's Camouflage and Markings of the 6th SA Armoured Division, there is only one (poor) photograph known to depict a South African Staghound, and unhelpfully, the AoS number is obscured. The logical allocation would either be to divisional and brigade HQ squadrons, or to the regimental HQ of the dedicated reconnaissance units - the Natal Mounted Rifles. Given that we know the divisional HQ used M8 Greyhounds, the idea that the Staghounds were then rather allocated to frontline regiments is not implausible. The photograph also doesn't provide any clues as to the colour or patterns used - as the vehicle is appears extremely dirty. So this is, again, a speculative representation, and I will be happy to be proved incorrect if anyone can bring to light more complete information on their use in the SA 6th.

The Staghound was a big beast of an armoured car - 14 tonnes worth - with armour as thick as a light tank, and with some innovative drivetrain features. They arrived on the frontline just in time for the Italian campaign, and saw service until the end of the war. In fact, they continued to serve with many commonwealth forces well after World War 2 - the Rhodesians, for example, kept their's going until 1976.

© Golf Alpha Zulu 2017. All rights reserved.


This miniature was built from the Die Waffenkamer resin kit - pretty much out of the box with the exception of the replacement of pintle-mounted .30 Browning with one that came from a Rubicon Models stowage set. One of the crew figures is the kit offering, the other is from Warlord Games. Stowage is either scratch built, or from Die Waffenkamer and Rubicon Models, and decals are from a variety of suppliers: Warlord, Dom's Decals, and Starmer.

I really enjoyed the process and the result of this build. While unashamedly a wargames miniature, it has piqued my interest in building a good scale model of one - who knows, the Staghound might end up being my first 1/35 build in decades...

© Golf Alpha Zulu 2017. All rights reserved.


© Golf Alpha Zulu 2017. All rights reserved.

© Golf Alpha Zulu 2017. All rights reserved.



© Golf Alpha Zulu 2017. All rights reserved.

Monday 16 January 2017

M10 Achilles, 1/11 Anti Tank Regiment, Italy 1945

© Copyright Golf Alpha Zulu 2017

Here is the first of the M10 variants I have been working on: a 17-pdr equipped Achilles operated by the South African 6th Armoured Division in Italy during the last months of the Second World War.

It depicts a vehicle in the second battery of the 1/11 Anti-Tank Regiment (an amalgamation of the 1st and 11th regiments, due to manpower shortages). The conversions from the 3-inch equipped vehicles were undertaken in April 1945, and it is unsure how many of them saw action before the war ended.

© Copyright Golf Alpha Zulu 2017

The model is based on the Rubicon Models kit, and I had ordered it with the intention of building a M10A. I wasn't even aware that the kit included the option of building the Achilles variant (and the M36 Jackson), so when presented with the opportunity to build one in plastic, I took it.

As with all the Rubicon offerings, the kit was extremely well presented, with clear instructions and comprehensive decals. The sprues were free of flash and significant split lines, and the fit of parts was absolutely first class. Proportions, scale and details look correct. As mentioned, above, the kit can be used to produce a comprehensive range of vehicle variations.

On the downside, the track detail leads a little to be desired, and the undersides of the track guards were omitted from the kit. This last point might not bother many builders as the tracks would obscure the omission, but for my build process (painting before fitting the track assemblies) it would have resulted in overspray into the interior spaces (visible through the open turret.) Also, the grouser racks proved to be a bother. First, they are supplied with grousers cast on, and it takes a fair bit of careful work to cut them off. Given that the majority of M10s were equipped with tracks that could not fit grousers, it means the building to the kit instructions will likely result in an incorrect depiction of the vehicle. Also the racks are fitted into a recess on the hull sides, meaning they cannot be positioned differently, or omitted altogether, without some tricky filling of the recesses, and replication of the rack mounting points.

Extended baggage racks and interior floor detail (only visible by peering into the turret) were added. No crew figures are supplied with the kit, so my crew were recruited from various Warlord Games kits. Baggage and stowage was sources from the Rubicon "Allied Stowage Kit 1", Die Waffenkamer, and scratchbuilt. Decals from Marshall/Starmer/Dom's Decals and Warlord.

© Copyright Golf Alpha Zulu 2017
© Copyright Golf Alpha Zulu 2017