Painting German WWII Three Tone Camouflage the Vallejo Way! [Shade-Base-Highlights and Washes]

As part of the preparation for the Pendrakon Battleground Middlesbrough Wargames Show, I had to practice my late-war German three tone camouflage painting scheme. The idea was to use Pendrakon 10mm miniatures for the Wargames Development (WD) "A Bridge Too Far" participation game. For my 20mm models I had previously used Tamiya colours (Sand, Matt Earth and Deep Green/Olive Drab, highlighted up with Yellow and White) but for smaller scales the Vallejo paints are a much better to paint with. The Flames of War (FoW) painting guide gives a very good Vallejo recipe (see below, this is "Issue Two" which was the "German" edition - with lots of Panzer (and other things German) painting guides):

The Late War German Three Colour Camouflage Vallejo Recipe:

Shade:

Y: Green Brown (879)

B: Flat Brown (894)

G: Luftwaffe Camo Green (823)

Base:

Y: Middlestone (882)

B: Chocolate Brown (872)

G: Reflective Green (890)

Highlight:

Y: Buff (876)

B: Beige Brown (875)

G: Russian Uniform Green (924)

Tracks: 

German Primer undercoat Cavalry Brown (987)

Brown Wash

Gunmetal (863) Dry Brush 

Black Wash

Final Gunmetal (863) Highlight

Washes: 

Watered down Black and Brown Vallejo "Dipping Washes" (the big vat ones) 

For my first subject matter "test case" I chose a couple of 1/200 Skytrex Action 200 WWII German AFV miniatures I had (see below, two Stug IIIGs, nasty when coupled with close support Panzer Grenadiers. I was pleased with the result but wanted some more experimentation before I jumped up to 10mm):

For my second subject matter "test case" again I chose some 1/200 Skytrex Action 200 WWII German AFV miniatures (they had been around for ages, purchased from a hobby lot on eBay and I have been meaning to repaint them for absolutely ages - no better time than now). In fact these were used in the WD "A Bridge Too Far" participation game I hosted with John Armatys at Partizan, Newark (Second Partizan in the vernacular I think) earlier this year (see below, a Panther [with added foliage] and a Pz IVH, looking for Shermans, or anything with a White Star on it for that matter. They are are old [1980s?] but I think they still hold their own!):  

I always thought the Skytrex 1/200 Action 200 AFVs were nice kits, but I was less taken with their infantry, although perhaps to scale they are a bit spindly. I do have the infantry but I prefer to use their early war 1/200 AFV models freely with Pendrakon's "slightly larger" 10mm infantry figures. I think it works really well for Spearhead and Command Decision level games, wheer a base is a platoon of infantry or a troop of tanks. I use this combination for my France 1940, Russian 1941-42 [while German things were painted grey] collections, however for my new Western Desert project [British, Commonwealth, Italian and DAK] I am going full in for 10mm (Pendrakon and Miniature Figurines being my current figure sources). I have not quite decided for late war, originally it was going to be big-boy 10mm kits in 1943-45 in Europe and the East. Quite unexpectedly though, I acquired two battalions (one Sherman and one Cromwell) worth 1/200 1944 British Armour and a 1944 Panzer Division's worth of German Armour (Panthers, Pz IVHs, Stug IIIs, Half Track 251s, Tigers, King Tigers and various assault guns). eBay, a blessing and a curse! The same old dilemma [same period and multi-scale hell], but in my heart I know I will do what I usually do and - collect both, so late war Eastern Front beckons in 10mm methinks [unless a large 1/200 set of Russians appear]. Which means I will have to double up on German 10mm late war kits - which I think I can live with (see below, I do like the way the camouflage blends into the terrain board):  

Practice run complete and I jumped up in scale to the 10mm Pendrakon AFVs (see below, a 10mm Stug IIIG - it is very nice, it naturally takes more time to paint but it is very satisfying and the metal pieces went really well together - nice casting Pendrakon!): 

When the camouflage painting is done there comes the tactical markings and/or national insignia, so do you decal or go free hand paint? I decided to give the free hand a go [it was only a single tank], with the aid of a new secret weapon! A Posca Art Paint Pen I had picked up ages ago, in a back to school sale (see below, sadly I discovered the pen nibs were a tad too large for meaningful detail work [OK for 20mm-25mm-28mm-54mm] but all I could get was a blob that was useful for the outer white cross area, so I could then fill in black and touch up round the edges (see below, the finished product, which in the end I am quite proud of):  

Altogether a satisfying project. I intend to finish the rest of the 1/200 German battalions (Spearhead and Command Decision Order of Battle) in this scheme.

Games Workshop (GW Demon) - WIP

Confession: This one was pulled from the archives (a year ago). Backstory ..I had a moment of weakness, I think I was in need to cheer myself up with a tonic and "it" took advantage of me!  Daemons are like that, they attack you when your defences are down and this one appeared unexpectedly in an aisle in local non-wargaming shop (Boyes) during a boring shopping trip (see below, yes I totally blame the Games Workshop Daemon for taking advantage of me, I am weak and it promised me riches [but it took my wargaming soul]. I have primed, washed and base-coated it [and washed it again for good measure] to gain the following effect): 

Despite being a bit over the top, it is very, very good fun to paint and it is one of the "classic Warhammer miniatures" - just sought after just to paint (see below, I like the way fantasy holds no bars so you are free to experiment - although you could say I went for a typical "Demon Red" painting scheme, three layers of paint [shade, base, highlight] and a wash on the metals! Presentable but not yet totally finished): 

Vallejo Game Colour paint range did the trick, along with their washes. The next stage is spot highlighting and some extra "detailing" on the base! Watch this space ...

Painting 1/200 Me 109s (Warlord Games - Blood Red Skies) - The Luftwaffe Ready Room

Seeking painting inspiration I toured the internet for videos on how to paint WWII German Luftwaffe Me 109s circa 1940:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4V6BQo8tyQ

https://www.google.com/search?q=blood+red+skies+1%2F200+me-109+painting+guide&rlz=1C1JZAP_enGB834GB834&sxsrf=APwXEdfZY4A5444DZzh2nGo8DTEftsbQ5A%3A1686928428885&ei=LHyMZNS1NfiThbIPzOC7yAQ&ved=0ahUKEwjU-46Oisj_AhX4SUEAHUzwDkkQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=blood+red+skies+1%2F200+me-109+painting+guide&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIFCAAQogQyBQgAEKIEOggIABCiBBCwA0oECEEYAVCZDViaKmDnK2gBcAB4AIABhwGIAcwNkgEENC4xMpgBAKABAcABAcgBBA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ea18ff39,vid:Pbopp8mOSeA

http://www.dogfighter.com/Messerschmitt-Me-Bf-109-E-3/0344.html

My final recipe was as follows: 

• Airfix/Humbrol Acrylic Primer
• Vallejo Black Wash (to highlight detail) 
• Light Blue (Base) Airfix/Humbrol Acrylic
• Vallejo Model (Base) Dark Grey
• Vallejo Model (Base) Light Grey
• Vallejo Game Colour Bone White foundation for (Base) Yellow area on nose
• Vallejo Game Colour (Base) Golden Yellow
• Vallejo Brown Ink 
• Vallejo Game Colour (Highlight) Yellow (see below, half way through): 

• Vallejo Yellow Ink
• Final Vallejo Game Colour Yellow (Highlight) 
• Smoke Wash
• Vallejo Black on Canopy
• Vallejo Model Colour German Grey on Propeller
• Vallejo Model Colour Black Propeller
• (Highlight) Dark Grey including canopy struts 
• (Highlight) Light Grey including canopy struts 
• (Highlight) Light Blue
• Micro Sol preparation of decal area 
• Decals: Warlord Games Decal Pack - 1/200 JG-26 using Micro Sol (see below): 

• Micro Set
• Humbrol Satin Varnish

The end result (see below): 

Off to play Blood Red Skies next Battle of France 1940!

An Ancient Persian Monster - Cyrus War Tower: Painting the War Tower (Part 2 of 4)

The model received a covering of Airfix Grey Acrylic Primer, then a layering process of Vallejo Game Colour - Charred Brown, Beasty Brown and Leather Brown (see below, the grey crossbeams will be painted "something different"): 

But first "black" while I think about a suitable colour, I resisted anything metallic as I was thinking that would have made the structure crazily heavy - not that this thing was going to look sensible (see below, the browns are taking shape):   

I was not rushing it - you should see a progression in the "browns" from photograph to photograph as I was sticking to multiple thin coats principle (see below, the crew and bullocks are getting impatient in the background): 

The "browns" are done - even the wheels (see below, and the mental decision of "what" the crossbeam colour will be had been made, by the very scientific process of staring at the colour paints I had to hand): 

"Blue" was decided on - the classic Vallejo Games Colour Imperial Blue, Magic Blue and a highlight of Electric Blue (see below, it had 'contrast' and 'gaudiness' going for it, the Achaemenid Persians were certainly not understated in their colour schemes so "go for it"): 

With that the bullocks and crew start to take shape (see below, one crewman shepherding the bullocks and three archers in the tower itself): 

Next Stage: Time to start thinking about the basing and how to stop the tower embarrassingly falling over!

Another Corona Virus Project: Paint me a Space Marine the 'Eavy Metal Way (Old School)

I do like following the GW "instruction manuals" that pass on the trade secrets of the Heavy Metal painters (see below, this is dated back to 2008, so old in fact the paint ranges [as in the curious names of the paints] are well out of date, but thankfully they still translate to Vallejo Game Colour instead): 

Flicking to page 89 my attention was caught by the guide's "how to paint a Space (Ultra) Marine the 'Eavy Metal way". What can I say, I have many GW Space Marines, painted to varying degrees of quality, from fast skim to over-painted and too fussy. This time I am going to try the milky many coats better than one thick coat approach (see below, my Space Marine in waiting with his heavy weapon - note the dramatic black and white imagery, this particular Space Marine comes from the Space Marine Command Pack): 

My "blue phase" of Space Marine painting and so many shades of blue at that (layers of Ultra Marine Blue, [recesses with Imperial Blue and Black] mixed with with Space Wolves Grey to a fine line of pure Space Wolves Gray as an edge highlight). The difference here is that rather than over paint large areas with a shade-base-highlight of successive "same colour" thickly painted; it was a case of many thin coats of one colour with a dark colour in the recess, with the armoured parts mixed with increasing amounts of a contrast colour [Space Wolves Grey] - retreating each new layer to the edges of the armour very quickly (see below, the bulk of painting is actually done now, with the rest more a finishing and touching up exercise - paint less seems to work): 

Next, the "eyes have it" (see below, a very detailed sequence of ultra fine detailing to the tiny patches of the model that make up the eyes; shade red, base red, orange highlight, dwarf flesh bottom half of the "lens [eye]", with a tint sparkle of white in the top back corner [I kid you not] - this took some patience and steady hands to do): 

One mean looking Space Marine .. a tiny difference to the model but the eyes really does transform the figure (see below, a finishing touch yet to come, will be to "gloss varnish" the eye and "matte varnish" the rest of the figure): 

The "weapon" and "gold trim" are next up (see below, here are the arcane 'Eavy Metal instructions to follow by the latter - base colour, wash, touch-up and fine line highlight): 

Gun [or rather heavy weapon] finished and Gold Trim applied (see below, 90% done but just a few extra chrome bits to do):

Little bits left to do. Badge emblems [white skulls and green laurels] and parchments [ribbons and vellum] are added with a shade-base-highlight and wash combination (see below, the finished product - minus the base texture and features that has to come):

Showing off the sacred vellum scrolls and protection rites with red rosette (see below, note the skull eagle on the back is just a 'spare part' added on by me - yes I am a GW heretic, I will be turned to Chaos [I already have a pack of Chaos Space Marines]): 

In retrospect one of the things I like about the model is the fine Grey Wolf fine highlight lines, minimalist but very effective (see below, his Chaos cleansing path lays ahead of him): 

Phew, done (bar the basing! Even if he is a glorified grunt he was worth it as I have painted a Space Marine I am proud of and plan to pass on some of the techniques to more my historical models(see below, ready for a Space Hulk or a Black Fortress near you): 

There are five figures in all for the Command Pack, but I will take a break before moving onto the one. Al in all it was a slow "week's worth" of hobby painting time spent on this one figure - not a factory production line method for sure!

Note to Self: Painting Russian WWII Tanks

It started with a simple question, "What Vallejo colour do I use as the base colour for Russian WWII tanks?" Plastic Soldier Painting Guide for my T70 and T34 says "Russian Green" [Vallejo Model Colour 70.894 which seems to make sense] but I got slightly more than I bargained for from my You Tube search.

 Helpful videos from You Tube, with excellent tutorials and painting results: 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL-NsLi75GI
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy88YZBkhyk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqoCc4Eiih4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKZwIw-ctIg

The results from these videos are fantastic and mean that I will have to start weathering my models. The answer to my original question I think is: Vallejo Model Colour 71.017 (Russian Green 4BO) - which may be an air brush colour anyhow, for the professionals .. but I will have to made do with Vallejo 70.894 (see below, when did life become so complicated and I get the feeling that I should not really "care" that much?): 

Bring me a Russian WWII tank to paint while I an still of sound mind! I will work on the principle of two thin coats is better than one thick!

Note to Self: Confederate Paint Scheme Used

This is the palette box I used to paint the Confederates. It may look intimidating but in all honesty there was a 80:20 split, namely 20% of those paint bottles did 80% of the work and the other 80% were mainly "little dabbers" (see below, old faithful Tamiya did most of the work ably supported by the small figure specialists Vallejo): 

Undercoat

Airfix Acrylic Primer and Vallejo Brown (Dipping Jar) Wash, which serves as a part primer and as part shade/picking out detail

Flesh

Vallejo Game Colour range: Dark Flesh (Shade), Dwarf Flesh (Base) and Elf Flesh (Highlight)

Tunic

Tamiya range: Dark Grey XF-24 (Base), Neutral Grey XF-53 (Base/Highlight) .. was thinking of using Light Grey XF-66 or Medium Grey XF-20 as a highlight, but may return to this step at a later stage if I deem it necessary

Trousers

Tamiya range as Tunic above or Light Blue XF-23 (Base) and Light Blue XF-24 + White (I used Vallejo Foundation White as a strong white)

Shoes/Belts 

Vallejo Model Colour range: Black (Base) and with Tamiya Field Blue XF-50 as a neutral highlight/second tone in for the black

Muskets/Swords/Cups

Vallejo Game Colour range Gun Metal

Bags/Straps

Vallejo Game Colour range: Khaki (Base) with Khaki mixed with Foundation White (Highlight)

Canteen

Citadel Foundation Calthan Brown (Base) then mixed with Vallejo Game Colour Leather Brown (Highlight)  

Gun Stocks

Vallejo Game Colour Charred Brown (Shade), Beasty Brown (Base) and Leather Brown (Highlight)  

Flag

Vallejo Game Colour Blood Red

Tamiya Flat Blue XF-8

Vallejo Red Ink to re-touch red after Humbrol varnish dulled it down too much

Vallejo Game Colour Bone White (Base for stars and hemming) and Foundation White (Highlight)  

Touching-up was either a fine black line or a thin wash to fit in the recesses

ACW Confederate Army update: Humbrol Acrylic Varnish Stage

And finally it was time to be varnish them "in the sun" (or rather while there was sun) and the ACW Confederates were crowded in "spray painting formation" in appropriate easy to spray lines - or so I thought (see below, the ACW Confederate Army, the thing a I discovered and something my Physics teacher never told me was that the force exhorted from the Humbrol Acrylic Matt Varnish spray can, was so mighty it blew some of the figures all away across the table (light plastic on card, say no more)! - Goodbye Bedford Forrest, nice knowing ya! They were safely recovered from the weed patch, but it was a much different experience than spaying 25/28mm fixed to coins - "catch the pigeon" fashion):   

Once the strafing run was complete I stood back to admire my handiwork (see below, that is a 'goodly' bit of painting [by my standards] done over the summer in the "lock-down holidays" - my fingers were firmly crossed hoping that nothing was going to go amiss with the "varnish drying" stage): 

The inspection revealed a good matte coverage over most of the figures. The (Vallejo) paints were nicely dulled down (so that the Vallejo matched the Tamiya finish nicely) but there were one or two horses and one artillery piece that had been affected by the dreaded "white varnish seal" of painting doom. On the horses I used some suitable coloured Vallejo ink to soak in and on the artillery piece I simply repainted the affected wheel and cannon. Methinks I will have to check out the Army Painter (or even Games Workshop) alternative as it may be a better product.

My 28mm WWII Soviet Infantry for Chain of Command

Russian Forces: My main force of Soviet 28mm Chain of Command figures are the highly detailed plastic Warlord Games (Winter Infantry and the ones [10] that came with KV1 tank kit), some flame-throwing and LMG specialists from Black Tree, but as a supplement I bought the Plastic Soldier Company (PSC) infantry range (which means I have the same figure molds in 15mm, 20mm and 28mm). The 28mm allow for some conversions with spares left over from the Warlord Game sprue (see below, the sharp stereoscopic end of a Soviet 28mm Chain of Command sniper team): 

The Soviets always seem short of a few basic rifles .. so rather than been drawn into the "just another box" syndrome I converted some PSC SMG boys into basic rifles (see below, a Soviet NCO demoted to a private but remembers his heroic pose past): 

A couple of basic PSC 28mm rifles heading for Stalingrad (see below, primed in classic Airfix Acrylic primer, waiting for base texturing and "brown wash dipping" before painting):  

Working through the process before a factory style assembly production line begins (see below, the soldier on the left is a prototype and the one on the right a "wanna-be" soon to be):   

You can never have too many soviet infantry - no matter what scale ;) 

The Vallejo 'Game Colour' - "Have you already got this one yet?"

There seem to hold a maximum of 48 (3 x16) different kinds of Vallejo Game Colour on offer (although I suspect white has been doubled up) in this local shop, note not a specialist Hobby Store, but I am glad that this chain (Boyes, UK) chose to carry this stuff at all, it is a noble service to gamers to find anything of use on the high Street. It looks like your standard display rack and I am pretty sure it is not the "full range" (a quick scan at the Game Colour catalogue reveals 155 colours). Great but my dilemma comes from the fact that I know (or rather think I know) that I don't have them all (yet). But which one am I missing (see below, the treasure chest of "Game Colour"): 

So I always came away thinking - "what did I miss, urgh". So (quite cleverly he says in "cunning plan" mode) I took a photo of the stand and thought I would cross-check when get home! Note to self: I was amazed at "the doubling/tripling up" I had managed to achieve with the "Model Colour" and was keen not to repeat with the "Game Colour"! 

Results to follow and obviously the Vallejo "Model Colour" expansion to this game will obviously come later!

Corona Virus Project #2: Making out with "Lady Lex" - CV2

Mea culpa, after reading through the links from a previous post I found out that my hunch (of brown flight decks) was completely wrong (maybe I was thinking 18th and 19th century navies, rather than 20th century navies) and for the USN the Blue and Green Gray are beautiful. Out of the fifty shades of grey out the one I was looking for was :

Deck Blue Grey Vallejo Model Colour 867

Extremely useful was this Vallejo Colour Chart link:
https://www.megahobby.com/products/17ml-acrylic-paint-bottles-model-colors-vallejo.html

Well guess what, despite what I thought was an extensive selection of Vallejo paints - this was one I was missing, but I had the next door cousin 868 Dark Sea Grey- so in these Corona Virus times of make do I used that instead. I was going to mix in a lighter shade anyhow so what the heck! (see below, my revised carrier flight decks, no more "wooden walls"):

I decided to take one example through to the end. I opted for CV2, the USS Lexington "The Lady Lex" and tried my hand at a little bit of shading to the deck and give her some "flight landing lines" (see below, my hand drawn lines will do for now, although there are some excellent decals from: https://www.flightdeckdecals2400.com/product-page/usn2a-cv-2-lexington-grey - another casualty of the lock-down, just now as no air-mail)

A hypothetical shot of "Lady Lex" being escorted to the ball (see below, two previous 1/3000 scale warships are used to eyeball my sea base painting for wargaming compatibility between them all - in fact I think that is it is unlikely an historical reconstruction as I think "Lady Lex" was "down and out" [sunk 8/5/42 at the Battle of the Coral Sea] before these two [USS Washington - although 15/5/41 commissioned she started her Pacific duties much later from 23/8/42, and the USS South Dakota - entered the war much later, it was 26/7/42 before she was ready for active service] got into the fight in 1942):

Close up of "Lady Lex" (aka "The Grey Lady). She was a big ship an would have been a heck of a battle-cruiser if finished to her original design (see below, she still carried 8x8" guns so potentially packed a hell of a surface punch too):

The painted "Lady Lex" alongside the other early war USN CVs (see below, the sea base was an additional wet-brush layer of Anita's Acrylics Navy Blue mixed 50:50 with Ocean Blue, followed by a highlight of Ocean Blue, Green Vallejo "wash" was added, then with wave-tops and churn being achieved by mixing in Antique White and White for a feather-lite highlight - in an artistic fashion):

A final Humbrol "satin varnish" was applied (see below, not "an in your face" gloss but a subtle reflective shimmer is achieved [as per the battleships]): 

OK, end-to-end test was a success, production mode is on ;)

Corona Virus Project #2: US WWII Pearl Harbour CVs - Base Coat

Base Layer Painting: Despite having researched the pants off WW2 USN Pacific Ships I decided to go with what looks good IMHO (see below, hull - Vallejo Model Colour - London Grey [70836] and flight decks, Vallejo Game Dark Flesh [72044]):

Technically "wargame table ready" .. but I want to highlight and sea effect too!

The First Corona Project Completed: An Italian Western Desert Task Force

Next comes the armour (see below, there may be fifty shades of grey but I am using three grades of sand on top of one layer of primer that gets washed in "Vallejo Brown Wash"):

I took one vehicle (M11/39) through to completion to get a feel of what to do (see below, kinda got it, taking Green Ochre (914), mixing it with Buff (976) and finally highlighting in pure Buff):

The tracks were initially painted in Flat Brown (984) and the highlighted in Gun Metal, flowed by a Black Wash and further Gun Metal highlight (see below, primed and ready for action):

From another angle coming at you (see below, the 47mm gun is the hull is anachronistic, the Italians only ever bothered equipping two battalions in the Western Desert with them, but a tank is still a tank when the other side does not have one):

The finished one alongside the other painted in the base coat Green Ochre (914) on the 40mm bases (see below, the Italian armoured column is taking shape):

The 10mm Western Desert Italian Project (see below, Infantry done, supports painted and half based, armour just started painting):

Pause for thought .. mu eldest wanted some help painting a D&D figure (Iron Golem) so while he was learning the secrets of "bronze armour" - I also experimented with Citadel Texture pain and under-painted bases (see red-orange-yellow). The idea being you paint over the bright colours in thick back texture paint goo. The goo dries, cracks and the colours of hell seep through the cracks. It can be extremely dramatic and very effective. Part way through this process I thought - they would be quite good as Chain of Command "shock markers (see below, the acolyte in training and are those "shock markers" I see?): 

An aerial shot of the painting table (see below, 28mm WWII British Infantry sprues on the top left, 28mm GW Fantasy bottom left, 10mm Pendrakon WWII Italians in the middle):

A close-up of the WIP 10mm Italians (see below, I am having second thoughts on how "light" the sand is on the finished infantry bases):

The Italians from another angle (see below, in the background you can see the bottom half of a Steve Young San Fran QB "Action Figure" - although it has to be said I am more of a Joe Montana fan):

An artistic shot of the Painting Table and a hint at my bookshelf (see below, a lot of Vallejo Paints [and unopened can of Carlsberg Export] - including duplicates - see previous post for details):

Another look at those bases (see below, they definitely look like "shock markers" to me): 

The Italian armoured column gets a Green Ochre and Buff 50:50 mix (see below, I can see the effect coming on nicely):

Buff highlight and I think we are there. Other bits, exhausts Flat Brown with Red Leather Highlight. Spades and MGs, black with Gun Metal highlight, tyres black with a mixed a dark grey highlight (see below, based on PVA dunked in sand and grit, soaked with an Anita's Acrylic Coffee Brown diluted wash):

Now came a a depressing moment when I took yet another look at the infantry basing and finally accepted that they were too light (see below, I preferred the look of the infantry supports and armour): 

The horrible answer was to Brown Wash the bases and start from the mid-tone up again (see below, once I had done one base I knew it was the right thing to do, that way they were all based the same too - which as a collection works better IMHO):

Finally painted awaiting a matte varnish (see below, after all the effort I put into these I decided I was not going to skimp on a varnish to make the wargaming figures more "wearable" or protect from hand-to-hand contact or is that clumsy handling combat?):

The Italian Infantry package (see below, note the alternative use of a chocolate box - which needs a bit of strengthening and interior divisions, so they don't all end up in a heap in transport):

The "Final Showcase I" (see below, head-on a furious sight of Italian armour and infantry in rapid advance):

The "Final Showcase II" (see below, side-on - a nice target for artillery):

The Italian Army is now in search of the British Western Desert Force (WDF) under General Richard O'Connor.

More importantly in the context of current world events - this is my first (perhaps of many) Corona Virus Lock-Down [UK] Projects.