October Project: 20mm WWII German Panzer Grenadier Platoon

The Dark Confession:

I was found wanting when a fellow wargaming made a 'reasonable' request of me ... I had collected WWII 20mm figures in abundance for years, but alas I had not got round to painting the (vast) majority them ... and as I could not stomach playing with unpainted toys [the shame, the shame] I had so say "No". (Head hung low in dishonour) . Instead we had fun playing another era but this left me pondering. My WW2 collection spans back twenty years and really is my main historical interest, yet my lesser collections (aka other periods) seem to give a much better "return on interest" (ROI). So "What am I doing wrong?", I buy but I don't get round to painting so don't get round to playing!

:(

This is disturbing to me, especially as all that was required was approximately thirty three German infantry figures and maybe half a dozen support figures (FOOs, engineers or a HMG) maximum. I "maybe" could have found them by sorting through twenty or so boxes but they would have looked very much "odds and sods" and not in a "similar looking" platoon formation or st least with a consistent painting style. So as I said I had to offer my wargaming friend an alternative game of  Strategos II/Lost Battles ("aka ancients"). Needless to say my friend was less than impressed with my 'alleged' vast array of WW2 kit, so much so he has transferred his own modelling interests to the sexy 28mm ranges that abound saying he can find plenty of opponents in this scale with "painted figures".

I am 'disgraced' so I need to consolidate and "paint what I have" and stop collecting more clutter and filling up my loft with plastic. There must be over 500 unpainted Germans lurking up there in the loft, 80-90% plastic, of the nice "modern" well-posed variety. An action plan has been drawn up. The Revell German Panzer Grenadier boxed sets were chosen and sorted into a "must do" project box .. my next thirty day challenge. I must do something per day  to progress this project (no matter how small), so by midnight 4th November I should have a German Platoon suitable for "Chain of Command". Whether there is anybody left for me to play with is another matter.

Note: These figures were initially started in 2009 (see below the project box and also here is my link [showing uncharacteristic foresight] to my original 2009 posts giving a most useful valid Painting Guide):

Note 1: I will also have to sort out the likely supports from the various asset lists, but as mentioned earlier they can even be subbed in from existing "odds and sods" as a contingency.

Note 2: There also exists a second (Revell Late War [Ardennes] German Infantry) and a third (various metal German Infantry) project boxes, but they may well have to wait until the New Year.

Note 3: Once the German set is completed this would leave the US as the only partially completed Chain of Command skirmish force yet to constitute (again another the New Year project methinks)

Watch this space ...