SiberianBrit

Hiya guys! Just posting to ask for some C&C on this WiP (still needs a lot of detailing and some covering of the white paint still showing through) paint scheme... this is the first time I've painted 28mm Brits. I think I've got the colours just about right but I'm scared the mini is too dark... I thought I might put a dry brush/highlight of some desert yellow over the top just to make the details pop? I've two pictures under a lamp and one picture in natural sunlight (I figure the latter is better for gauging how it'll look on the tabletop). With WW2 miniatures I've had problems where my minis were too dark; hence why I used a white undercoat for this one.

Thanks Jack! Cheers for the suggestion r.e. WW2talk; I'll give it a gander later. As for Bolt Action; I take a lot of what they have to say with a pinch of salt, if I'm strictly honest. There are a lot of errors in their kits and their actual prose reads a lot like someone enthusing about WW2 movies. Flames of War is much more reliable in my humble opinion (and thanks for linking their chart!) I think you've conclusively answered the patch question, I'm guessing that I should use the insignia from the FoW chart for the vehicles, though. The only thing I'm left wondering about is just what marks should be put on the Universal Carriers? But my biggest thanks to you surely has to be for that Canadian Soldier link! That site looks like a veritable goldmine for questions about the Commonwealth. I know there were some differences between British and Canadian troops, but a lot of truths look pretty universal there.

Hi guys, So I'm really not sure whether this is the correct place to post this, since a number of my questions concern infantry, but I'm going to roll with it since my questions concern the 7th armour specifically. Trying to keep the fluff to a minimum; I moved out to Russia a few years back and recently I've been trying to jump start my wargaming hobby back up over here. I recently ordered a bunch of Bolt Action stuff; my motivation's not so much modelling to game, I just like having the option to play with my toys Anyway, I want to model the 7th Armoured Division and I want to do so as historically as possible; roughly for the period around September 1944. I'd really appreciate if some kind soul(s) could furnish me with answers to the following: -Did officers in Armoured Divisions' Motorised Infantry platoons wear the same signature black berets as tankers? Were there any other differences in uniform? Would swapping the head of this officer model (second figure from the right) with a head with a black beret be a suitable representation of a Lieutenant? -As I understand, by 1944, 7th Division soldiers in NW Europe displayed this patch on their right arm, correct? Is this the correct patch? Was this true of every soldier in the division (including the infantry, such as the King's Royal Rifles)? -Did vehicles still display the older insignia of a red rat on a white field? As in this picture? -To whom were Stenguns issued? Officers and NCOs? How many would there be in a section? As I understand so far, it seems roughly sensible to model ten man sections with an NCO (a corporal) having a Sten. -Could additional Stens be issued? If, for gameplay reasons, I were to add further Stens - would it be kosher? I want to run an alternate list with three 5 man squads with 3 sten gunners, a rifleman and a Bren gunner being transported in Universal Carriers. I thought that, perhaps, Stens might be issued to mechanised troops. -What was a typical rank for a Bren gunner? Anecdotal stories about a relative from a friend suggested to me that a private is perfectly fine. -Please tell me everything there is to know about Universal Carriers - I'd be most grateful I find myself running into conflicting information about their role and usage. It seems that they were intended as transports for weapon teams and towed guns, but I've heard of them being used to transport motorised infantry sections. With such a small transport capacity, though, I'm curious as to what extent they were expected (on paper) to perform that role? -Final question (and this one will take a real trooper), is there anyone kind enough to explain to me how tank markings worked, or who can direct me to a link that does? I've absolutely no understanding of these yellow, blue and red triangles, squares and other shapes you see on British tanks. I really need a total beginner's education; as things stand I've Bren Carriers, a Firefly and a Cromwell to get marked up. I'd really like to know how to do it properly and have them look like a cohesive force. If I may, I'd like to give some further background to the super keen; as things stand, I've modelled three ten man infantry sections, as I believe those approximate a platoon? They consist of one corporal with a Sten, one Bren Gunner and an assistant and seven riflemen each (one of whom is a Lance Corporal; I intend to model alternative models with Stens that I can swap the LC for if a situation requires). There's also an additional small team for the Lieutenant and the Sergeant. Vehicle-wise, I've got three Universal Carriers, a Cromwell and a Firefly. The reason I chose the Desert Rats was because, to my knowledge, they were the only division to be outfitted entirely with Cromwells. I wanted to be able to field the Firefly and the Cromwell together and I couldn't think of another way that'd be possible (in other divisions, Cromwells were present in Recon elements, but they wouldn't be accompanied by the comparatively sluggish Fireflies). Ideally I'd like to mark my tanks so that they might be part of a regular tank platoon together. My infantry I'd like marked as a motorised platoon, with the UCs as their dedicated transports; is all this historically accurate? Is there anything I should bear in mind vis-a-vis markings/organisation? Anyway, woo! That was a long one; thanks if you had the patience to stick with me I'm grateful for any and all answers you can give me. This was the one forum I found that looked like it might have some people knowledgeable about the Brits!