Recon Forward!

So my list may not be as competitive as some of the other LW players out there, but I put this one together to use as many of my favorite vehicles as possible. The most conspicuous absentee from my list is the M5 Stuart light tank. It is my favorite vehicle of WWII, of any nation involved. Mostly because it was obsolete by 1942 (that's giving it the benefit of the doubt), and continued to trudge on through the end of the war. I'll eventually pickup a platoon or more, but for now my list will change little.

My other favorites that are a part of my list, at least occasionally, are:
- M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer
- M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage
- M8 Greyhound Armored Car
- M20 Armored Utility Vehicle

I'm really terrible at taking "work-in-progress" pics to post to the blog. The pics of these M8 Greyhounds are about as close as I've gotten. They still need decals, weathering, .50 cal.'s, and matte finish. I'm very happy with how my M20's turned out. They still need a coat of matte as well though. All of these vehicles feature my normal green stuff "bedroll & baggage" treatment. I've also added some crates, rope & tarps to a few. I was very disappointed that Battlefront didn't cast these models with the dust skirts/fenders as an option, rather than casting them as one piece with the wheels. It was VERY common in NW Europe for American crews to remove the skirts in combat areas. They tended to collect a lot of mud, as well as being easily damaged. The large .50 cal.ring mounts for the M8's were also omitted by Battlefront.

In order to model the M8 & M20 without skirts I chose to use the wheel from the half-track models. Battlefront wanted $5 per half-track sprue (each sprue only includes 2 wheels). I couldn't see paying up to $15 to modify each vehicle... totally ridiculous! Instead, I made resin castings from my Armored Rifle Platoon's half-tracks. They aren't perfect, but I'm pleased with the results. Besides, it beats shelling out an additional $15 to make the vehicles look like they should have out of the package.

   On a final note, please check out my friend, GunBeryl's YouTube channel. He is a Flames of War modeling inspiration! Enjoy!