Tank, Anti-Tank, and Anti-Air Assets

Some more additions to the Royal Mantovian Army, all printed for me by Don.

First up some replacements for the Sherman Fireflies, which honestly aren't doing badly, except because they are on attachment from my WW2 Canadian army, they are in plain olive green instead of the NATO Three Colour the rest of the Mantovian vehicles are sporting.

I settled on the Comet because of it's visual similarity to the Centurion, and British armoured units were still using them up to the early 50s as well.

In most rule sets it compares favorably to the Firefly, so it's more of an aesthetic switch than an  upgrade in capability. 

I can't decide if they are from entirely separate light armoured battalions, or a light squadron in a battalion of Centurions, or from a heavy squadron in an armoured recce battalion to support the Ferret armoured cars. Since the names I give my units are more reminiscent of a Napoleonic army than anything modern, it doesn't matter I guess. 

I added some camo netting made from cheese cloth soaked in white glue before priming.

To protect the battlegroup from marauding MiGs I got them an AA tank. Because I like coherency in my AFV formations I opted to add the Centaur AA tank (based on the Cromwell/Comet chassis) to the Squadron HQ troops. If there had ever been a Centurion AA tank, I'd have gone with that. Sadly there never was, not even in prototype. Which is too bad; a Centurion turret with four 20mm cannon jutting up to shoot down MiGs would look cool.

I have a second print that needs gun barrels in reserve.

Finally, the Battalion Armour Defense Platoons for the infantry get recoilless rifles. I couldn't find a 1/100 scale. stl for the British BAT1, but Don found this little gun.

On both prints, the carriage was so swarmed with supports I lost both, barely salvaging the wheels and the rotating bit the gun barrel attaches to.

But I clipped some T shapes out of left over plastic windows in the Bits Stores and glued everything on.

They're so tiny I boosted them up on some thick card so the wheels are even with the tops of the crew puddle bases. The crew are kneeling command figures and mortar men holding mortar bombs, which are close enough to look like a shell. 

Of course within 10 years everyone was putting these on Jeeps and Landrovers, but for now they're towed.

British Army ca 1959. 

The barrels are shorter than normal, but my excuse for that and not being on the bed of a Jeep, is so that they can be hauled up the side of a mountain.