Operation Glenrowan Final

One year on the bench .........

Operation Glenrowan Libya 1949 - under the cover of darkness mobile units from the 8th Cav Australian Army strikeforce " Kelly " momentarily pause at an old temple ruin to meet up with ground troops.
The target - a clandestine German jet fighter base hidden in the desert wasteland , the Australian troops have a big surprise for old Jerry this time - a captured Jagdluther " Skorpion " AT walker , one of 9 seized from a merchant vessel off the coast of Madagascar some months earlier.
The Aussie engineers have also been busy fitting out 2 Universal carriers with new American engines , German night vision equipment and arming them with a captured German remote Flak 38 , new American recoiless anti - tank cannon and Magnetic Anomaly Detection system.

Build story and pics here

Operation Glenrowan - " Dan and Jim "

Got the 2 carriers in undercoat after nutting out most of the mods , just have to work out where all the extras like stowage and crew go now
The carrier on the left is " Dan " and has the Flak 38 mounted on it with night vision and remote firing , it will have crew of 3 - Driver / Radio operator , Gunner , Loader in rear
You can see the mods I've done to the rear area for the gun mount , out of the M113 box came 2 flotation tanks which made a nice bulkhead and found a use for the M113 air cleaner which didnt want to fit on that build , it looks half decent painted up and was a better effort than just glueing the whole gun trailer onto the back ( been done before too eh )
The one on the right is " Jim " and is equipped with a MAD system ( used to detect the ignition coils of enemy vehicles ) and a 50. cal with night vision , it has a 3 man crew as well , Driver , Gunner / Radio op and rear Gunner
Some extra bits added to the Flak , night vision lamp and what has got to be the best fit ever the turning rail around the base which came straight out of the trusty M113 box

Battle of Hamel Diorama

" at the final objective there was a fierce struggle with elements of I Battalion 55th Regiment. A solitary tank followed by swearing ANZACS crushed resistance "

While researching the Mk IV tank , I read about the Battle of Hamel in WW1 and found a great subject to build upon.
After years of being led into massacres by British command the Aussies were finally given a go under the control of General Monash

The Australian were given 2 British tank units and were accompanied by Americans who had never been in combat before , each American was paired up with an Anzac.
The troops moved forward towards Hamel under a creeping barrage of artillery fire , backed by the tank units , supply drops were made by aircraft and supply tanks easing the task of foot soldiers.
The Germans were completely overwhelmed and the town was taken in 93 minutes !

Some other amazing facts were:
* This was the first time tanks were used successfully in battle with ground troops assigned to each vehicle
* This was the first time Australian troops and the entire operation were under Australian command
* This was the first time the Americans fought alongside Australian and British Forces
* This was the first time aircraft were used to re-supply ground troops and update battle plans
* The was the first time supply tanks were used to re-supply troops

There is much more about this amazing battle but I will fill the page up quickly , so onto the dio

Using an Imex 1/25 display case as a base I set out the landform with Builders Bog , I like the bog , it dries quick and can be sculpted and sanded easily.
I used some walls from the Italeri ruined walls set , added some rubble and building debris made from small stones , sprue and match sticks, tree is real from my backyard.
The figures are HAT WW1 ANZAC Infantry and the Lewis gunner on the grassy knoll is from the WW1 ANZAC Heavy Troops set also from HAT

Read more about the Battle of Hamel here

9th Cav Egypt 1942 Diorama

" On Patrol " diorama featuring the Crusader and Stuart tanks of the 9th Division Cavalry in Egypt 1942 , this was the first time Australia had been equipped with modern tanks , before that it was a mixture of Vickers Light Tanks and Bren Carriers.
The Aussies also used captured French Vichy R-35 Tanks , Italian M13/40 Tanks and Light Tankettes.
Tanks used were painted in Desert Sand scheme with no markings apart from the standard tank numbers.
Diorama is made using an Imex 1/25 scale display case , land form made with Builders Bog , Italeri ruined wall section , Hasegawa fuel drum added.
Information sourced from Anzac Steel