Archeaology of an plastic Sherman

Portrait of the artist as a Young Sherman

We've been in Chez Kinch for quite a while now - so long in fact that I thought it was time to finally unpack some of the boxes we've been toting around for so long. Some of these were packed two house moves ago I think if not before.

When I had a regular Thursday game, we usually played Memoir '44 either with the plastic figures that came with the box or 1/300 scale figures. I've been playing more Memoir '44 recently, mainly because I think it's a good game and I enjoy it and also because I don't want to flog Napoleonics to death.

A change being as good as a holiday and all that. With that in mind, I've set myself the task of running up some forces for Memoir '44 in 1/72.  But before I start buying kit I think I shall see what I have packed away. 

This doesn't look like an Airfix Sherman to me - damned if I know who made it

I genuinely don't remember painting these models - though I'm relatively sure that they belong to my second period of wargaming, when I played a great deal of Warhammer Panzer Battle by Phil Yeats. I attended a club at the time and it was dominated by fantasy and science fiction gamers, so I played what was available. I was around twenty and to be honest, my research mainly consisted of looking at what the model shop had in stock and painting them according to the back of the box. Occasionally, I would have a rush of blood to the head and paint up something from a movie. I did do Mark Hamill and Lee Marvin from The Big Red One.

There was an American army which was painted entirely with Goblin Green covered by Ork Flesh wash. They fought a seemingly endless series of late war German armies replete with Tigers and Panthers, though they also did some service against a Soviet army that posed as Koreans when the mood took us. 

I presume this was for Tunisia, another kit I have no recollection of painting or assembling

It remains to be seen whether anything can be done with these kits. I'm not even sure if they're 1/72 or 1/76. If I recall correctly, the Airfix sherman had a thinner gun barrel, so they are probably not Airfix. I think I remember using the Grant during an Operation Torch scenario pitting American Rangers against Vichy French. My opponent had a rare and extremely dangerous Char B1 which did considerable execution.

Decals were something that happened to other people

It's been fun digging up these relics of a previous era - though I must say I enjoy my wargaming rather more now than I did then. I think it's a combination of having a wargames room, simpler rules and more time spent playing games.

Still, there may be life in these old dogs yet. They will definately need a repaint and possibly some rebuilding, once I puzzle out what they are exactly.


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