Two years in the making! German LW motorcycle recon platoon FINALLY arrives! Must have taken a wrong turn at Point 213 . . .

This is NOT my favorite platoon ever.  It was one of those projects that just wouldn't die, or rather, get completed.  Motorcycles are not my favorite vehicle to build or paint, and the fiddley crewmen didn't help either (gluing arms on to the motorcycle driver is a real pain).  Then I painted the riders and cycle combinations sepearately and had to glue them together, which required a fair amount of touch ups.  Then gluing them on their bases was a pain as the glue started to peel up under the side car.  Ugh.  At a certain point, I just wanted to finish them and put them away.  They don't look horrible, but I have done better.  Better is the enemy of good enough, and these stands are good enough to get shot up early in any game.  I am wishing for that really. 

Steve McQueen would not be impressed, even in the cooler.

The full platoon in their BMWs.  Who needs a Harley? 

Obertsturmfuhrer Wittman, need a ride?

A couple of basing notes.  I started on this platoon a LONG time ago, before the publishment of the Blitzkrieg EW supplement.  That book suggested two motorcycle and sidecar combinations for the platoon.  On the other hand, another book I have, Panzers in Normandy Then and Now showed that the recon platoon in the panzer abteilung had regular motorcycles.   Anyway, I started the platoon with the idea that I would split the difference and show both.  Long after I lost interest in finishing the platoon I felt I would rather have my brains eaten out by aliens then go back and paint another couple of side cars and riders.  As such, the stands have one motorcycle and sidecar combination and one regular motorcycle per medium base.  The command stand is just a  motorcycle and sidecar combination.  Either way, I hope they get destroyed early. 

The FOW battered desert for in the background has nothing to do with LW or Normandy or Villers Bocage.  It IS really neat though and I couldn't resist it.   

Herr Wittman needs a new Panzer

I actually finished this a while ago but never posted the pictures.  This destroyed Tiger looks like one right out of the Wehrmacht's propaganda pictures taken in Villers Bocage after the British had been ejected.  Raw plywood isn't the best background for photos but the game mat is currently rolled up and the rest of the table is obstucted.  The objective marker turned out well though I don't like the color for the exposed hull metal with zimmerit removed; too bright red I think.  Otherwise, another element of the Villers Bocage set up accomlised.