Run You Cowards-as We Cut You DOWN

News from the Front-North Africa July '41- Sikh patrol routs Italian forces in a recent skirmish. Bren Gun gunner Gian Chib and his assistant gunner Baldev Singh have to fire on the run as they chase down those enemies who retreat rather than surrender. By the end of the day these men and their comrades killed at least twenty and captured most of a company of the enemy. The empire is proud of the actions of such brave men who fight for the freedom of the World from Fascist Dictatorship.

Gian Chib and Baldev Singh are plastic pieces I painted in August.

Desert Bren Gun

The Bren Gun Light Machine Gun (LMG) gave the standard British and Commonwealth squads extra firepower from its introduction in the late 1930's to the 1960's. 

This is a Sikh North African Bren Gun Team, pouring .303 round into their Axis enemies.

Thes3e are plastic Bolt Action figures I pained last night.

Fighting When Winter Comes Early

Fresh from the Italian Front, this photo showing some of our brave boys manning a .30 cal. Browning machinegun. Old Man Winter has come early, and these GI's have only had time to dawn thick woolen scarves (cut from worn-out blankets) and dab some white paint on their helmets.

Some frozen earth and improvised wire defense are all this team has had time set up to protect their machinegun nest.

In addition to the .30 cal. Browning, each member of the team has an additional weapon for close defense.

The gunner has a holstered Colt .45 1911 pistol.

The loader has the reliable .30 cal. M-1 Garand slung on his right shoulder.

While the ammo carrier has a .45 cal. Tommy Gun SMG with a bandolier of additional magazines on his chest.

So let the fight begin.

(I reality, with such little cover the kneeling ammo carrier would be an easy target.)

These are metal pieces I painted earlier this month.

Specialist Tools for Conquering a Colony

News from the front: Navy shore parties are landing with powerful weapons to subdue the current colonial revolt in Asia. With this added firepower our "Old Tars" will make short work of the poorly armed natives.

Such was one of the countless headlines of colonial conquests of the 19th century. 

When your country wants a new colony currently run by natives, make sure your line troops have the latest specialist weapons like these machineguns.

To the right is the old "reliable" .45 cal. Gatling Gun (with the new brass cartridges that are less prone to jamming).

To the left, we have the new M1895 Colt-Browning 6mm (.236 inch) gas operated Machinegun.

With these weapons any expedition would have a strong advantage against the common native forces to be expected in the era.

The Colt was eventually chambered for many more modern rounds, including the 30.06 and 7.62mm. Even though it was very dated, the Colt even saw limited action in the Second World War. Through countless redesigns, modifications and moderation's the Gattling design is still used to this day by the three major branches of the US (and most Allies) military. 

These are all metal pieces from a variety of manufacture's that I painted in the 1980's for my 19th century colonial and Space 1889 armies.

Browning .30 cal. Machine Gun-Quality that Keeps Fighting

This embattled American machine gun team continues to give fire support even when the gunner has been wounded.
 

His helmet has been sent flying, his left hand is bleeding, but he can't stop now his squad mates need his firepower. 

His assistant points to yet another threat as the battle rages. There will be time enough for medical treatment when the battle ends.

Developed in 1919, the .30 cal. Browning machine gun is still in use on battlefields today. A great design seems to never go out of fashion.

These are kit bashed plastic pieces I painted earlier this month.

Soviet DP-27 "Record Player" Light Machine Gun

This Soviet LMG team is armed with the famous DP-27 7.62mm light machine gun nicknamed the Record Player due to the unusual top loading magazine.

With a 550 round per minute rate of fire and an effective range of 800 meters (875 yards) it gave need firepower to the Soviet infantry formations. Over 795,000 units were produced. 

While developed in the late 1920's some pieces examples have been found in battle in the 21st century (some are reported to be seeing action in the Ukranian war currently being fought).

These are plastic pieces I painted in January.
 

Afrika Korps Fire Power

 

One of the great advantages Afrika Korps infantry had in battle was their excellent machine guns the massive amount of suppressive fire they could lay down. Allied soldiers quickly learned to respect the dangerous nature of these weapons. 

The Maschinengewehr 34 and 42 (MG 34 and MG 42 for short) were among the best machineguns of the war (their design was copied and incorporated into other militaries after the war and both designs are still in-service in several countries. Both had a maximin 1500 rounds per minute rate of fire at a muzzle velocity of 750 m per second for the MG 34 and 740 m/s for the MG 42 (2520 ft/sand 2428 ft/s respectively). While effective rate of fire was much lower the powerful 7.92 mm round (.312 cal) was deadly against enemy troops.

These are a combination of metal and plastic pieces I assembled and painted in July of 2021.

Just a Little Hike They Said

It's no fun lugging a 14 kg (31lb) M1919 Browning .30 cal machine gun in the jungles of the South Pacific.

The M1919 was an excellent weapon that is still in use by many militaries today.

The original design had a 600 round per minute rate of fire, while some modern variants can reach rates over 1200.

With a muzzle velocity of 853 meters per second (2800 ft/s) and a range of 1400 m (1500 yds), the M1919 gave stellar firepower service for both the infantry and air services.

These are metal pieces that I painted in June.

 

The Always Reliable Vickers .303 Machine Gun

Since 1912, the .303 Vickers Medium Machine Gun has be the Backbone of support fire for the bloody infantry. Firing up to 500 rounds a minute to ranges beyond 2000 m (2187+ yards) the Vickers was well suited for the battlefields of Europe, Africa and the Pacific.

After stellar service in the Great War, it was no surprise that the beloved weapon continued to confront the Empires enemies in the Second Word War.

As well as the Korean war, and every British conflict between, until its final retirement in 1968.

This Vickers MMG team is all metal, that I built and painted earlier this month.
 

MMG, the Squads Local Fire Support

By the end of the War, the air cooled M1919 Browing .30 Cal. medium Machine Gun was becoming the standard squad support MMG in the US military. Here we have a USMC team,

I painted this plastic team in Dec. 2020.
 

Hot Time in Korea

This British Vickers Medium Machine Guns crew is ready to drop a load of hot lead upon the Chinese's and North Koreans. 

The Vickers water cooled .303 (7.7mm) machine gun saw stellar service since it was adopted in 1912.

Through two World Wars, numerous colonial conflicts as well as the Korean War, the Vickers gave needed firepower to both the British and their Commonwealth comrades.

These are metal pieces that I pained earlier this month.