FoW: Slovak Anti Aircraft Artillery - 2cm VKPL vz.36 battery

Well hello once more ladies and gentlemen. I appear to have returned from my overseas travails... and actually find myself rather in need of a holiday to get over the holidaying! 

Still, fun was had by one and all and before I actually take the steps of moving into my new house I thought I may be able to squeeze in a couple of quick posts about the Slovaks.

So today we will take a dig around at the Slovakian army's light anti aircraft batteries which to be frank fulfilled the majority of the forward AA functions that the army needed. Not as impressive as the big boys BUT vital nonetheless.

One and all let me introduce you to the Slovakian 2cm vz.36 Kulomet batteries.

So, it may come as a surprise to some of you (although absolutely no surprise at all to the majority of you) that to uncover the history of the 2cm vz.36 we need to go back to the army of the Republic of Czechoslovakia.

Czechoslovakia was one of the few countries in the world, thanks to Skoda, that was able to almost completely equip its artillery needs with pieces from domestic production. The only exception to this was the requirement for small-bore automatic weapons.

At the end of the First World War, German industrialist Becker constructed a small-bore automatic cannon which, although being designed for use by the air force achieved notable attention for its anti-tank abilities. However it missed its metaphorical window and only 200 were produced. 

The military command of the nascent Czechoslovakian army correctly recognised the potential of this weapon and by the end of 1919 had already placed an order for 47 pieces with ammunition. After prolonged studies however they were deemed to be short of their developmental potential and after a series of tests ended up being used solely for coastal defence along the Danube, finally being retired to resupply warehouses for potential future use.

The continued development of this weapon was continued by the Swiss company SEMAG (Seebach Maschinenbau AG) which purchased the production license. SEMAG later became a part of the engineering company Oerlikon which, after 1929, began manufacturing improved versions of these cannon under its own name. 

The Czechoslovakian army actively monitored the progress of interesting weapon types around the world. When the domestic development of automatic weapons, performed mainly in Zbojovka Brno, did not yield the expected and sought for results for a protracted period, they looked abroad.

Field tests of the Oerlikon 2cm fully confirmed the excellent features of these weapons and in July 1935 the Ministry of Defence ordered 128 pieces.

They were introduced into the rolls under the designation 2cm vz.36 Kulomet. The Ministry of Defence also bought a production license and began production almost immediately. Unfortunately the manufacturing plant had disproportionate demands placed upon it and finally the Czechoslovakians were able to only secure a license for the production of the ammunition which was entrusted to Brno Zbrojovka and Sellier Bellot. From Switzerland only basic ammunition orders were placed and both companies were able to complete more than 1,700,000 rounds of all types by March 1939.

The gun was conveniently transported on the back of a flat bed truck. Over short distances the weapon could be carried over short distances by being broken down into ten loads with a maximum weight of 49kg each.

The basic crew of each of these guns consisted of seven individuals. The gun commander, a firer, a loader, two assistants and two ammunition carriers. The unit also had two observers and a cyclist attached as well.

Through 1937 and 1938 Oerlikon received more orders for the cannons but following the Munich Agreement in 1938 the majority of the orders were cancelled largely unfulfilled.

In total by September 1938 the Czechoslovakian army had 227 of these guns in its inventory, which formed the backbone of the newly formed VKPL (velky kulomet proti letadlum - Heavy anti-aircraft machine gun) batteries. They were predominantly allocated to the newly formed fast divisions and to the border regiments.

When the Nazis finally occupied the rump of Czechoslovakia, after March 1939 they immediately appropriated all of the 2cm vz.36's that were within reach and used them throughout the Second World War. Of the total number of weapons that were originally in the Czechoslovakian army a mere 64 weapons were stationed within the newly born Slovak Republic, and again these also found use throughout the war with some even serving  during the Slovak Uprising in 1944.

Slovakia's anti aircraft regiment was AA Regiment 153 and by the end of 1939 all of the other light AA guns that Slovakia had available had been amalgamated into this regiment so that its organisation was as follows:

Battalion I: SpisskaNova Ves           1st and 2nd Heavy Batteries
                                                          3rd and 4th Light Batteries
Battalion II: Piestany                        5th and 6th Heavy Batteries
                                                          7th Light Battery
Battalion III: Bratislava                    8th and 9th Heavy Batteries
                                                          10th Light Battery
Battalion IV: Piestany                       11th and 12th Searchlight Batteries
Battalion V: Vejnory                         13th, 14th and 15th Searchlight Batteries

In 1940 AAAR 153 was changed into the Regiment of Anti Aircraft Artillery, with three Territorial Battalions (I, II & III) as well as additional army units.

Battalion I: Zilina                             1st and 2nd Heavy Batteries
                                                          3rd Light Battery
                                                          12th Searchlight Battery
Battalion II: Trencin                         5th and 6th Heavy Batteries
                                                          7th Light Battery
Battalion III: Bratislava                    8th and 9th Heavy Batteries
                                                          13th Light Battery
                                                          11th Searchlight Battery

The anti-aircraft units allocated to the army were the 4th Light Battery with 1st Division, the 14th Light Battery with 2nd Division and the 15th Light Battery with the Army Headquarters.

In July 1941 the regiment was reorganised yet again receiving assets from an abolished regiment. The new organisational structure had six battalions organised as follows:

Battalion I: SpisskaNova Ves           1st and 2nd Heavy Batteries
                                                          3rd Light Battery
                                                          1st Searchlight Battery
Battalion II: Piestany                        5th and 6th Heavy Batteries
Battalion III: Bratislava                    8th and 9th Heavy Batteries
                                                          10th Light Battery
                                                          11th Searchlight Battery
Battalion IV: Trencin-Zlatovce         3rd and 4th Heavy Batteries
Battalion V: Vejnory                         4th and 15th Light Batteries
Battalion VI: Hlohovec                     7th and 14th Light Batteries

On 22 March 1941 the Slovak army received its first Krupp 8.8cm vz38 anti aircraft guns which all went to 8th Heavy Battery along with twelve 2cm vz.30 anti aircraft guns for a single light battery.

At the beginning of Operation Barbarossa the 1st and 2nd Field Divisions took the 14th and 15th Light Batteries with them although when the Mobile Brigade was formed in late July 1941 the 15th Light Battery was assigned to it. When the Mobile Division was formed in August 1941 it retained the 15th Light Battery.

During the retreat from the Crimea in 1943 two of the 2cm vz.36's were handed over to the Germans whilst the remaining 16 were lost during the retreat. The equipment listed as being on the rolls of the Anti Aircraft Artillery Regiment in August 1943 included six batteries of 2cm vz.36's (and a further two German supplied 2cm vz.30 batteries). Three of these batteries were allocated to the Eastern Front, one to the Home Front and the remaining four put into the Operational Reserve.

By March 1944 the AAAR again carried thirty six 2cm vz.36's on its rolls.

... and this is where our investigation into the deployment of these weapons under the Slovak armed forces draws to a close. They did remain in use with the final 19 guns being withdrawn from service in 1951

...and so we move onto the modelling section

The miniatures for this battery came from numerous sources. Where the actual guns are concerned I bought Battlefront's FR540 20mm mle 1939 AA Gun which were the French license built Oerlikons. I ditched everything from the pack other than the actual guns and the gunner. Every other miniature in this battery was a Battlefront 15mm Romanian, either normal infantry or artillery  crew.

The guns that are on their carriages are a mixture of miniatures with the actual gun coming from the other two remaining guns in the FR540 pack, the carriage bodies coming from Battlefronts ISO501 Italian 20/65 gun pack with the wheels being provided from True North's Polish Caissons.

I nipped off the heads from each of the miniatures and replaced them with Peter Pig heads to turn them into Slovaks. Either the ones with the Slovak Helmets or else the ones with the Soviet Pilotka Caps.

The trucks and the staff car are ones that I sculpted and cast myself. A future post will be dedicated to the sculpting, modelling and painting of these vehicles so I wont spend too much time on them here.

As with my previous artillery posts the first thing that I do when putting a battery together, once the guns are completed is to paint all of the crew that serve them. This obviously took a bit of work so let me take you through it all step by step!

So, where painting all of the infantry is concerned its a relatively simple affair. They are done the way that I do them to look good from about 5ft away. Scrutinise them from up close and all of the flaws in the painting will probably slap you in the face, but from 5ft away I personally think they look tip top!

The first step is to prime, and as with most of my other historical stuff, I prime with a black etch primer. You can buy these from any hardware store but the 'etch' in the primer ensures an exceptionally strong substrate to the acrylic layers that will go over the top. Essentially the etch is a minute amount of acid that eats into the outer layer of the material being sprayed on creating a microscopically uneven surface for the paint to bind to... and don't worry its well below the level that is visible to the naked eye!

The lions share of the work done on WW2 miniatures is the main uniform and where the Slovaks are concerned after a somewhat lengthy research period I decided to ditch the colour photos from the past and go with the uniform colours that all of the re-enactors in Czechoslovakia are using at the moment. In my experience all of these re-enactment guys are anal about accuracy so I would trust their opinions a lot more than raggedy old photos.

My base coat was done with Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet for the deepest layers of the uniform. The first highlight, which presents the largest overall surface area that will be seen at the end was done with MIG's 113 Khaki Green No3 (Brit 1939-1942) with the final highlights along all of the raised edges being completed with MIG's 058 Light Green Khaki. This covers all of the cloth uniform and the puttees.

The helmet has a single coat of 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 897 Bronze Green and Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet with the blue helmet band having a basecoat of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue, highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue and Vallejo's 943 Blue Grey. The little Slovak crosses are all hand painted with thinned down Vallejo's 820 Offwhite. Normally I would provide at least one highlight on a helmet BUT the combination of white Slovak crosses and the blue band provide enough contrasts for the eye in such a small place that a highlight becomes unnecessary.

Everything else is relatively quick and simple after painting the uniform.

All of the Canvas bags and straps have a basecoat of Vallejo's 921 English Uniform applied with block highlights of AK Interactive's 3072 M-44 Uniform Green Ochre Khaki whilst the leather belts and ammo pouches are basecoated in Vallejo's 045 Charred Brown and highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

The boots are any matt black whilst the Gas Mask Tins are basecoated with Vallejo's 980 Black Green and highlighted with Lifecolor's UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2.

The rifle bodies are basecoated with Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown with the highlighted grain lines painted with Vallejo's 981 Orange Brown. All metal work is painted black firstly and highlighted with Molten Metals Steel. The rifle straps are basecoated with Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and Vallejo's 819 Iraqi Sand.

Where the skin is concerned you can paint it how you please but personally I use one of AK Interactive's paint sets for 'Flesh and Skin Colours' and I've never looked back!

All of the bases are actually really simple. I buy all of my bases from Tony at East Riding Miniatures. Hes a bit of a legend and REALLY helpful. They are all laser cut MDF which allows for easy scoring of the base surface.

I then glue the miniatures to the scored surface and apply a thin layer of tile grout over the top. Once this is dry I glue a layer of one of my sand mixes over the top. Generally speaking I create my own mixes for base coverings as I REALLY don't like a lot of the crap you buy from the shops. Its generally speaking far too gaudy in colour or uniform in texture for my tastes.

I like the generally fine sand BUT I like to have lots of the little stones in there so I can create some colour contrasts with the dirt on the bases.

Once dry the whole base is given a basecoat of Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown and given a heavy drybrush of Vallejo's 814 Green Ochre.

All of the little stones on the bases are then given a basecoat of Vallejo's 995 German Grey and roughly highlighted (to create a jagged uneven texture) with any lighter grey of your choice but personally I go with Vallejo's 992 Neutral Grey.

The sides of the bases are now painted Matt Black. I never used to bother with this BUT I've really gotten into the clean precise look this lends to the bases. I love it now.

Now we come to the final stage of the bases which is the covering. The static flock that I use is my own mix. I go for something that approximates the dead and dry grass you find on the Steppes with perhaps a little more green in it than usual. This allows an overall base aesthetic that can be used the length of Europe in my opinion.

To provide the final textural boost to the bases though I use a variety of clumps. I had a LOT of problems finding ones that I felt were suitable but after a couple of years I came across a company called Tajima Miniatures whose self adhesive tufts are without a doubt the best I have ever found. I use there stuff by the bucket load now, in great variety. 

These all add to the final colour and texture of the bases of this army.

Now that the bases and the miniatures are all squared away the only thing left to do is sort the guns themselves out...

So the painting of the guns is where the real complexity begins. I should also point out by the way that I have opted not to apply mud and spattering weathering to these artillery pieces as I kind of really like the clean look of them. They do have plenty of knocks and rusty battered parts which adds to the scheme but that is where I have chosen to draw the line.

The main paint scheme of the guns is done by airbrush using my MIG Aircobra for the Priming and Basecoating and my Harder & Steenbeck for all of the shading and highlighting as my H&S has a 0.15 needle and provides a hell of a lot more control... but the MIG is SOOOOO easy to clean it just makes sense to use it where I can...

The Airbrushing steps are as follows:

i) The model is primed with a Matt Black Etch Primer

ii) The basecoat is Tamiya's XF-58's Olive Green

iii) The first highlight is LifeColors UA221 Khaki Olive Drab applied in a panel highlight fashion

iv) The second highlight is LifeColors UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2 applied as above but a bit lighter and gathered in along the edges and prominent areas

v) The third highlight is a 50/50 mix of LifeColors UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2 with LifeColor 01 White. This is applied sparingly just along the edges and prominent areas.

So that's the airbrushing complete and don't be overly concerned if your third highlight was too heavy as the next two steps will, if done correctly, tone the whole contrasted effect down.

vi) The next step is to apply the colour swatches over the body of the gun that will provide the camouflage pattern. With the green camouflage base now finished off I add swatches of Vallejo's 914 Green Ochre and Vallejo's 826 German Camo Med. Brown to leave an equal balance of all three colours.

vii) Now we apply the Filter over the whole thing to unify the colour aesthetic and clip the contrast a little. I apply MIG's Filter 1506 Brown for Dark Green.

viii) Once dry wipe of any serious excess from where it may have pooled but otherwise leave it untouched.

ix) At this point I apply the first layer of Varnish. It doesn't matter which varnish you choose so long as it fixes the Filter layer to the miniature as its an oil based layer.

Once the varnish is dry its time for the next layer which is where the real depth starts to come out.

x) Over every detail laden part of the model apply a Wash. I use AK Interactives Wash 075 Wash for NATO Camouflage Vehicles. Don't be shy with this step. Slap it on aplenty! Then leave to dry for a while.

xi) Once its dry (or dry-ish) use cotton buds (cue tips for you Yankees out there...) and use a gentle white spirit to wipe away the excess leaving great detail and shadowing around all of your detail areas and a general lowering of the overall chroma luminosity. Personally I use Winsor & Newtons Artists White Spirit as I had a bad experience with normal white spirit stripping away four layers of paint and primer and have no wish to repeat the disaster!

xii) Once the whole piece is dry to the touch apply another layer of varnish to fix everything in place.

... once all of the actual painting steps proper have been squared away the last thing to do on the miniature is actually the rusted patches. For this just use an old kitchen sponge and dab on Vallejo's Panzer Aces 302 Dark Rust along the edges of the gun shield and other edges and spots across different patches of the model.

These Dark Rust elements then have the heaviest sections lined with Vallejo's Model Color 819 Iraqi Sand. These lines need to be very fine but also work well to work in as actual scratches into the overall paint scheme.

The very last thing that needs to be done with the painting is the spoked wheel rims on the carriages which are painted with a mix of LifeColor's UA733 Tire Black and Vallejo's Panzer Aces 302 Dark Rust.

Varnish one final time with a super matt varnish and that as they say is that!

Remove from workspace and attach to the finished bases at your leisure!

So, there we have it. A nice new battery of light anti-aircraft guns. Relatively simple to put together and not a bad looking bunch of bases to boot...

...oh yeah, and you get to field some trucks and a staff car as well! What more could a budding Slovak general officer demand!?!??!

Fix Bayonets!

FoW: Slovak Motorcycle Troops

... welcome back to the shrine to all things Slovakian before 1944!

This time we are going to dip into the Slovakian Motorcycle Reconnaissance troops... and I say dip for a reason!

There is almost nothing out there at all written in English on these guys. Its possible to pick apart tables of organisation and equipment that Axworthy and Kliment & Nakladal give but unless you are prepared to tunnel through stuff in the Czech language it seems that this may be somewhat of a mysterious force... a bit like a really nasty fart in a crowded work van... you cant miss it but you know its there!

So, we are going to have a look at as much as I can determine. Where and when they were, and what they used... and then of course we will have a look at how I put them together...

So, there were two types of motorcycles that the Slovak army managed to procure for itself through the course of the Second World War. The CZ 175 and the Jawa 250. Later on the army procured a load of DKW 350 cc motorcycle and sidecars from Germany to replace the almost total losses that the Mobile Division suffered in the Crimea as well.

Frantisek Janecek was born on 23 January 1878 in Klaster, a small village in Bohemia. Growing up he stuidied mechanics in Prague receiving his degree from the Berlin College of Engineering.

While serving on the Italian front during World War I, he developed a flurry of designs, patenting over 60 inventions, including an improved hand grenade which became standard armament for the Czechoslovakian Army.

After the First World War the demand for weapons fell, and so the skilled workforce and factories around Europe directed their efforts on precision manufacturing techniques, with many focusing on the nascent world of motorcycles.

In 1929 Janecek was lured in...

He started the JAWA company after working for several years in the armaments industry. Although he didn't have any experience with motorcycles, he was familiar with large scale production techniques. Janecek chose between the Austrian double piston two-stroke motor of Puch, the Berlin two-stroke of Schliha and the new Wanderer 500 cc. 

Janecek chose the Wanderer. Because of the collapse of the German motor industry, Wanderer had already decided to cease production. This is because they didn't think it would be profitable to directly compete with BMW. The first model was introduced on 23 October 1929. This was a 500 cc 4 cylinder engine with 12 kW of power (18 hp) and fuel consumption of 6 litres per 100 km. Janecek bought the company and its tooling outright and then took the first two letters of both names JAnecek and WAnderer and combined them to form the name of this new motorcycle company; JAWA. 

Production of Wanderer's 500 cc motorcycle began in earnest being marketed as the JAWA 500 OHV. Although highly priced through the first years and with several constructional fixes along the way, this motorcycle proved to be successful and was considered a reliable model.

Due to the global economic recession of the early 1930's it was recognised that a cheaper and simpler motorcycle was needed. 

To serve the masses, Janecek knew that he needed a lightweight and economical motorcycle. He recruited G.W.Patchett, a renowned British engineer with prior racing experience, to lead the initiative. From 1930 until the outbreak of the Second World War Patchett served as the chief designer for JAWA.

Patchett's first step towards a universal motorcycle was by utilising a 175cc Villiers two-stroke engine.

The year of 1932 was marked with the introduction of the JAWA 175 with its 3.6 kW Villiers engine. This light weight (70 kg) machine was capable of speeds of up to 80 km/h and a fuel consumption of 3.5 litres per 100 km. The first year of production was an immediate success, selling over 3000 of the JAWA 175, almost three times as many as the sales of the 500 cc model over the years of production. The production of this model was finally stopped in 1946. In 1938 JAWA was the first to offer test rides during exhibition shows. This test motorcycle was a custom JAWA 175 equipped with dual handlebars with the second pair being installed in the rear for the instructors use. Over the years a total of 27,535 units of the JAWA 175 were built and was always in demand.

Between 1932-35 under Patchett the JAWA research and development team began designing engines in house. Additional motorcycle models were introduced, mostly based on the 250 cc and 350 cc two-stroke engines. The factory also made sophisticated four-stroke racing machines with overhead cams in very limited numbers through this period. It was these machines that helped establish JAWA's reputation for brilliant engineering and exceptional handling.

Following the occupation of Czechoslovakia and the beginning of the Second World War the continued manufacturing and production of new JAWA motorcycles was brought to a halt... but not their development though. That carried on in secret.

Even though the JAWA factory was forced to make the armaments for the Nazi war machine. Janecek kept working in secret, driven by his passion for innovation. His next line up of motorcycles would famously go on to be called the JAWA 'Perak'

This line would be continued after the end of the Second World War under his son Karel though because on 4 June 1941 Frantisek Janecek succumbed to a long term illness and died.

The Czechoslovakian 3rd Rapid Division that was stationed on Slovak territory before the collapse of the state included the 3rd Motorcycle Company in the Reconnaissance Group.

It doesn't take a genius to guess that the Slovakian army had many motorcycles within their tables of organisation and equipment. They were predominantly used for communications between the different units but not as assumed, for reconnaissance purposes. 

In March 1939 the Armoured Regiment for example included a total of 73 motorcycles on its rostas, of both JAWA CZ 175 and JAWA 250 types. 

In the autumn of 1939 the organisational structure of the armoured battalion was reordered to include a Motorised Reconnaissance Group which included a motorcycle reconnaissance platoon.

The armoured battalion was again restructured in January 1940 although the tables that I have access to make no mention of a motorcycle reconnaissance platoon although the 1st battalion contained an armoured car company alongside which organisationally speaking, any motorcycle reconnaissance troops would usually be found. 

This lack of Motorcycle reconnaissance troops may have been as a result of the Nazi restriction on the production of new JAWA's in favour of producing war materials for the Germans so the Slovaks were reordering their forces to make best use of the motorcycle assets that they still had available for use.

On 14th October 1941 the Mobile Division was at Volnovacha and attempting to claw its way through the Rasputitsa. The returns of the day however point out that 75% of the divisions motorcycles were unserviceable making a motorcycle reconnaissance force all but redundant.

On 16th October the Mobile Division was ordered to Taganrog whilst at the same time General Turanec abolished the Reconnaissance Group due to a lack of serviceable vehicles.

This situation barely seems to have improved noticeably over the next year because by the end of 1942 the Rapid Division had lost over 1000 of its vehicles due to wear and tear.

By 2 March 1943 the Mobile Division had retreated at speed back to the Crimea and had lost all but seven of a total complement of  84 motorcycles. It was soon after this that the Mobile status was recognised as a redundant description and the Rapid Division was renamed the 1st Infantry Division.

At some point in mid 1943 the Slovak Ministry of Defence brokered a deal with the Reich and purchased 20x DKW 350 motorcycles and 20x DKW 350 motorcycle and sidecars. These went to equip the 1st Infantry Division which on 14 September 1943 is listed as having a motorcycle reconnaissance company.

When the rest of the field army was renamed the Security Division on 1 September 1941 had only its organic supply of motorcycles to call on. By July 1942 it still only had a total of 24 motorcycles and 4 motorcycle and sidecars in the entire division.  It is, at this time however, listed as having a combined reconnaissance group which did have motorcycles... only four though. Two singles and two motorcycle combos, so maybe a sections worth of reconnaissance?

...and that my friends is as much information on the Slovak motorcycle troops as I can find!

Now lets take a look at how I put this platoon together eh?

Before we go any further I should point out that every single miniature in this platoon was a Battlefront 15mm Italian until I nipped off their heads and replaced them with Peter Pig heads to turn them into Slovaks. Either the ones with the Slovak Helmets or else the ones with the Soviet Pilotka Caps which fulfil a good proxy for the Slovak field caps.

So, where painting all of the infantry is concerned its a relatively simple affair. They are done the way that I do them to look good from about 5ft away. Scrutinise them from up close and all of the flaws in the painting will probably slap you in the face but from arms length away they look splendid!.

The first step is to prime, and as with most of my other historical stuff, I prime with a black etch primer. You can buy these from any hardware store but the 'etch' in the primer ensures an exceptionally strong substrate to the acrylic layers that will go over the top, the etch actually referring to a micro dilute acidic content that eats microscopically into the surface of the model creating an uneven surface for the paint to clutch to whilst providing a nice and smooth top layer as the paint levels out and dries.

The lions share of the work done on WW2 miniatures is the main uniform and where the Slovaks are concerned after a somewhat lengthy research period I decided to ditch the (re)coloured photos from the past and go with the uniform colours that all of the re-enactors in Czechoslovakia are using at the moment. In my experience all of these re-enactment guys are anal about accuracy so I would trust their opinions a lot more than raggedy old photos with amateur enthusiast recolour treatments.

My base coat was done with Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet for the deepest layers of the uniform. The first highlight, which presents the largest overall surface area that will be seen at the end was done with MIG's 113 Khaki Green No3 (Brit 1939-1942) with the final highlights along all of the raised edges being completed with MIG's 058 Light Green Khaki. This covers all of the cloth uniform and the puttees.

The helmet has a single coat of 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 897 Bronze Green and Vallejo's 887 Brown Violet with the blue helmet band having a basecoat of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue, highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 925 Intense Blue and Vallejo's 943 Blue Grey. The little Slovak crosses are all hand painted with thinned down Vallejo's 820 Offwhite.

Everything else is all gravy after painting the uniform.

All of the Canvas bags and straps have a basecoat of Vallejo's 921 English Uniform applied with block highlights of AK Interactives 3072 M-44 Uniform Green Ochre Khaki whilst the leather belts and ammo pouches are basecoated in Vallejo's 045 Charred Brown and highlighted with Vallejo's 983 Flat Earth.

The boots are any matt black whilst the Gas Mask Tins are basecoated with Vallejo's 980 Black Green and highlighted with Lifecolor's UA224 Olive Drab Faded Type 2.

The rifle bodies are basecoated with Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown with the highlighted grain lines painted with Vallejo's 981 Orange Brown. All metal work is painted black firstly and highlighted with Molten Metals Steel. The rifle straps are basecoated with Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and highlighted with a 50/50 mix of Vallejo's 880 Khaki Grey and Vallejo's 819 Iraqi Sand.

Where the skin is concerned you can paint it how you please but personally I use one of AK Interactive's paint sets for 'Flesh and Skin Colours' and I've never looked back!

Where the motorcycles and sidecars are concerned the painting is pretty simple. They are primed black as usual. After the prime is cured the bikes are all done with a Tamiya Olive Green by airbrush followed by a highlight. An AK Interactives Filter for NATO camo vehicles is applied next and the n once it is mostly dry the excess is wiped off. 

Once the filter is dry a layer of varnish is applied to prevent the rest of it being rubbed off. The engine block, handlebars, wheels, saddle and packs are all undercoated white again. The wheels are highlighted with Lifecolors Tire Black, the engine block and handle bars with Molten Metal Steel whilst the saddle is painted with Vallejo's Flat Earth. The exhausts are painted with Molten Metal Blackened Bronze and headlights are painted with GW's Spacewolf Grey and then three diagonal stripes of white (and white will do) are applied. All of the number plates are left matt black (and matt black).

All of the bases are actually really simple. I buy all of my bases from Tony at East Riding Miniatures. Hes a bit of a legend and REALLY helpful. They are all laser cut MDF which allows for easy scoring of the base surface.

I then apply a thin layer of tile grout over the top and sculpt the grout to look like a dirt road going through the centre of the base. Once this is dry I glue a layer of one of my sand mixes over the top of the parts of the base that isn't dirt track. Generally speaking I create my own mixes for base coverings as I REALLY don't like a lot of the crap you buy from the shops. Its generally speaking far too gaudy in colour or uniform in texture for my tastes.

I like the generally fine sand BUT I like to have lots of the little stones in there so I can create some colour contrasts with the dirt on the bases.

Once dry the whole base is given a basecoat of Vallejo's 826 German Camo Medium Brown and given a heavy drybrush of Vallejo's 814 Green Ochre.

All of the little stones on the bases are then given a basecoat of Vallejo's 995 German Grey and roughly highlighted (to create a jagged uneven texture) with any lighter grey of your choice but personally I go with Vallejo's 992 Neutral Grey.

The sides of the bases are now painted Matt Black. I never used to bother with this BUT I've really gotten into the clean precise look this lends to the bases. I love it now.

Now we come to the final stage of the bases which is the covering. The static flock that I use is my own mix. I go for something that approximates the dead and dry grass you find on the Steppes with perhaps a little more green in it than usual. This allows an overall base aesthetic that can be used the length of Europe in my opinion.

To provide the final textural boost to the bases though I use a variety of clumps. I had a LOT of problems finding ones that I felt were suitable but after a couple of years I came across a company called Tajima Miniatures whose self adhesive tufts are without a doubt the best I have ever found. I use their stuff by the bucket load now, in great variety. 

These all add to the final colour and texture of the bases of this army. 

Once the painting on the bases is dry the finished motorcycles and troopers can be glued to the top of the bases using superglue!

...and there we have it. 

Bosh! Job Done!

FIX  BAYONETS!!!! 

FoW: Slovak Air Force - Avia B-534

So, this time I thought it may be time to get our feet off of the ground and up into the sky with the second of my Slovakian aircraft; the Avia B-534 fighter plane.

Quite an interesting little plane this one. World class in its day... which incidentally was a mere three years before the Second World War began

Avia B-534

The prototype of the Avia B-534 flew for the first time on 25 May 1933. It utilised an imported French-produced Hispano-Suiza HS-12Ybrs engine to power it and not an intended HS-12Ydrs, which was to be used in the series-production, licence manufactured in Czechoslovakia.

It was first displayed to the public on 10 September 1933 at a national Army Air Day, five days after the first flight of the second prototype.

The first procurement order for the B-534 was issued from the Ministry of National Defence to the Avia Company on 17 July 1934 and was for 147 aircraft’s. The first machines were delivered to the Air Force in autumn of 1935. 

The Ministry of National Defence then ordered the second procurement batch of 46 aircraft in 1936. The first 26 belonged to version three and were received by the units allocated to use them in March and April of 1937. 

Before the end of 1936 the Ministry of National Defence awarded the third, and largest order yet for the B-534. The contract was originally for 134 aircraft (s/n B-534.194 to B-534.327), but owing to the growing German menace it was increased by another fourth contract for a further 50 machines (s/n B-534.328 to B-534.377). The fifth, and last procurement order was placed in August 1938 and was for a further 68 machines (s/n B-534.378 to B-534.445). 

The number of Avia B-534’s produced for the Czechoslovak Air Force, thus reached a total of 445 machines. 

Version 1 of the Avia B-534 included s/n B-534.2 to B-534.101. 

Version 2 of the Avia B-534 included s/n B-534.102 to B-534.147. 

Version 3 of the Avia B-534 included s/n B-534.148 to B-534.173. 

Version 4 of the Avia B-534 included s/n B-534.174 to B-534.445.

Avia Bk-534

The Avia Bk-534 was to be a cannon armed version of the B-534 with a license manufactured Hispano-Suiza HS-12Ycrs engine with the cannon barrel projecting through the hollow airscrew reduction gear shaft. 

In 1937, fifty of the Bk-534 were ordered, with a supplemental order for a further four machines issued shortly thereafter (s/n Bk-534.501 to Bk-534.554). A further 66 (s/n Bk-534.555 to Bk-534.620) were ordered shortly before the Munich crisis. 

Teething troubles with the cannon armament were not solved by the time the production of the first batch was begun in late summer 1938 and so a third 7.92mm machine gun was installed in place of the cannon initially. The same was repeated when production of the second batch was started early in 1939. As a result, the Bk-534 was the weaker-armed instead of being the more powerfully armed variety of the original fighter. 

More Avia Bk-534’s were made for the Nazi Luftwaffe than for the Czechoslovak Air Force. With the exception of the three first machines, the Bk-534’s from the second batch procured were taken over by the German occupants when they occupied the rump of Czechoslovakia. 

The Avia Bk-534's that were manufactured included s/n B-534.501 to B-534.620

The Slovak Air Arm and its use of the Avia B-534 and Bk-534 during WW2

The SVZ (Slovenské Vzdusné Zbrane - Slovak Air Arm) of the Slovak republic used at least 79 B-534’s and 11 Bk-534’s during its existence.

The Avias came from the former 3rd Air Regiment of the Czechoslovak Air Force. They were organised into three Stihacia Letky (Fighter Squadrons), the 11th, 12th and 13th Stihacia Letka. A number of machines were also allocated to the Letecká Skola (Air School) and the Letecký Park (Air Depot). 

The base of the 11th and 12th Letka was Piestany whereas the 13th Letka was based at Vajnory (Bratislava) airfield.

The combat career of the Avias in the SVZ begun before the break up of Czechoslovakia and continued a time afterwards with minor clashes with the Hungarian Air Force, when Hungary tried to expand its territory in eastern Slovakia.

In Poland during the September 1939 campaign, the SVZ was the only official combat ally of the Luftwaffe. The SVZ committed three squadrons to the operations of which two were fighter squadrons. The Slovak units limited themselves to the occupation of parts of northern Slovakia, which had been seized by Poland in 1918 with the tacit support of the Entente powers and in a further land grab in 1938 with an unwritten political collaboration with Nazi Germany. 

The fighters’ participation was restricted to escorting German Ju 87s during their eight missions from Vinné airstrip near Michalovce. After these operations the fighters duties were shifted to patrolling the border.

During these operations Catár (Sergeant) Viliam Grun was shot down and forced to make an emergency landing in Polish territory, but managed to avoid capture, eventually making it home after a very treacherous journey.

Another pilot, Desiatnik (Corporal) Viliam Jaloviar was killed in a landing accident near Presov on 9 September after returning from a sortie.

On 26 September a two-aircraft patrol attacked a Polish RWD-8 which was fleeing to Hungary and it was shot down by Catár Grun. The Polish aircraft was forced to land near Presov.

The SVZ fighter squadrons were more involved in the German attack on Soviet Union in June 1941. It was originally planned that the II. Stihacia Perut was to have been deployed there in 1941 with a full complement of three fighter squadrons. But the 11th Letka did not progress beyond the East-Slovakian airfields.

On 1 May 1941, the II. Stihacia Perut’ (IInd Fighter Wing), was established as an ‘umbrella’ organisations over the Fighter Squadrons. From 1 June 1943, the 13th Letka was removed from its establishment, as it was to form the basis for the IIIrd Fighter Wing, which was eventually never formed. The 13th Letka was by this time flying German supplied Messerschmidt Bf109’s on the Eastern Front and the Avias of the 11th and 12th Letka had to be superseded by Junkers Ju87 'Stukas'. On 1 August 1943 there were only 43 B-534’s and Bk-534’s surviving, with only 34 of them flyable.

On 7 July 1941, the 12th and 13th Letka, with just 11 machines each, left for the Ukraine. The Slovak fighters were assigned missions escorting German Ju 87s and Hs 126s of 3.(H)/Aufkl. Gr. 32 and 4.(H)/Aufkl. Gr. 32 operating in the northern areas covered by Luftflotte 4.

On 16 July, a Slovak Avia B-534 ’roj’ (a three aircraft combat formation) encountered heavy flak while escorting a Luftwaffe Henschel Hs.126. J. Svejdik’s fighter was hit, forcing him to return. While attempting to land his stricken aircraft he crashed, but managed to survive the accident.

On 20 July 1941, the first ground-attack raid, a strafing one, was executed against retreating Soviet columns on the Vinnica-Niemirov road.

Due to the severe fuel shortage of the special BiBoLi fuel mixture (an alcohol-benzol-petrol mixture, a carry-over from the pre-war Czechoslovak Air Force, for which the engines were adjusted) needed for Slovak aircraft, all Letov Š-328 were grounded on 21 July, in order to save the dwindling fuel stock for the Avia B-534 fighters. 

On the same day, a pair of B-534s of the 13th Letka was hit by machine gun fire while flying at 50 metres over enemy lines. One of the pilots, Rotnik L. Zatkonak, had to force-land behind enemy lines. His machine, struck by 40 bullets, was repaired on the spot by technicians flown in, so he was able to return to his unit the next day.

On 23 July, the 12th Letka moved from Proskurov to Vinnitsa.

In the early morning on 25 July, the B-534s moved again. This time to Tul’chin, located 70km from Vinnitsa. 

Soon after their arrival, at 07:15, a fighter trio took off to escort an Hs.126 of 4.(H)/Aufkl. Gr. 32. While flying over the front line, the aircraft received heavy ground fire over Trotsianov (30km south of Gaysin). The Avia of Catník (Sergeant) Frantisek Brezina’s (total 14 victories in WWII) was damaged by the Soviet AA fire and he was forced to land behind enemy lines, 4km north of Trotsianov and a stones throw from a retreating Soviet column. The stranded pilot was then rescued by Catník Stefan Martiš (total 5 victories in WWII) who, despite strong fire, landed near Brezina’s stricken machine and brought him home clinging to the biplane’s wing struts!. Martiš was wounded by bullets, but could fly B-534 no. 181 back to Tul’chin.

On 28 July, the Slovak airmen fighting on the Eastern Front made their first claim when an unidentified pilot of a ’roj’ (three-aircraft basic formation) of the 12th Letka, led by Squadron CO Nadporučík (1st Lieutenant) Josef Pálenicek, damaged a Soviet ’Curtiss’ biplane fighter in a dogfight east of ‘Gaysina at 18:22.

The following claim was made in combat with fighters from 168 IAP, which took off from Grushka airfield to provide fighter escort to bombers attacking Gaysin. Over the target, two reportedly Rumanian ’polutoraplan’ (i.e. ‘1-1/2-wing’) fighters jumped one of the I-153s, damaging it. The I-153 had to make an emergency landing in the Yuzefpol area.

Slovak sources gives the date for this combat to 29 July, but the details match with Soviet data on this date.

At 18:22 on 29 July, a ’roj’ of three Avia B-534 of 12th Letka, led by Nadporučík (1st Lieutenant) Josef Pálenicek, tangled with a mixed group of Soviet fighters, made up of I-16s, I-153s and Mig-3's. The presence of the modern MiG-3's – besides their numerical superiority – offered a decisive advantage to the Soviet side. Therefore, Pálenicek ordered his men to break combat and return home, flying at tree top level.

On 30 July, the Commander of the 12th Letka received orders from the German 17th Army to strafe Soviet columns retreating towards Uman with bombs and machine gun fire. During the mission, Avia B-534 No. 242 flown by Catník Martin Danihel was hit by ground fire. Danihel force-landed in enemy territory, near Babanka. He was however rescued by his comrade Catník Jozef Drlicka, who landed nearby and brought him home clinging to the wing struts! 

They were both awarded the Eiserne Kreuz II.Klasse (Iron Cross 2nd Class) for this bravery on 8 September together with their colleague Augustin Kubovic. 

On 15 August 1941, the 13th Letka returned to Piestany.

On 17 August, the Slovak Air Force’s 13th observation Letka, equipped with Letov Š-328 biplanes, was withdrawn from the front due to attrition. As the 13th fighter Letka had earlier left for Slovakia, only two Slovak combat units, the 12th Fighter Squadron and the 1st Observation Squadron (Letov Š-328s), remained. They now operated in the Kiev area, far from Odessa.

At 18:15 on 7 September 1941, Catník Jozef Drlicka of 12th Letka claimed one victory while flying his Avia B-534, when during dogfights over the bridge near Gornostaypol (about 70km south of Kiev) he shot down a Soviet Polikarpov I-16. An unknown Slovak pilot claimed a second I-16 at the same time.

At 07:55 on 8 September 1941, Catník J. Kocka of 12th Letka claimed one more I-16 during dogfights over the bridge near Gornostaypol (about 70km south of Kiev).

On 3 October, Slovak anti-aircraft units mistakenly fired on a friendly aircraft. The B-534 of Frantisek Hanovec from the 12th Letka was damaged, although the pilot was unhurt. The aircraft was repaired but not until 15 October, which indicates the precarious state of the Slovak expeditionary air unit’s field repair capability.

On 16 October, the 12th Letka returned to Slovakia. 

The 12th and 13th Letka’s flew 1119 front-line missions during 1941, including 58 air combats, 14 strafing missions, 14 bombing missions, 383 patrol missions, 91 escort missions escorting Slovak aircraft and 88 escort missions escorting German aircraft. The remaining missions were various ferry flights.

On 1 June 1942, the 11th Letka was sent to the Soviet Union for anti-partisan operations in the hinterland. This tour lasted fourteen months and they lost two aircraft to enemy ground fire.

The front-line career of the Avias was curtailed primarily by the supply problems associated with both the spare parts and the BiBoLi fuel. Above all however, the obsolescence and the general wear and tear caused by the combat operations was the main cause of problems. In early February 1942, the first Slovak pilots were sent to Denmark for conversion training on the Bf109, which from then on started to be used by the Slovak pilots at the front and from the bases at home.

Four Avias were among the 27 machines whose escape and landing on the Red Army-controlled territory on 31 August 1944 meant the end of the short history of the SVZ.

So, I would hope that most people should be wondering where in hell can they lay their hands on one of these 1/100 Avia B-534 just like this one. Well, at present ladies; you can't! 

I believe that this may currently be the single existing 1/100 example in the world. However it does represent an object lesson in how obsession can lead you to 'get what you want!'

I habitually spend months scouring the interweb to find the bits and pieces that I want in order to put together my weird and wacky playthings and whilst a lot of the time I can claim moderate success where the Slovak air force in 1/100 was concerned I came up with an absolute brick wall. 

I had to consider other options. I have no ability to sculpt these aircraft myself as in all truth I wouldn't even know where to start. I had no 3D sculpting skills either so I couldn't rig one up by myself and I also couldn't find any examples in any 3D library that I scoured... this only left me with two options; forget it (not bloody likely) or whip out the big guns! 

So whip them out I did!

I decided that a small home run business selling a range of rare and/or impossible to get a hold of models was the way forwards in order to recoup some of my losses that this venture would no doubt cause. In line with this idea I struck up a conversation with a producer who I had been keeping an eye on for a while and whose stuff was impressing me. We discussed relative costs of sculpting and production and once we agreed prices and business arrangements I contracted an attached 3D artist to begin work. A bit of back and forth to make sure the final design would be as I wanted, it was finally printed off and it made quite the impression. Took a bit of effort to clean up but the results cant be argued with in my opinion.

The painting came next and for the most part I have to say was a relatively simple affair.

The whole aircraft was primed with a standard grey primer from a rattle can and left to dry.

Once dry the plane was airbrushed with a uniform layer of MIG 058 Light Khaki Green.

Once this was dry the most painstaking part of the process needed to be done. 0.5mm wide masking tape strips were applied along the rib lines of the upper wings, fuselage, and tail planes. Once this was done the leading edge of the upper and lower main wings had a thin 2mm wide contour tape strip applied to it.

Once secure the airbrush was used to spray a light covering of MIG 059 Khaki Green over the top of the light khaki green. It is important that you do not spray too heavily in this step as it will leave the contrasts between the two layers two pronounced and will look weird. Use a bit of discretion and leave it at a level where the highlighted areas are left apparent but not overpowering.

Once done and dry the masks can all be removed and you should have quite an effective overall feel to the aircraft.

The next colour to be applied is the Vallejo's 993 Flat Aluminium on the underside of the wings and the fuselage. Due to the fact that this colour is so high key I opted not to waste time with contrasting on an area of the plane that will barely be seen. This paint needs to be treated with care and if it wasn't the fact that it is the perfect colour I would opt to ditch it in favour of another colour as the Vallejo paint just seems to be far too thin to be used with the brush and I didn't want to have to go through the grief of masking everything off again.

The next step was the yellow, for which i did have to mask everything off. I applied the masks leaving clear the areas to be airbrushed and mixed up Vallejo's 953 Flat Yellow highlighted with Vallejo's 915 Deep Yellow with a touch of white.

Again all masks were removed and the fine details were now tackled.

A coat of Varnish was applied and then pin lining was done on all of the fuselage panel lines and aileron and flap joints with AK Interactive's Wash for Nato Camo Vehicles. 

Once dry the excess was rubbed away just leaving the profiling.

All metal parts were painted with Molten Metal Steel mixed with Vallejo Black. The tires were painted Vallejo Black followed by Lifecolor's UA733 Tyre Black as the highlight...

...and so we come to the very last thing that I needed to do for this addition to my Slovak army... the decals.

Now, I am capable of making my own decals BUT the experience that I have had so far has led to decals that are uncomfortably thick and ones that cannot include white unless as an overall substrate to the total image and so one of my Polish friends suggested I approach a gentleman in Poland that both he and his father had used to produce specialist decals.

I thus contracted one Bogdan Zolnierowicz through Facebook to produce for me a decal sheet with enough Slovak aircraft and tank markings to polish off everything that I thought I would need. Along with a couple of sheets of numbers and letters I had enough to produce the exact representation that I wanted and Bogdan's decals were exactly what the doctor ordered.

Incidentally if you want to approach Bogdan for help with decals he says you are all welcome to do so. He may not respond quickly but he will eventually and he is the only one on Facebook with the name.

So there we have it ladies and gents. Another fine Czechoslovakian asset to add to the Slovak pantheon.

Another project finished, so on to the next!

Fix bayonets!