Last week saw more warm dry weather  with the consequence that I ended up going for lots of walks with a good dose of  fence painting thrown in for good measure, therefore modelling took a bit of a back seat. However I did manage to get the Infantry battalion completed. The Quartermaster battalion is also close to completion as are the GS wagons. I have also counted out the screws for yet another Infantry battalion ready for the painting process to start, this will be number 58 of 60. I am pleased to report that I now have the 3D printed machine guns, which are excellent. I have made a good start on construction of a batch of 32 and just as soon as they are complete I will publish a post giving full details of my experience of the 3D process and construction of these weapons in general.

Modelling Toolkit, Part 2.

This article is about the larger tools I use to build my armies. Small tools were covered in a previous posting.

The above photo shows from left to right, my wire cutters, these are used  to cut the end of drawing pins to make wheels and to cut the twisted wires used as horse harness. Next is my small engineers square used to mark up planks of balsa ready to cut into vehicle bodies. Next is my home made jig for cutting the twisted wires used for horse harness. The wire comes in 300mm lengths so I clamp the jig to the work bench, hold several wires in place against the stop and cut at the edge. A cut wire is shown in the photo. Lastly are my pliers  often used to install horse harness wires. Sometimes the balsa is too hard and I need to use pliers to push the wire into the balsa. 

This photo shows my mini drill. I have had this drill for over 35 years and other than an upgrade to a tool less chuck, it still operates perfectly. I use this tool to make the holes in artillery shields for gun barrels and to drill axles for the wheels. It is also used to make holes in cavalry horses for the leg assembly and of course all towing eyes in all trailer types. See postings on Cavalry, GS wagon and trailer construction for more details.

This photo shows my box of mini drill tooling. I confess I do not use the saw blades or grinding disks much but the set of mini drills are invaluable.

This is my hot melt glue gun used to make GS wagons and cargo trailers, very useful but painful to the finger tips if used clumsily as I know only too well !!!!

This photo shows my home made sanding box. The unit is clamped to the worktop using the flange and the hose from a vacuum is pushed into the larger hole in the side. Sanding is carried out over the small hole grid. It works well and saves a lot of fine dust filling the air which is good  for the lungs and minimises the amount of cleaning up I have to do !!!!!

Lastly this picture shows my modelling lamp. Although my work station is alongside the window which can just be seen on the far right of the photo, I still find the additional light provided by the lamp very useful. When the arm is closed down that action switches the lamp off. A very useful tool bought for my birthday by my daughters some years ago.

I hope these posts on tools give a useful indication of the kit required for scratch building and although my collection has been built up over many years, anyone just starting out would not face a vast expenditure purchasing the basic essentials.

Although the weather has been unseasonably warm and dry this week resulting in a busy schedule of  walks, garden jobs and shopping trips, I have still managed to get in a few good modelling sessions. The batch of limbers has been completed and they have been issued to Horse Artillery regiments and  Field Artillery battalions which means the Army is now fully equipped with this vehicle type . The Infantry and Quartermaster battalions are progressing well and  I have also built a batch of 36 GS wagons which are now ready for priming. With regards to the 3D printing of machine guns, the CAD issue has been resolved and I have seen and approved three pre-production models which look great. Production of the full batch of 200 is in hand as I write this post and I hope to receive them by this time next week.

Organisation of Medical Battalions.


The Medical battalion comprises a Surgical company, an Ambulance company and a Headquarters company.

The Surgical company consist of 2 operating/ICU  platoons each with a House bodied wagon equipped as an operating theatre with a Heavy House trailer equipped as an ICU and 2 minor injury and laboratory platoons each with a House bodied wagon equipped as a minor injury treatment centre and a Heavy House trailer, one equipped as an X ray unit and the other as a laboratory and blood transfusion centre.

 Each Surgical platoon is commanded by a Surgeon Captain,  with a Surgeon Lieutenant,  3 Medic Sergeants and 6 Medics. Each treatment platoon is commanded by a Surgeon Captain with 2 Surgeon Lieutenants, 4 Medic Sergeants and 8 Medics. The X ray and blood transfusion/laboratory units are staffed jointly  by a Surgeon Captain and 2 Surgeon Lieutenants. The Surgical company is commanded by a Surgeon Major assisted by a Medic Sergeant Major.
The company has 16 QM drivers under the command of a QM Lieutenant assisted by a QM sergeant. The company has a total strength of 75.  The purpose of the Surgical company is to provide sufficient treatment to wounded soldiers to stabilise them so they can be evacuated to railhead and onwards to base hospitals.

The Ambulance company has 2 platoons each of 4 ambulances with 8 QM drivers under the command of a QM sergeant and 8 Medics under the command of a Medic Sergeant. The company is commanded by a QM Lieutenant supported by a Medical Lieutenant.  Total strength of the company is 38. These companies provide transport of wounded soldiers from Battalion Aid posts to Medical battalions. Transport of wounded soldiers to railhead is carried out by returning empty QM Transport companies.

The Headquarters company comprises a Staff platoon of 12 Staff men with 2 Staff Sergeants commanded by a Staff Lieutenant, a Signals platoon of 10 Signallers with a Signals Lieutenant in command supported by a Signals Sergeant. The Quartermaster platoon has 28  drivers with a QM Lieutenant in command supported by a QM Sergeant.  All QM staff of the Battalion are under the overall command of a QM Captain  supported by a Sergeant Major. The command platoon has a Staff Lieutenant Colonel as Battalion Commander with a Staff Major as Adjutant and second in command with a battalion Staff Sergeant Major and two standard bearers, one with the national flag and one with the battalion flag. Medical battalions are the only battalions where command is not held by officers of that arm of service. Medical officers are deemed "specialist" and are therefore ranked no higher than Major. Total strength of the Headquarters company is  64 giving a total battalion strength of 177.

The other vehicles and equipments of the battalion include 6 GS wagons towing a field kitchen, water tank trailer and 4 Heavy GS trailers for medical supplies. There are 2 House headquarters wagons and a Heavy House headquarters trailer with a Heavy House Signals trailer. Medical battalion staff also maintain Graves Registration facilities for supported battalions.

This photo shows from left to right the surgical company with medical staff in front, the command vehicles, GS vehicles and ambulances with QM, Signals and Staff in front.  My armies have a total of 12 Medical battalions on the basis of one for each Infantry Brigade.. The arm of service colour for Medical is white.

Once again a busy week on the domestic front so limited progress on the building of my army. The good weather forecast for the coming week suggests lots of going out and walking with even the likelihood of some work in the garden taking priority over military modelling !!!!!
Anyway progress this week includes completion of the two Field Artillery battalions, which have been shelved. The ammunition wagons have also been finished and issued. Work continues on the batch of limbers and the Infantry battalion. I have also made a very limited start on the last Quartermaster battalion, completion of which will give me a total of 18 such battalions within the whole Army Group.
I had hoped to have received the 3D printed machine guns by now but an issue in the CAD has delayed completion of the pre-production samples. I am not in any real rush but excitement over this new innovation has made me impatient I guess.

Organisation of Field Police Battalions.

Each Army has a Field Police battalion  as part of the Army Command brigade. These battalions provide security to the Army Command battalion together with traffic control, POW management  and conventional policing functions within the Army.

Each battalion has a command company and 5 Field Police companies, one of which is mounted and structured as Cavalry.

The Field Police company consists of 3 platoons each of 12 Police led by a Lieutenant assisted by a Sergeant. The 3 platoons in a company are commanded by a Captain supported by a company Sergeant Major. The strength of a company is 44.

The mounted  squadron (company) consists of two troops (platoons) each of 8 Police with a Lieutenant in command assisted by a Sergeant. The two troops (platoons) in the squadron (company) are commanded by a Captain assisted by a Sergeant Major. The strength of the Squadron (company) is 22.

The Headquarters company comprises a Staff platoon of 4 privates and a Sergeant, a Medical platoon of 12 medics, two medic Sergeants, a surgeon Lieutenant with a surgeon Captain in command. The Quartermaster platoon has 8 privates and a  Sergeant with a Lieutenant in command. The Signals platoon has 10 signallers with a Sergeant and Lieutenant in command. The command platoon has a Lieutenant Colonel as battalion commander with a Major as Adjutant and second in command , a battalion Sergeant Major and two standard bearers, one with the national flag and one with the battalion flag. The total strength of the headquarters company is 48 giving a total battalion strength of 246.

The vehicles and equipment of the battalion comprises 4 GS wagons towing a field kitchen trailer, a water tank trailer, a signals trailer and a medical trailer.

The photo shows the Field Police companies on the left with the mounted squadron in the centre and the headquarters company on the right in front of the battalion vehicles. My armies have a total of 3 Field Police battalions. The arm of service colour for Field Police is dark green.

Once again it has been a busy week on the domestic front so I have had rather limited time to work on my army. I had expected to have more "play" time during these winter months but the weather has been mild so lots of walks and domestic activities have taken precedence.
However some progress has been made. The Infantry battalion has been completed and shelved. In fact another has just been started, this one is the 57th of a total of 60 planned. The Artillery battalions were scheduled to be Heavy artillery but I have changed them to Field artillery and they are well advanced. The ammunition wagons are almost finished and I have just completed building a batch of 32 artillery limbers. Great progress has been made on the 3D printed machine guns and I am currently waiting to view the pre production samples before printing of the full batch of 200. I will do a full post on this subject as soon as I have received them giving all the details with photos. I am very pleased so far.

I seem to have had a very busy couple of weeks on the domestic front with very little play time or even time to add to this blog. This will therefore be just a brief update as I have so little to report. The Brigade Command battalion has been completed and shelved. The ammunition wagons are still being painted and the Infantry battalion is also still in hand. I have made a very brief start on another two Heavy Artillery battalions. Other than that I have found a supplier of 3D printing services locally and he now has my prototype machine gun chassis.. He will be doing a CAD drawing of it so he can print a sample and confirm the likely costs. I am confident this will turn out well and will give a fully detailed report in due course.

Construction of Ammunition Caissons.

Caissons are used in all Artillery and Heavy Weapons battalions. Caissons are the link between limbers and the actual guns and provide a substantial supply of ammunition for immediate use. Additional ammunition is carried in the standard Ammunition wagon except in Horse Artillery regiments where reserve ammunition is carried in double caissons towed by limbers. This is in keeping with the philosophy that only two wheeled vehicles have the mobility needed in the Cavalry environment.. I am aware that the use of a caisson between the limber and the gun is not historically accurate as caissons are usually also towed by a limber however I just like the look of the three equipments together.
Construction is based on my standard box trailer described in posts on light GS wagons and utility trailers. The unique feature of caissons is the provision of a spare wheel and a towing hook. The towing hook is not fitted to second caissons in Horse Artillery regiments.

The above photo clearly shows the unique features of the caisson.

Construction of Ammunition Wagons.

Ammunition wagons are issued to Field and Heavy Artillery and Heavy Weapons battalions at the rate of 4 per battalion. The distinctive shape of these vehicles is loosely based on the Napoleonic Gribeauval ammunition wagon. I believe the use of a fixed roof shape helps reduce overloading of the vehicles with heavy ammunition boxes, a historically common problem with GS wagons using a canvas load cover.
The wagons are made using the 12mm thick balsa plank normally used for House bodied wagons. I then carve the A line roof before sanding to final shape. The rest of the wagon construction follows normal procedures as outlined in the post on construction of GS wagons with the sole exception that my ammunition wagons do not have towing hooks.

The photo above shows an ammunition wagon fully built but quite unpainted.                                                     

                                                    

This photo shows a fully painted ammunition wagon complete with horses. The sharp eyed reader will note that it does not have a spare wheel. This is because I only recently started fitting spare wheels to this type of vehicle and therefore there are a large number already in service without spares.. These will be retro fitted when the army currently under construction is completed.
There are will be some  240 of these vehicles in service when the army group is complete.

Organisation of Command Battalions.

These battalions provide command and control over the various larger army formations. There are three types of Command battalion. These are Brigade, Army and Army Group. All are similar in terms of manpower and equipment differing only in the number and level of the Generals in command.

Each Command battalion consists of a Command platoon, a Staff company , a Signals company, a Quartermaster company, a  Medical platoon and a Field Police company.

In Brigade Command battalions the Command platoon has a two star Major General in command with two one star Brigadier Generals as joint second in command. The provision of two Brigadier Generals enables the formation of task forces for specific operations requiring more than one or two battalions but less than the full strength of the Brigade.  In Army Command battalions the commanding General is a three star Lieutenant General with a two star Major General as second in command. The Army Group battalion has a four star General in command with a three star Lieutenant General as second in command. Each General has a Staff Captain and a Staff Lieutenant as aides and a standard bearer with his personal flag. Details of Generals flags are in the post on Flags. In addition there is a National flag bearer and a Battalion flag bearer who are commanded by a Command Sergeant Major. Total strength of the Command platoon is either 15 for Brigade battalions or 11  for Army and Army Group battalions.

Apart from the above all other elements of the various Command battalions are the same. The Staff company consists of three directorates covering Operations, Logistics and Administration/Personnel. The Operations directorate is commanded by a full Colonel with 3 Majors, 3 Captains, 3 Lieutenants, 3 Sergeants and 18 Staff men. The Logistics directorate is commanded by a full Colonel with 2 Majors, 2 Captains, 2 Lieutenants,  2 Sergeants and 12 Staff men. The Administration/Personnel directorate is commanded by a Major with 2 Captains, 2 Lieutenants, 2 Sergeants and 12 Staff men.
 The total strength of the company is 71. The Command company has 6 House office wagons and 6 heavy House office trailers.

The Signals company is command by a Captain with a Sergeant Major in support with 3 Lieutenants, 6 Sergeants and 24 Signallers. The company has two House Signals wagons and two heavy House Signals trailers. Total strength of the company is 35.

The Field Police company is tasked with providing security to the Command battalion, traffic control, POW management and general policing as needed. The company is commanded by a Captain with a Sergeant Major in support, 3 Lieutenants, 3 Sergeants and 36 Field Police. Total strength of the company is 44.

The Quartermaster company has a Captain in command with a Sergeant Major in support and 3 Lieutenants, 4 Sergeants and 40 QM drivers. In addition there is a Medical platoon consisting of a Surgeon Lieutenant, Medic Sergeant and 4 Medics. Total strength of the company including the Medical platoon is 55. The company has 4 GS wagons towing a field kitchen, Medical trailer, water tank trailer and a light GS trailer.

Total strength of a Brigade Command battalion is 220 and Army and Army Group Command battalions are 216 strong. Cavalry Command battalions have a number of  mounted personnel including all Generals, General's flag bearers and several staff officers and men.

Within the whole army there are 18 Brigade Command battalions, 3 Army Command battalions and one Army Group Command battalion.

The photo below shows a Brigade Command battalion with the House office and Signals wagons on the left with the Command platoon in front. In the centre are the Signals, Staff and Police companies and the Medical platoon. On the right are the GS wagons and utility trailers with the QM company in front.

Time for the weekly update. The batch of caissons is complete as shown below.

The Brigade Command battalion is also almost finished with just the last coat of varnish to be applied. As mentioned before another Infantry battalion is in hand, the uniform green is done so its now ready for rank and arm of service colours to be added. I have also made a batch of 24 ammunition wagons which can be seen below without even the primer coat of paint.

 I will do a separate blog detailing construction shortly. Lastly I have made a single Heavy Weapon to use as a sample in my investigations into the possible use of 3d printing as a means of making these equipments. I will report my findings in due course.

This weeks update will reflect that I have had a bit more play time !!!! The Infantry battalion has been completed and put into the display unit. Work continues on the Brigade command battalion with just the arm of service colours to be added before varnishing can commence. The batch of 38 caissons have been completed and they will be primed ready for painting next time. I have also counted out the screws for yet another Infantry battalion and the battalion flags have been made. The first coat of uniform green will be applied next time.
On another matter I have yet to build the machine guns for the Heavy Weapons battalions. These are rather fiddly to make and I have been considering if 3d printing is an option. I will make some enquiries and report my findings in due course.
As always, if you read this blog please leave a comment, I really would like to hear your opinion, good or bad. Just click on the comment word found at the end of each post. You can leave comments anonymously if you wish.

The Remuda

Remuda is a Spanish word meaning a horse herd suitable for remounts. In the context of my armies I have a Remuda in each Quartermaster battalion to provide spare horses for the other battalions served by that Quartermaster battalion. The Remuda is part of the Veterinary company establishment.

The photo above shows a Remuda assembled and primed ready for final painting. Construction is based on 10 horses with a bar passing through each row of five horses and glued into a square section beam with a twisted cable and "towing" eye to enable attachment to a Veterinary company wagon. The construction is similar to that used for Cavalry horses.
I admit the arrangement may appear odd but it is the best way I have found, so far, to represent the availability of a herd of remounts which I consider essential to the overall importance I attach to the army having a full logistical capability.

This photo shows the six Remudas I recently made to equip the six Quartermaster battalions in the army I am currently constructing. The horses are of course my standard horse brown colour with the "frame" black. I did originally try olive drab, my usual vehicle/equipment colour, but it just did not look quite right. Which ever colour is used the painting of the "frame" is slow and complex as even the small bits between horses are painted.

Organisation of Quartermaster Battalions.


The Quartermaster battalion comprises two Quartermaster Transport companies, a Veterinary and Farrier company, a Workshop company and a Headquarters company.

Quartermaster Transport companies consist of two platoons each of 4 GS wagons and 4 heavy GS trailers with 16 privates and 2 Sergeants with  a Lieutenant in command. The Company is commanded by a Captain assisted by a Sergeant Major. Each company has a total strength of 40.  The purpose of Transport companies is to move supplies from railhead to supported battalions.

Veterinary and Farrier companies consist of 4 Farrier platoons each with one Forge wagon with a light GS trailer with 4 Farriers, 2 Farrier Sergeants and a Veterinary Lieutenant in command. In addition there is a remount platoon consisting of a remuda of 10 horses with a House veterinary wagon and 4 Farriers, 2 Farrier Sergeants and a Veterinary Lieutenant in command. The whole company is commanded by a Veterinary Captain assisted by  a Sergeant Major and has 10 QM wagon drivers commanded by a QM Lieutenant with  a QM Sergeant as assistant.. Total strength of the company is 49. These companies provide shoeing and veterinary services to supported battalions.

The Workshop company has 4 Workshop platoons each with a House Workshop wagon with a light GS trailer manned by 4 Technicians, 2 Sergeant Technicians and an Engineer Lieutenant in command. The whole company also has a GS wagon and light GS trailer for parts and raw materials, 10 QM wagon drivers with a QM Lieutenant commanding and a Sergeant as assistant.. The company is commanded by an Engineer Captain supported by a Sergeant Major. Total strength of the company is 42. The purpose of the company is to provide repair services for equipment, weapons and vehicles in supported battalions.

The Headquarters company comprises a Staff platoon of 12 Staff men with 2 Staff Sergeants commanded by a Staff Lieutenant, a Signals platoon of 12 Signallers with a Signals Lieutenant in command supported by a Signals Sergeant, a Medical platoon of 6 Medics commanded by a Surgeon Lieutenant assisted by a Medic Sergeant. The Quartermaster platoon has 16 wagon drivers with 1 Sergeant and a Lieutenant in command. All QM staff of the Farrier/Veterinary, Workshop and Headquarters platoons are under the overall command of a QM Captain supported by a Sergeant Major. The command platoon has a  Lieutenant Colonel as Battalion Commander with a Major as Adjutant and second in command with a battalion Sergeant Major and two standard bearers, one with the national flag and one with the battalion flag. Total strength of the Headquarters company is 62 giving a total battalion strength of 233.

The other vehicles and equipments of the battalion include 4 GS wagons towing a field kitchen, water tank trailer, medical trailer and a light GS trailer. There are 2 House headquarters wagons and a heavy House headquarters trailer with a heavy House Signals trailer.

This photo shows the two QM transport companies.

This photo shows the Veterinary/Farrier company on the left with the Workshop company next on the right followed by the remuda and the Headquarters company on the right. My armies have a total of 18 Quartermaster battalions on the basis of one for each Brigade.. The arm of service colour for Quartermasters is brown.

Happy New Year and my best wishes for 2019 to anyone reading this blog.
I have just started to get a bit more work done on the army although production will pick up considerably now that Christmas is over and we still have a number of winter months ahead before my wife refocuses my attention on to the garden and other outside jobs in the spring. Since my last report I have completed the final Cavalry regiment and the Army Group Command battalion. I have also managed to start on yet another Infantry battalion and another Brigade Command battalion. On the equipment front I have made a start on the manufacture of the components for a batch of 38 Cassions and have completed six remount remudas, one each  for the Quartermaster battalions. I will be writing a separate post on these shortly giving full details both of construction methods and the tactical purpose of what I call remudas. I am also drafting an organisation report on the Quartermaster battalion along the lines of previous descriptions of the different battalion types.

Well this will be my last post before Christmas. Not much to report this time due to lots of Christmas activities. I have managed to complete the batch of 36 GS wagons and these have mainly been issued to Heavy Weapons battalions with  a few going to a couple of QM battalions. Work continues on the Army Group Command battalion and the Cavalry regiment. No doubt I will have a lot more time after Christmas to work on my army and will  write some more new posts for the blog. In the meantime Merry Christmas to anyone who actually reads this blog, don't forget to leave a comment please.

Not too much happening again this week due to Christmas activities. I have managed to finish the Quartermaster battalion however. Still working on the Cavalry regiment and the batch of GS wagons as well as the Army Group Command battalion. I doubt much progress will be made next week as we have a few days away in London but I will give another update before Christmas.
To my regular reader in Ukraine, welcome !!!!! I hope you like the various posts, please leave a comment sometime, I would like to hear your views.

Organisation of Pioneer Battalions.

The Pioneer battalion comprises of 5 Pioneer companies and a Headquarters company.

The Pioneer company consists of 3 platoons each of 12 Pioneers led by a Lieutenant assisted by a Sergeant. The 3 platoons in a company are commanded by a Captain supported by a company Sergeant Major. The strength of a company is 44.

The Headquarters company comprises a Staff platoon of 6 privates and a Sergeant, a Medical platoon of 12 medics, two medic Sergeants, a surgeon Lieutenant with a surgeon Captain in command. The Quartermaster platoon has 14 privates, 2 Sergeants with a Lieutenant in command. The Signals platoon has 10 signallers with a Sergeant and Lieutenant in command. The command platoon has a Lieutenant Colonel as battalion commander with a Major as Adjutant and second in command , a battalion Sergeant Major and two standard bearers, one with the national flag and one with the battalion flag. The total strength of the headquarters company is  57 giving a total battalion strength of  277.

The vehicles and equipment of the battalion comprise 7 GS wagons, 3 light GS trailers, a field kitchen, a water tank trailer, a medical trailer and a signals trailer. Three of the GS wagons with light GS trailers are loaded with a wide range of tools, demolition materials and salvage storage bags. These materials reflect the various roles of the Pioneers which include construction, demolition and battlefield salvage and clearance although the Pioneers also have a substantial combat capability and are routinely assigned the role of Brigade reserve hence the provision of Medical staff to Infantry standards.

The above photo shows the Pioneer companies on the left with the Command company on the right in front of the battalion vehicles. My armies have 12 Pioneer battalions and the arm of service colour is sand yellow.

With the coming of Christmas I have had less time to work on the army than usual or at least those sessions I have had have been shorter due to the demands of extra shopping or cleaning or pursuit of Christmas spirit !!!!!!
I have managed to complete the Infantry battalion mentioned last week. However work still continues on the Quartermaster battalion , the Cavalry regiment and the batch of 32 GS wagons although I have been able to make a start on the Army Group Command battalion. I will be publishing a few more articles on unit organisation as I get a few spare minutes.