Painting Challenge entry 4: Barbarossa era Panzerschützen

Another entry that took it's sweet time to get finished. Forming the bulk of my Barbarossa German force for Flames of War is the Panzerschützen Company command and 2 platoons all rolling forward in their 251/C's. There's actually a few extra minis in the form of one halftrack and a sidecar motorcycle, but I had them all ready to paint and some extras never hurt. This entry saw me about half-way through my project in both points and miniatures. One pioneer platoon and some guns left before I'm done. At least until I get the smart idea that I need to expand the list to include armor etc.

The infantry figures were a real pain to put together and paint as these are by far the worst Battlefront minis I have ever seen. Horrible amounts of flash, nonexistent details and facial features that mostly look like they've been sculpted with an axe. To top it off the equipment is a bit wonky. Not a single one is wearing the characterful Y-strap webbing and some have weird straps going everywhere. Of course you could just wear the belt of the webbing, but in nearly every single photo you see the soldiers wearing the Y-harness as well so I proceeded by painting them on and shaving some of the weirdest straps off.

The halftracks from Plastic Soldier Company on the other hand are a pleasure to put together as everything fits very well and there's little clean up required. The only issue in them are some stupidly placed ejector locations which leave their telltale marks on the front fenders for example. And the detail on the crew is maybe a bit on the light side to my liking. Proportions are more on the realistic side, which does mean that faces etc. tend to be a bit flat as nothing is over emphasized like with most 15mm manufacturers. It's a matter of taste really, but I do prefer the more "chunky" ones with clear features even if it's not so realistic.

Next up I need some change from the dull grey in all it's wonderful shades. I've been gluing together a box of Victrix Middle Guard for my Waterloo project so I might give that one a go. Or maybe it's time to give the second Infinity batch another chance again. It remains to be seen!