Skytrex 15mm Artillery Arrives

I took the opportunity presented by Skytrex's 10% Off offer, which ran until the 31st March to order a variety of 15mm guns from their Command Decision range.

The order was made online late on Monday evening and the parcel arrived today, Thursday. Such a fast turn around can only be regarded as excellent service.

These are very crisp models, well moulded with almost no seamlines or flash. There's not eve any flash where i'd expect it on the spokes of the gun carriage wheels. I'm impressed. Very impressed.

I bought CD581 Italian 75mm FieldGuns, CD548 French 105mm Guns and CD549 French 155mm Howitzers. Needless to say the Italian 75mm guns will join my Italian forces straight away, whilst the heavier French pieces are destined to become generic heavy guns.

For the Italian 75mm I'm sure I could have gotten away with the famous French Schneider 75/28 of which already own several Peter Pig models (Range 16, pack.94 (for WW1, RCW, 1940). However, it's such a hackneyed field piece in wargames terms (along with the German Krupp 77/96) that I wanted something different, but not as scarily different as the Flames of War Italian 75mm field gun.

I'll take a look at the artillery used by the Italian C.T.V. and models available in 15mm, in a later post. For now, if you want to know more about the artillery used during the Spanish Civil War you'll find the following websites incredibly useful.

Artillery Used in the Spanish Civil War - Spanish Site

Grand Atlas of Artillery in Spain in the C20th - Spanish Site

Landships - A great WW1 site in English

Finland used almost as many different types of guns as both sides in the Spanish Civil War, and even sold some to Spain! These are excellent websites in English that have good photo, service histories and lots of technical details.

WinterWar.com

Jager Platoon - a really good resource for historians, wargamers and modellers

Another good website for identifying SCW artillery, but this time dedicated to the Romanian Armed Services in WW2 is this one:

WorldWar2.Ro

And most importantly, don't forget to Wiki. Most artillery pieces will appear in Wikipedia with photos, service history and links to additional external sites by just running the gun's name through your browser's search engine. For instance, I've just typed 'Schneider 105mm' into Google and the very first result was this Wiki for the Canon de 105 mle 1913 Schneider.

Skytrex 10% Sale

I've just stumbled across the fact that Skytrex are having a 10% Off Everything Easter Sale running until the 31st March. Only 24 hours left, so get in there quick to purchase some hardware from their Command Decision range for your SCW armies.

I'm going for guns. At around £4.95 (normally £5.50) for a pack of 2 medium/heavy guns or 3 37mm/45mm anti-tank guns, I think this is a good deal.

I have to admit, whilst I do try very hard, I find identifying the differences between most Schneider, Krupp and Skoda field pieces over 75mm in calibre very difficult. The fact that many were produced under licence in countries other than those they originated in, only confuses the matter. However, I'm saved by the simple fact that the majority of guns manufactured in Europe ended up being used in the Spanish Civil War and often served on both sides.

Therefore I have taken the bold step of deciding to choose guns purely on the basis that they have the correct '1930's mid-European arms race' feel to them. Such as the Skytrex 155mm Howitzer below.

CD549 French 155mm Howitzer

Of course, if you game WW1, WW2, Russian Civil War or similar in 15mm as well, you may already be able to use models that are in your collection. Conversely, careful choice of guns now, may allow you to create new armies in these periods later without having to shell out (geddit!), for additional artillery models.

What else can you get from Skytrex just now to maximise this offer?

FRENCH

75mm Field Guns (x3) CD546
105mm Guns (x2) CD548
155mm Howitzers (x2) CD549

ITALIAN

L3/33 Light Tank - inc Optional Flame-thrower & Trailer (x2) CD550
47mm Antitank guns (x3) CD580
75mm Field guns (x2) CD581
75mm Field Howitzers (x2) CD582
Skoda 100mm Field Guns (x2) CD583
Schneider 105mm Field guns (x2) CD584

GERMAN

Flak 36 88mm AA/AT gun CD310
Opel Blitz 3 ton Truck CD316
Opel Blitz (Radio / Office) CD316A
Pz I A CD319
Pz I B CD319A
PzI Command A CD319D
Pz Command B CD319E
20mm Flak 38 (Towed) (x2) CD337
PAK 36 A/T guns (x2 Firing, x1 Limbered) CD347
Kfz 16 Light Field Car CD348
Opel Blitz 1.5 ton CD349
37mm Flak 36 (Towed) CD355

SOVIET

45mm A/T Guns (x2 Firing, x1 Limbered) CD409
GAZ 4 x 4 Truck CD410
BA6 A/C CD418

I also strongly recommend the Skytrex Soviet BA6 armoured car (CD418), which saw a lot of action in the SCW. It's a cracking model!