I’m enjoying the modelling for What a Tanker! and have been planning to expand my tank forces to cover more than just the Eastern Front. I originally thought about assembling a troop of British Shermans or Cromwells and may well do so, but I’ve now decided to go for a Battle of the Bulge American approach instead. I only have one Armourfast Sherman M4A2 left over from my Soviet tank project, together with some assorted spare parts for an M4A3 (76mm), so I’ve had to splash out on a new selection of kits for the USA.

These include an Italeri M4A3 (76mm) box, an Armourfast M4A3 (75mm) box and an Armourfast M4A3 (105mm) box, giving me six tanks and quite a lot of options to start with. I got some good deals on these, so I can afford to use one of the M4A3 (105mm)’s for some conversion work, which includes adding some sandbag and applique armour from the Early War Miniatures range of accessories. I’ll be raiding my stash of model kits as well, so may well be able to kit bash an M4A1 (76mm) out of various parts including two Armourfast track units from the spares box.

In the meantime, I also want to finish the last of the Russian and German tanks, then get the Cruel Seas S-boats assembled and painted, so the What a Tanker! US tanks will have to wait a little bit longer before they get underway. I’ve neglected the Cruel Seas project of late, which is something that I really need to sort out, as I’m sure there will be more club games to take part in soon and I would like to be able to bring along my own boats. The one game I have played was great fun and it would be a shame if I just left the project high and dry, especially when it’s still fresh at the club.