The Unflappable Guards Armoured

Here I've got my first thousand points of FoW done and in the bag! Using the Hell's Highway sourcebook, these chaps are the first three squads of my Guards Armoured Squadron. I've also got a bonus warrior model in there too, but more on him later.


These three squads represent the three compulsory choices every Guards Armoured Squadron must take; a Company HQ and two Armoured Platoons. From the inception of what I wanted my Guards Armoured to look like, and after painstakingly going over the cost of which models to fill out how many points with Andy, I knew I'd field fully 'loaded' platoons.


I'd like to add a Sherman ARV to my Company HQ at one point, but that can wait for now. Also, I couldn't find anywhere in the historical record where a single Armoured Platoon fielded two Firefly VC's. Although you're allowed to field two of these per Armoured Platoon in the Hell's Highway lists, I opted instead for a single Firefly VC and three Sherman V's.


The Company HQ


Closeups of the Squadron Commander (right) and 2iC (left)


No. 1 Troop, Armoured Platoon

The one lament I've got was I didn't realize that the 'Guards Armoured' decal sheet I ordered only contained the Guards emblem, and nothing else. So I've got to get some more decal sheets, I need the regiment number icons, and I also need the geometric squadron symbols and the corresponding troop numbers. I'm also going to include decals for bridging signs, because well, that's just cool. Other than that I may cool it with the decals, I have a lot more tanks to do up. Although, I must say, some War Department tank numbers would be nice.


No.2 Troop, Armoured Platoon

Yes, this second platoon looks exactly like the one above it. Once I get the aforementioned turret markings on them though I'll at least be able to tell them apart. Another thing I did since photographing them was hit the decals with a little Devlan Mud just to tone them down a bit since they were looking pretty reflective here in the photos.

I know all the tanks look awfully clean too, but I'm shying away from doing any weathering until I get the last of all those fiddly decals in place. All in all, I can't complain with the results and admittedly, these were a blast to paint up, mainly because they're so different than anything else I've done. With the compulsory choices out of the way, I've now got a little wiggle room to indulge myself and go with some other choices off my army list.

I may crank out the last two of my Armoured Platoons since I'm kind of on a roll as is instead of deviating. Besides, the remaining two of my Armoured Platoons will only end up being eight total Shermans instead of the twelve I just knocked out here.