More Soviet vehicles than I'd thought ...

I thought I might take a look at just what I have available for the mid war eastern front 20mm Spearhead project.

Ouch!! More than I'd realised.

I'm not a great fan of those "line 'em up and photograph what I have" blog posts (pretty boring really), so this is more for me to use to review progress than anything else.

There are 10 x T34s ( a mix of early and mid war variants), and I found another one assembled long ago by someone else, but in desperate need of a paint job. That will make 11, and enough for a mid war armoured division tank brigade. There are four BT7s, and two 'lend lease Stuarts (one M3 and one M5), good for the recon elements of the brigade. Then there are the two extant KV1s, used for a Heavy tank regiment, or a breakthrough brigade, except that I need four or five to make a complete unit (hence my attempts at assembling those fated Fujimi kits).

So, the project is much further advanced than I'd thought.

Where to from here? There is some 'earthquake damage' to be repaired.

Side guard to be re-glued to this KV1.

New barrel required on this T34 D/E conversion (a 1980s job done using the T34/85 turrets .. remember those days?)

Here is the T34 collection less the recently unearthed extra vehicle which is undergoing the repaint. However there are a few errant paint jobs here too, and of course these were painted 'way back in the day' (as some of my young students are fond of saying) when we used brown khaki rather than the more correct Soviet olive green colour. Not sure if I'll repaint them all, maybe just the 'more bizarre' of them.

And then there are these few 'interesting' vehicles that were conversions that I did in the 1970s and 1980s. In this shot, from right to left - an SU76i (a 76mm gun mounted on a captured StUGIII chassis IIRC), a JSU152 (the barrel is a Bic pen refill), and a T48 (a 6pdr mounted on an M3 half track)

Finally this JS1 conversion, completed almost entirely from photos using an Airfix JS3 chassis, in the absence of plans. For those of us of a 'certain age', doesn't this take you back? No kitsets available, so we just had to 'make it up' as best we could. "You try telling young people 't today that, they won't believe you".

Here are the recon elements. The BT5 at the front was a scratch build job. I remember the trials and tribulations of getting the hull front correct.

And the two lend-lease recon vehicles.The M5 Stuart at the front was another of my scratch build projects. The hull rear and the turrent were 'challenging' as I recall.

It's all good fun. Now where's Stan with those quick assembly KV1s?

A landslide along the road ...

After messing around with those old Fujimi kits, I've decided to give up on them. The plastic is brittle, and the running gear keeps breaking off the hull. The tracks are too short, and there are 'axles' missing (mis-molded) on the hull sides.

Stan has some Pegasus KV1s so I think we'll abandon the Fujimi (anyone want to buys a few kits??) and go with the quick assembly kits.

These days I'm a war gamer rather than a modeller. Life's too short ... sigh!!!!!

Lost and the Damned come up trumps ...

With a rare Thursday evening fre, Adrian and I popped along to the local cavaliers 'gaming club to enjoy a pint and a game of Combat patrol using the new CP armies. The beer and the conversation were great, as was the game, and for the first time that i can ever recall, I won a game of 40K.
The mutants advanced in cover, ran and then hit Adrian's Necron Warriors, cleaning them out in two turns. The Chaos Space marines advanced in the centre, soaked up a fair amount of firepower before charging the three wraiths that came out to play, The wraiths had sent a unit of traitors fleeing, but these boys managed to rally after a turn.

The mutants joined the CSM in combat with the wraiths and helped to eliminate them. The 'after' shot (I forgot to to take my camera, so grabbed these few photos with my phone after the action was all over.

The Traitor heavy weapons platoon managed exactly nothing, despite several hits.

All good fun: I think we'll do it again.

A sudden twist in the road

Right-O, I thought. With the Russian 20mm infantry sorted, what's next? This year's focus has been on my 'finishing' strategy, and I thought, I've had these zombie figures sitting in the 'to do' box for quite some time awaiting a paint job before joining the HotT Undead army. OK, onto the painting pins they go.

However I (perhaps rather foolishly) thought I'd have a poke through the collection of other unpainted/unassembled/unstarted stuff to see what was there, because I have been happily finishing figures in boxes, consigning the boxes to the recycling bin, and shrinking the pile. What should I find?

Oh dear!! A sudden twist in the road, a bit of a change of plan.

The 20mm Russian army for Spearhead needs a few more armoured vehicles. The period is 1943, so the SU85 is marginal in terms of its use on 1943 Russian OOBs, but what the heck. It removes a few more boxes from the 'yet to be painted' box, and moves the 20mm project another step towards completion.

I am also trying to reduce the pile of 'stuff' that I'll have to pack up when the insurers eventually get around to repairing or rebuilding our house (IF they ever get around to it!!). Here's another three boxes down!!! See Lorraine, I'm working on the problem.

'ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we go!!!

20mm Spearhead: Russian infantry ...

Next step towards the completion of the 20mm WW2 Spearhead project completed: the refurbishment of the 20mm Russians. There are four battalions organised into two under strength regiments. Some of the support weapons are completed, but if the troops are to come close to the OOBs that I would use with the 6mm forces (these are the core of an infantry division 'Attack List' constructed using Keith McNelly's Scenario Generation Systemhttp://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mcnelly/scenario/scenario_system.htm), there is more to do. I don't thing we'll run forces of quite that size because of the scale compromises required on the table top. However there will be a few more additions to both the Russians and the Germans however, to create interesting 1943 Eastern Front clashes.

I've already made comment on the quality of the figures and the paint finishes. However, they'll do the job.

Watch out, Nick, the Russians are coming!!!

Something about silk purses and sour's ears??

I'm in the middle of the 'rennovation' project with the old Airfix Russians. The plan was to re base them for the 20mm Spearhead project, and as I did so, they'd get a touch up with the paint brush, and a Citadel wash to brighten them up.

The figures have huge nostalgia value, I painted most of them in my teens (40 years ago). These are the same Russian figures (well the same manufacturer, anyway) that appear in Charles Grant's
'Battle'. The nostalgia factor here is huge.

BUT..

I've misjudged just how badly they were painted 40 years ago, and how much wear and tear they have accumulated over 40 years of gaming. Truth to tell, if this were about creating a nice 20mm Russian mid-war army, I wouldn't even start with those old Airfix figures.

However it IS about re-using these long forgotten figures (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, as they say), but I can't help feeling just the slightest dissatisfaction with what is coming out as the finished product. The words silk purse and sour's ear keep running though my mind. There is a nice battalion of Brittania metals (Black Sea Fleet marines), but as for the rest??

In the meantime, a huge Modern Spearhead project is looming, unplanned, unanticipated, not even vaguely on the horizon until last Friday night... stay tuned!!! There'll be more anon.

The Lost & the Damned were ..

.. well, lost and damned really. First outing for the boys after our Combat Patrol painting challenge, and Adrian's Necrons were out to take the first small piece of this lush planet from the Traitors.

The L&tD army consisted of two squads of traitors, with a heavy weapon each (it was what they had managed to drag along with them), an 'assemblage' of mutants, with a unit of Chaos Space marines sent along to bolster their strength. We played this game using the 5th Edition 40K rules.

The mutants made a dash for the ruins on the left, hoping to be able to assault forward from cover.

The units of traitors took up positions to bring their firepower down and command the two fire lanes that the terrain presented.

The Necron warriors and a unit of three wraiths advanced behind the terrain, looking to shoot and kill.

Early firepower began to reduce mutant numbers, despite the cover offered by the ruins.

The mutants charged out of the ruins hoping to assault the Necron warriors, but they were held up extricating themselves from the difficult terrain, and so found themselves out in the open in front of the Necron warriors. This wasn't going to end well ...

Meanwhile the Wraiths assaulted the Chaos Space Marines ...

Traitors looked on, still bringing their fire down on the advancing Necron warriors (who kept on standing up again.. 'the 'I'll be back' rule.. damn!!). The Chaos Space Marines held their own for 3 turns of melee before finally succumbing.

On the flank the Necron Stalked was advancing on the second traitor squad when the missile launcher team finally scored a penetrating hit, immobilising the walker.

At the end of 6 turns, the L&tD force had lost well over 300 points, while they had manged to inflict a mere 90 points... the Lost and the Damned were certainly lost and damned on this field of battle.

However, we had an absolute ball of a game.... maybe we need to get a copy of 6th edition rules to give these guys another run.