New Arivals (More Figs for the Unpainted Heap)

Haven't done much gaming-wise this month due to work and making 15mm masters, so thought I'd share some new arrivals, now waiting patiently on my painting table.

Zombiesmith Grey Aliens
First off, I received my Greys from Zombiesmith a few weeks ago... and they are awesome.  Wonderfully detailed little guys, about 22mm tall (plus of minus), with unique faces and expressions full of character.  They will be a very welcome addition (well, maybe not by humans and cattle) to a contemporary/near-future adventure that I'm working on.  And I have an idea for their transport, but that will be the subject of future posts. Here are some pics of the figs:

I measured the guy on bottom 4th from the left, but the pic was fuzzy;

he measured .87" in height, about 7/8 inch or 22mm.

Zombiesmith was great to deal with, good coms and order status updates.  Highly recommended.


SOE Kill Team, Statuesque Miniatures
Next up are some items from Statuesque miniatures. I ordered a sprue of female heads for some sci-fi and post apoc conversions.  This is my first order with Statuesque, and I was impressed.  They have three sizes/scales that you can order in (you need to check out scales on their site), that seem to be scaled to range from roughly 25mm to 32mm figs (my interpretation).  I ordered mine in the "pulp" scale, and am quite happy with the size for use with my generally 28mm figs.

Above is pack SMA301 in "Pulp" scale next to a 28mm Bobby Jackson

 (Thugz) figure (left), and a Hasslefree fig (right) for scale reference.

Next is the S.O.E. kill Team, three outstanding figures that will be modified slightly for my post apoc games.  The figs are finely detailed, flawlessly cast, and  truly outstanding.  Another company that features great coms and order status updates.  Here is the Kill Team as received:

 

 

 

The last pic is show a 28mm Hasslefree fig and Bobby Jackson

fig for scale reference with the Statuesque fig in the center. 

The S.O.E. Kill Teams figs are also in the  Statuesques' "Pulp" scale.

Another thing that I like about the Statuesque figs, is that the weapons are reasonably scaled and also very finely detailed. Each figure arrives in its own bag, and you pick your preferred base size when ordering.



QRF Air Support
And lastly, I finally got around to ordering some air support form QRF.  I picked up two SU17s, two Sepecat Jaguars, and two Su25s.  QRF sent order status updates, with the order coming very quickly, taking about two weeks to get across the pond. Here is the SU17:

 

 

 

The fuselage in resin has good detail, but the resin is a little rough in spots.  This will clean up very easily with a little automotive glazing putty and a Squadron sanding stick.  There are a number of micro-bubbles in the resin, but again, they clean up very easily with the glazing putty.  The exhaust nozzle on both castings had a bigger bubble on the right side which got chipped a little more in shipping on one of the castings (see last photo).  This is still a relatively simple fix with a little bit of styrene and a touch of putty.  The wings and detail parts are white metal and very nicely detailed and cast.

The Jaguar is a lovely model and will require very little cleaning up.  Again with a resin fuselage and metal wings and details.  I haven't decided if I will finish them for my UK or French forces yet.

 

 

 

 

Again, this is a really nice model, with all of the castings of superior quality.  I look forward to ordering a couple more of these, to complete forces for whichever of my air forces doesn't get them first.

Lastly is the Su25, another very nice model, is mostly resin, including one piece fuselage and wings, with smaller detail parts in metal.  The resin casting is much cleaner than the SU17, but not quite as perfect as the Jaguar.  It will require a little cleanup, mostly along the trailing edge of the wings, but not much.  Again, as for the models above, the metal parts are quite nice, and I particularly like how the expendable munitions are cast directly on the hard-points.  It saves a glue joint and a weak spot when handling the model.

 

 

 

Given the current exchange rate, these aircraft from QRF are a bit of a bargain, so if you're going to get the them, and in the US like me, now is the time.

Centurion III: Uwanda's Armored Fist

My sole gaming accomplishment in the last two months has been to paint some Centurion Mk IIIs for Uwanda's Army. 

 

These are the 20pdr armed Centurion Mk III models from QRF and are quite nice.  The model comes in six pieces including the side skirts, which I opted not to use, as I expect to eventually have later 105mm armed Mk V, and want to readily distinguish between the two versions.

 

Though not the most modern tank in Uwanda Army service, these Centurions make up the heart of the Uwanda's armored formations, and have proved to be more than a match for Mugabia's T34/85s.  They will play an important part in upcoming battles between the two imagi-nations.

Above the Centurion is pictured with the other tanks in Uwandan service.  The Sherman Firefly (left) from Gaming Models, and the Vickers Mk III (right) from QRF.

Clearing Off the Paint Table a Little

It has been about eight weeks since I last had a day of hobby time.  So I did a little cleaning in the basement, putting away some of the clutter that had accumulated, and managed to finish up a few odds and ends on the paint table.

First item done is one of ArmiesArmy's ASU 85s, making three thus far for my forces:

This is probably may all-time favorite 15mm modern casting.  They are just so clean and nicely detailed.  Can't wait to get some of their British stuff.

Next was to finish off the bases on some AT3 Sagger teams for my Mugabian forces.  Yes, ATGMs are coming to imagi-Africa:

These are QRF figs that came in a recent order from ScaleCreep which consistently offers some of the best service in the hobby.

Uwanda will get Milans:

These are QRF German Milan teams painted in Uwanda's colors.  Nice figs that have me wanting to build West Germans for the Cold War.  (By the way, QRF is expanding their range of Leopard 1s, if you haven't heard already)

While going through an old model kit box recently, I found a long lost old Imperial Guard figure, so decided to paint him up:

I love these old figs, and will replace one of my plastic IG figs with this one.  It was kind of cool to find him after being lost for about 26 years.

I recently stumbled into my second 1/100 Fouga Magister kit:

An old Starfix kit made in Israel.  It builds up into a nice little model.  Here is a pic of my other one in Uwanda Air Force markings.

Took about two years to find this one, and two more years to locate the second.

Last of my day's accomplishments was to add some detail to a pair of Jeeps with TOW atgm. The original models are metal castings from QRF.  While looking at photos, I realized that there were a bunch of different configurations of this vehicle, so I decided to spruce mine up and make them a little different.

And primed, but not yet painted:

These will be painted to use with my late 1970s/early 1980s US cold war forces.

May not seem like much, but I got 14 models off of my table (and a bunch of clutter), and two piles of pieces ready for paint.  I'm one step closer to space for work on my post-apoc vehicles, and the hospital for an upcoming Uwanda-Mugabia war  scenario.

New Hatch for My Humvees (but not much else)

Well, I finally got round to making a master of the open hatch for the Humvee weapon station, but other than casting, that is the sum total of hobby progress for me this month.

The old, and the new.

Plugged into one of my Humvees.

Sorry, not much to show. I'll have a mold of it by next weekend, and will make it an option soon for my Humvees that previously had the close hatch.

 Tomorrow looks to be a hobby day though, so with any luck, I'll make a little progress on one thing or another.

QRF Comes Through BigTime!

It has been the worst day of a rough week in a month of rough weeks. A day of sleeplessness, physical pain, ridiculous stress, and getting home with realization that work may have been the easiest part of the day.

And then something strange happened.

Earlier this summer, I mentioned having problems with an order from QRF.  I contacted QRF, and they said that they would fix the problems.  And I waited a bit, and nothing happened.  And I got impatient, as I sometimes do. And a little more time passed.  And then  I got home from work today, and there was an unexpected package in the mail. 

As I opened the package, rays of sunshine burst forth, slicing through the gloom, and I'm sure that I heard angel's sing (either that or my neighbor's stereo was too high again), and inside were all sorts of 15mm modern goodness.  They fixed the problems and much more.

Seriously, QRF went above and beyond, correcting the error and making things well beyond right.  My thanks to QRF, Chas, Geoff, and to anyone there that I am missing.  Absolutely first class. It couldn't have come at a better time.  Again, thank you very, very much.

And, the newly re-molded Saracen is really nice. Crisp, clean, and regal in all its Cold War glory (for those who might be considering them).

A Little Progress on my Earthbound Starship ( i.e., a 15mm M60A2 Main Battle Tank Master)

Work has taken over my life once again, but during the few moments of free time that I've had, I've been working on another old project, my 15mm M60A2 master.  I've only made a little progress on the hull and tracks, but the turret is almost done so , I 'd thought that I'd share a few WIPs.

This was originally one of several vehicles for last year's Cold War project, which is now looking more like 2016's Cold War project.  Anyway, here are the pics:

 

 

 

 

Currently, it is set to be a five piece model; turret, hull, two track units, and searchlight.  I've had to make some compromises on the detailing of the stowage basket on the rear of the turret for casting purposes, but overall, I'm pretty happy with it. 

AAR9 - Closing the Gate

This is the second of three after action reports on the Mugabian effort to secure Pettu tribal territory in Uwanda.

The battle took place at objective A58 on the map below.  The river crossing there is the only direct road access to the Pettu territory.  Securing the crossing and village would severely limit Uwanda's ability to reclaim the Pettu territory.  On the map below the solid black line is the border between Uwanda (left) and Mugabia (right).  The Pettu territory is identified by the dashed black line and is currently occupied by Mugabian and ULF (Uwanda Liberation Front) forces.

The river obstacle introduced a problem not previously encountered by Mugabin forces, and despite its small size, only light and amphibious armored vehicles were employed in the attack.  Mugabian forces included a mechanized infantry company in BTR60s, three PT76s, two SA9 air defense systems, three BRDM2s, two towed 85mm guns, more than 50 truck mounted ULF militia lead by Mugabi army advisers, and two batteries of 152mm howitzers.

Uwanda understood the importance of objective A58 and had a significant force holding the crossing and village there.  Forces included an mechanised infantry company in M3 halftracks, a platoon of four Fireflies, three Saladins, four Ferrets, a single M42 for air defense, a battery of 155mm howitzers and as A58 had become a border checkpoint, one squad of National Border Police.  Limited air support was also possible.

The Uwandan view of the battlefield.

The Mugabian view of things.

The Magabian plan was to lead off with an artillery barrage, then attack both Uwandan flanks, the ULF militia on one end, and a force of Pt76s and BTR60s at the other.  Once the flanks had been compromised, The remaining infantry in BTR60 would race into town and overrun any remaining forces.  Artillery would pound the village and surrounding defences the entire time.

Uwanda deployed infantry along the Ukingo River as the first line of defence, with remaining forces positioned to respond as needed, and able to build a second defensive line using the field lines and village.

Typical Uwandan infantry position along the river.

A Saladin waits to spring into action.

As they advanced, listening to the artillery barrage ahead, Captain Bahati had mixed feelings about commanding the militiamen in battle.  He had helped train them, but they were still not regular Mugabian Army soldiers.  They seemed like good men, but would they stand in the face of battle.

The battle started with with a relentless artillery barrage that injured or killed nearly a third of the deployed Uwandan infantry.  The barrage was unlike anything seen previously by Uwandan forces and caused extensive damage and injury to the defenses.

A view of the aftermath of the artillery barrage from the Uwandan left flank.

Mugabian forces moved into position during the barrage.  On the Uwandan left flank, artillery continued to pound the defenses as the Mugabian force advanced.

Uwandan forces at their extreme left simply ceased to exist with HQ not understanding the severity of the situation. On the right flank the large ULF militia force advance under the direction of Mugabi Army leadership.

As the militia began crossing the water, the flank burst into a flurry of small arms fire.  Uwandan forces were already thin due to the barrage, and could not hold for long.  Despite valiant fighting, Uwandan forces had to drop back and consolidate.  Still the semi-trained militia took a long time to cross the river and take advantage of the situation, much to the frustration of the Mugabian army leader.

With both flanks in trouble, Uwanda's HQ began to order reserves into position.  Light armor and infantry hastily moved into a second line of defense.

Armored infantry and Saladins move to reinforce the Uwandan left, as border

police advance through the village to strengthen the bridge defenses.

As reserve forces moved into position, Mugabian artillery moved to the village, destroying many of the reserves before they could get into position. 

The overall situation began to look quite bleak for Uwanda with desperate fighting taking place on both flanks. The Mugabian advance was starting to slow as losses were starting to mount.  For the moment though, Mugabian leadership stood firm, and their troops continued to advance.

The last PT76 crossed the river followed by infantry on the Uwandan left flank, looking for someone to fight, but there weren't many Uwandans left.

Meanwhile , on the right flank, the advance began to bog down, despite light opposition.

The last infantry reserves  and armor were deployed to reinforce the second line that had formed on the Uwandan right..

... and that is when something unique happened.  The ULF militia  taking only light casualties, refused to advance. 

Captain Bahati could not believe what was happening.  Yes, they had taken casualties, but no so many. They had caused far more than were taken, and had forced the Uwandans to retreat.  They could easily continue and push all the way to the village.  As he threatened to shoot the next man who refused to advance, he never imagined that he would be forced to do so.  Surrounded by the sounds of war, surrounded by his men, he never felt so alone.  As the man stood defiant, Captain Bahati pulled the trigger.  Time slowed, Bahati stood and watched as the man fell to his knees.  He watched as seven other militiamen raised there weapons.  Slowly, Bahati lowered his weapon, and then he watched no more.

Though unknown to the Uwandans, the right flank was safe, but the left flank was still in question.

Losses had mounted significantly for the Mugabians, and as the last of their troops crossed the river, the Uwandan reserves got into position.  Only moments after it looked like all was lost, the pendulum was swinging hard the other way.

Though both flank attacks had lost their momentum, the main Mugabian thrust now charged down the main road.  BTR60s advancing at speed in an effort to flood into the village.  With drama unfolding all around, a CNN camera crew ventured out to record the happenings.

At about this time, Mugabian artillery switched back to the village in an effort to support the final thrust.  The CNN crew was not seen again.

With artillery pounding the earth behind it, a Uwandan Firefly saw an opportunity to slow the advancing column, and managed a hit on the lead BTR.

Almost simultaneously, Uwandan artillery started hitting the main road, BTRs unwittingly advanced into it as it hit, and in an instant, the lead platoon was gone.

In rapid succession, the Mugabian battlefield commander lost contact with the troops attacking on his left flank, his right flank, and with the lead section of the main column.  The remaining BTRs broke off of the attack, and in an instant the battle was lost.

Uwandan forces mopped up their left flank, taking a small number of prisoners int he process.

Realizing that the Mugabians had been turned away,  the Uwandan forces consoidated, preparing for a follow-up attack that never came.  Uwandan air forces jets finally showed up ( a little later than hoped) and managed to chase down some of the Mugabian artillery and destroyed it.
The battle was over, the gate had slammed shut, the Mugabians would not advance their interests on this day!
The artillery barrage was very successful, putting the Uwandans on the verge of calapse for the entire game (the Uwandans have a level higher morale than the Mugabians within my rules).  Ironically the ULF force had a catastrophic morale failing at the point where they could have broken the Uwandans.  From that point, their game long dominance failed in rapid succession across the table over the next couple of turns.  It was a very interesting game with major losses on both sides.

Losses were as follows:
Mugabia:                       Uwanda:
85  Troops                     62 Troops
3   PT76                        1   Firefly 
2   BRDM2                    3   Ferret
2   85mm guns              1 Saladin
5   BTR60                      5   M3  
5   Trucks                     1 Universal Carrier

Mugabia also lost two 152mm guns, 6 trucks and 32 crew to air attacks by the Uwandan Air Force.