Back on the Road Again....

Mojo back....Check
Painting time back....Check
Plenty to paint....Check
Know where to start....Check
Stop faffing and get on with it.....Check

Back to the 20mm Moderns at the moment. Bursting with enthusiasm. Much to do. To begin with nothing to exciting. But completed a group of nine of Elhiem Figures excellent Shadow Army figures. These sat on the workbench for about 6 months. Started them full steam ahead but then lost interest. Finished them a couple of weeks ago. They are great figures.

 

These consist of two packs of TAL26 and one of TAL32. Since I'm concentrating on OIF not OEF, I intend to use them to primarily represent foreign/veteran fighters in games. Their distinctive attire should make them more noticeable on the tabletop. 

That's it for now more to follow.....soon!

Technical with ZPU-1

So I took this.....

A 1/72 scale Cararama Ford F150 pick up truck and turned it into this.....

A 'technical' mounting a ZPU-1 14.5mm AA HMG. The gun and crewman are from Elhiem and can be found in the 'Weapon Sets' and 'Insurgent' ranges respectively.

Took the diecast vehicle apart and and airbrushed the body and rear bed black. Then painted and weathered it all before reassembling into the completed model. The wheels, front and rear bumpers have not been painted only weathered and I left the interior alone. The plastic windows were weathered buy airbrushing AK Interactive Dust Effects, after masking off the windscreen to represent the movement of the wipers, and then sealed with Johnsons Klear.

After the painting etc., was finished I applied the final coat of varnish to the separate pieces before putting all back together. The windscreen was not varnished again to avoid any fogging.

I had not originally intended to use the ZPU gun on a pick up. I was going to mount it on a base to be used as a fixed emplacement, to engage air and ground targets. As described by Bing West in his book 'The March Up' when flying over Al Budayr and the helicopter is targeted by heavy MG's hidden amongst residential buildings.

The beauty of these diecast models over the resin pick-ups which are available, is that the rear tail gate can be lowered. The pick up had been purchased to use as a civilian vehicle to add another piece of terrain but after test fitting the tripod gun stand and it fitted then rear bed, the two had to become one.

There are plenty of photo's on the web of these weapons being used on pick ups. Though I used Meng Models 1/35th scale Technical with ZPU-1 as inspiration. Of course there are the photos of the Texas City plumbers truck which was sold three years ago and turned up in Syria still displaying the company logo.

Have not based this one yet, not sure if a will. The wheels have not been glued in place so still turn like they do on all good diecast models!

That's it for now more to follow..........

Shadow Army

Lashkar al-Zil or Shadow Army

These are Elhiem figures of al-Qaeda's Shadow Army. Though active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I intend to use them for Iraq. They will represent either 'normal' insurgents or foreign fighters such as Chechen's relevant for game set in places like Fallujah.

I must admit I do like these figures, Matt at Elhiem has done a cracking job. More are now available and I will be adding them to the collection.

If you want to know more about the Shadow Army the following links may help;

Long War Journal

Mapping Militant Organisations 

That's it for now more to follow.....    

Fedayeen and a Technical.

Completed the first technical for the insurgents.

Resin model from SandS Models. The MG comes with the model The figure is from Elhiem. Added a few details. The 'roll bar' is made from piano wire and the 'bull bar' is brass wire (Not sure of the actual terms for them so, so sorry if I offend any pick up drivers!). The model does come with a metal 'roll bar' but it was a bit 'chunky' so decided to make my own. The base is MDF made from a pre-laser cut MDF base.

Also completed a another four Fedayeen, with RPG's;

I've settled an a paint combination for the black uniform. The Coat D'Arms triad works well IMO. Go to Black Hat Miniatures for the full range. But the figures still needed a little highlighting. So I mixed Vallejo 'Black Grey' with Vallejo 'Buff' and for me it gave the figures a lift, took away the starkness. To my eyes 'Black Grey' appears to be mid way between the triad colours of 'Iron Grey' and 'Dark Grey'. I found a 50/50 or 60/40 mix in favour of 'Buff' worked well.

Used the same on the previous figures and I'm much happier with the result.

That's it for now more to follow.....


  
  

Fedayeen, Skips and a Well

Gosh! Over a month since my last post. Time does fly by even if you are not a driver of  a train!

Change to life plans took up a lot of the last few weeks and also a stock check. Decided to delve into dark corners to discover what was squirrelled away. No gold doubloons, but lots of unpainted lead. A lot of unpainted lead, I even found stuff I forgot I had bought and some items I thought I had given away. Not sure what I'm going to do with it all other than hide it in some other dark corner, to avoid embarrassing cross examination from Mrs G.!! Of course I could paint it all; don't make me laugh!

Also took the opportunity to tidy up my work stations. Having been subjected to the torture of viewing photo's of very tidy painting desks e.g. Loki's, Mr Awdry's to name but a few. I felt compelled in the best British spirit to pull my self together, and tidy! I now actually have room to swing a cat! Marvellous (try saying that in your best Brian Blessed voice)! Any way enough of the boring real life adult world....

Did manage to squeeze in time to paint a few pieces of terrain and some more Insurgents/Fedayeen Saddam for the OIF project. First up the terrain;

A well. This is one of the pieces I found hiding at the bottom of  a box. It's 20+yrs old! The well was part a 20mm Vietnam range, and came molded onto a scenic base with pots. I smoothed the base down slightly, to lower the height and mounted it onto an old MDF base (pre-laser cutting). Built up the edges with DAS clay, textured and painted. The rope is a piece of broken metal chain I found lying on the floor in my girl's room. I'm guessing it came off some costume jewellery. So I spirited it away until I could find a use for it. I realised that when I came to paint the well, there was no bucket or similar receptacle modeled on it. So the rope/chain is meant to represent the bucket having been lowered into the well.

I purchased this item from a shop which used to be in Towcester, and was run by a chap called Mick (I think?). He started to produce some resin terrain in 20mm-Vietnam and 15mm-ACW. They were nice pieces, but I don't recall what happened to the shop or owner. Anybody else remember it?

Next up some Skips which are resin from the 'The Scene';

These are the empty ones. I added the rubble myself, which is made up from cork, balsa wood and sand. Not much to say about these. Nice little models which I have painted and weathered in the usual way. These are available in 15mm and I think 28mm. I have to my knowledge only seen one photo of a skip in Iraq which was actually painted white. But I decided to go with UK yellow!

Now a photo of one of the skips in front of one of homemade houses with a couple of insurgents to give an idea of scale. Followed by a photo of all three terrain pieces together again to give idea of scale;

Also finished a few more insurgents and the first of my Fedayeen Saddam (Saddam's Men of Sacrifice).

 

These figures are all from 'Elhiem'. The Fedayeen are nice figures but since they wore a black uniform not more I can say. Struggled with the photo's of these. For some reason the camera did not seem to like the all black figures. They also look darker than they actually are. The skin on the Fedayeen may appear darker since after painting the basic colours I put a wash on them to shade, but forgot to highlight them again! I intend to use the figures in civilian clothes to represent the Fedayeen along those in the uniform.

On the workbench more Fedayeen, another T-72 and something old, something new, something borrowed (?) and something yellow!

That's it for now more to follow..... 

   

The Insurgency Begins!

First batch of Insurgents/Fedayeen completed.

These are all Elhiem figures. Painted them in a mix of civilian/military clothing. Intend to mix them in with Fedayeen Saddam figures to represent those who wore civilian clothing to resist the advance to Baghdad. Actually though there is reference to Iraqi's wearing black garb when fighting the US Army/USMC, I haven't found any actual evidence that the Fedayeen wore their Darth Vader inspired uniform when actually fighting. Or specifically describes it as being wore in combat. I have read the helmet offered no protection being made of plastic or fibreglass depending on source.

I've gone for an abstract approach to represent the shemagh/keffiyeh. Tried painting dots/stripes etc but the pattern was beyond my skill, and it looked like they were wearing polka-dot hankies on their heads. So in the end I've applied a glaze of colour over a white base then highlighted up with white (actually Deck Tan) to give a semblance of pattern. Looks better when viewed from a distance (honest!).

That's it for now more to follow....

28 Minutes Later

The Setting

An Nasiriyah, Iraq, 23rd March 2003.

The Situation

The single squad from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment having failed to reach the stricken Amtrac have consolidated their position and for nearly half an hour have kept the Fedayeen at bay. Unfortunately ammunition is running low and with two casualties themselves, time is running out to save the Amtrac crew from capture.

The Game

The ten remaining Marines occupy the defensive position. There very own Alamo.

Around them Fedayeen congregate. But accurate fire from the Marines have thinned their numbers.

Realising that staying put is not an option. One Marine fireteam moves out of cover in an attempt to reach the Amtrac. The remaining Marines use 'Overwatch' to protect their comrades.

Then the roar of a 1500hp gas turbine engine, added a new dimension to the battlefield.

The arrival of the M1A1 of Alpha Company, 8th Tank Battalion brought about a change in the Marine tactics. The survivors of the third team moved to link up with the tank. The intent being to use it to reach the Amtrac.

The insurgents began to gather. Reinforcements carrying RPG's being particularly welcome.

Unfortunately the attempt fails, and the Fedayeen lurking in the palm grove, attract the attention of the 68ton behemoth.

Meanwhile the fireteam who had literally sneaked out of the back door continue to move along the left flank.

Fedayeen occupy a strong position to stop the Marines outflanking move. It does not work and they are neutralised by Marine covering fire.

The Marines neutralise another 'Hotspot'. Thus gaining control of the left side of the street.

Having reached the tank. The depleted squad use it as cover to advance slowly towards the Amtrak.

Fedayeen continue to engage the Marines.

 

With the other two fireteams on high ground, they are able to quickly nullify the Fedayeen.

The M1A1 is able to reach the Amtrac and finally the crew is rescued.

Meanwhile at the southern end of the street, a fierce firefight has resulted in another Marine casualty; seriously wounded.

Despite inflicting a fourth casualty on the Marines, it is too little too late. The Fedayeen are either spread to thin or else forced to keep their heads down to limit casualties. The Marines command the battlefield.

Nothing can stop the Abrams and Marines reaching safety.

AAR

Marine victory. By successful neutralising the 'Hotspots' on the west side of the board, the USMC had virtually complete control of one half of the gaming area. The use of overwatch meant that the regulars were able to dominate. The Abrams was then able to advance with its left flank secure, plus act as a shield for the infantry.  The Fedayeen never had enough leaders or RPG's to effectively deal with the armour.

This game was a follow on from the last instalment. Initially the Marines had to decide how to rescue their trapped comrades, and care for their own casualties. Plus to add a bit of flavour I decided the Marines were low on ammo which was represented if they had poor supply, so -1 to firepower dice. The M1A1 was to be diced for at the beginning of each turn from the second onwards. Its arrival being decided on a successful TQ (Troop Quality) role. It arrived on the second turn. Though being a boon, it was also a bane. My opponent went out of his way to make sure that the tank was not lost during the engagement. The Marines on overwatch were able to lay down effective supporting fire, as the tank advanced. For myself I was trying to overcome the infantry and the tank. But the Marine fire was just too effective. So consequently as soon as I moved forces into position quite often they were being engaged by two Marine fireteams and then the Abrams and removed from play.

Overall another excellent game using the Force on Force rules.