WW1 Take the Farm - Display Pictures

One of my major goals when entering Curt's Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge was to get my World War 1 German and Canadian forces done.  Even if not "complete", as I have over 100 models for each force, to get enough done to game with.

Well, goal accomplished, at least on a small scale.

Here are some images of a table that I setup to work through the rules and to teach my son's the game "Through the Mud and the Blood".  Since I had it all setup anyway, I figured I would take some pictures to show off the figures all together.

For anyone who has not tried out the TTMATB rules, they are by the same team that did the more recent Chain of Command, and are a great set of rules.  Better yet, unlike GW rule books, they are reasonably priced!

The table I setup depicts the Canadians from the 10th and 16th battalions trying to take two farm houses at a cross-roads.

The Canadians are coming up from the south
and the Germans hold the north edge.

The Canadian 10th battalion sections have crept up along the west flank and are getting ready for a sneak attack through the bocage. The 16th battalion has a section similarly forward in the bocage but they are along the east front of the enemy.  One poor section of Scots from the 16th has been sent down the road as a decoy unit to get the germans to reveal their positions.  My storyline is that they cooked Hagis last night for dinner, and the rest of the battalion did not approve, therefore they got the decoy job.

The Canadian deployment

The 10th battalion draws the long straw
and gets to fully deploy in cover.

The lucky Scots that get to have some
cover along the east edge of the table.

The Germans have setup in the two farm house at the cross roads and have the advantage of defending some sturdy brick and plaster field walls, as well as the cover that the burned out farm houses provide.

The German Rifle section along the west wall.

The German Riflemen added to the
HMG along the east flank.

 

The German HMG has the "decoy" unit sited in.  Ouch!!

Here are some other random pictures of the setup, showing the Canadians getting ready to surprise the Germans from the bocage.

The bocage is all hand made from wood bases, furnace filter, and clump foliage.  The buildings are 4ground buildings and the walls I made on a laser cutter.

For detailed pictures of the units you can find them on Curts blog here:

• Canadians:
• 10th Battalion - Section 1
• 10th Battalion - Section 2 (not up yet)
• 16th Battalion - Section 1
• 16th Battalion - Section 2
• Germans:
• HMG Section with Rifle Support
• Rifle Section

More will come I continue to work on the painting challenge.

Overall though, not a bad start to both forces, as I now have roughly 60 more WW1 models painted than I had 6 weeks ago.  At that point it was 2.... a sample fig of each to figure out paint colours.

Now, to get some games in with them.

Sedition Wars Project - Progress Report #2

Ask Conscript Brian, I am plagued by unpainted minis, and I have trouble finishing projects. So, I hope that quasi-regular blogging about this project will keep me honest.

I am, surprisingly, keeping disciplined. The first wave of my Vanguard figures for Sedition Wars are now cleaned up, assembled, and primed. It's my usual zenithal highlighting; primed the figures black with P3 spray primer, then airbrushed highlights with Acryl flat white.

Below, Samaritans and AI drones. They will be green, with orange visors where applicable.



Close-up of special weapons troopers.



The named characters.



Below, I am going to paint Captain Kara Black with red hair, like Alice from the Resident Evil movie franchise.



Akosha Nama will have purple hair and a grey jumpsuit, like Major Matoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell.



The medic, Morgan Vade, was a bitch to get together. Four hours clean-up time, due to the tricky restic material and tiny details.



Heavy weapons dude Barker Zosa was another complicated figure. Another four hours I will never get back. I do like the sculpt. Even with the exo-skelton, it looks like the guy is carrying a lot of weight around.



I am using a Hasslefree Miniatures female sci-fi figure in scout armour to use as "Tech Com Kara Black"; it's mounted on a Studio McVey resin base (note the crisper details on the base). This figure is a lovely, delicate, one-piece sculpt. It's a resin master, so the fig was basically pristine, with no blemishes. Five minutes prep time, tops, before priming.



Next up, lots of layered washes.

Rogue Trader Anniversary Figure - Finally Painted!

Rogue Trader 25th Anniversary figure...painted two years later (ahem)

As I mentioned with this recent submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, time sure flies!. The 25th Anniversary of "Warhammer 40,000 - Rogue Trader" seems relatively recent to me, but it was actually in 2012, just about two years ago.  In keeping with GW's sure-fire tin ear and clueless lack of self-awareness, the company celebrated this significant anniversary with a special White Dwarf featuring Gandalf on the cover. But they also released a special figure to commemorate the occasion - a figure inspired by the Crimson First leading a doomed last stand from the cover of the rulebook.  These were limited edition models issued at the time and I picked a couple up because I am a shameless fanboy, and I love Rogue Trader.

Will always love this cover!

He's pretty close to that dude in the middle...

This has been sitting primed since February 2012…thank goodness for Curt's painting challenges that encourage to get these kind of projects finished!  For whatever reason I have been on a Rogue Trader kick during this painting challenge, and this figure was the latest.

The scenic base has...you guessed it..skulls! Three of them!

You have the option of mounting it directly on the scenic base beside the standard, or mounting the officer on a smaller base separately.  I went with a separate base for the Commander, leaving the banner to be a piece of scenery, and objective or terrain. 

Why use that plasma pistol, when you can chuck an Ork head at the enemies of the Emperor?

It's a really, really nice figure and a nice souvenir. GW, though, it can't take two steps forward without taking one-and-a-half (or three) back.  The problem in this case? The figure was made of "Finecast" instead of proper metal. Finecast is not new anymore, but this is the first Finecast figure I have worked with. "Finecast" combines the issues of resin with the floppiness of soft plastic - all of the price of gold, a combo only GW could master. I was pretty concerned based on what I was reading about Finecast online, but fortunately I was spared many of the more serious problems (holes, deformed casting etc) this crap medium seems to present to many other gamers.  

The banner literally flopped around while painting it, but you can't fault the detail

Although I was lucky, I can see why people think Finecast sucks.  The detail on the figure is really something, but the banner in particular was tricky to paint as Finecast has all of the tensile strength of a wet noodle - even my 8/0 brush caused it to bend! The experience did not pump me up to seek out other Finecast figures, although GW seems to be out of the metal business so more and more of its products are cast in this medium. Let's hope the rumours I have seen online are true, and that Finecast is truly toast.  Resin figures are bad enough - Finecast can just rot.

Bring on the Red Star Orks!

Anyway, for all that nerd rage, the figure was still fun to paint and I'm glad to have it done.  The sculpt is very loyal to the inspiration of the image on the Rogue Trader book cover, right down to the ominous Ork head being waved around in his right hand. As I continue to build up my little collection of Crimson Fist troops this fellow will fit right in.  Dallas and I have been pondering a Rogue Trader game for a while, so who knows? This guy could get capped very soon on the table.  Would be fitting if he went down in style, as the fellows on the old Rogue Trader cover do.

Crimson Fist Reinforcements

More survivors on Rynn's World

 When they last saw action, my collection of Crimson Fists was a pretty small detachment.  They had to be bolstered by some Imperial Guardsmen in their second game. Of course they represented the survivors of the catastrophe on Rynn's World, so of course they were small.  But I want to expand the collection - both to reflect our occasional campaign (Pedro Cantor and his survivors ultimately encountered other members of the Chapter who were not killed in the explosion) and for use in other settings.

New Predator, old marines

 I've been using the motivation of Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge to start bulking the force up a little.  This was a submission for the Challenge, and it includes a mix of new and old - a Predator from GW's current model lineup, and a group of RTB01 "Beakie" marines.

The Predator is one of GW's best vehicle kits - love the look of it

I love nearly all things Rogue Trader, but when it comes to vehicles, generally speaking, the newer model line is much, much improved.  The current Space Marine Predator is a beautiful model (and I've used one for my Guardsmen) so I wanted one for the Crimson Fists.  As always with models, I made several assembly mistakes (look closely and try to see which side sponson is mounted with the bracket upside-down!) but overall it turned out great.  The weapon load is configured to match the original Rogue Trader vehicle (an autocannon in the turret and two lascannons on the sides), but this can easily be swapped/ignored for a "current" 40k game.

I also like how the "new" vehicles are actually much closer to the right size in comparison to the older figures

These old marines are a lot of fun to paint, but one part I don't enjoy is trying to bodge the Chapter symbol on to the shoulder plate. For my initial slate of 15 marines I used metal "vanity" shoulder plates with the icon sculpted directly on (a brilliant notion that I wish GW would make a more consistent effort with - anyway).  This took some doing as the plates, sized to fit the newer, larger line of models, were awkward fits with the old Rogue Trader plastics.  Plus, they were pricey - fine for a small project, but not sustainable for an expanded collection. 

RTB01 plastic marines with vaguely shaped red smudges on their should plates

I tried to use the decals that are available (again, a great thing that I wish GW would make a little more of a consistent effort on) but again the size defeated me - they are designed for the larger, current models (obviously!) and won't sit on the old should plates without a huge air bubble.  That left freehand painting as the only option - not something I will be hired to do! So some of the marines look like they are part of the "Crimson Blobs" or "Crimson Paws"...but at least, in a group, their chapter identity is pretty much clear.

I think in RT the Predator could even carry five troops, right? Who needs Razorbacks?

Overall the original Crimson Fist detachment has expanded from the group of 15 survivors to about 30 troops in three squads now - with a vehicle to boot.  Hoping to get these on the table soon.

Rogue Trader Roughriders

So let's hope the Emperor Protects while we charge home...

 This is a fun Rogue Trader project to share! A squad of ten 28mm Imperial Guard Roughriders from the Rogue Trader era.  Many of us have projects or collections that go on and on for many years, but for me this one is special - I've been working to get this squad together since 2007! This unit was a submission for Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.

WIP shot - drying in the base "goop"

It was in 2007 when I first started to acquire some surplus boxes of plastic Rogue Trader-era Imperial Guardsmen - a major nostalgia interest for me.  There were some really great eBay scores for me that year - whole boxes of 36 plastic guardsmen, some unpainted officer figures etc. In the midst of these was a set of three Roughrider torsos. As I worked to assemble and paint my other troops (see here for an example of them in action), I resolved back in 2007 that I would keep my eyes peeled to eBay to try and assemble enough spare parts to put together a Roughrider squad.

These were a little awkward to assemble.  I miss the old Rogue Trader figures, but they were not the easiest models to work with...

Little did I suspect just how long it would take to put together a proper 10-man unit…

 

Sergeant in the middle, and a lascannon gunner (not exactly a "classic" cavalry weapon) beside him

The roughriders were basically an option to mount an Imperial Guard tactical squad on horses.  After all, the horse would surely still be part of many worlds and cultures among the numberless, teeming masses of the Imperium of Man. Some of these horses would be used in the Imperial military.  

 

Good view of the excellent lance arms from Victoria Lamb

The Roughriders were armed identically to a tactical squad - lasguns, one grenade launcher, one lascannon - but with a twist.  They carried lances equipped with exploding tips.  I think an actual exploding lance tip would be daft for a real cavalryman, but it fits well in the 40k dystopia.  In game terms, it gives these troops quite a punch when they charge - for one turn, at least :)

 

You can see a couple of the bush hat dudes here

The Roughriders have carried on in the GW fluff over time, and I think they are still an option for Guard players today, although the models are now OOP. The Roughriders became space huns - the "Roughriders of Atilla".  The Tallarn-style guardsmen (desert themed troops) also got Roughrider models.  Ultimately Forge World took the baton - the grim Death Riders of Krieg are quite marvellous figures (if you can afford them), while the Tallarn troops got alternate Roughriders who essentially rode space camels called "Mukaali".  I don't think many current GW players bother with Roughriders as a selection for the table.

 

Another view of the bush hats...what a crazy combination of themes...very Rogue Trader

When I set out to get a squad of Rogue Trader Roughriders together in 2007, I didn't think it would take too long.  I was wrong! The Roughrider bits - special legs and torsos, including a special dude with a Grenade Launcher, and some guys wearing bush-cap style headgear - did not pop up very often on eBay.  It would be a torso here, a few legs there…and sometime I ended up with the wrong part.  Did you know GW had two separate types of "rider" legs - one for horses, and one for motorcycles? Me neither…found out the hard way after an eBay acution. Anyway it was not until late 2013 that I got enough bits together to do the proper squad - almost seven years after I started collecting the parts. 

I like this guy, about to stick the exploding lance into a target - I'm sure that will work out safely...

The lance arms are courtesy of Victoria Lamb. Thank goodness for her awesome products, as the GW originals did not actually have proper lances (much less cool ones with exploding tips) and I wasn't sure how I was going to swing that. Victoria Lamb's stuff is amazing. Consistent with my other Rogue Trader guardsmen, I slapped a "current" lasgun into the back stowage of the riders.  It would have been cooler to sculpt a strap for the guns - but I'm no sculptor…

 

Another view of the Sergeant - that's supposed to be a "122" on the number plates (122nd Regiment), but due to my freehand painting skills it mostly resembles a scrawl of crud

Even getting the horses together was a challenge, as GW's horse sprues have changed over time. The current plastic horses are too large (and a bit too silly). Again, I had to watch and wait on eBay for the parts to come up.

 

The perfect cavalry weapon - a 40k grenade launcher

Once I had all the bits together, it took a little while to put them all together. I started building them in November last year, and finally painted them for the challenge. Even with the excellent Victoria Lamb bits, these are not particularly glorious figures - they sit awkwardly on the horses, no natural riders among them, that's for sure. A cavalry enthusiast will find these to be just awful! But it is a genuine nostalgia thrill to have these fellows finished.  

 

Hopefully they will pop off some of Dallas' Rogue Trader Orks the next time we play some old school 40k. 

15mm Arab Armour

Syrian SU-100s - models from Battlefront

More stuff from the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, two Syrian SU-100 tank destroyers and a T-55 from Khurasan, all 15mm size models.

The SU-100, a surplus beast from the later period of WW2, served in the organic anti-tank elements of Arab infantry and mechanized divisions in both the 1967 and 1973 wars.  These two particular beasts - both Battlefront models - are painted in an Syrian-inspired 1973 camouflage scheme that included patches of yellow and grey over a dark green base.

New camoflage scheme attempted on these tanks

These models will see action in scenarios where the Syrians are attempting to halt the IDF counter-attack across the "Purple Line" in 1973.

The quality of these Battlefront models is top notch.  They are from a "Guards Tank Destroyer" which includes five tanks, with options to paint them as either SU-85 or SU-100 tank destroyers.  I'm not sure what I will do with the other three - either paint them up for my WW2 Soviets, or paint them in Egyptian colours...we'll see...

Great models from Battlefront

The T-55 is from Khurasan, part of Khurasan's new 1973 war range.  While I was not very wowed by the Khurasan IDF infantry, this tank is really, really nice.  The body, turret and treads are all resin, and the accessories - cupola hatches, main gun, IR searchlight, cupola MG, etc. - are cast in metal.  You can build the tank as either a T-54 or T-55. One very unique feature with these models is the fact that you have the option to model the spare external fuel cannisters, common features of Warsaw Pact-era tanks, at the rear of the tank on or off.

T-55 from Khurasan

The model components are a little fiddly, but overall it comes together quite nicely. Some of the detail on the hull is a little soft, particularly the indentations on the fuel tanks, but overall this is a clean, crisp tank with unique modelling options and a quality in metal accessories.  Well done Khurasan!

Painted in Egyptian/generic Arab desert/arid colours

If there is any issue with these tanks, it is the size.  They are a touch small - not inaccurate, just smaller than, say, a Peter Pig T-55.  It's just a sniff of the "1/56" effect.  I don't think they would mix that well.  But that's no deal breaker.  These are nice tanks, and you can buy them in lots of ten if, like me, you need T-55s in company-sized allotments!

Khurasan did a great job with these models!

This is painted in colours that would work for the Egyptian army in 1967, as I am hoping to do some "Fate of a Nation" games.  Yes...Flames of War...you saw it here...but these tanks will also do in a pinch to represent the Egyptians in 1973, or the Iraqi tanks sent to help the Syrians in 1973.

This was just a test model.  No matter what rules I use, I will need plenty of T-55s for Arab-Israli gaming. One tank down, and as you can see from the picture, a lot more to go...

Poll results - The Primer in Winter

Just in case nobody got my horrible pun in the post title...

Anyway... our latest poll concerned priming models in wintertime when it's cold outside. As you may know, the temperatures here in Winnipeg plunged to record lows in December 2013 and this can make spray-priming models a challenge, to say the least.

Here's the poll question and responses:

Priming your models can be difficult if you live in a place where the weather is cold. And here in Winnipeg, it is cold! So, for those of you like us, how do you prime your models before painting?

Spray in the basement, hide from the missus	10 (22%)
Spray in the garage	13 (28%)
Spray outside and bring inside to dry	11 (24%)
Brush-prime indoors. Spray priming is for suckas	11 (24%)

Forty-five of you answered the poll question, and for the most part you are a very considerate lot - only one out of five subject their families to clandestine doses of volatile organic compounds!  

15mm IDF Infantry from Khurasan

15mm IDF infantry from Khurasan - jeeps from Old Glory

Some more stuff painted for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge - this time a platoon (or thereabouts) of 15mm IDF infantry for the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  These figures are sold by Khurasan, although I believe they were sculpted by Mike Broadbent.  I based them individually for use in games like Bolt Action, Chain of Command etc.

More IDF troops

Over 2013 Khurasan has released a few product codes affiliated with the Yom Kippur War.  I game the period, and Khurasan generally has excellent products, so this is welcome in many ways. Over 2013, however, I have found that the ratio of actual figures released compared to computer renderings, previews and promises made on TMP by this provider to be getting worse and worse. It's a trend I like to call "Khuraspam" (see a recent example here - I would love to see previous promised stuff released before a fungus army arrives...anyway, I digress).  People who dare question this on TMP tend to attract a rain of indignation, but it is annoying. Yes, I know things get held up at casters, etc etc etc but maybe think about that before "previewing" things...anyway, back to the figures.

The detail on the straps is inconsistent on these castings

There are no figures that I know of specific to the IDF in 1973.  Some try to make do with QRF.  I went with Peter Pig infantry and head swaps, and it came out OK.  With such a vacuum in this specific market it's great to see specific 15mm IDF troops for the Yom Kippur War, right? Sadly, once they finally arrived, they were a bit disappointing.

Hex dude is the CO for the platoon, with his radio nearby; to his left is a guy with a heavy-barreled FN-FAL, mounting an AT grenade

Don't get me wrong - these are still way better than QRF.  And they have specific, unique things you will want if you game this period - things like troops with Uzi SMGs, or the updated bazooka, or the cool little knee-mortar and heavy-barreled FN-FAL with AT grenade.  Even Peter Pig infantry with head swaps still do not get you these things. But Khurasan has done way better than this quality-wise with other products, so I was disappointed.

Prone gunner with FN-MAG LMG...I know this is a common actual combat pose, but I hate prone figures...

What was the issue? Well, little things. The only FN-MAG gunner in the line, for example, is a prone figure.  This is a small thing, but many of us like to have variety, and I would have hope for more than one FN-MAG pose in the line.  And the figures are quite slight, very small, some of them really, really lean, nearly flat. And the detail is inconsistent...amazing and crisp, and then suddenly faded - all on the same figure.

A second FN-MAG - I did two of them, but I think a platoon technically only had one

I notice it most with the harnesses...the straps are there, and then suddenly not.  Maybe it's too picky to be thinking this with 15mm infantry, but Peter Pig generally nails this stuff - even Battlefront does, and so does most other Khurasan product I have seen. This wasn't a deal breaker at all, just annoying, kind of disappointing.

You can see a couple of the Uzi guys

But hey, they are still going to be good on the table.  I've based them individually, to represent the bulk of a mechanize infantry platoon.  The regular dudes are on 20mm round bases, NCOs are on square bases, the commander and radio flunky are on a hexagon base, and the heavy-barreled FN-FALs and knee mortars are on octagon bases.  Most of the troops have FN-FAL rifles, but I have sprinkled a few Uzis around.

Large calibre recoilless rifles on jeeps - handy, mobile and heavy duty AT firepower

And some perspective - you can see a couple of jeeps mounting heavy recoilless rifles in this pictures. These are from Old Glory. While I'm not crazy about the Khurasan castings, they are Mona Lisas compared to the Old Glory drivers...yikes. I think I've been spoiled by working with too much great stuff from Peter Pig. Bottom line - if you want to game this period (and you should!), you will want to but these figures.

The guys with square bases are NCOs

Also, let's give Khurasan credit - between these, the Syrian infantry, the T-55s and T-62s, they have released a good pile of product for the 1973 Yom Kippur War, much of which can be used in other periods, of course.  I just wish that more of the promised sections were fulfilled, and more than anything else, that Khurasan would start to under-promise and over-deliver a little bit more. 

15mm IDF Armour - M51 Shermans and Tiran-67

M51 Sherman tanks from Battlefront

 Here is another selection of models painted during the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. It is a healthy pile of IDF armour, a company worth of M51 Shermans (known casually as "Ishermans") and a lone Tiran-67.  The M51s are mostly from Battlefront (8 of them), with a few from Old Glory (a pack of 3). The Old Glory tanks have Peter Pig accessories (crew, MGs).

Tiran 67 (left) and three M51 Sherman tanks from Old Glory

I painted the Old Glory tanks first, back in December, using my mix of GW "Death World Forest" and Devlan Mud wash (see here for more on that).  I find Old Glory to be very hit-and-miss. The Old Glory M51 models are nice, however, and competitively priced.  They are weakest on what I like to refer to as "accessories" - their crew figures are awful, their MGs are awful.  The Peter Pig accessories really "make" the tanks in my view.

Old Glory M51 Sherman tank - crew and MG from Peter Pig

The M51 saw a healthy amount of action in the 1967 "Six Days War" as well as the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  The Centurions get most of the tank glory from those wars (and rightly so), but the humble M51 was a key player.  In 1973 it was IDF reservists in M51s that kicked off the vital counterattack against the Syrian penetrations on the Golan Heights.  M51s saw action in the counter-invasion into Syria (ambushing an Iraqi armoured division which had been sent to help the Syrians), as well as in the fighting on the Sinai. 

Front view - oversize 105mm is so big it can't quite fit in the photo

The M51 is one of the coolest-looking tanks out there, with a massive high-velocity 105mm gun and a requisite end-of-days size muzzle brake. I cannot understand how the Sherman tank was able to become such a cool vehicle when in WW2 it was panzer cannon fodder. Even so, rolling out in one of these in 1973 took guts...after all it would be facing 100mm guns (T-55s, SU-100s), 115mm guns (T-62s), 125mm AT guns, 108mm recoilless rifles and even AT-3 "Sagger" guided missiles.  

M51 Sherman tanks from Battlefront, using Vallejo colour for Sinai Grey

The markings on all of these tanks are hand painted.  Some of them turned out great.  A chevron, generally, is pretty easy to freehand paint.  On the other hand, the Hebrew letters were hit-and-miss.  I wanted to use decals for those, but I had ordered them from Battlefront in November and they were taking forever to show up (still had not arrived as of this posting).

Rear view of Battlefront M51 Sherman tank

The Battlefront M51s are of course pricier, but they are nicer models.  They are a little bigger - the turret is larger, and the tank itself is a little taller, and the barrel on the main gun is thicker/heavier-looking. For these tanks I attempted to follow Battlefront's approach to getting the elusive "Sinai Grey" colours on the tanks.  I followed the process from this article - it's a great read, check it out - using Vallejo's "Green Grey".  I did not bother with the puffery of an oil wash, but I just used GW's Devlan Mud to pin wash the model instead.

You can see the freehand painting of the Hebrew letters didn't go so well....

While the overall Battlefront M51 is a better model, I was pretty disappointed with the casting quality of the accessories.  The crew figures and MGs sucked.  Unfortunately my stock of Peter Pig stuff had run out, so I just made do with the least-bad castings. I'm putting another order in to Peter Pig (which will no doubt arrive four years before any Battlefront stuff...anyway).

Was pleased with how the markings on this tank turned out!

The searchlight is optional for the models.  I threw a few on, but not on all of them.  Fortunately they were well-cast, compared to the crew and the MGs.  

Example of a tank with a search light mounted

I am very happy with this approach to Sinai Grey.  There are a couple of comparison shots here so you can see how they differ.  You also get an idea of how the Old Glory M51 compares to the Battlefront one.

Old Glory on the left, Battlefront on the right

Old Glory in front, Battlefront behind

Battlefront on the left, Old Glory on the right

The lonely tank is a Tiran-67, a T-55 captured in 1967 and put into service with one of the IDF's reserve armoured brigades.  I haven't found much detailed information on the service of these tanks, but I believe they saw combat in the Sinai in 1973, as well as with various "allied" militias during Israel's Lebanon incursion in the 1980s.

Tiran 67, a captured T-55 in IDF service

The Tiran is an Old Glory casting, and not a great casting. The MG is from Peter Pig. The poor Tiran is a little lonely...I may add a few more even though they aren't great quality, just to have a T-55 vs. Tiran game set in the Sinai sometime.

Coming soon...Khurasan T-55 company...

Eleven M51s is quite a lot of IDF tanks for skirmish style gaming...and while I am hoping to run more skirmish style games with these for our group, I am actually also trying to load up for a straight-up Fate of A Nation, Flames of War game.  Yes - you read that here...I will be trying to run some Flames of War games...I am already trying to build up my Egyptian forces as well as IDF. I'm hoping Dallas might jump in on the Egyptian side, and I'm hoping Curt will do some Jordanians. I have a big shipment of Battlefront stuff dues this week, so stay tuned for more painting!