Soviet VDV/Special Forces for Team Yankee

15mm Soviets - figures from Peter Pig

As part of the "Team Yankee" fun I wanted to paint up an infantry unit that might represent some of the special forces or airborne units I expect would play a role in any (thankfully fictional) Soviet ground assault into 1980s Western Europe. I find fictional accounts like "Team Yankee" and "Red Storm Rising" dramatically underestimate the likely impact that Communist sympathizers and fifth columnists would play in any invasion.  The west was chock full of useful idiots and their various appendages which could be leveraged by the KGB and other Soviet state elements as they prepapred and executed a ground invasion, sowing, at the very least, wide-spread confusion behind the NATO lines if nothing else.

Love working with these Peter Pig castings

I had some AK-equipped modern 15mm infantry from Peter Pig, and I figured that with a few paintbrush tricks, these could reasonably represent Soviet special forces or VDV/Airborne forces which might bring an interesting additional element to the table.

RPG teams

Realistically these fellows would probably be wearing helmets into battle - and one or two models are wearing them - but I wanted to go with the beret/caps to reinforce the different status.  I painted up enough bases for a large platoon/small Soviet company. 

Heavy recoilless rifle

I also did up a large-calibre recoilless rifle to give them some enhanced firepower.  By the era of "Team Yankee" these weapons would have been a tad obsolete, but I could see small air-dropped units landing behind NATO lines and linking up with some old-school pre-positioned weapons waiting for them at the local Green Party HQs, etc.

As usual, flowered shrubs mark out command bases

I doubt I will have a full-on battalion of these fellows - but rather will try and equip them with some of the VDV vehicles (like the BMD infantry fighting vehicles) and add some of the more modern AT weapons in additional bases.  We'll pop them up in some unexpected locations and give the NATO players some headaches in future games of "Team Yankee".