Aurora 1/48 US Army M109 SP Howitzer

One of the historical periods I really love to game is the '80s - much as it pains me to consider that a decade in which I was a teenager is now "historical" :-)

In 15mm scale we game the period mainly using Battlefront's excellent "Team Yankee" rules, while in 28mm we've used several sets as bases for our gaming, including but not limited to "Bolt Action", our own set ("Red Storm!"), and even a variation the venerable "Lord of the Rings" skirmish set...

Large-scale gaming is also fun because of the painting involved, and for modern periods like the 1980s, part of the fun is the challenge of sourcing the models. While there are a small number of companies making vehicles for the period, lots of these are skewed towards more modern stuff from the '90s and forward. Finding '80s stuff can be tough.

It was on one of these searches that I discovered the Aurora 1/48 model kit of the M109 SP Howitzer. The basic kit actually dates back to 1965 (!) but the copyright date on my instructions is 1977. I think this date tracks to an updated kit that also included the long-barrel 155mm gun update from the M109A1 variant. These kits do appear on eBay from time to time but oftentimes sellers ask the Earth for them - like $60+! I refused to pay this and bided my time... eventually I found one on sprues, sealed in factory plastic, with instructions and a boxtop-style insert. I think I won it for $10 plus shipping, which certainly suited me :-) 

The kit was apparently a "Young Model Builders Club Selection" and it shows a bit... the rear of the vehicle shows little detail - even the rear spades were left off altogether! Unfortunately, unlike some, I wasn't so fussed with this and I didn't bother with any scratchbuilding to address it.

I did add a bit of stowage to the vehicle just to give it a bit of a lived-in look. I left the front hatch unsecured so it can be opened up - one of the converted crew from my M113s fits nicely there just to give some MOPP-suit flavour.

I rigged up some magnets on the barrels and gun mount to allow the short 155mm to be swapped for its longer-barreled successor. Scale is demonstrated by some Eureka US Army soldiers in MOPP suits.

The newer M185/39 gun is really unfeasibly large. It looks like something out of 40K doesn't it!

Here's a pic with the hatch buttoned down.

Front view of the vehicle. I did lightly weather it with paint and some light earth powder, but I think the powder may have been diluted somewhat by the subsequent Dullcote. Another word of warning: I primed the vehicle with the tracks attached - I should have known better. Never spray prime vinyl tracks!!! The primer reacted with the vinyl to turn the tracks sticky, and although subsequent brush painting improved things it didn't eliminate the stickiness altogether. Can't believe I did that.

Some reference material... there are a couple pics of M109s in the Reforger book as well as some detail of the other markings. Similar to the M1 Abrams and M113s I've painted, I didn't put national insignia on the M109, but instead limited markings to an "exercise" marking as used in the Reforger exercises.

I'm pretty happy with how the build turned out and I think it'll be fun to have on the table in a game. Of course the 155mm main gun is not really suitable for tabletop action in 28mm but we'll figure something out!

1:50 Soviet T-55 Tank

Who doesn't love the T-55?? Workhorse of the Soviet and Warsaw Pact armoured forces for nearly three decades (not to mention a stalwart part of many tin-plated dictators' armed forces even still), the T-55's squat silhouette just bespeaks "Cold War". For awhile now I've had this diecast T-55 sitting in a box, but in a sudden rush of inspiration earlier this week I decided to paint it.

The hull colour is a superb spray - Rust-Oleum Specialty Camouflage ultra-flat green. After removing the tracks, the model was sprayed all over.

This was followed up with Mechanicus Standard Grey on the roadwheel tires, Leadbelcher on the DshK machinegun, and XV-88/Zandri Dust on the mantlet, then the whole model was washed with Agrax Earthshade.

Decals from the GW vehicle sheet were used, and the IR lamp was painted gem-style red. Is that what an IR lens looks like? Who knows, but it looks cool.

I also tried, for the first time, something I've often thought of doing on tracked vehicle models with stretchy rubber or vinyl tracks. These tend to bug me because the track's top run stretches straight from drive sprocket to idler sprocket and don't "sag" onto the roadwheels like the real thing. So I decided to engineer a solution for that (above).

On the T-55 model I drilled holes above the first and last roadwheels on each side, a track's width above the wheels, large enough to fit a stiff wire through. I then ran a wire through the holes and fitted the tracks so they fit between the wire and the roadwheel. This pushes the tracks' top run down onto the roadwheels, giving an impression of sag. Not as good as link-and-length tracks by any means, but works well enough on a suspension setup like the T-55's, or on other tanks like Tigers or Panthers where the upper run of track is supported by the roadwheels.

Some light weathering done with GW Rhinox Hide and Mournfang Brown.

Eureka tank crew make another appearance. Scale of the T-55 looks good compared to these models.

Not sure what kind of game we'd use a T-55 in (as our Cold War 28mm gaming takes place in the '80s or '90s, after the Soviets had pretty much moved on from the T-55), but the model looks good and was really fun to paint. I think the tracks mod worked out OK and I might just use that on other models with vinyl tracks, in future.

Stay healthy gang!

Bolt Action Cold War! Chemical Commies vs MOPP-Suited Yanks

A couple weeks ago I set up our regular Thursday game as a "Cold War Hot" battle pitting Conscript Greg's and my Eureka Soviets in NBC gear (the infamous "Chemical Commies") against my own platoon of Eureka US Army troops in MOPP suits.

For everyone's convenience we decided to use Warlord's "Bolt Action" WW2 rules with some suitable updates for the 1980s. The scenario was pretty straightforward - the Soviets were on the attack, and the Americans were making a last stand in the downtown area of a nameless West German city.

The Americans fielded a small platoon with transports - three M113s from (the now defunct?) Baker Company.

The Soviets attacked with a strong platoon transported in BMP-2 carriers.

Soviets pushing forward along the street. There was a strong American squad with AT weapons in the building at top right.

Infantry deploys from their BMP-2.

Over on the other flank things are getting hot as the Soviets push through a destroyed apartment block.

Brewed-up vehicles burn themselves out in the street...

A point blank duel between a BMP-2 and M113 ends as you would imagine it would!

M113 crew thinks twice about driving down the street.

I "think" the Americans managed to hold off the Soviets, this time. However, the thing with Soviets in WW3 is "there's always more where those came from" and any NATO tactical win seems like just staving off the inevitable.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun with this game. Bolt Action works great for an infantry-heavy game no matter what the period, and only took a few minor tweaks to reflect modern weaponry (I should have made the 30mm autocannon on the BMPs hit a bit harder though!). It was certainly a blast to get out the old Chemical Commies and MOPP-suited Yanks for a spin on the table, too.

'Til next time! 

Kitech "1:48" Soviet T-72M1

Back when the Conscripts started getting into WW3 in 28mm, we discovered a range of inexpensive modern tanks from a company called "Kitech" - never mind that the actual molds probably came from Academy or some other company. These models and the eBay source we got them from ("North Korea Store"!) live on as a reminder of those more innocent times ;-)

Anyway, with the recent completion of a set of Eureka's Soviet tankers, I figured that they should have a ride. I asked Conscript Greg for recommendations on resin T-72s, but in the end, I decided that the best option is the one you've already paid for, so I dug a Kitech T-72 kit out of the tub where it's spent the last 7+ years, and just assembled and painted the dam' thing.

The painting part was super-easy - I primed black then sprayed a coat of Rustoleum Army Green Camo Paint. I'd initially thought it might be too light a green, but after a coat of Agrax Earthshade it looks suitably Soviet, albeit maybe a bit faded, which is OK. The rubber skirts were painted with a mix of Catachan Green and Mechanicus Grey, then the whole model was lightly weathered with drybrushing in shades of brown.

The kit itself is funny... it's based on a motorized chassis that is shared in common with all of the models in the Kitech modern AFV range. So not only does the T-72 share a chassis/platform with the T-80 kit, it's also shared with the Merkava, Leopard 2, M1 Abrams, etc... meaning that the notional 1:48 scale is just that - notional.

The result is that the T-72 is somewhat larger than it should be... this is especially evident when compared to 28mm infantry models. It doesn't look bad in the foreshortened picture above, but the Kitech T-72 is quite a bit bigger than it should be, I think. However, back in the day, when true 1:48 or heaven forbid, 1:56 models of modern AFVs were not readily (or inexpensively) available, the North Korea Store came through with these models for something like $5 each. Good enough!

Some More Eureka Soviets

This has to be some kind of record... my wife got me these Eureka Soviet Tankers in Gasmasks for Christmas and I've already painted them!

A nice project for a winter's afternoon off from work, to be sure. These Soviets will make an excellent addition to the Chemical Commie platoon already on my shelf.

Although they differ from the rest of the mob, not being dressed in full NBC gear, I tried to demonstrate some continuity by giving the tankers grey gloves and yellow webbing, same as their NBC-clad comrades.

The tankers were painted with Citadel paints: uniforms XV-88, webbing Zamesi Desert, masks and hoses Pallid Wych Flesh, flamethrower and RPG-7 Castellan Green/Camo Green, "wood" Skrag Brown, gloves Mechanicus Standard Grey/Celestra Grey, and helmets highlighted with Mechanicus Standard Grey. Belts were to be Doombull Brown but it was dried up in the pot, so I mixed up something similar from scratch.

The models were washed with Agrax Earthshade and re-highlighted with the base colours. Done.

These guys are just great little models and have gotten me excited to stage another WWIII game in 28mm!

Tech-Priest, Dwarves, M113s, oh my!

Trying to squeeze in a few more posts before the end of the year... here are some models I've just finished for the Analogue Hobbies painting challenge.

First up is an old Citadel Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priest from the Rogue Trader era. This was a model I picked up recently from the estate of Tim, a friend of the Conscripts, who passed away suddenly last year. Godspeed, Tim.

The next group is some Hasslefree dwarves. These are really cracking little models, and very easy to paint.

The weapons and weapon hands are cast separately for flexibility in assembling your models.

For some reason I've been on a real fantasy kick lately - mainly due to the very cool stuff that "Oldhammer" aficionadoes have been posting on their blogs. Really gets the juices flowing to remember a simpler time, before skulls and "listhammer"...

Another order to Hasslefree is imminent.

Lastly we have some M113s from Baker Company, for my Eureka MOPP-suited Americans. Modern escalation has really been on lately - my Russians have scored a BMP-2 and Hind, so the Americans deserve an upgrade too.

The Baker Company models were a birthday present. As it happens, they are quite poor models and took a lot of work to get into acceptable shape. Baker realized this and sent a pack of Vietnam War US Army infantry with shotguns (!) as a sweetener, but unfortunately they're no good to me.

The stowage came from an ebay seller I've nicknamed the "South Korea Store" after the infamous "North Korea Store" that used to peddle those 1/48 Kitech armour kits for cheap. The resin stowage is great - albeit smelly - and you get a ton in a pack. This pack was designed for a Sherman tank but stowage is stowage, right?

I sculpted gas masks on the crewman to fit with the rest of the MOPP-suited force.
 

One of the tougher things to get my head around was the tactical markings that should go on these vehicles. After a ridiculous amount of Internet faffing about, I decided to go with "Reforger"-type exercise markings. At least with WW3 stuff no-one's gonna tell you you got it wrong!

Well that's my break done, back to the painting table and "Leafs/Red Wings 24/7". Stay warm kids!