Ninth Painting Challenge Entry - Downed 40k Valkyrie Crew

Two Valkyrie crewman walk away from a rough landing in...my kitchen...

A few weeks ago Sylvain dropped a points bomb into the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge in the form of his whacky "Viet Cron", Necrons from GW's 40k setting he had crafted and converted into pseudo-Viet-Cong-style insurgents.  It was a wonderful and bonkers tribute to GW's juvenile ethnic pandering among its factions.  In his posting, he named some Valkyries I had painted years ago and posted here on our blog as part of the inspiration for his project. Well, I wanted to acknowledge and honour that little shout-out in Sylvain's hilarious and well-done submission with a little tribute of my own, and that is the inspiration behind my ninth entry into the Challenge.


I thought perhaps the Viet-Cron could use some "targets", so I dug through my lead pile and found these two 28mm downed pilot figures.  I painted them with crew fatigues in a colour to match my Valkyrie models Sylvain had cited in his post.

These two figures are actually from the long-lost line of 28mm modern figures from Mongrel Miniatures.  They had a fantastic range covering the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and these two are actually Soviet helicopter crewmen.  Change the colours, and I think they make fine Valkyrie pilots for the 40k setting!

Sore shoulder from a rough landing on my counter-top

It's too bad the Mongrel figures are gone, as they were wonderful, wonderful sculpts, and I'm glad to have a sizeable collection. That's part of the reason I always buy way too many figures when I see some I like, as you just never know when they will disappear...

Some Imperial Guard storm troopers escort the pilots....

The recovery of downed pilots always makes for a good game background, particularly one with a (warped) hint of Viet-Cong-style insurgent flavour. So I thought these two figures would make ideal objective markers for when Sylvain and I manage to connect some time for a battle with the "Viet-Cron".  In the actual Vietnam war US forces often went to great lengths to recover pilots, and the knowledge in general among troops that their brothers- and sisters-in-arms will go to almost any length to recover fallen and trapped comrades seems, to my lazy civilian can, to be a prime instrument of motivation and camaraderie among the troops. So I thought these two would work for a themed game with the "Viet-Cron".

Of course, this is 40k, so it would need a dystopian twist.  The Imperials wouldn't just be out to rescue the pilots.  They would want to rescue them to ensure they didn't know too much, and then execute them properly, not trusting the Viet-Cron to do it. The pilots are rescued (killing many more Imperial troops in the process), interrogated and then shot by the Inquisition..happy ending for The Emperor, and something pyrrhic for the grim darkness of the far future...

"This way guys - what could go wrong?"

These two 28mm figures toss a paltry 10 points toward my score.I look forward to seeing Sylvain's bonkers Viet-Cron trying to hunt these hapless fellows down on the gaming table sometime this year!

Afghan Army Squad & T-55MV - 28mm

DRA squad, mortar team and T-55 MV

More stuff for Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.  In my email to Curt I gave this entry the pseudo-Ludlum-esque title of "The Afghan Assortment".  It includes a squad of DRA troops, a DRA mortar team and a T-55MV.  Apologies for the quality of some of the photos - I just couldn't get the light right...

DRA squad on the move

The infantry are from Mongrel Miniatures, a line now only available from UK retailer Newline Designs.  They represent the troops of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, the puppet regime the Soviets propped up with their 10-year occupation.  I always love the name of these Communist regimes - the DRA was hardly "democratic", and I don't think it was a "republic", but anyway...

DRA officer and radio trooper

The DRA forces were trained and equipped by the Soviets, in theory fighting the Mujahideen.  I'm sure they did that, but they often fought with them as well, turning against those who armed and trained them.  As such these are great models to have for my Afghanistan collection, as they can fight against the Soviets, or with them, or sometimes both in one scenario. They will fight with all of the credibility and reliability of an Environment Canada Climate guess forecast.

RPD gunner with his squad

The squad has eight troopers, including one with an RPD MG. The mortar team is a two-man group, and I quite like how they are flinching as they prepare to unleash another round...

DRA mortar team

I think these models would do to also represent today's Hamid Karzai Kleptocracy Heroin National Militia Afghan National Army. They would have more "western" kit, but I'm sure some part of their structure is still using Soviet-era equipment - the country was/is still awash with it.

The tank model is interesting - it is actually a 1/50 scale James Bond toy.  I believe the intrepid agent 007 drove one of these things to some net positive effect during the Peirce Brosnan era. And so of course there is a quite nice die-cast toy to commemorate the moment!  It really is a great little model, and paints up nicely. And how odd - it is so hard to find properly scaled 28mm modern tanks (i.e. not 1/56 scale) to see something so niche as a T-55MV appear in 28mm is really a surprise!

DRA troops with their T-55 MV

The T-55MV is an upgraded version of the venerable Soviet battle chariot, the T-55.  The "MV" version features reactive armour, improved optics, smokes launchers, an improved gun that can fire ATGM rounds down the tube and other bits.  I doubt the T-55MV would last very long against front line western tanks today (or even a T-80 or T-90), but it would give you a leg up against your neighbour's T-55s...

Fighting to ensure the security of heroin against terrorism in Afghanistan

The Soviet Union equipped the DRA with some T-55 units, but I doubt they went to the trouble to upgrade them to "MV" status, so this vehicle would be much more of a contemporary thing.  But it is still widely deployed - heck even the Russians still have a few - so the model will do nicely to represent everything from the current Afghan Heroin Smuggling Ring Regime to any generic "Republic of Bezerkostan" situation on the gaming table.

Curt's Painting Challenge continues - I am desperately clinging to 10th place, but I'm hoping to move up.  More submissions to follow...

28mm Downed Russian Helicopter Pilots

28mm downed Russian helo pilots from Mongrel Miniatures

The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge submissions conitnue to roll along, and as part of my efforts to cling to the top 10 of the group I have shifted to a few modern 28mm models that have been sitting in the pending pile for quite some time. 

These figures are 28mm downed Soviet Helicopter pilots, part of the amazing range of figures once sold by Mongrel Miniatures.  The Mongrel Miniatures figures are no longer sold independently, but are available from retailer NewLine Designs in the UK.

Mongrel Miniatures castings are beautiful and easy to paint

The Mongrel Miniatures line is one the absolute best 28mm lines out there, and I have a substantial force of their 1980s Soviets, Mujahideen and BAOR.  These Soviet pilots are a relatively late addition to the collection, but they will make great objective-type models for games set in Afghanistan.  They would also make good downed Elysian Valkyrie pilots in the 40k setting, as the green/khaki matches well with my Elysian forces.

"Which way to the base at Bagram?"

I love these sculpts - you can see the pain and worry on their faces...things suck when you don't have your Hind gunship handy!  I purchased two packs of these - I will paint the second pair in blue colours that match my sci-fi troops.