Judge Dredd Sovs from Mongoose

Before current license-holders Warlord Games started to tear up the Judge Dredd gaming world, Mongoose Miniatures had the license and raised a little Hell of their own. One thing they did was a massive Kickstarter campaign back in 2012... the last of which was still being delivered in 2018!

Anyway, back at that time Conscript Perry was a backer of the Kickstarter and asked me if I wanted to share in his support. Did I! I ended up getting a bunch of stuff from the campaign, including these Sov/East-Meg "Apocalypse War" Judges that just hit the painting table. Above is Judge Officer Gagarin.

Here's Senior Judge Drago. Some notes on painting: pads and helmet trim are Mephiston Red washed with Red Ink, with Nuln Oil applied around the edges. Black bodysuits were highlighted a dark grey. Gloves, boots and ammo pouches are Catachan Green highlighted with Camo Green. Speaking of the ammo pouches... I know that in the comics, you sometimes see these coloured red, but I thought they looked better in green matching the gloves and boots. So there.

Judges Tretiak and Federov.

Judges Markov and Kozlov.

The Karpov MF7 Sentenoid in its full glory... this is a pretty cool model.

"Drokk! Satellat!"

The Satellat... a sentient helper-robot-drone that assisted Orlok in introducing the Block-Mania virus into Mega-City One's water supply, prior to the Apocalypse War. TMI???

Lastly, here's some of the group posing alongside a Rad-Sweeper, the main Sov armoured vehicle used in the Apocalypse War. Readers will note that the Rad-Sweeper is represented by the T-640 tank I built, converted and painted for my FuturKom force, years ago... funny how these things can cross over!

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!

Painting Challenge Submission 13 - Female WW2 Russian Scout in 28mm

Death to the fascist invaders! 28mm figure from Warlord Games' "Bolt Action" range.

In Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, I continue to plot my way along the "Challenge Island" map (for info on how and why the participants do that, see here).  I needed another balloon ride, and so I looked for another chance to paint a female figure.  The Soviet Army of WW2 offered a great opportunity to do so.

28mm Female Russian Infantry Scout

Dangerous work, close to the enemy - a female scout for my 28mm winter WW2 Russians.

As you have seen I have been working on a 28mm winter WW2 project.  Amid the many submissions involving various late WW2 Germans, a few have asked if and when their tabletop opposition might appear? Well, I'm hoping Dallas will get his 28mm winter US troops organized for some "Battle of The Bulge" games.  But in terms of painting opposition myself, well, I'm focused on the Eastern Front as always, so this is the first opponent - a 28mm Female Russian Infantry Scout.  This is a metal figure from Warlord Games' "Bolt Action" Range.

As always, great details on these metal sculpts from Warlord.

The "scout" set from Warlord's WW2 Russian figure range is not intended for winter, strictly speaking.  They are sculpted wearing the "ameoba" style body suits, which are often seen in browns and a (rather bright) green.  So I'm taking artistic license of a sort - I don't think it's a huge reach, as scouting would still need to be done during the winter fighting, so I just painted the suit white instead.  Warlord also tends to give you some options for alternate heads for the figures, and they include a female head among them - so I thought this would be a great figure to accompany a passage on Lady Sarah's Balloon.

No reason the scout suits couldn't be white, right?

The war in the east in WW2 was so tremendous and vast in scale.  I read about it, I try to study it...but it is hard to truly understand or picture, such a complete and total mobilization of an entire people across vast distances in an all-out effort to repel the Germans and their allies, and vanquish them totally.  Of course all the main countries in the conflict did the most they could to pit their entire national power into the effort - it was total war. But in the east, and Russia in particular...the scale, it was incredible, and the sacrifice it took - the numbers get so large, so fast, they sort of lose their impact.

Russian women - fighting at the front lines.

Women made tremendous contributions to the Allied war effort in many countries. But in the case of Russia, this contribution stood out to my mind.  Russian women - hundreds of thousands of them - served in what were thought of as traditional non combatant roles - nurses, medical support, industry.  But huge swathes of Russian territory came under occupation, and as the front lines found the Russian people, Russian women made important contributions to front-line fighting.  As pilots, snipers, partisans, machine gunners, all in the front line - decorated for bravery and courage under fire, and in untold cases, making the ultimate sacrifice along side so, so many of their fellow people.

Once again, some fine blanquette from Limoux to enjoy during the balloon trip.

Bad Squiddo Games have some fantastic sculpts of female Russian soldiers - just look here for some examples painted by the incredibly talented Dave V. I will look to add one of their sniper teams down the road. But the scouts will work for now, and I thought it would be great to have one of my first 28mm Russian painted as part of the small scouting squad, the first of what I hope will be a healthy-sized collection of 28mm Winter Russians to oppose all of the Germans I have been painting.  Scouting is dangerous work, but she is more than up to the task...we see here she has snuck into a position, and is tossing a grenade toward some unwary invaders...

This balloon trip involves a perilous destination...

This figure allowed me to take a balloon trip directly to the centre of "Challenge Island", where Curt will hit me with a hobby challenge to complete prior to March 21st. Stay tuned for more on that.  In the meantime, thanks for looking!

Another 1/72 T-34 from PSC

T-34/85 in 1/72 scale - plastic kit from Plastic Soldier Company, metal barrels from RB Models.

I hate to switch back to WW2 after there has been so much awesome Adeptus Titanicus escalation, but here is another bit of 20mm armour - another T-34/85 in 1/72 scale from the Plastic Soldier Company.  The commander is popped out of the hatch, a useful gimmick to indicate a platoon or company commander as required within various rule sets.

Machined barrel from RB models.

The new metal barrel in place on the turret.

There is one slight difference with this T-34/85 - I swapped out the plastic main gun barrel from the kit and used a metal one from RB Models.  I have seen other super cool advanced modeling/painting folks doing stuff like this. I'm no IPMS-type, but thought I would try it out for myself. The metal barrels are awesome, look great, and it is very easy to cut the plastic one off of the PSC kit and replace it with the metal component. This was gonna be SO cool...

View from the rear, tried to have the exhaust look a bit mucky.

Another view of the metal barrel...

And in the end it looks...almost identical to the other T-34/85s in my collection. It's not a huge change...more of a subtle difference. I love the idea of the machined barrels (and will probably try something like this on some 1/72 German tanks I am looking to paint, which have some elaborate muzzle brakes) but, at least for the T-34s, it didn't really change anything. Oh well - still fun to practice!

Decals are 1/72, also available from PSC.

Pretty easy to build, and straightforward to paint...these kits from PSC are addictive!

That's six T-34s for my 20mm Soviet collection.  I still have several boxes of these things from PSC...while I feel like you can "never have too many T-34s" there are some limits...I'll probably paint at least one more platoon, and then start painting some others in winter white-wash camo.  

A column of T-34s moves out on the gaming table...a total of six T-34s finished so far, more to come...

Painting more T-34s might be something I try during the 10th Edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, which begins on December 21st! Byron and Mike F are participating along with me this year, and while I encourage you to check everything out over at the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge blog page, be sure to watch this space as well, to see what existing and new projects are spurred forward by the Painting Challenge!

More Random WW2 Painting - 20mm Soviets

Some random 20mm WW2 Soviets.

I haven't posted in a while, but I have been managing to keep the paint brushes going.  For some weeks now I have been really stuck into WW2 painting subjects - this isn't so unusual overall, as I really enjoy gaming the period - but given that interest, output on that topic has been extremely sparse over the past few years.  I feel like I have been trying to make up for that in the past six weeks...and here are some more products from those efforts - some 20mm WW2 Russians.

As with the random 15mm Germans I posted earlier in the month, these models were all sitting in a big pile in a box (see photo), a thing that passes for "organization" when it comes to my hobby hoard.  I was probably "just about to paint" these back in 2015 or 2016 or something, but then tossed them suddenly away as my squirrel-like attention span was swept up into some other project.

Part of my WW2 "Pile Of Shame" - a mix of 15mm and 20mm figures and vehicles. I'm trying to clear up at least SOME of this backlog!

One thing when I move on to something and leave a project behind is that I often forget what paints I used and in which combination I used them.  So these were kind of "test models" to see if I could get back on the Soviet WW2 wagon.

A BA-64 armoured car (from SHQ) and a messenger (from PSC).

The wee BA-64 (sitting primed on my desk for years!) is an all-metal model from SHQ Miniatures. I think the scale of the vehicle is probably more 1/76 than 1/72, but I'm not 100% certain, and at any rate it is hard to tell as the BA-64 is such a wee vehicle! This little vehicle will help with scouting and some light fire support on my gaming tables.

The Russian uniform came out a bit too dark, but I was happy with the green on the armoured car.

There is also a single infantry model - this is a 1/72 plastic figure from the Plastic Soldier Company. He is not armed, but can serve as a dispatch/messenger, which can have a specific application in games like "Battlegroup" or just serve as an objective in general in many of the other systems we play.

I was trying to figure out the mix of colours I had previously used for the Russian khaki...this came out too dark.  I think I have the right colours, but not the right mix.  I'll need to keep experimenting - and write it down after I get it right!!!

T-34/85s from PSC - prepared to crush the fascists!

The T-34s are 1/72 plastic models also from the Plastic Soldier Company.  PSC had a sale a few years ago, and I must have really stocked up, because I found I have like four boxes of these things! Oh well, in just about any scale of WW2 Eastern Front game, you can always use a lot of T-34s...

I rough my tanks up a lot...maybe too much, but I like the battle-worn look.  It seems right for the Eastern Front!

The PSC models give me heartburn at times - why, oh why, are the tracks in multiple pieces?!?! But I suspect that's just me. Most people (any non-bot reading this) will not have the same challenges I routinely encounter...overall, these are EXCELLENT kits, a great value and a great way to build up a big Soviet WW2 armoured force. If you look closely, you will see I mucked up on the tracks...but, that's me - with some common sense, you'll avoid those issues easily.

And hey, paint them and muck'em up, and they're good to go!

As a bonus, these models come with two turrets, so you can use them for the earlier, more classic T-34/76 variant.  I have not painted the 76mm turrets yet, as my interests are much more late war than mid-war for now.

Curt will often refer to painting in this scale as "God's Own Scale". We all laugh - of course, all of us have our preferences for scales/periods etc - but he does have a point - I find painting the WW2 figures in this scale very, very fun! While my 15mm collection is much larger, my 20mm WW2 collection is growing slowly-but-surely.  These were great fun, and I hope to do more during the approaching Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. 

Soviet AGS-17s for "Team Yankee"

Soviet AGS-17s for "Team Yankee" - 15mm figures from Battlefront.

One more bit of painting for "Team Yankee" - this is another small project that has been sitting, primed and ready to go, for over a year. While I have been working on the recent bits to reinforce my Canadians, I decided to tackle these at the same time, even though they will be fighting for the other side. These are AGS-17 teams, a heavy weapon team option available to support Soviet motor rifle forces in the "Team Yankee" game.  The models are from Battlefront (although the bases are from the fine people at Warbases).

Some poor casting leads to awkward-looking poses on the gunners...and some awful gaps at the wrists.

The AGS-17 is a type of automatic grenade launcher. It seems like a pretty scary weapon. As if the Soviet Motor Rifles didn't have enough firepower to back them up already! Woe to the NATO troops who linger too long while Warsaw Pact infantry forces set up these things to root them out...

I have no idea why I crowed these figures at the front of the large bases...oh well, at least now they are painted after sitting, primed and ready to go, for over a year!

These castings are metal figures from Battlefront.  The sculpting is good, but as is so often the case, the casting quality was very poor, unfortunately.  A close examination will reveal a gap between the hands of the AGS-17 gunners (which are part of the weapon castings) and the wrists of the gunner - the gunner and the weapons did not match up in many cases.  Fortunately you don't really notice that from an average tabletop distance. 

Some gaps at the wrists on a number of the gunners...

I believe the Soviet player in "Team Yankee" has the option of attaching one of these bases to each motor rifle company in a battalion.  They can also be used to support the airborne/heliborne infantry units. Between all of the BMPs, all of the dismounts and the PKM MG teams,  Soviet assaults in "Team Yankee" won't be lacking firepower...I look forward to trying these fellows out the next time we give "Team Yankee" a spin.

Team Yankee: Five More T-64s and the Soviets Are Done!

So, as the last of the Soviet T-64s are done, I thought I'd post some pics of them!

What can I say about Battlefront's plastic tanks? They're absolutely top-notch. I thought I'd throw on some mine ploughs on a couple of the models as they sometimes come in handy!

The T-64 is just wicked looking.

Here's the whole tank battalion. Fifteen T-64s with a motor rifle company (12 BMP-2s). Support comes from a battery of Acacia SP guns and two Hind attack helicopters. Air defense is provided by two ZSU-23-4 Shilkas.

T-64s

Motor Rifle Company

BMP-2s

Mil Mi-24 Hind

2S3 Acacia

ZSU-23-4

Whew! Quite a bit of work in there, but certainly an adequate Soviet force for most of the games we'd play. I was lucky to find a Krylon camouflage spray paint that worked perfectly for the Soviet vehicles, but sadly it seems to be discontinued. Good thing I've got this stuff painted!