Control Battalion Armour - 15mm Sci Fi

Control Battalion armour - 1/87 scale fun for the table top!

The random summer painting entries continue - now up is some armour for my 15mm sci-fi Control Battalion troops. I am one of those gamers that believes "the future is now" when it comes to vehicles for sci-fi gaming.  Some don't like that - they want all their sci-fi vehicles to look like floating pill bottles or glowing orbs or whatever.  But I still love the look of a current tank, hyped up with extra crap like reactive armour, jammers, retrofitted engines and optics, to fit the look of the future.  These models are painted with this in mind!

Control Battalion wants to work collaboratively with you...

I wanted some specific armoured vehicles for my Khurasan Control Battalion 15mm troops.  The Control Battalion are some of the coolest looking sci-fi troops in any scale - soulless and eerie.  They needed some tanks to match. In my recent entry on Khurasan's T-90A I explained how spooky the tank looked, so the T-90 was a natural for promotion to Control Battalion duty.  Throw in this f***ed up Russian thing, and I was sold!

A BMP-T - perfect for Control Battalion!

These are 1/87 scale model kits from Arsenal M.  I learned about them from the incredible TacoBat. I had been looking for a T-90 in 15mm scale for some time, and these popped up.  I ordered them from a retailer in Germany.  These were the only version of the T-90 and BMP-T I could find in anything close to 15mm scale at the time.  They arrived in due course, and naturally sat forever in my "pending pile" as I was busy with other projects!  Finally got to them this month.

The "T-900" - an ideal Control Battalion platform

These kits are model kits - not gaming kits.  They are NOT for the faint of heart.  They are not cheap (not Forgeworld level pricing or anything like that, just not cheap), and they are a f****ing pain in the ass to put together. I have the modelling patience of a gnat - and these take a lot of work.  The chains of swear words that came out of my mouth when these f***ing things were being built rival anything the hobby gods have ever been berated with at my place.

Got that?

Small pieces, anyone? F**K!!!

The box hides the challenge inside...

The BMP-T waiting for basing and primer...very thin guns on that turret

They came together slowly but surely.  Painting them was delicate - they are made of a fairly sturdy plastic-resin, a kind of what-if-Finecast-didn't-suck material.  But they are still delicate - the BMP-T in particular is really fiddly when it comes to some of the turret components.  I hope they survive some gaming...

The 125mm main gun is delightfully oversized for sci-fi purposes

I can't dispute the casting quality - the detail is superb, great edges and lots of details.  And in case of the BMP-T, you got some brass bits to represent some of the armoured grating!! Nice touch.

Armed to the teeth - the BMP-T

Twin 30mm cannons, four AT missiles, and two 30mm automatic grenade launchers.  Ideal for peaceful resolution of issues.

I find it easy to imagine the T-90 in Control Battalion service - a sort of "T-900".  Instead of firing "Refleks" ATGM rounds, they are firing 125mm depleted-unobtanium rounds, coated with baby-seal-liver residue for extra hitting power, at their enemies.  The "Shtora" system, rather than trying to jam ATGMs, would actually project harmful radiation flashes at Control Battalion opponents, radiation the Control Battalion troops themselves see no effect from thanks to their genetically engineered makeup.

Khurasan Control Battalion vehicle crewman in the commander's hatch

I added a Control Battalion tank commander (a thoughtful set available from Khurasan) to one of the T-90s to try and help make the connection between the tanks and the troops.

The BMP-T looks like it rolled right into a sci-fi game.  Designed sometime around 2005 as mostly a prototype notion for the Russian Federal army, it is armed with AT missiles, grenade launchers, MGs and 30mm cannons.  I believe the BMP-T was conceived in the wake of the experience of the Russian army in Chechnya, especially places like Grozny, which were hard on armour.  This is supposed to be a kind of "tank escort" or "tank support" platform.  I don't think it is in any kind of serious service with the Russian army yet.

Control section on maneuvers with the BMP-T

Screw the Russian army - this thing screams Control Battalion.  Like the T-90, this thing sits perfectly in my estimation of an awesome sci-fi tank.  It looks like exactly the kind of vehicle that would accompany Control Units on their missions to establish order through force.  You know, in case "negotiations" broke down...

Khurasan T-90A on the right - Arsenal M 1/87 T-90 on the left

I ordered these models well before Khurasan came out with it's own T-90.  Naturally going with Khurasan tanks for Khurasan infantry might make sense, but the Khurasan T-90 is smallish for sci-fi purposes - again, nothing wrong with the scaling by Khurasan - extremely accurate in my view - just small for sci-fi.  Plus it would not fit with the 1/87 BMP-T. So I stuck with the Arsenal M T-90s for this project.

Control section on maneuvers with a T-900

I find the 1/87 tanks look much more imposing beside the 15mm sci-fi troops, and whereas the actual Khurasan T-90A fits the compact design philosophy of the late Soviet Union/Russia, this larger model looks great with the ominous Control Battalion troops. On the 1/87 vehicle, the road wheels go almost half-way up the the height of the average Control Battalion infantryman - very cool!

But if you are looking for a 15mm T-90 for a modern project, go with the Khurasan tank.  I would only consider the Arsenal M kit if you want a larger tank for whatever reason, have a lot of patience and some money you want to waste...go for these suckers! They nearly made me snap my crayons, but it was fun in the end!

Another view of the T-900

I am still trying to find the right APCs/IFVs for the control battalion troops.  I have a few candidates in mind - stay tuned for details! And for more random summer painting...

Khurasan T-90 Tank - 15mm Scale

Khurasan's T-90A main battle tank

Another random painting entry to share - this time one of Khurasan's new 15mm Russian T-90A tanks.  I purchased a three-tank platoon of these models when they were released (earlier this year, I think).  Khurasan has recently made a somewhat halting entry into the ultra-modern 15mm sphere with this release, and the release of a US M1A2 Abrams and some ultra-modern US 15mm infantry.

An attempt at the more contemporary Russian AFV camo

I love tanks, and the T-90 is one of my favourite vehicles.  I really like the look of up-gunned, later model tanks - the late model Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs, the IDF Super Shermans and upgraded Centurions are all good examples.  It speaks to the reality of limited resources on military structures - sure, you are always trying to get the latest and most modern stuff you can afford into your line units, but often the most affordable and/or quickly attainable thing to do is find a way to throw a heavier gun, another layer of armour, and after-market versions of advanced support systems onto the tanks you already have. Plus it just looks cooler.

Side view - the smoke launcher arrays are metal - thank god!

The Soviet/Russian tank lineup is full of these kinds of things. So many T-55s, T-62s and T-72s and T-80s have been built over the years, and found so much use, that you see a lot of tanks, whose design originated twenty, thirty or sometimes forty years ago (or more) still lumbering into action with updated guns, reactive armour packages, improved MGs, night-fighting kit and other bits all bolted on to the exterior.

QRF T-80BV for comparison

The T-90 is the penultimate example of this - essentially a T-72 maxed out with upgrades. Whatever the combat merits of all of these enhancements, it sure makes the tank look cool and spooky as hell.  The sharp angles of the reactive armour package on the T-90 look extra sinister, more so than the other up-armoured Soviet designs.  The contrast between the size of the overall vehicle and its 125mm main gun borders on 40k standards.  And the "Shtora" jamming system (the boxes to either side of the main gun) looks downright eerie - a Jawa face with a huge cannon.  I love this tank.

Of course, using this tank on the table calls for contrived situations, as it has never seen any action with the Russian Army (at least that I know of), or with any of the client states who have purchased it as an export or for local manufacture under license (I believe India is doing this).  The T-90 is not really part of any realistic Cold-War-Gone-Hot scenarios unless you do a good bit of what-if-ing.  I don't think any T-90s were ever deployed with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany - I don't think it was ready by the time the Soviet Union collapsed.

QRF BMP-2D for comparison

The T-90 is an interesting topic in gaming circles.  A lot of us armour geeks assign it an almost mystical, Tiger-tank-like aura, given its rarity in actual deployment, its cool look, and a sense that something called "T-90" has to be like 18 times better than something called "T-72" and 45 times better than something called "T-55".  It is the hope for a level game with the over-powered NATO MBTs.  I doubt it truly is - after all, it is still, at its core, a 30-year-old design, no matter the sexy kit crammed into it and on to it.

On the other hand, comment forums involving the T-90 tend to fill with derision for any Warpac/Russian vehicle, and somehow seem to base this conclusion on the performance of T-72s in Syrian and, even more so, Iraqi hands. This comparison is delusional and simplistic. The T-90 is an upgraded T-72, but to assume it would fare in Russian action as well as the doomed Republican units of T-72s in the Iraqi army is just silly.

With some Eureka 15mm modern Russian infantry

The Khurasan model is...adequate.  It is certainly the finest 15mm T-90 you'll find, but also the only one. I know it is heresy to question Khurasan, but I found myself slightly disappointed with this - the resin body of the tank and the turret are detailed, but not as crisp as I would wish, to catch all of the various edges of the reactive armour plates. The metal bits are sooo nice - a reliably tough turret MG, and metal smoke launchers (thank god!!).  But the resin is not so crisp.  I feel like this could have been a little better...but I am probably the only one, however.  At least Khurasan is trying some modern stuff, and it fills a big gap in gaming demand for modern 15mm.  Lots of us have wanted a T-90 model, but this is the only one out there - it truly fills a hole.

The other challenge you might encounter would be using it for sci-fi.  The T-90 totally has the right look for sci-fi, but this model is very, very small next to other 15mm sci-fi armour, both from Khurasan's line and others.  Next to the Nova Respublik tanks, for example, this thing looks like a scout tank.  I don't think there is a problem with the Khurasan T-90's scaling - it's just that the other sci-fi tanks are big suckers.

I go nuts painting the lenses - probably too much - but I find they make the tank look more alive/active

I have two more of these models to paint, so I hope to round out the platoon for some "what-if" situations in 15mm modern gaming. Maybe Mike F can paint up some Leopard IIs to represent Canada's current ultra-modern armour contingent... 

Modern Russians/Neo-Soviets/Gazprom Security Solutions

Finally finished the modern Russians. I can't even remember when I originally got all this stuff. I think Greg and I need to have a "Crisis in Kablikistan" or something similar with some of his Russian Kit.

Painted T-90s - 1/50 Scale From Imprint

1/50 scale T-90 MBTs from Imprint, with 28mm Soviet in NBC gear from Eureka

This summer has been lovely here in Winnipeg, but we had rain all day on Sunday this past weekend.  This was good for a couple of reasons - first the garden really, really needed the rain, and second, I was able to finish off my Imprint 1/50 scale diversion by painting up the T-90 MBTs.

The Russian T-90 tank is a wargamer fanboy favourite of mine, based purely on the looks-cool-factor.  The angled explosive armour blocks on the front of the turret, the spooky anti-ATGM jammers on either side of the main gun, the stacked/angled smoke launchers on the sides of the turret, and the remote-controlled 14.5mm MG on the cupola, and of course the massive nearly-over-sized 125mm main gun all serve to give the T-90 a very, very ultra-modern/NF sci-fi look. 

The T-90 is a heavily upgraded T-72 tank.  Russia has a small number in service ("small" as in relative to their still large tank fleet, even after all of the reductions to their armed forces).  India has a version of the T-90 in service.  Other nations have looked at this vehicle from time to time, but I don't know if they have been ordered/used....others on the interwebs will be wiser on this matter than me... 

I am not enough of a tread-head to give an informed opinion of how the T-90 would stack up against the latest western MBTs.  I expect the M1A2s, Challenger 2s and Leopard 2A6s would defeat this tank on most measurements, but superior crew training and maintenace would be major factors regardless of the competing systems on the tanks. I would expect the T-90s would easily handle any third-world/former soviet republic opponents (upgraded T-55s, T-62s and T-72s with lesser upgrade packages), and with a trained/experienced crew and support, would give NATO tankers all they could handle

The T-90 appears to be ominous and awesome looking - regardless of how they would actually perform on the battlefield - and that counts for a lot on the gaming table.  Overall, I think it is a good thing for the world that the T-90 hasn't yet acquired a detailed "in action" record on the battlefield when you consider that they are in service with nations that, should a T-90 unit be called to action, chances are some manner of very scary global security crisis is underway.

The T-90 model from Imprint is top-notch, just like all of the other Imprint products I have ever worked with.  The model is mostly resin, but key pieces are metal - such as the gun barrel and the MG, as well as the cupola turrets, so you can model them open/un-buttoned if you wish.  The only modification needed to make the vehicles game-survivable was to add magnets under the turret and on the main body of the MBT - I can't believe I actually managed to do this without screwing it up too badly...

For the paint scheme I employed the same one I used on the BTR-80s.  The yellow on the camouflage came out a little more prominently for some reason, so I may go back to the tanks and try and dull the yellow down a bit.  I used paints from the new GW range for the most part, with weathering powders at the end.

T-90 on the left, a BTR-80 (also from Imprint) on the right

Together with the BTR-80s and 80As, my Chemical Commies can now expect both a nice ride and some heavy-duty fire support against their NATO/Zombie/Insrugent/Rebel/Seperatist/Big Pharma/ opponents on the Fawcett Avenue tabletop.  Of course the T-90 never really appeared in the time when Russia was still a communist state, so I suppose these would not count as "Chemical Commies", but "Chemical Putin Federalists" doesn't have the same ring to it...

My Golan Heights project is still fully underway - see the picture below for some goodies that just arrived in the post, including infantry and tanks from Peter Pig, and some T-62s from QRF.  Stay tuned!

Goodies in the mail....