Early '80's Soviets

1:100 A-10 from Revell

Soviet Inf from Peter Pig

T-72's from QRF in one of Byron's excellent storage boxes

T-64's from QRF w/ ERA

ZSU 23-4 with scratch built gun because QRF didn't send one. This a blessing in disguise when one considers the quality of QRF gun barrels.

BMP 2's from QRF w/ replacement barrel's

Mi-24 Hind D from QRF. Metal bits are very soft. I think the molds are old as the resin was badly pitted. It is however, the only 1:100 scale Hind out there. There are a few details I had to add using green stuff that aren't sculpted onto the model.

More Pico Armour Painting

1/600 scale IDF troops ready for action

Some more Pico Armour painting - this time from the Arab-Israeli wars.  Up first is a group of IDF infantry in M3 half-tracks.  Depending on what level of abstraction is going on in the game, these could represent either a couple of platoons of infantry, or if going Spearhead-style (where each base represents a platoon), an entire mechanized infantry battalion.  The two smaller square bases have support half tracks - one an AA track with .50 cal MGs, and the other mounting a 90mm AT gun.

M3 half tracks a-plenty

Magachs ready to roll

Up next is a group of M48 Pattons - known as "Magachs" in IDF service.  As they did so often, the IDF modified these tanks, giving them a bigger gun (105mm, up from 90mm) and changing the commander's cupola, removing the strange little MG turret. These models do not capture those changes - on a 3mm scale tank, I don't worry too much about it, but I have to say the muzzle brakes and camera (or whatever that box thing is) over the main gun give it away - a credit to the amazing sculpting on these little figures.

You can see a couple of the M113 TOWs mixed in with the Magachs here - sorry about the blurry pic

There are a few M113s with TOW launchers mixed in with this group.  The Yom Kippur War was a real coming out party of sorts for ATGM weapons like the Soviet Sagger and the US TOW missiles.  The IDF used these weapons as part of their crushing of the Egyptian offensive toward the passes in the Sinai.

BMP-mounted infantry and support

Company or battalion, depending on the game scale

On the Arab side I have a unit of BMP-1 infantry, with an attached BRDM scout car and a ZSU-23-4 AAA tank.  Again, depending on the game, these could represent either a company or a battalion.  The BMP-1 made its big combat debut in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, but the results were not great.  They equipped a few infantry battalions attached to independent tank brigades in the Egyptian and Syrian armies.

T-62s ready for action in the Sinai

An attached ZSU-23-4 and PT-76, used as a recon tank, provide support

And last but not least a group of Egyptian T-62 tanks, again with a couple of odds and ends for support.  The T-62 also made it's big time combat debut in the middle east during the 1973 war, but they were roughly handled by the IDF.  Still, their heavy main guns and unique ammunition (I believe this tank was a pioneer of sorts for using fin-stabilized rounds in the main guns) were noted.

I've got a lot more Pico Armour painted up, but I ran out of bases, so I am waiting for my next Litko shipment to arrive.  In the meantime, stay tuned for more random projects and painting work.

More Pico Armor Fun

Soviet T-72 tank, BMP-2 APC and infantry section - and a Canadian penny

Over the past few years I have periodically dabbled in the Oddzial Osmy's 3mm tanks and troops (example here).  We have even played a game of Cold War Commander using them (back in 2008, I think, but I'm guessing - I couldn't find it on the blog, so it must have been a while).

Motor rifle company in BMP-2s

I am very impressed with the sculpting and casting quality of this range - these are really, really neat.  And the scale offers a chance to "air out" the game a little bit on the table, with engagement ranges that "look" more realistic on the table, and crowds of armour that don't crowd up.  But would this catch up with other gamers?

BMP command unit (round base), BRM recon track, and a platoon of BRDM AT launchers

When I had first purchased these figures I based them in groups, so each stand would literally represent a platoon. But the look still didn't quite work for me - I have always loved tons of tanks on the gaming table, but disliked the "hub to hub" effect this produced in terms of the look.  This happens even with the smaller size figures like 15mm (for examples, see nearly any Flames of War game).  

ZSU-23-4s - an essential for any Warsaw Pact commander

The hub-to-hub effect happens for a lot of reasons on the gaming table which I'm not going to drone on about here.  I thought 3mm might solve it, but the group bases still looked crowded...even allowing for the smaller scale, the tank platoon, for example, still looked crammed into the square base. 

Before on the right, after on the left

T-72 command base (20mm round)

There are certainly times when armoured vehicles mass on the battlefield, but generally they are quite spread out. How to get this on a reasonable sized table, while still playing with a ton of tanks?  I started to experiment with individual basing for the 3mm stuff last summer - example here.  Recently I finished another round of the figures, and re-based some of my previous stuff on individual bases, enough to get tonight's game going.

T-72 company

I think Oddzial Osmy has a devoted fan base - the range is very, very comprehensive and new stuff keeps coming out. Check out the Pico Armor online store to see for yourself. On forums like TMP, however, I have often seen the small scale panned on the grounds that the figures are impossibly small, and "might as well be paper counters".

Leopard C1 squadron

TMP door-knobs aside, 3mm will not be for everyone. For me, it is a lot of fun to work on these little tanks and troops.  It is a challenge to find the right colour shades to make the figures more visible, to shape the groundwork a little bit, etc. You can get a pile of them for a small sum, the range is unbelievably complete, and I even love that they mildly evoke counters - after all, I was a huge fan Avalon Hill games like "France 1940".  I'm also a big Cold War tank geek, so I can "see" the shape of the vehicles right away.  I'm not sure that will hold for the more casual participant.  These will probably need some labels to help with identification. 

Another view of the Leopard C1s

Will this work for gaming? We'll see tonight - we will be playing an imaginary WW3 game, using the overall Soviet invasion plot of the 1984 movie "Red Dawn", in which three Soviet army groups crossed the Bering Straight and tried to link up with a southern Communist pincer coming up from Mexico.  The Soviets are trying to pass through Brandon on their way to the states - and the Canadian Forces have a little something to say about it!

Finished Syrian ZSU-23-4 AAA Tank - 15mm Old Glory

ZSU-23-4 AAA Tank from Old Glory

Another vehicle finished for my Golan Heights Project - a Syrian ZSU-23-4, a 15mm model from Old Glory.  I used the same painting approach as I did for the T-55s from Peter Pig. I did not put any vehicle numbers or marking on this tank, however, as I was not sure where they would have been placed on the vehicle.

The quad 23mm canons on this model are barely hanging together

This model is nicer than the Old Glory T-62s, but not as nice as the stuff from Peter Pig (although check here for an interesting discussion on TMP about some shortcomings I was not aware of on their older T-55 models - I don't care, I still love them - but I digress).  This model had some nice bits of stowage - tow cables, a shovel, even a camo tarp stashed on the back.  But the quality of the casting leaves something to be desired - there was a lot of flash and bad mould lines.

I used weathering powders over the engine and the exhaust

Far and away the worst feature of the model is the very delicate, impossible to assemble quad 23mm cannons that serve as the focus of the vehicle.  They have the sturdiness of spaghetti and are basically hanging together by a prayer.  I doubt they will survive the first appearance on the table top....on this basis alone, I would not recommend this model to other gamers - but then I'm not sure there are many options out there.

This angle shows more of the weathering on the tracks and road wheels

These vehicles formed an important part of the Syrian's very effective air defences in the opening hours of the battle on the Golan Heights in 1973.  The pilots from the Israeli Air Force were not able to effectively counter the Syrian assault - between the SA-6s, SA-2s and ZSU-23-4s, the IAF A-4s were blown from the sky in large numbers.  This would change as Israel gradually reclaimed the initiative and took the battle to the Syrians, but for the first few days, tanks like this one extracted a heavy price from the IAF.

As a wargamer I have always thought the ZSU-23-4 is one of the coolest pieces of Soviet/Russian Cold War kit.  The quad cannons look downright ominous.  I find most gamers imagine using these weapons against opposing infantry and light vehicles, as opposed to the enemy aircraft, and I am no exception - this has happened a fair bit in our 28mm modern games - but I'm sure on the actual battlefield the crew was to keep their eyes on the sky, and not on the ground.

Ready to move out against the defenders of the Golan Heights

The Old Glory T-62s are up next.  Stay tuned!