Some new bits...

Being able to easily source vehicles and scenery is a mixed blessing - great availability means that 'pocket money' rapidly dwindles!

Deagostini diecast 1/72nd 'Berlin Brigade' Chieftain, dirtied down with a light black wash. Figure is a Platoon 20, to give an idea of size...

Oxford diecast (1/76th) Volkswagens - The pickup will get a 'lift out' MG in the back at some stage, to make a technical for my NATO partisans. At that point it'll probably also get a very gentle weathering. the golf is really just to use as scatter scenery - I'm not sure how many cars I'm going to want/need for games. On the one hand, most people are likely to have used their car to flee the oncoming fighting (inspite of the West German authorities telling people to stay in their homes), so there won't be many about, but on the other, if a large number of refugees have moved through an area I imagine there will be a reasonable number abandoned (run out of petrol, broken down, or just ditched as people try to make faster progress/seek cover on foot)  

Thanks goodness the continentals like model railways. At one point I thought 'Modern' German scenery might be nigh on impossible to find...  HO (1/87th) scenery is readily available (and, on eBay second hand, cheap). This house came to under £3 including postage. Now, I've had to paint it (the producer - and I don't know if it was Faller, Vollmer, Pola, Kibri or some one else - supplies the different sections cast in an appropriate coloured plastic, so they are pre-coloured but the models look like toys rather than models) but it didn't take too long, and I didn't find myself losing interest as I often do with 28mm scenery. 

A bit of multi-scale showing off. Compared the to the Chieftain, the house really is a bit small, but compared to the car and the figure, it isn't too bad. The figure, without its base of washer, could happily use the doors, however once mounted up he'd have a few more problems. Inspite of that, the buildings should give the table a suitably modern look and won't look too out of scale most of the time. Which is good really as I've got another 5 to finish.

Oh, the grey building in the background is a 28mm '3rd world concrete' house or shop. I've got a couple of them, but thought it'd to to use as a backdrop rather than just having piles of books, etc... (actually, despite being used, there are still piles of books, book cases and coats on chairs.... hmmmm...)

Airfix IS-3 Review

I picked up a IS-3 on ebay the other day - I had an idea of using it as a heavy support for my Polish Partizans (I just like the profile of the IS-3. It is an iconic piece of early cold war hardware, and wanted to incorporate it somehow.) 

During the late 40's/early 50's, the USSR supplied Poland with a pair of IS-3 tanks,  but they never saw any service. Instead, they were put on display, presumably as signs of 'Communist Union'. (Here's a picture of one of them in a museum somewhere in Poland...)

Anyway, the thought is that if one of these beasts is sitting on display somewhere, it wouldn't have been too hard for some partizans to 're-purpose' it - I had visions of it being trucked off somewhere for 're-painting', and never coming back, much to the chagrin of the policeman who had stood by and watched it. (This is also partly inspired by one of the factions in Arma II, who have a T-34 from a similar disreputable source...). 

I'm planning to keep the paint scheme similar to the one in the photo, but adding the Polish flag across the front (as opposed to the diamond shaped checks  used on Polish army vehicles) and the 'Solidarity' slogan along the track guards...

Anyway, enough of my plans - on to the review. The kit was fairly simple (67 pieces) and went together quickly and generally fairly easily. Detail was acceptable - infact, perfectly suited for gaming. What was strange was the lack of care in the moulding - the part ID numbers on the track sections were moulded on the visible side, rather than the reverse. It wasn't hard to remove them, but it was just a bit of hassle. The vents on the muzzle of the barrel were completely absent from one side, and there were very visible mould marks. Again, it wasn't too hard to remedy the fact, but it just seemed a pity. 

I'll put pictures up once I've got the paint job sorted...

Elhiem Miniatures Figure Review & Scale comparison

Matt at Elhiem (http://www.elhiemfigures.com/) kindly sent me some sample figures from his cold war ranges so I could see how they match up with everything else - in this case a Soviet RPG operator in body armour, and a BAOR CG trooper. 

The figures look good - mould lines are minimal, there's no flash and casting is crisp. The sculpting standard is very high - the equipment is all distinct, but kept to realistic proportions, and the poses look very natural.

In terms of how they compare size wise, they are a little taller than Platoon 20, Liberation & Combat, but still a fair bit shorter than Under fire. The picture below shows the height of 'standing' figures (I foolishly forgot to include a Liberation model in this, but they will be the same size as P20...)

From the left: Combat/Hotspur, Platoon 20, Platoon 20, Combat/Hotspur, Elhiem, Under Fire

From the Left: Platoon 20, Combat/Hotspur, Elhiem

So there is a slight height variation between 'upright' figures, but if the figures are moving, hunched down (below) the variation is a lot less noticeable... 

From the left: Platoon 20, Elhiem, Liberation, Combat/Hotspur

The major 'give-away' therefore will be in terms of the size of the figures equipment (Ooo-eer!) - RPG-7's & CGs. Unfortunately I can only give comparisons with Platoon 20 in this respect, are the differences are varied. The warhead on the P20 RPG is significantly smaller, but the body of the launcher looks to be about the same size. The Carl Gustavs are about the same length, but the Elhiem version is a little finer...

So.... The verdict. Lovely figures, and they mix relatively well with the others - but not so well I could mix them in squads (and possibly not in platoons...). Definitely looking to get some more in the future, but maybe not masses...

Figure choices for NATO Partisans

This is really more of an addendum to my previous post about partisans, but when it comes to ordering time I'm going to do some thinking about the sort of visual aesthetics I'm going to plum for. Pictures courtesy of the internet - most are of Balkans irregulars and militia....

Realistically, I'm going to be getting the figures from Liberation, as they have the largest range of non-islamic irregulars with long arms (although Platoon 20 & Combat both have a good selection with assorted weapons, for FoF assault/semi-auto rifles are the key). Between their Eastern European, Urban Terror & Multi-purpose ranges there  is a wide selection of figures, from non-uniformed figures in suits with AKs or Steyr Augs through  to the semi- to fully-uniformed figures with all sorts of ChiCom kit. However, what it really boils down to are a couple of sets of sculpts with head and slight weapon/equipment changes. The picture below shows a selection of figures - Iraqis, Serbs, Generic Forage Caps, Fur Hats. Not all the figures are conversions of the same basic dollys, but you can see how many are similar.

In terms of 'small arms' my options are somewhat limited - the AK is king in this respect, and every possible want is catered for, although M16 & SLR/FNFAL armed figures in civilian clothing are available. That makes life pretty easy - the bulk of the figures will be AK armed, with a few FNFAL armed chaps thrown in for flavour (I chose the FN  over the M16 due to the wider number of European users, and hence greater availability). Support weapons will probably also be Warsaw pact in origin, although there are civilians available with M60's, FMAGs, Barret .50 rifles, Milkor Grenade Launchers and Paramilitarys with MG3s. There are also a couple of figures in civy kit with Sterlings and Uzis.

Now it comes down to what head gear I want and what mix of civilian and military clothing.
The AK armed civilian packs (Urban terror) come as bare headed, in hats/caps and in M40 (soviet) helmets. The FN armed pack is just bare headed).
The potentially suitable semi- to fully-military packs (Multi-purpose & Eastern European rebel)  have choices of: Bare headed, M40 helmet, M1 helmet (US WW2), Serb (Yugoslav) helmet, Serb (chetnik) cap, Beret, Forage cap, Bandanna, Balaclava, Forage cap, wool-knit hat & fur hat mix.

I want to use the balaclava heads for the RAF (Red Army Faction, not Royal Air Force in this context!) 'terrorist commandos' for one of the other scenarios, so that rules those out.

I need to figure out how uniform and organised I want these partisans to be.  Are they a scratch formation, scavenging what they can where they can, and thus featuring lots of soviet personal equipment and uniforms,  (option A if you will)?

Or are they a partially equipped 'home guard' formation, with some assorted NATO weaponry and uniform elements, supplemented by some 'liberated' gear (option B)?

Their motives and methods will also effect their look - if they are hit and run raiders, making no attempt to hold territory and using their civilian lives as cover ('1') or if they are attempting to function as a more regular armed force, holding territory and acting more as a regular militia ('2').

A true 'stay behind team' is out of the scope really - and would be better represented by a group of special forces... Something like this guy:

A1 - Primarily Soviet weapons, with mainly civilian clothing. Probably no (or very few) identifying marks such as arm bands. No or limited overt military trappings, as they would prove harder to conceal in the event of a search. AK armed civilian packs: bare headed, in hats/caps; Military packs: Bare headed, Bandanna, wool-knit hat & fur hat mix.

A2 - Primarily Soviet weapons, increasing amounts of (soviet) camo uniforms. Identifying marks such as arm-bands would be popular, for ease of identification during fire fights and to aid in distinguishing friend from foe. They would probably collect items such as helmets and webbing, in an attempt to look more militaristic. AK armed civilian packs: bare headed, M40 helmets; Military packs: Bare headed, Bandanna, M40 helmet, (soviet style) forage cap, wool-knit hat & fur hat mix. Possibly mix in some slightly converted Soviet figures.
This is how I see the Polish Solidarity Partisans...

B1 - Mixed weapons, mix of uniforms. No identifying marks, but there would probably be some homogeneity in camo schemes and the like. There would be no need for helmets, but forage caps or berets might still be used to improve the forces morale and confidence.  AK, SLR & M16 armed civilian packs: bare heads; Military packs: Bare headed, Beret, Forage cap, wool-knit hat.
This is perhaps closer to how I see some of the Partisans and resisters in occupied NATO areas (e.g. West Germany)

B2 - Mixed weapons, mixed uniforms. Identifying marks such as unit badges and arm bands would be favoured, as would helmets and the like. In effect this force resembles an adhoc army or militia unit rather than a partisan organisation.  Military packs: Bare headed, Bandanna, M1 helmet, wool-knit hat, beret, forage cap, M40 helmet & fur hat mix. Possibly mix in some slightly converted Soviet figures, SAS, US special forces and maybe Vietnam Era Australian SAS.

So there is something of a dichotomy in what I'm trying to put together with these figures... I'm going to need to think on this a bit further. I think I'm going to still try to keep up my idea of a core of compatible figures in a mix of head gear (not sure quite what head-gear yet!) and different levels of uniformity.

For the Poles I'll add more soviet kit as well as more eastern European fur hats. Maybe some WW2 soviet partisans (lots of communist countries issued PPSh's to youth movements and militias; so I imagine that the Poles probably had a few as well).

For NATO resisters, add in some more western weapons, berets, camo forage caps, and generally try to keep the figures looking a bit more organised and western (loose the stray helmets, etc)

Combat Miniatures (Ex-Hotspur) size comparison and review

Well, my order just arrived from Stonewall  Figures (http://www.stonewallfigures.co.uk/shop/index.php/page,shop.index2) - I picked up 3 packs from their Combat miniatures:'Urban operations' range - a Old Hotspur miniatures line. These were Anti-Terrorist Squad, Criminals-Terrorists & Plain Clothes Detectives As the pictures on the site aren't the worlds greatest, it was going to be a bit of pot luck, especially given  some of the horror stories I'd heard about the figures being poorly cast.

Well - they aren't up to the same level of casting as Platoon 20, and are a long way off Liberation Miniatures and Under Fire Miniatures. They aren't as bad as some people seem to feel they are either.

There is quite a lot of flash, and a couple of the figures  look like the moulds weren't quite aligned and so there is a slight ridge between halves. But none look too bad, and all the figures should be salvageable without much work.

Sculpting is ok - a little soft on some, quite crisp and detailed on others. In terms of style, it is quite similar to Liberation miniatures.Generally the poses are good, and look pretty natural. The AT squad are bulkier figures than the others, and are of similar build to the 'chunkier' of the Platoon 20 figures.

From the left: Under fire, Platoon 20, Combat/Hotspur, Liberation

From the left: Platoon 20, Liberation, Combat/Hotspur, Combat/Hotspur

The verdict is: Good enough. I'd definitely buy some more of the figures, but I wouldn't make Combat my primary  source. They have some interesting models (e.g. British Infantry in Internal Security gear, riot cops, etc) but if I could get the stuff from Liberation or Platoon 20, I'd probably go to them in preference.

Special Forces advisors?



Whilst I was browsing for pictures of Balklans militia for the partisans thread, I stumbled across this picture. As far as I can tell, he's just another militiaman, but I thought the photo has a certain something, so I might be using it as insperation for some special forces advisors supporting my partisans at some point in the future. Up until this point, I had been thinking of getting some SAS (Falklands era, and possibly converting some as suggested by Piers in this article: http://ambushalleygames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=823&view=next) but now I'm possibly think of maybe using some Grenada era US Special ops types...

NATO Partisans/Resistance - Musings

Some of the scenarios in FoF CWGH deal with anti-soviet irregulars - Polish 'Solidarity' Partisans, NATO trained stay-behind forces, the Badgers! (think Red Dawn 'Wolverines!', but without copyright infringements or Patrick Swayze...). This set me thinking tat there is plenty of scope to modify 'insurgent'/asymetric scenarios to cover Soviets vs Partisans, rather than USMC vs Iraqis, etc.

With that in mind, I had a look at this article about starting FoF, as it had a recommendation of the minimum number of 'insurgents' that a game really needs - http://smallscaleoperations.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/wargaming-moderns-guide-to-start-force.html

Which, at 40+ basic infantry, along with another 30 or so support figures is actually quite a lot. With that many, I'm going to need some sort of cohesive element to hold the figures together visually.

When I was initially thinking of just doing a few Poles (may 30 in total, which would have been a bit on the excessive side for the scenarios as written) it was going to be fairly straight forward - effectively take the visual elements of the WW2 Polish Home Army/Warsaw uprisers, switch the German stuff to Soviet and call it quits

This would create a very strong visual impression on the table with its mix of military and civilian equipment, and had a very obvious linking colour scheme (the polish flag - warn as arm bands, helmet stripes, etc; and only use a couple of  soviet camo schemes). As NATO supports the Solidarity Partisans by dropping Paras, I could also mix in some FNFAL/SLRs, M16s & NATO camo schemes if I wanted to strengthen this impression.

Which would be great - but also a bit limiting in terms of general applicability (I couldn't use them in West Germany for example!) My next thought was the possibility of a more 'generic' identifying arm band - maybe plain white (like some of the rebels in Georgia in 2008):

It also dawned on me that these scenarios would only be taking place a few years before the break up of Yugoslavia, and that perhaps some of the Balklans war pictures and the like might be useful. As a rule it  seems to be units either wore big and/or bright arm patches :

Or no obvious  identifier at all (which was a cause of some of the problems from what I recall):

I think the arm patches look too 'paramilitary militia' for my Partisans, and I think not having any identifier might make them look to disparate when on the table, especially as some will be in capture soviet uniforms, with helmets etc... 

So where does that leave me...?!? 

I think a mix of coloured arm bands and no identifiers might be the way to go. I may do a few particularly Polish/eastern European looking guys with Polish flags, and if/as/when Liberation release their pack of militia with G3s, I could do them with German flag armbands. Realistically though, I want the vast majority of figures to have the same arm band colour and I'll just add a few more guys in fur hats when they are being polish, or a few more with M16s and M60s if they are being Badgers.

So what colour to go for - after a quick think, it came down to white, yellow, blue or red. I had a couple  of minutes spare before work, so I quickly had a test run on a couple of WiP figures I had lying around... (these aren't the finish items - I'll touch up the figures later as I finish off the rest of the paintjobs)

I'm not  convinced by the white - I think it looks too much like bandages(?), and I don't think the blue works either, although I'm ot sure of the reason. That leaves goldy yellow or red. I like the look of both - although I'm not sure if they don't both look a bit 'Volksstrum'. I'm also aware that as they'll be fighting 'reds' (in this case Soviets and Warsaw pact), yellow might be a better colour?  Anyone else have any thoughts?