Saturday, March 14, 2015

More Modern 10mm Forces (Almost) Finished

All,

I finished up some more 10mm forces for the desert.  Or I almost finished them, I'm waiting on some reinforcements from Pendraken and Minifigs.  But I've finished what I had on hand, which is a worthy accomplishment for me, so I figured I'd post some pics ;)

I'm really wanting to dive into Ivan's new "Brigade Command," but so far the stars just haven't been lining up.  I had some business travel to tend to, in addition to other 'real-life' distractions such as baseball practice, doctor appointments, etc...  Lastly, I'm having project ADD; first revolving around Brigade Command itself, where I have two Warsaw Pact-equipped forces ready to go, but now I'm wanting to play NATO vs WarPac and/or desert stuff, but I don't have forces ready for that yet (and won't for awhile; Good Lord there's still so much to do...).  But then I also want to play some air-to air and Napoleons.  And then I keep working on 10mm stuff, which is the point of this post.

First I worked on some vehicles for an infantry force that's been sitting for far too long, then I did up three 'partner' forces.  That is, I have three sets of troops in temperate gear, and now I did up their desert-gear counterparts.  I haven't actually finished hardly any of these forces as each individual force has a couple needs, mostly support weapons, and usually machine guns at that.  So I've got orders in with Pendraken and Minifigs as we speak, and once they arrive I'll be able to put the finishing touches everyone.

First up are some Israeli vehicles: three Merkavas, four M-113 variants, and one AH-64 Apache.

Again.  I'm happy with the way the Apache turned out, but I'm a little mad at myself for being so lazy and not putting some very cool looking camo on it.  But I just have so much to get done...

The Merkavas.  I know the tac marks should all be the same for the different vehicles of the same unit, but I'm actually using them as distinguishing marks for the individual vehicles so I can track them in my games.  I also need to put a TC on one of the tanks.  These are World Tank Museum models I've repainted.

The M-113s, clockwise from left: TOW variant, 120mm mortar variant, then two 'regular' M-113s with .50 cals (these are all Pendraken vehicles, but the TOW and .50 cal gunners are from Minifigs).

The Apache.  I like it, but it could have been so much cooler.  This is a 'Maisto Tailwinds' toy that I repainted.

The three forces I mostly finished up: desert USMC at top, desert French Foreign Legion in the center, and desert Pendraken Argentinians at bottom.  They're equipped with FN-FALs and FN-MAGs, so pretty useful all around, including older Israelis, and I can see using them as various desert bad guys.  Every time I look at their helmets and uniforms it reminds me of Iraqis, they just have the wrong weapons.  They could be good for Iran-Iraq War Iranians I think.

Here's the French.  I'm more than a little aggravated; I did all three forces at the same time, and my desert-basing technique turned out a bit whiter and darker than usual, which really shows up in the French as I'd done a number of the bases previously.

Again.

Opposite.  One Command stand, nine rifle squads, a 'medium' SAM, a MANPAD SAM, an MG, a mortar, and five leaders.

This is the one force that is actually finished; pretty much all the others need an MG, a mortar, an ATGM, a couple rifle squads, or a command stand.

Desert USMC.  Good force and good figures, but I'm not happy with my uniforms paintjob.  I tried to do a desert tri-color paintjob, but it looks more like a desert chocolate chip pattern.  I don't really like it, but I'll be damned if I'm repainting them.

Again, command stand at front left.

Opposite.  This force has a command stand, seven rifle squads, a TOW team, an MG team, a SMAW team, a 60mm mortar team, a Stinger team, a sniper, and quite a few heroes.  I'm short a few rifle squads, but that will soon be remedied.

Back end.

The desert force based off of Pendraken Falklands Range Argentinians.  A command squad, eleven rifle squads, an 81mm mortar team, three AT rocket teams (actually Blowpipes, but close enough for me), two SAM teams (Blowpipes as Blowpipes ;) ), and a few heroes.  If I get enough ATGMs (Milans) in my pending order from Minifigs I'll probably throw a couple this way.

Front.

Reverse.

Rear.

So, I'm sure you can't have helped but noticed that I've been working quite a bit on various 1/600 aircraft, 6mm Modern armor and infantry, and 10mm forces.  If you're wondering why I haven't been playing games lately, at least part of it is because...

This is what my gaming table looks like right now...

Now I've got another problem.  The other day I received an order of Pendraken stuff from Pendraken.
I ordered three Pendraken Amtracs, BR8.  I received three bags marked BR8, but there are clearly two different models.  On the left is the one I think is actually the Pendraken BR8 Amtrac.  On the right are two bags of... I dunno.  I'd swear the two on the right are not 10mm, they're 15mm (I don't know if you can tell, but the two on the right are much larger than the one on the left).  The funny thing is, the two on the right have .50 cal MGs that are absolutely, 100% Pendraken, which I'm sure of because I have boatloads of those same MGs.

Another crappy picture.  Don't let the bottom right distract you, compare the two at the top and I think you'll see they are clearly different sizes.

Same set up, but with two Pendraken Panzer Mark IIIs to give scale.  Top left you see the Panzer and the Amtrac are about the same size, while at bottom right the Amtrac dwarfs the Panzer.  Oh yeah, the one on the left has a 'waterline' model as well, while the two on the right do not.

So, the question is, are the two Amtracs on the right Pendraken models (and just different models of Amtrac), or are they from Lord knows where (I'd swear the two on the right are 15mm).

Stay tuned, more to come, I'm working my butt off and hoping to get some gaming in tomorrow.

V/R,
Jack

4 comments:

  1. Looking good, sir. I had my first game of Company Commander this afternoon and enjoyed it immensely. In fact it'll probably replace CWC as my go-to modern rules although I have a couple of queries for Mr Sorensen. I'll put some pictures up on my blog in the next few days.

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  2. Hey Gaz, thanks for the kind words! You played Company Command, eh? Well, don't hold out man, let's get those pics up, let's get the details! Did you use those great looking Brits and Argentinians of yours? I can't wait to see it, I've been waiting forever to see someone else get into Company Command, and it's particularly great that it's from another Historical gamer. Nothing wrong with fantasy/sci fi, and they're certainly popular with Ivan's rules, but I'm definitely on the historical side, so hurry up with the posting! ;)

    I'd love to hear your thoughts; as I'm sure you can figure out by 21 straight batreps using them, I'm a big fan of the rules.

    V/R,
    Jack

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    Replies
    1. I shall go into more detail in the upcoming post (and there will be pictures!), but I like that firing isn't too deadly. A lot of the Falklands engagements were fought across fairly open terrain (although admittedly at night) so the concept that 'Rendering a squad temporarily unable to act is fairly easy. Eliminating it from a battle is difficult.' is perfect for gaming this period. I'm going to put together some scenarios based on the Battle of Goose Green specifically for CC.

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  3. Gaz,

    I agree, and, for me, that combat mechanic has turned out pretty well for WWII as well. These are definitely my rules of choice now, and I've got about five different campaigns I want to jump into with them!

    I look forward to your batrep, and I'm sure more discussion of the rules (I'd like to discuss your take on night fighting with the rules). I think the Falklands will work out great, and I'd love to see any scenarios you come up with.

    Take care, and hurry up! ;)

    V/R,
    Jack

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