Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Forces for the 1952 War

All,

So you've seen my concept, my plan, and how I made up the forces.  Here's a closer look at the armies of Hakuna and Matata.

The whole force.

We'll start with the Hakuna Air Force: four F4U Corsairs.  Being a former British protectorate, these were left over from the Fleet Air Arm.

The Martin Baltimore light attack bomber used by the Hakuna Ground Attack Squadron.

On to the Matata Air Force and their Spitfires.

But they actually went to the Soviets for their Ground Attack Squadron, acquiring IL-2 Stormaviks.  I painted them up in two different camo schemes.

Here's a look at the infantry of Hakuna.  All Hakuna ground equipment is in green, while Matata is in khaki.

Infantry from Matata.  The detail on these guys is truly amazing.

Some closeups.  These are all actually Modern US infantry, which I picked because I like the prone troops.  At right you can see weapons bases; each has an LMG and a TOW ATGM.  As this is the 1950s, that's a bit problematic.  For my purposes those TOWs are light mortars for the time being...

And here's a closeup of one of those weapons bases.

And one of the 'regular' infantry bases.

On to the armored fist of the Hakuna Army, their pride and joy, the Fireflies.  These are Sherman tanks armed with 17-pounder guns.

Again.

And one more.  For all the tanks, all I did was spray prime them, throw a wash on them, then paint little national insignia on each side and on top.

Their Matata counterparts, T-34s with the 85mm gun.

Again.

And one more.

The mechanized transports for Hakuna, M-5 Halftracks.

Again.  If my pics weren't so terrible you could see the guys in the back of the halftrack, and the guy manning the .50 cal HMG.

The Matata mechanized troops cruise around in Studebaker trucks.

Again.

The Hakuna command stand.

Again.

And the Matata command stand.

Once more.

Hakuna anti-tank vehicles: M-36 Jacksons with 90mm guns.

And Matata anti-tank vehicles, SU-100s.

Hakuna recon, jeeps with recoiless rifles.

Matata recon, Staghound armored cars left over from the Brits.

Hakuna 155mm howitzers.

While Matata went with Katyushas.  Yeah, I gave them red rockets and steel rails, just to add some color.

Hakuna anti-aircraft, a truck towing a 40mm Bofors.

Matata has the same setup for their AA needs.

Well, there they are, ready for war.  I'm ready, the troops are ready, the campaign is ready, and the boy is ready, so the war starts this weekend.

V/R,
Jack

24 comments:

  1. Very cool!

    If you want a "bigger" game, can I recommend Peter PIg's original AK-47 rules, available as a PDF from them?

    In 3mm you could probably still fit the whole game on a 4*3ft table :D

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    1. Thanks man. AK-47 is one of those rulesets I've eyed for years, but for some reason have never pulled the trigger. I definitely need to.

      The way I'm looking at my 3mm on a 3' x 2' is simply having a 15mm 6' x 4', so pretty much anything should work.

      V/R,
      Jack

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    2. Hah, yes, just measure in cm's and you've loads of space :)

      I highly recommend old-AK, it's very flexible and great fun and suitably chaotic.

      The Yahoo! Group has a few extras as well, if that's handy.

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    3. I'll have to pick up the PDF. My problem is, I'm so in love with 5Core I rarely play anything else!

      V/R,
      Jack

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    4. I really should play some - I picked up the pdf's probably a year ago now on your example, like the look but never used!

      I might try a tiny board next to my work/painting desk and see. Give an excuse for not answering calls.

      "Sorry, trifle busy with incoming fire, be right with you..."

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    5. Do it. They're a lot of fun, and eminently moddable to do whatever it is you're looking to do. You've seen me: skirmish to battalion level, regulars vs regulars, elites, insurgents, all that.

      And I like your idea of a tiny board at work, but don't think I could pull it off...

      V/R,
      Jack

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    6. As I work from home it's simple in theory ;) Space in the clutter might be awkward mind, and tryin to get a coherent game whilst people expect me to work is probably unlikely!

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    7. Ahh, I see. I wasn't worried about clutter or work, just the boss ;)

      V/R,
      Jack

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  2. Really like what you've done Jack! Painting the helmets a different colour really makes them stand out - great idea

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    1. Glad you like them, thanks! I find that at this scale you've got to use bright colors, and do things to make them stand out. For example, I initially put the yellow (Hakuna) and orange (Matata) insignia on before giving them the wash, but it didnt' stand out enough, so I went back and re-did them.

      It might look too bright in these very closeup, oversized pictures, but it looks good on the table.

      V/R,
      Jack

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    2. I did contemplate 3-colour camo for my 3mm moderns, but it just wasn't worth the effort. Will definitely put red stars (more like blobs to be honest!) on my soviets after magic dip having seen your efforts - thanks for sharing!

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    3. I've seen guys do great things with camo in 3mm, but mine always seems to simply make a mess of the model.

      Another issue is time economy; you could easily spend just as much time on a 3mm tank as a 6mm one, with camo and highlights and shade, picking out every little detail (hell, I don't even do that in 6mm!), but to me you're kind of losing some of the point of doing 3mm. And it may look fantastic in super closeup photos where the pic is 10 times larger than the actual casting, but will you see it on the table?

      For me, less is definitely more, and I'd definitely do insignia after the dip/wash.

      V/R,
      Jack

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  3. Once again, you have shown that you are the master of the campaigns. At first, I didn't understand why you went to 3mm, but once I understood the scope of the campaign, I definitely see why. I have enjoyed all of your campaigns, but I am really looking forward to this one!

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    1. Chis,

      Thanks man, and I suppose campaigns are my claim to fame ;) Yeah, there was no way I could afford to do this in 10mm, or even 6mm!

      V/R,
      Jack

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    2. I totally understand. I toyed with doing my campaign in 3mm, but at the time, there were less weaponry to choose from, and I had already had a lot of 6mm WWII stuff. If I weren't so invested now, I'd go 3mm too.

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    3. Yeah, that's kinda my problem with modern stuff. I've got the fever for 3mm, but I've literally got tons of 6mm stuff... Somehow I'll survive ;)

      V/R,
      Jack

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  4. What a great project...you can't beat a bit of imaginations!

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    1. Yeah Jim, in retrospect I should add you in as one of my muses. Your AK-47 tables and troops are absolutely amazing!

      V/R,
      Jack

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  5. Love it, Jack!! Great idea to follow the conflicts over the years as it gives you the ability to try out the various kit.

    I particularly like the names : )

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    1. Thanks Bish! I'm loving 3mm and almost going crazy, looking to do (and re-do) a bunch of stuff in 3mm.

      V/R,
      Jack

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  6. I think my "life boss" would object if she found me covering the freezer top in toy soldiers instead of working for my "work boss" :D

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  7. Are those 5p pieces the armour are based on?

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