More WIP's

Received a few things in the mail this week,

A 2nd hand Cromwell MT-LBu for my Russians and 6 Reaper Dust Scorpions that I think should do well for my Fallout bits....I'll propably do 5 normal ones and 1 albino. Size wise they are a bit in between normal and giant ones, but hey, the other ones I found towered over 20mm figs and these should do fine with 15mm figs as well. Or Modhails 28mm ones.

Also in the mail this week, a SandS Bedford RL, the closest I could find that resembles the Fallout ones. I'd like to chop one up and turn it into a tractor but can't afford that at the moment, not for a scenic piece anyway, these cost 11 quid. From my stock I converted my last M35, ready to accept a SandS container pod, only to find out it doesn't match my drawings at all.....

...so I've gone back to the drawing board and started to build one from scratch. I only need the one anyway as a command vehicle for my American troops. I've found a picture of a modified SUV that is used to control UAV's that I will copy for my mercenary radio vehicle, so that is set as well.

On a more personal note, I broke my favorite pair of clippers :(

A busy WIP table

I have a very busy WIP table at the moment, and these are just a few of the vehicles.

From left to right:
FoF Renault UE, a bit of cleaning to do and then convert it to the Wurfrahm version, my first model for KGN.
Hobbyden Technical, based and washed, ready for weathering. Just a display tester as I won't be doing Militia (any time soon that is).
Hobbyden Shorland, based and ready to be turned into a ZNN news car for the Africa game and propably quite a few other things.
Hobbyden Mercedes, suitably trashed and based, a bit of detail needs to be added before it is ready to be painted for the scrapyard.
The hard shelter of a Eastern European truck kit, based by itself, meant as a small (guard) shack for my Stalker project.

Decided to replace my MD-500 gunship (it just didn't look right)) with a old Matchbox Dauphin that I am turning into a Harbin Z-9W. So far so good, fit isn't that good but filler helps as does crossbracing the cockpit area. As the weapon mounts are quite thin my usual magnet trick didn't work so I opted for aluminum tubing. I've started out with turning 2 modern 500 pound bombs into 7.65 gun pods, just need to add the barrels, good excercise. After this I need to make a set of 23mm cannons and a set of AT missiles. Their rocket pods are a bit different compared to anything in my collection so not sure how to work my way around that. Decals weren't really easy to find but with some assistance from Sgt. Scream these have been sourced as well. Lots of work to do though, sensors, tail, more sanding, weapon pods etc. But the Rutger Base (TM) works like a charm.

I've been updating these Britannia M35 trucks into M35A2's by adding an exhaust system.

I also removed the winch from 2 of them and need to change the soft top into a hard top, basically add a bit of putty.

They are meant for transporting my US troops for Fire in the North and TW:2K but can double for almost anything as you see them second hand all over the world.

This one will double for TW:2K as well as my mercs for the Big game Africa, but is has been on and off my table for a dozen times now. I can't seem to make up my mind about what course to go with it. Uparmoured the cab area but took it all off again as it looked like shit. Anyone got ideas?

A objective for modern games (or something for the junkyard....) with Fire in the North in mind, a F-111 cockpit:

Picked up a few ECM F-111's after the holiday sales for a few euros each but their wargaming potential is minimal. At least this way I'm getting some use from it and the rest can go into the spares bin.

More letterboxes!

Julius Fučík - WIP 1

The JULIUS FUCIK was rolling ten degrees with a beam sea. It made life hard on the
soldiers, Captain Kherov noted, but they were doing well for landsmen. His own
crewmen were dangling over the sides with sprayguns, painting over the ship’s
Interlighter markings, preparatory to replacing them with the Lykes Lines emblem. The
soldiers were cutting away parts of the superstructure to conform with the silhouette of
the Doctor Lykes, a U.S.-flag Seabee carrier remarkably similar to the Fucik. The Soviet
ship had been built years before in Finland’s Valmet yard from plans purchased in
America. Already the elevator winch area aft had been painted completely black to match
the American line’s house colors, and a black diamond had been painted on both sides of
the superstructure. Gangs of men were changing the shape and colors of the two funnels
with prefabricated parts. The hardest job remaining was the paintwork on the hull. The
Interlighter markings were made of twentyfoot letters. Replacing them called for the use
of canvas templates, and the lettering had to be neat and exact. Worst of all, there was
no way to check the workmanship short of launching a ship’s boat, something he had
neither the time nor the inclination to do.
"How long, Comrade Captain?"
"Four hours at least. The work goes well." Kherov couldn’t hide his concern. Here they
were, mid-Atlantic, far from the usual sea lanes, but there was no telling-
"And if we are spotted by an American aircraft or ship?" General Andreyev asked.
"Then we will find out how effective our damage-control drills have been-and our
mission will be a failure." Kherov ran his hand along the polished teak rail. He’d
commanded this ship for six years, taken her into nearly every port on the North and
South Atlantic. "We’ll get some way on. The ship will ride more easily on a bow sea."

Excerpt from Red Storm Rising (Tom Clancy (1986))

Aris sent me the blueprints for this ship in November 2009, and I ran into it while cleaning my harddrive a few days ago. As I need a merchant for the scenario I'm building forces for, why not the Fučík? I will keep her in her original scheme though, not the cover she used to sail to Iceland. So the Soviet flag will fly on this one....so much for a "neutral" merchant.  ;)

Start is the same as always. Check the blueprints, check the data online in one of the many ships directories, calculate the correct sizes in 1/3000 and note what goes where and what sizes plasticcard are needed. It's not rocket science, believe me. The hardest thing you have to do is shape and sand the correct bow, for the rest the Fučík is one big box with some superstructure, a barge lift and a open stern. She's a big ship, 90mm from bow to stern.

So here is a teaser pic which shows nothing but the bare hull and the first sanded down coat of filler, I'm trying a new one that is quite light and quick drying.  Not as quick as I hoped so I tore a few chips out of it. Oh well, nothing a second coat and some sanding can't fix.

Don't look like much, does it?  :lol:

Fire in the North - Shipwreck Testgame 1: Picket Duty

Had a short test of the Shipwreck rules lastnight (purely on paper so no piccies I'm afraid), put a Dutch Van Speijk class on picket duty, with a Sovremmeny roughly 80 nautical miles out and closing. Weather was bad, fog and rain, so the helos stayed on deck.

First few turns were uneventfull, with the Sov closing on the Van Speijk. Van Speijk then lucked out with a spotting roll and noticed the Sov and went on active radar. She then fired 4 Harpoons at Long range which would arrive in 3 combat turns. But turning her radar on meant that the Sov had an easier time spotting her, and so she did. 2 SSN-22's left the tubes straight away. Uh oh.

With the Harpoons at Medium range the Sov spotted 2 of them and prepared her defences. The VS spotted both SNN-22's and armed her defences as well.

Missiles are now at Short range and the Sov hasn't spotted the other 2 missiles so fires 2 SA-7's at each spotted missile and deploys chaff. 1 of the spotted Harpoons is destroyed, and 1 of the unspotted Harpoons is decoyed by the chaff never to be seen again (well, maybe by a lonely fishing vessel). The VS fires 1 AA mssile at each of the incoming missiles and destroys one, her chaff not fooling the other.

The remaining Harpoons bear down on the Sov but one gets taken out by the 30mm guns. The other one.....misses! <faceplant> The VS takes out the last SSN-22 with her main gun. Great shooting!

VS then launches her remaining 4 Harpoons, and prepares to turn tail after this (out of missiles). The Sov then unloads a full container os SSN-22's, and 4 of them streak across the water towards the VS. Uh oh.

In the next few combat turns the Sov again fails to spot all of the missiles, only spotting 2, but destroying those with SA-7's. Her chaff looks pretty but does nothing, and her 30mm guns just saturate the water with hot lead. Could this be it? 1 mssile misses (....!) and the other one hits. Light damage. Scratch the torpedoes amidships. Aargh!

The VS does what she can, decoys, guns, missiles, the lot but only manages to take out 1 with 3 of them passing through the barrage unscathed. 1 misses but 2 hit. A 1 and 2 means she is destroyed without any question. With the seaconditions as they are what survives of the crew won't have much hope, but the NATO fleet is warned.

The Sov, lightly wounded and smoking, pulls back. It took 6 missiles to take out 1 FF and she has only 2 left meaning she has to turn to port to reload and repair. There will propably be more NATO ships around soon anyway.

Pretty brutal, 7 turns till the end, took less then an hour to resolve it, most of the time was spent reading and rereading if I was doing things right (propably not, but hey). NATO 0 - Soviets 1 (but with a DDG going up against a small FF, could it have gone any other way?)

For my next test I'll put a Zwaardvis submarine on the tail of the wounded Sov that is trying to reach a friendly port. Can she avenge the loss? We'll see.

Fire in the North - The Navies - More Soviets

Managed to get quite a few bits started this week, based, cleaned and updated 2 Alligators (removed 2 cranes, trimmed the funnel, added cargo hatches and masts), a Kresta II ( new guidance radars, new missile mounts (still way oversized sadly) and trimmed off the shopper and put it on a base so it looks like it is about to land) as well as a start on a Udaloy and HMS Fearless (trimmed and opened up the stern so I can place a few landingcraft around and in it. When and if I find them, can't find the little blighters anywhere! And yes, I know she's not a Soviet vessle :)

I've added more ships to my wish list, some Yank destroyers as well as more Soviet landing craft, and it looks I'm in the market for some of Odzial Osmy's Ka-25 helos to round off this part of the fleet before I go and start stuff like the Kiev and the Moskva. Need to get more NATO done before that anyway, but I'm missing a few bits for that as well so a mini order to Navwar might be in order. But first sell more stuff to fill up the wargames chest.

I've been doing plenty of other stuff as well, mostly 20mm, but I'll divulge more about that next week.

Fire in the North - The Navies - Boris Chilikin WIP

Just a quick shot of the progress on Boris. updated her a bit with brass wire and trimmed off the mould lines as good as I could.

Wondering what I am going to do with the 2nd Boris I have. I keep reading it's a spin off off a civillian tanker, but sofar found no imagine of a supposedly civvy one. Ah well, nothing wrong with keeping her in stock. I can always turn one into a wreck later.

Fire in the North - The Navies - Soviet tester done

Right, finished the tester, noted down the steps and colours used.

These colours work for me for the "Evil Empire", so this part is done. I won't do the base till I've got a fair number of ships painted so I can factory line them. I will give a wash again to the turrets, they are a bit dull, and I need to highlight the deck, and try to decal the bow. Other then that, I think it is a good standard.

Now I can wait for the order to arrive and paint other things :)

Oh, and for the real size:

Fire in the North - A Cold War game build

Fire in the North

Just before the launch of the Warsaw Pact assault, Operation Red Tide, in August 1985, Warsaw Pact forces conducted a limited diversionary assault against Scandanvia at the end of July 1985. This 'feint' in the North drew off critical NATO troops, the Royal Marines, USMC and Dutch Marines just a few of those moved rapidly to deploy against the Soviet threat, only to find themselves virtually cut-off once the main war in Europe started a few short weeks later.

The war in the North consisted of what Soviet propaganda termed 'a reaction to continued and constant Finnish threats and incursions'. Within days Soviet forces pushed through the Finnish and Norwegian borders with troops. The incursions into Norway were termed as 'neccessary' by STAVKA in response to the NATO build-up in that country. The land attacks were supported by airborne and naval attacks in an operational plan not too dissimilar to that of the Germans in 1940.

While the land advance, down Highway E6 along the Noregian coast went reletively well, the Soviets found themselves ambushed every few kilometres. They still managed to push on but with the land assault knowingly limited, the Soviet advance slowed. Meanwhile Soviet airborne and naval landings met with mixed results. A small naval bridgehead was created at Narvik, but this was soon encircles and penned in by NATO land troops and a Royal Navy blockade. The Soviet Airborne had even less success and only managed to secure one airfield, that at Trondheim, and it was so badly damaged in the assault that it was of limited use. However due to lack of troops, NATO was unable to reduce the Trondheim Pocket and Soviet troops continued to use the area for landings and supply drops, though it was essentially defensive in nature until the land assault could reach it. Finland meanwhile seemed virtually over-run, but to NATO's surprise the Soviets failed to use its border to make further attacks into Norway. The truth of the matter was that the Soviet forces in Norway found themselves virtually pinned down in a number of urban areas as every move into the countryside brought a violent response from Finnish troops hiding out in the forests and fighting a successful guerilla campaign using long hidden supply caches. Once NATO realised the success that the Finns were having they moved a number of NATO Special Forces units and supply drops to support the Finns.

The fighting grew slower and slower as the time for launching 'Red Tide' neared. Once the attack in central Europe was launched, Polish Naval troops landed on the coast of Denmark, and the Soviet Baltic Fleet landed troops in Sweden, further hampering the NATO defence of Norway. Even so the fighting continued in the North and grew with a new ferocity now that the rest of Europe was at war...

The fire in the northern sky burned bright that summer.

This is the intro for another Piers & Gunbird warbuild (Iran-Iraq came before it, The Road to Vilnius isn't finished yet) this time focussing on the Cold War going hot in the Scandinavian region.

This time though, we'll be adding a few changes. We've been having chats about gaming air and sea as well and thought it would be nice to tie these in with a nice 20mm game, with the results from the air and naval battle directly interfering with the land one. There is still lots to plan and tinker, lists to be made, models to be sourced (as well as the finances!) but this promises to become another great weekend full of battles.

Just building all of those pine trees.......pine trees......bloody thousands of em, Sir!