Elhiem Cold War British

I finished the BAOR figures I bought from Elhiem in their Christmas sale.  Here is a full platoon in patrol poses, three sections of 8 and a platoon HQ of 4 or 5.

Part of the platoon HQ, left to right officer, RTO and sniper.

The rest of the platoon HQ, a light mortar gunner and an NCO with Sterling.

The fire support gun team with GPMG gunner and assistant, plus an SLR rifleman.

The rifle team with 4 SLR riflemen (including NCOs) plus a Sterling armed Charlie G gunner.

A dog handler, complete with German Shepherd.

Higher level (Co or Batt) commanders.

More command figures with the RSM.

An advanced optics spotter team, at the back an RTO and spotter with binoculars, at the front the officer and a rifleman.

Various manpack support weapons, at the front a Charlie G gunner and a Blowpipe launcher, at the back a LAW gunner.

I've still to add a platoon from Britannia Miniatures and that should give me a full company, enough to fill a table in 20mm I think.  I must say, it will be good to get the last of the DPM figures complete as it's quite time consuming, although does give a pleasing effect to the models when they are finished.  Again, these will finish up in the Falklands, Centag, Northag and even North Wales in our Winter of 79 campaign.

Thanks for looking.

20mm Argentine support weapons

A busy week this week.  I spent the week on business in Bahrain, which made a nice sunny change to the British winter, although on my return I find Spring appears to have sprung, can't be bad.  Anyway, I'm off to the WMMS show, but have managed to photograph the support weapons groups I've put together for my Argentine forces for the Falklands campaign.  Following some suggestions on the SOTCW forum, I looked at the Reiver Miniatures Korean War range and found most of what I was looking for in the US forces from that range.  These are painted up the same way as the infantry that I posted earlier (link http://sedimentswargameblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/20mm-argentine-troops-for-falklands.html ).

First up, a pair of 81mm medium mortar teams.

Next, a pair of 106mm recoilless rifle teams, these are Reiver artillery crew with 106mm recoilless rifles from Sgts Mess.

A pair of tripod mounted M60 machine gun teams.

Two 3.5" bazooka teams.

A pair of 2.36" bazooka teams - not  sure these will be of much use, but they were in the bazooka packs so I'm sure they will come in handy somewhere or other.

The senior command pack, three officers and a pair of Walkie Talkie RTOs.  I think the walkie talkie guys are pretty weak sculpts, they stand as if on parade and as their feet are close together they look like they will be weak at the ankles with the risk of snapping off.  However, the generals look the part.  Although the officer in the centre wears a greatcoat, it passes for the kind of quilted raincoat worn by General Mario Menendez in photos that I've seen on the internet.

So, with the possible exception of the earlier bazookas and the walkie talkie figures, these should work well with my Argentine infantry.  A side benefit is that these can also see service in my generic NATO cold-climate armies, such as Norway or Denmark.

So, now it's time to head off to Wolverhampton and add to the lead pile.  As ever, thanks for looking.

20mm UK Urban Terror paramilitaries

At last, some potential opposition for the Regulars in my "Winter of 79" themed campaign.  These are all RH Models from their UK Urban Meltdown range, representing irregulars/militia/paramilitaries in anoraks and civilian clothing.

First up leaders, the kneeling figure wears an RAF greatcoat and carries an SLR.  The unarmed chap wearing his football scarf stands next to a leader with Sterling SMG.

A pair of Charlie G gunners.

Snipers, the bane of uniformed troops on COIN operations.

NCO type figures, cell commanders, etc.

Guys carrying Sterling SMGs.

GPMG gunners.

Bren gunners.

Militia armed with SLRs.

I depicted most of these guys in faded denim jeans, painted flat blue and dry brushed ivory, as these would be the most common trousers/pants available (in 1979 I possessed 2 pairs of denim jeans and a pair of brown cords as an alternative to school uniform).  So funnily enough most of the rest wear brown cords, with one of the leaders in green cords.  They all wear parkas in a khaki green colour (I mixed golden olive with khaki), which closely resembles my favourite jacket from the late 70's complete with rabbit fur trim on the hood and a garish tartan lining.  The leaders wear dark green flak jackets and an RAF greatcoat, probably purchased from the local Army and Navy (in Plymouth the shop used to be called Goulds).

So, these can form a unit of Free Welsh, a Workers Militia, rustic militia, urban defence force or any other possibility, fighting as pro-Government or Revolutionary elements.  I guess they could also be used as hastily raised Home Guard types in a Britain-invaded scenario in the second half of the 20th Century (certainly 60's onwards), or even as a well organised criminal gang.

As ever, thanks for looking.

20mm Early 1980's Characters

So, the "Winter of 79" forces are starting to take shape.

First up, Government/Loyalist/Royalist/Tory characters.

A pair of Commissaries to administer the West Cheshire and Deeside administrative districts.  These are dictator figures from RH Models.  The Deeside Commissary is obviously an RAF type from RAF Sealand, just across the River Dee from Deeside in England.  The West Cheshire Commissary will have set up base at the Castle in Chester.

Next up, a pair of dirty tricks Special Branch operatives - if you want someone to disappear, these are the guys to call in.  These are from Elhiem.

The happier face of Special Branch, a likely pair of lads from Platoon 20 who closely resemble Bodie and Doyle - if you are old enough to remember the Professionals.

Bobbies in body armour with SLRs on patrol (from Elhiem).  These guys would accompany army patrols to provide liaison between military and civil powers.  I am always uncomfortable when I see British police openly carrying firearms - trips through U.K. airports always freak me out!

A pair of militia leaders from Platoon 20, the black guy in the sharp suit has raised a loyalist militia in an urban environment - well he doesn't want to crease the suit.  The guy with the "mutton chops" bears a passing resemblance to a country pub landlord or local squire, who's raised a rural militia force from the local rustics.

For the Insurgents/Terrorists/Revolutionaries/Separatists/Socialists, depending on your point of view.

"Professional" terrorists armed with Uzis from the IRA or Bader Meinhoff gang assisting the cause in Britain - these are plain clothes Garda from Elhiem.

A couple of local militia cell leaders with handguns, from Platoon 20.

Another pair from Platoon 20, a skinhead armed with an Uzi and lady in trouser suit with handgun from her hand bag.

A pair of Platoon 20 emancipated females in paramilitary gear with M60s (I think).

Another pair, the one on the right is huge, so would have to be known as "Big Bertha" by her Government opposition.

Then the revolution's financiers, a pair of Platoon 20 gangsters in stocking masks, armed with a sawn off shotgun and handgun.

Another pair armed with handgun and some kind of small stubby SMG that I can't make out.

So, these guys and girls will add some characters/leader types to the upcoming "Winter of 79" campaign.  Next up will be a local militia force for Wo79, and the Argentine heavy weapons teams for the Falklands, both of which are finished but need photographing.  On the paining table are a platoon of Elhiem Cold War British infantry in patrol poses, some odds and ends and then I'll either do some more militia forces or some modern Russians - depends on how the fancy takes me or what we arrange for games at the Defenders club.  I've also got some of the Works bargains that need painting up.

As ever, thanks for looking.

20mm modern British infantry platoon

Well, what a week for my Wargaming hobby.  Early on, I wrapped up this platoon of RH Models 1980's British infantry.  I then moved on to a cell of insurgent infantry for "Winter of 79" and wrapped them up as well, before moving on to the heavy weapon supports for my Argentine/Norway force.  I've also had various civilian/police/insurgent figures occupying a corner of the painting table, which I've been working on off and on for a few weeks, and I managed to get them finished too.  Then Thursday at the club was our 10 player D-day landings game using FofW, which worked surprisingly well and looked spectacular considering it was put together in an hour and played to completion in the evening.  Then I did a deal on the Guild of Wargamers (thanks Richard and Ben) and picked up some modern British armour and my order from the Plastic Soldier Valentines Day sale arrived as well.  Oooh, and the Works had restocked with some new BTR-40s and BTR-60Ps.  More of all that in future posts.  Back to the British infantry.

These are all from the RH Models Falklands/1980's British range and are in DPU with Mk 6 helmets, although you can't tell as they are covered in skrim.  In front is the platoon command section (I need to add a 50mm mortar man), with behind them three sections, each of 4 SLR riflemen, a GPMG gunner and assistant and a Charlie G gunner and assistant.  At the back are some spare SLR figures and a pair of bren gunners.  On the left are three snipers.

One of the GPMG gunners in the middle, with Sterling SMG to left and Charlie G on right.

The Charlie G gunner in the middle with assistant on right.  Another fuzzy Charlie G in the foreground.

Troops-eye view of part of the Platoon HQ.

The three snipers.

Rear rank with bren gunners.

Some of the figures in more detail, because I like the poses, even though the close ups reveal my poor painting skills.

A section NCO.

SLR rifleman advancing.

Another one.

Sterling SMG armed.

GPMG advancing.

Bren gunner.

So, another platoon of British infantry, ready to retake the Falklands, put themselves in harms way in Europe or patrol the streets of a Britain in the grip of civil war in the late 70's.  I painted them the same way as previous DPM, but used a brighter green (German camo bright green) and lighter brown (NATO brown mixed with light brown).  I'm quite pleased with the final effect.

Thanks for looking.

6mm Roman villa

Steve Oates of the Baggage Train passed me these at the club just after Christmas.  He is building up a nice set of 6mm terrain items, suitable for ancients wargaming, especially Roman and Dark Age periods.  These are his Roman villa and Roman workshop pieces.  I thought the workshop looked  lot like an early Romano-British villa (1st-2nd Century), while the villa looks good for 3rd-4th Century courtyard villa.  I've read that as the Romano-British nouveau-riche landowners rapidly adopted Roman style and culture  after the invasion, abandoning Iron Age roundhouses and moving into rectangular villa buildings, before moving on to more luxurious courtyard premises as styles and tastes changed - so much like the property ladder today.

I've modelled this piece to show the derelict roundhouse as an irregular circle of boulders (hut circle), to the left of the villa in the image below.  The early 1st/2nd Century villa building is now used to house slaves and as a workshop, while the landowners family live in the courtyard villa with its hypocaust flooring, garden and pond.

The front entrance of the villa.  The roof of the villa is a separate casting, so the inner courtyard can be detailed, but I need to glue it down as I see it's gone a bit wonky as I was photographing it.

Another view from the less salubrious side of the complex.

Nice crisp castings, very little clean up required.  I did wash them in detergent in case there was any release agent on the surfaces.  I'm not sure how much these are selling for, but Steve's prices for his other items are more than reasonable, well worth a look if you see him at a show.

Thanks for looking.

20mm Cold War British - cap comforters

So, first up this week I tried out my first terrain piece for 20mm.  This is a 100mm square mdf base from Minibits with oil drums, wooden packing cases and a 20ft storage contaner, all from Sgts Mess.  The rubble pile is made from aquarium gravel and the base is textured with PVA glue mixed with a Cinnamon coloured household emulsion paint and sprinkled with aquarium sand.  Static grass spots were added once the textured base had dried.  This is going to represent a builders yard or outdoor storage for a small industrial workshop. 

 

I also worked on the next group of figures from my Xmas pressie, this time Falklands/1980's era British soldiers wearing cap comforters.  These are all from RH Models Liberation range.  The range extends to snipers, Carl Gustav gunners, radio operators and commander/leader types, so useful for mixing amongst figures in berets, helmets or SAS kit to give a more rag-tag mix and match look to your units.

First up, three sniper figures in the usual RH Models poses.

The Charly G gunners, two figures with a loader.

The RTO operators.  I might replace the aerials with nylon fishing line later, but for now these are fine.

The six figure leaders pack.

Nice figures that should add some variety to some of my special forces units for the Falkands and Cold War.  I can see these making an appearance in our play test of the Red Star White Lights scenario book.  They will also fit the bill as either government or rebel forces for our "Winter of 79" English civil war scenarios and I can see them appearing in Andreivia in the search for their missing SAS colleagues captured by insurgents in the hills south of Tcherbevan.

Thanks for looking.