Monday 29 February 2016

From DavidL - 28mm "Defenders of Leningrad" (275 points)

"Next week, hopefully, a modest points bomb..." 

So spake I three weeks ago. Well, that's what I get for making promises, I guess.

But here, at last, is the promised modest points bomb: a platoon of Soviet naval infantry along with a KV-2 tank and a gaggle of citizen militia. This is a 1,000-point Bolt Action force modeled on forces defending Leningrad in early 1942, somewhere towards the end of winter and beginning of spring.


I've long had an interest in the "Black Devils" of the Great Patriotic War. Long ago, I had a platoon of them in 20mm scale. After getting into Bolt Action last year, and finding an opponent who enjoys early-war Eastern Front games as much as I do, I set about putting together a naval infantry force in 28mm.

First Squad
Manufacturers are Warlord and BTD. There's a nice mix of black pea coats, blue middy blouses, and army-issue telogreika.

Second Squad
Although I appreciate the authentic mix of uniforms, this is chiefly what slowed me down the most (especially with the extra militia squad in their civvies thrown in for good measure!). I'd anticipated that this project would paint up quickly--it was supposed to be just a bunch of black uniforms, after all. No such luck.

Third Squad
Speaking of the black uniforms, I'm pretty pleased with how those turned out. They look suitably dark without losing too much detail or going too gray with the highlighting.

Platoon Command: HQ, Politruk, FAO, ATR team


The Commissar's in town!

I owe this to the "Black Paint Set" from Andrea Color, a set I'll be returning to when I shift gears and start working on my Black Templars for 40K (which I'll hopefully be able to at least get a start on before the Challenge ends).

Maxim HMG team
Back to these fellows, though: When researching this force, I read somewhere that there were KV-2s at Leningrad. One of my all-time favorite tanks, I leapt at the opportunity to do one in 1/56 scale.



This KV-2 from Warlord bears the weathering of a tough winter: its whitewash camouflage largely dissolved by now, rust streaks in great abundance, tracks and running gear covered in frozen mud.


Bolt Action provides Red Army lists with a free squad of Green-quality troops, so I decided to build on my "city defense" theme by representing my free squad with "partisan" figures, here standing in for Leningrad's ad-hoc People's Militia Army.


These figures from BTD have tons of character, and I found myself making up little back-stories for many of them. I painted up their commanding officer as a dismounted Cossack cavalryman, put in charge after his horse ended up in the communal stew pot.


If I'm doing my math right, this should be 250 points: 15 for the KV-2, 10 for the Maxim, and 225 for the 45 infantry figures. Editors note I've counted noses and I make it 48 figures on foot  (including the 3 MG crewmen) plus 1/2 for the tank commander=267.5.

Wow that was worth the wait!  This is a stunning group of Ruskies David.  First of all I love the foot figures and the details you've put into their "simple" black uniforms, especially on their caps.  Secondly well done on the partial snow on the bases, this looks very much like Regina has over the last week!  And finally, who doesn't love a behemoth monster tank like a KV2.  I ad forgotten how truly massive these things were.  I love the ladder rungs up the turret and the rust/weathering details.  I am rounding up and adding in some bonus points to make it an even 275

21 comments:

  1. Realy Impresive work! The Black Death look great as do the peoples Militia but that KV2 takes the cake I can just imagine the crew strugling to kick it to life each morning and their relieve as thier old friend's enginge cough to life. Love it!

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  2. Awesome stuff David! The KV is a wonderfully grimy BEAST and I love the partisans. Excellent.

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  3. Awesome stuff! That KV-2 seems to have seen quite some battles already.

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  4. Nice and gritty David! Well done!

    Christopher

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  5. great paintwork David! the mat is nice too.

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  6. Just fantastic. Love the sailors

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  7. Grand stuff... That KV is suitably battle weary ..

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  8. Wow - congratulations on finishing this batch. Great work David.

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  9. Nice bomb David! The weathering on the tank is superb...

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  10. Great submission, really like the black cloth work, you nailed it but it's the KV-2 for me, excellent

    Ian

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  11. Ah, the old "this'll only take me a week!" eh? we've all been caught out by that one.... these are really nice, the weathering on the tank is particularly good.

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  12. Very nice looking force! That rag-tag collection of troops really does look amazing! And great for the desperate fights around Leningrad!

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  13. Looking great.

    When I looked at the distance shot of the KV, it looked like it was sporting some very strange Guards camouflage, but on the close ups, it looks magnificent!

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  14. Leningrad was (In my opinion) one of the bleakest battles in WW2. That KV2 is superb so dirty and grimy and I bet it sticks as well. I hope the Ice road truckers manage to cross the lake and bring sufficient supplies to keep the battle front stable.

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  15. Great work on these troops, but the tank is really a standout!

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  16. Best rusted out KV2 I have had the privilege of seeing for quite some time.

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  17. Awesome. The weathering and effects on the tank are outstanding. These defenders of the motherland look ready to become heroes, get medals and then go to siberia never to be seen again. Excellent work.

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  18. I rely like the infantry with the uniform mix and they are very well done, but that tank just steals all the attention! Really great work on that armor beastie too! She looks like a hard working vet of many encounters! ;)

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  19. Fantastic work on the figures, especially the partisans! But that tank! It looks so metallic!

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