Saturday 27 February 2016

From GregB - The Fall of The West - 15mm Soviets for Team Yankee (260 points)

The west will fall...
Well, I'm back from my vacation in California, and I've been burning up the painting table this past week.  Today's submission is a big sucker, and I'm pretty psyched to have it finished - it includes two companies of 15mm Soviets for Battlefront's new game "Team Yankee" - a T-72 tank company and a motor rifle company mounted in BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles.  There are two Mi-24 Hind gunships for support, and a lone BRDM recon car.  

Group photo of the whole lot - two companies of stuff, plus supports, in 15mm

The vehicles are new plastic multi-part kits from Battlefront, with a lone exception - the BRDM is a metal kit from QRF.  The infantry are 15mm modern Russians/Soviets from Eureka. The Team Yankee infantry from Battlefront, although "released" a month ago, are still nowhere to be found, and overall the Eureka stuff is nicer, even if the kit they are sporting is a little more early 90s than the late 80s look from "Team Yankee". I got sick of waiting for BF, so I went with these Eureka fellows for my first Soviet infantry unit. All of the bases come from Warbases.

Tank commander in Soviet T-72A
Soviet Motor Rifle Battalion commander and his BMP-2 - the BMP models from Battlefront are great
Motor Rifle Company leader - I have used flowers to mark out the command bases for quick reference on the table
There are a bunch of propaganda photos to share, so I'll stow the ranting about multi-part plastic miniatures, sh!tty plastic that breaks on the sprues, and how the unditching beams on the Soviet tanks don't actually assemble as advertised, to focus instead on how nice the BMP models are, and how cool it is in general to have some Hind gunships for the table.  On to more photos!

Motor rifle troops - love these Eureka sculpts
PKM MG bases for the motor rifles
BRDM recon car from QRF - lightly armed and armoured, this thing has one job - burn brightly to mark the location of NATO resistance for advancing Soviet columns
Mi-24 gunships - a pain in the ass to assemble and paint.  I spent a lot of time on them (for me), and I'm still not totally happy with them, but overall I'm really jazzed to have these iconic Cold War beasts ready for the table
You can model them with the landing gear up or down (whatever I think of plastic kits, you have to credit Battlefront for swinging for the fences on these).  I opted for  the gear to be down as I intend to use these to land troops on the table as well as shoot up NATO tanks
T-72As...not an inspiring choice of Soviet tank IMO (the T-80s and T-64s are so much nicer, especially with the Kontakt explosive armour), but it is consistent with the "Team Yankee"  novel...

You get all sorts of tank commanders to use on the models - nice bonus
There are mine plows for all of the tanks if you want them - another very nice touch
I overdo the lense effects a fair bit, but I like the tank to look "alive" and menacing on the table - IRL the lenses are not nearly so visible...
The battalion captures an imperialist town in these propaganda photos
Gunships cover the column - I have to say the look of the static rotors is not that pleasing - a clear acrylic disc giving an impression of the blades turning would look a LOT cooler
The major tries to direct traffic
Motor rifle dismounts take up position

The town centre is swept for resistance and undesirables
PKM teams take up defensive positions
Air landing troops dismount from a Hind
Marksman keeps an eye out for Yankee Imperialists in the distance...
T-72s on the move
So this submission includes a total of 59 infantry and 23 vehicles, all in 15mm, which I think should get me 256 points. Wow - that's nearly a Tamsin-style points bomb! Of course, there can only be one Tamsin, but it's fun to imagine!

My commie overlords make plans for the fall of NATO

I have to say I'm super keen to get this stuff out for a spin on the table sometime soon, although I still need infantry and APCs for the NATO side.  Stay tuned for more on that! Now to try and get something "nautical" painted up for tonight...

Wow. Just wow. Greg, your brushes must be absolutely smoking after this effort.

Point bomb aside, this is a such a great submission. You've become such a master of working in the 15mm scale Greg, that even though I have a dim opinion on the whole 'Team Yankee' hype-fest, when I see stuff like this from you, my resolve begins to crumble. 

While the plastics make you crazy (which I always take great pleasure in reading), you've done a fabulous job on them. I always struggle with painting vehicles, but you make it seem all so easy. The weathering a basework is spot-on and I always like your inclusion of lens reflections on the optics. It literally adds that bit of sparkle to the vehicles.
I completely agree with you regarding those Eureka Soviet infantry - they are gorgeous castings. In fact they look better than most 28s. If you dedicate the time to navigate Eureka's Dantean website it's amazing the number of gems one can find buried amongst their ranges.

Of course, what completely seals it for me is the Hind helicopters. Those things are the absolute t!ts! I love the camo and I agree they'll have better utility with the landing gear down for use in deploying infantry, or as airbase 'chrome'. They are just so nasty and menacing looking - just imagining those things coming over the horizon gives me the shivers.
I'm going to top you off to 260 points for the extra time and effort you spent on these vehicles - they look brilliant. Well done Greg! I definitely look forward to rolling out with these guys the next time we game.

20 comments:

  1. Very nice work, Greg! It's nice to see some infantry with them too! I'm pondering the BF kit for a NeoSov force in my 15mm Scifi. You are confirming all the other reports of the fiddly kit, but damn does that armor and those Hinds look glorious when completed! ;)

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  2. Nice bunch of vehicles and figs Greg. These look like staunch defenders of communist ideals. My fellow citizens of Soviet Canuckistan salute your efforts!

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  3. Great looking force. Off to look at the Eureka site, I many need a ball of string to find my way out again

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  4. nice paintwork, well done Greg, it should be cool to have the same place to play at home.
    my mongol won their first game yesterday evening ;-)

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  5. Comrade Grigori, your commitment to the causes of socialism and anti-imperialism is an example to us all! Nailed it!
    ; )

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  6. Everything about this blog post is my cup of tea. I say that having NOT seen the rules. But the figures the painting and the setting really does get me excited. Excellent!

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  7. Amazing post. A while pile of fantastic stuff, really well painted. I'll be shamelessly copying your lense effects wherever I can, things have to be exaggerated on the tabletop or they won't be seen after all :)

    These look great with the scenery too and when the BF infantry turn up I shudder to think how many you'll have to invade the West with!

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  8. Brilliant force you've got there, I really like the armoured assets you've painted. And all the basing looks gorgeous as well!

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  9. Very well done, an impressive submission.

    John

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  10. Those are really fecking nice Greg!

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  11. Amazing work Greg! Some impressive Soviet steel! And some pretty nice looking terrain as well!

    Though horrible vehicles in real life :D I've once had the misfortune of having to travel inside a BMP-2 during officer training. Definitely not designed for someone over 190cm tall :) Nice vehicles from a recce officers point of view as they are loud as hell and produce really dark exhaust fumes that can be seen from far away. Makes scouting work easy :)

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  12. Cracking stuff, very inspiring!

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  13. Amazing work Greg, they all look stunning. I love your smaller scale work, it's really good and really fast.

    You are making me work though to have a hope in the Modern Challenge, I need to get my head down and focus on some middle east terrorists in the next few days, or you will drop another bomb like this and I will not be able to compete. hmm, maybe bomb and middle east should not be in the same post, think I will get flagged on the security alerts???

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  14. Wow Greg! That's some serious firepower you've amassed there! While I'm sure NATO will stem the tide in the end, your Reds will give them a hard time for sure. Will certainly reference back to your work when I take a go at my stuff.

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  15. That's an awesome collection of Cold war soviet military power.
    Huge. Excellent work! Cheers

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