This week sees some more mobile firepower in the form of Tachankas . On the WW1 eastern front , RCW and in the Back of Beyond the roads are often poor quality or virtually non existent. Likewise internal combustion vehicles are likely to have poor maintenance a lack of spares or just fuel . Just the thing to get around these issues of course is a horse drawn carriage - and let’s stick a Maxim on it . High speed manoeuvrability and Dakka Dakka . What’s not to like.
28mm options seem fairly limited or overly expensive. Warbases have filled a nice little niche , offering the Tachanka as an MDF kit for £5 , then crew and horse as seperate items . I am not of fan of the Warbases horses so I have used Pendraken 28mm draft horses , which are nicely proportioned and have correct horse furniture . (link -draught-horses-red-h02) The warbases crew figures are little stumpy , but they work well enough on the carriages.
The MDF kit for the carriage is neatly designed and goes together well enough in a short time . For the crew I had to take a file and knife to them to scrape off the shoulder boards as my Bolos don’t have those .
A bit of extra work was done to make some reins from garden twisty wire about 300mm folded in half this is fed through a hole drilled through the drivers hand and then the loose end attached with solder to the bridle at each side the the middle horse .The traces from the horse to the carriage are made from thin black card . I had an interesting delve into how the horse furniture and attachment were generally done , and most seemed to have leather rather than rope or chain that I could see so the black card looks to have done a decent job replicating it .
My storage trays box for these is now completely full . So I guess that’s it for now . I do have a larger boat to complete , but not sure that will be this side of challenge end
My Bolos army has 3 large battles coming up in our ongoing campaign, so wish em luck.
Points
2 x 28 vehicles = 40
6 x 28mm crew = 30
6 x 28mm horses =30
2 guns = 20
***
More tremendous hobby engineering here Dave, and the subject is one of those bits of kit that are icnonic for a given period. You see these, and you immediately think "Russian Civil War". Well done. Also a nice touch that you touch the time to remove the shoulder boards from the crews, as of course those symbols of Imperialist oppression are just a no-go in the fight for the brave new future.
I am sure they will look amazing in your approach game - but the only fate I will ever wish on Bolsheviks is to be mowed down in droves :)
A slight adjustment to the points calculation, as the guns and vehicles are together on this complicated little assemblage, but you still end up with a tidy 100 points - and a fitting cap to this incredible project!
GregB
