Winter Soviets in the Painting Challenge

 

I opened the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge with an entry just in under the free-fire wire. This is a bunch of models I started before the Challenge so they're suitable for the first Circle - Limbo. 

Earlier last year I spotted a smokin' deal on Warlord Winter Soviets from Meeplemart - it was like $100 less than the price on the Warlord Games website. So as with many hobby projects it started with a "great deal" :-)

Anyway the box came with a plastic KV-1/2 model tank, 80 infantry, and some HQ/mortar/Maxim HMG models. As the first tranche for the Challenge I've painted 40 infantry, a metal Maxim HMG, and one of the HQ models. Colour scheme mirrors the one on the Warlord site. GW Zandri Dust [or Vallejo Khaki) washed Agrax Earthshade for the uniforms, black with Vallejo Dark Rubber for the boots, Celestra Grey washed Nuln Oil for the scarves, Doombull Brown for the belts and leatherwork. Some of the webbing was highlighted with a lighter khaki tone. I'm painting on an assembly line here so not a ton of extra detail. 

This chap with the Molotov cocktail is definitely my favourite but one is probably enough for the platoon :-) 

Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of multipart plastic models but the Warlord ones are tolerable, if you can get them at a deep discount like I did. At regular price it's $68USD for 40 models and at those prices I would buy metal models from Crusader or someone like that. 

But if you get 'em cheap they're OK, even though they have separate arms and weapons. I really prefer the weapons molded onto the arms for ease of assembly and good looks. But these went together mostly OK and look good when painted. Next I'll do another MMG, the mortar, and some command I think.  

Look out for more frozen Russkies!

Bolt Action Soviet Winter 1:56 KV-1/2

I'm making a tentative start on a new project here, a winter-themed WW2 Soviet force. I picked up the big Bolt Action box set from Meeplemart (they had offered it for an unbelievable deal - less in CAD than the MSRP in USD!) and it included a 1:56 KV tank that can be assembled as either (or both!) a KV-1 and KV-2. 

First I'll show the big chap, the KV-2. Equipped with a 152mm howitzer, the KV-2 was designed as a bunker buster par excellence. Plus it just looks insane with that top-heavy extra-tall turret. So cool.

Of course the heavily-armoured KV hull was identical on both the -1 and -2. In the early part of the war in the East, the Germans' tank guns and AT guns had real problems with the Russischer Koloss; there's a famous story about a KV holding up an entire kampfgruppe of 6. Panzerdivision at Raseiniai. 

I used the Sonic Sledgehammer technique to paint the tank - basecoat with Castellan Green, panel highlights with Deathworld Forest, then sponge with Corax White.

Mr. Sledgehammer recommends as a next step that you sponge on some of the basecoat - but using straight Castellan Green sponged on, is too light - probably because it's going on over a white basecoat rather than black. But I just darkened the Castellan with some craft black and it worked OK.

Before that though, I applied the decals. The Soviets often painted tactical markings and slogans over top of the whitewash so that's what I did on the KV-1. With the KV-2, the yellow didn't show much contrast over the whitewash, so I put those decals on top of the green, then sponged the Corax around it.

I also applied some sponge Corax on the tracks and running gear, like it had been driving through snow. I didn't use Sonic's baking soda mix to apply snow to the model though.

I'm OK with how the model turned out. Lots of base colour showing through the whitewash and I like the effect.

Sadly all of the Bolt Action models are in 1:56 scale rather than my preferred 1:48, and especially with larger vehicles the difference is quite pronounced. At left is a Hobby Boss 1:48 KV-1 I painted for my Finns, and at right is the 1:56 KV-1 I just painted. But I guess as long as I don't put a 1:48 KV next to it on the wargames table it should be OK. But it'll be kinda weird for the 1:48 T-34 I'll be building next to be a bigger model than this one. So it goes. 
 

Challenge Submission #5 - За Родину (For the Homeland) WW2 Soviet Armour

Since I had painted up a large force of German armoured vehicles in an earlier submission, Stalin was starting to look at the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with growing suspicion. It was now time to increase the Red Army's tank arm. Ready for this week's report are the following: a BA-20 armoured car, a trio of BT-7 fast tanks, a KV-1, and a Lend-Lease M10 Wolverine.

First up is a BA-20 armoured car, which is a 1/48 scale plastic kit from Ace Models out of Kyiv. I did another model by this company in my first submission as part of my early war Polish Army reinforcements. I found these kits to be finely detailed, but a bit fiddly to put together. Instead of the body being a one- or two-piece molding, it consisted of separate eight pieces. After assembly, the vehicle was primed black with a rattle can, and given a base coat of Russian Green. This was followed by some drybrushing along raised surfaces and edges with Vallejo Olive Green. After the decals were applied, it got a wash of Vallejo European Dust.

 

Up next is a platoon of three 1/56 scale BA-7 fast tanks from Warlord Games. The Soviets produced over 5700 of these between 1935 and 1940, and in 1941 it was the main cavalry tank of the Soviet army. However some 2000 were lost during the first 12 months on the Eastern Front.  These are resin castings with metal gun barrels and turret hatches. The castings were very clean, and came as just two pieces - the body of the tank, including all the tracks and road wheels, and the turret. The kits all included a metal tank commander of which I used one. They also included flame and smoke markers consisting of a wooden base and some coloured wool in white, black, and orange-red to glue on. They were painted in a similar manner to the BA-20 armoured car.

 

 Now we have the "Russischer Koloss" or "Russian Colossus", the mighty KV-1 heavy tank. The Soviets produced over 5,000 of these between 1939 and 1943, with about 500 in service at the start of Operation Barbarossa. This is another 1/48 scale model, this time from Hobby Boss. When first looking at the kit, especially with all the separate track pieces, I was a bit intimidated. However it went together very smoothly, and had a lot of interesting details such as etched brass parts, and fine twisted copper wire for the tow cables. The painting technique I used was the same as with the previous vehicles. I used one of the three options for decals provided by the kit, specifically that of the 12th Guards Armoured Regiment, 1st Moscow Mechanized Division, August 1942.

 

Lastly I did a Lend-Lease M10 Wolverine, which is a repainted 1/50 scale Solido diecast model that I was given by fellow Conscript DaveV. I already had a 1/56 scale resin model of the M10 Achilles with a 17-pounder from Warlord Games, and the size disparity was too great for me to ever field the two models on the table together. The solution was to send the Solido M10 to the Eastern Front. Approximately 52 M10s were supplied to the Soviet Union through Lend-Lease. They were used to form two self-propelled artillery regiments. The first was the 1223rd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment of the 29th Tank Corps, part of the 5th Guards Tank Army. This unit served on the 3rd Belorussian Front in 1944, taking part in summer campaigns in Belorussia, the Baltic, and East Prussia. The 1239th Self-propelled Artillery Regiment was part of the 16th Tank Corps, 2nd Tank Army. It fought in Belorussia and Poland in 1944.

Painting this vehicle was pretty much as per the rest of the vehicles in this post. The only change was the addition of a gun crew, which was needed due to the open-topped turret. The three crewmen were converted from some spare Soviet tank crew that were left over from a Bandai T34 kit plus two sets of 'seated legs' left over from some unused Panzer crews. I also added a .50 cal machine gun from my bits box.  In the end, I had to trim a little off the bottom of their legs so that they would all fit in the turret. I am pretty pleased with the way they all came together.

 

Thanks for reading.

Second World War Soviets

 The Analogue Painting Challenge is about to kick off next week, and this year I am looking at expanding my Bolt Action Second World War collection starting with my Soviet horde. Here is the current array on parade. The infantry are primarily from Black Tree Design, with a few riflemen and the majority of the heavy weapons from Battle Honors. The platoon of T34/76 tanks consists of a 1/50 Corgi, two 1/50 Solido, and 1/48 Bandai. The Bandai T34 and the 'captured' Kubelwagen are recent additions, but most of the figures and tanks were painted over a decade ago and saw much action on the table top with the after school wargames club I organized.

 

A group photo of my Soviets: four rifle squads of nine men each, one SMG squad of eight men, two medium mortars, one heavy machine gun, one medium machine gun, one 76mm divisional gun, a headquarters, a captured Kubelwagen, and four T34-76 tanks, ready to repel the Fascist invaders.

A close up of one of the rifle squads, the 76mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3), and two 82mm 82-BM-37 battalion mortars. The Battle Honors mortar teams came with figures to either be 'on the go' or 'deployed'.

Another two rifle squads each consisting of a section leader with a submachine gun, six riflemen, and a DP-28 light machine gun. Behind them are a DShK 1938 heavy machine gun team, and a PM M1910 medium machine gun team. The machine teams again came with enough figures to be either 'on the go' or 'deployed'.

A fourth rifle squad in front, a squad armed with PPSh-41 submachine guns behind them, and a platoon of T34-76s at the back.

A stern commander with his captured Kubelwagen staff car, and a small escort of riflemen.

A group of 'character figures' from Black Tree Design. You can just smell the bacon frying. 

A close up of the two medium mortar teams from Battle Honors.

A close up of the two machine gun teams, heavy machine gun on the left, medium machine gun on the right.

A close up of two 1/50 diecast T34s from Solido (closest to the camera) and Corgi. The Corgi is a later model with two hatches in the turret.

The last two T34s, a plastic 1/48 Bandai kit, and a 1/50 Solido diecast model. Both are the early version with the single turret hatch.

 

So what's on the workbench for the next few months? Soviet infantry in summer uniforms, Soviet infantry in winter uniforms, Siberian veterans, a variety of support weapons, more tanks, and an armoured car or two. Below are just a few of the projects I hope to have rolling off the assembly line soon.

Soviet Infantry (Winter) and Siberian Veterans from Warlord Games, and another T34/76, this time from Tamiya. I plan to do this one in Winter camouflage.

 

Russian Infantry in Summer Uniforms, Russian Infantry Heavy Weapons, and a pair of Russian 45mm Anti-Tank Guns, all from Plastic Soldier Company, and a KV-1 from Hobby Boss.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed this little trip down memory lane. As projects are completed I will post them on the blog to keep you up to date on my painting challenge progress.

15mm "Gvozdika" (Carnation) 122mm SP Gun Battery from Zvezda for Team Yankee

I got a real surprise in the mail a couple days ago. Back in early July I'd ordered some Zvezda models from Evgeniy, a Russian eBay vendor. By late September it seemed clear that the models were lost and weren't going to arrive, so I sought and received a refund from eBay - at the same time promising Evgeniy that if the models ever did show up, I'd pay him again for them.

And can you believe it - they finally did show up - three 15mm (1:100) 2S1 "Carnation" 122mm SP howitzers. They're push-fit models that go up very quickly, but of course have the standard drawbacks of push-fit models - they can be a bit fragile in assembly. (Yes I did send money to Evgeniy for which he expressed deep gratitude)

The models themselves are reasonably detailed and paint up quickly. The surface detail takes well to the standard Magic Russian Spraycan + Agrax Earthshade + Ushabti Bone drybrush. 

I added some weathering with Doombull Brown rust marks and Leadbelcher chips, plus some spare Team Yankee Russian decals of course.

In terms of cost, the three vehicle kits cost me $21.70 USD including shipping from Russia. This compares favorably with the Battlefront box, which tallies at $41.50 USD (before shipping) but includes unit cards. The battlefront models are resin and metal multimedia kits which you may prefer, or not, to injection-molded plastic kits. The barrels on the Zvezda models can be elevated though, unlike the Battlefront resin. Delivery from Battlefront may or may not be speedier and more reliable than Russian post...

The Zvezda kits will be perfectly useable when if we can ever have games again. Game stats for the models are included in the current Red Thunder book and the forthcoming Soviet army book, of course. Let me just say that an artillery template combined with direct fire anti-tank capability (a very respectable AT21 at up to 24") can come in quite handy.

So that's another Soviet unit for the shelf. Hope everyone is staying healthy and sane.

T-80s and BMP-3s for Team Yankee

As Team Yankee fans are probably well aware, Battlefront has re-jigged and re-branded the game - it's now "World War III Team Yankee". No big deal really, but the exciting thing is the new value-priced "Starter" box set with two new types of Soviet armoured vehicle - the T-80 tank (four models) and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle (two models) - plus T-64, M60 and Abrams tanks and Bradley IFVs. Sixteen vehicles come in the box for $60 CAD - that's a steal.

Anyway, I've now assembled and painted the T-80s and BMP-3s as part of continuing Soviet escalation. Both models are simple and straightforward to assemble, as usual from Battlefront. I basecoated the T-80s with Krylon camo spray (a can bought on eBay arrived last last week) and applied a camo pattern with stippled Zandri Dust. As usual the vehicle was washed with Agrax Earthshade and lenses picked out after that. Decals were applied to the turret and some Ushabti Bone applied - done. As these vehicles are the Soviets' latest and greatest I didn't do any significant weathering. They're fresh to the front.

And wow - the game stats for these beasts are staggering. Not only are they equipped with an excellent 125mm main gun with an Anti-Tank rating of 22 and Firepower 2+, they can also deploy an optional AT-11 "Sniper" ATGM, also with AT of 22. The Sniper also incorporates an ERA-defeating tandem warhead. Both weapon systems can be fired on the move.

The T-80's armour package also represents a significant upgrade over the T-64, with front armour of 20 and explosive reactive components that upgrade side armour to 16 versus HEAT munitions.

They're certainly not cheap though, at around 8 points each.

I'm no expert on Soviet armour, but from what I've read a consensus appears to be that the T-80's game stats may be somewhat optimistic when compared to reality. However, I can certainly see Battlefront's point in doing this - presumably not all Soviet players want to always field hordes of T-72s or T-64s, and upgrading the T-80 gives them a viable option to field against Leopard IIs and Chieftains/Challengers in a non-horde list. This is OK by me, as after all, it's just a game.

The other new vehicle model included in the box is the BMP-3. This recon vehicle brings some neat capability to the table as well.

Armed with a 100mm gun (meh) and even better, an AT-10 Stabber ATGM (AT of 21!) the BMP-3 can ambush NATO tanks with the best of them. However one cool carryover on the BMP-3 is the 30mm 2A42 gun with ROF 3/2, AT10 and anti-helicopter capability.

The two BMP-3s in the box were also basecoated with Magic Spray and weathered with some watered-down Doombull Brown rust streaks and Leadbelcher chips.

Generous amounts of crew were provided in the box as well - but no decals. However if you're a regular purchaser of Soviet Team Yankee models you'll no doubt have plenty of spares on hand.

The BMP-3s have some very clever antenna mounts cast into the turret (I think they would just fit broom straws perfectly) but I haven't decided yet whether to employ them.

Great detail on the BMP-3 as with all Team Yankee plastics! Like the T-80, it seems that Battlefront has prioritized bringing out some new toys for the Soviets despite thin historical evidence for their use...  while it supposedly entered service in 1987, the BMP-3 only broke cover in deployment with the Soviets in 1990. I guess that's close enough to our time period.  

Anyway I hope you enjoyed the post. Get out there and grab the new Team Yankee starter box if you want to be the first on your block to get the new Soviet goodies... I got mine from Tista Minis in Hamilton, Ontario.