1:50 Soviet T-55 Tank

Who doesn't love the T-55?? Workhorse of the Soviet and Warsaw Pact armoured forces for nearly three decades (not to mention a stalwart part of many tin-plated dictators' armed forces even still), the T-55's squat silhouette just bespeaks "Cold War". For awhile now I've had this diecast T-55 sitting in a box, but in a sudden rush of inspiration earlier this week I decided to paint it.

The hull colour is a superb spray - Rust-Oleum Specialty Camouflage ultra-flat green. After removing the tracks, the model was sprayed all over.

This was followed up with Mechanicus Standard Grey on the roadwheel tires, Leadbelcher on the DshK machinegun, and XV-88/Zandri Dust on the mantlet, then the whole model was washed with Agrax Earthshade.

Decals from the GW vehicle sheet were used, and the IR lamp was painted gem-style red. Is that what an IR lens looks like? Who knows, but it looks cool.

I also tried, for the first time, something I've often thought of doing on tracked vehicle models with stretchy rubber or vinyl tracks. These tend to bug me because the track's top run stretches straight from drive sprocket to idler sprocket and don't "sag" onto the roadwheels like the real thing. So I decided to engineer a solution for that (above).

On the T-55 model I drilled holes above the first and last roadwheels on each side, a track's width above the wheels, large enough to fit a stiff wire through. I then ran a wire through the holes and fitted the tracks so they fit between the wire and the roadwheel. This pushes the tracks' top run down onto the roadwheels, giving an impression of sag. Not as good as link-and-length tracks by any means, but works well enough on a suspension setup like the T-55's, or on other tanks like Tigers or Panthers where the upper run of track is supported by the roadwheels.

Some light weathering done with GW Rhinox Hide and Mournfang Brown.

Eureka tank crew make another appearance. Scale of the T-55 looks good compared to these models.

Not sure what kind of game we'd use a T-55 in (as our Cold War 28mm gaming takes place in the '80s or '90s, after the Soviets had pretty much moved on from the T-55), but the model looks good and was really fun to paint. I think the tracks mod worked out OK and I might just use that on other models with vinyl tracks, in future.

Stay healthy gang!

Painting Challenge Theme Submission - "Epic Fail"

A grim fate for this T-55 and crew...vignette from Peter Pig

As Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge cracks along, I have actually managed to enter two of the consecutive Bonus Theme Rounds.  The first was "Nostalgia", and the second, due this past weekend, was "Epic Fail".  Here is my submission for that round - a vignette of a knocked out T-55, painted in a variant of camouflage used by the Syrian army in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

I generally avoid casualty figures, as they are kind of grim, and too much like painting terrain, which I hate doing.  But this little vignette from Peter Pig has been sitting around the pending pile for years, waiting for a coat of paint, and the Challenge was just the right spur to get it done.

The Syrian attack on the Golan Heights in 1973 caught Israel by surprise in a strategic sense, but the tankers on the Golan that day October would have seen the attack coming from their well-sited and prepared defensive positions, and the outnumbered IDF Centurion crews extracted a fearsome toll from the Syrian attackers.  Many Syrian T-55s met the fate seen here...as such this is a perfect, if somewhat haunting, piece of terrain for 1973 games.

The next bonus theme is "Defensive Terrain".  I despise painting terrain of any sort, so I'm not sure I will come up with anything for that round but I still have a couple of weeks, so we'll see. 

As always, I encourage you to check out the Challenge and the Bonus Theme Round page to see all sorts of creative work by the Challengers.  You should take some particular time to check out Byron's outstanding "Epic Fail" submission - off the hook, and worthy of your time, and even votes if you can spare the clicks!

Egyptian T-55 Company in 15mm

Egyptian T-55 company in 15mm - models from Battlefront

Before I got too much further back into Horus Heresy stuff, I wanted to finish off a project I had started back in the spring - completing Egyptian and Israeli forces for Battlefront's "Fate of a Nation" supplement.  I had painted quite a bit of stuff through the spring and summer for both sides, but true to my short-circuiting attention span, I eventually got distracted by other projects even with the finish line in sight!  This T-55 company was the last component I needed for the Egyptian force. I finished three T-55s in July, started on the rest of the company, but suddenly trailed off on to other things.

The T-55 - an inconic piece of Cold War era kit. A decent and modern MBT for the era of the Six Day War, they didn't get a chance to do too well in 1967 for the Egyptians, and the IDF destroyed a great number of them, and captured so many they refit them for IDF service!

I have the attention span of a gnat.  Anyway, while I did this other stuff, six T-55s were sitting on the painting table with a base coat of paint. After weeks of passing over them I finally snapped and finished them off this week.  So here is a completed T-55 company, nine tanks strong.

The tank with the open hatch will be used to represent the company commander

These painted relatively fast, but as I said in my previous post on these vehicles, the quality of the cast metal accessories is very, very disappointing. The cupola MGs, fenders, hatches, fuel tanks and crew were all very poor quality castings.  A great disappointment considering how much you pay for them.

Tactical numbers are from Battlefront; I don't know that the Egyptian army of 1967 was too rigorous when it came to turret numbers, but I think it adds a nice flourish to the vehicles

The main colour is GW's "Zandri Dust", pin-washed with GW's "Agrax Earthshade" wash and weathered liberally with some dark brown chipping and a bit of soot and dust coloured weather powder. The numerals are all decals from Battlefront.  And while their accessories seem to be taking a dive quality-wise, the decals are top-notch!

In Flames of War, the Egyptian companies essentially move as platoons...so this will be a horde of tanks...

This completes my initial Egyptian force for "Fate Of A Nation". In addition to these bad boys, I have a company of IS-3s, a company of mechanized infantry, and a pair of ZSU-57-2s.  It works out to something like just over 1000 points of stuff for the table.

We'll see how long they last on the table tonight!

Egyptian T-55 Tanks for "Fate Of A Nation"

Egyptian T-55 platoon in 15mm - models from Battlefront

The "Fate Of A Nation" roll-out on the painting table continues.  Here is a group of T-55s from Battlefront.  The models are 1/100 scale/15mm size.

The Battlefront T-55 model is nice, or at least a think it could be (stay tuned for more on this).  It is a little larger than the T-55 available from Khurasan, and a little smaller than the one available from Peter Pig. I prefer the size of the Battlefront model to that of Khurasan or Peter Pig, but I have to say that Khurasan's model wins out on good size, value AND really nicely cast accessories (like hatches, MGs, options on the fuel tanks etc - see Dallas' post here for some pics - they are beauties).

Decals from Battlefront

BUT, I have to say this about the Battlefront model - I generally like Battlefront a lot, but the quality of their accessories is really starting to slide.  On these tanks the hull and turret are resin.  The quality of the Battlefront resin is something I am starting to wonder about - on the BTR-152s, the hulls were breaking in the blister pack.  On these tanks, I had cracks on the decking over the treads - still visible on one of the painted models if you look.  These were cracked straight out of the packaging. This pisses me off - for what you pay Battlefront, you shouldn't have to piss around fixing that, or worrying about it.

If you look over the road wheels on the left side of the picture (the right side of the tank) you will see a chunk of deck missing - this is damaged while in the packaging, and trend I have noticed with much "Fate Of A Nation" front stuff from Battlefront - a serious piss-off considering how much you pay

On the Battlefront T-55 the cupola MG, the hatches, the fuel tanks and tracks are all cast in metal.  And the casting quality on these components is completely in the shitter. It's just crap.  At least the road wheels look OK on the treads, but overall tons of flash. The treads have appalling mold lines.  The cupola MG and fuel tanks are really, really weak. The fuel tanks have terrible seams and mold lines, and are cast in once piece  And don't tell me it is "isolated", as I picked up quite a few of these tanks and they are all showing the same problems.

Usual combo of Zandri Dust, pin washing, sponge chipping and weathering powder

These still paint up OK and one might wonder if, because of that, these little nitpicks on quality really matter? Well, they certainly matter to me. For what you pay Battlefront, there is frankly no excuse for crap quality and it is very, very disappointing.  Khurasan's tank accessories, by comparison, are almost flawless - and if a one-man band like Khurasan can have decent metal bits cast, then an org the size of Battlefront can frigging figure it out too.  It is very disappointing to see Battlefront get so many things right (the sizing, the magnets, the decals etc.) and then screw up on the quality of the parts.

An easy target from an IDF gunner

Battlefront does retain one important advantage over Khurasan - it is generally open for business, whereas Khurasan is increasingly either out of stock, or closed to catch up on orders, or both.  This is why I ended up ordering Battlefront T-55s in the first place.  It was a dumb move. Don't make the same mistake I made - avoid Battlefront, and dodge the Khurasan supply situation. Order from Peter Pig, which I should have done, and will do in the future...the Peter Pig tanks are a little heftier, but worth it for the combination of high quality and actual availability.  It makes up for the headache you get trying to figure out their web site.

You can also try Old Glory - I haven't seen them myself, but their 15mm T-55s are supposed to be excellent.  If you can figure out whether it is Old Glory 15s, Old Glory 25s, or Skytrex, or Quality Castings, or whatever the !#$#!@ it is, then good luck to you...

Detail on the cupola hatches and cupola MG is really, really poor - bottom of the barrel in my opinion. The casting of the fuel drums as a single piece is also another weak point, and you will go blind filing off the mold lines to make them presentable...

In "Fate Of A Nation", the Egyptian tank unit selections are essentially companies, and can be rolled out in company-like strength of nine or ten tanks.  We have tested "Fate Of A Nation" and based on that I can sense three T-55s would barely last one turn, and probably not even get a chance to return fire before the IDF gunners wiped them off the table.  So these three will need company.  In all, I am aiming for a total of nine tanks in the unit. 

I like to paint lenses...adds character to the model.  In actual combat operations, I think they are often covered, but that's no fun!

But will I get there soon? When it comes to focusing on a gaming project, I generally have the attention span of a two-year-old.  I have actually managed to be fairly focused on this "Fate Of A Nation" stuff for like a couple of months, which to me feels like ten years.  In this recent run I have managed to finish infantry, APCs and air support for the IDF, and infantry & APCs, more infantry & APCs, some AAA tanks and some heavy tanks for the Egyptians.  I am so close to finishing a basic force for the Egyptians - I just need to finish another six T-55s (and maybe a few other bits) and I'm there...it seems so close, but I am kind of exhausted on the Egyptian tank front for now...stay tuned for another diversion as we prepare for another visit from our good friend Curt from out west!

15mm Arab Armour

Syrian SU-100s - models from Battlefront

More stuff from the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, two Syrian SU-100 tank destroyers and a T-55 from Khurasan, all 15mm size models.

The SU-100, a surplus beast from the later period of WW2, served in the organic anti-tank elements of Arab infantry and mechanized divisions in both the 1967 and 1973 wars.  These two particular beasts - both Battlefront models - are painted in an Syrian-inspired 1973 camouflage scheme that included patches of yellow and grey over a dark green base.

New camoflage scheme attempted on these tanks

These models will see action in scenarios where the Syrians are attempting to halt the IDF counter-attack across the "Purple Line" in 1973.

The quality of these Battlefront models is top notch.  They are from a "Guards Tank Destroyer" which includes five tanks, with options to paint them as either SU-85 or SU-100 tank destroyers.  I'm not sure what I will do with the other three - either paint them up for my WW2 Soviets, or paint them in Egyptian colours...we'll see...

Great models from Battlefront

The T-55 is from Khurasan, part of Khurasan's new 1973 war range.  While I was not very wowed by the Khurasan IDF infantry, this tank is really, really nice.  The body, turret and treads are all resin, and the accessories - cupola hatches, main gun, IR searchlight, cupola MG, etc. - are cast in metal.  You can build the tank as either a T-54 or T-55. One very unique feature with these models is the fact that you have the option to model the spare external fuel cannisters, common features of Warsaw Pact-era tanks, at the rear of the tank on or off.

T-55 from Khurasan

The model components are a little fiddly, but overall it comes together quite nicely. Some of the detail on the hull is a little soft, particularly the indentations on the fuel tanks, but overall this is a clean, crisp tank with unique modelling options and a quality in metal accessories.  Well done Khurasan!

Painted in Egyptian/generic Arab desert/arid colours

If there is any issue with these tanks, it is the size.  They are a touch small - not inaccurate, just smaller than, say, a Peter Pig T-55.  It's just a sniff of the "1/56" effect.  I don't think they would mix that well.  But that's no deal breaker.  These are nice tanks, and you can buy them in lots of ten if, like me, you need T-55s in company-sized allotments!

Khurasan did a great job with these models!

This is painted in colours that would work for the Egyptian army in 1967, as I am hoping to do some "Fate of a Nation" games.  Yes...Flames of War...you saw it here...but these tanks will also do in a pinch to represent the Egyptians in 1973, or the Iraqi tanks sent to help the Syrians in 1973.

This was just a test model.  No matter what rules I use, I will need plenty of T-55s for Arab-Israli gaming. One tank down, and as you can see from the picture, a lot more to go...

15mm Yom Kippur Bits

Egyptian T-55s, kicking off expansion of my 15mm Yom Kippur project

Well I've been on vacation, and it's been summer (or sort-of-summer, but the weather seems to have finally turned back to seasonal norms here in the prairies), and I've been painting stuff, but not really in any sort of sensible way, or discernible pattern. So I can't really call this "progress" on a project, but it's an excuse to post some pictures! It's just a few bits for my 15mm Yom Kippur War collection - an IDF half track, and a some Egyptian "test" models.

IDF 15mm half track

The M3 half track is one of the IDF's iconic armoured fighting vehicles. By the time of the 1973 war, the IDF was starting to phase them out in favour of the new M113 APCs, but the M3s still saw a lot of action in the conflict.

The model is accurate for WW2, but I think I goofed in terms of making it correct for the IDF. MG is not in the right place, for starters

So far my 15mm Yom Kippur project has focused on the Golan Heights front, and the IDF armoured infantry battalions in place there at the time of the Syrian attack had the new M113s. But M3s were still around, so I thought it would be fun to paint one up, act as a command APC, etc.

This is a Peter Pig 15mm vehicle - lovely to work with

There are a lot of M3 half-track models out there, but nearly all are set for WW2. This is a Peter Pig 15mm model, and while it is lovely, I should have modified a few things to match the look of the IDF. I'm not sure the IDF used the cupola for the MG, for instance, and they often mounted another MG in the front plate to the right of the driver. Perhaps those will be conversion attempts for another time. But to try and cover up for the lack of specifics, I threw on a paint scheme that I have seen in some of the photos from the war in the hopes this will allow the vehicle to blend in on the table. But is the marking from 1973? Or 1967? I'm not sure - I'm hoping for the best.

Lots of room in the M3!

I am also looking to expand my collection into the Sinai. Operation "Badr", the Egyptian crossing of the Suez canal, and the IDF's furious counter attack and counter crossing at Deversoir provide a great backdrop for gaming. That will mean getting some Egyptians done, so I experimented with some painting schemes with that in mind. Up first, some infantry.

Peter Pig 15mm "Professionals" painted as 1973 Egyptian troops

Once again, after searching around, I opted to go with Peter Pig 15mm, and hope the scale and brushwork can give some cover to the fact that the figures are not Egyptians at all. The Egyptian infantry in 1973 were issued with a dark tan coloured sleeveless vest/jerkin for the crossing operation. I think it was meant to help the troops carry more equipment across in the assault rafts, but that's just a guess.  They are one of those little details that really "make" the setting, however, so I'm trying to bodge it.

One fellow has an RPD LMG, the rest have AKs

The Peter Pig figures do not have this jerkin/vest sculpted on to them (and why would they - they are meant to represent general infantry in Africa, not 1973 Egyptians) but to cover for this I painted their shirts two different colours. At 15mm size, it looks sort of close...I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. My highlighting made it a little too bright, so in future I will leave it darker to try and up the contrast level.

Should be good enough for 15mm Yom Kippur action in the Sinai

And of course, the real "stars of the show" (with apologies to the hard working foot sloggers) are the tanks! Gaming the Yom Kippur War is a great excuse to cover the table in tanks. I'm surprised more WW2 gamer-types don't get into it, honestly, because so many of them (like me) love gaming with armour. But enough about that for now, on to the Egyptian armour...

T-55s from Peter Pig painted as Egyptian tanks for 1973

I've seen many variations on Egyptian camouflage and general vehicles colours - some all green, some all sand, some all stone, some a mix, some stone with green and brown. No one scheme has struck me as "official". For testing purposes I started out on these two test models using a stone-coloured base with green splotches. I like the look of the pattern a lot, and in theory I think it would help for fighting in the Sinai desert, or in the agricultural areas around the canal where there is some greenery to hide in. These T-55s are from Peter Pig.

I love these Peter Pig tanks!

I really like the look of this camo pattern - still need some practice but it will get better.  And as I expand the vehicle line, I can experiment with some of the different patterns I've seen on the Egyptian tanks.

Ready to take on the IDF in some major Sinai engagements - just need to add another 10 or so....

I have a few more of these Peter Pig T-55s, but to bulk up my Egyptian tank force I am looking at either the Battlefront Vietnam war box sets (the NVA tanks, APCs and the AA tanks from that range would all be perfect for the Sinai and also provide nice additions to my Syrian forces) or the Old Glory products. I despise Battlefront's pricing, but their stuff IS nice. The Old Glory pricing is better, but I'm always wary of their quality, which can be hit and miss - but I have to say I've heard great things about their T-54s/55s.

Special thanks to Nate and his blog for his help and interest in this project. His Yom Kippur War gaming project is top-notch - check it our here and look through his blog. Nate - your advice and tips are greatly appreciated!

Even More Syrians

T-55 from Peter Pig

Another chunk of Syrian stuff - a platoon of BTR-60s from Old Glory and a solitary T-55.

The BTR-60s were very, very nice models. They assembled smoothly and have a lot of detail on the hull in particular.  They are excellent renderings of this common Cold War era Soviet APC.

Very lovely castings from Old Glory

This T-55 is a "newer" one from Peter Pig - they have corrected issues on the barrel of the main gun, putting the fume extractor on the correct end of the barrel.

I wish Peter Pig would add MGs for the cupola on the T-55s...

The Peter Pig vehicle castings appear to be on the larger end of the 15mm spectrum - when compared with the T-62 from QRF, the Peter Pig T-55 is actually a little larger.  But it will all be fine on the table.

Peter Pig T-55 on the left, QRF T-62 on the right

I have half a company of T-62s and T-55s finished now - will want to get to at least a company-plus-command (about 11 tanks) of each.  Will need to make another order on the T-55s, but I believe a package of QRF T-62s should be along soon...