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| 1/600 scale IDF troops ready for action |
Some more Pico Armour painting - this time from the Arab-Israeli wars. Up first is a group of IDF infantry in M3 half-tracks. Depending on what level of abstraction is going on in the game, these could represent either a couple of platoons of infantry, or if going Spearhead-style (where each base represents a platoon), an entire mechanized infantry battalion. The two smaller square bases have support half tracks - one an AA track with .50 cal MGs, and the other mounting a 90mm AT gun.
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| M3 half tracks a-plenty |
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| Magachs ready to roll |
Up next is a group of M48 Pattons - known as "
Magachs" in IDF service. As they did so often, the IDF modified these tanks, giving them a bigger gun (105mm, up from 90mm) and changing the commander's cupola, removing the strange little MG turret. These models do not capture those changes - on a 3mm scale tank, I don't worry too much about it, but I have to say the muzzle brakes and camera (or whatever that box thing is) over the main gun give it away - a credit to the amazing sculpting on these little figures.
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| You can see a couple of the M113 TOWs mixed in with the Magachs here - sorry about the blurry pic |
There are a few M113s with TOW launchers mixed in with this group. The Yom Kippur War was a real coming out party of sorts for ATGM weapons like the Soviet Sagger and the US TOW missiles. The IDF used these weapons as part of their crushing of the Egyptian offensive toward the passes in the Sinai.
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| BMP-mounted infantry and support |
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| Company or battalion, depending on the game scale |
On the Arab side I have a unit of BMP-1 infantry, with an attached BRDM scout car and a ZSU-23-4 AAA tank. Again, depending on the game, these could represent either a company or a battalion. The BMP-1 made its big combat debut in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, but the results were not great. They equipped a few infantry battalions attached to independent tank brigades in the Egyptian and Syrian armies.
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| T-62s ready for action in the Sinai |
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| An attached ZSU-23-4 and PT-76, used as a recon tank, provide support |
And last but not least a group of Egyptian T-62 tanks, again with a couple of odds and ends for support. The T-62 also made it's big time combat debut in the middle east during the 1973 war, but they were roughly handled by the IDF. Still, their heavy main guns and unique ammunition (I believe this tank was a pioneer of sorts for using fin-stabilized rounds in the main guns) were noted.
I've got a lot more Pico Armour painted up, but I ran out of bases, so I am waiting for my next Litko shipment to arrive. In the meantime, stay tuned for more random projects and painting work.