Thursday, July 7, 2016

Russia Resurgent Project Update #1

Hello everyone!

My apologies for the lack of posts recently.  We hit the holidays here and I've been busy with family (camping and such).  Rest assured though, progress has been made at a steady pace.  So, what have I managed to get done?

Well, I order lots of stuff, and most of it has arrived.

Modern Russians

I've managed to get all the vehicles assembled as pictured below.  They are just about to start getting painted.  12 vehicles in all, 3 x T-90, 3 x T-80, 3 x BMP-3, 1 x BTR 80, 1 x BTR80A, and 1 x ZSU-23-4 Shilka.  Lots of firepower here!


Next up in my Russian infantry platoon with support.  I sent these figures off to the most excellent Steve Dake and he is already finished painting them ... they should be shipping back to me very soon for basing.  He sent me a couple of preview pictures ... not the best quality pictures but it gives you the general idea.



So the Russians are coming along nicely.  The vehicles will be done in about 3-4 weeks depending on how timing works out.  I'll get the Russians based and take proper pictures when I get them done up.  I'll be in Las Vegas for work next week, so it will likely be the week after next that I get them done.

I've also started putting together my Hind ... :-)


Modern French

I ordered 1:48 scale kits from Gaso.Line (from www.quarter-kit.com).  I took a risk here as there are "large" and "regular" scale 1:48 kits.  The regular scale 1:48 kits mix well with the Empress 1:50 and HLBS 1:48 scale kits.  Large 1:48 are just too big ... border line 1:43 scale IMO.  I have mostly good news on this front (since French armour is very difficult to come buy, and Gaso.Line has just about everything for modern French you can imagine).  I had ordered:

1 x Leclerc MBT
1 x ERC 90 Sagaie
1 x VBCI IFV
1 x VAB (specifically GAS50203K)
1 x AMX 10 RC Giat

The Leclerc, ERC 90 Sagaie, VAB, and AMX 10 RC Giat all worked great with the Empress Miniatures vehicles (pictures below with comparison).  Only the VBCI was out of whack ... and I mean waaay out of whack ... it was larger than teh Leclerc MBT (the MBT is 9.7m long whereas the VBCI is about 7.5m long ... and the VBCI kit is longer and larger than the MBT ... something is off there with the kit ... it says 1:48 but is easily 1:43).

Left to right:
VAB, ERC 90, AMX 10, Leclerc MBT

So great news as I'll use the VAB for my French infantry transports/IFVs.  I order 2 additiona VABs and 1 x command VAB, along with another AMX 10 and Leclerc MBT ... 9 vehicles in all will fill out the French armour.

Here are some comparison pictures with an Empress Leopard 2A6 and my WIP Canadian LAV III conversion ... I reverse the position of the vehicles so you can see how the depth of the photo changes the perceived scale ...










My order from Eureka Miniatures with my modern French infantry showed up today and they did a great job getting me all my requested miniatures.  I have the following:

1 x Officer
1 x Medic
1 x Sniper team
2 x Milan ATGM teams
3 x Infantry sections (2 x 3 man teams each)

Pictured below ... I need to clean them and ship them off to Steve Dake for painting.

French infantry platoon
with support elements
from Eureka Miniatures.

So now I'm just waiting for the remaining armour that I've ordered from France and then I'll have everything I need for my French force.  I expect to be playing my first game of Russians versus French by mid-August.

Modern Canadians

I've started pulling together what I need for the Canadians.  I'm still waiting for the infantry packs to be released by Full Battle Rattle miniatures.  I have what I need to do my LAV III and Bison conversions.  The base of my LAV III conversion is the Empress Stryker body with the LAV 25 turret.  For the Bison I'm using the LAV 25 body and the MG turret from the Stryker.

I got the basic assembly of one of the LAV III's done ... the turret is just sitting on top of the hull at the moment ... still a lot of work to do but the basic premise is there ...

WIP LAV III

WIP LAV III

I've also assembled 2 of the 3 Leopard 2A6 tanks I'll be using for the force ... here is one pictured below ...


I'll be converting 3 Bisons total ... 1 command and 2 APC's that will carry support teams and such.

So there you have it ... forward progress and gaming in sight!

32 comments:

  1. Very Nice Jay!!! I can't wait to see these hit the table.

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  2. Looking great, I also just got my hind in the mail. Still waiting for my BTR80s from empires.
    I believe Empress is supposed to be makeing Germans and French later on this year.
    Also I am not sure what my work schedule is next week, but I will see if any of the guys want to put together a game at least of 6 or 15mm Cold War fun. Don't have enough stuff set up for 28mm at the moment.

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    1. Also looking forward to seeing the Canadian vehicles when you're done with them

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    2. Excellent... yes, Paul at Empress said Germans later this year ... French will be later on I guess but are planned. Hey, any port (or scale) in a storm :-) Thanks!

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    3. Cool, I will hit the guys up and see what's going on with them.
      Little shop of magic where I am currently employed is a decent large store in Vegas and the one I usually play at is called Empire comics and games.

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    4. Also check out the Las Vegas wargamers facebook page.

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    5. I'll try to make it out there ... work schedule has me pinned down in the Mandalay Bay most of the week.

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    6. No worries, work takes precedence especially on a work trip. Ether way I hope you enjoy your stay.

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    7. Thanks! How far from the strip are those stores? I suppose I can just Google it :-)

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    8. 10-15mins. Mostly do to traffic.

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    9. Oh cool ... that isn't bad at all.

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    10. Dispite it's size Vegas is easy to get around. The taxis will still try to ripe you off, but compared to California traffic it's not bad at all.

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  3. Outstanding!
    Well done Jay. looks like that LAV III is coming along nicely.
    That French amour looks great.
    Can't wait to see all this painted up.

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    1. Thanks good sir ... you've been making great progress yourself! Can't wait to see the PLA and Australians engaged :-)

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    2. Aah! Those PLA.
      Need to get my order in for the Empress one.

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    3. lol ... it is exactly what John from my group did ... he tried to make them work (he bought them before the Empress PLA release) ... then chucked them and ordered Empress when they came out ... no comparison :-)

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  4. "Hi, my name is Jay, and I have an addiction" lol! Holy smokes, that's a ton of models - extremely jealous! Seriously, good stuff Jay!
    *I want to see exactly where you store everything!? The amount of plastic tubs you must have has to be staggering!?*

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    1. Lol!!! Yes, I do have a problem ... fortunately I can't find any
      AWA (addicted wargamers anonymous) groups ;-) Funny enough I had completely emptied my shed this week and reorganized it with all my stuff ... but I also have several cupboards in the garage as well ... I'very been meaning to sell some stuff as well ... lol ... someday I'll get around to it :-)

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    2. First dibs if your selling any moderns. LOL!

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    3. lol ... I have lots of left over Empress Miniatures that I'll be unloading :-)

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    4. Flick me an email when you do.

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  5. I look forward to seeing the progress on your LAV. Of course you need 4 for the platoon. 😁

    Bisons are command post, ambulance and logistics vehicles. They were supposed to be IFVs for the reserves but the Regular Force saw the usefulness of them.

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    1. Hi James, thanks! Yeah, I need to add one more LAV III. Since I have all those extra LAV 25 bodies left over I figured I'd do some Bisons as support vehicles :-)

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  6. So when are you going to make this conversion?
    http://breakingdefense.com/2016/02/army-to-upgun-all-strykers-30-mm-javelin/

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    1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nGHIKgvKjE

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    2. Oooo, interesting ... gonna think on that :-)

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  7. That's some collection thus far. How do you find the rules? Will they cope with large amounts of on table ordnance?
    How big is your table?
    Keep up the great work, it's giving me ideas for sure!

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    1. The rules have been working great to be honest, and have come a long way since the first modification, all do to lots of play testing. We usually use a 6x8 table and play with about 40 figures per side with 8-12 vehicles per side for the symmetrical battles. AsymmetriCal engagements are smaller ... usually 4x4 or 4x6 table with a couple of vehicles, 35-45 Insurgents, a good number of them recycling... with 2-3 squads of friendlies

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  8. I have been watching your army lists and I liked it a lot, but I have not seen any cost of points.
    Is there anything done about it?

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    1. Not planning to address points yet ... they are problematic in that even in WW2 Bolt Action points are imbalanced.

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