Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Conflicts that came in from the Cold => Topic started by: CapnJim on May 23, 2021, 07:30:49 PM
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Today, it's modern US police. First 3 pics are patrol officers and their rides. These officers are all Crooked Dice 28mm. Great figs. 5 packs, 4 figs each. One pack each armed with pistols, shotguns, patrol rifles, batons, and bolt action rifles (SMLE's though - an odd choice for US police...). Each pack comes with enough heads to outfit each officer with either traditional "bus-driver" hats, "Smoky-the-Bear" hats, baseball caps, or bare heads. Even female officers are included. These are great figs! Vehicles are 1/43 PD cars (just a bit big, but they work for us...) Anyhoo, I have done 3 different generic departments, as our "cops-n-robbers" games will be set in a small town somewhere, and that will involve multiple departments responding through mutual aid.
The next 2 pics are the County's SWAT team. They are older Steve Jackson Games Special Ops figs, but they work out quite nicely for a SWAT team. Outfitted just right - a leader, a breacher with a ram, a sniper, and 3 team members. All but the breacher and sniper are armed with H&K MP5s. The breacher has a shotgun slung on his back, and the sniper has (Surprise!) a scoped rifle. One of the MP5-armed team-members has a flash-bang grenade readied. These figs are OK, sculpt-wise, but they painted up decently enough.
The vehicle is a Solido Cadillac-Gage V100, kitted out in Police livery (I plan to doll it up just a bit).
Enjoy!
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Nice collection!
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Very well painted.
Love them.
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Thanks for the comments! Working on a cops-n-robbers-type scenario in which to use them...
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Nice work.
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Thanks!
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I am working on MOFO Miniatures modern African militia. Hope to have them done sometime next week. Pics to follow soon after that, of course....
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Great stuff ;)
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I look forward to getting a chance to see them in action at one of the area conventions, Jim! Those are looking great. Your last scenario we played at Drums was a blast!
Mike Demana
http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/
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Nice…
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Thanks!
6 of 15 done on the African militia. Getting there.
@mikedemana: One of the scenarios ideas I have for Advance the Colors is some kind of cops-n-robbers stuff...
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Nice work, I like your choice to depict different police departments. I have those Crooked Dice police in my very long paint queue.
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Love it mate, top quality
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Nice work, I like your choice to depict different police departments.
On my first visit to the USA, (As part of the SK 'On Tour') we were
at a small town (Stanton Virginia). In the first week we were
putting on displays, not getting our hire cars until week two, so
when we found out the shopping mall was only a mile away,
we walked. I never knew a small town could have soooo many
different types of Law Enforcement Officers. Three times we were
stopped for something called, 'Jay walking'. They were all VERY
nice to us. :D
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Love it mate, top quality
Thanks! Appreciate it.
...I never knew a small town could have soooo many different types of Law Enforcement Officers...
Yep. And the smaller the town, the more likely it is that phenomena plays out.
And now for some more figs. These are MOFO Modern Africa Militia. The first fella is their fearless leader. Then shots of the 2 "squads". Then the whole bunch together. Enjoy!
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Those look great, Jim! The leader looks like one of the Somali leaders from Black Hawk Down. I foresee more fun convention games being run by Capn Jim... lol
Mike Demana
http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/
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Thanks, Mike. I'm thinking both the Police, and the African militia, will make an appearance at Advance the Colors (AtC) in October. In separate games, of course.
In fact, sending in my game sign-ups for AtC is on my list of stuff to do today...
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On Tuesday, we will be playtesting my other scenario for Advance the Colors (AtC) (Springfield, OH, USA 01-02 Oct 21). It's a Cops-n-Robbers scenario. Well actually 3 linked successive mini-scenarios. The 1st scenario will involve units from 3 or 4 PDs responding to a robbery of a tobacco shop in a small town somewhere. I chose that because I smoke cigars, and robbing such a fine establishment would be quite the travesty... ;) The 2nd scenario will see the police setting up a roadblock to try to nab the robbers who get away. The last scenario will see a SWAT raid on the robbers hideout. We'll be using 28mm figs - see the police earlier in this thread, while the robbers will be some of my narcos figs in another thread). There'll be civilians too. Vehicles are various diecasts I have. We'll be using Fistful of Lead (the re-issued, non-western version). I, as the GM, will play the robbers, while the players will play the cops.
The pics below show the little town from various angles. I'll use the same board for all 3 mini-scenarios, re-set between them. I'll post an AAR with pics after the game, likely Wednesday or Thursday. That is, if I don't accidently delete the pics like I did for our old west scenario playtest of Ted's AtC game we did this Thursday past... :o
Till then...enjoy...
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Could have sworn I’d commented on this thread already, but apparently not.
A great setup - look forward to seeing some more AAR photos
8)
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Nice set up.
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Cheers, fellas! Here goes...
Headline: Crime Spree in Somewhereville Leaves 6 Cops Injured, 2 Seriously.
9 Suspects Shot, 3 in Custody.
A crime spree by an previously unknown gang has left a trail of violence through normally sleepy Somewhereville. At 11:15am Tuesday, 2 robbers held up Southam's Tobacco Shop at 123 Main Street while, according to witnesses, 2 more stayed outside as a lookout and getaway driver. Deputies from Adjoining Township were first on the scene, followed by Somewhereville officers. It is reported that they were backed up by agents from The US Border Patrol, who happened to be in the area, and officers from NextTown.
According to Police reports and witnesses, the robbers tried to take 2 hostages to their getaway car with them, including the tobacco store owner and a customer. The suspects opened fire on Police, and in the ensuing gun battle, 3 suspects were shot, while one deputy from Adjoining Township was seriously wounded. Allegedly, no hostages were injured in the incident, and managed to escape their captors in the confusion.
Meanwhile, witnesses indicated another robber tried to slip out the back door of Southam's, but was apprehended as he tried to flee the area on foot. A Somewhereville officer was injured trying to take that suspect in custody. NextTown officers were able to subdue the alleged robber.
Continued on Page 2. See Crime Spree...
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Page 2
Crime Spree (Continued from Page 1...)
Officials now believe the tobacco store robbery was a decoy for a robbery at 7th National Bank, 425 S. 1st Street, that occurred at nearly the same time as the tobacco store heist. Responding police were unable to arrive in time to stop the alleged robbers' escape from the bank robbery, but spotted the getaway car, a black Mercedes, a short time later. Adjoining Township and US Border Patrol units initiated a pursuit, while Somewhereville and NextTown officers established a roadblock at the intersection of Main Street and Madison Road.
According to official reports and witnesses, the alleged bank robbers stopped their car short of the roadblock, exited their vehicle and attempted to flee on foot. Pursuing officers arrived almost immediately. Witnesses indicated that 2 suspects opened fire on officers and fled south, while 2 suspects fled north, all through residential neighborhoods.
Apparently, one suspect that fled north was shot early in his flight, while his accomplice injured a NextTown officer who tried to apprehend him. The other suspect who fled north was allegedly hit by a NextTown police vehicle, and a NextTown officer was able to take that suspect into custody.
Of the suspects who fled to the south, one suspect was able to elude officers, fleeing through Saint Joseph's Cemetery after injuring a Somewhereville Police Sergeant. A bystander was injured by the other suspect, who invaded the bystander's home. The homeowner, who according to sources is a 2-tour Army veteran, was able to recover and assist officers in subduing the suspect who invaded his home. It is reported that that suspect was badly injured during his apprehension. Officials have nor released how that suspect was injured. Mayor Blatheren of Somewhereville reportedly indicated that officials were considering recognizing the homeowner for his assistance in this incident.
Continued on Page 3. See Crime Spree...
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Page 3
Crime Spree (Continued from page 2...)
Reportedly, Somewhereville Police were able to get information from the suspects taken into custody, and determined that the crime gang's main hideout was located in a factory on Oak Street, in Somewhereville. The County SWAT team was apparently activated, and raided the factory while patrol units set up roadblocks in the area.
According to reports, the County SWAT vehicle had difficulty making entry into the back door of the factory, apparently suffering a mechanical malfunction in the process. The SWAT team had to use a battering ram to get inside the factory.
Witnesses indicate that the SWAT team entered the rear factory door at approximately 3:00pm Tuesday afternoon. Suspects reportedly opened fire on the SWAT team with automatic weapons, wounding a SWAT team member. Three suspects were shot in the ensuing gunfight, while the 4thh suspect barricaded himself in the plant office with the Plant Manager as a hostage. While officials wouldn't confirm this, it is alleged that the SWAT team ultimately utilized flash-bang grenades to subdue the suspect. The suspect was badly injured during his apprehension. The Plant Manager, while apparently uninjured, is reported to have been badly shaken up by the incident.
Meanwhile, witnesses and officials report that a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed, eluded police roadblocks and attempted to gain entry to the factory yard through the Oak Street gate. The vehicle apparently got tangled up in the gate, and 2 occupants exited the vehicle and fired automatic weapons at officers, who returned fire. Officers shot the suspects, seriously wounding them. NextTown officials report one of their officers was badly wounded in that exchange of gunfire.
Officials believe that there is no longer a threat to the community, but it is not clear what the ultimate motives of the crime gang may have been. Officials have not released information on the conditions of the 9 suspects and 3 police officers who were seriously wounded during these incidents. Thus, it is not known if there have been any fatalities, but all are reported to have been hospitalized. So far, aside from the homeowner who was treated and released at the County hospital, it appears that no civilians were seriously injured during this crime spree.
The 3 suspects who were apprehended have all been charged with multiple felonies, as will any injured suspects who survive once released from the hospital.
Bernard Patton, County Times
And there you have it. Each of the 3 mini-scenarios (each described in it's own "news column") played out in about an hour. Took us about 3-1/2 hours to play the whole shebang. In addition to the regular cards dealt out for figures, the half-dozen or so civilians also got a card, and they all acted on that one card. I controlled the civilians, who acted in ways that made sense given the circumstances. They tended to come out and see what all the Police ruckus was about, but also tended to get out of the way once shots were fired. The homeowner had to pass a task roll to resist the home invasion (he was standing on his front porch). He passed, by a fair bit. We even gave him a chance to be armed - but he wasn't. And the vehicle in his driveway happened to be a diecast civilian jeep with US Army graphics on it. So we justified his decision to resist by his being an Army veteran...and he ended up helping an officer "subdue" the guy who invaded his home once he recovered from his wound.
We also had a joker in the deck. Not only was it a wild card, but the activating player/figure could have something bad happen to the other side, or something good happen to his side. Examples included a few figures tripping and falling, a figure getting an extra move, the SWAT vehicle breaking down, the factory doors finally opening, etc.
All in all, we had a blast. No tweaks needed for the convention in a month. We think it's ready to go "as is".
And thanks for reading...comments/questions/critiques welcome! :D
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Enjoyed reading the AAR, looks like a great game.
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Thanks. It was a great game. It seems that fun was had by all!
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Great looking game - enjoyed reading the AAR
8)
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Thanks, AKULA!
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Love this. Great terrain as well. :-*
Reminds me of 'Heat' and '21 Bridges.' ;)
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Reminds me of 'Heat' and '21 Bridges.' ;)
Exactly the vide we go for in these types of games! More movie/TV, and less reliance on "real life"... ;)
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Great board and AAR.
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Thanks!
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Been thinking on how to do up some "armed civilians" for my modern(ish) stuff. WW3 partisans-type guys and the like. Then, I had an epiphany - I grabbed my Wargames Atlantic French resistance box (WAFR), some Warlord Project Z survivor weapons (WPZW) and Special Operator (WPZS) sprues I had, and some spare Warlord GI (1st set) (WGI) and USMC (WMC) sprues, and kit-bashed them. My first 6 attempts are below (pre-painting, or course).
1st pic below
Left fig - WAFR body and head, WMC arms, and WPZW AK.
Right fig - WAFR Body and head, WGI arms, and WPZW AK.
2nd pic below
Both figs: WAFR body and head, WGI arms, and WPZW M16.
3rd pic below
Left fig - WAFR body and head, WPZS RPG arm and RPG spare ammo, and WGI left arm.
Right fig - WAFR body, head, and left arm; and WPZW arm with .45.
So far so good, I think. I plan to do up another 6, with a few more AKs/M16s, an UZI, a shotgun, and a warlord German MG42 (portraying an MG3). I'll post pics once they're painted up (after I finish my prepped and primed Vietnam War GI squad...).
Any thoughts from anyone?
Oh, and Happy New Year!
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Not bad. :D
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I like your thinking - well done. :D
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They look great 8)
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Great! I particularly like the one mixing fedora and rocket launcher... :-*
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Thanks! I'm pretty happy with them so far. Only one figure needed a bit of shaving where the arms connect to the body (the guy with the rolled-up sleeves aiming his AK). Other than that, it was pretty straight-forward.
And yeah - the RPG gunner (and one of the chaps with an AK) apparently is old school - can't go out without dressing for it you know...
I'll do up 6 more figs this afternoon, and post pre-painting pics here later.
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Your new figures look excellent.
Look forward to seeing them painted.
Good looking tables.
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Thanks!
Here are 6 more. I also grabbed a sprue of Warlord German grenadiers (the 1st set) (WGG) for these...
1st pic below
Left fig - WAFR body and head, WGG arms and MG (an MG42 posing as an MG3).
Right fig - WAFR Body and head, WGG left arm, WGI right arm, and WPZW AK.
2nd pic below
Both figs: WAFR body and head, WGI arms, and WPZW weapons (the guy on the left brought the family bird gun to the fight).
3rd pic below
Both figs: WAFR body and head, WGI arms, and WPZW weapons. I added the guy with the M16's cigar by drilling out and gluing in a piece of small pin.
That should be enough for now. All 12 are prepped, and just need priming (likely Monday). Painting will happen after I finish those Vietnam GIs (pics of them should appear in my Vietnam thread by the end of the week, hopefully). Pics to follow on these guys, likely in 2 or 3 weeks.
3rd pic below
Left fig - WAFR body and head, WPZS RPG arm and RPG spare ammo, and WGI left arm.
Right fig - WAFR body, head, and left arm; and WPZW arm with .45.
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Very nicely done, they look great.
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Thanks, Ash! They're all prepped and primed now, and in the painting queue. Hopefully, next week or two....
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Nice kit bashing.
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Thanks! Painting is scheduled to start either today or Tuesday...taking down Christmas decorations may impact that... ;)
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Alrighty then. I have half of them done up. Here they are. 1st 3 pics show the leader, a fella with an Uzi, and the guy with his family bird gun. The next 3 pics show the rather dapper chap with the RPG, and an MG3 team. The last pic shows the lot all together.
I must say, with absolutely no modesty whatsoever, they seem to have turned out OK! 8)
I should have the other 6 (AKs and M16s) ready for their public debut by the end of this week...
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Fantastic conversions, the African militia are superb as well, a great collection.
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Thanks for your kind words! Like I said, I'll post piccies of the other 6, likely tomorrow evening. I also plan to do up another dozen or so, with various weapons from the afore-mentioned sprues (and maybe others).
I have at least one scenario for them in mind....I have Warlord's MASH set, and a few casualties from Tiny Terrain. I'm thinking of a Russian attack on a partisan-held village (that includes a civilian medical station the partisans are protecting, perhaps with US SF help) somewhere in an un-named "former Soviet republic"...I'll see what I come up with, and post relevant details here...
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Well, after a slight delay, here's the other six. The first 2 pics are the chaps with AKs, and the 2nd 2 pics the guys with M16s. The 5th pic is these 6 together, while the 6th pic is the whole lot so far.
I have 10 more done up with various weapons (M16s, M4s, a Sig-Sauer AR, AKs, a Dragunov, a civilian hunting rifle, a m3 Benelli, and a couple with older weapons (a revolver and a WW2 bolt gun). It is, at least in part, a "come as you are" party, after all....I'll paint them up after I do a Vietnam GI squad and a PAVN squad...
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Very nice conversions and the painting is great.
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Great to see those WA resistance models being put to other uses so well.
And so much else to love in this thread, especially the law enforcement models. Brilliant!
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Thanks, fellas!
I'll post pics of the other 10 I've done up in due time...
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Great stuff, Jim! I hope to see these on the tabletop again soon!
Mike Demana
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These are excellent 👌
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I like ' em.
But, oh no, they inspired me to do another project: equip these figures with tommy guns, revolvers and shotguns to represent gangsters/mobsters.
Will have to look in the Pulp section whether this has already been done.
And buy the figures, and some vehicles, and....
T.
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Thanks fellas!
@mikedemana: Perhaps at Drums and/or AtC this year....we'll have to see what I come up with.... :)
@Sgt_T: They would easily work for that. Couple tips: There's a Winchester 1897 on Warlord's older Bolt Action US weapons sprue. And their ProjectZ survivors' weapon sprues include both double barrel shotguns and guns that could easily pass for Winchester Model 12s (that's the one I used with these chaps). The WA French Resistance set comes with 8 arms with revolvers. As far as correct tommy guns go in plastic, the various 8th army kits have a couple, but their arms have short sleeves (if that matters).
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Depending on the circumstances, size does matter :D
I mean, short sleeves in the former USSR? Summer only! :)
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Yes well, it seems there's a war on. One does what one has to, even if it's a tad chilly out....:D
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I was poking around for my leftover Tiny Terrain Chechens today, in response to an inquiry in the "Bazaar..." section of the LAF, and decided to take pics of the Tiny Terrain (and a few Empress) Chechens I have painted up. They do duty as Chechens, of course, but also as any generic eastern European/Former Soviet Republic guerilla or paramilitary unit.
I have a commander, an RPG team, 2 PKM teams, a sniper team, 3 "squads", and 2 technicals with HMGs in them. See the pics below...
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Great looking minis. I love the damaged bonnets on the cars…..these guys need lessons! Lol
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Thanks, Digits! It does seem wars are a bit hard on civilian vehicles, doesn't it...? ;)
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Nice motley looking bunch, excellent result.
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Thanks, Ash. "Motley" was exactly the look I went for...
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Nice work.
Is that a Mantic/TWD:AOW based Technical?
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Is that a Mantic/TWD:AOW based Technical?
Yep, that's indeed what they are. With Empress insurgent .50 cals and gunners...
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I have painted up a few more modern(ish) armed civilians. 10 more, to be exact, for a grand total for the 2 batches of 22. Same drill as the first batch earlier in this thread. Wargames Atlantic bodies and some of the heads. Various Warlord Bolt Action and ProjectZ arms, a few heads, and weapons. 9 of these guys are built and painted to (more or less) represent armed versions of some of Spectre Miniatures unarmed civilians.
The 1st 2 pics include a few older weapons, like a revolver, a bolt action rifle, and a civilian hunting rifle (that chap is wearing an old Bundeswehr feldmutze). It also includes a fella with an M3 Benelli shotgun.
The 2nd 2 pics include an SVD (with open sights), an AK74 with optics, and a good ol' everyday AK.
The 3rd 2 pics show a couple of M4-style ARs with optics, and an M16A2.
The 7th pic is this batch all together, while the 8th pic is all 22 figs in one shot. As you can see, there is quite the assortment of weapons...now on to develop a scenario in which to use them...
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A cracking group of civies with shooters 👌
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A pretty good looking group of insergents.
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Those look great!
I’ve got a couple of those WA sprues for my Cold War project...this could be the prod i needed to give them a try :)
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Thanks, fellas! They were a hoot to build and paint. I have since got a bunch of Full Metal Miniatures individual weapons (1960s/1970s era stuff, US, Soviet, and British), and if/when I do more, I have an even wider variety of weapons with which to arm them.
@AKULA: Go ahead and do it! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
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Next up is some modern(ish) Policia. All from Brigade Games DrugWarZ Kickstarter a while back. All prepped and primed. Painting to start this afternoon.
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And here they are. They are some of the "Policia" figures from Brigade Games' DrugWarZ Kickstarter some time back. I don't particularly fancy slotta bases, so the metal tab was trimmed off, and they were gluer to "standard" 25mm round bases.
First pic is the Chief. 2nd one is the guys who walk their beat (I added the cigar). 3rd and 4th are the patrol units and their rides (diecasts I got on Ebay). Last 2 are the lot of them so far.
While they are inspired by photos of 1980s Central American police, they do not represent a particular nation's police. I intend to use them when the local constabulary is needed in an appropriate modern(ish) scenario. They would also do for some pulpy action - in fact I plan to do just than Friday next.
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They certainly look the part, great work mate!
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Got me worried that my passport isn't 'In order' ::)
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Very nice job. :-*
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Thanks, fellas. They were fun to paint!
The other 8 figs from that set are still in my long and winding painting queue...
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Really like those policia … bags of character 8)
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Thanks, AKULA. They are nifty little fellas.
Once I have them see the elephant the first time this Friday, I'll post an illustrated AAR, but probably up on the Pulp board. The scenario will be a variation of my "Prisoner Swap Gone bad" thread up there...
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Lovely job mate
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Thanks m'Lord! :D
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Great job on them, Jim. :o And yes, those would go good with quite a few periods and scenarios...
Mike D
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Thanks, Mike! You'll see 'em in the flesh, er, metal tomorrow......
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Ash has inspired me to take pics of my various collections, and post them in my various threads here on the LAF. My Vietnam War stuff is already up on my Vietnam thread. Here, I'll document my 'Modern" stuff. I'm starting with my 28mm minis.
First up are my US troops and MPCs. The US troops (ostensibly Marine Recon boys) are mostly Eureka, with a few Empress thrown in for good measure. The PMCs are all Spectre.
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And here are my Soviets/Russians. (Edit: They are almost all Tiny Terrain figures. The dismounted BTR crew are Mongrel Miniatures, and the dismounted tank crew are Empress.) The BTRs and the T55 are diecasts I got on eBay.
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Here are my various military trucks. All are various diecast, except for the tan 3-ton trucks. They are plastic toys I dolled up. The 2nd shot has a couple figures in in to show scale...
Also, here are some miscellaneous troops my Wargaming buddie Ted gave me after he cleaned out his wargame basement. Not sure who made them, and they came painted as you see them. They will likely be used for various generic troops or bad guys....
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And here are my African troops. They are a mix of Eureka and MoFo chaps. (Edit: The dismounted armored car crews are Mongrel Miniatures.) The General is a Spectre figure. The vehicles are Solido diecasts (the Panhard needs to be weathered and the gun tube needs to be fixed at a level elevation as it's quite loose...).
I still have to post pics of my guerillas/rebels, armed civilians, law enforcement, unarmed civilians, and civilian vehicles. They should be up within the next few days. Then it's on to my WW2 stuff...
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Brilliant stuff, across the board mate! 👍
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They look really great!
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Very nice indeed!
I ordered one of those BTR's from China to see if the scale was right, but couldn't find any more as they were sold out. :( Should've ordered 3.
T
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Thanks, chaps! More pics to follow soon!
I ordered one of those BTR's from China to see if the scale was right, but couldn't find any more as they were sold out. :( Should've ordered 3.
Yep. I learned a long time ago to buy stuff I want when I see it. Got burned one too many times going back to find out that what I wanted was gone....That's why I did order 3 of them... ;)
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Those look great, Jim! Good collection of vehicles and figs... :o
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Mike!
But wait - there's more! Now, for the rest of my 28mm moderns...
Next up is what I call my "Eastern European Guerillas/Rebels". The figs are really Chechens, mostly Tiny Terrain, with some Empress in there as well. I've only used them as actual Chechens once. The rest of their fights have seen them as generic Eastern Europe Guerillas or Rebels, hence their name...
The 2 pick-ups are Mantic's The Walking Dead trucks...
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And these are all my various armed civilians. The boys on the left are my Africans, all MoFo metals. The guys on the right are Brigade Games metals (from their DrugWarZ line). The fellers in the middle are my kit-bashed Wargames Atlantic Resistance plastics (except for the lady firing the pistol - she's a Warlord metal).
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And here are my various 28mm law enforcement minis. The US patrol cops are Crooked Dice. The SWAT team is from Steve Jackson Games. The Feds are Brigade Games and Spectre. The Policia are Brigade Games.
The vehicles are all diecast. Please note I have some figs coming from Offensive Miniatures that will crew the ambulance.
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And here are my unarmed civilians, all metals. And all Spectre, except the clergy. The priest is Warlord, while the minister is Footsore. These are the first 4 pics.
The last 3 is my attempt to have both armed and unarmed versions of some of the civilians. The armed versions are some of those Wargames Atlantic kit-bashes (again, except for the lady with the pistol). As you can, I got the colors and clothes close enough, but it seems that some figures took off their ties and/or grabbed hats when they grabbed their weapons... :D
I have Empress' new armed/unarmed civilians on the way to add to them...
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And last, my civilian vehicles. They are all various diecasts I've picked up along the way. I added a couple figures in the pics to show scale...
And that's it for my 28mm "Modern" stuff. Next, I'll work on my 28mm WW2 stuff...
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Impressive collection you have there Cap.
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What a great collection!
You can quickly turn any cheap diecast toy car into a serious looking model with two eary steps:
-do the panel lines with black oil paint
-minimal weathering on the lower parts- even if just a drybrush with brown
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Nice looking civilian figures. Might have to get some of the Specter line.
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Thanks, fellas!
What a great collection!
You can quickly turn any cheap diecast toy car into a serious looking model with two eary steps:
-do the panel lines with black oil paint
-minimal weathering on the lower parts- even if just a drybrush with brown
It's hard to see in the photos, but I've done a bit of that sort of thing on a few of the vehicles in my collections. A do a couple here and there as the mood strikes me!
Nice looking civilian figures. Might have to get some of the Specter line.
Yeah, I like them. They've appeared in several of our games...
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Well, I've finished building my bridge. It is a Miniature Building Authority mdf kit picked up at Advance the Colors a few months ago.
The kit is great - it really reminds me of a highway bridge a couple blocks from my house. The kit did not come with instructions, but it only took me few minutes to figure out how it goes together. And it went together like a breeze - only took a couple hours, counting drying time for the PVA glue I used to assemble it. It is 19" long by 7" wide.
As you can see, it will be very versatile, and I should be able to use it for just about any period in the last 100 years or so...the last few pics show it with some 28mm miniatures on it (both military and civilian).
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Nice
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Thanks!
Next up will be some of Gringo40s MACV-SOG. Currently in "being painted" mode...
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Such a lovely diverse collection of modern miniatures 👍🏻
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Thanks, M'Lord. Appreciate that...
I have more to add, all in good time...
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I am working up a fictional modern(ish) scenario for my weekly gaming group. It involves US Special Operations units rescuing NGO medical center staff and their local aides in an un-named Former Soviet Republic sometime in the early '90s. It uses Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles. It is inspired by the Gberi Bana scenario (SAS chaps in Sierra Leone in 2000) I wrote for the Bush Wars supplement for Force on force. A little Tears of the Sun influence may have crept in, as well...
The SOF types, hostages, and baddies are (loosely) based on the SAS mission in that book, adjusted for the setting and my figure/vehicle collection. The medical staff is primed and ready to paint (I'm going to use Warlord's MASH set painted as civilian medical staff), and I want to paint up a few more armed civilians for the local thugs (explained in the scenario sheets below). Speaking of which, below is the scenario as it currently stands. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions (aside from the setting... ;) ). just let me know.
The actual game will likely be in April, so I have time to get it right...thanks for any suggestions... :D
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I must have missed an update or two…. :o :o
Really impressive collection !
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I must have missed an update or two…. :o :o
Really impressive collection !
No worries. :D Thanks, AKULA!
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Next up in my modern stuff is the staff of an NGO medical center. It started out as Warlord Game's MASH set, but I decided to civilian-ize it. I'll be using some of the figs in the above scenario...
The first 2 pics are (left to right), the Administrative Assistant, the Director, and a patient (that original figure was Hawkeye from the book, movie, and TV series, and had a cowboy hat on. I did a head transplant on him and gave him a bandaged head from Warlord's US Marines plastic sprue. And for any of you who are temperance-minded, be assured his drink is strictly medicinal... ;))
The next 2 pics are (left to right) 2 docs, and an orderly (that figure was Cpl. Klinger, who came with a 50s nurse's head. Again, a head transplant was in order, and he got a cap-clad head, again from the Warlord plastic US Marine sprue. He also got a cigar, too - have I mentioned I like to have a few of my figures smoking cigars and the occasional cigarette as appropriate...).
The next 2 are a nurse and doc checking on another patient.
The last 2 are the whole lot, along with the priest figure that came with the set, whom I had previously painted.
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Very clever and good looking conversions! 👍
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Great work - thanks for the reminder… I’d forgotten about the MASH minis… exactly what I need to add for my own project :)
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Really great collection here fella. Pretty inspiring.
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Very clever and good looking conversions! 👍
Really great collection here fella. Pretty inspiring.
Thanks, fellas!
Great work - thanks for the reminder… I’d forgotten about the MASH minis… exactly what I need to add for my own project :)
Thanks! And as you can see, they do indeed work for civilian docs, etc.
Next up are Empress' modern "Auf Wiedersehen" civilians (both armed and unarmed). They are currently being painted, and should show up here next week!
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Next up are Empress' modern "Auf Wiedersehen" civilians (both armed and unarmed). They are currently being painted, and should show up here next week!
Speaking of which, here is the first batch. The first 2 pics are the unarmed fellas. Mostly straight out of the bag, except for the gray-haired guy's cigar.
The 2nd 2 are the armed versions. I added a few details to these. I added some smoke on the Molotov Cocktail, the ammo belt on the Minimi, and the AK laying on the ground next to the dude with the LAW (that way, he ain't a one-hit wonder...at least the guy with the RPG can reload it...).
The 5th shot is the whole bunch together.
And a nod to Dags, who gave me the idea for the plaid shirt. I made mine red, so I wasn't blatantly copying him... 8)
I have 8 more of these guys ready to paint, which should commence Monday...
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Bomber has got a bit grey in his old age and Oz has decided to go underground with a dye job but excellent work all the same.
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Bomber has got a bit grey in his old age and Oz has decided to go underground with a dye job but excellent work all the same.
lol
I thought that Bomber looked quite distinguished with grey hair. You need to try and paint Moxey's bad skin lol
Looking good.
You should look up the original series they are from although you may not understand the regional accents as they are pretty extreme. ;)
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Thanks, fellas. Dare I be committing heresy, I'm not binding myself to replicating those characters. :o
But I do like how the "Bomber" figure turned out with his grey hair and cigar...
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Thanks, fellas. Dare I be committing heresy, I'm not binding myself to replicating those characters. :o
But I do like how the "Bomber" figure turned out with his grey hair and cigar...
TBH honest the figures were designed to be a generic group of civies. I just used the TV show as inspiration instead of doing completely generic figures which was a bit boring. Therefore what you have done is exactly what they were really designed to do. Perfecto. ;)
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Thanks, Paul. I started the other 8 figures in that line yesterday. I should have them finished perhaps this coming weekend! Stay tuned for pics of those guys (and gals)...
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Love the civvies…look forward to seeing the rest :)
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Love the civvies…look forward to seeing the rest :)
Thanks, AKULA! The other 8 are indeed underway, and I hope to have pics up of them by this coming Tuesday!
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And here they are!
The first 2 pics show the unarmed versions, while the 2nd 2 pics shown them armed. No conversions on these guys (and gals). Did them straight out of the bag...
The 3rd 2 pics are this batch all together, and the 4th 2 pics show all 16 figures of the line together...
I may need to touch up the female figures' legs. I may have overdone the ink wash - it looks like either she was kneeling in the dirt or she has really cheap panty hose..... :o
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Nice painting on the AWP figures.
If you want some more medical staff, the Crooked Dice Scientists are worth a look (though two will need hand modifications, but they all have separate heads).
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Great looking bunch of civilians!
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Great looking bunch of civilians!
Nice painting on the AWP figures.
If you want some more medical staff, the Crooked Dice Scientists are worth a look (though two will need hand modifications, but they all have separate heads).
Thanks, fellas! And I have indeed seen the Crooked Dice figures (but thanks for the tip!). I have several of their modern US police. They have a bunch of figures that are on my "maybe someday" list... ;)
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Well, I went to Menards (a big-box home improvement store here in the States) yesterday. They had a couple aisle-bins chockfull of diecast cars and trucks. I picked up 3 US WW2 deuce-and-a-halfs for $3 each (see my thread up in the WW2 Board). Relevant to this board, I also pickup up a Ford Transit Van and a Dodge Power Wagon. Both were $5 each, and were labelled as (and measured out to) 1/48 scale.
FYI, the van was show in someone else's thread on cheap diecast cars already.
Attached are pics of the trucks. The 3rd pic has a few Spectre Miniatures civilians in it to show comparative scale.
The Power Wagon comes in several paint jobs - see the pic of the back of its box (the last one below...). As you can see, I got the red one. If they have them on a future Menards run, I may pick up the Army one and maybe the US Forest Service one...and I'll probably repaint the gas can on the one I got.
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Damn, you keep reminding me to do the conversion on my Power Wagon. I plan to turn mine into a generic Soviet truck for the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Good finds.
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Damn, you keep reminding me to do the conversion on my Power Wagon. I plan to turn mine into a generic Soviet truck for the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Good finds.
Yeah - that power wagon can be pretty versatile....
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Nice finds. I got a couple of the Transits a while back. If I can find a couple of the camo power wagons they'd be great for K47 but I've only seen a smattering of the other versions.
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Nice finds......but I've only seen a smattering of the other versions.
Yeah - same here. But I'll likely check again not too far down the road...
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This was an interesting find. It's a John Deere 4020 tractor. I found it at a garage sale my wife and her sister and niece had last summer. It's actually from a string of John Deere tractor Christmas lights. So, I asked if I could have one, and was granted permission. It came in translucent green and yellow plastic (complete with fairly correct JD decals).
I finally got around to painting it up today. Since these tractors were manufactured in the '60s and early '70s, I wanted it to look pretty well used. And I decided to paint over the decals, as perhaps somewhere in the last 50 years, the farmer may have re-painted it...and it scales out to about 1/48! I've included a few pics with some 28mm Empress modern civilians to show relative scale. It works for me, particularly with what I paid for it... ;)
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Yup..tractors are cool pieces of scenery on rural tables. Good find.
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Lovely! Just goes to show that all the cool kids aren't driving around in Kubotas.
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Yay! Getting in on the presale for a garage sale... lol
Great job on the weathering and paint job, Jim!
Mike Demana
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I agree, the tractor looks great, but why didn't you get them all & sell them on to us????
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A great find :)
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Excellent. I want one!!!! :-*
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Thanks, fellas. @Carlos - you see a LOT of green farm implements around here...
@has.been and Paul - that light string belonged to my wife's niece's ex-husband, and that divorce was considerably less that amicable. Those lights were emphatically trash-bound - I'm lucky I saw them prior to their intended disposal and got the one I did (fortunately, I'm her good uncle :D )...
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Blimey Cptn Jim you are prolific, this thread looks great, yet again it's been a while since I visited this board and you don't disappoint.
I'm only here to post a game but it's always good to see what you're up to.
Cheers
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Thanks, fellas. @Carlos - you see a LOT of green farm implements around here...
@has.been and Paul - that light string belonged to my wife's niece's ex-husband, and that divorce was considerably less that amicable. Those lights were emphatically trash-bound - I'm lucky I saw them prior to their intended disposal and got the one I did (fortunately, I'm her good uncle :D )...
Pretty prolific around where my mother lives too, although the local dealership in town went tits up ages back. Once upon a time it was just a sea of red though, the Massey Ferguson reigned supreme. Then came the Kubotas and a even a sprinkling of Russian tractors, of all things.
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@vagabond: Thanks, Old Chap! Your stuff ain't half-bad either...
@carlos: Russian tractors? I guess you just never know what you'll see where...
And now, on with the important business at hand. This Friday coming, my weekly gaming group is set to play out the "Hostage Rescue" scenario I put up on Page 7 of this very thread. (Edit: We'll be using Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles rules.) As GM, I will play the local thugs and rebels, and Ted and Gene will split the Spec Ops boys. Of course, an illustrated AAR will follow...but here's the lead in:
The Colonel walked into the CP tent, said "At ease, fellas. Gather 'round". He walked to the table in the center of the CP, spread out a map and a few aerial recon photos (see below), and said "OK, here's the deal."
"As you are aware, Balszakistan has been heating up since the Soviet breakup. Coups, counter-coups, riots, and the like. Anyway, two days ago, rebels overran a US NGO medical center that had been set up to help deal with casualties of the unrest. They grabbed several of the medical staff and some local aides, bundled them off, and torched the place. Our assets on the ground have determined that they hauled them off to this little shithole here on the River." The Colonel pointed to a place on the map. "It's our job to go and get them out."
"We HALO'ed an OP team in a few hours ago. They've been keeping an eye on that place." He grabbed the photos and laid them out for all to see. "The medical staff is here..." (again pointing) "...in Objective O'Rourke, and their local aids are here..." (pointing again) "...in Objective Agarn. The OP has set up here" (pointing yet again).
"We fly in from here. I'll be on top in a Little Bird, while you and you..." looking at each of his team leaders "..will be split into 3 Blackhawks. We'll have a Shithook along for the rescued hostages and any casualties we might have. We are bringing EVERYONE out. Do you all understand?" Of course, everyone nodded their acknowledgement. "Good. We fly in at night, drop down to NOE 5 clicks from our LZ, which will be about 5 clicks from the objectives. You guys go in on foot, hit the objectives just before dawn, get the hostages out, and get to LZ3 D..." (again, pointing) "...where the birds will pick you up."
"Again, I will be flying on top. I will alert you guys of any tangoes inbound. Do what you gotta do, but get in, get the hostages, and get the hell out. The OP has a couple dozen local thugs in the village guarding the hostages, but we can expect more of those assholes and even some Balszaki rebels in BTRs to get nosy once shooting starts. So take along your AT teams, just in case."
"That's it fellas. Questions?" "Nope. OK. get the boys ready. We SP in 1 hour."
Later that night...
"Cowboy elements, Cowboy 6. We're over Indian country. Heads up. We'll hit the RP in 2-5 mikes, then drop down to November Oscar Echo. Assume attack formation"
30 minutes later, his men were dismounting the Blackhawks in their LZ. He could see them fanning out to the wood-line through his NVGs. Now, the Blackhawks and the Chinook will go to their stand-by station, and Cowboy 6 will keep an eye out for his boys. So far, everything is going as per the plan. The boys should hit the place just before dawn. That's when things'll get interesting. Cowboy 6 said a quick prayer as he pulled up on his stick...
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I wanna play! lol
Seriously, looks like a great game, Jim. I'll be curious to see how Ted's dice rolling screws things up...er, I mean, how the game goes!! lol
Mike Demana
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As many times before, a great set up for a game.
Well done.
Looking forward to seeing how it pans out.
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Such a brilliant set up, oozing with juicy immersive narrative. I am envious of the players.
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This is looking pretty good also pretty serious. Look forward to reading the report, hope it goes well for your chaps.
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Thanks, fellas. The Spec Ops boys hit the RP at 1100 hrs. Friday. News of the application of their expertise to follow. Hopefully, Ted's dice-rolling reputation doesn't play out... :D
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"Cowboy 6, Cowboy 1. Cowboy elements set at RP. Over". "Roger, Cowboy 1. Cowboy 3, SITREP, over."
Cowboy 3 responded in a whispered tone "Cowboy 6, SITREP. We have 4 tangoes milling around in the gravel area in front of O'Rourke. We also have 1 tango on the elevated water platform immediately west of O'Rourke. How copy over?"
"Cowboy 3, I copy over. Cowboy 1 and Cowboy 2, acknowledge, over."
"Cowboy 6, Cowboy 1, roger over". "Cowboy 6, Cowboy 2, roger over".
"Roger. All Cowboy elements, scratch Alpha. Execute Bravo, over".
Cowboys 1, 2 and 3 acknowledged Cowboy 6's order. Cowboy 3 kept quite in their OP position, watching the tangoes they could see in their NVGs. Cowboys 1 and 2 moved out with their men from the RP, toward the objectives. It was Go Time....
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Love it 👍🏻
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Thanks, M'Lord! :D
We played the game today. And what a game it was!
Part 1 - It is Darkest Just Before the Dawn...
Plan Alpha was simple. But with the guards out, it got scratched. Plan Bravo was a bit less simple, but straightforward enough. Cowboy 1 would take 2 assault teams, an anti-armor team, and the point man. He would approach the objectives from the north through the woods. His men would have primary responsibility from getting the prisoners. Cowboy 2 would take the other 2 teams, the other anti-armor team, and the M60 gunner. They would approach the objectives from the south, and they would have primary responsibility for taking care of any bad guys lurking about (like the 4 hanging out in front of Objective O'Rourke, for example...). Cowboy 3 would remain in place at the OP, and watch over things. Straightforward. Right.
After getting another SITREP from Cowboy 3 at the OP (nothing had changed, and things were quiet in the village), the US troops began their approach on the village. Cowboy 1, along with an assault team and the anti-armor team, headed straight for Objective O'Rourke. The other assault team brought up the rear, watching their six. The point man headed off to the right, to check out the tango up on the water tower.
Cowboy 2 sent the M60 gunner and his anti-armor team over to his left, to check out and get into a shack across the road from the OP. They would, along with Cowboy 3, overwatch the area in front of Objective O'Rourke, as well as the large concrete building that looked like some kind of HQ (it had a large antennae on it...).
All the US troops made their way through their respective woods. So far, so good. The point man set up near the SW corner of the water tower building (the OP team reported that it looked like the guard on the tower was taking a piss, as he was turned around looking straight at the water tank). Cowboy 1 and his team made it to their wood-line. He took his RTO (with his SAW) and headed toward the side door of Objective O'Rourke, while an assault team went on overwatch behind them. His other assault team worked over to the back of the water tower building.
Meanwhile at the south end of the village, the anti-armor team and the M60 gunner cleared the shack by the OP, and set up overwatch positions inside facing north and east. Cowboy 2 and his assault teams started making their way into the village, setting up along the east side of that big HQ-ish building. Cowboy 2 then sent one assault team forward to take up a position at the red truck, with orders to be ready to take out the guards in front of O'Rourke.
The guard on the water tower finally turned around, facing the gravel area in front of O'Rourke, but he must have been sleepy - he didn't react at all to the assault team moving up to that red truck. And, oddly enough, the guards in front of O'Rourke kept looking toward the river for some reason.
Cowboy 6 radioed in, and reported that there was no sign of and movement on the roads leading to our little village. So, Cowboy 1 brought up the assault team that was on overwatch behind him, with orders to prepare to breach the side door of O'Rourke.
But it was starting to get light enough to see OK. Dawn had arrived, and the guards would probably soon spot them. But everything was in place to begin the rescue phase of the operation. Cowboy 6, in his Little Bird overhead, gave the order to go.
To be continued in Part 2 - Dawn Breaks, and With It, All Hell is Loosed...
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A couple more pics for Part 1...
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as with the bloke who fell off the Empire State Building was heard to say
as he past each floor, 'Ok so far'
lol lol lol
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as with the bloke who fell off the Empire State Building was heard to say
as he past each floor, 'Ok so far'
lol lol lol
Yes, well, we'll see how it goes...
Part 2 - Dawn Breaks, and With It, All Hell is Loosed...
As we left our intrepid heroes, they had made it into the village, and were ready to begin the actual rescue. And dawn had broken. So let's continue our story...
As it got lighter, the thug up on the water tower had finally turned to look in the direction of the assault team taking cover behind the red truck. And he began yelling something frantically in Balszaki.
Then all hell broke loose. Local thugs poured out of the water tower building and the 2-story building at the east end of the village (near the LZ). More appeared on the balcony of the central building. And all kinds of gunfire rang out...
Thugs began dropping left and right. Cowboys 1 and 2 had positioned their men well. But, that assault team at the red truck had a couple men go down (their medic would get them back in the fight - he would do so a couple times during the fight...).
Then, Cowboy 6 alerted his men on the ground that Balszaki rebels were coming across the river in small boats, and tangoes in trucks were approaching the village from the east, north, and south. Wow. Word of the attack had gotten out fast!
While the thugs in town were being taken care of ( ;)), an assault team breached O'Rourke, and began hustling the medical staff prisoners out. And Cowboy 2 kicked in the door of one of the building at Agarn, and freed 3 of the local aides who were prisoners there.
Then the Balszaki rebels started showing up, and more local thugs came out to play. The first rebels came on in those boats. 4 boats full of rebels landed near the dock, and were immediately engaged by Cowboy 3 at the OP. The rebels from the boats and the guys at the OP would have their own little private fight, while the fight to get the prisoners would play out in the village. More thugs came out on that balcony, and from the water tower building, and were immediately engaged. Unfortunately, the M60 gunner and the anti-armor team in that shack had begun to move toward the LZ, and the thugs on the balcony dropped the M60 gunner (an errant RPG round destroyed a nearby outhouse in the process).
And, Cowboy 1's RTO went down.
While our brave boys were hustling their freed prisoners toward the LZ (with 2 of them helping/carrying the wounded RTO along), a Balszaki rebel technical came in from the east. Only to meet a grisly end, courtesy of the anti-armor team that was moving from that shack by the OP toward the LZ. Their AT round hit its mark squarely, causing a catastrophic kill that took out the truck and all of its occupants in an impressive fireball.
As is stood at this point, 2/3 of the way through our fight, the SF boys had taken care of most of the local thugs in the village. But they had taken 2 men down so far (the M60 gunner and Cowboy 1's RTO - 3 others had been hit, but their medic had gotten them back in the fight). Rebels were fighting with the OP by the river, and the first rebel truck full of reinforcements had been KOed. Most importantly, our boys had freed 9 of the 12 prisoners, and they were slowly collapsing their lines toward the LZ.
I'll leave it there for now. I'll do Part 3 (the final part) later today or tomorrow. In Part 3 - Get To the Choppers!, I'll answer these questions:
1. Will they get the M60 gunner out?
2. How will the OP's fight with the rebels at the river end up?
3. Will they free the other 3 prisoners, and will they get them all out?
Stay tuned!
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Great AAR and photos 8)
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Gripping stuff Capt. :)
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Thanks, Gents! And now, for the final chapter in our "gripping" ( ;)) tale...
Part 3 - Get to the Choppers!
While things were looking up (mostly) for our SpecOps boys and the folks they had rescued, it wasn't over yet.
The Balszaki rebels were trading shots with Cowboy 3 in the OP, and while they had suffered a number of casualties at the hands of the OP, they were beginning to give better than they got. Men in the OP were going down, and it wasn't looking good over there.
But Cowboy 2 had freed that last 3 prisoners.
Meanwhile, the rest of the force was collapsing their lines toward the LZ (and, unfortunately away from the OP). More local thugs made an appearance, with some spilling out of that large central building, and some making their way downstairs in that 2-story building near the LZ. The ones that came from the central building were taken care of by the assault team that was covering the force's 6, while the ones in the building by the LZ were slowly driven up onto the roof by Cowboy 2, where they were engaged by nearly everyone on the rescue force...
At about the time all that was happening, 2 more rebel trucks full of rebels came in, one from the south and one from the north. And, in both cases, it proved to be "wrong place, wrong time...". For in both cases, they came on right in front of the anti-armor teams and an assault team heading to the LZ. A couple of AT rockets and a few bursts of M4 fire later, and those 2 trucks and their occupants were no more...
At this point, everyone but the assault team that had gone to retrieve the fallen M60 gunner had made it to the LZ, and that team was heading there and getting close. Cowboy 1 called in for the choppers waiting on standby.
But, they had lost contact with Cowboy 3 at the OP. After Cowboy 3 had radioed in it looked like they were about to be overrun, they had quit answering their radio. And, except for the sound of approaching helicopters, things had gotten pretty quiet.
Conclusions...
And with that, our 15 turns were up. All of the assault force, with all 12 prisoners, were at the LZ, except for the assault team with the downed M60 gunner. And they were heading that way and only a couple turns away. With nearly all the resistance taken care of (except a lone thug with an old hunting rifle, and the 3 rebels closing in on the OP), we decided that the choppers would wait for the assault team with the M60 gunner to get there.
Also, as an epilogue, we decided that Cowboy 6 grabbed a couple men from the LZ, put them on his Little Bird's skid-benches, and went over and rescued Cowboy 3 at the OP (one man had not been hit, but had backed away from their position and its radio).
So, our SpecOps men had rescued all 12 prisoners. But in the course of the battle, 8 of the SpecOps men had been hit. Of those 8, 3 were put back in action. For the other 5 (the RTO, the M60 gunner, and 3 men from the OP), we rolled on the "What happened to him?" chart in the core Fistful of Lead book's campaign section. Of those 5, 1 ended up OK, while 4 needed medical treatment. So, at the cost of 8 WIA (4 seriously), our 30 SpecOps men successfully rescued the 12 prisoners, and took out an estimated 60 to 70 local thugs and Balszaki rebels.
We all had fun, and the most amazing thing about it was that Ted rolled some decent dice! This may become a convention scenario...
Hope you all enjoyed these tales of daring-do...
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Superb :o :o :o
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Great stuff, thanks for sharing all that.
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lovely stuff, thanks for posting.
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Thanks, Gents! And to has.been and Grumpy Gnome, you're welcome...
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Looks like a great game, Jim! Is this in the plans for Advance the Colors this October? I think it sounds like a great scenario. Thanks for the report and all the photos... :-*
Mike Demana
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Only FFofL can do this, I enjoyed that AAR muchly!
;D :-* ;D
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Looks like a great game, Jim! Is this in the plans for Advance the Colors this October? I think it sounds like a great scenario. Thanks for the report and all the photos... :-*
Thanks, Mike. This scenario might appear at Advance the Colors. The other scenario I'm working on is the Battle of Matewan, WV in May 1921 during the coal mine wars....one, the other, or maybe both! We'll see.
Only FFofL can do this, I enjoyed that AAR muchly!
;D :-* ;D
Thanks, Harry. The battle played out as one would expect a SpecOps mission to - and I could picture in my mind the movie scenes for various parts of the fight... ;)
And yes FFoL is a very versatile stable of rulesets... :D
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A great finale :)
Apologies if you’ve mentioned if previously but where are the buildings with the tin roof from?
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Excellent
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A great finale :)
Apologies if you’ve mentioned if previously but where are the buildings with the tin roof from?
Thanks, AKULA. And actually, I haven't mentioned that...most of the buildings there (including the tin roof ones) are from Crescent Root Studio. Sadly, that line is not currently offered...
Excellent
Thanks, Jaye...
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Great game. I need to pick up a copy of Fistfull of Lead.
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Great game. I need to pick up a copy of Fistfull of Lead.
Thanks, Mike. And I would highly recommend doing so... ;)
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A mighty fine Batrep Jimbo :-*
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A mighty fine Batrep Jimbo :-*
Thanks, M'Lord. Appreciate that...
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And I think things are gonna heat up there in Balszakistan, with US and Russian troops getting involved. I've got an idea for a scenario that could involve US infantry and Balszaki resistance fighting Russian VDV and Motor Rifle Troops, over some damn bridge.
Gotta paint the US platoon and the VDV platoon, but I have everything else done...and said painting should commence this summer, after I finish a few more figures and buildings for my US 1920s Battle of Matewan scenario I plan on running at cons later this year...
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Actually, I think a few intermediate scenarios are in order, as things heat up and get out of control in Balszakistan.
First, the Balszaki rebels (the Balszaki Freedom Front, or BFF), are pissed (not to mention a bit embarrassed) about the US's successful hostage rescue. So I think a BFF attack on the US Consulate in Balszakistan is in order (think about the movie Rules of Engagement...). That will lead to broader US involvement, one way or the other.
Then, I think there needs to be a border incident between Balszaki border guards and Russian Interior Ministry troops, which will give the Russians an excuse to intervene.
Then, perhaps an attack by the People's Balszaki Resistance (PBR) on Russian troops will introduce another faction. At that point, we'll have the US, the Balszaki Armed Forces, and the PBR aligned against the Russians, the BFF, and local armed gangs/thugs. That oughta do it...
Then I think the afore-mentioned fight for the bridge can be safely conducted...and we'll go from there...
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Gotta paint the US platoon and the VDV platoon, but I have everything else done...
Check that. Gotta have some Balszaki national troops. I've ordered Khurasan Miniatures 28mm modern Ukrainians to form the basis for my Balszakis...once them come in next week, I'll see about augmenting them somehow...
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Between preparatory activities for my 1920 West Virginia Coal Mine wars Battle of Matewan scenario (see my Pulp thread...), my weekly gaming group is going modern-ish Friday. I've put together a scenario that takes place in about 1990(ish) in the Peoples' Republic of Northern Gambola (PRoNG - my fictional African country, ever in a state of political and military disarray...).
I've attached the Scenario sheets, Force Lists, and Scenario Special Rules we'll be using below. Please note that this little scrum will be in 28mm, and we will be using Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles rules.
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And here are a few shots of the battlefield, perhaps obtained by aerial photo recon... ;)
And, of course, I will post an illustrated AAR once hostilities have ended (for this battle, anyway. it seems hostilities never end in Northern Gambola...).
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Good grief — that city looks like it's gone through a lot of strife!
: 3
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Yes, well, Northern Gambola has seen more than it's share of strife...and that's just in our games...the back story is full of colonial doings, uprisings, the War of Independence, coups, rebellions, civil wars, insurgencies, foreign interventions...
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the back story is full of colonial doings, uprisings, the War of Independence, coups, rebellions, civil wars, insurgencies, foreign interventions...
Busy Wednesday then? :D
Looks a great table to play on.
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Thanks has.been. It was a great table to play on, if I do say so myself. :D
We played the Northern Gambola battle today. But before I dive in to the AAR, an administrative note - the Gambolan BTR80s and the armored cars (a Saladin and a Panhard AML90, as it turns out) actually have Damage Ratings of 3. The light truck only has a Damage Rating of 2.
First we rolled off to see who played who. I ended up with the US Rangers. Ted ended up with the PRoNG Colonel, RPG team, and a Motor Rifle Platoon. Gene took the PRoNG armored cars and the BUM militia platoon. This was essentially a company attack on a prepared platoon defense.
The US Rangers deployed, all starting hidden, per the pic below. The AT teams forward, with one in a sandbag position at the right approach to the bridge, the other on the roof left of the road behind sandbags. The sniper team was in a sandbag position at the left approach to the bridge (they had a door into the nearby building handy so they could deploy to a secondary firing position if they needed to). The Platoon leader and 1st Squad was on a rooftop (again with sandbags) right of the road, with the Platoon Sergeant and 2nd squad on the roof right of the road (yes, with sandbags). 3rd Squad was in reserve, located near the intersection, out of sight of the enemy. The Rangers had also placed dirt berms across the road as it entered the western edge of Bangerizi.
The PRoNG and Gum units deployed as shown in the pic below, having just crested a low ridge just west of the bridge. The motor rifle platoon (all mounted up) was astride the road, the armored car platoon left of them, and the GUM militia in among the rocks left and behind the armored cars. The Colonel and the RPG team, in the light truck, were behind the motor rifle platoon.
This is how the forces would be arrayed when hostilities commenced. But before I get into the AAR proper, a teaser prologue...
As the Ranger Battalion Commander approached where 1st platoon, A Company had fought, he saw to his right the Dustoff bird taking off. As his Humvee rounded a curve in the road, he got his first glimpse of the aftermath of 1st platoon's demise. He could see 2 stationary BTRs blocking the road, with what looked like an abandoned civilian car blocking the side road. He could see smoke from a burning vehicle behind the left BTR, and more smoke coming from the bridge. He thought that looked like another BTR. He could also see guys from the rest of A company going about their business. Then he saw the bodies. Too many dead Rangers, he figured 15 to 20 of them, all lined up in the road, with other rangers collecting dog tags and personal effects from them. He could also see some Gambolan dead, about as many as there were Rangers.
His driver stopped the Humvee near where the dead Rangers were lined up, and CPT Brittle approached. "What the f*** happened here, John"? Asked LTC Kurts. "It ain't good, Sir, but there's a silver lining to this dark cloud." replied the Captain. "LT Gridley radioed for help as they were being overrun, but 3rd platoon got here too late. It was over by then, except for chasing off the Gambolan survivors." "How bad is it?" asked Kurts. "Well, the owner of that car was holed up on the roof of this building..." he pointed to the single-story building next to the LTC's Humvee "...and he saw just about everything. The poor guy was trying to get away from the Gambolans, his car broke down, and he and his son ended up watching this shitstorm from up there." Brittle continued. "18 of 1st platoon's 23 men are dead. 5 survived, but they're all pretty badly wounded. LT Gridley and Sergeant Chisolm both survived - they're on the medevac you saw taking off. They both talked a bit while the medics worked on them, and we interviewed the Gambolan fellas. I'll tell you what, sir, 1st Platoon took it in the shorts but good, but they didn't let any of those Gambolan bastards get through their position. So far, we've got 2 knocked out BTRs, one that looks like it was abandoned, a knocked out truck, and about 18 dead Gambolans. But you gotta see this guy, Sir". Brittle led Kurts over to one of the Gambolan dead. His dress uniform was singed and bloody, and he had 2 bullet holes in his chest, but he was recognizable to Brittle and Kurts. "Holy shit!" exclaimed Kurts. "That's The Colonel. We got The f***in' Colonel! We need to get that up to Regimental S2 ASAP." More from Brittle; "And I'm putting Chisolm in for a Silver Star, Sir. I don't think he went go down none too easy..."
And with that little teaser, y'all will have to wait a little longer for the actual AAR (a report drawn up from the information obtained from LT Gridley, SFC Chisolm, and the 2 Gambolan farmers). I should get to that Sunday...
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Looking forward to the battle report...
Mike Demana
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As always Cptn Jiml lots of interesting things going on in the background to your games.
This sounds like a hum dinger of a fight and I'm looking forward to reading it.
The scenery looks pretty damn good, up to your usual standards. In the first picture, can you remember who makes the building on the left hand side. The one with the thick but very irregular walls?
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Looking forward to the battle report...
Mike Demana
Thanks, Mike. Please see below...
As always Cptn Jiml lots of interesting things going on in the background to your games.
This sounds like a hum dinger of a fight and I'm looking forward to reading it.
The scenery looks pretty damn good, up to your usual standards. In the first picture, can you remember who makes the building on the left hand side. The one with the thick but very irregular walls?
Thanks, Vagabond. The AAR is below, replete with pics below it....;D :D
As for that building, it's an older Crescent Root Studio building. Sadly, it's OOP.
And now, on with the show....again, this was a 28mm fight, and we used the Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles rules.
To: Commander, 1/75 Inf Rgt (Ranger)
From: A Co, 1/75 Inf Rgt (Ranger)
Subject: After Action Report: Action of 23 February 1993, Bangerizi, Northern Gambola.
On 23 Feb 93, A Co, 1/75 Inf Rgt received the mission of defending 2 bridges over the River DoHali at the western edge of Bangerizi, in the People's Republic of Northern Gambola (PRoNG). The purpose of the mission was to delay or halt the advance of PRoNG forces as they attempted to advance toward the airport in Bangerizi where Foreign Nation armed forces, including those of the United states, were evacuating their nationals from the country. I tasked 1st Platoon with defending the Highway 17 bridge and 2nd platoon with defending the National Road bridge. I held 3rd Platoon as the company reserve. I will provide the AAR for 2nd Platoon under separate cover. This AAR focuses on the actions of 1st Platoon.
Given the circumstances and aftermath of 1st Platoon's actions, this AAR is based on statements made by 1st Platoon Leader 1LT Homer Gridley (WIA), 1st Platoon Sergeant SFC Bucyrus Chisolm (WIA), and 2 Gambolan nationals who witnessed the action.
1LT Gridley set up his prepared defense per the previously-provided diagram. At 1148 hrs, a company-sized element of Gambolan military forces advanced toward the Highway 17 bridge from the west, over a low rise just west of the River Dohali. The Gambolan Force's attack was led by a Motor Rifle Platoon mounted in BTR80s, who advanced across the Highway 17 bridge. 1st Platoon's anti-armor teams engaged the lead BTRs without effect as they crossed the bridge. Gambolan armored cars and Gambolan United Militia (GUM) members provided covering fire for the Motor Rifle Platoon as it advanced across the bridge. This force, as it it is now known, was led by Colonel Sigmund Kongabo, known as "The Colonel" (the Queen of Spades in the "Wanted" Deck of cards).
As the BTRs advanced into the western edge of Bangerizi along Highway 17, with their infantry mounted in them, 1st Platoon elements opened fire from their prepared positions. The anti-armor teams destroyed the trail BTR on the bridge, while small arms fire and M203 grenades forced the crew of a 2nd BTR to abandon it in Bangerizi proper. However, 1st platoon began to take casualties from the supporting fire originating from across the river.
Elements from 1st Platoon then destroyed the 3rd BTR as it attempted to pass the abandoned BTR, with well-placed grenades from 1st Squad's M203. The Colonel followed his Motor Rifle Platoon across the bridge, and 1st Platoon's sniper team took the Colonel under fire, killing him, his driver, and an attached RPG team, and destroying his truck after the sniper team re-deployed to a secondary firing position. Concurrent with this, the Gambolan armored cars and militia advanced across the Highway 17 bridge into Bangerizi.
However, with Highway 17 effectively blocked, the Gambolan force commander KIA, and with several 1st Platoon casualties, 1LT Gridley order the remnants of his platoon to redeploy rearward to 1st Platoon's Rally Point. He also called for the assistance of the Company reserves, which I immediately ordered forward to 1st Platoon's positions. However, no members of 1st platoon made it to the Rally Point, as they were pursued by dismounted Gambolan infantry and made casualties. One notable incident during the pursuit was the wounding of SFC Chisolm. While attempting to evacuate the building he was in, SFC Chisolm was attacked multiple times by both Gambolan regulars and militia, single-handedly withstanding 2 separate close-quarters assaults before being seriously wounded in a third. SFC was the last Ranger of 1st Platoon to begin evacuating his position, and the last to become a casualty.
3rd Platoon arrived just after the firing had subsided somewhat, and interrupted Gambolan forces from executing wounded Rangers. 3rd platoon drove off the remnants of the Gambolan forces, and secured 1st Platoon's positions. However, 18 out of 1st Platoon's 23 Rangers were KIA, and the other 5 (including 1LT Gridley and SFC Chisolm) were WIA. Confirmed Gambolan losses include 17 Gambolan regulars, the Colonel, 3 BTR80s, and a light truck. While every Ranger in 1st Platoon became a casualty, they succeeded in halting the advance of Gambolan forces across the Highway 17 bridge.
I plan to recommend SFC for a Silver Star for his actions here, and I will do so under separate cover.
John R. Brittle
CPT, Commander
And there we have it. The Rangers narrowly won a very costly fight preventing any Gambolan forces from getting through their positions, but while taking 100% casualties.
As all 23 Rangers were Out of Action, I rolled a d10 for each of them. On a 10, they were "only" WIA. Otherwise they were KIA. A it turned out, the 1LT, the SFC, 2 squad-members, and an anti-armor team member were WIA.
I think if I run this scenario again, I will keep the Rangers at d10s, but give them a trait or 2. I may also give them on-call mortars. And I may downgrade the Gambolan regulars to d8s. I'll discuss this with the lads, and if we decide to do it again, I'll post new scenario sheets and troop lists.
As previously mentioned, pics of the action are below...
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The rest of the pics...
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Fabulous looking game!
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A great looking game, and excellent AAR
:)
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Thanks, fellas! :D
I may talk to the fellas about doing 2nd Platoon's actions that day, at our 14 July outing. Of course, if we do that, CPT Brittle will do his AAR as he mentioned under that separate cover....
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Thanks for sharing, looking great love the miniatures, vehicles and scenery!
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Yikes! That's worse than a Black Hawk Down wounding for the rangers. Was Ted rolling for them or something? Haha... lol
Great AAR and love your tabletop, Jim!
Mike Demana
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Thanks for sharing, looking great love the miniatures, vehicles and scenery!
Thanks! Appreciate that.
Yikes! That's worse than a Black Hawk Down wounding for the rangers. Was Ted rolling for them or something? Haha... lol
Great AAR and love your tabletop, Jim!
Thanks Mike. We talked about that - this would have definitely made the news back home. And remember, Ted played the Gambolan regulars and The Colonel...I played the Rangers. My dice started out cold, but warmed up later (too late though...)
Ted and I will play out 2nd Platoon's action on 07 July. I'll post scenario info here when I have it done up...of course, CPT Brittle will write up up his AAR afterwards...
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By the way, I picked up some more diecast vehicles form Menards this weekend past. A 1980s Chevy van, and 2 Dodge Power Wagons (US Army and US Forest Service), all measuring out to 1/48. I plan to post pic this weekend.
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1/48 Power wagons would be great! Hopefully match up the chassis and body work of the Power wagon with the cab and bonnet of the Solido Dodge and an almost ready made M37. Would save a lot of faffing around with plastic card and putty as well as cutting aluminium sheet for fenders. Could do with another M37 and I have donor cabs.
Let us know the name of the manufacturer please so I can see if I can track one down locally.
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Great thread. Love the town and battle.
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Great thread. Love the town and battle.
Thanks! I have the terrain set up for 2nd platoon's fight. It's a bit more rural, but still at the River DoHali (where the National Road crosses it). The Ranger Platoon will be the same (spiffed with positive traits), but the Gambolan force will be a bit different (with the regulars de-spiffed with negative traits). I'll have the scenario info posted here one of these days...
Let us know the name of the manufacturer please so I can see if I can track one down locally.
They are by Denver Diecast (see the pic below of one in its box), and it appears they are manufactured for Menards (again, a big box home improvement store around these parts). You can get them on eBay, but the shipping might put you off ($10-15 for the vehicle, and $20-25 for shipping... :o)...I paid $5 for each of these...
Anyway, below are some pics of these latest vehicles I found at the afore-mentioned Menards (Angola, Indiana). The first four pics are of what appears to me to be a 1980s Chevy Van. Based on the dimensions of a short-wheelbase version of said van, it scales out right at 1/48. Both the front doors can open, as can the rear doors. The sliding side door, however, can not open.
The last 4 pics are the Dodge Power Wagons (1947 models, according to the box). One is in US Army markings, and the other in US Forest Service markings. They measure out to (and are packaged as) 1/48 as well. I know the Power Wagon wasn't used as a tactical vehicle by the US military, but the Army has a habit of pressing civilian vehicles into service, so it may appear in some Vietnam War games in the future.
The cab and bed do come off, with loosening 3 small Phillips-head screws from the bottom of the vehicle. Either can be re-attached with 2 of the screws, separate from the other. The spare tire is attached to the bed, while the fenders, running board, and gas can are molded to the frame.
I've included some civilians (both Spectre and Empress) in a couple shots to show scale compatibility...looks good to me ... 8)
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Unfortunately, my Menards here as stopped carrying all those goodies. They have only a much smaller scale line, instead. Maybe I'll duck over to the other Menards in town.
Mike Demana
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Unfortunately, my Menards here as stopped carrying all those goodies. They have only a much smaller scale line, instead. Maybe I'll duck over to the other Menards in town.
Mike Demana
Huh. That sucks. Good luck at the other one!
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Those vehicles look perfect 8)
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Yep. And I already have ideas on how to incorporate them into games...
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As I have previously mentioned, this coming Friday will see my (nearly) weekly gaming group (well, Ted and me) play out the 2nd Ranger Platoon's actions during the broader PRoNG offensive in Northern Gambola near the capital, Bangerizi. Below you will find the scenario and unit information. 1st Platoon's actions were recently covered by CPT Brittle's AAR a bit earlier in this thread...
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And here are some photo-recon shots of the bridge area 2nd Platoon will be defending. As you can see, it's just a bit more rural, as the River DoHali curves away from Bangerizi a bit.
Of course, CPT Brittle will write up his AAR afterwards...
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Hopefully, this group of rangers won't suffer a similar fate as their buddies in the other platoon. "Don't be like Orlando Bloom..." lol
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Mike. Let's just say that 1st Platoon was less experienced (relatively speaking) platoon. It'll be interesting to see how 2nd Platoon does, as I spiffed them up a bit, effectively making them D11s in firing and rallying. They shrug off Shock when firing, too. and I de-spiffed the Gambolan "regulars", effectively making them D9s to fire.
Tee-time is 1100 hrs. Friday. Let's see of 2nd Platoon can make par... ;)
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Tee-time is 1100 hrs. Friday.
You had my interest for a second, then I realized you hadn't just misspelt, 'Tea' :'(
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You had my interest for a second, then I realized you hadn't just misspelt, 'Tea' :'(
yes, well, I'm not much of a tea fan. :o That's my wife's department. I'm a coffee drinker myself. And I do play a game that, in some respects, resembles golf... :D
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As CPT Brittle, and LTC Kurts, checked out his 3rd Platoon's position after their rescue of his 1st platoon's remnants, his RTO called from his Humvee. "Captain, LT Daniel is on the horn. They're in contact." "Shit", said Brittle. "They're hitting the National Road bridge too." CPT Brittle trotted over to the Humvee, and took the headset from his RTO. "White 6, Black 6, send it, over." "Black 6, White 6. Contact Report. Enemy company-size element with infantry in trucks and on foot, and a tank approaching BP Manhattan, vicinity Grid 285604. Moving east, over." "Roger, White 6. Hold that position. Do not, I say again, do not let them through your position." "Black 6, White 6, Roger.". "Black 6 out", said Brittle, and handed the headset back to the RTO. "Did you catch that, Sir?", he asked Kurts. "Yup. You want a platoon from battalion reserve to head up there?" "Yes, sir. Maybe some teams from the AT platoon, too, just in case." Kurts: "Yup. Done", and LTC Kurts headed to his Humvee to give the necessary FRAGOs.
Just then CPT Brittle heard LT Daniel's call for fire to the company mortars....
Yep - you guessed it. We (Ted and I) played 2nd Platoon's defense of the National Road Bridge in Northern Gambola today (Friday). He opted to play the Gambolans again, so I played the Rangers again. Let's just say that this game bore little resemblance to 1st Platoon's action at the Highway 17 Bridge.
The actual AAR should go up tomorrow (Saturday) or Sunday...
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looking forward to reading that.
Oh, & looking at the pretty pictures. :)
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A classic Ted vs. Jim matchup! ;D
I'm ready to read about Ted's bungled die rolls and Capn Jim's cleverness...ha, ha! Seriously, looking forward to the report.
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Gents!
I'll begin with the US starting positions. As you may recall, they could start out hidden and with prepared fighting positions, and they did both. But they did not occupy all their prepared fighting positions - some were left as secondary positions, or as decoys. They also used a couple for road obstacles. I decided not to occupy the upper roofs of buildings, as they might prove a tempting target for the main gun of that T55.
I started the Rangers out with the Platoon Sergeant and 2nd Squad in the rocks north of the road, just east of the bridge. I put the 2 Anti-Armor Teams in the weeds along the river bank, one each on either side of the bridge. The Sniper Team was on the balcony of the house within the big compound. And the Platoon Leader, along with 1st and 3rd squad, was positioned in the courtyard, with easy access to the 2 gates, so they could quickly act once their ambush was triggered. The pic below shows the US starting line-up...
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And now, on with the actual AAR....again, this was a 28mm fight, and we used the Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles rules.
To: Commander, 1/75 Inf Rgt (Ranger)
From: A Co, 1/75 Inf Rgt (Ranger)
Subject: After Action Report: Action of 23 February 1993, Bangerizi, Northern Gambola.
On 23 Feb 93, A Co, 1/75 Inf Rgt received the mission of defending 2 bridges over the River DoHali at the western edge of Bangerizi, in the People's Republic of Northern Gambola (PRoNG). The purpose of the mission was to delay or halt the advance of PRoNG forces as they attempted to advance toward the airport in Bangerizi where Foreign Nation armed forces, including those of the United states, were evacuating their nationals from the country. I tasked 1st Platoon with defending the Highway 17 bridge and 2nd platoon with defending the National Road bridge. I held 3rd Platoon as the company reserve. I have already provided the AAR for 1st Platoon under separate cover. This AAR focuses on the actions of 2nd Platoon.
The Gambolan force that attempted to attack 2nd Platoon across the National Road Bridge consisted of a motorized infantry platoon in trucks, a lone T-55 tank, a small platoon of Gambolan Militia, and 2 Gambolan Militia technicals. I had assigned 2nd Platoon priority of fires for the Company's 60mm Mortar Section.
The Gambolans attacked, using their vehicles led by the tank to cross the road bridge, while the Militia on foot attempted to cross the footbridge south of the road bridge. As the Militia clustered to begin to cross the narrow bridge, 2nd Plt Ldr LT Daniel called in very accurate mortar fire on their position, using the sniper team as spotters, effectively removing them from the battle.
The Gambolans led their main effort across the bridge with their tank, followed by their infantry in trucks, followed by their Militia technicals. One of the technicals passed the tank and trucks, only to get stuck on a dirt berm 2nd Platoon had built across the road. Then, 2nd Platoon's 2nd squad opened fire on that technical from their position in the rocks above the bridge, KIA'ing both crew in that technical.
The enemy T55 tank began firing ineffectually at suspected 2nd platoon positions. After 2nd Squad knocked out the 1st Gambolan technical, the 2 Anti-armor teams fired at the T55, knocking it out. The 2nd Gambolan technical attempted to pass the knocked out tank, coming under 2nd Squad's fire, killing its driver. One of the Anti-Armor Teams then destroyed the 2nd technical. The destroyed tank and 2 technicals now effectively blocked the bridge.
2nd Platoon's only casualty occurred at this point. A Gambolan RPG team fired at the Anti-Armor Team just south of the bridge, barely missing them but knocked the Team's loader out for a few minutes. PFC Garibaldi has a concussion, but will be back in service in a few days.
The final part of 2nd Platoon's action came at this point. With the bridge effectively blocked, the Gambolan infantry dismounted their trucks, presumably to renew their attack. They didn't get the chance. SFC Smothers called in more accurate fire from the Company 60mm mortars as the Gambolans dismounted, KIA'ing and WIA'ing several, and destroying a troop truck. This fire mission broke the Gambolans' will to continue the attack, and their remnants retreated back west to the other side of the River DoHali.
Casualties for 2nd platoon's action include 1 WIA for the 2nd Platoon. Casualties for the Gambolans in 2nd Platoon's action are estimated at 15 Gambolan Regulars, 12 Militia, 1 T55 tank. 2 technicals, and 1 3-ton truck.
This concludes the After-Action Report for 23 Feb 93.
John R. Brittle
CPT, Inf, Commander
As much as 1st platoon's fight was a bloody affair for both sides, this one was a bit one-sided. Yes, I made a few tweaks to unit stats, but let me tell you what - and we all already know this - mortars on bunched-up troops sure ain't pretty. We think 3 things made the difference in 2nd Platoon's action:
1. Accurate, timely mortar fire. It came when LT Daniel really needed it, it hit on target, and it was deadly (apparently, Mulligan wasn't running the mortars here.... ;) ). When the Gambolan Militia bunched up to dash across the foot bridge to try to flank the Rangers, they got hosed by mortars. Same for when the Gambolans dismounted their trucks. They were bunched up, and paid for it.
2. Luck. I got the right cards and die rolls at the right time when it counted. But I'm OK with luck. In my view, lucky is just as good as good....
3. This time, the Anti-Armor Teams did their job. They killed that T55 with their first shots, taking it's big damn gun out of the fight....
We only got 5 turns in before the Gambolans bugged out. Took about an hour and change to play...
Hope y'all enjoyed these dispatches from the Peoples' Republic of Northern Gambola. I plan to paint up more modern figures here for a while, so we can play more games from Gambola (and Balszakistan)...of course,, I'll post progress all along them way....
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Thanks for another thrilling AAR. Keep up the good work.
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Thanks for another thrilling AAR. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, has.been. I'll keep at it!
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Another great game, love everything!
The awesome miniatures, nice scenery and after action report
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Wow, that was indeed one-sided! :o
What was the mechanism you used to call in the mortar fire? Could you do it on any card for the U.S. side? Was it automatically available? Just curious...
Sounds fun...for you -- not so much for Ted! lol
Mike Demana
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Another GREAT AAR :)
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That's a superb looking bridge Jim. May I enquire as to its provenance? I could do with something like that.
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Another great game, love everything!
The awesome miniatures, nice scenery and after action report
Thanks, Belgian. Appreciate it.
Wow, that was indeed one-sided! :o
What was the mechanism you used to call in the mortar fire? Could you do it on any card for the U.S. side? Was it automatically available? Just curious...
Sounds fun...for you -- not so much for Ted! lol
Mike Demana
Thanks, Mike. Here's the rules we used for the mortars. They're based on the "airstrike" random event in the rules, but with the scatter reduced 9I figured that well-trained 60mm mortar crews' rounds would scatter less than a 500 lb. 'dumb" bomb...
OFF-BOARD MORTARS
The US Rangers have access to the Company’s 60mm mortars. They can call for up to 5 fire missions, at no more than one per turn. There are 2 tubes per mission. 1st and 2nd Squads have radios, and the RTOs cannot shoot any turn they attempt to call for fire. An Easy Task Roll gets the mortars that turn. If not successful, try again in a future turn.
If successful, place 2 aim points, 5” one from the other. Roll to hit for each aim point, using the range from the RTO to the aim point (short range is up to 24”. Long range is beyond 24”). Do not use the Rangers’ Dead-Eyes Trait. If hit, the aim point stays where it is. If missed, the aim point deviates a random direction d10”. The Burst Diameter is 5”. Roll to Wound/Damage for each figure/vehicle within that diameter. A 2nd or more consecutive fire mission at the same original aim point only deviates ½ d10 on a miss, only for the previous shots that missed. Previous shots that hit do so again.
And yes, it could be called in on any card for the US side, but calling for fire took up the entire action for the spotting unit, whether it arrived or not. And the spotting unit had to have both LOS to the aim points and access to a radio...
Another GREAT AAR :)
Thanks, AKULA!
That's a superb looking bridge Jim. May I enquire as to its provenance? I could do with something like that.
Thanks, Carlos! The bridge is an mdf kit from Miniature Building Authority. Here's a link: https://www.miniaturebuildingauthority.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DIR-345
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I've had a die-cast ambulance for a while, and I've finally painted up a crew for it. The ambulance comes out at about 1/48 (I dolled it up just a little bit), and the crew are Offensive Miniatures 28mm metal figs. These will also be used in some of my post-apoc games - see my thread down there...
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Nicely done.
If they've got some low-temp soldering irons in there, they can do some emergency patching up of casualties!
: 3
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Thanks, Cat.
And that wouldn't work on plastic figs. These guys have an Advanced Life Support rig. They carry tubes of SuperGlue and plastic model glue... ;)
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Just finished painting up a Press Crew. 2 photographers and their driver/escort. They are 28mm Full Metal Miniatures. The escort and the male photographer are from their "Film Crew/Reporters" pack, while the female photographer is a single figure pack.
The pics below show them from different angles...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-160823153157-59720130.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-160823153157-597212302.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-160823153157-59722731.jpeg)
They were fun to paint up. The "Film Crew/Reporters" pack also includes a videographer, a reporter with a hand mic, a guy holding up an overhead mic, and a reporter taking notes on a notepad. I'll get to those eventually. In the meantime, I have a US Army rifle squad (circa late '80s/90s) all prepped and primed. I should start on painting them with in the next few days.
I should be able to use the press crew for my Vietnam, Modern, and Post-apocalyptic games...
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The die-cast stuff is super helpful and I love the fact it doesn’t require painting just a bit of weathering usually
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Nice looking forward to seeing the 80s US on infantry as well.
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The die-cast stuff is super helpful and I love the fact it doesn’t require painting just a bit of weathering usually
Indubitably. I keep an eye out for diecasts wherever I go. I have found them in less-than-anticipated places, such as a sidewalk market in Lisbon, and an antique/gift store here in my little burg.......
Nice looking forward to seeing the 80s US on infantry as well.
Thanks! I will post pics as soon as they are done...
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And here is my 1990s US infantry 1st Squad. The figures are 28mm, and are a mix of Stan Johansen Miniatures and MoFo Miniatures.
The figures are in BDUs with PASGT Kevlar helmets, some with goggles. They all have ALICE personal equipment, and there is a mix of M69 and MOLLE vests. One of the grenadiers is wearing a grenadier vest.
These 2 pics are the Squad Leader (far left, ready to pop a smoke grenade) and Fire Team A (left to right - team leader, grenadier, SAW gunner, and rifleman (who has an M72 LAW slung on his back)).
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-300823211011.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-300823210932.jpeg)
These next 2 pics are Fire Team B. Same configuration as Fire Team A, but no LAWs.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-300823210908.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-300823210834.jpeg)
And this last shot is the whole squad together.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/59/16550-300823210805.jpeg)
Not sure what's next. I gotta ponder that....
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Looking good — being all they can be!
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Thanks, Cat. I always like "Be All that You Can Be" way better then "An Army of One"...
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Indubitably. I keep an eye out for diecasts wherever I go. I have found them in less-than-anticipated places, such as a sidewalk market in Lisbon, and an antique/gift store here in my little burg.......
Thanks! I will post pics as soon as they are done...
I have a charity shop lady looking out for diecast vehicles for me
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I have a charity shop lady looking out for diecast vehicles for me
That's cool. You never know what might wander into her shop...
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Great job on those BDUs!
Mike Demana
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Well those bring back some fond memories. Hoo-ah!
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@mikedemana: Thanks, Mike. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.
@Grumpy Gnome: Yeah, me too... :D
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My wife and I went to the Michigan Toy Soldier Shop in Royal Oak, MI (a suburb of Detroit) on my birthday this Wednesday past. There, among other things, we found some new gaming mats. They are by a company called Gray Matter Gaming, and they are based out of Troy, MI (another suburb of Detroit). They produce a variety of neoprene gaming mats in a variety of sizes. I bought 2 scaled for 28mm games, in 36" x 36".
The first is called Modern City 1. Here is a pic of it without any other terrain on it...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-100923203005.jpeg)
And here are a few shots with terrain. This one I set up as a North American town (US or Canada)...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-100923202946.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-100923202927.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-100923202907.jpeg)
The 2nd is called Modern City 2. Here is a naked shot....
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-100923202847.jpeg)
And here are a few shots set up as a European-style town...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-100923202826.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-100923202807.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-100923202747.jpeg)
FYI, they cost about $50.00 each at the store. I'm happy with them. They will definitely see some games played on them...
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Happy Birthday! Seems we are a day apart.
Nice looking mats and something I need to make.
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They look very nice, now you have populated them.
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Those are very nice mats.
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Happy Birthday! Seems we are a day apart.
Nice looking mats and something I need to make.
Happy belated birthday!
They look very nice, now you have populated them.
Those are very nice mats.
They are nice indeed. I may get some more...and as I said (typed...), they are sure to be fought over...
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I have yet to make it up to that store, Jim. I do shop their booth when I go to Historicon -- they have lots of nice stuff! You should talk them into being a vendor at ATC next year... :D
Oh, and Happy Birthday! Good presents... :-*
Mike Demana
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Good idea. I'll try to remember to do that next time I'm up that way... :D
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Nice thread! I'll be checking this out in detail for inspiration.
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Love the new mats... wide open spaces = kill zones :D
Your buildings look excellent as wel.
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Sorry about the delayed response - been on vacation and just now getting caught up on stuff...
Nice thread! I'll be checking this out in detail for inspiration.
Thanks! I suspect I'll be putting up more modern stuff as time goes by here in the next several weeks...
Love the new mats... wide open spaces = kill zones :D
Your buildings look excellent as wel.
Thanks! And yeah - maneuvering in open streets in a firefight can be a bit of a bitch... :o
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As I (inadvertently) mentioned in my Vietnam thread, I picked up some modern stuff at Advance the Colors earlier this month. I got most of it from Miniature Building Authority, including 2 diecast 1/43 Humvees. I got 2 28mm .50 cal weapon stations and gunners to go with them.
Well, they needed a proper NATO tri-color camo job and the weapon stations needed a bit of assembly and or course painting, which I have now done. As you can see from the pics below, they are a bit on the big side (they do indeed scale out to 1/43), but I think they'll work out fine. As you can see, I've included a couple pics with 28mm figures to illustrate scale. Here they are:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-301023225715.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-301023225651.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-301023225628.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-301023225609.jpeg)
Up next is some Balszaki infantry (Balszakistan is my fictional 1990s former Soviet republic) - painting on them starts tomorrow. Pics to follow once they are done, of course, and they, along with the US infantry and Humvees have a scenario waiting for them......
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Nice! :-*
If you ever change your mind about the Humvees then Tamiya do nice ones in 1/48. Currently on my list for a future Panama 1989 Just (Be)cause scenario.
PS: Knowing you to be a fellow creative with plastic figures, the Rubicon US army figures with AKs swapped out from their NVA box make very acceptable PDF. Just need a few Kpots. Actually they make pretty good 'anyone with a mix of surplus Soviet weapons and BDUs' which covers a wide variety of folk both past and present.
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Good job on the vehicle camo Jim.
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great looking urban terrain
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Nice! :-*
If you ever change your mind about the Humvees then Tamiya do nice ones in 1/48. Currently on my list for a future Panama 1989 Just (Be)cause scenario.
PS: Knowing you to be a fellow creative with plastic figures, the Rubicon US army figures with AKs swapped out from their NVA box make very acceptable PDF. Just need a few Kpots. Actually they make pretty good 'anyone with a mix of surplus Soviet weapons and BDUs' which covers a wide variety of folk both past and present.
Thanks. I may look at those Tamiya Humvees. These 2 only outfit one squad...
As for plastics kit-bashing - I've already been pondering some possibilities. I've decided my 28mm "modern" games will all be set in the 1990s, and I think I'm set (painted or in the painting queue) for my fictional countries of Balszakistan (former Soviet republic) and the People's Republic of Northern Gambola (Africa). Aside from a few police and some Narco types, I really don't have anything for my fictional Central American country of El Perdomo (thus far only used in my Top Secret RPG campaign). Those Rubicon kits, with a few other bits and bobs, would do nicely for Perdoman Army troops...
Good job on the vehicle camo Jim.
Thanks, Ash.
great looking urban terrain
Thanks! Appreciate it...
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The Rubes will be even more versatile once they release the Australians, loads of FAL arms.
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Nice! Good job on the camo. I can't tell from the photo - does he have M16 pouches, or AK pouches?
And the first batch of my Balszaki infantry is a bit more than half done. I plan to finish the rest Monday or Tuesday. Of course, pics will follow...stay tuned here!
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M16 pouch on the left, the carrier for a Warlord Games Russian entrenching tool on the right serving as a proxy AK pouch. The Panamanians apparently swapped out East German AK pouches for one of the usual pouches on their ALICE webbing. Didn't bother shaving the rear H straps off that one but most of his colleagues are getting a change to the Alice 'Y' yoke. Once you have found the right AK arms it's a simple and fun conversion.
The corresponding North Vietnamese in tunics are getting a few Warlord Games Japanese helmeted head swaps and being turned into 1970s/early '80s Chinese PLA. It's a fair approximation and means my Soviets can have someone else to fight. Or my Vietnamese come to that.
The detail isn't much of an advance on 1970s era ESCI soft plastics but these are very versatile sets. Rubicon should really think about doing some Mao capped heads. NVA in tunics become Chinese, those in shirts become Pathet Lao and their Viet Cong box could become Khmer Rouge.
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Thanks. I'll probably use some spare British WW2 ammo pouches to augment the M16 pouches. And I'll probably leave the "H" harness, as they'd be for for a fictional country anyway....
Hopefully Rubicon releases their ANZACs sooner vs, later, not only for the SLRs but the bush hats too...I wouldn't mind mixing in a few of those with the M1 helmets...I may even see how Warlord heads with berets (from their British Para plastic box) look, but I suspect they'll be a bit big. We'll see...
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It will be the best use for the Aussies, they aren't that well researched. They are all wearing pixie suits, which saw limited use and only very late in the war. Most have rolled up sleeves and they have a mix of weapons that don't gel. Own guns, deleted in 1966, with a uniform that only came in to being two years later. Not even that useful as post-war Aussies as the pixie shirts disappeared pretty quickly and were as rare as hens' teeth by the 1980s, the only trace being the ghastly design of the trousers.
Still, I am all in favor of Rubicon with all their faults as they are a great source of conversion fodder. I suspect that between the Australian box and the US one it might be possible to make reasonable Cold War Canadian proxies. I doubt that more than a handful of the Rubicon figures I have will ever et used for their original, intended purpose.
My next task is to convert a Rubicon US Army chap or two into M67 recoilless rifle gunners as, to my chagrin, I've discovered that the Berlin Brigade fielded those instead of M47 Dragons. :-[
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Huh. No Dragons in Berlin? Learn something new every day...
I've fired an M67. My Guard unit (a combat engineer battalion I was in from '80 to '84)) carried them as our primary anti-armor weapon. They were fun to shoot while prone.... :D
I have done up some of Rubicon's Marines and VC as such (I did add in a couple WW2 weapons with the VC though). But yer right. I hope they keep making the kits. I can always use some conversion fodder if I don't do them up as intended...
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Surprised and then after I thought about, not surprised. They did have jeep mounted TOW but I suppose in urban terrain, the M67 probably has more utility than a Dragon whilst being about on par for the drawbacks. Seen a vid of a range practice with the M67, they were engineers too. I can see why you want to be prone. Overall it seems a lot more craptastic than the Carl Gustav.
Of course being a gamer I'm now contemplating making myself a M202 Flash, purely for the cool factor. :)
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I have never seen an M202. Not even in storage. It's my understanding, though, they were somewhat less than reliable. And I don't recall seeing any minis out there with one. Good luck with scratch-building one (and coming up with a rule for it!).
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I have never seen an M202. Not even in storage. It's my understanding, though, they were somewhat less than reliable. And I don't recall seeing any minis out there with one. Good luck with scratch-building one (and coming up with a rule for it!).
Well, one appears in Commando (comedy moment when the lead female fires it backwards).
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Surprised and then after I thought about, not surprised. They did have jeep mounted TOW but I suppose in urban terrain, the M67 probably has more utility than a Dragon whilst being about on par for the drawbacks. Seen a vid of a range practice with the M67, they were engineers too. I can see why you want to be prone. Overall it seems a lot more craptastic than the Carl Gustav.
Probably for the same reason the Berlin Infantry Brigade kept their BAT after Milan entered service.
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But Milan was also deployed in Berlin by the British Army as well as the the French, as was TOW by the US Berlin Brigade. All three, including the Dragon, are wire guided SACLOS systems and TOW is the closer equivalent to Milan.
It's almost as if armies do this stuff with an eye to pissing off gamers in the future. lol
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It's almost as if armies do this stuff with an eye to pissing off gamers in the future. lol
I am reminded of a cartoon.
1st Caveman is painting a TV on the wall of the cave.
2nd Caveman queries it.
1st Caveman says, 'Yes I know there is no such thing, but in a few thousand years
it will drive archeologists crazy'.
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Yes, well, back to the topic at hand now... :D
Three things:
1. My first batch of Balszaki infantry is done. I will post pics tomorrow (Thursday).
2. They will see the elephant for the first time Friday. And will my US infantry. My weekly gaming group is set to play a scenario in Balszakistan. In our last Balszakistan game, in 1990 US special forces rescued the staff of an NGO medical center help prisoner by Balszaki rebels. And now, the Balszaki rebels will seek their revenge, by trying to kill/kidnap the US Ambassador to Balszakistan. I will post the scenario details hopefully tomorrow.
3. My next figures are almost ready for painting. My US 2nd Squad, along with the Plt Ldr, RTO, and medic (and a fill-in figure for my African regular platoon, to get their 1st squad up to 7 figures).
Stay tuned......
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O que é isso companheiro? ;)
I think the kidnapping of a US ambassador (Iran, 1979 aside) has only been successfully carried out once, in 1969. BRAZIL FOR THE WIN!!!!!
There's a decent, fictionalised, version of the event that largely tells the story. Fifteen political prisoners of the dictatorship released and flown on a Brazilian Air Force C-130 to Mexico, ambassador released by the guerillas. Result! So your Balsakistanis have a high bar to jump.
Bit of inspiration if you haven't seen it and a decent time killer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FRtkEbQ-8U.
Also a better doco called Hércules 56 but I've not seen a version with English subtitles.
You'll want a figure that resembles the late and sadly departed Alan Arkin. The beauty there being you can also use an Alan Arkin figure as a New York dentist in another, fictional, Latin American dictatorship If you can find a Peter Falk figure that is. lol
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I may have to watch that. Thanks!
And my US Ambassador and Balszaki Interior Minister (yes, see below...) will resemble other folks...
But first, some Balszaki infantry. These fellers are 28mm (of course), and are a mix of Eureka Miniatures Soviets and Khurasan Miniatures Ukranians. I was going for a mix of uniform and gear - some older and some newer (well, newer for 1990 or so, that is), with a vaguely Soviet/Russian look to them. Thus, I painted them up that way, and I think I succeeded. These chaps won't be it - they are just enough to do the scenario outlined below. I will at some point add 2 more riflemen to these 2 squads, and add a third 7-man squad and a platoon sniper.
But on with what I have done. Here is the platoon Lieutenant:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123201104.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123201040.jpeg)
Here is the basis for the platoon's 1st squad:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123201013.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123200949.jpeg)
And the basis for the platoon's 2nd squad:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123200920.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123200753.jpeg)
And these are the whole batch together...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123200723.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123200652.jpeg)
They will paly a role in the below game, which is scheduled for tomorrow (Friday, the 10th).
The scenario is inspired by Scenario #2: The Big Villa, in our own Mike Demana's Wars of Insurgency, and Scenario Kilo: VIP Extraction, in Dan Mersey's Xenos Rampant. We will be using Xenos Rampant to play the game.
As you can see, it will involve 4 different factions - US Marines (with the US Ambassador's security detail), Balszaki infantry (with their Interior Minister's security detail), and 2 different forces from the Balszaki Freedom Front (BFF). Here are the Scenario Info Sheets for the 4 factions...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123201421.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123201332.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123201254.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-091123201223.jpeg)
Kick-off is at 1100 hrs. tomorrow. Of course, I'll do up an illustrated battle report after we've played the game. In the meantime. stand by! :D
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The Opfor look very good! Looking forward to the AAR.
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Thanks. Carlos! We did indeed fight this action this Friday past.
Before I get around to doing the battle report, a couple administrative notes:
1. We found 2 typos on the scenario sheets. The Balzsaki Interior Minister's sedan should have an Armor rating of 4 (listed on the Balszaki Infantry's sheet). And, conversely, BOTH of the BFF #1's pick-ups should have Armor ratings of 3...
2. SPOILER ALERT! Xenos Rampant does not say what happens to passengers in a vehicle that is destroyed. So, we made something up - we did a normal shooting attack on the passenger unit in a vehicle that got KO'ed.
3. If a unit that has the Ambassador or the Interior Minister took casualties, we rolled a d6. A result of 6 meant that the Ambassador or Interior Minister was a casualty instead of one of the troops in the unit.
I'll get to the battle report soon. I promise...
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And here we go...
First off, here's the battlefield looking from the south. It matches the scenario map pretty well.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143616.jpeg)
All the units deployed per the scenario sheet. It was Ted and me - Ted played the Marines and Balszaki regulars, while I played both BFF factions. We rolled for initiative for each faction, and it went Marines, BRR #1, BFF#2, Balszaki regulars each turn...
Here's Part 1 of the battle report...
Things started fairly quietly. The Marines moved cautiously up the road toward the country house, while the Balszakis moved deliberately through the orchard toward the house (they got their BTR80 up by the house fairly quickly).
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143523.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143508.jpeg)
The Interior Minister's security detail went in the house to escort the Minister and the Ambassador down and out to the vehicles, while the Ambassador's security detail kept an eye on things outside. Both groups of rebels moved toward the house, one through the pasture, and the other through the crops.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143556.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143541.jpeg)
First blood went to the Marines. As the moved along the road and the nearby wood-line, they spotted some BFF folks, dismounted the Humvee, and opened fire. The Marines and the BFF cells closest to them traded shots, the Marines giving better than they got.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143417.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143452.jpeg)
The 2nd BFF cells kept moving up the hill to the house, with some getting up the the wall and exchanging fire with the security detail. Meanwhile the Marines and the Balszaki BTR dueled it out with 1st BFF cells.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143330.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143309.jpeg)
The Humvee, BTR, and the 2 BFF technicals were engaged in a heavy machine gun fight, with one of the technicals taking some hits, and backing off.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143226.jpeg)
Inside the house, the Interior Minister's security detail had the Minister and Ambassador downstairs, waiting to go outside....
Find out what happened when they did go outside, in the 2nd (final) installment of this battle report....
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Great looking game Jim!
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Great work and very inspirational 🫡
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Very nice looking set up. Looking forward to the next installment.
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Terrific set up - lots to love👍
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Thanks, gentlemen! And now, back to our normal programming...
The Ambassador's security detail had plenty of targets. Luckily, the Balszaki BTR had come up, and was lending a hand with things.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143208.jpeg)
The Balszaki security detail brought the Interior Minister and the Ambassador out to their vehicles, trying to stay out of the line of fire.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143151.jpeg)
Down the hill, the Marines were set in the wood-line, with the Humvee taking on the BFF's technicals. The Balszaki regulars were making their way (slowly) toward the house.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143127.jpeg)
At the house, the Ambassador's detail, and the Balszaki BTR and a squad of regulars, were holding off the BFF fighters. The Interior Minister's detail got him in their Mercedes, and crashed the gate to try to get away.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143103.jpeg)
The Ambassador's detail got him in their SUV, while the BTR took out several BFF men. BFF men at the wall sprayed down the SUV, and the driver punched it in reverse. And the Marine's Humvee had driven one of the BFF's technicals back.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143041.jpeg)
Then disaster struck. As the Ambassador's SUV cleared the compound gate, a BFF cell in the wood-line let loose with RPG rounds, and took out the Ambassador's SUV, killing 2 of the security detail. The other 3 hustled the Ambassador out of the burning vehicle, taking cover. The Interior Minister, on the other hand, was being sped away in his car. BFF fighters came over the wall, but there were queet a few less than before.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123143015.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123142956.jpeg)
Some BFF men who had crossed the wall closed in on the Ambassador and his detail, taking the rest of the detail out and grabbing the Ambassador. The BFF men hustled the Ambassador down the hill, with the Balszaki BTR on their tail. Meanwhile the crew of one of the BFF technicals had abandoned their vehicle, as had the crew of the Marine's Humvee. The other BFF technical had been damaged, too. The BFF also had their transport vehicles come forward.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123142941.jpeg)
As the Balszaki regulars took the compound back, what was left of the BFF cells made their way off to the east. They took some casualties in their retreat, but they kept hold of the US Ambassador and spirited him away.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123142926.jpeg)
The Marines tried to chase the BFF fighters, but it was too late. The BFF left a couple dozen men behind, as well as one of their technicals, but they had nabbed the US Ambassasdor. And in the process, they had taken out all of the Ambassador's security detail and his SUV. They had also taken out a Marine, and forced the Humvee crew to abandon it. All in all, was an important, but expensive, victory for the BFF. It was also only a partial victory, as the Balszaki Interior Minister had gotten away.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/60/16550-131123142912.jpeg)
And there you have it. In a very rare event, someone (the BFF in particular) had successfully kidnapped a US Ambassador. Methinks the US may, in due time, try to get him back... ;)
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Given who he resembles.... perhaps not. lol
Really nice AAR. You've really hit your straps with this retirement bizzo, you seem to be having a ball. Green with envy.
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Given who he resembles.... perhaps not. lol
Really nice AAR. You've really hit your straps with this retirement bizzo, you seem to be having a ball. Green with envy.
Yeah, I am digging retirement, as Ol' Blue Eyes once sang - Nice work if You Can Get It...so to speak. :D
And the Balszaki Interior Minister figure resembled another sub-popular world leader....
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More stuff to show off today.
First, I made it to a Menards, and bought 3 1/48 diecast trucks (Edit: these were $5 each...). First up is a Ford van ambulance (figures are included to show scale)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013235.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013205.jpeg)
Next, is a small older dump truck. This one will likely eventually see some weathering added.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013135.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013105.jpeg)
Last is a older fuel truck. I'm thinking of eventually possibly re-painting this one, and definitely weathering it.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013018.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223012955.jpeg)
And, I finished some more US troops for the late 1980s/1990s. (Another edit: these are a mix of MoFo Miniatures and Stan Johansen Miniatures...) Here is the Platoon Leader, his RTO, and the medic. Please note the medics long arm. Few of their likely antagonists will have been signators to the Geneva Conventions, so he's got something with which to defend himself (more than a pistol, anyway).
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223012915.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223012850.jpeg)
Next, we have the platoon's 2nd Squad. Here is the Squad Leader and Fire Team A.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223012825.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223012754.jpeg)
And here is their Fire Team B.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223012730.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223012704.jpeg)
So, now I have a basic Platoon HQ, 2 squads, and 2 Humvees. Planned future additions include the Platoon Sergeant and his RTO, the 3rd Squad, 2 MG teams, and an anti-armor team. And I need to decide on vehicles heavier than Humvees, as well...
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Looking great, Jim! The ambulance's scale looks perfect. Good find!! Gotta make a trip to the other Menards in town, my store isn't ordering them anymore, for some reason.
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Mike. That gives me 2 ambulances, so I can choose which one to use, depending on the scenario.
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Some great finds there 👍
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Yep! And thanks!
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My latest work is done. I wanted to add to my seemingly understrength 28mm African regular platoon (for my fictional Peoples' Republic of Northern Gambola), which are a mix of mostly Eureka Miniatures ZANLA chaps, and a few MoFo Miniatures thrown in for good measure. Just to be different, I decided to try a plastics (mostly) kit-bash for this augmentation project. What I came up with is shown below...
First up is a leader and 2 RPG gunners. The bodies (as are all these bodies) are from Warlord Games' WW2 US Marines sprue. The arms are a mix of the Marine and Warlord's German panzer grenadier sprues. Kit bits are from the Marine sprue and Warlord's ProjectZ Special Operator sprue. The M16 is a metal one from Full Metal Miniatures. The RPGs are from Warlord's ProjectZ Survivors weapons sprue. Heads are from Warlord's British Para sprue.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-121223005638.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-121223005613.jpeg)
Next, we have 3 grunts. Again, the bodies are from Warlord's Marines sprue. The arms too are a mix of the Marine and Warlord's German panzer grenadier sprues. Kit bits are from the Marine sprue and Warlord's ProjectZ Survivor weapons sprue. The FN-FAL is a metal one from Full Metal Miniatures. The AKs are from Warlord's ProjectZ Survivors weapons sprue. The beret heads are from Warlord's British Para sprue, while the soft-cap head is from the Marine sprue.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-121223005550.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-121223005529.jpeg)
Then, we have a sniper and an MG team. Again, the bodies are from Warlord's Marines sprue. These arms too are a mix of the Marine and Warlord's German panzer grenadier sprues. The M1903A4 is from Warlord's Marine sprue. The MG3 is an MG42 from Warlord's panzer grenadier sprue, while the ammo can and strip are from Warlord's Blitzkrieg Germans sprue. The loader's M16 (lying on the ground next to him) is from Warlord's ProjectZ Survivors weapons sprue, while the loader's ammo cans are from one of Rubicon's German stowage sets. One soft-cap head is from Warlord's Marine sprue, while the other is a resin head I got from my wargame bud Ted (don't know who made it). The sniper's head is from Warlord's ProjectZ Special Operators sprue.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-121223005501.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-121223005440.jpeg)
And here is the whole batch together...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-121223005410.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-121223005343.jpeg)
They fit well with my afore-mentioned existing African troops. And I think they turned out pretty well.
With these guys, I have a senior officer, his bodyguard, 2 platoon-level leaders, a sniper, an MG3 team, and 3 squads of 8 men each (6 M16s/AKs, an LMG, and an RPG). I also have 2 armored cars and dismounted crew for them. That oughta work...
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Great conversions Jim! :-* :-*
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Fantastic - and absolutely inspirational. I've been wanting to make some similar troops for a while, there's a lot to
steal be inspired by here!
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Very pretty; I bet they can fight too!
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Cracking job on those.,👍👍👍
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Great work mate! 👍
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Looking good. I did the same with warlord plastic british airborne bodies, wargames factory zulu heads, warlord project Z weapon sprues and other bits for my Burandan/Zingaran troops.
T.
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Nice conversions. I need to do some work on my Congo project.
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Fantastic work all round
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Thanks, fellas!
Next up, I'm staying in modern(ish) Africa. More 28mm Gunmen to go with my existing bunch. I've prepped and primed a mix of Eureka Minis Somali Gunmen and MoFo Minis African Militia. I plan to start actual painting on these yet today...
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More great work .
I’m gonna use this as a guide for mine!
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Thanks, HESH. Have a poke around your unpainted pile and your bits box. You never know what you might be able to use, not to mention what's available on the market. Methinks were are currently in a kit-basher's glory days... :D
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It is amazing how all of the kits out there are letting people mix and match to come up with to represent new figures that the originals weren't necessarily intended for...! Great job on these, Jim!
Mike Demana
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More stuff to show off today.
First, I made it to a Menards, and bought 3 1/48 diecast trucks (Edit: these were $5 each...). First up is a Ford van ambulance (figures are included to show scale)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013235.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013205.jpeg)
Next, is a small older dump truck. This one will likely eventually see some weathering added.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013135.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013105.jpeg)
Last is a older fuel truck. I'm thinking of eventually possibly re-painting this one, and definitely weathering it.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223013018.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-061223012955.jpeg)
..
Great Menards finds! Your pics are making me regret not picking up the Tanker and dump truck. They would have been great repaints for WWW2 vehicles.
I think the dump truck back could also be a great kitbash onto the Menards Duce and a half to make a soviet style dump truck.
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Great finds mate 👌
I have a lady in the local charity shop on the lookout for me, so far she’s found all kinds of little gems perfect for 28mm
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If you fancy an even older, bigger and articulated tanker in Sinclair livery then Atlantis Models do a Fruehauf tanker in 1/48.
https://atlantis-models.com/white-fruehauf-gas-truck-sinclair-us-army-plastic-model-kit-1-48/
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Great Menards finds! Your pics are making me regret not picking up the Tanker and dump truck. They would have been great repaints for WWW2 vehicles.
I think the dump truck back could also be a great kitbash onto the Menards Duce and a half to make a soviet style dump truck.
Hmm. I have 3 of those Menards "duece-and-a-half"s... :D
If you fancy an even older, bigger and articulated tanker in Sinclair livery then Atlantis Models do a Fruehauf tanker in 1/48.
https://atlantis-models.com/white-fruehauf-gas-truck-sinclair-us-army-plastic-model-kit-1-48/
Thanks for the tip, Carlos, but that fuel (petrol, for some of you...) truck will likely get a more generic paint job, so I can sue it in any one of several of my "modern" venues... ;)
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By the way, next up are those African gunmen I mentioned. 1st 8 of the 16-man batch are done. Pics to follow later this week...
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The Menards one would make a great airport tanker. Good for Tan Son Nhut to Timbuktu.
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The Menards one would make a great airport tanker. Good for Tan Son Nhut to Timbuktu.
That's what I thought. Now all I gotta do is get some airport-related terrain and a civilian airplane of 2 (in 28mm, or course)....
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And here are those African gunmen I mentioned. Interesting that Lord Raglan posted similar figures (only with head coverings) on his thread.
Theses are all 28mm, and mostly Eureka Miniatures, with a few MoFo Miniatures thrown in for good measure.
First up is a leader (you can tell by the obligatory waving hand - either that or he sees someone in the crowd he knows...), an PKM gunner (with a belt in lieu of the box), and 2 RPG gunners.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220714.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220638.jpeg)
These next 6 pics show 12 guys with various rifles (a bunch of AKs, a couple G3s, a couple bolt guns, and an XM177).
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220611.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220544.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220510.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220443.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220411.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220347.jpeg)
A note here - 2 of the MoFo figures had rifle barrels snapped off - the XM177 and one of the bolt guns. I assume the chap with the bolt gun had the 5" flash suppressor removed (why, I'm not sure...), while the dude with the one bolt gun had his barrel sawn off (I guess he wanted a carbine), so I just went with them.
These next 2 show the lot together.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220320.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-231223220248.jpeg)
Another note - a few of the MoFo figures look rather youthful. I didn't check their IDs, but they all swore they were of proper military age...
I already have 15 MoFo Miniatures painted up (see Page 1 of this thread), so with these, that's a "platoon" of 31 guys. They will appear in my fictional Peoples' Republic of Northern Gambola games.
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Nicely done. :-*
Very versatile those Eureka figures. I've used them for everything from Khmer Rouge and VC (with head swaps) through to cartel members and one of them even made it to a CIA agent working for CORDS.
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Nice. The tee shirt logos are a nice touch.
These next 6 pics show 12 guys with various rifles (a bunch of AKs, a couple G3s, a couple bolt guns, and an XM177).
Do you mean Gyrojets or womble guns?
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Quite a collection 👍🏻
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That's a great collection, the Eureka figures do paint up very nicely.
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They look great, Jim! Love the Playboy bunny t-shirt... lol
Mike Demana
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Nicely done. :-*
Very versatile those Eureka figures. I've used them for everything from Khmer Rouge and VC (with head swaps) through to cartel members and one of them even made it to a CIA agent working for CORDS.
Yep - I may have to think about what other of my fictional places (or even real ones) I could use some for...
Nice. The tee shirt logos are a nice touch....Do you mean Gyrojets or womble guns?
Thanks for noticing the logos! As far as the "bolt gun" goes, that is my personal colloquialism for a bolt-action firearm... ;)
Quite a collection 👍🏻
That's a great collection, the Eureka figures do paint up very nicely.
Thanks, fellas!
They look great, Jim! Love the Playboy bunny t-shirt... lol
Mike Demana
Thanks, Mike. I thought that logo might gut some chuckles...
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a great looking collection - those vehicles were a good find!
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The African gunmen look great, a proper mix of civilian clothing.
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a great looking collection - those vehicles were a good find!
Yes, they were. And thanks!
The African gunmen look great, a proper mix of civilian clothing.
Thanks. They get their first blooding this coming Friday...I'll post the lead-in to the scenario, and the scenario information, here in a couple, few days.
But first:
Some scatter terrain that is pure rubbish. No, literally. Most of it anyway. And it's all 28mm. First up is a shipping container, by Reaper Miniatures. It's a simple multi-part hard plastic kit. As you can see, the doors can open. The container serial and ID numbers and flag are from both Rubicon and Warlord US tank markings. The graffiti is from a Judge Dredd decal sheet I picked up some while ago (I think as a Wargames illustrated freebie). Some of my newly-painted African gunmen are there to show scale.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-301223224447.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-301223224351.jpeg)
Next is a trash dumpster, also by Reaper Miniatures. It too is a simple multi-part hard plastic kit. It's door can flip up. The ID number marking is from a British tank marking decal sheet. The graffiti is from that Judge Dredd decal sheet mentioned above.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-301223224332.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-301223224315.jpeg)
Next are 4 piles of garbage bags, and 2 piles of tires. These I got from Miniature Building Authority. The garbage bags were molded in those piles. The tires came as separate resin castings, and I put them in those piles.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-301223224235.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-301223224256.jpeg)
And here is the whole lot together.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-301223224218.jpeg)
This stuff will appear in the afore-mentioned scenario, as well.
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Cool looking scatter terrain! :-*
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Looking good mate!
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Nice.
Interesting about the Reaper Container and Dumpster kits.
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Lovely ambience!
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Cool looking scatter terrain! :-*
Looking good mate!
Lovely ambience!
Nice.
Interesting about the Reaper Container and Dumpster kits.
Thanks, fellas! And yeah - I thought it interesting that Reaper did those 2 kits, given the rest of their stuff. And that container is one of 3 they do. They have another that is shorter, and yet another that is longer...
And I'm working on that scenario I mentioned as we speak. Hope to have that lead-in and scenario info posted by tomorrow. It's gonna be a Spec Ops "Grab-n-Go" mission in Northern Gambola...it'll b the first pouting for this scatter terrain, those gunmen, and those Gambolan "regulars"...stand by for further information...
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And I'm working on that scenario I mentioned as we speak. Hope to have that lead-in and scenario info posted by tomorrow. It's gonna be a Spec Ops "Grab-n-Go" mission in Northern Gambola...it'll b the first pouting for this scatter terrain, those gunmen, and those Gambolan "regulars"...stand by for further information...
And here we go...
02 April 1993. US Special Operations Joint Command Post, near Bangerizi Airport, on the eastern outskirts of Bangerizi, Northern Gambola.
CPT Baker and his team leaders were gathered in the CP. The XO, S3, S2, and CSM were there as well. Then: "Ten-shun!" Everyone stood as the Colonel breezed in. "At ease, everybody". And everyone relaxed, but remained standing.
"Afternoon, gentlemen." said the Colonel. "Let's get on with it." The S3, a crusty-looking older Navy Commander, started things off. "Y'all know what happened in February. Gambolans made several attempts to move on the airport to try to disrupt our Evac Ops during the coup. They failed, but the Rangers kinda took it in the shorts. Intel has determined that some rogue Gambolan officer, Captain General M'Gumbo Isgood, was behind the Coup and the disruption attacks. According to HUMINT sources, he has slithered away to a sympathetic little shithole about 24 clicks east of Bangerizi. Look at your aerial photographs."
The S2, an tall stout Marine Major, went on "He's holed up in the compound at the north side of said shithole. We believe he sleeps, with his personal guard in the building marked "F" on your photos. More Gambolans are billitted in Locations "E" and "G". We believe the on-site Gambolan force is platoon-strength in size. At night, they keep sentries at or near locations "A', "B", "C", and "D". As the Commander said, that area is sympathetic to Isgood, so you can expect local reinforcements to show up if word of this raid gets out. We do not believe there are any civilians in that village, but watch out for them, and try not kill any of 'em."
The Colonel chimed in "Your mission, CPT Baker, is to SP in your vehicles at 0500 tomorrow, and set up a vehicle laager just south of the village. You will approach the village, dismounted, from the south just before dawn, conduct a breach to secure General Isgood, remove him from the compound, and exfil back to your vehicles and RTB. G2 really, really wants him alive, but if that proves not to be possible, you are authorized to terminate him."
The S3 then took over "Move in from the south, through the location marked on your photos, with 2 assault teams and a breach team. Set up your support team at the location marked on your photos. You will have a JTAC attached to your task force, to coordinate supporting fires. The best place for him looks like with the support team. You have indirect support from both a section of 155mm howitzers, and a Navy F/A-18. Do not call for them until after you have conducted the breach or the sentries manage to raise the alarm. It seems the Gambolans don't like us blowing their shit up willy-nilly"
"Do not leave any of your men behind. Bring them all out with you. Report your SP from the vehicle laager, report BINGO when you have the General secured, report IRVING if you KIA him, and report RP when you leave to come back here."
The S2 then added "If you take any EPWs, bring them back here. It ain't necessary, but it could prove helpful, especially if you have to KIA the General".
Then, the Colonel "That about wraps it up, men. Any questions?" Nobody had any. "OK. That's it. Task Force Baker SPs tomorrow morning at 0500. Best get ready fellas." Everyone snapped to as the Colonel turned and left the CP. And everyone went about the business as well.
This scenario is based on one included in the Operation: Uruzgan supplement to the original Force on Force rules. I've tweaked it a bit by adding in a few other tidbits from Force on Force, and then adjusting things for Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles. Here are the Scenario Sheets:
Page 1
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-010124223459.jpeg)
Page 2
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-010124223435.jpeg)
Page 3
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-010124223404.jpeg)
We'll be playing this scenario this Friday coming at 11am. As usual, I'll post an illustrated battle report afterwards.
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Looking forward to the battle report! Sounds like a lot of fun...and vaguely "Black Hawk Down"-ish with the kidnapping the Somali warlord from his car. :D
Tell Ted not screw things up with his dice rolling... lol
Mike Demana
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Thanks, Mike. We'll have to wait and see how Ted rolls. He does have his moments, though...
I forsee me playing the Gambolans, with Ted and Miek running the SpecOps guys. I can see them getting in fine. Depending on their exact assault plan, getting out could be interesting....I do now have figures and helos for a QRF... ;)
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Nice job on the scatter terrain :)
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Nice job on the scatter terrain :)
Thanks, AKULA!
And now, read on for the HVT Grab-n-Go battle report. But first, a few administrative announcements:
A. Ted and Gene took the SpecOps boys. Ted took the 2 assault teams and CPT Baker, and Gene took the breach team, the support team, and the JTAC (Joint Tactical Asset Controller). Of course, then, I took the Gambolans.
B. As I mentioned, we used Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles. We used blue and/or green microdice to mark Shock on units, and black microdice to mark Low on Ammo units. We marked downed Gambolans with small MDF crosses.
C. We fought the game to its tactical conclusion in right around 3 hours.
And now, on with the show.
Dawn would break soon at our little village east of Bangerizi. Everything was quiet. For now. The only occaisional stirring came from the 4 sleepy Gambolan senties posted around the village.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184817.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184756.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184716.jpeg)
That peace and quiet would not last long. Unbeknownst to those entries, they were being watched. Five US Special Operations men were lying on a hilltop just southeast of the village, keeping an eye on things. Two of them has sniper rifles, while a third had an M60 machine gun. A fourth had binoculars, while the fifth had a radio. All had night vision devices.
And so did the 13 men moving up toward the village from the south - 3 teams led by a Captain. Two teams, assault teams, each had 3 M4s (one with an M203 UGL) and an M249 SAW. The third, the breach team, had 4 M4s and breaching gear.
No one heard the shot from the suppressed sniper rifle that felled the sentry at the east end of the village (except maybe the men on the hill next to the sniper).
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184651.jpeg)
No one heard the second sniper shot. The sentry on the balcony of the big building in the compound may have heard the round hit the wall behind him. We'll never know, because the sniper dropped him with his second shot. While the snipers on the hill were shooting sentries, those 13 men moved up on the village under cover of darkness. The assault teams moved up on line first, followed by CPT Baker, followed by the breach team. Nobody saw the dog lying curled up under a vendor's stall. It saw them, got up and started barking.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184634.jpeg)
While he briefly considered it, the lead team leader decided not to shoot the dog, as it was probably already too late. It was. The 2 sentries still up and moving, alerted that something was afoot by the dog's barking, reacted. They moved toward the barking, yelling at the top of their lungs and firing their weapons into the air. This woke everybody up. As the 3 teams with CPT Baker bypassed the dog, the men on the hill saw Gambolans come out on that balcony,weapons at the ready. The JTAC was able to raise TacAir on the radio, and an F/A-18 screamed in low, aiming for that big building with the balcony. The bomb missed, but not by much. And it landed between that building and a shipping container, right on top of some Gambolans that had come out of the building's side door. Too bad for them...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184616.jpeg)
By now, the compound courtyard was full of Gambolans, reacting to recent events
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184552.jpeg)
The support team and the JTAC watched over things. They took the men on the balcony under fire, while the maneuver teams, well, maneuvered. CPT Baker took an assault team into the village, getting behind the building in the center of it. The other assault team cut into the village, and headed down the "street" at the west end of town. And the breach team moved up the west edge of the village.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184527.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184504.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184422.jpeg)
It was then that the first rays of sunlight broke through the darkness. The advantage of night was gone...
The left assault team moved through the village, and took up a position near that shipping container...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184404.jpeg)
...while the Gambolans got their shit together. One group hustled the HVT toward the front gate of the compound (and the car waiting outside), while another got up on the roof of another building in the compound...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184308.jpeg)
...while yet another Gambolan group, led by their officer, moved out through the rear gate of the compound.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184324.jpeg)
CPT Baker and the assualt team he was with stayed near the building in the center of the village...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184251.jpeg)
...while the Gambolan officer and the group he led out of the rear of the compound moved to try to outflank the assault team set up near the shipping container. It was then that more gambolans started to come in from the west, led by a sniper, while the breach team worked their way up the west end of the village.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184235.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184218.jpeg)
While all that was going on, the JTAC on the hill finally raised the artillery battery, calling in a fire mission on the building at the southeast corner of the compound. One round went a bit long and left and fell relatively harmlessly into the middle of the compound, knocking down the ladder to the roof of the target building. One went short and right, and landed in the "street" in the east part of the village (which would make escape by car a bit tricky for the HVT). And one did land on the roof of the target building, taking a couple Gamolans out and raining debris down around the building. And blowing the tarp off of the .50-cal up on the roof. Once the group with the HVT recovered their senses, they hustled the HVT out the front gate to the car outside. Right into the kill zone of the breach team, who had moved up to the east end of that "street". 2 Gambolans and the HVT went down.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184142.jpeg)
More Gambolans came on from the west. The SpecOps assault team by the shipping container now had 2 groups of Gambolans to content with.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184126.jpeg)
CPT Baker led the assault team he was with out to the west edge of the village, just in time to see even more Gambolans coming in from that directions. It seemed that the Gambolans in the next village to the west had heard the ruckus here, and came running to the sound of the guns...and that dog still barked.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184111.jpeg)
The remaining Gambolans with the HVT grabbed him and got into the car. Only to have it shredded by fire from the breach team down the "street". That fire also shredded the occupants of the car. The breach team moved up to the car to check on the HVT.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184054.jpeg)
Then it happened. The assault team by the shipping container went radio silent, all down due to the combined weight of fire of the 2 Gambolan groups they were facing.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184038.jpeg)
Oh my! What will happen to that assault team? What did the breach team find when they looked into that car? Will Task Force Baker complete their mission? And what about that dog?
Stay tuned for Part 2: The Climax to get the answers to these and other questions!
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Excellent report.
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Excellent report.
As always with CapnJim... :)
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Thanks, Gents!
And now, for the thrilling conclusion to the hunt for Gen. Isgood...
Part 2: The Climax
It is here that it must be said that, while CPT Baker and his 2 teams were working the village over (and that assault team getting worked over themselves), the JTAC was informed that the F/A18 and the 155s were apparently no longer available. But, the snipers and the M60 gunner did yeoman's work taking care of the Gambolans on the balcony of the big building in the compound, asd well as the guys on the rooftop with the .50-cal. Those unfortunate fellas, after having eaten a 155 round, never had a chance tp put that .50-cal in action...
Meanwhile, down in the village, things were going south for our brave SpecOps fellows. The breach team, after having gotten to the car, discovered that the HVT was not in fact Gen. Isgood (intelligence was wrong? Go figure...), but some other high-ranking Gambolan ne'er-do-well. And he was quite dead. As were the other chaps in the now-well-ventilated car with him. So, they took a few photos, and headed toward the downed assault team to see if they could help. CPT Baker and his assault team, after taking care of the other 2 sentries and some Gambolans who had come up from the west, worked their way along the west edge of the village toward the unlucky assault team by the shipping container. Just in time too, as some Gambolan thugs had reached the downed team, and were fixin' to drag some of them off (for propaganda purposes, for sure). CPT Baker and his team dispatched them in due course.
But more Gambolans came in from the west. And they got to the downed assault team too. Luckily, the breach team made it on scene, again just in time, took out the Gambolans and their officer in the Palm grove, and unceremoniously gunned down the 2nd batch of Gambolan thugs who tried to make off with US SpecOps troopers.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124184023.jpeg)
As CPT Baker and his assault team made it to the downed assault team, the breach team got to them as well. They took out a few more gambolan gunmen who came in from the west, and worked to get the assault team up and back into the fight.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183958.jpeg)
While CPT Baker and his men were tending to the downed assault team, the JTAC and the support team, now out of targets, moved down off their hill, skirted the south edge of the village, and set up a covering position at the southwest corner of the village. And again, another case of "just in time", as more Gambolan gunmen came in from the southwest, and shot down the support team's spotter.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183942.jpeg)
Those gunmen didn't last long, as the snipers (who didn't need a spotter for these shots...) and the M60 gunner made short work of those Gambolans.
Once the members of the downed assault team were all back up and in the fight, TF Baker began their exfil, heading south back out of the village.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183903.jpeg)
But it wasn't over yet. More Gambolans came in from the north, and took the breach team, who was exfil'ing through the village, under fire.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183920.jpeg)
This shocked the breach team a bit, but after a few minutes of trading fire, those Gambolans were all down. The support team tended to their downed spotter, and the whole task force headed south toward their waiting vehicles. It was quiet now, and it seemed the Gambolans were out of men.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183845.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183831.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183814.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183800.jpeg)
Not quite. As TF Baker melted away to the south, another group of Gambolans came down from the north.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-060124183746.jpeg)
But it was too late. TF Baker was gone, and all those Gambolans could do was survey the carnage CPT Baker and his men left behind. And as for that dog? All the noise finally got to him, and he retreated to the cover of his master's market stall, where he curled up into a ball and tried to go to sleep.
And with that, it was done.
While TF Baker had taken out an HVT, it wasn't Gen. Isgood. He's still out there somewhere. And things got dicey for a bit, with that assault team put down and nearly captured. But in the end, in their wake, CPT Baker and his men had taken out an estimated 65 to 70 Gambolans along with that mis-identified HVT. They didn't get their man, but they put a big dent in available Gambolan manpower. And they got everybody out that they took in...
It was a fun game. The original Force-on-Force scenario pits Australian SpecOps against the Taliban in Afghanistan, and this game is more evidence that one can successfully repurpose scenarios from one ruleset and conflict to another ruleset and conflict.
But of course, the US is still gonna be on the lookout for Gen. Isgood... ;)
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Great report as usual.
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Great report as usual.
Thanks, Baron!
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Sounds like a blast! Was it a roll or did you have planned that the HVT was the wrong guy? The Gambolans reacted very quickly, and things looked like they'd go Black Hawk Downhill quickly...!
Looks great....they guys are lucky to have you running scenarios for them!
Mike Demana
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Sounds like a blast! Was it a roll or did you have planned that the HVT was the wrong guy? The Gambolans reacted very quickly, and things looked like they'd go Black Hawk Downhill quickly...!
Looks great....they guys are lucky to have you running scenarios for them!
Mike Demana
Thanks, Mike! The HVT being the wrong guy was a random event roll done when a Joker was played. The dog barking was one of those, as well. You can see the chart on the scenario sheets, on Page 21 of this thread.
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I've done up more figures, this time regulars from my fictional former Soviet republic Balszakistan (my games are set in the early '90s). I did up a previous batch and showed them off earlier in this thread.
This batch, like the first one, is in 28mm, and includes figures from both Eureka Miniatures and Khurasan Miniatures. As a fictional FSR, I went for a vaguely Russian flavor, with a mix of uniforms, weapons, and gear.
These 2 pics show 2 marksmen, and an RPG team.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-230124002928.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-230124002859.jpeg)
These 4 pics show 10 men armed with AKs (some with UGLs).
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-230124002833.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-230124002746.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-230124002714.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-230124002645.jpeg)
With these chaps and the previous batch, that gives me a platoon of 25 men - 2 leaders, 2 marksmen, and 3 squads of 7, shown below.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-230124002528.jpeg)
Next up is the Platoon Sergeant and RTO, 2 M60 MG teams, an anti-armor team, and an attached sniper team, all for my US platoon. Painting on this batch of figures is underway...
After them should follow 17 Russian OMON troops, the US 3rd squad, an African DShK team, and 8 African civilians (in batches, of course). The OMON troops will see action in Balszakistan, and the Africans will be for my Northern Gambola games (also set in the early 90s). The US boys will see action in both those hot spots, and likely more...
Pics to follow all of these, of course...
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Great stuff!
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You are fleshing out the forces quite nicely there, Jim! I especially like the mix of uniform styles to give them an irregular "regular" appearance... lol
Mike Demana
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Terrific and inspirational. 👍👍👍
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Great work on those
Cheers
Matt
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Great AAR’s, and fun by the sounds of it.
I like the way you have used other sources for your scenario, and then adapted.
Lots more exciting fun to come by the sounds of it.
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Nice new additions mate 👌
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Great stuff!
Terrific and inspirational. 👍👍👍
Great work on those
Cheers
Matt
Nice new additions mate 👌
Thanks, fellas!
You are fleshing out the forces quite nicely there, Jim! I especially like the mix of uniform styles to give them an irregular "regular" appearance... lol
Mike Demana
Thanks, Mike. That's exactly the look for which I was going...
Great AAR’s, and fun by the sounds of it.
I like the way you have used other sources for your scenario, and then adapted.
Lots more exciting fun to come by the sounds of it.
Thanks, flatpack. There are more scenario adaptations wandering around in my headspace as I speak (well, type, really). Which should indeed translate to more adventures in Balszakistan and/or Northern Gambola (and perhaps eventually my fictional Central American country - El Perdomo.
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And now, for more US Infantry from the late 80s and 90s. All 28mm. First up is the Platoon Sergeant and his RTO. They are both MoFo Miniatures, Due to a tragic firearm accident, I had to give the Sergeant a new fore-end and barrel for his M16, courtesy of a plastic one from a Warlord ProjectZ survivors weapons frame. I also added a wire antenna for the RTOs Prick77.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-290124222229.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-290124222205.jpeg)
Here are 2 M60 MG teams. Both MoFo Miniatures. The loader has a Stan Johanson Miniatures M16 lying on the ground next to him.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-290124222133.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-290124222100.jpeg)
And these are an anti-armor team and an attached sniper team. The AT team are both Stan Johansen Miniatures. The chap kneeling with the LAW has one of their M16s lying on the ground next to him, while the AT4 gunner has a plastic Warlord ProjectZ survivors weapons frame M16 slung on his back. The sniper team are from Wargames illustrated's Giants in Miniature range.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-290124222028.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-290124222004.jpeg)
Here are a couple shots of the batch together.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-290124221908.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-290124221937.jpeg)
With these guys, that gives me a Platoon HQ of a Platoon Leader, Platoon Sergeant, their RTOs, and a medic. I've got 2 9-man squads done, with a 3rd squad waiting their turn after I finish a Russian OMON unit I started today. I have these 4 weapons support teams, and 2 Humvees. I just have to decide what kind of armor I want, given these guys' likely deployment to Balszakistan, Northern Gambola, and/or El Perdomo...
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I've finished the Russian OMON troops. While technically part of the MVD's National Police, they saw direct action in Latvia and Lithuania in the early 90s, as well as the Russian Parliament itself during Yeltsin's rise to power. They also saw front-line combat duties in both Chechen wars. So, I see no reason they wouldn't be sent to Balszakistan...
And they always deployed in their trademark "urban-pattern" camo uniforms, and with a variety of tactical vests and helmets. While they had access to armored vehicles like BTR80s and (according to some sources) tanks, these chaps will be sent in to Balszakistan as light infantry.
All these figures are 28mm Tiny Terrain miniatures. I was smart/lucky enough to get both their Kickstarters. First up are the leaders. You can tell they are leaders, as each has a portable communication device on them...and one has an AK with a GP-25 UGL.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173818.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173754.jpeg)
These guys are the PKM gunners. Please note that the AGS-17 gunner is going to my Russian Motor Rifle Platoon, and is uniformed accordingly.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173728.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173703.jpeg)
These fellas have scoped weapons (an SVD and what appears to be a 9A-91 SMG) and AKs with GP-25 UGLs.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173639.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173610.jpeg)
These guys all have various AKs.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173533.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173505.jpeg)
I'm still researching OMON's small unit organization, but for now here is how I have them organized - A unit leader, a marksman, and 2 7-man squads.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/61/16550-150224173431.jpeg)
Next up will be the 3rd squad for my US platoon (which will complete that platoon).
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I do like the Tiny Terrain range
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Nice.
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Looking good.
Have Tiny Terrain gone tits up? I see their mooted IS range was sold to 1st Corps, their website times out and their FB page has nothing since June of last year.
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Way outside my comfort zone but a great AAR a couple of pages back. :o :o
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Way outside my comfort zone :o :o
Can I ask why mate, it’s not an inflammatory question I’m just generally interested why people don’t engage in modern wargames?
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Can I ask why mate, it’s not an inflammatory question I’m just generally interested why people don’t engage in modern wargames?
Because it is too close (plus active conflicts can have opinions on both sides - hence the forum rules on 21st Century conflicts).
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Interesting exchange. Obviously, I don't have any problems doing modern stuff, but that's just me. However, for a variety of reasons (including abiding by forum rules), I decided that my 28mm modern stuff would generally be set in the late 80s and early 90s, and in fictional locations.
Please tread lightly on this particular topic. If it becomes a general engagement, it might warrant it's own thread. In my opinion, there are no moral absolutes here, and the old maxim "To each their own" certainly applies.
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And, thanks everyone for your comments. And I think Tiny Terrain has indeed gone tits up, sadly....
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Can I ask why mate, it’s not an inflammatory question I’m just generally interested why people don’t engage in modern wargames?
You have taken half of my comment and assumed something from it which is incorect. I was refering to Cptn Jims continual referals to acronym's that I have no knowledge of and therefore they are "outside my comfort zone". I really enjoy the way he writes his game reports and even if, because of his military background he will include things I don't know or understand, that doesnt stop me enjoying his style of writing.
Your question on "why people don't engage in modern wargames" is I'm afraid rather naive and any answer will bring down a shit storm of debate and that is not why I frequent LAF. Strangely enough I do engage in modern wargames, this is a link to one I posted here, it was very topical and I checked with Westphalia Chris to ensure it wasn't too controversial. (https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=127815.0) you might enjoy it because dogs, women and Tommy Cooper impersonators were all killed during the game.
Jim, sorry about this, I know you will have taken my comment as it was meant and not as has been infered by others.
Cheers
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I’m not assuming anything, I assure you 👍🏻
Having served in the military in the 80s, I personally don’t have any problem with people wargaming modern conflicts. It’s hardly as if we are recreating reality, it’s playing with toy soldiers at the end of the day, so I don’t get people’s hang ups.
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Tiny Terrain has indeed closed up as the owner has had a change of career.
There has been at least one tentative approach to buy the figure range off him that I'm aware of, plus some additional unreleased sculpts. I'm hopeful one of them will pan out.
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Jim, sorry about this, I know you will have taken my comment as it was meant and not as has been infered by others.
No worries. I took it all in stride. More modern games are in the works. After all, the US has to rescue their Ambassador to Balszakistan, and in Northern Gambola, Gen. Isgood is still on the loose... ;)
As far as translating the military acronyms, just holler, and I'll interpret for ya!
Tiny Terrain has indeed closed up as the owner has had a change of career.
There has been at least one tentative approach to buy the figure range off him that I'm aware of, plus some additional unreleased sculpts. I'm hopeful one of them will pan out.
Hmm. I'll be waiting for news from that front...
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My gaming group has set our next 2 gaming sessions. This coming Friday will feature an ACW game, but the next Friday (15 March) will see us play another game where US troops go after Gen. Isgood in Northern Gambola again. It will, of course, be in 28mm, and we'll likely be using Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles. I'll post the scenario info once I have it done up.
And, I should be able to post pics of my very-soon-to-be-completed US 3rd squad later this week.
Stay tuned...
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Keep up the good work Capn.
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Keep up the good work Capn.
Thanks. That's the plan. Pics of the US 3rd squad could show up as early as Thursday. Those pics will include the whole platoon, with Humvees and helos.
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Looking forward to it.
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Looking forward to it.
Well, here they are. My US late 80s/90s US infantry 3rd squad. As with the others, they are 28mm and a mix of Stan Johansen Miniatures and MoFo Miniatures.
Here is the Squad Leader and Fire Team A:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-080324003905.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-080324003843.jpeg)
Here's Fire Team B:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-080324003820.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-080324003759.jpeg)
And here is the whole squad:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-080324003737.jpeg)
That's it for my US stuff for now. Here is a pic of the whole platoon:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-080324003710.jpeg)
I have some diecast helicopters (in both 1/55 and 1/60 scales), including an AH64 apache, 3 UH60 Blackhawks, and a USMC CH-46 Sea Knight. I should be getting a CH-47 Chinook and a USMC AH1 Cobra in the mail Saturday, so I'll post pics of them after I have all of them on hand.
My US platoon, as well as the UH60s and the AH64 will take part in our planned game next Friday (the 15th). I plan to post the scenario information in a few days...
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Nice looking collection and by the sounds of it quite the armada of choppers.
Makes me realise I should photograph my somewhat earlier US Army, now I have almost finished the M60A3.
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A great looking collection :)
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Thanks, AKULA!
Next up are a Northern Gambolan DShK team, and some diecast US helicopters. First, the DShK team. 28mm. The gun and 2 of the figures are a set from Eureka Miniatures. The 3rd guy (with the tommy gun - it seems he's old school...), is a mashup of Warlord plastics - US Marine body and arms, and a British Para head. The crate is from a Rubicon stowage set.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191628.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191554.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191527.jpeg)
Next, I got me some diecast modern US helicopters. The UH60s, the AH64, and the CH46 are from Miniature Building Authority. The Brand is InAir. The AH1 and CH47 are from Amazon, and are SkyPilot. But it seems that they all are from the same manufacturer - similar packaging and identical flight stands. The UH60 and CH47 are listed at 1/60 scale, while the AH64 and USMC birds are 1/55. And they measure out that way. The pics below show each bird, with one on its flight stand, and one landed (with figures to show relative scale). They cost me $25 - $30 (US) each.
First is the AH64 Apache Longbow. It's got 2 rocket pods, 8 ATGMs, and a chin-mounted mini-gun (it swivels and elevates). I got 1 of these.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324192100.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324192033.jpeg)
Next, the UH60 Blackhawk. I have 3 of these. The side doors open a bit. Looks like enough to mount a side gunner, if I so choose...
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324192002.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191934.jpeg)
Next, the CH47 Chinook (colloquially called the Shithook...). The rear ramp opens. I have 1 of these.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191903.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191841.jpeg)
Next, we have a USMC AH1 SuperCobra. It too has 2 rocket pods, 8 ATGMs, and a chin gun (it swivels and elevates, too).
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191810.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191748.jpeg)
Last, we have a USMC CH46 Sea Knight. As with the Chinook, the ramp opens.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191725.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-100324191705.jpeg)
All in all, I'm happy with these guys. Some weathering and a few additional decals might be added at some point in the future. And, I might look at different flight stands. Until then, i plan to flock these flight stands.
FYI, the DShK team and the UH60s and AH64 will take part in this Friday's game - the US is gonna get another whack at Gen. Isgood in Northern Gambola...
Painting-wise, I have 8 Eureka Miniatures African civilians all primed and ready to go, but they will likely have to wait until early April for paint application, as I will be in Florida visiting me younger brother the last 2 weeks in March (gaming, cigar-smoking, and a bit of drinkin' are on the agenda...).
After that, while we still have a few games to play in Northern Gambola and Balszakistan, my painting efforts will shift to WW2...some US and German troops and vehicles.
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Wow! :-* :-*
Love the not so headless Roland the Thompson gunner and the incredibly versatile Eureka DshKa.
Those choppers were all originally released by New Ray/ Sky Pilot. Great little models. They also do a 1/55 scale CH- 46 if you feel the need to add marines to the fray.
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Great work - everyone needs a DshKa 8)
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Great stuff. I like the DShK team especially. Nothing wrong with a Tommy Gun in Africa.
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzteGfkQXuBzys-O2YYzqR6-_S8aFOPzxw-zWNylCxdF_X-gdK1Am52PstXRZTo88wh6LhK4PxtrjzjTTiO72P0jK1jMPj2QvsU_Z4TUBxYMrX7J3HIVUEJWaVRXvLhfEZgUdXsm2QlEIJiM7CskNsWU1LzKFrBe_uxF2H_sqP7eFXr7fgJA3q7wvNjw/s960/Congo%20mercenarios%206.jpg)
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Thanks, fellas. And Carlos, please note that last 2 piccies - and you'll see a CH46! ;)
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Yeah, missed that somehow. :)
Tell me, did you do some surgery or did yours come with a droppable rear ramp? I have the New Ray CH-46 and the ramp is a solid piece and definitely not hinged. At least the blades fold, which is a boon for storage.
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Yeah, missed that somehow. :)
Tell me, did you do some surgery or did yours come with a droppable rear ramp? I have the New Ray CH-46 and the ramp is a solid piece and definitely not hinged. At least the blades fold, which is a boon for storage.
Huh. Mine came with the droppable ramp already. So did the CH47. No surgery required...
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OK this is embarrassing. ;D
In my rush to repaint mine for Vietnam, I had failed to notice that there is indeed a little finger slot that allows you to prise open and lower the rear ramp. Spray paint made it even tighter but with a little persuasion, ta da, it does indeed have a lowerable ramp. Thankfully the inside of the ramp it's already a sort of interior grey so no need to repaint.
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Talking of surgery……I still have this to finish off and paint before installing a gunner…may ge5 to it some day! lol
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/IMG_4653.jpeg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds)
Keep up the good work fella…sterling stuff here!
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Ooh! I like what you have done there. :-* :-*
I gave that some cursory thought when I purchased mine but thought nah, that's a big job, despite having just the right minis for the gun crew. By the time I had painted it green and spent another $25 on Vietnam specific decals the thought had vanished.
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Of course now Jim has pointed it out, part of me wants to go back and detail that ramp. It makes no sense as it will rarely be seen and besides the rest of the interior isn't detailed but I know it can be so it's going to play on my mind. Bugger. lol
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Talking of surgery……I still have this to finish off and paint before installing a gunner…may ge5 to it some day! lol
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/b76/DigitsDavid/IMG_4653.jpeg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds)
Keep up the good work fella…sterling stuff here!
Looking forward to some day seeing what your Sea Knight looks like with the gunner installed...
And carlos, just think about all the other stuff that competes for your wargaming time...
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Yep - another game set in Northern Gambola. This time, the intel is solid. So, the Joint Task Force Commander at the airport in Bangerizi is sending a Ranger platoon out via helicopter insertion to take another crack at nabbing Captain General M'Gumbo Isgood. We're set to play this out Friday of this week. It'll just be Ted and me.
Here is the scenario information:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-130324174639.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-130324174617.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-130324174558.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-130324174535.jpeg)
We'll be using 28mm minis and using Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles rules. This scenario is based on the "The Old French Plantation at Quan Loi" I wrote for Ambush Valley (the one for the first iteration on Force on Force).
I hope to post an AAR this weekend. As I will be on vacation after that for the better part of 2 weeks, if I don't do it this weekend, it'll have to wait till early April. I'll get to it one way of another...
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great scenario Jim
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Looks great.
Can’t wait.
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Thanks, fellas!
A couple notes, after reviewing the rules in preparation for tomorrow's game:
1. The helicopters will have the Agile Trait.
2. The AH64 will have the Advanced Fire Control Trait (I think it's called that...) and the Stabilizers trait (only for the chin-mounted mini-gun and the Hellfire ATGMs, not the rockets). I wonder what a Hellfire would do to Gen. Isgood's car... ;)
They'll hit the LZ at 1100 hrs. tomorrow morning...wish the Rangers luck!
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Well, the mission got scrubbed. Ted called in sick...
We'll re-schedule for early April...stand by...
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Well, the mission got scrubbed. Ted called in sick...
We'll re-schedule for early April...stand by...
Bloody hell Jim, I’ve been waiting for this all day 🙄
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Bloody hell Jim, I’ve been waiting for this all day 🙄
I know. I beg your forgiveness. iI was looking forward to it, too....
They will get Isgood, though, one way of the other.......
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Real life missions get scrubbed. Shit happens. Disappointing but maybe you could build the delay into the scenario. Hope Ted recovers and the game rolls on.
Looking forward to the report here too.
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Real life missions get scrubbed. Shit happens. Disappointing but maybe you could build the delay into the scenario. Hope Ted recovers and the game rolls on.
Looking forward to the report here too.
Yep. A storm blew up that morning, and the flyboys in the Aviation Battalion didn't want to go up. Gotta wait for better weather, and hope the good General is still there....
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Well, it looks like the mission to grab Gen. Isgood is back on. Intel has him back at that plantation. SP is this coming Friday at 1100 hrs. Report to follow.
Also, i've now finished the previously mentioned African civilians. Unfortunately, my photo-taking place is taken up by the game set-up for the above mission. Once we play that game, and I've taken the stuff down, I'll take and post pics of them.
And with them done, my painting efforts will now switch over to WW2 and ACW, both 28mm. Of course, i will be posting pics of those figures on my relevant threads. But fear not, game-wise, we'll still be in the modern era (Northern Gambola and Balczakistan) for a bit more...
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Hurrah!!!
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Looking forward to the report.
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Keep up the good work Captain.
Always great planning and great games.
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Looking forward to it...been a quiet time for reports from the tank commander... lol
Mike Demana
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Thanks, fellas! And, Mike, I was on vacation, and I've been a little busy since I got back.
BUT, the mission went off as scheduled this Friday past. As Gene was unable to take part, I played the gambolans, and Ted played the Rangers.
And away we go...
The 5 helos flew toward their objective just above the treetops. The 4 UH60 Blackhawks were in a diamond formation, with CPT Cahill and LTC Kurts above them in an OH6 Little Bird (Saber 6). The plan was to hit the LZs from the north. In Saber 1, the LT, along with his RTO, the local Gambolan guide, and a fire team from 2nd Squad, would go right, and land just west of the plantation buildings. In Saber 2, the PLT SGT, his RTO, the medic, an M60 team, and 2nd Squad's other fire team would go left, landing northeast of the plantation. Saber 3, with 1st Squad and the other M60 team, would take the slot, and land immediately north of the plantation buildings. 3rd Squad's bird - Saber 4 - would peel off, and remain on station in case they were called in. In addition, an AH64 was also on station nearby. Last, if things went south, SuperSaber 5 (a CH47) could be called in.
Things went well on the flight from Bangerizi Airport. Except for the cloudburst that was forming. So much for the weather forecast from the Head Shed. It was a race now, to see whether they could get in and land before the rains hit. The choppers won. Barely. This is what they saw on their way in, as viewed from Saber 3:
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172920.jpeg)
The rains hit just as Sabers 2 and 3 hit the ground. "Action front - Dishka in the tree line" came the call from the pilot of Saber 2. Saber 1 hadn't quite made it to their LZ when the rains hit. And all hell broke loose.
The DShK opened up on Saber 3, while some previously unseen Gambolan militia opened up on Saber 2 from the woodline to their left. The fire damaged both Blackhawks, particularly Saber 2. And some Gambolan militia on the roof of one of the plantation buildings opened up on Saber 1. Saber 1's left-side gunner returned fire, very effectively. He put down all 4 Gambolans on that roof. And Saber 1's pilot put his bird down - it was slightly damaged too.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172841.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172858.jpeg)
The Rangers knew their business, though. As soon as the Blackhawks were wheels down, they dismounted, and took the Gambolans they could see under fire.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172825.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172808.jpeg)
The team from Saber 2 dealt with the Gambolans in the woodline to their left, while both M60 teams set up and fired at the DShK, taking it out of action. 1st Squad, from Saber 3, headed for the nearest plantation building to begin the clearing process. As the fire team in Saber 1 dismounted just west of the plantation, they came under fire from some Gambolan militia among the buildings. 2 men went down. and General Isgood and his driver moved out of the main plantation building, and headed for their car. They didn't make it. The other men in the fire team that had taken casualties fired on them dropping them both. Saber 1's left door gunner provided covering fire.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172750.jpeg)
Over at Saber 2, the fire team cleared the woodline where the Gambolan militia had been, while the PLT SGT, his RTO, and the medic moved to where the now-out-of-action DShK was. The M60 teams provided covering fire. And it was still raining.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172728.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172709.jpeg)
1st Squad cleared the shack at the northeast corner of the plantation, while the Rangers at the west side of the plantation kept the Gambolans in the plantation busy. The Gambolan militia leader and his runner had gotten the General into the car, but the Rangers lit the car up. The Ranger LT, his RTO, and the Gambolan guide moved up to the car, got positive ID on General Isgood from the local guide, and snapped a few photos.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172650.jpeg)
The PLT SGT ordered the 2nd Squad fire team up to his position where the DShK was. They prepared to move into the plantation. The fire team on the west side of the plantation that had the 2 wounded men loaded them onto Saber 1.
And it rained, but it was starting to lighten up.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172601.jpeg)
And then the rain stopped. Sabers 1, 2, and 3 took off. Saber 2 had considerable damage, and limped back to Bangerizi, escorted by Sabers 1 and 3. And now that the rain stopped, Saber 4 (with 3rd Squad aboard) came in, from the southwest. But a few gambolan regulars showed up too, in the woods near the southeast corner of the plantation.south
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172543.jpeg)
As Saber 4 came on the scene, the Rangers on the ground continued to clear the plantation. They took 2 more men down, but their medic got them back into the fight. They popped a grenade into the western-most shack, setting it on fire.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172527.jpeg)
As the Rangers cleared the plantation, Saber 4 prepared to land near the southwest corner. But, they took heavy fire from the Gambolan regulars that had come up, and aborted their landing.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172509.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172448.jpeg)
To add to Saber 4's misery, another downpour moved in. They had to land quickly, and flew over the plantation buildings to land just north of them. As they did so, burning debris from Saber 4 landed on the roof of a shack, and set it on fire.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172432.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172402.jpeg)
More Gambolan regulars came up, also near the southeast corner of the plantation. LTC Kurts had called in SuperSaber 5, but with the 2nd round of rain, it had to land a few kilometers away. The Rangers collapsed their positions to the west side of the plantation. And waited for the rain to stop.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172418.jpeg)
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-180424172341.jpeg)
And then it was over. The Gambolan regulars decided they weren't gonna take on that many Rangers by themselves, and melted back into the woods. The rain did soon stop, and Super Saber 5 could come in and take the Rangers back to Bangerizi, escorting the badly damaged Saber 4 on the way back.
And there you have it. The Rangers did not capture General Isgood, but did put him Out of Action. They also cleared most of the plantation. 4 Rangers were wounded in the process. Worse, all 4 Blackhawks were damaged in the fight, with Sabers 2 and 4 particularly damaged.
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Nicely done! Thank you, that was a fun read.
Any game that starts with thwocka-thwocka sounds has an immediate headstart of course.
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Good stuff, Jim! At least there was no, "Super Six One going down, Super Six One going down..." :D
Mike Demana
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Thanks, guys!
We're going back to Northern Gambola this coming Friday. It appears that reports of Gen. Isgood's demise have been a bit premature....details to follow...
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Thanks, guys!
We're going back to Northern Gambola this coming Friday. It appears that reports of Gen. Isgood's demise have been a bit premature....details to follow...
Allow me to explain. During the fight, the ranger LT, RTO, and Gambolan guide did in fact look in the car. The guide confirmed the General's identity, and they snapped a few pics. But they were under fire, so they ducked into the nearby plantation building. They neither i ensured the General was indeed dead, nor did they take the General with them. So, Ted suggested we roll for him as we did for the wounded rangers - we use character survival table in the campaign section in FFoL's core rules. We did that, and he survived with a flesh wound...
So, the General is still out there, alive and (more or less) well, and the US doesn't know it just yet. But they will, soon enough (like Friday, for example... ;) ). I will post the lead-in to Friday's fight one of these next few days...
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What a rollercoaster ride this is. :o
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What a rollercoaster ride this is. :o
Indeed. And Ted's blood is up. He wants another shot at the good (bad?) General. And he'll get it, but not before the General plots his revenge...
Which leads us to this Friday...
LTC Kurts was getting briefed by the JTF commander (A US Navy Captain) on his battalion's next mission (an aid convoy escort mission through Bangerizi - more on that later...). "One more thing, Henry." said the commander. "We're not sure General Isgood is dead". "WHAT?" exclaimed Kurts. "Cahill's Platoon Leader said his local guide confirmed it was Isgood they put down." The commander explained "Yup. It was definitely that rat bastard. But CPT Smart in the 2 shop showed the photos of him your Lieutenant got to the JTF surgeon. He didn't think the General's head wound was fatal - just a graze that knocked him out." "Shit." said Kurts. "What now?" The commander answered "Business as usual, but..." and right then a master sergeant burst in the door "Sir, turn on GFN. You're gonna want to see this." The commander gave an order to no one in particular "OK, Somebody turn on the TV to GFN." Somebody did, and sure enough, there was Captain General M'Gumbo Isgood, his head bandaged, railing against the imperialist American dogs, and swearing the mother of all revenge. "Well, Doc was right - he sure looks alive to me", said the commander.
"Well, back to the mission. Put your best platoon on it. The loyal Gambolans are gonna throw in a squad of their regulars, and a Saladin. The 160th will have a Little Bird flying top cover, and you'll have a Marine recon team on Ready 5 as a QRF if things go south. And we're moving the convoy date up a day to this Friday. Tell your guys to keep their heads on a swivel, but that aid convoy has to get through to the distribution point in Bangerizi. And need-to-know, Henry. Nobody that doesn't have to know about it should know about it." "Yes, sir" responded Kurts "But I don't have a good feeling about this." Well', mused the commander "If that bastard hits this convoy, the gloves are coming off. I can guarantee that. Now go get you guys ready. I'll have the Op Order to you by COB today" "Roger that, sir" LTC Kurts saluted, about-faced, and left the commanders CP.
And there we have it. Friday's mission is an aid convoy mission into Bangerizi. The convoy, with 3 trucks loaded with relief supplies, will leave the Bangerizi Airport, head east intio Bangerizi proper - crossing the Dewitumi River. The Main Supply Route forks left after the bridge over the River, but a Secondary Supply Route veers right at that fork.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-230424164455.jpeg)
Here are a few shots of the are in question.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-230424164438.jpeg)
This shot is looking east down the MSR across the bridge.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-230424164422.jpeg)
This shot looks east down the MSR, after it crosses the bridge.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-230424164406.jpeg)
This shot looks east(ish) down the Secondary Supply Route, where it forks off the MSR.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-230424164348.jpeg)
This shot looks west down the Secondary Supply Route.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-230424164326.jpeg)
This shot looks west down the MSR.
(http://leadadventureforum.com/gallery/62/16550-230424164305.jpeg)
And this is a shot if the central market, in the middle of the table.
There a several civilians in the area, especially in the market area. But, there are a few others milling around in various places, - some walking along having a smoke, one reading a newspaper, and another out on a balcony enjoying the sunny weather. Some are innocent civilians, some less so.
The aid convoy consist of 3 trucks, loaded with supplies. Each has a driver, who is armed (pistols and shotguns). The convoy escort will consist of 2 .50-cal armed Humvees, one with the Platoon Leader, RTO, and Gambolan interpreter, the other with the Platoon Sergeant, RTO, and medic. In addition, each Humvee has a driver and gunner. There will be 2 Ranger squads, each mounted in a 5-ton truck. The loyal Gambolans are providing a leader and a small squad, mounted in a light military truck, as well as a Saladin armored car. An OH-6 Little Bird, with 2 Mini-gun pods, will be flying top cover. And, a 11-man marine recon team, in a UH60 Blackhawk, will be available to come to the rescue in teh event things go south for the convoy.
Now, as you can probably imagine, the convoy will not get through unmolested. Gen. Isgood (who considers himself too important to be present for this fight) will provide a welcoming committee of a leader and his aide, 2 squads of Gambolan regulars, and a Gambolan DShK team. They will also have a VBIED, driven by a gambolan regular, as well as 2 static IEDs (hidden in trash heaps at the side of the road). These 2 IEDs will be remotely command-detonated by 2 of the civilians. In addition, Isgood's Gambolan leader may try to manipulate the civilians at the market square to harass the convoy. Last, there is the chance for a goodly amount of Gambolan militia to come on the board to assist in the ambush.
That about does it. The convoy SPs at 1100 hrs Friday. An illustrated report will, of course, follow...
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Love the set up.
Might I make a suggestion? Civvies are not always that good at predicting speeds and distances, especially if the target is moving at any pace. Even experienced guerillas like the Viet Cong were known to prematurely detonate command initiated mines. Might be worth rolling to see if the Gambolans initiate at the right moment.
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Might I make a suggestion? Civvies are not always that good at predicting speeds and distances, especially if the target is moving at any pace. Even experienced guerillas like the Viet Cong were known to prematurely detonate command initiated mines. Might be worth rolling to see if the Gambolans initiate at the right moment.
Good suggestion. Fortunately, I've already thought of that. 8) Wouldn't it be unfortunate if an IED blew up the wrong people? Or nothing at all? ;)
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Good man!
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Looking forward to it, Jim! :D
Next time, tell the guys to toss a grenade in the car with the general's "body"... lol
Mike Demana
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That table looks mighty fine mate 👌