Red Storm - first skirmish!

[Digits]

So I had to scratch this itch some time I suppose.

The first intro to CoC I had was at HasBeen Pete’s and we played with a few Russians he has.

I was hooked on the game but my main interest lay more in the Western Theatre.  However, as my favourite forces so far collected are my Winter Germans (and I’m eyeing up the rather nice looking Warlord Winter German 88!), I thought I’d pick up another opposing force to pit them against.

Anyway, another slow burner, but I’ve decided to go metal again.

This means predominantly winter Artizan infantry (what else?) supplemented with a few Crusader minis for variety and Warlord for supports.  Hopefully they will match up ok.  If not, I’m thinking I MIGHT make a few head moulds and copy the Artizan fur caps to swap out heads on the Warlord.  I’m not sure I will need to yet though.

I have ordered a pair of early T-34s from Rubicon, and picked up a few minis to start dabbling with.



I’ve also been looking at small rural Russian houses….but the resin ones are all becoming very pricey and the laser cuts don’t float my boat.   Think I will order some balsa and start making my own.  I like the idea of making lots of small holdings complete with detailed fenced yards.  Will probably order a small church.

[has.been]

Comrade! Welcome to the Great Patriotic War.

Sad you haven't asked me to build you a Russian Village.

Take a look at Charlie Foxtrot, not just his Russian stuff, but some
of his fantasy items are useful for the Russian Front.

https://www.charliefoxtrotmodels.com/collections/28mm-1-56-fantasy/products/28mm-1-56-wizards-tower

[Gibby]

Great start!

This means predominantly winter Artizan infantry (what else?) supplemented with a few Crusader minis for variety and Warlord for supports.  Hopefully they will match up ok.  If not, I’m thinking I MIGHT make a few head moulds and copy the Artizan fur caps to swap out heads on the Warlord.  I’m not sure I will need to yet though.

They go together just fine. I've got a Soviet force for CoC that is a mix of those three. Crusader and Artizan both use the same weapon dollies so those match perfectly, which is the most vital thing for compatibility size-wize. Warlord plastics and metals mix with those others just fine as well, although less so the rifles - the only Warlord plastics I have in my force are SMG troops. Metal support packs blend in seamlessly to me, especially once painted.

[Digits]

Yup I received a Warlord weapons teams box with resin 50mm mortar, sniper team and flame thrower.  All seem to match up ok .

Not keen on resin mind….I prefer metal.

Still….onwards we go.

[CapnJim]

Good start!  I've yet to dip my toes into the Eastern front... 

As mentioned by others, I think you'll fund those figure lines generally mix pretty well together.

[carlos marighela]

Should do. The weapons, which are often the biggest giveaway, are shared by Artizan and Crusader. Both lovely ranges.

[Digits]

Just before I paint my first minis….I have ordered a female anti tank rifle team from Bad Squido.

Not sure how they will match up but I’m hoping they won’t be too bad.   It’s on the way and I will paint it with the first batch so I can see them together.   If it fits in, I’m tempted to get a few more women to vary up the force a little…..a shame they haven’t released an anti tank gun / artillery crew.     I like the look of their female tankers and maybe some tank riders too.


Received the first of my heavy stuff two, a pair of T34’s.



Edit:

So, just sold a model or two, so made enough to buy enough to give me a viable force with a host of options.

Two sections of Artizan minis to give me a four section platoon.
I section of ppsh wielding tank riders.

MMG and HMG teams
Zis 2 anti tank gun

SU76
KV 1/2
T34/85
BT-7

[Digits]

Everything has arrived as ordered…..so I have a box of tanks



All my minis are based and undercoated ( there’s another batch of twelve on my paint tray)



And the modelling goal for this project…..

So looking at the various options for printed / cast Russian houses, I realised that at between £25 and £45 each….it would cost me a fortune even to amass a small village.

So, the aim is to make a relatively uniform set of a dozen houses to start with.   I can add a church, barn etc later, but in my head, little state run collectives would be fairly uniform in appearance.

I have a few sheets of bass plywood so I’m making the cores having just sat and cut out twenty four end pieces.    I have a batch of pre laser cut windows ( I suspect not enough though) and I have ordered a little balsa sheeting which I will plank up to clad these in.   I may need to order a sheet of teddy bear fur, because I like the idea of thatching these.

I will add little touches to add some individuality where I can, but looking at Winter Storm supplement, many if the scenarios need these in numbers.   



So…a long way to go!

I suspect these will bore the crap out of me, but

[Tom Dulski]

WOW that's a huge project. Good luck, keep posting pics it's always interesting to see how these projects evolve.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Good luck with those.

I have some Sarrisa Russian Houses (which I am using as modern dacha).
https://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.com/2020/08/desirable-property-medium-dacha.html
https://ultravanillasmurf.blogspot.com/2020/08/desirable-property-small-dacha.html

Not sure what type of buildings you are aiming at, this is a photograph of a buildings museum in Russia (the main point of interest was the fencing) but it shows the darker, almost reddish colour of the wood.

[Digits]

Yup, thanks, .I have been looking at as many pics both of available models, a few scratch builds and lots of black and white pics.  Plenty of ideas….will probably pinch a few aspects from each!  The sarrisa ones are quite good, I like the windows.    It would be cool if they released a pack of them alone!

As for wood colour….reddish may work, but I’m a fan of aged grey timber.  We shall see.

I have just ordered the fur…10mm.  I need to go looking for some good thick card tomorrow for the roof base.

And just for Tom, the 12 shells are finished!   I may look to convert four of them to incorporate a dog leg….another bedroom for the party faithful!

[cuprum]

There was no monotony in the Russian countryside. Even under the communists ;-)
Typical buildings could only be in workers' settlements, which were built in places where new enterprises were organized. And usually these were two-story barracks for eight apartments.
A new fresh wood house looked reddish-yellowish for a very short time, and in a couple of years the wood darkened to gray-brown (like the fence in the photo above). The houses of about fifty already looked almost black.
In Russian dwellings of that time, there were usually small windows - large windows do not contribute to the preservation of heat in winter. Therefore, by the way, the windows in the house are usually uneven. Most of the windows face the street (usually the largest common room), there is often only one window on the other sides, and one of the walls, on the side where the winds most often blow, most likely will not have a window at all. The windows had architraves with wooden shutters, which were closed when necessary (for example, in a strong wind or simply so that the light did not penetrate outside through the curtains). The platbands and sashes were usually painted blue (rarely green, white and dark red) or simply covered with stain or varnish.

[Digits]

All good info, thanks.

I will build a few alternate buildings in time too to mix it up…but I just want to hit the ground with a batch of quick buildings.    I have already added dog legs to three of these.

Besides…I’m taking my inspiration from images like this from 1941 which in this instance do actually show a degree of monotony.  You are right though, many places are not so regimented too.



Started positioning windows.  I picked up some card today so roof shells next I think.  Then I need a quick way to cobble 12 chimneys….

[CapnJim]

Looks good so far.  Nice to see you in the real estate development business!   

[cuprum]

Perhaps you will be interested...
In your photo, I was confused by the clothes of children and women. It is not typical for rural residents of the USSR in the 1940s. At first I assumed that this photo is more likely from the beginning of the 20th century.
I had to do a little research.

https://timelineimages.sueddeutsche.de/russisches-dorf-1941_00228469

It says here that the photo was taken in 1941 in a village located in the Rakityansky (Pinsky) swamps.


Swamp areas are shaded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinsk_Marshes

These giant swamps are located on the territory of modern Belarus (and partly Ukraine). But the fact is that until 1939 these territories belonged to Poland.


Attached territories are marked in yellow.

So the Soviets would only have a year to build something in these territories. The buildings do not look like new buildings, which means that they were built a long time ago.
Conclusion - in the Polish part of Belarus, even then there was practically standard construction. And the peasants continued to wear clothes of the cut of the last century.

I hope it was entertaining
Good luck with your project.