Commander's Neo-Soviet Union: Da Tovarisch!

[Commander]

Like many a young lad back in the day, I grew up playing the Command & Conquer series, Red Alert 2 being one of my favorite games of the series. Thus I grew up with a (perhaps unhealthy!) fascination with the Reds, even though they collapsed the same year I was born! But now with age I can appreciate how goofy and campy those games were, and a few years back (around the start of the pandemic) I managed to score a bunch of the old VOR: The Maelstrom Neo-Soviet range as a lot on Ebay. They then proceeded lay fallow for a few years in the back of my closet until, suddenly seized with a fit of inspiration (and with the discovery of some miniatures that would do an excellent job of filling out the ranks for larger battle games), I got to work. They're still a work in progress, but I've got enough of a chunk of them done that I'm happy to show them off so far.

As a note, this army is still in progress so there's plenty to be done still (I'm trying to find a snow basing system I like!), and I'll update as I make progress, ping-ponging around my projects as I do. I'd also like to take some better photos of them in a proper environment, and as my group's scenery collection has grown exponentially in the past few months I suspect that time will be soon. I've also not really chosen these guys to play with any particular game system; Xenos Rampant would be the easiest but I'm hoping to find more games to kludge them into as time goes on (or to carry out the threat I made to my friend, and homebrew Chain of Command into a Weird Cold War game...)


First, the rank and file, the Motostrelki! These sculpts are the "Interdiction Troopers" from Battle Valor Games; while they were intended for science fiction gaming, I saw the little scope over the front and figured it would make for a fine little AKSU-like weapon if I painted it as wood, and thus I had my cannon fodder. Whilst probably not 100% accurate, I tried to evoke 80's soviet infantry uniforms with that lovely orange bakelite color as a contrast on the magazines.



While they aren't finished yet, I'm using the lovely Rubicon Models BTR-60 as their transportation, with a 3D printed DshK magnetized to the mount point (for durability and ease of not-snapping-it-off-by-accident).



Next, the Guards Brigades! VOR the Maelstrom Soviet Vanguard troops painted in a similar palette to the Motostrelki, but in a entirely different proportion. Heavy armor, heavy weapons, and a bulky silhouette means these guys stand up quite nicely behind their shorter, less imposing comrades.



And to close out the first post, the elite shock troopers of Berkut Squadron! More VOR sculpts, I fell in love with the power armor. Points to anyone who can guess where I got the idea for the color scheme! They're the biggest of the big, and as I was painting them I realized that size really is the determining factor in how important someone is in an army of miniatures.



There's a lot more to come, including assorted KGB operatives, Heroes of the Neo-Soviet Union, Field Techs and other Specialists, and a few more vehicles and mecha from various ranges. (If there's a recurring theme with my armies, it's that I really love mechs.) Further down the line, making them some bespoke terrain would be a fun project too! But, that's all for now!

[voltan]

Ahh red alert 2, where I seem to remember every campaign mission ending up as the we love Tanya show.

Anyway, good start for the army, they look nice and cohesive, which is always a good thing. I was going to say something else but my brains given out, will add later if I remember what it was.

[Orctrader]

These are all great but I especially like the Guards Brigade.   

[Freddy]

They look really great, you choose a great colour scheme for them!

[LouieN]

A great start

[Dentatus]

Wonderful. Especially the old VOR minis.
Looking forward to more.

[Gibby]

Very cool project. I loved (well, still love) the C&C series, especially Red Alert 1 and 2. At the height of playing as a teenager, I probably shared your perhaps-unhealthy obsession with the Reds* thanks to those games.

Looking forward to seeing more!

*As did my mate - we used to joke about who was going to be Premier when we took over the world. Little did I know I'd end up with Yuri's hairdoo.  

[Boris]

Excellent work mate, definitely needs a group shot though!
Looking forward to seeing more.

[Mellal]

I didn't knew that miniature brand, you made a lovely work on them !

[Commander]

Thank you all so very much! It's been a busy few months so I haven't had as much time to work on these guys as I'd like, but that's mostly because my efforts have been going into other projects (the nature of which will be revealed in due time...)

In the meantime, I realized I'd forgotten to post my Sniper! A Victoria Lamb sculpt that I snagged at Adepticon, since the rifle was different enough from its intended use to not look like an obvious warhammer model. I feel like I need to put more effort into her camo cloak, but I'm otherwise quite happy with her.


And in addition to that, a few things from the workbench! A work in progress cyborg super soldier and his faithful canine companion (also cybernetic) and a converted flamethrower trooper for the motostrelki.

[infelix]

They look great! And its especially nice to see old VOR miniatures painted up.