Geiers and third Ragnarok

Pair of Geier bombers, Top & Bottom

Over the past week and Saturday morning & evening, I painted up the pair of Geier bombers and my third Ragnarok pocket battleship.  Finishing out these three models completes out all the Danish and Prussian lend-lease ships I have.  I have been playing at least a game of Dystopian Wars each month, which helps with the motivation to paint stuff up.

I still have a few Dystopian Wars models I can paint, 2 or 3 Korsor corvettes and 5 mine markers.  When my brother's Kickstarter box shows up, I will have a box or two of "new" Prussians to field.  I will need to decide if they are actually Prussian, lend-lease, or maybe something else.  I doubt the Danes would sit out a Baltic war, maybe they are working to prevent the British from pushing through the Danish Straits.

Third Ragnarok pocket battleship

 I am now pivoting back to another project, partially inspired by the coming update to 40k.

DRN Dannebrog

Profile of the DRN Dannebrog

 This past Saturday, I spent afternoon painting up the DRN Dannebrog for my Dystopian Wars fleet.  The model is an Scandinavian Teutonic Order Aufseher, which I run as a Gewitterwolke in my Danish fleet.  In the rules (currently) the primary difference between the two is that the an Aufseher brings six small robots to the fight.  In terms of game-play, it is my third large ship and is a great and now striking center piece to my fleet.  I enjoy diving it into the enemy fleet and throwing its broadsides left and right.

BMP-1s, SA-13s, and Hinds

I spent this past Saturday mostly painting the details on models I had airbrushed during the week.  With these vehicles completed, I have finished up all the vehicle models I own for Team Yankee.  I still have some unassembled infantry to add my second infantry company.

With the announcement of Red Thunder, I am thinking a slight pause is in order until I can at least look at the book.  I had planned to purchase another box of BMPs, a box of T-55s, and two boxes of  2S1 Carnations.   However, there is some appeal in picking up Yuri's Wolves to get the two more BMPs I want/need and T-64s instead of T-55s.  In addition, there is the possibility of the new 2S3 Acacias.

Next weekend, my brother and I are likely to get at a game, hopefully two games in on Saturday.  Will the BAOR be able to push back the Polish 1st Army?  We will see.

Exciting Summer!

Hobby-wise, I am very excited for the summer.

Airbrushed Support Tanks

I am slowly continuing to assembly my Team Yankee Poles, but instead of diving into a NATO army as my next project there are other systems and models that are attracting me.  

I still have some Dystopian Wars models to paint and the Kickstarter certainly will bring some new cool minis and rules.  These should be a quick work, change of pace, once I have finished the Team Yankee models I have (maybe this week, maybe next).

After both of those projects have been completed, I have my languishing 30k Ultramarines project.  I have 5 more Invictii Suzerains to paint before the Primarch Roboute Guilliman himself.  Then I have lots of other parts of the collection to assemble and paint.  That being said, unlike Dystopian Wars and Team Yankee, I do not have not played a game of 30k in months.

The new Kharadron Overlords Age of Sigmar army is exciting to me as well.  I fully intend to buy a 2,000 point army to paint this summer.  It will be my first purchase from a new local store opening in early June.

Finally, new 40k this summer will bring excitement to the range.  Luckily I have plenty of completed miniatures for it and will be play from the start I expect.  That does not mean that I have not considered yet more Astrates - Howling Griffons. Gah, but that means everything else should be complete - ha!

T-72s & a Platoon Infantry Complete

I finished up my second set of 9 T-72s.  I also completed washing and flocking the first company of infantry.

Sealing 9 T-72s

Pre-Sealing Warsaw Pact Infantry Company

Even More Tanks

After a week of very little progress, Sunday night I worked on airbrushing another nine T-72s.  This will bring the total to 18.

T-72s in the paint shop

Poles 2 - BAOR 1

This past weekend, I played three games of Team Yankee against my brother.  He played British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) and I played Poles using the Red Banner list for the first two games and the Volks Armee list for the last one.

Mid-way through Autobahn battle

Our first game was a Free for All, 100 pts, Poles attacking.  For objectives we agreed that it would be the two hills in each others deployment zones.  The Poles far-left T-72 company advanced through the Autobahn stop, winning the exchange of fire with the three Chieftains covering that avenue of advance.  The center T-72 company advanced to provide added pressure and the Hinds swept across the battlefield and engaged the BAOR command element.  The right T-72 company held the flank against the other half of the BAOR forces.  The capture of the hill gave the Poles victory.

Poles fail to hold Chow and Gas

Our second was No Retreat, 100 pts, BAOR attacking.  BAOR Recce elements advanced up their right flank flanking the defended gas stations and forest to come in behind the dug-in Polish infantry.  The Chieftains on the left defeated an advancing attempt by the BMP-2s through the farm fields, but only after losing two of their number to combined fire from the center T-72s and the advancing BMP-2s themselves.   NATO air power DEAD (destroyed enemy air defenses) and then added its pressure against the ground forces.  BAOR forces destroyed the present Polish forces as T-72 reinforcements arrived piecemeal and late.

Our third game was Dust Up, 50 pts, BAOR attacking.  (Sorry no picture)  BAOR Recce forces attempted to pincer the Polish forces, but Polish BMP-1 Recon elements pushed out along the BAOR right, flanking and eliminating advancing BAOR forces.  The delayed arrival of BAOR Chieftains resulted in what is best described as a stalemate between Spartans and a T-72M company on the BAOR left.  The arrival of Polish Hinds with infantry and a second T-72M company shifted the initiative squarely to the Poles, with the Hinds landing around the distant objective.  The successful destruction of 3 Hinds on the ground drove the infantry out of the helicopters early and gave the Poles victory.

Local Air Superiority

Last week, I completed the pair of SA-13s and four ZSU-23s I own.  I intend to add another pair of SA-13s in the coming weeks (preferably from a hobby store vice the internet).

Anti-Air Battery!

Having completed these tanks, I am on a slight painting pause and have gone to assembling some 30k miniatures before painting the first company of Polish infantry.

Tops of the ZSUs

In Work Mobile Air Defense System

In Team Yankee, all forces have access to aircraft.   This bothers me a bit, because I know history and can talk to people who was preparing to fight the Soviet machine back when I was 1-year old and fight against their Air Defenses specifically.

Soviet airpower theory was much more focused on gaining air superiority through the use of integrated air defenses.  The Warsaw Pact Air Forces recognized they lagged behind NATO Air Forces.  The Soviet Union instead invested in Air Defenses.  The inclusion of Su-25 Frogfoot in the Warsaw Pact lists seems like an unnecessary list balance effort.  NATO air-power, like might F-15 Eagle (102 Air-to-Air kills, 0 Air-to-Air losses), would have made getting a Frogfoot into the fight nearly impossible.  So, SA-13s and ZSU-23s to defend my armored columns against the rightly feared A-10A.

SA-13s & ZSU-23s

Helicopters

Despite it being a long weekend, I only managed to finish painting the first pair of Mi-24 Hinds.

First Pair of Mi-24s

They were a fun change of pace from tanks.  Next up will be four ZSU-23s and two of four SA-13s.

More pics below.

More Tanks

T-72s and BMPs

This past week I was fairly successful painting four more T-72s and five BMP-2s.  These however are only the beginning of a Volks Armee force, which I think is a better representation of the Polish Army than a Soviet Red Banner force.  This drives the inclusion of more tanks overall, adding probably about 10 more tanks overall.

1st Sgt of Skoll Hrodvitnisson

The Conversion from 40k to Mk III iron armor took longer than I expected, but I finally got the only remaining member of my original Rout army armed and ready to roll.  Introducing Villskap Redmaw  1st Sgt of Skoll Hrodvitnisson Pack Leader of the Bloody Hunters.

Villskap Redmaw 1st Sgt of Skoll Hrodvitnisson

First 5 Tanks painted!

First Five Tanks  

I have completed painting my first five tanks and have dived into the next nine!  In painting these five tanks, I made the decision to use a dark grey for what might be metal on many models.  My theory for this is that a factory primer of some kind is always useful.

I also purchased a copy of Volks Armee, which provides an overview and lists for forces from the Deutsche Demokratische Republik's Nationale Volksarmee.  I think this list will work better as a baseline for my Poles than the main Soviet army.  The impact will be the total number of models (and thus cost) will increase.

My work space