Thursday 21 April 2011

Planning to make my Paratroopers.

BMP-2...so small!


 Today I saw a 16yo girl who slashed her wrists, another 16yo with cardiac problems, a man with a messed up back from an industrial elevator compressing his spine, and other sick and dying people.
Pretty sad.

Back to blog, I am just examining what products are available to help me shake off the Cadian look a bit. I'll include a mix of Cadian and Russian gear, to highlight the ragtag equipment veterans have (and Russian ones especially)
It's bad luck to go into combat berets them on (in the VDV) but It will help Identify my NCO's. 

From Redstar Minitures, a great new company. Modern Ruskie helms.
These are mainly Interior Ministry Troop heads (MVD)..I may use a couple though. Perhaps for Spetsnaz?
Maxmini aks...I'll have mostly these, but some lasguns too.

Dragunov. I only have one sniper in my army list. But perhaps I could do up some 'Ratlings'

I'll give my flamer vet squad these. Maxmini again.

If I cut the box things of regular cadian helmets, it will look like this. But should I just leave the helmets?

I can convert the cadian helmet to be a K6-3. Only problem is, doesn't fit with airborne theme. WAY too heavy.


I'll use a few berets, for my srgts.


Revell 1:48 Mil-Mi 24 'Hind'. THIS!!! Will probably buy this after some Cadians and the bitz seen on this page.

With regards to the valk/vendetta conversion, should I get some TL lascannons and a multilaser? To 40kify it a bit more? I'm still going to keep the rotor blades. I don't think I need to convert the rocket pods (see pic). Perhaps I can convert the nose machine gun to be a multilaser. Otherwise it can be cut back. The equipment on my real vendetta snapped off.
See this page for Images of Russian equipment.

Ciao!

Monday 18 April 2011

Russian Airborne Troops Army List


VDV Army Lists, for my new army.


 1000pt
HQ

Company Command Squad
3x melta, 1x flamer, power sword, bolt pistol, krak grenades
Chimera, ML/HF
157pts

TROOPS

Veteran Squad
3x Melta
Chimera, ML/HF
155pts

Veteran Squad
3x Melta
Chimera, M/HF
155pts

Veteran Squad
3x flamer
Chimera, ML/HF
140pts

Veteran Squad
Plasma gun, Flamer, Autocannon, Forward Sentries
130pts


FAST ATTACK

Vendetta
130pts

Valkryie
Multiple Rocket Pods
130pts



Total= 997pts

1500pt army

HQ


Company Command Squad
3x melta, 1x flamer, power sword, bolt pistol, krak grenades
Chimera, ML/HF/HS
167pts

TROOPS

Veteran Squad
3x Melta
Chimera, ML/HF/HS
165pts

Veteran Squad
3x Melta
Chimera, M/HF
155pts


Veteran Squad
3x flamer
Chimera, ML/HF/HS
140pts

Veteran Squad
Plasma gun, Flamer, Autocannon, Sniper
105pts

ELITES

Guardsman Marbo
65pts

Storm Troopers x7
2x melta, powersword, plasma pistol
157pts

FAST ATTACK

Vendetta
130pts

Valkryie 
Multiple Rocket Pods
130

Hellhound
Smoke launcher
135pts

HEAVY SUPPORT

Medusa
Bastion Breachers, armoured crew compartment
155pts
Total=1504pts

For 1750 point battles, I'll add
TROOPS
Forward Sentries
30pts

FAST ATTACK
Valkryie
Multiple Rocket Pods

ELITES
Stormtroopers x4
64pts

HQ
Astropath
30

Total= 1756pts





Check out the BMD's dropping from planes here too: (ignore crappy song :P )

Sunday 17 April 2011

WIP BMD-1 Phase II/Now Russian VDV (Airborne Troops)

For my other BMD's, I'm going to make the hatches more detailed. I'll add some brackets onto this one though. Rivets too perhaps.
 So, I was working out how to make it more chimera-ish.
I didn't end up putting firing ports on this one. Perhaps next one. I make a big plasticard hatch. I think a little too big, I'll use additional card on top of the card that covers the gap in the vehicle. I decided to just have a rear small door, that the soldiers will need to duck under. but if they open the hatch and the door they can get out easy. I used this hatch already on the tank as a door because it looks good and is about the right size to close up the gap at the rear.

Also, with my Chimeras being BMD's, and my soldiers being veterans, and my army going to have 3 aircraft, and everything being Russian, I have decided to base my army on a historical unit.

from wiki: "After an experimental period, the 104th Parachute Regiment of 76th Airborne Division (Of the VDV, or Russian Airborne Troops) became the first Russian ground forces regiment that was fully composed of professional soldiers (and not of "srochniki" – the conscripted soldiers aged eighteen)"
VDV have blue berets. I can use this for some of my guys now.



I think this gives me a reason to have my soldiers as veterans, and for my chimeras to look different to normal chimeras.
This background then prevents me from using heavy armour. Airborne troops still have light armour and self propelled artillery though. So instead of Russ's I'll use Banewolfs with melta cannon for anti tank, and Hellhounds. Perhaps a medusa or manticore too.

This means half my army will be fast, and everything being able to move 12" a turn.

Thanks to the BMD's longer body, the enemy will get more sideshots, which is good.
It is good because as well as using storm troopers, it won't mean I will have an army that is too competitive.




Note the hatch and rear door. It would actually act as a step down for the troopers when open.

Saturday 16 April 2011

Russian BMD-1 Chimera WIP

Yo! The Russians want their eagle back!

AND LO!!!
He said he was starting a Russian Ground Forces IG army...and it happened!

Spend ages looking on the internet to see if I could find a BMP-2 that was the right size. But BMP's are larger than BMD's in 1:35 scale, and they looked too short in 1:48 scale.

So here is my WIP BMD-1 chimera! Looks so good. Was a bitch to make though. GW models don't have as much fine detail either. Theirs is more appropriate for wargaming, It's bolder and less fine.
This is the first non-GW kit I made.
It was a bit hard because the chassis was bent, and it took ages for the glue to fix it.
I used  Revel plastic glue, for the first proper time ever. works a charm.

I have to come up with an idea for a top hatch that looks good, and a rear door. Perhaps a better way to give it a heavy flamer too.

Putting the multilaser in the turret took a little bit of thought, but was easy. all I did was glue bits of sprue and plasticard to create a sort of wedge to keep it in place. I didn't glue it, so It can actually elevate, like the normal chimeras.

here is the KIT I used, and pics.
Enjoy.


Slightly longer than a chimera, and lower, and narrower. So more side shots, and easier to hide, in some circumstances.





Need to convert the back, to have a door.


I need to glue the tracks down onto the idlers somehow...

I don't mind the flamer really :)

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Russian Federation Ground Forces Idea

Armoured column moving to fight the unfortunate Georgians :(

I was going to go out tonight, but assignments have got the better of me. I made a compromise though, and am now drunk off goon while my tacos cook XD And since I am intoxicated, I can't do my assignment (well) lol

Anyway, I have decided that my next army will be an imperial guard army based on the Russian Ground Forces.

This will consist of (roughly)
  •    2 Mil-Mi 24s for Vendettas,
  •    Another Mil-Mi 24 for a Valkryie, with 10 Stormtroopers (Spetsnaz)
  •    40 Veterans in 2 BMD-2's and 2 BTR-80's (Chimeras) 
  •    Company Command Squad in BMD-3
  •    BMD-3 converted (Hellhound)
  •    2 T-90's (Leman Russ)
I calculate this will be (upgraded) about 1635 points, with 115 pts left over for upgrades (to be a 1750pt army)
I know veteran spam armies are lame, and I'm not fond of them, but I really am just doing this to save money and to not have to paint so much damn infantry. This force will be fully mechanised, unlike my semi mechanised steel legion.
I'll reuse my existing storm troopers too, but perhaps buy some kasrkin.
The Russians are allowed to use whatever camo they like, and many wear runners, as they are subject to random fitness runs without warning.
Check out pics of their kit at http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?99988-Russian-Photos-%28updated-on-regular-basis%29
Example of the fun I can have painting different camo schemes...pic by Romans


Anyway here are pics of the vehicles I'll use:
Mil-Mi 24...isn't it the coolest helicopter ever? I love that camo scheme too.

BMD-2 I think the chimera is partly based on this. This looks better though :)

BMD-3

T-90: I like the sleek low profile of Russian armour.


My comrade over at http://kerberosw40k.blogspot.com/ kindly uploaded a pic for size comparison of a 1/35 BMD-2.
This is what they will look like: 
BMD-2 with w Russ

I just need to find what heads can replace the crappy cadian ones. I don't want to use pig iron colonial militia ones again...nor gasmasks in large quantities.

I will need to add a death korp lascannon team to my steel legion, as well as another chimera and a medusa. I would like to convert 2 squads of armageddon ork hunters and salvar chem dogs aswell. But I'll put that on Hiatus and start a new project. I have a job interview on friday woot!


If you know of good heads to represent russians, please tell me!
Back to designing a chair....

Monday 11 April 2011

First Tournament Match: 500pts

Soviet armour is sexy...I'm going to convert some...

2v2 500pt battle. Everything went better than expected...

I ran:
Hq with plasma, 
platoon hq with 2x grenade launchers
and in 3 Chimeras: 
Flamer infantry squad x2, and melta vets.

My Eldar Allies ran:
Yriel with 10 stormguardians
9 dire avengers with exarch
Fire Prism

Enemy Guard ran:
Basic HQ
Basic un-upgraded Infantry platoon x2
Armoured fist squad
Leman Russ with heavy bolter sponsons and lascannon

Enemy Orks ran:
Mek with shock attack gun in a grot artillery unit with 3x cannons
20 boyz
A helicopter thing with TL rockkits
2 Killer Kans
Grots


We deployed in table quarters. we had first turn in a sieze ground mission. 
turn 2- just moving forward as quick as possible.

Chimeras moved up 12" turn 2, the important melta vet one behind.

And popped smoke to be extra safe

Other chimera moves up towards ork forces. The Boyz flank, heading for the objective (blue thing on the fan)

The Fire Prism kills 6 or so guardsmen, and in another turn destroys the enemy chimera. The guardsmen bail out and head for the objective to the west.

In turn 3 the enemy killer kan kills a chimera. I actually shot its friend kan with an explosion that killed some guard, with a multilaser from the chimera closet to camera. The enemy russ kills the fire prism :(

The melta vets immobilise and stun the russ 2 turns in a row

eldar move up, orks now hold an objective. My other chimera moves another 12" to try distract the enemy and not be killed in combat, then pops smoke

It didn't work, because the cannons immobilised it, so the kan hit automatically in combat

these troopers are absolute legends: making all their armour saves in two turns after getting hurt from the exploding chimera. In the background, the melta vets disembarked their chimera, so they could use krak if melta failed. the chimera goes off to flush the enemy guard off an objective. The melta guns fail but a krak grenade destroys the demolisher as predicted! :)

They shoot up a grot gunner (those grey things are artillery)

I (heavy) flamed a platoon command squad and a regular squad last turn. the command squad fled, and I tank shocked these survivors of the line squad, and they fled the table :)

My legends in the middle of this photo survive 3 cannon shots (missed) and many las shots. They then flame and shoot up several guardsmen. The killer kan charges my veterans who killed the demolisher, and two survive.

My eldar allies join the fray, and my krak armed trooper destroys the kans dreadnought's weapon. Yriel gets a one and a 2 to hurt the can :(

More fighting against the kan. we win, thanks to yriel. The dire avengers charge the Orks after shooting them a bit. They lose combat and run :/
 So, my platoon command squad, who did nothing all game, capture one objective up our table end. Our victories veteran and Eldar storm guardians capture the objective in the sandbags in the centre of the table. The flanking Orks capture the objective to the side after defending it from the Avengers. The guard infantry platoon and the grots who hung at the back capture the objective in their DLZ.

So what did I learn? 
Getting up in your enemies face is very good. Most of the battle was up near the enemy table edge. If my Eldar comrade had some faster troops I think perhaps me might have broken the enemies back. But I'm not sure. If I had another heavy flamer on my chimera that was near the orks who flanked, I could have softened them up enough for the Avengers to finish them. But instead I send that squad up to annoy the enemy, and Distract them. With good luck, even with the destroyed chimera, the men survived amazingly for two more turns and they even threatened the platoon sitting on an objective!

One of my opponents said that the Russ held took a lot of attention from their troops. It's true. I spent three turns with my melta vets shooting and fighting it. If I killed it in 2 turns, I would have secured another objective for us (the one the chimera opened up) so perhaps I need to find another 10 points for 3x meltas for that squad. But If I didn't kill the Russ, I hate to think what it would have done to us, so i didn't really have an option.

I think heavy flamers are great now. I have one I'll add to my chimera with the heavy bolter :)


For the 2nd battle (only had time for 3 turns) i fought a small space wolves army.


I moved up my chimeras, and in 2nd turn shot the space marines up. They failed many saves. It was more or less a repeat of my last match against marines. They don't have enough men to stand up to my force at 500pts. If we played for another turn I would have won, so my opponent granted me moral victory.

They had some dude with a harsh wind that killed some people, and a squad killed a chimera with krak. I killed all but one of the other squad with 2x chimeras and men, and the squad that killed my chimera lost a few men to plasma and melta guns.