My New Project for 2018

[bigjackmac]

All,

Well, Thursday I prepped the infantry for my Wolverines project, but I didn't base them because I was fresh outta bases.  I didn't get anything done Friday, except to place an order for more bases from Litko, but Saturday morning I was rooting around in all my hobby stuff, and what did I find?  That's right, a bunch of bases.  So this morning I based up all the infantry; and this interesting (to me, at least), as I've never done 10mm troops this way.


The whole mess, Soviets on the left, Yanks on the right.  If you recall, each side has an infantry company consisting of CO, three platoon commanders, three rifle platoons of three squads (one stand equals one squad), and a weapons platoon consisting of three 82 or 81mm mortars (Sov/US), three recoiless rifles, and three heavy machine guns (Dshks/M-2s, though they kinda all look like M-2s, if you are catching the drift of me...).  In game terms, we will break up the Wpns Plt and parcel it out to each of the three rifle platoons, so each rifle platoon will have a PC, three rifle squads, a mortar, an HMG, and a recoiless rifle, with each armored personnel carrier carrying two stands.  Yeah, I shoulda sprung for four APCs per platoon, but I'm a cheapskate...

TP - Nah, BAOR is still fighting tooth and nail on the continent, but the home islands are getting nuked.  I will not let you compromise your integrity!

Matt - I'll pretend I didn't see that (see above)!!!

Andy - Thanks!

To see more pics, please click the link:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-crunchies-are-based-up.html

V/R,
Jack

[Womble67]

Progressing nicely Jack

Take care

Andy

[toxicpixie]

Looking forward to seeing some paint on these!

Compromise away, feel free - If it stops the British Isles getting nuked it's not a bad deal

Mind, given NATO plans called for nuking Eastern Europe and western Russia on the outbreak of hostilities its probably a revenge spasm anyway.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Looking good (Radiation, what radiation?)

[toxicpixie]

Futures so bright, I gotta wear shades!

[bigjackmac]

All,

First, let me say that I'm utterly despondent after seeing the @#$%ing Patriots beat the Jaguars, and knowing they're going to another Super Bowl and are likely to win it.  In any case...  I was able to take advantage of the great weather this weekend and my Cold War Soviet invasion of the United States (I'm calling it my "Wolverines" project) is moving full speed ahead.  Last week I received the toys, got them cleaned, assembled, prepped, and primed.  Here's a quick few photos to document the progress.


Top left is US vehicles, center is Soviet vehicles, bottom center is US infantry, and bottom right is Soviet infantry.  Gotta love Walmart Krylon spray cans.  And forgive me, all that sunlight has washed out the colors a bit!  In any case, I've made the executive decision to, as I quite often do, throw together some cool paintjobs that aren't historically accurate.  To see more pics, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2018/01/and-they-are-primed-and-ready.html

TP - I can't have the Western powers nuking the Soviets, or there wouldn't be an invasion and ongoing war in the US to wargame.  So the Soviets will have to pull it off via some sort of subterfuge; smuggled nukes into various targets in the Western powers and detonated them, plus maybe some nukes off subs or something else creative that allowed the Soviets to pound the Western powers and innoculate them against nucleur retaliation.  Relax and get your shades!  

V/R,
Jack

[Techno]

Looking good, Jack.

Cheers - Phil

[Matt J]

First, let me say that I'm utterly despondent after seeing the @#$%ing Patriots beat the Jaguars, and knowing they're going to another Super Bowl and are likely to win it

Hear you on that one, Brady is something else though. Don't give the Eagles much hope without Wentz but then I though that against the Vikings!

[toxicpixie]

TP - I can't have the Western powers nuking the Soviets, or there wouldn't be an invasion and ongoing war in the US to wargame.  So the Soviets will have to pull it off via some sort of subterfuge; smuggled nukes into various targets in the Western powers and detonated them, plus maybe some nukes off subs or something else creative that allowed the Soviets to pound the Western powers and innoculate them against nucleur retaliation.  Relax and get your shades!  

V/R,
Jack

You've got to diverge very strongly from reality somewhere to get Soviet tanks in America, might as well go big or go home

Maybe they managed to set up missiles in Cuba, whilst the US kept Britain/France from developing their own deterrent? Or maybe the French have it, and have actively gone "Full de Gaulle" and said "non" to NATO, hoping to secure a new French Empire whilst the US and USSR batter each other and anyone else into submission. It's all gone a bit GDW and 2300AD/Twilight:2000 in my mind now

Good job on the tanks and figures, though. Hurrah for cheap spray paint decent weather!

[fsn]

Set it in Alaska.

[bigjackmac]

All,

Well, still depressed about the @#$%ing Patriots, but the world keeps on turning, and I continue moving ahead with my Wolverines project.  Now I'm on to working on camo for the vehicles, experimenting with Blue-Tack as a mask.  I went to Wal-mart and bought their version of Blue Tack (couldn't find actual Blue Tack anywhere, but reading on the internet told me the various brands are fairly interchangeable), brought it home, and got to work masking a couple of test tanks, one M-60A1 and one T-62.  I primed them yesterday and let them sit over night before messing with the Blue Tack.


Here are my two test subjects, the T-62 at left and the M-60 at right.  To see how it turned out, please check the blog at:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2018/01/my-blue-tack-experiment.html

Phil - You're alive!!! Cheers!

Matt - Ta hell with Brady; he definitely has some skill, but for my money, it's the evil genius Belichik.  Coaching is how a mediocre offensive line only gives up three sacks to Sacksonville (and pretty much the only times Brady was even pressured, much less touched), how you end up with Amendola and Cooks being matched up on linebackers, how you can get eight guys in the box and still make the Jax playcallers think running the ball is the right choice...

TP and FSN - You guys are sure pretty worked up about my alt-UK getting alt-nuked by alt-USSR in alt-1960s

V/R,
Jack

[Orcs]

Set it in Alaska.

Yep the KM ground effect "aircraft with a top speed of 400MPH and a 300 ton Payload (6 MBTS) could cross the bering straight in 7.5 mins. For the initial assault then the heavy lift hovercraft the ZUBR to reinforce the bridgehead

The Zubr-class landing craft has a cargo area of 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) and a fuel capacity of 56 tons.[2] It can carry three main battle tanks (up to 150 tonnes), or ten armoured vehicles with 140 troops (up to 131 tonnes), or 8 armoured personnel carriers of total mass up to 115 tonnes, or 8 amphibious tanks or up to 500 troops (with 360 troops in the cargo compartment).

[Orcs]

I used an Airbrish for my ww2 Polish vehicles. To get small enough patches and lacking fine airbrush skills I used the following method.

Laminate an A4 sheet of white paper.
Cut the paper into 3 inch strips across the width
Using a scalpel cut some very varied very small shapes in the end of the strip approx. 2 inches from the end. making a template
Hold the template  strip very close to the vehicle and spray through the hole.
You can vary the size of the sprayed area by moving the template nearer or further from the tank
because its not tight against the vehicle you get some overspray blending on the edges of the shape.

I used this to do three colour camo on my Polish vehicles. it came out fine for 10mm and was relatively quick to do after a bit of practice on the first couple of vehicles.  You need to make the holes you cut small enough so that if you put the template right on the vehicle they are smaller than the area you want covered.

[Techno]

Looking very nice, Jack.

I'm surprised that the tiny bits of 'blu tak' wouldn't come off by using more b/t.
Years ago I had a 'paint on' masking fluid (Revell ??), which worked well.....But would be a b*gger to get off something small...You had to 'catch' an edge with a pair of fine tweezers and then pull.

Cheers - Phil

[fsn]

TP and FSN - You guys are sure pretty worked up about my alt-UK getting alt-nuked by alt-USSR in alt-1960s

Not really. I was just thinking of a practical way of getting Soviet tanks into the USA.

Orcs got the idea. Is the KM the Ekranoplan thing from James Bond book Devil May Care? Like a plane with short wings that doesn't fly but goes bloomin' fast?

That would be a nice addition to an OOB.