AK47 Autumn Assault [8]

I've been tied up the last couple of days with work related stuff, so much so that I haven't had time for any painting or modelling. However, I have acquired a diecast 1/100 scale  Mil Mi24 Hind for next to nothing on ebay and have been pondering the possibilities it offers as gunship support for the AK47 army.

To be honest, it's a bit hi-tech for my army surplus 1950's vintage ex-Soviet equipped dictatorship forces but, if I don't get the Mil Mi4 gunship sorted, it'll fill the gap very well. I only need to assemble it, give it a quick undercoat and three stage drybrush, then do a bit of detailing before it's ready for action.

Dakka Dakka

 :O)

Full Thrust

I've been looking for a little project to get my sons interested in wargaming for a while now. I've tried 40K but most of their collection is still in it's boxes and gathering dust. I've also tried Legends of the High Seas and Saurian Safari, both of which they enjoyed but haven't asked to play again.

However, I have a cunning plan! I noticed that Brigade Models has a sale on at the moment on their range of spaceships, so I dug out my unassembled American and German models to show the sprogs what they looked like. The boys were mightily impressed, so I then showed them the pictures on the Brigade website.

Alex liked the look of the SAC range, so I've ordered a fleet pack and an extra carrier plus some fighters. This will give him a decent force to paint up using a quick spray, wash and drybrush technique. At the same time, I'll paint up my German spaceships for Thomas to use, although they're going to be Neo-Soviet rather then ONESS.

This will eventually end up in a game of Full Thrust Light which should be easy enough for the boys to grasp but still offer them a way into gaming that will grab their interest.

AK47 Autumn Assault [7]

Not a lot on the workbench tonight but I have assembled the extra armour that I bought last week, in the shape of two SU100's and a single T34/85. It took a while to find some decent crew figures, which I had to do as the tank destroyers had open hatches that couldn't be glued shut. I found a couple in the end having rejected some soviet tank crew because they didn't actually fit.

AK47 Autumn Assault [6]

I managed to finish the Ilyushin 28 today although it nearly ended up in the bin after a fairly dodgy experiment with maskol and green spray paint. I didn't like the initial bare metal finish that I originally opted for so sploshed on some maskol then oversprayed with Humbrol Matt Olive Green.

After scraping off the maskol it looked a like a pigs breakfast, so I decided to add an overlayer of stippled Foundry Phlegm Green and Chestnut Shade, followed by the undersurfaces in old Citadel Horizon Blue. After this, I picked out the glazing in Foundry Sky Blue, which was a bit fiddly to say the least, then mucked about with the bomb bay in various ways to complete the overall effect.

The triangle decals were hand cut from some spare red decal sheet and the numbers came from an old MiG 19 kit that I have in the plastic pile. It's not what I intended to produce at the outset but I think it looks suitably army surplus and weather worn for AK47?

AK47 Autumn Assault [5]

I had some time this morning to assemble the Tamiya Il 28 Beagle kit, which turned out to be very simple and only took an hour or so from start to finish. It won't win any prizes for precision plastic modelling but, with an undercoat of matt black and a little paintwork, it'll do the job nicely. I've also made some flight stands for the helicopters, using GW plastic base and tiddly magnets.

AK47 Tanks and TV's

After an exceptionally tedious and tiring week, I was very pleased to find a neat but weighty parcel waiting for me on the doorstep today, in the form of a delivery from Peter Pig. I now have two SU100's, a T34/85 and some stowage to deck them with. I also have a TV crew, some of which I think I'll use to decorate the army commander's base, once I find a figure for the big man himself.

I have been a bit behind this week with the AK47 painting, mainly due to work and the inevitable backlog of bureaucratic things to get shifted. I'm hoping that the weekend will give me the opportunity to catch up a bit. If I can, I'll assemble the extra armour and perhaps the 1/100 scale Tamiya Il28 Beagle plastic kit that I have on the workbench, as well as finishing the heavy weaopns teams and jeeps.

Impetus

I've had a very cursory leaf through of the Impetus rules that I bought at Colours the other day and, I have to say, they look rather good. I'm particularly taken by the clarity of the rules and by the neat system of multiple basing, which enhances the look and feel of the figures really well. I know this is of little consequence in gaming terms but, for me, it's one of the things that makes a set of rules seem 'right'.

Anyway, I've been giving some thought to what I could do with them. One option would be to have another crack at the 10mm Norse that I acquired for the defunct Warmaster project, which is why I also picked up Extra Impetus 2 in the bundle, as it features a set of lists for the Year 1000.

The other option would be to tackle my stockpile of 15mm Peter Pig WOTR figures, of which I have an ample supply. These were destined for Bloody Barons but, as no one would  be interested in this at the club, the Impetus approach would seem a better bet.

I'm thinking of getting hold of Extra Impetus 3 which has a set of WOTR lists and a campaign system. At another £15 this is not a cheap option but it would give me a good idea of the permutations that my leadpile might stretch to, given a suitable window in the painting schedule to actually get them done.

I fear another doomed project is in the offing....

AK47 Autumn Assault [4]

I decided to modify one of the militia technicals this evening by removing the portee AT gun, which looked a bit silly and replacing it with a katyusha rocket launcher rack.

I bought three of these at Attack! so I thought it would be a shame not to use the larger version in a  truck mounted configuration. I'm not sure what it will be in the AK47 rules, perhaps the equivalent of a tank gun or mortar, but it looks pretty cool either way.

I've also basecoated and drybrushed the HMG armed jeeps, then given them a good overall wash in the usual gunge. These will be tackled tomorrow once the wash has dried off.

Finally, I added a couple of additional small arms bases to the professionals and an extra recoilless rifle base, as they looked a little underpowered now that the helmet wearing regulars have been retired.

AK47 Arms Embargo

Mbote Regulars wonder where their T55's have gone?

I've made good progress with the AK47 dictatorship army of late and have almost completed enough to field the army for a game. I need to finish:

• The regular heavy weapons bases and gun crews (half done)
• The professional jeeps (started)
• The professional small arms and heavy weapons
• The professional APC's
• The militia technicals.
• The air support assets - either a couple of MiG 17's or an Il28 Beagle.
• A helicopter gunship (although I could just use the Mil Hare)

This lot is more than enough for the five units I need to deploy. As a result, I'm going to cut back on the rest of the stuff I've based up by saving the helmet equipped regulars for another army.

I have enough of these for the core of a Superpower Backed force, with T55 and BTR60 APC's to back them up from the spares box. I can also use the old militia figures that I have for the two militia units, with Toyota technicals to give them some punch.

To compensate for the loss of the T55's I've ordered one more T34/85's and a couple of SU100's from Peter Pig. These won't take long to paint up and will give me a little bit of flexibility when trying out different combinations of units.

I think this is a good way to achieve the goal of a complete dictatorship army by the end of the month while giving me another AK47 army as a future project.

AK47 Autumn Assault [3]

Not a lot completed this weekend but I have painted up the two AT guns, the two multiple barrel rocket launchers and the last of the BTR152 tows. I overcooked the Phelgm Green drybrush on the latter, so they are a little lighter in shade than the original two APC's. However, they look fine as they are and match quite well with the other vehicles.

I haven't finished the crews for the towed guns yet but they're on the list of things to do next. I've got to get down to the rest of the heavy weapons bases so that I have enough to equip a force by the end of the month. I also need to crack ahead with the militia technicals, as I have to field at least one militia unit in the dictatorship army.

In the meantime, I'm tackling the GAZ jeep mounted professional commando force, which consists of two jeeps and a field car tooled up with heavy machine guns. A similar unit has proved to be very effective in my colonial settlers army so I thought I'd re-invent the concept for my dictatorship elite units. I'm hoping to have them painted up by mid week with a bit of luck.