Spectre Miniatures - Special Operators.

When does everyone find time to paint their mini's?

Over recent weeks I have got into the habit of an hour before bed with a podcast or youtube channel for background noise. This one caught my eye of late 'Getting stuff done' - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3WA4igXEA1A

I suspect I am not alone in having a cupboard full of spare metal waiting to hit the table, so what can be achieved with some focus. The recent Africa game lead me to seek out a number of this left over projects.

These Spectre Miniature Models that had been hanging around for years.... I mean 10 years..... wow.

http://dusttears.blogspot.com/2014/12/spectre-miniatures-christmas-comes-early.html?m=0

These are great castings they really capture the feel of modern fighters the poses are very dynamic and the small arms to scale, I am thinking Private Military Contractors or Special Forces and the like. All it needed was a nudge to get them up the painting queue.

Its's good to be able to finally fill the last of the box with these, just need an excuse to get them on the table now.

Also the last of the African militia. - A General type perhaps looking back to his days at Sandhurst?

A pink haired fella - OK I was bored and he was the very last figure in the box. Who is going to be wandering around the African bush in a suit?

Next up more 10mm AWI and the last of the bare metal before the next purchase.

Welcome to the Jungle.

Somewhat behind on posts of late.

The UK weather and the Christmas take over of my gaming space has slowed the production line, the Christmas elves have filled the garage with decorations and storage boxes, no sneaking off for a few hours gaming for at least a month.

I will have to content myself with prep for future projects and the growing pile of bare metal, not helped by guys at the club constantly coming up with new temptations to distract me.

Modern Africa looks to be back on the agenda for next year, with ideas floating around for Somalia through to the Congo or UN operations against the various warlords or factions across several states in the mid 90's.

I still had some Africa militia types tucked away and this was just the nudge to get them table top ready. I opted for a more formal uniform for these types to represent government or paramilitary types.

Figures are a mixture of Spectre miniatures, Gripping Beast & the Assault Group, making for an eclectic group of fighters.

The last remaining metal is a group of 'operators' - Special forces or PMC's.... which could be quite useful in future games.

Hopefully back in the swing of things in the next couple of weeks.

Going Green...... Marines and Irregulars.

Yet again a minor distraction but in my defence it does complete the last of Marines and Insurgent figures on a couple of projects... this pile of lead had been languishing in boxes for several years and going for a common palette allowed me to rattle through them relatively quickly.

These extra's will come in handy for the US Marine selections within the Bolt Action units list.

.50 Cal Heavy Machine Gun team, a useful extra to keep the Japanese hordes at bay.

The 81mm mortar team and forward observers will add a little more fire power to the table and can be used in a direct or indirect role.

Leap forward about 50 years and these last three chaps will bolster the Zikanga Insurgent forces. these were from Spectre Miniatures and their launch kickstarter from a number of years ago... It might be a touch warm in deepest Africa for a balaclava. 

That's all folks......

Dispatches from the front XXVI - Lists & hidden treasures.

The Vichy Senegalese Tirailleurs are nearing the end of the production line, a little later than planned as real life has gotten in the way. Once complete they could fight for the allies as part of the Western Colonial forces. There is not a vast amount of info available, but these gives you a flavour of the uniform.

Having gone 50-50 on the latest offer from Warlord - The Gentleman's war which is provides forces for the 8th Army and the Africa Korp, I suspect it will be Bolt Action. With that in mind we had a couple of dry runs over at the Wyre Forest Club and a chance to dust off my Japanese, despite having had them for over 10 years I had never used them using Bolt Action.

It turns out I have over 1300 points of Japanese taking on a fellow club members US Marines, I may need a few extra's as the light Japanese armour really struggles against the Sherman.

It was suggested iI used EasyArmy to work out the points, what a great site it points up your units, tells you how many dice you get and adds all the special rules for each faction on one page. It's now become an obsession with multiple lists for every collection.

I might be late to the party but well worth a look, you can find a link here. 

Moving some of the boxes around it turns out hidden away in a number of boxes were a number of extra's which never made it to the table, they range from US Marines, the odd modern militia and a few ancients. I thought I had cleared all of these during the lockdowns... How many more have I squirreled away?

Hopefully a quick job to get these on the table......

Return to Zikanga.... African Militia Men.

Another good day on the brushes and last of the insurgents from Spectre's Kickstarter going back several years now. They had been under coated and been sitting on the to do table for months.

The Spectre sculpts are great, full of character and dressed in an assortment of clothing including the occasional cross dresser which came to prominence in Liberia as the National Patriotic Front pushed on Monrovia in the 1990's.

Charles Taylor's force's believed that the wedding dresses, wigs and commencement gowns together with 'Voodoo' regalia which would protect them from being killed.

This squad is armed with a mixture of AK's and RPG's the barrels are a little fragile so be careful.

The chap in the wedding dress I am sure was modelled on one of the characters from the film Johnny Mad Dog, a 2008 film about child soldiers in an unnamed African country, but all to common in a number of West and Central African conflicts.

Another project complete albeit several years in play or so I thought......

I unpacked the trays to put the reinforcements away and found a few more stay behinds that will need finishing... Darn I really thought I had them all done... These will definitely have to wait until the Infamy Infamy project is underway.

120 African militia might be a few too many for the Visitors to handle next time there is a trip to Zikanga.

Spectre Miniatures - African Militia #2

More from the cupboard of shame whilst I wade my way through the rebasing of Korean Micro armour and buildings I wanted to clear up more of the African Militia. 

Another interesting bunch in T shirts and civilian attire - I am loving the graduate, I think he must have passed his GCSE in weapon handling.....

Next week back to the small toys and more 6mm.....

Spectre Miniatures - African Militia

Way back in December 2014 my kickstarter arrived from Spectre Miniatures.
https://dusttears.blogspot.com/2014/12/spectre-miniatures-christmas-comes-early.html

It was one of those kickstarter projects that was delayed and by the time the package arrived the butterfly effect had taken hold and I was off on another project and these guys sat for the next 4 years in the cupboard of shame.

However the recent "V" project and the War of Insurgency rules got me thinking it was time they made it on on to the paint table.

They are slightly skinnier than others in my Congo collection but really capture the chaotic fighters in central Africa including the adoption of fancy dress which gives them a very Liberian feel.

With 30 or so African militia, PMC's and Delta force to get through they are a small distraction from yet more Haiti line troops.

Until next time....

Spectre Miniatures - Christmas Comes Early......

There seems to have been a steady stream of parcels over recent days, I can only guess the Christmas shopping is well under way, all of which are addressed to people other than me.... 

Then this morning the postie drops a gift through the door that's been worth the wait. 

Spectre Miniatures Kickstarter arrives....

These are a range of ultra-modern 28mm figures that cover both Private Military Contractors – modern day mercenaries, African militia and regular military forces.

I signed up for 9 packs, a mix of contractors and militia.

First impressions are very good, very few cast lines and little flash, the figures themselves are thinner than others on the market, but have more of a traditional African feel to them. 

Great attention to detail has been paid to the weapons which are small compared to the likes of MoFo (C) and TAG (L), but the differences in size will be hardly noticable once painted.

The models come packaged in very neat boxes, packed with wood shavings, a nice touch giving a real professional feel to the whole offer and it did the job of protecting the figures with zero breakages.

The whole Spectre range is littered with real characters, which will add some real diversity to the ever growing Zikanga militia.

Just as I thought I was seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.... Still never mind.

OPERATION KILL COBRA - Zikanga Campaign AAR #4

Sunday @ the Wyverns - Just another day in Zikanga.

Scenario
The UN had regrouped and had been reinforced, after the ambush a few hours earlier they had to get back into the village of Bucula, fortunately the contractors had gone to ground and there was no suggestion that they had been captured - Yet.

Regular Mission Objective

The UN must locate the contractors and escort them off the south or west table edge. The contractors are lightly wounded and are low on ammunition, find the cobra contractors and get them off the table.
It is important to keep UN losses to a minimum!

Militia Mission Objective

Kill the contractors.
They are holed up somewhere in the village get to them before the UN do.

Reinforced with a second squad, the UN advance with purpose into the village, moving house to house in the hunt for the operatives.

 

The Militia enter from 3 entry points, also moving from house to house in the hunt for Cobra.

"Gotcha" the last house in the village and the cobra contractors are found, they open up killing two of their attackers, but the militia numbers are to great and they go down in a hail of gunfire and the swing of machetes.

The UN engage a party of militia as they attempt to flank the assault teams.

With the Cobra members killed and the UN under pressure from all sides they are left with no choice but to fall back once again from Bucula.

Not quiet what I had in mind, the Cobra members suffered from some terrible dice and the militia passed almost every morale test.... still the fight for Zikanga must go on.

Played using Chris Peers - At Close Quarters rules.

CONTRACTING TROUBLE! - Zikanga Campaign AAR #3

Finally after months of fighting and hundred's of deaths, the UN finally pass a special resolution which sees boots on the ground in Zikanga.

How do you restore order and impliment democratic elections when you have no idea who the good guys are?
Right now all you need to worry about is securing your perimeter and  own logistics.

Scenario
An SUV carrying two civilian contractors was hit by gunfire as it moved through a local village.
UAV footage indicates that the contractors are injured but alive. The contractors have held the small group of militia gunmen who attacked their vehicle at bay for nearly a quarter of an hour, but more armed men have been spotted converging on the disabled SUV.

A squad of UN Peacekeepers is in the vicinity and can be on site within the hour.

Regular Mission Objective

The UN must locate the contractors and escort them off the south or west table edge. The contractors are lightly wounded and are low on ammunition, they are seriously pinned down.
It is important to keep UN losses to a minimum!

Militia Mission Objective

Prevent removal of contractors from leaving the table.
Due to poor command and control, the Militia player may not attempt to seize or kill the contractors before the UN are in sight.

Two Contractors from Cobra Security duck back behind a low fence after being shot off the road.

The UN enter the table, troops from one of the local African Nation are first in country to respond to the people of Zikanga's needs.

Local militia move through the surrounding jungle looking to send a message to the latest invader....

"Get off my land"

Flash Point - The UN sees the crashed SUV and imediately come under fire from the poor quality  militia, a number of the UN personnel are pinned but several milita are killed in the fire fight.

A large group of militia close in on Cobra's position. As Mama Newee looks on...

The UN are hard pressed to contain the situation as move of their men become pinned.

The militia close in on all sides.

RPG fire seriously wounds one of the UN, this first mission is turning in to a nightmare, barely past the first house in the village.

Fuelled by drink and drugs the militia seize their moment and pour into the street, but the regular training of the militia sees them deliver a stream of fire into the attackers killing several and pinning a number of others.

The UN pull back, with two men down, they are going to need to rethink this plan.

 The Cobra operatives make their break and seek sanctuary in one of the village huts, they are going nowhere any time soon.

Played using Chris Peers - At Close Quarters rules, it gave an excellent feel for the period, the regular training of the UN troops killed a number of the militia, but the weight of fire constantly pinned the UN giving them no option but to fall back.

Part 2 Sunday - Operation Kill Cobra.