Battlefield Clutter - Yet more burnt out cars and Alien Heavy Metal

With year end out of the way at work.

Perhaps finally some time to get some gaming and painting in, I have definately lost my eye in recent months due to the lack of paint table time and so rather than dive straight back in to some of the more detail laden mini's perhaps something that only requires a few broad strokes.

Back in July of last year I started coverting some of the Chinese 15mm toy car e-bay imports into battlefield wreaks these turned out rather well, the rest have been sitting in the box for almost a year.

Having spent Saturday morning bringing some order back to the man cave. I dug out some spare warbases and using up some old Matt Black spray cans set about finishing these off before a full year passes.

With 8 terrain bases this should be more than enough for any modern battlefield providing cover for troops or simply making certain streets impassable should the scenario dictate. I added several of the vehicles with a touch of colour rather than having them all burnt out.

Others include a few large impact craters just to fill in some gaps within the base - The Alien invaders can be seen above to give a sense of scale.

Also new for the Battlefield Earth Project is some Heavy Metal for the Aliens. I picked this up from Rebel Mini's in the US last year it sat in the box as other projects came along.

I wanted something that felt unlike anything available today, but without going to far down the sci-fi route e.g. fantastical vehicles bristling with guns and skulls.....

The Hover Tank mounted on a persex cude gives the Alien's something to combat the Modern Armour available to the Earth forces and painted in a shiny white livery - because - Well why not.....

Next up back to the Desert and more French for Egypt....

The Battle for Earth - AAR#1 - Seize the cross roads.

After the last few months of painting modern Russians and Sci-fi gear in 15mm a chance to put it all on the table for an evenings gaming.

Alien invaders have landed on earth and no where on the planet is safe.

With the main Russian armies engaged in the West, in the south of Russia the local militia are tasked with holding the invaders at bay. Tonight both sides must seize the crossroads.

The Russians picked several squads of militia backed by a couple of APC's and some Power Armoured Troops, the invaders well they went for their standard battle droids.

Both sides enter the table from two roads, the APC's rush down the table past the wreakage of where the aliens had butchered the local population days before.

A long range fire fight takes place between the Power Armoured Russians and the battle droids, the Russians miss and the return fire from the droids strike home, I warned the human player the rules were bloody.

Fire fights breakout across the whole front with sniper and heavy weapons fire forcing the droids to switch on their combat shields which provides them with some protection but slows their movement.

The APC cannon tears holes in the invaders ranks as the droids are unable to strike a fatal blow. The APC luck runs out.

The Alien Droids push on towards the Cross roads.

If the droids spot you and fire you are as good as dead, several militia are killed as the droids return fire. However one by one the droids are felled and the militia see that the invaders can killed.

In a last ditch effort the remaining APC drives head long into the advancing droids breaching their shields and killing a number of the invaders.

The droids in a last push to seize the cross roads charge into hand to hand and clear the humans from the building but are to few in number to win out right.

The humans win... This time....


Played using Laserburns Imperial Commander rules from back in the 80's.... damned bloody but great for fast moving mass combat just don't get caught in the open.

The Battle for Earth.... Eastern Front.

Well they did not take long...

The guy's at Rebel Mini's were quick out of the blocks and with a paint job of a mere 5 colours a quick turn around.

A day to myself with no wife and kids helped.

I figured the Alien Invaders  they would be Power Armoured within the Imperial Commander Rules, which should give them some staying power on the table.

To add to the proceedings I picked up some Power Field Markers from Litko which should make the puny humans think twice before venturing out to take these guys on.

All in all really pleased with these, they should give me a few more options for the modern stuff and give them more game time.

Back to more historical projects next time now the Sci-fi itch has now been scratched....

The Battle for Earth.... Russia faces a new foe.

Well they did not take long...

The guy's at Rebel Mini's were quick out of the blocks and with a paint job of a mere 5 colours a quick turn around.

A day to myself with no wife and kids helped.

I figured the Alien Invaders  they would be Power Armoured within the Imperial Commander Rules, which should give them some staying power on the table.

To add to the proceedings I picked up some Power Field Markers from Litko which should make the puny humans think twice before venturing out to take these guys on.

All in all really pleased with these, they should give me a few more options for the modern stuff and give them more game time.

Back to more historical projects next time now the Sci-fi itch has now been scratched....

Russian Support Options - Chechnya 1994

Nothing like a quiet bank holiday to get some hours in front of the brushes.
These are the last of the Modern Russians for the Chechen project, I wanted to bolster the Russian units with a couple of support options

First up a Heavy Machine Gun and Grenade Launcher, that should help keep the attackers at bay.

Based on 2p's I figured in the Laserburn rules rather than worry about crew figures when the team suffers a casaulty both are dead rather than worrying about single figures, that way I can keep the game play clean and fast moving.

Next up 3 Sniper teams, with follow on fire open to them within Imperial Commander they are perfect for keeping whole squads pinned down. The prone figures are actually Australians but when you are under heavy camo netting who can tell?

A couple of command figures to keep their troops in order, Eureka don't have a large variety on this front, so the kneeling officer is from one of the HMG teams.

And finally  the mouth peice of the government, a news reporter and camera man, always getting into trouble and in deed of escort....

Not a bad days efforts.

Over 180 Figures done so far this year, so track to beat last years total.

Chechnya 1994 - Russian Reinforcements

Far to many projects recently and the release of Sharp Practice 2 has not helped me keep on plan. However it has given me the focus on clearing the decks before the postman arrives with reinforcements to bolster lead mountain.

The recent adoption of 1980's Laserburn rule set has resulted in some great modern games recently, a rule set that balances AFV's and Infantry without resulting in Flames of War style tank battles or 5 infantry a side micro gaming.

However they are bloody affairs and extra infantry were definately needed to give the table top commander some extra options on the day.

The latest batch are from Eureka's MVD Russian range differs from the early troops as these are waering the Maska helmet, both with the visor and without, fighting in this must have been tough, they also give the Russian's a slight Sci-fi look, great for that 2050 feel I was thinking about in an earlier post.

I opted for one 9 man section in the light Brown cold weather gear which mix in well with the first batch of painted troops.

The second section of 7 men so they fit within a BMP are in the more commonly photographed urban camo.

Next up Russian Heavy Weapons and Supports.

Laserburn - Imperial Commander - Russian Army 2050

Having completed the bulk of the Russian forces for Chechnya using the Laserburn rules from the 1980's as usual somebody at the club has the bright idea to expand this, its been a while since I played full on sci-fi, never having got suckered into 40K, I always fancied something a little more low tech.

So as others build various Sci-fi factions including the original Laserburn figures getting a make over. how to upgrade my modern Russians to create a sci-fi force.

Albeit only 34 years from now.

 

A search of the web for Warfare in 2050 revealed an interesting study by the US Army suggested that the battlefield will be covered with a new breed of super humans and autonomous combat robots.

The report lists several specific capabilities that will shape future land warfare: augmented humans; automated decision making and autonomous processes.

However, perhaps most disconcerting for policy makers and senior officers in 2015, the workshop participants furthermore predict that the much faster 2050 battle rhythm will overwhelm soldiers with the consequence that machines will have to make autonomous decisions with little human oversight:

(…) [H]umans will no longer be able to be “in the loop,” but will instead need to operate “on the loop.” The difference being that in the former, human decisions are a required step in a process and thus humans are exercising positive control; while in the later, humans can only observe the behaviors that are taking place (and in some cases the decisions that have been made and the reasons why), but they can only act after the fact or in anticipation of expected behaviors.

While the robots of the 2050 battlefield would resemble systems that exist today such as armed drones and fire-and-forget missiles, they would “possess significantly greater capabilities of machine reasoning and intelligent autonomy than those existing today,” according to the report:

Robots will commonly operate in teams or swarms in the battlespace of 2050 in the same way Soldiers act in teams today. These self-organized and/or collaborative collections of robots would operate with varying degrees of freedoms (from being actively managed to being autonomous) under dynamically established rules of engagement/priorities. Robot swarms and teams (as well as individual robots) would be assigned a variety of tasks.

Of course, relying on this force of largely autonomous killer bots as well as other new warfighting technologies would create new attack vectors for the enemy to exploit.

The principal Army unit operating in 2050 will be mixed human-robot teams. To enable humans to partner effectively with robots, human team members will be enhanced in a variety of ways. These super humans will feature exoskeletons, possess a variety of implants, and have seamless access to sensing and cognitive enhancements.

So what does this mean for transforming my 1990's Russians for a force capable of holding there own in the near future without ending up with hover tanks and jet bikes?
Brigade Models have some great kit which certainly helps create a force in the spirit of the article.

Chinese PLA Support Drones next to a Eureka modern officer.

A Robot swarm designed to move quickly into unknown enemy territory, they are armed with dual mini-guns and a wi-fi link to off table artillery and air assets.

Power Armoured Troopers from Brigade Models 15mm Range.

Super humans will feature exo-skeletons yet still retaining the usual battlefield weapons of small arms, support weapons and RPGs. But they could always double as andriods.

A Power Armoured Section, I need to work out some of the finer details if they are going to be pitted against the existing Chechen insurgents.

The principal Army unit operating in 2050 will be mixed human-robot teams.

With a small order on it's way from Armies Army for some of there future wars BTR range.

The Russians are receiving some fantastic reinforcements for whatever might arrive from beyond the stars or closer to home.

Operatsiya Dark Star - Scenario 1: Don't Bother Knocking.

Yet more Laserburn - Modern.

Not that Scenario's are difficult to come by, but I had an idea to transpose some of the Ambush Alley scenario's from Iraq to Chechnya

SCENARIO 1: DON’T BOTHER KNOCKING

We got the call out at 0700. A professor of biochemistry on his way to Grozny University ran into some traffic problems. You know. The kind that carries Kalashnikovs. 

The Professor had a security detail of MVD, but the ambush they ran into was surgical. Within three minutes the entire detail was dead and the Professor was in the back of a van headed for parts unknown. 

The GRU went into overdrive trying to track the guy down. The bad press of a precision snatch and grab followed up by a videotaped execution would be bad enough even in Russian controlled state media, but to make matters worse, the Professor knew how to cook up some nasty bugs – and how to distribute them where they’d do the most harm. 

It took eighteen hours, before the van was tracked down to a neighborhood on the southwest area of Grozny a known Chechen stronghold.  Lt. Col. Daviski’ finger poked the faded photo on the briefing room’s wall. 

“That’s the place, comrades. When you get there, go in rocking and don’t bother knocking.”

Tselevaya Gruppa Black had a target. We thought it would be a simple hostage rescue. In and out, no fuss.

Mission Brief The Professor is being held in a building in a crowded neighborhood on the edge of Grozny.

A Tselevaya Gruppa Black (Task Force Black) special response team has been tasked with rescuing him. The strike force must quickly infiltrate the neighborhood, rapidly neutralize resistance in the target building, and secure the hostage for either helicopter or ground evacuation.

Regular Mission Objective.

Infiltrate to the target building.

Neutralize defenses. 

Rescue the hostage. 

Hold until evacuated by ground or air.

I bolstered the original scenario to allow for the greater blood loss that Imperial Commander tends to have in an average game, 3 sections of Russian Regulars, two on foot and one within a BMP, whilst the Chechens had 5 sections deployed on the table in ambush positions, marked by RED cars.... Sneaky but hey I do have 50 of the buggers to play around with.

Photo's are are a little on the light side - To much table top action to keep both on the go.

The Russians are forced down a particular route due to blocked streets and rush the BMP down to the 90 degree turn drawing fire from a number of the defenders who fail to land a telling below on the BMP, the bold move by the AFV flushes out a number of units firing RPG's from the roof tops allowing the Russian Infantry to move on and engage with the defenders.

The BMP is finally stopped 50 yards short of the target building, minor damage from an RPG strike which took out a track, in response the occupants killed all the RPG troops capable of destroying it.

Stalemate: The Chechen's can rush the AFV using close assault and risk high losses, no angle seem open to them as the Russians blaze away from the firing ports. The Russians can leap out from the safety of the Armour and run for the safe house but the number of small arms aimed at them would make this a risky move.

So there both sides sat and waited as the clock ticked down....

The GRU will be fuming as one can only assume the Professor is now in the wind.

Packets from near and far...

Time on the brushes has been rare of late, with real life creeping into valuable gaming time, even the poor old blog has suffered, however whilst the brushes may have sat idle, the mouse and credit card have been working hard to add to lead mountain.

Despite my best efforts multiple projects have sprung up all needing attention.

Laserburn has been a breath of fresh air lately, fast playing with some nice upgrades buried in old Yahoo groups. With other Wyverners already holding existing Sci-fi collections, I have a plan that will take my modern Russians 50 years into the future.

Dragon Rampant has got me thinking about back filling some of the gaps in the Narnian collection, with The Dice Bag Lady and Blue Moon doing some (lovely) nasty Witches for starters.... 

And then Sharp Practice lands on the doorstep and an excuse to put a fire under the Egyptian Project.

Saturday morning saw several packets arrive, which were quickly put in the "I have had these ages draw" before anyone else was up. More on these as the weeks progress.

With packages from the US, Russia and China I really have gone international for supplies.

One such packet was 50 15mm cars for less than a tenner.

This was an impulse buy largely due to a single comment at a recent club, about how modern tables seem to be empty of cars yet a quick glance out of the window and they are everywhere.

I am really not sure if I will rough them up to look more burned out or just drop them on the table top. But with 50 to "play" with plenty of scope to experiment.
Scale wise they look pretty good to me.

Perhaps better luck on the painting front next week.
I just need to decide where to start.....

Imperial Commander - Chechen style...

Another distraction.
The plan was to try Force on Force for the larger Chechen encounters, but the recent nostalgic review of Laserburn Imperial Commander gave us an excuse/opportunity to go old skool and give them a try for ultra modern gaming.

The Chechen's are holed up in the local council house on the far side of town, the Russians are tasked with breaking through local defences and capturing the council house, they are attacking on the two main access roads in a mixture of APC's.

On the right flank the Russian's converge on the T junction, the Chechen defenders are nowhere to be seen, but the Russians know they are out there.

The defenders pop up and fire off a number of RPG and AT rounds, stopping one BTR70's in it's tracks it wheels shot out, a second one is destroyed killing over 70% of the occupants.

The second part of the Chechen move allows them to move away from the building front leaving on one fighter behind having been pinned by the Russian return fire.

On the left flank the Russian advance is blunted by Chechen artillery, firing over open sights it destroys the leading BMP, but it's crew are wiped out before it can take a second shot.

The Chechen front line is outflanked as the Russian AFV's race towards to the council house, forcing the defenders to fall back from their original positions.

All troops we classed as Armoured Infantry and the Russian's as conscripts but even so, being caught in the open is not a good idea the Chechen militia are caught in the road and are wiped out.

The Chechen's only AFV is unmasked behind the headquarter building, it fires misses suffers an ammo failure and loses a track to the return fire.

A Chechen HMG opens up on the advancing Russian infantry, before being silenced by the Auto-cannons of the Russian BTR's.

In the centre of town the Russian Infantry and debus entering into close combat with the Chechen defenders, a number of "lucky" 5 and 6's allows the attackers to throw a number of grenades and fire off several concentrated rounds of Assault Rifle fire.

The Russians close in on the council house, the Chechen's fire off a number of AT rounds, but are not able to hit home.

Russian infantry pour through the breached defences and wipe out the defenders, who are unable to stop the Russian close assault.

A cracking nights gaming, AFV's move swiftly around the table, Infantry are difficult to shift from buildings if dug in. The rules worked well and the two movement phases allowed the defenders to break off before they face concentrated fire.

A couple of tweaks are needed around burst circles for Assault rifles perhaps limiting the damage to a single figure, but overall it gave for a fast moving game with a number of figures and vehciles on the table but the game was wrapped up in 2-3 hours.