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.

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.

Hands on your head! - 28mm Hostages.

Now every Special Forces team need someone to rescue, these have been tucked away in a draw for at least a decade. I think they were from TAG when I originally brought the African Militia but never made off the to do list.

It's amazing what a little bit of inspiration does, that and several free hours on the brushes....

 

  

 

 

I decided to base them on large circular bases as I figured they would be useful as objective markers or jump off points depending on the rule sets used, a little more palatable than actual hostages.

Just goes to show why most wargamers never throw anything away......

28mm Special Forces - Modern Africa.

The last of the recent purchases for modern Africa, Paul over at the Wyverns was having a re-org of his back log so I took these Gripping Beast - MOFO US Special forces off his hands.  

Originally produced for refighting Somalia, these are perfect for adventuring in Zikanga. I also found a special ops figures from The Assault Group, which had been sitting in the spares draw for perhaps 10 years..... I think he had been free with an order???

But he's a perfect fit and addition to Red Troop :-)

The billboard is from Anisty Castings, it's seen action in WW1, WW2, Future Wars and now with a quick google and some PVA glue moves to Africa. "Finger licking good".

This is perhaps the piece of terrain that his given me the most value for money over the years - Still available at only £6.00 !!!!

Chain of Command - Bush War Rhodesia - Play Test

Sunday night saw the first playtest of Chain of Command - Bush War Rhodesia, a future offering from the Two Fat Lardies, this is a departure from the balanced forces found in the WW2 variant, with forces designed to fight Counter-Insurgency (COIN) operations on the tabletop.

The Rhodesian Bush War was a classic ‘asymmetric conflict’  where one side wants essentially to 'get away' and the other wants to ‘engage’. The rules have some great features to represent the need for the Security Force player to keep losses to a minimum, whilst representing the hit and run tactics of the communists.

The table is a lot more open than I am used to in the usual WW2 outings within Chain of Command, but with an 18" range representing sight through the hinterland you can be quite aggressive in your early moves, I was representing the security forces and needed to close down the communists quickly.

 
Jump off points have less relevance in the bush, but as the insurgents you need to keep your escape routes open, I pushed my two sections forward looking to pin the deployed communists against their jump off and dispersal points. 

 
The ZANLA forces ambush my advancing section as it captures a communist jump off point wounding one of my men, a single wound can impact my force morale so I have to be careful how I deploy and approach possible enemy force locations.

 
Having saved a CoC dice the modern day fire power knocks chunks out of the ambushers, Double 6 on the command dice does not help, as a further round of fire pins the ZANLA forces. The insurgents fire is poor and comes with several modifers which makes it hard for the communists to inflict heavy casaulties.

Security forces push on receiving a number of slight wounds as the communists blaze away, forcing the section to go to groud, as the night draw to a close ZANLA slipped away, leaving the government forces with nothing but grassland and blood trails...


Bush War CoC has the same great feel as the the WW2 variant, the hit and run tactics have a good feel to them, as the security player you have to watch your casualty count, whilst as the insurgent you can the advantage of numbers, but the frustration of poor shots...

I had some very lucky dice, but felt I could lose every time a stream of tracer flew my way.....

I can see us getting quite a few more of these games in, over the next few months.....