Better late Than Never and Embrace of the Red Bear

Better Late Than Never

As a diversion from masses of T-72s (more on them later) and to test a new formula Testors spray primer, I assembled three BF M3A1 Stuarts. These models are old, early NZ production, back when the molds were new and there was next to no clean up or parts fitting needed.

The new spray primer (2982 super fine grey lacquer primer) went on well, didn't eat the resin and made a good base for the Tamiya XF-62 base colour. Some time later, I ended up with these three, the possible start of an American MW force for Flames of War:

Embrace of the Red Bear

Hypothetical 1980s NATO vs Warpac battles was our favoured era for micro-armour wargaming way back at university, so when BF announced Team Yankee I coudn't resist the lure. Figuring that most of the gentlemen grognards around here would go with the Americans, I plumped for a Soviet force. Good job I like green.

First to be assembled and painted were the T-72s. BF's model is a classic example of "you tried so hard but still fell short". The detail is crisp and, if the mass of photos on Google are to be believed, mostly accurate, although the AAMG ring has been sculpted in the wrong position. Assembly is mostly a dream, with excellent fit after minimal cleanup; again, there's a fly in the ointment: the smoke dispensers on the turret are very delicate, making them hard to get off the sprue in one piece, not accurately shaped and there is no decent mounting guide for them. Still, probably the best offering we'll have in 15mm.

Grey primer, followed by Tamiya XF-11 J.N. Green (a good match for the colour used by the Soviets in the 1980s, according to teh interwebz) and then washes, etc. eventually left me with most of a T-72 battalion:

I already had a Zvezda T-72, so this became the battalion commander. Zvezda's model is a much later version of the ubiquitous tank, with ERA all over it. Here are a couple of comparison shots:

A Soviet horde needs plenty of support. BF have given us ZSU-23-4 Shilkas and SA-13 Gophers for anti-aircraft work, along with 2S1 Carnation self-propelled howitzers and BM-21 Hail MRLs for artillery.

The Shilkas are good models made in BF's usual mixed media of resin and metal. The Gophers, also mixed media, are let down by chunky missile pods with very poor fitting to the nice resin mast. The BM-21s are nice resin models, although the control arm that extends from the lower left of the rocket pod is surprisingly crude.

At any rate, the models were assembled, primed and then treated to the same colours as the T-72s. This batch were given a matt coating with Armory spray, which decided to go "dusty", so they must've been tooling around a particularly barren patch of Germany.

There are BMPs, infantry, Hinds and SU-25 models still to come and then my Red Bear will be reaching out to embrace the decadent western portion of Germany, with a view to uniting the two halves under our benevolent care.