6mm Moderns- Australians!

Well, it was inevitable after my trip to the Royal Australian Armoured Corps museum that I would write the rules for the Australians in Conflict '89.

The Australians adopted a pretty interesting formation in the modern period. Historically, the Australians (and New Zealanders) were regarded as some of the best light infantry in the world. Battles like Tobruk, El Alamein and the fighting in Papua New Guinea during the pacific campaign cemented that reputation.

But it was in those battles which the Australians realised the need for specific close supporting armoured formations- they were actually one of the first formations to be supported in big tank attacks in World War One. Through the later New Guinean campaign they were supported by Matilda tanks, using them as a jack of all trades style vehicle.

But on to the modern period. The Auzzies drove Centurions during the Vietnam War, by all counts they loved that tank, finding Splintex (flechette) rounds especially effective.

In the period of Conflict '89, the Australian armoured were equipped with Leopard 1AS4 tanks.

And here are my 10 Leopard 1AS4 Tanks, showing off the awesome colour scheme that is AUSCAM.

Supporting the Leopard tank formations is the Mechanised Infantry. Still equipped with the M113 of the Vietnam era (the AUSLAV is not available until the mid 90's), the Australians utilised multiple turret configurations, the most unique being the M113 MSV, which was an M113 equipped with the turret from a Scorpion light tank. This vehicle was tasked as an infantry support vehicle, based on their experience in Vietnam. Also in the formation is a mortar carrier also.

Again the M113s are showing off how cool AUSCAM is!

Of course, the M113s are transports, so need the infantry too

Infantry with 2 MILAN ATGMs and 2 Red Eye MANPAD

Also in support, there is a recon platoon of four M113, two equipped as MSV vehicles

I put them on bases with their dismounts, so I could tell which was which in relation to my formations.

Of course you also need someone to command it, this is the Battalion XO with his M577..

Another hallmark of modern warfare is using an unarmed helicopter as a forward observer for artillery batteries. The Australians use the Kiowa in this role.

So that is it, the whole lot!

What is next? Well.. These have been started..

But more on those soon.

CP

6mm Moderns- A Comparison of Abrams

My 6mm armies are growing rapidly, the 6mm counter on the right ticks ever higher, but what of the miniatures themselves?

So, here is three different company's take on the M1 Abrams.

The three competitors....

GHQ, Heroics and Ros and Scotia-Grendel

First up, GHQ.
Cost? Around $2.50 NZ per tank. Which for a 6mm tank gets pricy fast, but the quality is about what I expect from BF in 15mm scale. Most of my armies and miniatures are from GHQ, because I don't mind paying that bit more for quality. The unbuttoned crew look awesome, along with the cupola MGs.

All in all GHQ is the best in quality, hands down. But expensive, and very annoying how they only sell in packs of 5 tanks!

Next up Heroics and Ros
So H&R. Immediately you notice that the details are not as crisp, the turret is tiny and it is unpainted. Well, the paint is my fault, but the rest is with H&R!

I have used H&R miniatures to plug gaps in the GHQ range, things like specialist AA weapons, or howitzers (H&R come with crew, GHQ don't). My whole French army is H&R actually, and they look good.

A whole lot cheaper than GHQ (around $1 per vehicle), but in comparison, don't buy their Abrams!

Lastly Scotia
What to say here. Yes there is a fair layer of paint on the top (not done by me), but still, there are NO details on the model. There are barely any roadwheels on the tracks!

So, by far, the worst in the Abrams competition. But, the Scotia range is the best of the three, and I can honestly say that their AAVs are as good as GHQ's models. Which is tough, because it is hard to know if you would get this lump of lead, or an actual model.

Make your own choice, but the GHQ miniatures are consistely good, H&R is pretty consistently ok, and Scotia have some brilliant models, just not the Abrams! With GHQ running at twice the price of the others, maybe I will take the risk a couple of times to see what I get...

Till next update,

CP

6mm Moderns- US Forces in West Germany

Just a quick little update.

I acquired a very large amount of 6mm US Moderns through a trademe deal a while ago, and as part of what I got, I acquired some M1 Abrams (not M1A1) and a whole ton of M113s.

With the focus (for me) being on forces from Desert Storm, the M113 was no longer used en-mass by the Americans at this stage, and the M1 (not the M1A1) was gone also.

So, what I did was paint them up as some forces for West Germany, just in case of a hypothetical Russian Invasion or some such!


12 M1 Abrams


14 M113 APC and 1 M577 Command Vehicle


M113s with heavy weapons! 3 M901 TOW carriers, 1 M193 Vulcan


2 M109A6 Paladin 155mm, 1 M577 and 1 M991 Ammo loader

So, those are my spare US 6mm vehicles. As for the "real" US Army? All the vehicles are done, aircraft are on the painting table, then the Infantry.

Although, there is a lot of stuff on the painting table...

CP

6mm Moderns Finished- For real this time!

I recently bought a whole lot of new additions for my Modern British army from both GHQ and Heroics and Ros. And, now they are all painted!

So here is the whole force...


Just one or two tanks....

So to break it down a bit more, I have...


A Company of Challenger 1 tanks. With a FV4204 recovery vehicle, and a Challenger II tank acting as the Regimental HQ tank.


A full Armoured Recon Company, with 2 Sultan, 1 Sampson Recovery Vehicle, 8 Scimitar Light Tanks, 4 Scorpion Light Tanks, 4 Striker and 4 Spartan APC.


Two understrength Companies of Infantry, with Regimental HQ teams


Support Weapons for the Infantry. MILAN ATGMs, Javelin MANPADs, 81mm Mortars and GPMG teams


Enough Warrior IFVs to transport one Company plus Support Weapons


As well as some mechanised support weapons- sadly the Swingfire missile system on top of an FV432 has largely gone out of service by our timeline.


A patrol of SAS Infantry with their Landrover transports


A 4 gun battery of M109A1 SP Howitzers


A battery of Royal Marine Artillery with 105mm guns


A Battery of ground mounted Rapier AA Missiles


As well as two Tracked Rapiers. These had to be taken from retirement in museums and other storage facilities to be put into action in the Gulf War, as they hadn't been replaced!


And one lone AS90 Braveheart SP Howitzer. The British Army's improved version of the M109, the Braveheart was equipped with a South African cannon, but did not end up in production, instead they opted for a local gun. Still, the AS90 looks cool!



Two Naval Aviation flights. The Lynx and the Gazelle are recon helicopters, with only the Lynx carrying armament in the form of TOW missiles. Their primary role is target acquisition, for the fast movers or for artillery, rather than being a gunship like a Cobra or Apache.


Lastly, a Harrier. Now, I said that I was finished this time, well, that is not totally true, I want another Harrier!

So that is the whole British force I have, and might go some way to explain how my 1/300th counter has gone a bit crazy of late! Still, got to finish the Americans next, then who knows, maybe an OPFOR for them? Russians? Iraqis? Chinese?

No idea. So very much on my painting table right now, so I am going to hide from it and go and have a game of 6mm Moderns. But more on that next time,

CP

6mm Moderns- Recon in Force

Last night was game two of our Epic Moderns rules. The Syrians and Soviets commanded by John and Adam were pushing further into Israeli territory following their last victory. As they pushed further forward, they encountered a defensive line manned by Jason's Israelis and my Americans.

I was running

Armoured Cav Company- 4 M1A1 Abrams, 6 M2 Bradley, 1 M6 Linebacker, 6 infantry, 1 stinger
Light Scout Company- 10 HMMWV, 4 HMMWV TOW
US Naval Aviation- 1 F-14A Tomcat


Which sure doesn't look like much....

The plan was simple. Armoured Cav would anchor the right objective, the HMMWVs would be up on the left hand objective on overwatch, ready to launch large amounts of TOW missiles at any enemy movement. Maverick in his F-14 would orbit looking for any enemy aircraft to shoot down. Cunning right?


The Humvee swarm capture the objective!

So, turn one, and the Soviets have the initiative. Clearly the element of suprise is with them and their 30 T-72 tanks. The first company of T-72 come roaring forward to engage the Armoured Cavalry. As they activate, the HMMWV company fires off it's four TOW launchers, causing no less than 4 T-72's to explode! The Israeli paratroopers fire their Dragon missiles also, but to no effect.

However the T-72s fire at the Armoured Cavalry platoon, causing two Abrams to make a 4+ save... which they fail. Uh oh.

The Syrians seize the initiative, rolling the next company of T-72s in behind the first, free from overwatching TOW missiles, they fire again at the Armoured Cavalry, scoring 5 hits (9 shots, hitting on a 5+) The 5 hits mean two Abrams have to roll a save of a 4+.... which they fail. The remaining 3 hits get allocated to Bradleys, all of which explode.


So... that would be no passed saves then?

With that, most of my force is now destroyed. And it didn't even get to do anything. Sigh. One day I will get to do something with a MBT....

The Merkava company which was occupying the nearby hill opened up with it's cannons, 9 shots hitting on a 2+ (for sustaining) and only managed 5 kills (that is four 1's). Desperate for kills, the Israelis bring in their F-16 geared for a ground attack roll, only for two MiG-29's to drop out of the sky to intercept!



The two MiGs loosed off a couple of missiles, only for them to be defeated by a combination of skilled flying and chaff from the F-16. Unfortunatly, all the ducking and weaving on the part of the F-16 caused it' bombing run to be unsuccessful.

With the two MiG's intercepting, it was time for the F-14 to enter the engagement!


Heading right into the danger zone...

The F-14 caught both MiG's on the hop, quickly dispatching them both with Sparrow missiles!

It was at this time that the HMMWVs were under heavy attack from the enemy troop carriers, their heavy MG's inflicting a heavy toll. With all of the NATO air support otherwise occupied, it was time for the Crocodile to spring it's attack...


Do you guys hear that ominous thump of rotors?

Casualties suffice to say, were extreme. The Humvees were now broken, and getting the hell out of there!

The Israeli Cobras were engaging the third company of T-72's, causing casualties not only with missiles, but one with a 20mm cannon!

By the time turn 2 rolled around, the west were back on initiative. The Merkavas immediately engaged the lead T-72 company, causing further casualties and breaking the company. Utilizing the air superiority gained last turn, the Cobras retained the initiative and roared in, engaging the second company of T-72, causing further casualties and putting the formation one casualty above break point.

The Syrians saw the need to press the advantage against the Israeli infantry, sending the T-72 in against them, engaging them in a close range firefight. The combination of cover and armour on either side meant casualties were light, until the Israelis forced the T-72 back, which caused no less than 3 casualties on combat resolution; which broke the formation!

The Armoured Cavalry seized their advantage (as much as 4 Bradleys can seize anything), firing TOW and Bushmaster cannons into the broken formation of T-72, destroying the remainder of the formation, as well as seizing the objective.



The Israeli infantry regained their lost ground, capturing the enemy blitz objective. This action would not go unpunished, as the all too familiar thump of five heavy rotor blades began to be heard in the distance.

Luckily for the infantry, the F-14 was on station, searching for more Anti-Aircraft kills. As soon as the Crocodile appeared, a Sparrow missile sought it out exploding nearby. However a Hind is a tough bird, and the F-14 drew in close, switched to guns and destroyed the Crocodile.


The Tomcat then proceeded to return to base and buzz the tower.

The Israeli F-16 continued the crippling fire on the remaining T-72 formation, causing further losses.

For the final turn, the game had swung drastically. From a very poor start, the West kept the initiative, and used it to send a full formation of Merkava against the enemy Motorised Rifles. Between the 120mm cannon and the multiple machine guns, casualties were immense amongst the Russian Guards, forcing them back from the objective. The F-16 rolled in once again, destroying two enemy recon vehicles which were lurking near the objective at the back of the table. The F-14 rolled in onto the formation of T-72, strafing it with guns, causing another destroyed tank. The Armoured Cav lost the last of their vehicles to enemy Recon fire (Saggers and 30mm cannon will do that), but left the infantry on the objective.

So, with that, the game ended. Victory was had! The count was 1-1 between Red and Blue team.

The Tomcat was just awesome, but it did roll very well. Still, 3 Anti-Air and one Anti-Armour kill is pretty darn cool!

One day I will pass an armour save, and get to use a MBT. One day.....

Next game will have a bit more stuff, I am waiting on a big GHQ order to finish off the British and Americans, so once I get them done, I will do a big whole army shot etc.

Back to painting,

CP

The tipping point...

That is a single Saladin armoured car. Why is this so important? Well, it is the last of my 6mm miniatures to be painted. I have painted every 6mm figure that I own!

I bought most of the 6mm off of trademe, so I ended up with a bit of a motley selection. To complete what I want for our Epic Moderns (Kool-Aid special edition), I needed to order more stuff. And if you are doing an order, paying postage, you might as well order a lot. So, I did that last night too! Hopefully heaps more 6mm goodness will be winging it's way to me as you read this, to complete both my British and my American armies. Once I have them all completed, I will put the pictures up on here.

If you can't wait that long, our next game of Moderns is on Friday, so I will post up what I plan to bring tomorrow.

So with more 6mm in the post, I have probably a fortnight before it all arrives. So to keep up my productivity, I have jumped on Jamie's SAGA Lord of the Rings bandwagon. Needing to choose something different to everyone else, I have opted to make a Minas Tirith force.



I picked up most of what I needed for them yesterday, and will hopefully finish all the assembling and get them undercoated tonight.

So that's what is on my painting table at the moment, must get cracking!

CP

6mm Moderns- First Battle in Lebanon....

Well, finally everyone has caught up with me and my 6mm moderns, so much so that we are in the midst of writing and adapting Games Workshops' Epic rules to suit modern armies!

With much list frothing going on over the past two weeks, some speed painting and some general smack talk going on, it was time to have our first test of the rules.

The game was British and Israelis against Soviets and Syrians, 1000 points per force.

I was running...

Mechanised Company (42nd Black Watch), with 3 attached Milan Sections
Tank Troop- 3 Challenger 1 (Royal Scots Dragoon Guard)
1 AV8b Harrier from the Royal Navy

So... 3 activations, 13 Warriors, 3 Challengers, a load of Infantry and the solitary Harrier.

Add that to Jason's force of Israelis being a Merkava Company, an Infantry Company in M113s and an F-16, and it looked like alot of stuff.

However, the War Pac brought

3 Companies of T-72, 1 Company of Mechanised Infantry, 3 Zeus AA tanks, Sagger armed scout vehicles, Recon tanks, a Hind Gunship and a DESTROYER. So... we were horrendously outnumbered and outgunned.

Uh Oh.


The Russian flank ready to advance

With our superior initiative, we planned to hit hard and fast, hoping to deal big damage to the enemy forces.


The Israelis claim forward objectives, only to come under fire from T-72s



The Black Watch advance, engaging enemy Recon and T-72 tanks with their Raden and Milan


Raden Cannons wreak havoc on BMP-2

It was at this point that the Destroyer began to make it's presence known, unleashing a vicious barrage of SAM missiles at our incoming Aircraft...


So many targets, pity you are dodging missiles...

The Israeli Mechanised Infantry on the Left Flank suffered heavily under T-72 bombardment


Boom go the aluminium bath tubs!

But soon enough, the Merkava Company arrived and showed off what they could do...


Revenge!

The Royal Scots Dragoons had been observing the battlefield from afar, taking in all the sights. Unfortunatly, they themselves were spotted by a marauding Crocodile...


It's got HOW many Rockets?

And, for the first time (ever) a Challenger was lost to enemy fire!

The Harrier came streaking in, seeking vengance and loosed a sidewinder at the Hind....



Only to have the missile have no effect!

The Challengers upon losing a single tank, became instantly broken and never did anything further in the game. Sigh. Which is something we are going to tweak in the rules!

The Black Watch were engaging not only T-72 tanks, but also a full Soviet mechanized infantry company by this time, Radens and Milan pumping out fire at full force...


And being shot back, a lot

The Israeli Merkava Company suffered tremendous casualties from the enemy T-72 tanks (Jas and I didn't actually pass an armour save with our tanks. 6 of them. On a 4+. Sigh) which left the Black Watch even more unsupported!

Proving that when the going gets tough, the Scots get angry, they proceeded to engage the enemy tanks with all their firepower, getting good results! Destroying multiple T-72 with Milan ATGMs, and even destroying one with a Raden!


Ok, so we destroyed five, that still leaves... more tanks than we started with. Oh.

The Syrians on the left flank captured all the objectives, the Israelis suffered too many casualties to counter their advances, leaving the Warsaw Pact in charge of the battlefield!


The battlefield with a whole lot of burning stuff

Casualties on all sides were immense, the Harrier was shot down (eventually) by SAM missiles, the Black Watch lost almost half of their Warriors, as well as most of their Milan ATGM teams, as well as the Challenger 1.

So for the much vaunted Air Superiority and Tank Superiority, neither did the west any good! Bit hard to claim superiority when they die just as quick as the T-72....

All up, a super fun game. And actually not many big things to tinker with rules wise. I need to give some more thought to army composition, but I like having problems to solve. And I sure as anything have my work cut out for myself when I am outnumbered 3 to 1 by guns which can vapourize my tanks!

Finishing the last of my 6mm British tonight, then will crack into the Americans...

CP