Army Planning For FlamesCon 2018

FlamesCon is just around the corner, which is to say it is still a few months away but I need to nail down which army I am taking and then finish painting it. I have at least nailed the very first issue which was Flames Of War, or Team Yankee.

Right now, I have two competing options (plus a 3rd wild card) that I am debating

1. Canadians: lots of Leopard 1 tanks, supported by some infantry and anti-tank guided missile vehicles. This army is almost finished and I just need to paint some crews, apply decals, paint machine-guns and do final airbrush dusting and varnish.
2. Czechs (masquerading as East Germans): lots and lots of T-55AM2 tanks, with plenty of in Formation support so they won’t break, and plenty of high altitude support. This army is largely assembled but otherwise not yet started.
3. French: these are my wild card as the army is assembled, but otherwise not started. Given the fact they would be significantly easier to finish than the Czechs I am not sure why they are relegated to wildcard.....

The Canadians:

Simple list, as many Leopard 1 tanks as I can fit in (given the points level), some infantry, recce and plenty of M150 TOW and ADATS. The Leopards can rush the enemy and either flank them or just try to overwhelm them, whilst the missile carriers do much of the heavy lifting as the Leopards 105mm gun is a little underwhelming.

I am keen to finish the army, but I have built it as a 100+ point force so cutting it down to 75 points hurts my soul. 

Click the image for a bigger version

The Czechs (East Germans):

Best way to beat MSU spam is to play it and see how it works? Also, I am thinking of using part of this force next year at Panzerschreck where Casey and I are going to team up again so painting this up kills (or wounds) two birds with one paint brush.

Plus, it is a pile of cool models... and I am being cunning and using my Syrian infantry that I carefully based up on a fairly brown/grassy basing style to be my generic Warsaw Pact infantry teams. So, painting these means I get to progress two projects at the same time. I know the figures are not quite right but they are close enough.

Click the image for a bigger version

The French:

I've been chipping away at this project as a fun, spare time, when I want too project. Other than infantry and AMX-10RCs I have no idea what the force might look like other than having lots of wheels!

Where to from here????

Short answer, no idea! I will be getting the Canadians finished in the coming weeks (stay tuned for photos) now that I have some extra decals to complete them.

The Czechs have been progressing as a relaxing evening hobby project. It is too cold to paint out in the garage but assembling some tanks in front of the fire whilst watching some TV has been nice.

For now, lets assume the Czechs are option 1, whilst the Canadians are a fantastic back-up option when I inevitably run out of time.

Stay tuned.......

Syrian Tanks: Strengths and Weaknesses

Last week I took a look at the Israeli tanks and how I think they match up against their Syrian opponents. This week I thought I'd do the reverse. Quick disclaimer, I've been generous with what I consider a tank when it comes to the Syrians as they just don't have the variety as their opponents.

Tank X vs Sho't

Just like last week I think we need a baseline and in this case it will be the good old Israeli Sho't (105mm) tank. Coming in at 9 points each the Sho't (105mm) is a solid mid-range tank. You can field a reasonable number in a 100 point game, along with some support elements. With fairly average movement numbers and a Cross of 2+, paired with an excellent long range (40"/100cm), high anti-tank (18) gun that is Accurate (ignores long range penalties to hit), counts as Brutal (great for killing soft targets), and can fire Smoke. Finish it off with sold crew stats (Courage 4+, Morale 3+, Remount 3+, Skill 3+, Assault 4+ and Counterattack 3+) and good all-round armour (Front 13, Side 6 and Top 2).

The other reason for picking the Sho't is that it is a common opponent for the Syrians in the Golan Heights.

T-54 vs Sho't
The T-54 is possibly one of the most ubiquitous tanks ever designed. If a conflict happened in the years following World War II, there is a pretty good chance the T-54 (or T-55) was there, somewhere.

First up, let's take a look at the crew. As expected this is one of the areas where the T-54 does not compare favourably with the Sho't. They are just as keen for the fight with good motivation (Courage 4+, Morale 3+ and Remount 4+) but are let down by their lower Skill (6) and Assault (5+). However, their Counterattack is pretty solid and comes in at 3+.

One area where the T-54 shines (perhaps being a little generous here) is the armour, having Front 13, Side 9 and Top 2. Next up is the 100mm gun that has good Anti-tank (16), Firepower (2+) and access to HEAT rounds (so no long-range penetration penalty). Unfortunately, it has Slow Firing and only Rate Of Fire (ROF) of 1. Moving and shooting is not one of this tanks strengths. Speaking of moving the T-54 is pretty average cross country, but pretty quick on roads (24"/60cm) and terrible moving through rough terrain thanks to a Cross of 4+.

In a stand-up shoot out with the Sho't, the T-54 tanks should lose every time as they have had a hard job hitting and a difficult job penetrating the Sho'ts front. Conversely (like all Syrian tanks) the T-54 is hit on a 3+, more than likely to be penetrated by the Sho't (105mm) and probably knocked out.

T-62 vs Sho't
The T-62 represents an evolutionary step in the design of the T-54 / T-55 tank, pairing a tried and true design with a larger 115mm gun. In Fate Of A Nation each T-62 comes in around 5 points, making it a fairly cheap upgrade option from the T-54.

The T-62 has the same movement, crew stats and armour as the T-54. This makes the tank a solid option, but certainly not star performer. Where that point cost really goes is the 115mm gun. And it is well worth that extra point!

The 115mm gun has AT 19, making it more than capable of penetrating the Sho't (with Front armour 13) even at long range. Like the T-54 it suffers from Slow Firing thanks to its cramped turret and a ROF of 1.  Coming back to a stand up fight, this one is going to be interesting folks as the two tanks (the Sho't and the T-62) look pretty even to me when you match 1 vs 2. I'd put my money on the Sho't at long range thanks to having 2 shots, a higher To Hit number and the Accurate rule, but if the T-62 tanks are allowed to close then that thin line of Israeli tanks will be under some pressure.

T-34 vs Sho't
We are starting to work the lower end of the Syrian armour barrel already here. I won't go into too much depth about the stats of the T-34, but we can agree that it is worth it's 1.2 points per tank. It's armour is only 6 (making it about as good as an Isherman) and has a ROF 2, AT 12 gun.

This means it cannot touch any of the larger Israeli tanks, but is useful for hunting down light armour and support vehicles. Finally it is a threat to the Sho't (and Magach) if it can get around the flanks. Whilst I won't be painting any for my army, if I ever really wanted to drop in a company to act as armoured skirmishers I might borrow one from my Late War Flames Of War army.


SU-100 vs Sho't

The SU-100 is another venerable ex-WWII design that is still serving a purpose (and it won't be the last) in the Syrian army. Like the T-34 these are not exactly top-shelf but do have a powerful 100mm gun that chalked up its share of Panther and Tiger kills on the Eastern Front.

It will have no problems knocking out light armour (like Isherman and AMX tanks) but at AT 15 will struggle to kill a Sho't (with armour 13). However, at least it does have a chance. At approximately 1.2 points per vehicle they do have a place in the force as some static 'covering fire' for your other tanks.

Panzer Bunker vs Sho't

I've included this in the list because I think it is interesting, not because I think it is useful. The Syrians had a number of ex-WW2 German vehicles in their inventory. These were no-longer useful as tanks so found themselves turned into bunkers. Realistically they are not much of a threat, unless you choose to let them be a threat by forgetting about them. They are slightly harder to kill than a normal Panzer IV or StuG would be, however they are still easy pickings.

So... do I have a conclusion? It turns out that overnight I've found myself going from a big fan of the T-54 to thinking that I really don't have enough T-62 tanks. Five T-62 tanks are only 3 points more expensive than five T-54 tanks and they effectively have 2-3 points of extra AT. These couple of points will be the difference between penetrating a Sho't or Magach, or just being targets moving up. 

Don't get me wrong, I think the T-54 still has as solid place in my army, especially if I don't want to play a strictly '73 game as the enemy has to treat it with respect so whilst they are shooting up my T-62s, the T-54s can be dashing across the table getting in close.

It is also important to remember that whilst the vehicles listed above represent the Syrian armour, you cannot forget the BMP-1 and Sagger teams. These are going to provide some really good tank killing ability for a lot less points than a platoon of tanks. The downside is that they are just a bit less mobile and (potentially) a lot more squishy!

Syrian Army Shots

For the release of Fate Of A Nation I volunteered to paint all the models shown in the book. There is still a way to go before it is a complete army as I didn't manage to get enough of everything done to be ready for gaming, however I do have enough of a mix of models to start playing assuming my opponents are okay with most of my armour being unpainted.

I'm still working on a painting list of what to work on next to finish the army...

One of our new T-62 tanks next to a T-55. They look so similar yet so different!

A mechanised platoon backed up by BMP-1

BTR-60 APCs with infantry

A selection of APCs, a BMP-1, BTR-60, BTR-50 and BTR-152

ZSU-23-4 Shilkas and the somewhat more venerable ZSU-57-2

Two small recce sections of PT-76 and BRDM-2

1967 vs 1973: So What To Field...

Over the previous weekend I spotted a few people asking about which models or units they should field, assuming they were planning on building a force based on either a specific battle, or for a '67 game vs a '73 game. I was tempted to start putting together a list based on a combination of my general knowledge and a little extra reading. Luckily for me Michael McSwiney, one of the writers of the updated edition had been thinking the same thing and started work on his own version.

From a rules perspective these in service dates are strictly optional and based on what I currently have painted at the moment I won't be getting too carried away with them as I'd rather keep working on the models for now rather than restricting my gaming options. However they do provide a great resource if you are looking to build a new army with some specific plans in mind.

The links:
Miniature Ordnance Review (Michael's blog)...
Israeli Forces...
Jordanian Forces...
Egyptian Forces...
Syrian Forces...

Time to start planning on what to paint next.

"Israel vs Syria: Fighting For The Golan", A Series Introduction

This weekend will see the release of Fate Of A Nation, this time brought up to Team Yankee standard and with the inclusion of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Bringing the Arab-Israeli Wars (AIW) in to Flames Of War was something of an obsession for me and I can happily take some of the credit for the initial inclusion after relentlessly and repeatedly reminding people that after the success of our Vietnam releases, AIW would be a great place to turn next. After all it was a period that many gamers recognise, it featured the worlds superpowers fighting over proxy battlefields, and when it came down to it, it was about tanks duelling it out. Perfect for a Flames Of War conversion!

I've tried to pin down the root cause of my obsession or passion and I have no solid idea as to why. I have no recollection of the actual events, both wars happened shortly before my birth and the global impact never really affected me (that I remember). I do recall reading a series of magazines called "War in Peace" and being struck by the destruction of so many tanks as the Syrians pushed across the Israeli built anti-tank ditch in the Valley of Tears.

I am sure that reading about the efforts of a relatively small number of tank crews fighting against overwhelming odds would have left quite the impression on a budding wargamer. The greater history of the conflict no doubt partially lost on me at the time.

Once we received the initial go-ahead to write the very first version of Fate Of A Nation (obviously the name as stuck through multiple printings and revisions) we began to review what was actually required from a workflow perspective. We knew that it was going to be a big job, but so great was the passion to complete it that a number of us volunteered to paint the armies required for the initial photography. Casey stepped forward to paint the Egyptians (closest thing to the Soviets at the time), Evan took on the job of painting the Jordanian armour, whilst Victor took care of the infantry and guns, whilst I charged forward to do the majority of Israelis. Being involved in this original project was certainly one of my favourite experiences of my time at Battlefront.

Find out how I painted my Israelis here...

Jumping forward 4 years and we found ourselves in a similar situation with a new version of Fate Of A Nation being put together, this time with much of the initial writing and editing being completed by Scott Elaurant and Michael McSwiney (two long time contributors to the Flames Of War community). Once again, we needed to add to the range of models. Luckily Aaron (our inhouse painter) had taken care of the vast majority of new releases since the original book and was on deck to take care of the extra items now for the Israelis and Egyptians, however painting enough Syrian models was a problem. It probably comes as no surprise then that I happily volunteered to start building a Syrian force - I say start as it still needs a lot of work to finish...

Over the coming weeks (or months) I thought I might spend some time taking a look at the Israeli and Syrian forces, then look at what I have painted and how it compares to some of the lists I have been dreaming up, and then review what I need to do to complete both armies. The jury is still out as to how much actual progress I will make as I have a few competing priorities on the go, not to mention some future Battlefront projects have been taking my fancy, but I am sure that I'll have something to share.

Stay tuned...

Syrians on the border!

A couple of weeks ago I found myself wanting to paint something a little different from the T-34s I was working on for a series of web articles, and the Khador I was slowly working through for Ides of March... and I was saving my Dystopian Wars stuff for a post Ides painting session. I snuck by work and grabbed a couple of the packing sample T-54/55s that were sitting next to my desk and viciously attacked them... with an airbrush! I am a little ham-fisted with the airbrush but even with my skill level I was able to turn out what I thought was a pretty nice looking representation of a 1973 Syrian T-54/55.

1973 saw the conclusion of years of small border skirmishes between the Israelis and their Arab neighbours. The Egyptians launched an audacious assault crossing the Suez Canal quickly and efficiently, whilst the Syrians hit the Golan Heights. The Israelis were caught napping on the day of Yom Kippur, one of the holy days of Judaism, with their reserves only being called up hours before the attack.

Back to the test vehicle. I used Tamiya paints for simplicity and after a little trawling I found some recommendations from one of the larger scale modelling sites to get the distinctive green/grey/yellow colour scheme.  I am yet to put any markings on the vehicle as I still trying to hunt down a supply, but in the meantime here it is.

And whilst I remember, big thanks to Victor for his help on giving the blog a bit of a mid-life refurbish as my Photoshop skills barely extend to the ability to use the Magic Wand and Clone tools! He whipped up a new site banner and logo in a few minutes making the whole place look a little cooler!