Wayne's Armageddon Team Yankee Soviet Tank Battalion

Wayne Turner’s Red Banner Tank Division Tank Battalion

Part 3: 4 August 2017 Since I last updated you on the progress of my Team Yankee Soviet Force I have made some changes. I now have the following painted:

Red Banner Tank Division T-72 Tank Battalion HQ (1 x T-72) 5 points T-72 Tank Company (6 x T-72) 27 points T-72 Tank Company (7 x T-72) 32 points   Total: 64 Points

BMP-2 Motor Rifle Company (full strength) AK-74 team with RPG-18 anti-tank (x 10) RPG-7 anti-tank team (x 9) PKM LMG team (x 2) BMP-2 (x 12) 24 points SA-14 Gremlin AA missile team & BMP-2 2 points   Total: 90 Points

AK-74 teams with RPG-18 anti-tank

RPG-7 anti-tank teams

PKM LMG teams

Other Units ZSU-23-4 Shilka AA Platoon (2 x ZSU-23-4 Shilka) 2 points 2S1 Carnation SP Howitzer Battery (3 x 2S1 Carnation) 5 points SA-13 Gopher SAM Platoon (2 x SA-13 Gophers) 2 points BMP-1 OP 1 point   Total: 100 Points

ZSU-23-4 Shilka	SA-13 Gopher	2S1 Carnation

BMP-1 OP

As you can see I’ve managed to get 100 points done, but not the original 100 points I had planned. You might notice a couple of my T-72 tanks and BMPs look a little darker than the others. This was because I forgot which colour I used for the final highlight. I should probably write this down, especially when using three shades from a selection of six.

However, I still have to paint from my originally planned scouts and the Hinds.

Mi-24 Hind Helicopter Company Mi-24 Hind Helicopters (x 2) 5 points BMP-2 Scout Platoon (4 x BMP-2) 6 points T-72 Tank Company (6 x T-72) 27 points   Total: 38 Points

With the Scouts, I’ve converted one BMP into a command BRM-1K with a large BMP-2 sized turret with the BMP-1 76mm gun on a modified BMP-1 hull. This involved a bit of cutting and gluing, as well as some putty work and extra bits made from plastic card for the radar hatch at the back. I plane to paint the scout in a two colour camouflage just so they stand out from the motor rifle BMP-2s.

I also have another bunch of T-72s I haven’t painted yet. I think I’ll do a few more of these for a third Tank Company for bigger games, but I might keep the rest back to do as Poles using the Volksarmee book. I have been thinking of assembling another two Hinds, so when I get around to painting them I can do four all at once. I also have another two ZSU-23-4 Shilka AA tanks assembled to paint as well. ~ Wayne.

Part 2: 4 February 2016 When we started our studio force-building project for Team Yankee, we all made 50-point, 80-point and 100-point lists for forces we planned to get done. However, as the ultimate early adopters, not everything in our planned forces was available when we started. Even though my 50-point force consisted of 11 T-72 tanks, these were some of the last models I actually received.

So the first models I painted were my support elements: the ZSU-23-4 Shilka anti-aircraft tanks (x2), the SA13 Gopher surface-to-air missile tanks (x2), and the 2S1 Carnation self-propelled howitzers (x3). These let me test out the look for my whole army. I enjoy experimenting with different paint colours and airbrush techniques (and, besides, we did not yet have the Team Yankee paints available). I settled for the WWII 4BO Soviet green (I used a mix of Vallejo and AK Interactive paints) rather than the darker olive drab Aaron painted the Soviet vehicles in the Team Yankee rulebook. I built up the colour in three layers using a lighter shade in each coat, with less paint applied in subsequent layers. With the support vehicles I used a coat of my own custom brown 'magic wash', followed by a brown enamel pin-wash to heighten the shading.
Support Vehicles
ZSU-23-4 Shilka

SA-13 Gopher

2S1 Carnation Battery

After this I painted the infantry teams of my Motor Rifle Company. Nothing unusual here – I just painted them like the thousands of Flames Of War miniatures I’ve painted before. I used similar colours to those used by Aaron in the Team Yankee rulebook. As you can see, I have yet to decide how I’m going to cover the bases. I need to work out the right blend of ground work, static grass and tufts.

Infantry

RPG-7 Anti-Tank Teams

AK-74 Assault Rifle Teams

PKM LMG Teams / SA-14 Gremlin AA Missile Team

Tanks
If you watched the videos from our studio Team Yankee Armageddon weekend, you will have seen me assembling the first of my plastic models. I assembled 12 T-72s, and over the ensuing weeks I have  painted them using in the method I had trialled above with the support tanks. However, I made a few changes. I wasn’t happy with the time-consuming nature of the enamel pin washing, (having to gloss varnish the tank beforehand really annoyed me). So I developed a multi-stage magic-wash. After airbrushing the tank I gave it two coats of brown magic wash. This is not particularly strong, so it does not change the main colour dramatically, but does leave a nice graduated shading in the recesses. Once dry, I followed this with one black magic wash, which is stronger and does shade the surface a bit, but really picks out the recesses well.
T-72 Tankovy Company

On a side note, while assembling the T-72s I decided to move the AA MG mounting on the commander’s cupola to the rear. This was pretty easy, I just sliced it off with a sharp knife and glued it to the new position. Because I was using poly-cement plastic model glue the bond was very strong in the new position. Once the mounting glue had set I glued the machine-gun in place facing the back, the most typical ‘not in use’ position of AA MG.

Wayne's Planned Army Lists

Red Banner Tank Division – 50-point level T-72 Tank Battalion HQ (1 x T-72) 5 points T-72 Tank Company (5 x T-72) 22 points T-72 Tank Company (5 x T-72) 22 points   Total: 49 Points

Additions for 80-point level Motor Rifle Company (full strength) 24 points ZSU-23-4 Shilka AA Platoon (2 x ZSU-23-4 Shilka) 2 points Add 1 x T-72 to one Tank Company 5 points   Total: 80 Points

Additions for 100-point level 2S1 Carnation SP Howitzer Battery (3 x 2S1 Carnation) 5 points Mi-24 Hind Helicopter Company (2 x Mi-24 Hind Helicopters) 5 points BMP-1 OP 1 point BMP-2 Scout Platoon (4 x BMP-2) 6 points SA-13 Gopher SAM Platoon (2 x SA-13 Gophers) 2 points   Total: 99 Points

Though my 100 points force only has twelve T-72s, I have decided I will probably paint some more T-72s, bringing my companies up to 10 tanks each, with the possibility of fielding three smaller companies. Next on my list are my BMP-2 IFVs and finishing the basing of the infantry – more on those next time. Then the Scouts and OP, and last will be the Hinds. ~ Wayne.

Part 1: Armageddon Weekend – 12 December 2015 For Team Yankee I’ve decided to do a T-72 Tank Battalion. I’ve been playing Soviets on and off for Flames Of War for years and I was immediately attracted to the Soviets for Team Yankee. They have a number of interesting and innovative vehicles such as the T-72 and the BMP. Soviet industry has always been good at getting bang for their buck out of their vehicles and the T-72 and BMP are great examples of this. While not always technical the marvels that many of the NATO vehicles are, they are effective, easy to produce, and fielded in superior numbers. The T-72 mounts a powerful 125mm smooth-bore gun that utilises fin stabilised projectiles rather than traditional rifling. In Team Yankee this gives it a powerful Anti-tank 22 rating, more than enough to take our most NATO tanks. It can even knock out a US M1 Abrams (Front Armour 20) with enough shots, which is usually as I’ll usually out number my opponent in tank numbers. So as you can see below my 50 point force consists of just T-72 tanks.

T-72 Tank Battalion HQ 1x T-72 5 points  T-72 Tank Company 5x T-72 22 points T-72 Tank Company 5x T-72 22 points Total 49 points