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I lost my omphf on 40K, BB and Necro right before this summer, a lot of that had to do with the birth of my youngest son, moving house and just enjoying RL in general.

I started getting the urge to do something hobby-wise a few weeks ago but just couldn`t figure out what until me and a mate started talking about historical gaming. That sparked it for me, and one evening later with a lot of browsing I ended up on FoW. Large range, great player feedback and a great appeal for anyone with a hint of history fascination.

Now my entire gaming group is more or less recruited into the game, but also a couple of new guys as well. In new I mean totally new to miniature wargaming!

In short I`ll be starting a late war (1944-45) mechanised infantry (motostrelkovy batalon) soviet army. I`ve already got two companies of tanks, 1 platoon of infantry, all the books I need and more infantry and infantry support in the mail.

Here`s a pic of the minis I`ve got and the PiP on the tester tank:


Still need to sort out the infantry stands a bit more, but it`s a challenge as these guys are tiny!

talast,
Red

Looking forward to seeing more of these, I'm not familiar with the painting schemes for the Soviets but keen to find out since being a filthy bloodaxe ork, if I like it I might steal it...

Cheers!

Basically graveyard earth coloured uniforms with catachan green coloured helmets. Officers have blue trousers and cap. Vehicles are catachan green but can get a camo pattern with some beastial brown.
All in all a simple scheme, but looks rather nice

R


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With the Open Fire starter set you get 2 german stugs and 3 shermans, I traded away my 2 stugs for another 3 shermans as the soviets can field M4s giving me a total of 6 M4s. I also have 5 T-34s, I like me tanks

Here`s the test piece for colour scheme:


Horrendous pic but I`m happy with the overall look of it. I won`t use any transfers, I`ll freehand the markings. I`ll set up a light box to get a bit better pics but still, C&C please

R


EDIT:
Forgot to say that it lacks a wash!

Never been much into FoW but the tank is coming out nicely. I agree with the decals part except my reasoning is because I have no idea how they work. Post more tanks!

Cheers mate

More coming up!

R


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Finished another M4 so two down, four to go


For some reason the first tank, no 2411 is a bit more dark green than the other...but it doesn`t really matter as it`s only a minor shade difference (but it still annoys me though).

I`m also working on the test base for my first motor rifle company, but since I still need to work on the light setting for my pics I`ll let ya`ll wait.

R

Arrait, first pic of a FoW fig I`ve taken that I`m happy with:



It`s the command tank for the M4A2 Tankovy Company and the Komissar Team for Motor Rifle Company #1.

Got the last three shermans on the go, shouldn`t take to long, then it`s completing Motor Rifle Company #1. Got to change it up a bit so I don`t get bored with painting infantry.

R

Great to see the emchas! The komissar team looks great too so thanks for sharing. You are a braver man than I to take on the fearsome numbers of infantry that a motostrelkovy battalon requires

Cheers mate Don`t know if I`m that brave, I`m a horde player in all systems I play so it just comes naturally for me.

I will field two Motor Rifle companies with a total of three platoons, but I`ll also field an Anti-tank Rifle and Machine-gun company as support. That`ll be quite a lot of infantry for starters at least. I need to game more before I buy more I think

R


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Here`s the M4A2 Sherman Tankovy Company all finished (more or less, some details here and there):


The freehand writing on the side is meant to look a bit rough as I imagine they painted it freehand themselves. At least that`s what all of the pics I`ve seen of soviet tank markings look like.


Other than that I`ve got more infantry on the go, stay tuned!

R

Looking good. I really like seeing FoW stuff, even though I've never jumped in myself.

Are you using a gloss or satin varnish? All the models have a lot of shine to them. Something you might think to kill off with a more matt spray varnish. Gloss or sheen at this scale just doesn't seem to 'fit'.

Cheers! You should, very cool game, great sculpts, large range

None of that, it`s camera reflections, I`ll be matt varnishing though.

R

grey_death wrote:Looking good. I really like seeing FoW stuff, even though I've never jumped in myself.

Are you using a gloss or satin varnish? All the models have a lot of shine to them. Something you might think to kill off with a more matt spray varnish. Gloss or sheen at this scale just doesn't seem to 'fit'.

The resin in FoW models is a real pain to photograph, especially using a camera flash and in direct light it often gets a shiny appearance without additional varnish. The open fire models are mostly resin so are especially prone to this photography effect.

Nice. Nice to see some FOW stuff.

I've always wanted to do Fow, but the cost is a bit daunting off all those rulebooks.

Thanks mate

It`s not that bad really, I bought Open Fire the starter set which gave me 2*stugs, 3*shermans, pocket sized rulebook and dice, then I bought Fortress Europe which is the main army list book for LW. From there I`ve bought platoon boxes mostly as they come with a lot of goodies.

If you really want to keep cost down, go for german tank company.

R


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Here`s a midway update on my first Motor Rifle Platoon:

It`s really dark here in the north now so I had to adjust the light setting a lot to get it looking ok, meaning some things like the facial features look bland.

I took a pic of my workstation as well just to show how I paint these guys:

As you can see I paint them before I glue them to the base. A lot easier getting access to the mini as they are quite packed with detail. When they`re done I glue them on the base, gravel it, then wash and finally flock and clump foliage.

Oh, almost forgot to mention that the base ring isn`t painted yet, will be either black or dark brown.

R

Cheers

I Might give it a go, I would have done a German army anyway. Nice looking infantry!

Finished the first Motor Rifle platoon as well as the Command Rifle team and Komissar team:


These only need a matt varnish but firstly a basering colour.

I also managed to paint A-platoon from my T-34/76 Tankovy Company:

I wanted the T-34s and M4A2s to look different so I went for a camo pattern on the T-34s. different markings and a more dirty look. Really happy with the result, not the pic!

@Arran235:
You should mate! Thanks

R

Looking good, though the photo quality does make it hard to see the quality of the infantry compared to your earlier infantry shot. When you photograph them are you using Macro mode with at least 30cm distance between the camera and models, no zoom on the camera (crop in software instead), lots of light (no flash) and a tripod or stabiliser as well? If you can manage to do that (if you are not already) then the infantry photos should be a lot clearer hopefully.

Also, you should upload these to the dakka gallery instead of/as well as photobucket as I am always trying to get more FoW images in there to build interest and get more people started with FoW

Ah...I zoomed in that`s why. Cheers for clearing that up

I can do that when I get some proper pics going

R


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Here`s some better pics (I think, getting late..):




R

Great work with the Russians! I'm just starting FoW myself. Could we get an army list if you are collecting to anything specific?

Thanks! That`s cool, FoW is a great game

For starters I`m aiming at 1750 pts with the following:
- HQ
- Motor Rifle Coy #1
- Motor Rifle Coy #2
- Anti-tank Rifle Coy
- Machine-gun Coy
- Tankovy Coy
- Tankovy Coy
- Artillery Battalion
- Light Armoured Car Platoon
- II-2 Shturmovik

Obviously all units won`t be at full strength but I want a good variety since I can. Main reason for going mec.inf.

R

Started on some terrain. Mainly I will use the standard mat from GW:

I don`t have the space for anything more fancy but it does it`s job and I`m happy with it.

Other than that I`ve got the following on the go:

Some plain hedges, crop fields (the sanded ones) and forests (with the upside down bases).

Nothing fancy but it will a look great on the field when painted.

R

Thought I`d show how I`m doing the forests:


0,75mm plasticard base with upturned 25mm round bases as sockets for the trees. I made the downslope on the bases by using PVA glue around it then sanded it. I want to use as little filler as possible as it can warp the base.

1. I didn`t have a lot of wire so I used various sizes of plasticard tubing, gluing them onto a norwegian 1 kroner coin as it fits like a glove in the 25mm upturned round bases.

2. Next I drilled some holes in the tube and glued bended guitar wire for branches in the holes.

3. Using putty I made the bark on the trees and branches as well as roots on the base.

4. Then I based with my standard mix of sand and gravel.

5. Last step before basecoating I glued steelwool for the leaves. Now I plan on flocking the wool with some spices I found in the kitchen but the wool will be painted in a dark green.

R

Looking good there Red Skullz. I really like the way you've weathered and camouflaged your T-34s and to echo Legoburner, it's impressive that you're willing to paint that many infantry stands.

Thanks mate Yeah the T-34s are my personal favs as well, fantastic models in the first place! Well you know, once you`ve gone horde you just can`t go back, it hurts, but in a good way

On a text based update. Basecoated the hedges, fields and forest bases. Won`t be a lot of fancy stuff with this but I`m aiming for solid table-top quality. Also found some cool reference on how I could flock the fields so I`m gonna try it out.

R

Had a proper game today against my mate Azmo`s US Para. We played approx 650 pts per side as that was all I had available, not valid lists.

Here`s my shambly ensemble:


The shiny Paras:


He got to move first and double moved his infantry platoon and moved the shermans normally. No shots from him inflicted any damage.
I started a flanking move with my shermans and advanced my motor rifle platoon. I opened up with all I had against his infantry platoon and shot up half of it pinning him in the process. He didn`t run though.


Next turn he inflicted some minor damage on my infantry platoon and bailed out one of my T-34s. I on the other hand swept the remaining infantry away! Or not entirely as he failed his platoon test and ran


So it was only mopping up to do and even if he took out a T-34 I hammered him into tinsy-bitsy pieces and won the day for the Motherland
(huh, same side you said???)



So just a small report on our first proper game, not the best report but a great game

R

Nicely done, your army's looking good. And that'll teach those capitalist pigs to mess with the Motherland, eh comrade?

Thanks This game was really uplifting for me, after being hammered by german tanks when we played through OF it was nice to see that on equal footing (same point value per side) with terrain I could use my numerical advantage and outflank and outmaneuvre him. Now we`re both conscript level players in FoW but still.

Agreed, do not stand in the way of the Juggernaut that is the Red Army!

R

It snows here...a lot! Just take a look at this pic taken 10 minutes ago!!

(as a sidenote, yesterday morning we didn`t have any snow here besides on the mountains)

Now, over to the best smelling terrain I`ve ever had!
To keep everything nice and cheap I used spices (that we don`t use often) to flock the fields and trees. I think the end result is nice and when I varnish it you won`t get hungry when playing with the terrain

Here`s the crop field:

Quick recap of parts used;
- 0,75mm plasticard base
- cut and trimmed sprues to build up the field
- sand and gravel
- herbal spice mix and PVA for the greens
- some standard flock around the edges for a better transition to the gaming mat.

The sand/gravel was basecoated black then I drybrushed it with dark flesh and vermin brown to get a nice moist soil like look. It will count as difficult terrain, since it`s so moist you will potentially dig down and get stuck on the belly of the tank.


Then it`s the forest:

Quick recap of parts here as well:
- 0,75mm plasticard base
- 25mm round bases for mounts to the trees
- sand/gravel around the round bases
- pine trees I got from a friend, only had to glue them to a norwegian 1 kroner coin and base them.
- other trees where; plasticard tubing, guitar wire, putty and steel wool. Steel wool flocked with spices to create leaves.

Everything (besides pinetrees) basecoated black. Drybrushed the sand/gravel with dark flesh/vermin brown, painted the trees snakebite leather and washed them with a reddish brown, then I flocked the steel wool. The base was flocked several times to get a more ragged/wild look while still being usable. Didn`t want the clump foliage and flock making movement and placement in the forest overly difficult. I also used some lighter flock on the edges to get a better transition to the mat.


Coming up next is crop field #2, forest #2 and hopefully a finished T-34 company.

R

Been busy with stuff but in the process I forgot to update!

Here`s some new terrain:

The hedges turned out really nice. The overgrown field I feel is ok, no more no less. The two ruins turned out pretty ok, not the best I`ve ever done but with the other terrain on the mat it all looked pretty nice. Also some WiP buildings, the only one I don`t have a pic of is the church I`m building.

Then it`s the T-34/76 Tankovy Company:

Really happy with these, so I will definitely get more tanks

R

Incoming!

Got my new stuff on friday so went straight to work on the artillery as I want to try it out in my list.

Kept all in the same style as my infantry, even weathered the guns as it seemed appropiate. I made more officers here, both for the observers, staff and on each gun. Back in the day (don`t know if this goes for USSR) the amount of officers and quality of them was a lot higher in artillery units since they had to be able to read and write. You know, doing the math behind the ballistics, not an easy task!
All in all very happy with the look of it, hopefully it will work well in game as well

And just to show you my force as it stands per now:

From left to right:
- M4A2 Tankovy Company
- Motostrelkovy Company #1
incl 1 platoon of rifle/MG, one platoon of SMGs, Komissar team and Command Rifle team
- Anti-tank Rifle Company,
incl one AT-rifle platoon and Command Rifle team
- Motostrelkovy Company #2
incl two rifle/MG platoons and Command Rifle team.
- T-34/76 Tankovy Company
Behind the assembled force you see my Artillery Batalion consisting of four 76mm ZiS-3 guns, Observer Rifle team, Staff team and Command Rifle team.
In front of the force you see from left to right the 2iC Rifle team, Command Rifle team and Batalion Komissar team.

Only thing I need to buy now to complete my 1750 pts list is a Light Armoured Car platoon of BA-64s, Transporter platoon and a ISU-122 Company. I have some points left over from my list since there wasn`t any HMGs in the Strelkovy box I bought. So half of the points left will be used on the AT-rifles which will come in handy in an assault, the other half will go into a transport platoon so I can lift the "Hammer" part of my force.

Next up will be the SMG platoon from Motostrelkovy Company #1.

talast,
Red

Looking really good. Seems like a nice, balanced army now. The only thing I would have not been able to resist would be a squadron of Sturmoviks

A lot of infantry waiting to be painted there... how long does it take you to paint a single base of 4-5 models? Takes me about 1-2 hours per base.