INCOMING....... Wartime Miniatures 20mm Modern Russians

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I ordered a platoon worth of Wartime Miniatures' new 20mm ultra-modern Russians this morning. I was going for two platoons but thought, no, still three weeks of the month to go.

Wartime Miniatures: MR04

20mm Russian Suppoort Weapons pack

I like the natural 'in the combat zone' poses, the mix of headdress, such as 'Ranger' caps and bandanas, which were very evident in Russian/CIS forces during recent conflicts. It also makes some of the figures suitable to be mixed in with post apocalypse survivors or financial meltdown American Militias to break up the hackneyed 'not another M16' look.

These particular miniatures also appealed to me because they had a passing resemblence to the mercenary illustration in the classic Traveller Book 4: Mercenary. So may well end up proxying for 20mm Mid-Tech mercenaries as well. 

Cheers

Mark

Update: Consequently, I've been making some suitable buildings today based on those appearing in  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. I'm using textured building material sheets from Wills Kits. The textured dressed stone is very good but I feel my old technique for using thin cardboard to create wood planking is superior as there's more definition, even if a bit rougher in appearance than the moulded plastic .
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Sci Fi Rambles in Uruzgan

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I downloaded Operation: Uruzgan, the first 'Ops' (scenario) book for use with Ambush Alley's Force on Force last week.

Operation: Uruzgan takes a detailed look at Australian operations in the Uruzgan Province of Afghanistan and contains:

• 9 Historically Accurate Scenarios
• A Historical Overview of Operations in the Region Since Anaconda
• Special Rules to Represent the Unique Flavor of Taliban Operations in Uruzgan
• Special Rules to Represent the ADF’s Operations in Uruzgan, Including ROEs and COIN based tactics
• 5 New Vehicle Write-Ups, including the Bushmaster IMV
• Uruzgan Specific Fog of War Cards
• Uruzgan Specific Asset Cards
• Guidelines for Using Scenarios with Other Coalition Forces

First off, the production quality is superb - this is nothing less than a professional product. Well done guys!

I haven't had a chance to do more than scan the scenarios and various chapters, due to still being less than par but I have to say that this is pure classic Traveller Book 4: Mercenary territory. You can lift these scenarios and drop them into any platoon level Sci Fi system. Rebel Minis Earth Force Marines conducting COIN on Mars against the Sahadeen - not a problem!

My own classic Traveller Book 4: Mercenary 'tickets' were always less than glamorous. Laserburn Mercs or Asgard Imperial Marines fought lonely and desperate 'police actions' in Peruvian style hills - think Proof of Life (2000, Russell Crowe). I guess because of the visualisation I had of South American guerrilla and COIN warfare imprinted on me at an impressionable age through reading War of the Flea (Robert Taber).

Operation: Uruzgan takes me back to those games and gives me an opportunity to replay these types of missions again - this time with Ambush Alleys' draft Tommorrows War - and also possibly FAD4 using the Traveller supplement, which reminds me - I still have Tom War BatReps to post, though the photos are still stuck on the faulty camera. Stuff it, I'll take some 'supplementary' photos of my figures in 'Mog City' at the weekend to illustrate the BatReps and post them up individually next week.

Cheers
Mark
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