From GregB: 15mm WWII Soviet Heavy Artillery (56 points)

From Greg:

The WW2 15mm submissions continue as a I purge my "pending pile" for this scale and period.  Of course, the pile just grows again afterward...but whatever.

Earlier I had submitted a pile of Soviet WW2 infantry and included an artillery "staff team" as part of the submission.  Well, here is the gun battery that came with them.  I think the inclusion of heavy artillery pieces right on the table is one of the many, many terrible elements of the "Flames of War" "game".  But this was a Christmas present from my brother, and I always feel like it is good painting karma to finish off figures that non-gamer family members get for you as gifts.  They don't care about my gaming hang ups - and why should they? - they are thrilled they managed to find figures that are roughly in the orbit of my interest, and I am touched when they try :) 

Besides, if anyone is going to use 122mm and 152mm towed guns in a tactical situation, it would be the Soviets.  And there are times in Spearhead games when the heavy divisional guns are represented on the table, so it is not a total wash.

The box set gives you enough trails and guns to make four 122mm or 152mm howitzers.  I think the "Flames of War" intent is that you would do all guns in the same calibre, but I mixed it up - three 122mm howitzers and one 152mm howitzer.   I did one gun with the barrel levelled off, imagining the crew ready to engage over open sights against a German spearhead that has come unexpectedly upon the battery. 

Whatever I think of their rules, I must once again give Battlefront compliments for literally giving you everything you might need - a command team, a staff team, an observer team and four guns with crew.  The staff team has a nice designer resin base, and so do each of the guns, which have all sorts of little extras sculpted on to them - ammo crates, shell casings, bits of scenery - it is a very nice effect. I wish I had done a little better placing the crew figures in their spots on the bases - often the round tabs on the crew do not completely fill the hole, and the seam really stood out once I started painting.  I tried to cover these over with ground work where I could, but the smarter move would have been to cover the seams with liquitex gel before I primed them. Next time. 

My WW2 Soviets now have some pretty serious firepower to stop and/or stomp the German invaders/defenders on the table. 

The pictures include the whole battery as Battlefront imagines it, but only the guns and crews count for this submission - the staff team was submitted earlier, and the command team and observer team were painted prior to the challenge. 

Beautiful work Greg. I completely sympathize with your hang-up of FoW insisting on having heavy artillery on the table - it just looks and plays so wrong. Nonetheless, these are marvellous models and you've done them great credit with your painting.

This fine collection of Soviet guns will give Greg 56 points.