From GregB: 15mm Arab-Israeli War Infantry & Armour (68 points)

Greg rocks on with more figures and vehicles for his Arab-Israeli War collection.

From Greg:

More Arab-Israeli war stuff for this submission. I finished off nearly all of my Khurasan IDF infantry, based individually for games like "Chain of Command". There is another FN-MAG LMG (with a prone gunner - I hate prone figures), five troops with Uzi SMGs (two of them on square bases to represent NCOs), and the balance with FN-FAL rifles. 

There are two jeeps mounting heavy recoilless rifles. These potent AT weapons were key tools for IDF troops mounting improvised defences against surprise Syrian columns on the Golan Heights. They also provide a healthy AT punch to recon troops. 

There are some pieces of Arab armour - two Syrian SU-100 tank destroyers. I experimented with a slightly new Syrian camo scheme, including some grey to go with the green and yellow. SU-100s equipped the organic AT units of Arab mechanized divisions and infantry divisions. These would have played a role trying to hold back the IDF counter-invasion into Syria after the IDF (barely) stopped the initial Syrian assault on to the Golan Heights. These Battlefront castings were real beauties, a dream to work with.

The T-55 is a Khurasan casting. I purchased a pack of these when they were first released. Over all, I give it high marks. It assembles relatively easy, and the accessories (cupola hatches, cupola MG) are very clean castings. The MG is particularly solid, and this is welcome, compared my experience with QRF cupola MGs (the QRF ones are thin crap). You have the option of building it as a T-54 or T-55, and portraying the tank without the extra fuel drums on the rear, but still with empty mounting brackets - an interesting detail. The only small criticism I would make is that some of the hull detail is inconsistent - most of the lines are clean, but the indents on the fuel tanks are very soft and disappear with a coat of paint, meaning you need to paint them back on. The other issue with this tank is the size of the model - it is a lot smaller than the Peter Pig's T-55 - I don't think they would mix well. I have yet to compare it to Battlefront's T-55. 

This is painted in Egyptian colours, a test model, for use in gaming both 1967 and 1973. There are another 10 to follow, and I'll need even more after that...


Awesome stuff Greg. I quite like the new camo scheme with the grey mixed in - very cool - and those jeeps are very cute (bad term I know). 

This fine collection of infantry and armour will give Greg 68 points. Great job mon ami!

From GregB: 15mm Yom Kippur Israeli M51s & Tiran-5 (26 points)

Greg cracks off another fine entry with this great foursome of Israeli armour from the Yom Kippur War.

From Greg:

This submission includes four 15mm Israeli Defence Force tanks - three M51 Shermans and one Tiran-5. The models are all from Old Glory, with a few additional bits (the crew, the .30cal MGs) from Peter Pig.

The M51 Sherman - "ISherman" - is one of my favourite tanks.  I like up-gunned and up-armoured vehicles - everything from late model Panzer IIIs and IVs to things like the current Russian T-90.  The M51 fits this bill, taking a tank designed for WW2 and somehow stuffing a high-velocity 105mm gun into the turret.  The gun looks so large you would think some "horizontally sensitive" Space Marine came up with it.  The end-of-days-size muzzle brake really caps off the look, making giving a menacing air and cool silhouette to a tank that otherwise had a target-practice vibe to it.

These vehicles served in the 1967 Six-Days War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  The Centurion rightfully gets most of the glory when it comes to IDF tanks from those periods, but the role of the M51 cannot be overlooked. On the Golan Heights in 1973 it was IDF reservists in M51s that kicked off the critical Isreali counterattack against the Syrian penetrations across the 'Purple Line'.  They were part of the counter-invasion into Syrian, and played major roles in actions such as the ambush of the Iraqi armoured division which had been sent against the Israeli salient on the road to Damascus.

I have more M51s coming - this time from Battlefront.  I was very, very excited to see Battlefront release a line of Arab-Israeli war figures and models, but one thing I find so damn frustrating with Battlefront is how their concept of the word "released" does not seem to involve the notion of "physically available in stores for purchase" without a one or two month (or more) delay. Stay tuned! 

The Tiran-5 is a captured T-55 put into IDF service.  The IDF came into a large stock of captured Arab gear after their decisive win in 1967, including many T-55 tanks.  The IDF gave them a new gun, and maybe a new engine (although I'm not totally sure about that).  They equipped some reserve armoured formations in the IDF. I haven't come across a lot of information about where/when they served, but I believe they saw action in the Sinai in 1973, and equipped some "allied" formations and militias during Israel's incursion into Lebanon.  This particular Tiran figure was a test model, so it's a little lonely - I will need to add a few more to equip a couple of platoons for some T-55 vs. T-55 games in the Sinai!

Wonderful work Greg! I'm looking forward to seeing these during one of our on-the-road gaming weekends soon. (Something with a hot desert theme might be the perfect antidote for us right now.)

These four tanks will give Greg 26 points including the commanders and nice basework.

From GregB: 15mm Israeli Centurion Sho't Tanks (15 points)

Greg adds some more models to his Golan Heights collection with these two Israeli Centurions.

From Greg:

My next submission - two 15mm scale MBTs, IDF Centurion Sho'ts.  The models are Centurion tanks from Peter Pig's 15mm modern range.  These are the "generic" Centurions, not the Sho'ts from Peter Pig's Lebanon range (those models have ERA and other enhancements that were not present in 1973).  These models are not exact matches for the Sho'ts used in 1973, but they are close enough after you remove the smoke launchers from the turret, add some stowage and some .30 cal MGs for the commander's cupola.  The tank commander is also from Peter Pig's IDF range. 

To add a bit of finish I cut out a bit of card and painted (or more accurately, try to paint) the hebrew symbols that served as the Israeli tactical numbering system on their MBTs.  The IDF tankers would throw cards or cloth sections marked with the relevant tactical numbers as they pulled the tanks from the reserve depots - and would even switch them from tank to tank during battle if the situation called for it (if, for example, a more senior commander left a damaged tank to take over another one that was still active).  

These are tanks "Alef 1" and "Alef 2", which I think translates to "Alpha 1" and "Alpha 2".  The chevrons on the skirts represent the Company (second, in this case) and the rings on the barrel are for the battalion number (again, the second battalion).  The Israeli MBTs also had symbols for their units often painted on the rear of the tank near the exhaust.  I painted a squiggle intended to approximate the "Barak Brigade" which fought with incredible bravery on the Golan Heights. 

You did a beautiful job on these, Greg. I really like the weathering you've achieved on their hulls and the commander perched in his cupola looks great.

These will add a base of 12 points but I'm going to bring it up to 15 for the extra work on the markings, aerials, 30cals, etc. 

From GregB: 15mm Syrian Anti-Tank & Support Weapons, T-62 Tanks & Israeli Infantry, Support Weapons & Journalists (80 points)

Greg sends us a bewildering selection of 15mm models which will bolster his '73 Golan Heights project.

From Greg:

This is a selection of 15mm infantry support weapons for the IDF and Syrian Army for my 1973 Golan Heights project. The figures are all from Peter Pig's modern range, with the exception of the Sagger missiles themselves - they are Command Decision castings.  The quality of the Command Decision Sagger crews was so low (basically cast rabbit turd plops that make QRF look like the Perry bothers in comparison) so I just used the missiles themselves, and used spare crew guys from Peter Pig as a bodge. 

For the IDF I have two .50 cal MG teams and one 81mm mortar team. These are likely to see action in the table for scenarios where the IDF infantry were defending their isolated bunkers along the Purple Line, or the desperate defense of the HQ at Naffekh.  For the IDF figures I swapped the heads, using the "professionals" from Peter Pig's modern line, but replacing the heads with WW2 US infantry heads.  Peter Pig's head swap system is quick and relatively easy to do.

 

For the Syrians I have two Sagger ATGM teams, two heavy (105 or 108mm) recoilless rifle teams and an 81mm mortar team. These would see action in scenarios involving the IDF counterattack into Syria - but the Saggers would see action in the initial Syrian assault as well.  The Sagger - a wire-guided ATGM weapon which the operators had to try and steer on to the target - was quite a surprise to the IDF tankers, but was very difficult for the Syrians to use in actual combat conditions.  Imagine trying to steer a missile toward a target while shells and bullets are falling and flying around you, over broken and challenging terrain.  Very tricky.  But the Syrians definitely gave it a go - I remember one anecdote from an IDF Centurion commander marvelling at the number of "strings" lying across his turret when he popped the cupola hatch open.  Then he realized the "strings" were guide wires from the Syrian Saggers, and realized how many close calls there had been...the Saggers to me really help "set" the period. 

The journalists are just done up for a lark - I like to have TV crews or journalists as objectives, to represent modifiers on the table, or just for pure fluff (propaganda crew or some other sort of battlefield ephemera).  These journalists represent a 70's era TV camera team. 

Peter Pig makes wonderful figures - I recommend them highly.  I do wish they would flush out their modern range more - particularly with a non WW2 soviet HMG team. Here's hoping! 

Finally, a platoon of three Syrian T-62s, 15mm scale.  These models will see action in the Golan Heights games on our table. 

These models are QRF - very poor quality castings. Lots of mould lines, tons of flash and tons of tags. Assembly was very hard, as the fit is very rough for the components. The cupola MGs are very thin, and I am concerned they will not last long. 

For all that, they are still much nicer than the models from Command Decision. At the end of the day there is not much to choose from when it comes to modern 15mm stuff. You hope Peter Pig has it, and if they don't, you make do with what is available.

Beautiful work Greg. You certainly made a silk purse out of a sows ear with those QRF models and at a blistering pace no less!

This collection of miniatures will give Greg a tidy 80 points. Well done my friend!

From FranL: 15mm Civilians, Modern Vehicles (234 points)

Fran is building on his contemporary theme and sends in this very varied batch of miniatures. I'll let him explain each part in turn. On to you, Fran:

Twenty-one Rebel Minis 15mm citizens and civilians....

Three IDF 15mm SHOT Centurions still in use today in certain parts of the world, one commander and aerial added....

Six 15mm M113 IDF Zelda variants, the first 4 are Zelda variants with a command one one first with the flag, followed by a M163 Vulcan and a M577 command vehicle, plenty of stowage, an aerial added to denote command and the odd crewman head figure added....

15mm URAL 4.5 ton truck for supplies and stuff.....

Five 15mm US Marine Humvees, two with .50 cal heavy machine guns, two with Mark 19 grenade launchers and one with a TOW, the five crewmen were integral......all the vehicles so far are Peter Pig.

Two 15mm US Marine AAV-7A1, amphibious assault vehicles used by the US marines and can carry 25 marines and 3 crew, these come from Irish Serb miniatures.........

Three 15mm wrecks from Timecast, they came with a garage building but I got two of one because they hadn't got a tyre pile?........

This is a 15mm potential Ray figure (before and after) if he keeps crossing the border and both from Peter Pig.....

This is my inclusion to the Sarah 'femme fatale' figure portion of the competition, the figure is a 28mm RAFM figure with a metal asp (baton) in one hand and a silenced 9mm behind her back! I was contacted by another blogger, Anne O'Leary, who Ray did flags for, and she asked me if I could paint both her, along with another female blogger (The Happy Whisk), who I introduced to her, figures to represent them both. I had this unpainted already as it's a quirky figure (and the other figure was a repaint from before and not eligible for the competition), so I present Anne O'Leary.........

Wow, that is a whack of figures. This will give give Fran 234 points to add to his total. Great stuff, Fran!