A war gamming blog on the Cold War in 1/72. Emphasis on plastic figures, and equipment on all sides. Plus a smattering of Pop culture soldiers on both sides of the divide would have enjoyed.
I made a large trade with a new friend and recipient of a Centurion and Chieftain tank. Not to mention the Cold War era infantry that I got for both sides. Fun fun. More to follow
The first set of figures I got are Ceaser US Army which I will paint up as generic US equipped troops for any nation from 1945-80. Many ideas I have are for Asian, African, and South American armies.
Next up are Soviet/Warsaw Pact armed troops. These definitely will find themselves on the battlefields of Asia, Africa, South America and perhaps the Middle East
Communist insurgents, guerrillas, with a T-34/85
Further trades are being made. I've decided to trade my Napoleonic French for some more WW2 and Cold War figures and kits.
In my recent trade I was also able to get a collection of figures which are suitable as modern armed militia types armed with AK-47s gpmg s RPG sevens Uzis as well as an assortment of weapons suitable for the time of 1950 up to 2000.
Once I get some paint on these I'll add these as well.
This was one of the conflicts which raged while I was at university. The other was the former Yugoslavia.
This is another modern style conflict which I can recreate on my table top with the figures i have and the ability to use Soviet kit from WW2 and the Cold War.
The small scale of the actions fits with the kits I have now, which is great as I have put myself on a self imposed moritoruim on buying any new kits. Anything new I get is either in trade or in cash.
This is a war of BTR-70s, BTR-80s, BMP-1 and 2s T-72s and T-80s
The Russian forces I will be using my Cold War Soviets while the Chenyans will be made up of a mix bag of Ak armed types. I have some civilian type vehicles which will be getting some added on weapons,
Some of the new figure sets which I have collected recently include modern Islamic Fighters which are armed with a k s gpmg and RPG weapon systems.
Wargames Illustrated Issue 377 also did an excellent article on the Irish Army's forgotten battle in the Congo in 1961. The article is based of of the Netflix movie which I posted about back in 2016.
Once again, I have the figures to fight the battle if I mix and match up a few different troops from several different eras. I have Late World War 2 Brits which I have painted in NATO green in order to use for early Cold War events.
I have several figures which I have painted up as insurgents and Mercenaries,
Irish Army
Six fire teams: four figures including a bren gunner. Other small arms Lee Enfield or FN
Total 24 figures
2 Vickers MMGs
2 60mm Mortars
1 Carl Gustav
The Irish get 6 bunkers to entrench in.
They also have access to 2 Ford MkVI Armored Cars, but i may have to substitute some British armoured cars in their stead.
Katanga/Mercenary forces
Gendarme Infantry: 12 squads of 6 figures each: 72
Civilain/European: 3 Squads of six figures: 18
Mercs: 3 squads 6 figures each: 18
3 Landrovers armed with HMG, (hello para jeeps with mgs)
2 82mm Mortars
75mm French gun.
Wargames Illustrated Issue 377 for March 2019 had an interesting article on actions in the Dinajpur region
Luckily the amount of figures and kit to use are small, no more than 4 tanks per side, and figure wise, less and 50 per side.
it should make for an interesting looking table as a mix of ww2 and cold war gear.
I recieved through a trade several figure sets which can be fitted out as Pakistani forces and a Centurion which will go to my potential Indian army. The Indians are in WW2 British kit
Additions to my collection have recently included American style uniform troops suitable for the 1950s to 1980s range with weapons from the 1940s through to the 1950s which would suit for the Pakistani army of the 1970s.
7/28/2019 update:
This is one of my actions I am going to try out this week, once I can clear off my last game bits.
I'm going to use the Team Yankee rules for the action. Bolt Action could also be used so I'll try with both on two different actions
Indian infantry taking heavy casualties
Indian Centurion knocked out
Indian 25pdr battery very ineffective
mixed Indian cavalry unit of Comets and T-62s
Pakistan infantry in jeeps aggressively hit the village
despite losses to their m47s they continue to advance
the village falls, East Pakistan is still a part of Pakistan
I picked up two new Ospreys for my library, used but servicablse.
A fellow collector wanted to downsize his collection so I took some books for a good deal.
Picture to follow
At the moment I have one Centurion tank which I have assigned to the Danish force. I plan on repainting it with Chieftains green and highlighting with olive stripes
Once I stop having issues in my house and can pay down my cards, I will see about getting a troop of them in 15mm as they are more cost effective.
The Commando IFV I will also look for to add to my South East Asian forces
This is one of my most favorite movies. It has a very interesting moral theme about how Africa was tearing itself apart, and yet, 41 years later, there are still conflicts on that continent over the same reasons.
My impitius for buying the DVD copy was some postings on facebook which cover the cold war period. As well, I really enjoy Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Roger Moore, Hardy Kruger.
Excellent acting, a good story, and the good guys, well, get even.
Communist insurgents, guerrillas, with a T-34/85
