Baber on wargames

 Modeling Madness

Every now and again, my nature to justify everything I do hobbywise just slips and the crazy escapes.

Years back Richard Crawley ran a participation game under the SOTCW banner at the Gauntlet show in Broughton, North Wales. The game was set in a fictional eastern European country which had  fallen in chaos following the break-up of the Soviet Union called Andrevia (similar to one of the Balkan states). Now I didn`t own any Cold War era kit, but wanting to support the society I decided to build a NATO peace keeping contingent. 

Because of my usual anarchistic need to "not walking the path well travelled" in our hobby, I decided on a Spanish force. 

They had M60A3 tanks and M113 carriers, this is the one and only time they ever saw a tabletop.

Ever since, every now and again I find a model which would fit into my orgnisation - an M113 mortar carrier, an M113 with Milan, a recce unit with AML60s and VAMTAC (Spanish Hummer copies) and so the force grows a little bigger. After our visit to Museo de Militar Cartagena back in May the seed of a vague idea has been growing to build and add an M113 with Roland-2 surface-to-air missile system.

My somewhat blurry photos from Cartagena

Spanish vehicles during the National Day parade 

These photos are of Roland-2s on AMX30s in French service

All-weather self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system Roland-2 with a radar tracking system for target and missile tracking was developed by the company "Messerchmitt-Bolkow-Blohm" (Germany) together with "Aerospatiale-Matra" (France) and is capable of destroying targets flying at speeds up to Mac 1.2 at altitudes from 15m to 5.5 km and ranges from 500m to 6.3 km.

The layout of the Roland-2 SAM system is a rotating tower onto which are mounted: two beams to accommodate missiles, radar antenna detection, radar antenna to escort the target and missiles, optical and infrared tracking systems and antenna command transmitter. Inside the casing of the launcher mounted transmitters and receivers of the target detection radar and target and missile tracking radar, counting and resolution device, remote control, two revolver magazines with eight missiles in transport and launch containers, a radio station, instrumentation and power supply. Beam holders with containers in the angular plane are automatically guided through the target tracking line, in the azimuth plane - by turning the tower. The unit can be fitted to any suitable vehicle chassis – Marder (Germany), AMX 30 (France), M109 (USA) plus several truck mounted variants.   

Roland-2 SAM system fires the same missiles as Roland-1 which it was designed to replace. The solid-propellant missile has an empty weight of 62.5 kg and weighs 6.5 kg, including 3.3 kg of explosives. In addition to the contact fuse, the BC also has a radio detonator, which provides firing at a distance of up to 4 m from the target. The radius of flight of 65 fragments is about 6m.

Combat history

Roland-2 was used by Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, in 1982 Iraq claimed a F-4E Phantom and a F-5E Tiger

During the Falklands War on June 1st 1982 an Argentine Roland operated by 601st AA Artillery group destroyed Sea Harrier XZ456

During Desert Storm in 1991, Iraqi Rolands claimed an A-6E TRAM Intruder,  a RAF Tornado GR-1 and an A-10 Thunderbolt

 Full disclosure  

I errored the Spanish bought Roland-2 mounted on AMX30 NOT M113s D`oh! I totally miss-identified the vehicle in Cartagena. But I`ve decided I`m just going to fudge it as this is just a fun project and live with it.  

 Mule Packed 75mm pack Howitzer

Due to work commitments back in Wales, this is my first painting and modeling since June.

So I decided to create a gun section.

I started by looking at 75s and decided the easiest starting point was the plastic set by Waterloo 1815 (set APO38), which gives you 4 nice hard plastic gun kits, perfect if you only need parts 😀  

Next I needed mules, Ian @ Shellhole Scenics does some excellent supply mules with his range of Goumier, he was nice enough to supply me with a couple of unloaded animals for this project. 

Now a brief bit of internet research showed that in reality you needed seven (7) mules to carry a 75mm, but now frankly this isn`t practical in wargames terms so I decided to go with four mules for my gun section.

A better photo of the handlers in djellaba

Guardia Civil Espanola

This year marks the 180th anniversary of the founding of the Guardia during the reign of Queen Isabel II. At the start of the civil war the Guardia Civil split virtually evenly between those who remained loyal to the Republic (about 53%) who changed their name to Guardia Nacional Republicana and those that joined the Rebels. The highest ranking officer Inspector General Sebastián Pozas remained loyal to the Republic. 

I needed some Guardia Civil for my SCW set-up so I ordered 24 figure unit pack Irregular Miniatures (at £13.20 plus postage I think this is great value). 

Now Irregular are an old school company and the figures may not be as super detailed as some, but I quite like them and the service is always top class. For me the only downside is the limited number of poses, but Irregular have found a way to add variation even in the same basic sculpt.

First thing of course was to dig out my notes and find a decent painting guide.

 I`ve tried something new with these - a clear varnish spray top coat

L-R - trousers, leather gaiters, puttees & puttees (note this guy had a fine mustasch too), figure with puttees plus rolled blanket

L-R - left hand on hip, left hand free, added rolled blanket

Officer figure - wearing cloak (with mustasch), without cloak (no tasch)

Two complete 12-man platoons

10 rifle/carbine armed, a NCO with SMG and an officer

Lone Regulares NCO with SMG 

 Mahou Beer Lorry

During the fighting for the Montaña Barracks in Madrid at the start of the Civil War a 155mm artillery piece was bought up by the Republican loyalists towed by a lorry from the Mahou Brewery. So as a bit of fun I repainted this Lledo dicast and printed and added some decals. 

 

Militia Armoured Truck No3

This one represents a more technical vehicle built on a more professional level, a true Tiznao!

Started out as another Oxford Diecast truck bought at a flea market for a couple of Euro

You will note the frontal armour is fabricated from a single piece of steel, to support the weight they have welded support poles to the steel armour on the cab roof; this piece has also been folded down to protect the windscreen. The rear tire armour is also constructed from single pieces of steel. This my attempt show a better and more advanced/thoughtout construction technique by the militiamen.

They have build an armoured "cabin" on the truck bed using boiler plate, roofed with part of old oil tank, As well as cutting firing apertures into the cabin sides they have also mounted a Maxim behind the cab - though this has limited traverse only covering 15 degrees either side of the cab front!  

WIP

Armour made from beer can metal, the cabin built from plasticard, blisterpack plastic and bits of an Airfix fuel tanker.u