Micro Modern British Battlegroup Complete

Wow... these were quick to paint!

I finished up the the last elements of my Modern British Combat Command box from GHQ models - the Warrior IFVs and AS-90 self-propelled artillery.



The latest: AS-90s and Warrior IFVs.



A battery of AS-90 155mm self-propelled guns.



Two reinforced companies of Warrior IFVs



This is the complete battlegroup (so far...). My plan it to use these with Cold War Commander. The battlegroup includes an armoured squadron of Challenger 2 tanks, two reinforced companies of mechanized infantry mounted in Warrior IFVs, and a battery of self-propelled artillery (each element represents roughly a platoon/troop-sized unit).

Currently I am thinking this will be organized as follows:

1x CO (the FV439 signals vehicle - Command Value 10) - 120 points
3x HQ (Two small foot elements and the FV436 with a Cymbeline mortar locating radar - Command Value 9) - @60 = 180 points
4x Tank Units (Challenger 2) @235 = 940
8x IFV Units (Warrior) @75 = 600
8x Infantry Unit (Regulars) @30 = 240
8x Infantry Upgrade (LAW-80) @ 50 = 400
3x Artillery Unit (155mm AS-90) @80 = 240

This comes in at 2720 points.

I might need to change a few things around when I re-read the rules - not totally sure if the FV436 with a Cymbeline mortar locating radar should be an HQ for the Artillery or an FAO...? Do I need both? At some point I'd like to add a few other elements - some FAOs and FACs (not sure if those should be in Land Rovers or Sultan CVR(T)s?) and some sort of recce elements (Scimitars?) and maybe some sort of air support for those FACs to call in (Harrier?).

Suggestions?

What else does this force need?

I picked up two potential opposing forces - a Soviet battlegroup armed with T-80s and BMP-2s and a Chinese PLA battle group armed with T-98 MBTs and Type 89 IFVs. I imagine using it against the former in a later Cold-War-Turns-Hot scenarios in Europe. Later because the Challenger didn't com into service until the later 90s. I guess we could assume the Soviet army cracked down a little harder in 89 and prevented German reunification and/or the 91 soup d'etat by soviet hardliners was more successful - which precipitated a further decline in east-west relations. Or maybe something along the line of what went down in the original Twilight: 2000 (although we'd have to assume that the Challenger 2s were rushed into production a little earlier to be online before the limited nuclear exchange that effectively ended civilization in that game).

Against the Chinese...? Well the T-98 wasn't ready until 1999 and never actually entered service with the Chinese PLA!? (Seems an odd choice to include in a Chinese PLA Combat Team box...?) A small number were made ready for trials in 96, so maybe we could say they were rushed into production a little early to forcibly take back Hong Kong when handover negotiations broke down and the British decided they were unwilling to give up their investment in the colony...? Or perhaps coming to the aid of another former colony/Commonwealth partner when the Chinese decided to invade...? I'm not sure who...? India...? Myanmar..? I don't know... it all seems like a bit of a stretch.

I also have a USMC task force I'm working on... could they be a potential opponent. Maybe the the British decide to Make America Great (Britain) Again...?! Or perhaps the US invades the island to stop them from taking all their jobs...? Maybe I'm getting a bit silly... but then, in today's political climate, nothing really seems THAT farfetched anymore!

If I were to do another British force I'd probably like to do a force for the early 80s with Chieftains and FV-432s and such - or perhaps an airmobile force (helicopters, lots of infantry). Or just a load of infantry with SLRs and stuff that could be used for the Falklands. This is what I probably would have preferred... but they didn't have these when I was at the Sentry Box a couple weeks ago... But now that I HAVE some micro armour, I might get inspired to expand possibilities...


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

I have both the USMC and Soviet battlegroups on the workbench and and tempted to hammer those out quickly - so I can get playing CWC again... but I'm also feeling like I should get back to other projects that have fallen by the wayside - the Terminators for Space Hulk, John's Orcs for Shadespire,   the Knight(s), the Tallarn (and Valhallans), other assorted 40K stuff for role-playing, etc...

It's also be nice to get in some miniatures games (and thus be posting game reports!) - I'd like to get in some more games of 40K, but also more of The Pikeman's Lament, and I've also had a hankering to get Dragon Rampant and Song of Blades and Heroes on the table again - as well as possibly FUTURE War Commander - to get some used out of all the Epic 40K stuff I've been working on over the last few years... 

More Modern Micro British - Challenger 2 and HQ

Wow these paint up fast! I should have the Warrior IFVs done in no time - then it's on to the Soviets!

All miniatures are from GHQ models.



The latest - four Challenger 2 and a couple of signals vehicles for CO/HQ elements.



This is an FV436 with a Cymbeline mortar locating radar. It will serve as one of my HQs (or possibly the CO?).



This is an FV439 signals vehicle - also to see service as an HQ or CO element.

I guess the CO is supposed to look different from the HQ models... Perhaps I'll have to find something else.

The boxed set also included for TUMs (Truck Utility Medium?). Not sure what I'm going to do with those just yet. Maybe I'll base them individually as other regular elements and call them Transportation Units.



Finally the Challenger 2s. These represent the four troops of an armoured squadron.


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

I should probably finish up the the Warrior IFVs to ferry around the Infantry in the next day or two. Then I'll likely crank out the Soviet T-80s and BMP-2s so I can have a game with these...

Then it's back to other projects that have been on hold.

At some point I'm going to have to make some micro-scale terrain - preferably stuff that can be used both for modern games in Europe and the Far East as well as for 20-30000 years in the future with all my Epic stuff...

Modern Micro British

During the vacation over the last few weeks I had the opportunity to visit the Sentry Box in Calgary. Apart from two, out-or-print, individual 40K figures, a pack of Reaper Bones Familiars, and some GF9 "Snow" the bulk of my purchases were GHQ micro armour.



I picked up four battlegroup boxes (though one is for a friend) and a couple packs of individual infantry. While I have been planning to get back into Cold War gaming with micro armour for some time, this was a bit of an impulse purchase. I have LOADS of stuff to work on for this year. I was thinking I'd maybe pick some stuff up next year... but then I was there... and they had these... and... well... you know how it goes.

Also I was originally thinking I'd go with mid-80s Cold-War-Goes-Hot in Europe forces - soviets with T-72s and BMPs and an opposing force of Canadians with Leopard I and M113s... What I've ended up doing here is picking up a few forces for a slightly later conflict...

They DID have a box of Soviets with T-72s and BMP-1s, but as the opposing forces I had to chose from were a little more recent, I opted for the T-80/BMP-2 set.

I tried to pick up four battlegroups that could potentially all fight each other... well... Maybe not the British and USMC... but you never know...?

The British and USMC could fight the Soviets in a early 90s (Extended) Cold War Goes Hot scenario - where the Soviet state didn't collapse and the Berlin Wall didn't come down in 1989. The Soviets could fight the Chinese in a border conflict. The British could fight the Chinese over Hong Kong? The USMC could face the Chinese in Taiwan - or a number of other potential conflict zones in the Southwest Pacific region... Or maybe even in a Chinese invasion of Hawaii...?

I'd STILL like to put together forces of Canadians and Soviets circa 1985, but the will have to wait...

for now, I've started painting a few of the British. So far I've finished up the infantry (the vehicles are all primed and ready to go as well!)



Micro British infantry armed with SA-80 assault rifles.



A closer look. I did try to do a bit of camouflage colours to make it look like they were in Temperate DPM. I think the box set was really meant for use in Iraq or Afghanistan or other potential Middle East war zones... but I'm just not that interested in playing those...



Another close up look.



Cold War Commander, which I plan to use with these, is supposed to be scalable. Elements bases could represent either platoons/troops or squads and individual vehicles. I find it a bit abstract for representing individual vehicles. So these will most often be used as platoons - making this a force of approximately two companies.

The two smaller stands could be headquarters or artillery forward observers or forward air controllers.

It's been a while since I played, but it seems that combat is worked out between individual bases. But the tactic in the game, if I recall, was instead of each platoon firing at a single platoon opposite (as platoons opposing each other would) groups of platoons would concentrate their fire on ONE of the opposing platoons - to give a greater chance of eliminating it. So I tried to further abstract things, in my head, and think of the elements more as "strength steps" within the battalion or company, rather than individual platoons....



Here they are with a pair of 28mm British troops of the same era - for comparison.


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Probably more painting updates, but I'm not sure what might come next...

I have a LOT of stuff on the painting desk - Modern Micro British tanks and IFVs... An assortment of Imperial Guard and Adeptus Ministorum priests... The Terminators for Space Hulk... the Knight(s)... and so much more...

If I had to guess, I'd say the Modern Micro British armour would probably come next - they're quick, they're easy and there is a limited number of them and finishing them will complete a playable force.


Also:

I did finish up three more of the "What I Did For My Summer Vacation" posts - they're over on the Bike Blog...

What I Did For My Summer Vacation (Part 2: Climbing - Not Cycling)

What I Did For My Summer Vacation (Part 3 - Canmore Nordic Centre)

Return to the Goat Creek Trail (Part 4)

I have one more post about the last day of riding... which I'll hopefully get to this week. I'm king of running out of steam on these...