USMC Force takes Shape.....

It seems just lately life is full of pleasant surprises, this last week was no exception.

I have recently ordered some items from Irishserb Miniatures, and after months of me pestering him, I think Brian got fed up of me asking over and over and caved in! (I'm very glad I did however!)

IRISH SERB MINIATURES

So I ordered some models which looked pretty good on his website....Well those items arrived and to say I was blown away is an understatement. Brian doesn't do this full time, he has a job and other commitments so this if more of a "one man - as and when" type approach, however he is putting major producers to shame. A Picture paints a thousand words...

AAV7 

So I picked up 3 of these, 2 for a Platoon of USMC and the third I will convert into a Command Track. The model is impressive, it's massive just like it's real world equivalent and I've put the recent Zvezda Bradley next to this..

I really love this model, it is rarely seen in 15mm but it's an Iconic USMC Vehicle so is a really good addition for adding flavour.  The other 6 models are much more ubiquitous but still of superb quality...

The All American HMMWV!

You might have noticed, I used BF Weapons from the M113 pack and yes this is a more modern HMMWV rather than a late 1980's one but it makes a very good proxy. I can also use this in other games and with this in mind, I was pleased that Bryan included a fair few spares for turrets and weapons. So my intention is to Magnetise my HUMMERS so I can have 0.50cals, M60's, TOW's. Mk19's etc. 

This is great value for money, as if my gaming group want to do dufferent types of 15mm scenarios I can mix and match my models a bit. 

Here is a final comparison between the IRISH SERB Stuff and the ZVEZDA recent releases.

I will be picking up some LAV-25's both the TOW and the Chaingun variant, and then some M60A3's and my USMC should be complete!

I would recommend IRISH SERB Miniatures over any other producer that has the same models, the Quality is beyond anything else in the Market place!

MIKE

Rewarding Hobby

One of the most wonderful things about running a blog like this, is the amount of e-mails I get, some are requests, some are suggestions, some ask advice, some give me example pictures of models or battles.

By far my most enjoyable e-mails are those from others who share my painting addiction (I genuinely enjoy painting - I would even go so far as I would be content just to collect and paint, wargaming is the cherry on the top, but I could live without it!). There are many who share my fascination / passion / curiosity of the Period of the Mid to Late 80's when the Cold War came it's dramatic and somewhat unexpected conclusion

One such E-mail came from Ralph, and an interesting series of E-mails, discussions on Brass Barrels and other things came up.  I think pictures are much better but here is Ralph's incredible Collection as you can see he has diverse and very interesting tastes. But his Cold War forces are very nice indeed, Enjoy.


COLD WAR - USMC FORCE

"I am 52 years old married and a 9 year old daughter. I have been playing war games for about 35 years. I am into many different war games 1/72 scale WWII air combat, 1/600 scale ACW naval, 1/600 scale WWII MTB & Submarine convoy actions, 28mm WWII skirmish level, 15mm Arab & Israeli wars and 15mm Cold war & Modern (21st). "

"Growing up in the 70’s & 80’s and after reading books like August 1985: World War III and Team Yankee I developed an interest in the Cold war. I first started with 20mm but it was just a little too large for playing a company level and I didn’t like Micro armor (to small) so I switch to 15mm and after years of collecting I have a large collection of AFVs, APCs, Helicopters and infantry so now I can play 70’s,80’s and the 90’s at company level for my Western Allies and Battalion level for my Soviets.   Hope you enjoy the Photo's - RALPH"

BRITISH - CHIEFTAINS & MECHANISED FORCES

BRITISH - CHALLENGER BATTLEGROUP

BUNDESWEHR- WORK IN PROGRESS KAMPFGRUPPE

"The Gazelles are old 1/100 scale Heller plastic models that I bought on E-Bay. The Hummers are Old Glory USA (Skytrex) with Peter Pig .50 cal and TOW Launchers which are better than the ones they come with. The Warriors and Challenger Mk.1’s are also Old Glory USA with Peter Pig WWII British extra storage and stuff from my scrap box also included are some pictures of my QRF Challenger Mk.2"

Quiet Month

So alot has been happening and I've abandoned the blog for nearly a month (shameful).  I also have to confess to being sidetracked a little by the Flames of War "Fate of a Nation" Booklet which was released in Wargames Illustrated.

So what am I doing now?  Well I've been contacting alot of producers to discuss models and up coming models.

IRISH SERB's MINIATURES - https://sites.google.com/site/irishserbsminiatures/

 Well I've ordered some stuff from IRISHSERB and hope to get that up on the blog as soon as it arrives.

As well as some HMMWV's as I want to use the M113 spares from the BF Boxed set to magnetise and make alot of variants of the HMMWV's.

Brian is also working on some excellent stuff in the back ground.

Oh he's doing an M60A2 Starship!!

This is an amazing model and I hope he continues to produce some of the estoric and rare vehicles of the Cold war period!

KHURASAN MINIATURES - http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/

I've also been talking to Khurasan Miniatures about their YOM KIPPUR releases. But their more modern releases are also very appealing, although not one for rivet counters, this could proxy for an M1 or M1A1 and I certainly wouldn't moan. It's a beautiful model.

1 of these in Resin for $12.99 - Yet to be confirmed but Khurasan does do T-62's at $12.99 in a Company pack of 10 for $119.99 e.g £75.  I think if he did the same for these Abrams at 10 for $119.99 e.g £75 it would be a great Deal to any one wanting to collect a US Armour Force. 

Here is the Master Centurion model he's using for Yom Kippur Centurions, also useful to anyone collecting Danish or Swedish forces in 1986, as these could be converted and added to easily. 

This altered with Photoshop, as the background was fussy, so I pulled it out and put it on a Whitebackground the model hasn't had anything changed.

QUICKREACTION FORCE - http://www.quickreactionforce.co.uk/

I've also been e-mailing QRF and talking about their miniatures, which I have to point out have just dropped alot of the prices of their post War Tanks by 50p, down to £5.50. Combine with the discount code, or a multipack buy these are great if you want to pick some more Tanks or Vehicles! Here is a summary from their Website.

Price Changes 

The basic infantry pack price has increased to £2.70 for 8 foot or 4 cavalry figures. I'm sure you will agree this is still very good value for money, at under 34p (approx USD 55c) per figure. All price codes A-H have increased in proportion, so the elephants wagons, carts and chariots have gone up too :-)
All postwar tanks have been LOWERED in price!
All postwar personnel carriers have been LOWERED in price!
All modern tanks have been LOWERED in price!
All modern personnel carriers/MICVs have been LOWERED in price!
To be able to afford this, all other postwar and modern vehicles have had their prices increased slightly, but hopefully this will enable you to get a larger army on the table faster and more cost effectively than ever before, especially if you order in bulk and take advantage of the built in platoon pack discounts!
There are no changes to WW1 or WW2 vehicle ranges

CAPTION COMPETITION :- 

This was completely my fault I clean forgot....Don't worry I've got to pick the Winner, grab a Prize and add another Caption this week. (I'm a terrible human being  :)  ). 

Kind Regards,

Mike