Post a Comment On: Fawcett Avenue Conscripts

[Image] Some random 20mm WW2 Soviets. I haven't posted in a while, but I have been managing to keep the paint brushes going.  For some weeks now I have been really stuck into WW2 painting subjects - this isn't so unusual overall, as I really enjoy gaming the period - but given that interest, output on that topic has been extremely sparse over the past few years.  I feel like I have been trying to make up for that in the past six weeks...and here are some more products from those efforts - some 20mm WW2 Russians.

As with the random 15mm Germans I posted earlier in the month, these models were all sitting in a big pile in a box (see photo), a thing that passes for "organization" when it comes to my hobby hoard.  I was probably "just about to paint" these back in 2015 or 2016 or something, but then tossed them suddenly away as my squirrel-like attention span was swept up into some other project.

[Image] Part of my WW2 "Pile Of Shame" - a mix of 15mm and 20mm figures and vehicles. I'm trying to clear up at least SOME of this backlog! One thing when I move on to something and leave a project behind is that I often forget what paints I used and in which combination I used them.  So these were kind of "test models" to see if I could get back on the Soviet WW2 wagon.

[Image] A BA-64 armoured car (from SHQ) and a messenger (from PSC). The wee BA-64 (sitting primed on my desk for years!) is an all-metal model from SHQ Miniatures. I think the scale of the vehicle is probably more 1/76 than 1/72, but I'm not 100% certain, and at any rate it is hard to tell as the BA-64 is such a wee vehicle! This little vehicle will help with scouting and some light fire support on my gaming tables.

[Image] The Russian uniform came out a bit too dark, but I was happy with the green on the armoured car. There is also a single infantry model - this is a 1/72 plastic figure from the Plastic Soldier Company. He is not armed, but can serve as a dispatch/messenger, which can have a specific application in games like "Battlegroup" or just serve as an objective in general in many of the other systems we play.

I was trying to figure out the mix of colours I had previously used for the Russian khaki...this came out too dark.  I think I have the right colours, but not the right mix.  I'll need to keep experimenting - and write it down after I get it right!!!

[Image] T-34/85s from PSC - prepared to crush the fascists! The T-34s are 1/72 plastic models also from the Plastic Soldier Company.  PSC had a sale a few years ago, and I must have really stocked up, because I found I have like four boxes of these things! Oh well, in just about any scale of WW2 Eastern Front game, you can always use a lot of T-34s...

[Image] I rough my tanks up a lot...maybe too much, but I like the battle-worn look.  It seems right for the Eastern Front! The PSC models give me heartburn at times - why, oh why, are the tracks in multiple pieces?!?! But I suspect that's just me. Most people (any non-bot reading this) will not have the same challenges I routinely encounter...overall, these are EXCELLENT kits, a great value and a great way to build up a big Soviet WW2 armoured force. If you look closely, you will see I mucked up on the tracks...but, that's me - with some common sense, you'll avoid those issues easily.

And hey, paint them and muck'em up, and they're good to go!

As a bonus, these models come with two turrets, so you can use them for the earlier, more classic T-34/76 variant.  I have not painted the 76mm turrets yet, as my interests are much more late war than mid-war for now.

Curt will often refer to painting in this scale as "God's Own Scale". We all laugh - of course, all of us have our preferences for scales/periods etc - but he does have a point - I find painting the WW2 figures in this scale very, very fun! While my 15mm collection is much larger, my 20mm WW2 collection is growing slowly-but-surely.  These were great fun, and I hope to do more during the approaching Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.