Emergency Miniature Work – 15mm USMC Super Cobra
Recommendations: 1804
About the Project
It's the return of Oriskany's Web Wargames, where we connect with YOU, members of the community, over the web to stage live wargames. This thread will go over the ideas, concept development, design, LIVE PLAYS, and after-action reports for these games, covering all periods and ranges of the historical genre.
For anyone who's ever interested in participating in one of these games, all you need is an internet connection (so software downloads required). Reach out me (Oriskany) on a PM and so we can agree on a time and a system.
Systems so far include multiple iterations of Panzer Leader (1939-2020), Valor & Victory (1918-1993), Naval Command, AirWar C21, Contact Front, and others!
So feel free to toss in ideas, reach out to play, just spectate, or just comment and +1 on the design and after action reports!
Related Genre: Historical
This Project is Active
Need a new miniature in like ... 2 days?
When gaming, filming, and production schedules dictate that you ABSOLUTELY need a new aircraft on your table within 48-72 hours … and you don’t do 3D printing … Here’s what happens.
I needed a new AH-1W Super Cobra for some 1:100 / 15mm USMC wargames in Desert Storm (30th Anniversary) …
Download a papercraft AH-1S in Japanese markings (best quality / closest technical item I could find ...
Update in Photoshop to AH-1W, change markings to 1991 US Marine Corps, re-size to fit the intended scale (1:100 will be just short of 6", not including the rotors). Print out on 80# card stock.
Build the model, using wooden dowels and plastic sprue bits for some of the pieces. There's also a wooden "beam" inside the fuselage for added strength. Also, a spare VADs cannon for the rotary cannon (not quite the right gun, close enough). The rotor is even magnetized so it will spin. Now this is EXTREMELY rough, and so far this is 5-6 hours from "oh shit, I need one of these" to this point. Obviously I have to add a few bits to the wings, tail rotor, and chin sensor mount, and clean up / paint the gaps greatly ... but given the EXTREME short time span available, I'm hoping this will serve as a workable 1:100 "miniature" proxy for upcoming Marine Corps Gulf War games at places like Al Jaber and Kuwait International Airport.
Okay, here is the completed model. At 1:100 / 15mm, she's just under 6" without the rotors. Still not a true "miniature" of course but definitely fills the requirement of AH-1 to support my Marine Corps force in games coming up this week (table build tomorrow, dice being chucked on Thursday) Total time between "Oh shit, I need one of these" to table ready: 30 hours (including sleep and a busy day the at the office job).
Again, I know the gun is technically wrong (I have a 6-barreled 20mm looted off a VADs turret in my bits box instead of the 3-barrel M197 cannon that should be here), but I'm not building a scratch 3-barrel 20mm cannon in 15mm. Stole a bead from my girlfriend's hobby box for the sensor / targ-aq turret under the chin.
Red navigation light on the port wing, green on the starboard wing, white on the tail.
The rocket pods and tail boom are a little rough, but to be honest I can live with it. Ready for Thursday's game!PzKpfw-VI Tiger I complete (War vs. Pile of Shame Continues)
The war against the pile of shame continues!
This is a 15mm Tiger I sent to me by Piers a while ago which I am finally getting to.
I went for a mid-war (Summer ’43) generalized scheme.
This is the tank built in this Sitrep Hobby Build video:
Primed in black. Base coat with airbrush, shooting yellow-gold acrylic. Then added Vallejo dark green and dark brown ver-r-r-ry carefully for the rest of the camo scheme, touch-up with brush / wet blending. Acrylic medium gray on tracks, followed by Vallejo black wash. Vallejo wash black / dark umber mix for pin-washing the rest of the tank.
Commander in acrylic "pavement" black (very very dark grey), with red-piped shoulder boards (panzerwaffe was technically a dark pink, but close enough), white cuffbands, officer insignia on cap, hint of Knight's Cross at neck.
15mm transfers from PSC. Made sure the number ended in "1" so this would be a platoon leader. Number 121 = 1st Kompanie, 2nd platoon leader).
Added radio antenna (dust broom bristle). Mounted just behind turret on the right hand side (per blueprints).
Achtung! Tiger! All my Soviet and British and American tank minis suddenly feel less comfortable.Iraqi Army Force - 1991 Gulf War - 15mm Complete
Okay, it’s taken nearly a year (I did virtually no traditional “hobby” between Christmas 2019 and August 2020), but I finally have these 15mm Iraqis complete.
I have already talked about the tank conversions, kit bashes, etc (15mm Battlefront originally from Fate of a Nation and Team Yankee). So I won’t bore everyone again. Suffice it to say I have three tank platoons of three tanks, two ZSU-23-4 “Shilka” SPAAGs, and a platoon of five BTR-6o infantry carriers.
So now I just had to finish up my infantry. I used PSC’s Cold War Soviets as a base. A staggering 141 figures come in the box, way more than I need for this this project, so I just used 70, saving the other 7o (and the better support weapons) for a future Soviet project.
Now the force (86 pieces in all) is complete. Note this represents the units, uniforms, and equipment used by the Iraqi ARMY, not the Republican Guard (so no T-72M-based “Lions of Babylon” or BMPs). This is because the project is specifically aimed at 1991 Gulf War battles between Iraqis and the United States Marine Corps, who fought battles further east of where the Republican Guard was deployed (Al Khafji, Kuwait City Airport, etc).
I'm very pleased with the PSC Cold War Soviet infantry box. Includes snipers with Dragunov rifles, RPGs with RPG assistants (AK riflemen carrying additional rockets), AT-3 Sagger ATGWs (AT-4 Spigots and AGS-17 "Plamya" auto-grenade launchers also provided, not pictured here because I am saving them for my actual Soviets), PKM GPMGs, SA-7 MANPADS missile, and of course plenty of AKM riflemen. 
The whole force. 
So with 16 AFVs and 70 infantry, I basically have an understrength mixed-arms battalion here, actually VERY understrength ... which works given the six weeks of air pounding the Iraqi Army suffered before the ground war started in earnest on 24 Feb 1991.
Here are some of the support teams. AT-3 Sagger ATGW tank killers, sniper, RPG-7 gunner with assistant, officer, and SA-7 AA missile
Side view of the force.
Bedrock of most Arab armies from 1970s to the early 1990s. T-55 tank (or variant), BTR infantry carrier, AT-3 Sagger (these killed an entire Israeli tank division in one day in 1973), and the RPG-7. Oh, and towed artillery. I handle that with off-board units, but trust me, they will be on the list (D-30 howitzers, mostly)
We'll see how these guys stand up to my 15mm US Marines! Iraqi Infantry Started
With the Iraqi armor completed, I’m now building the supporting infantry force to go with it (end goal, an Iraqi Army force to use in 1991 Gulf War themed games).
The minis I am using is the Cold War Soviet Army 15mm box – 141 figures (painting them as Iraqis, of course). I certainly don’t need 141 Iraqis for this project, so I’m splitting the box and doing 70 of them as Iraqis, the other 71 will be Cold War Soviets for future games / projects.
I picked five normal “rifleman” sprues, plus one support sprue. The support sprue, however, includes AGS-17 “Plamya” automatic 30mm grenade launchers and AT-4 Spigot ATGWs infantry missile systems. I will be leaving those more advanced weapons ON the sprue for my future Soviets, and instead using all the AT-3 Sagger ATGWs from various sprues for my Iraqis.
Figures on the sprue. Box comes with nine "Rifleman" sprues and three "support" spues. So for my Iraqis I'm using 5 rifleman sprues and then getting a little choosy with the one support sprue. Basically, I'm giving my Iraqis the second-hand gear and saving the choice weapons for a future Soviet army.
Yeah, Iraqis wore mostly green in the 1991 Gulf War. Primed black and then airbrushed a lighter, "sandier" acrylic green, trying to leave a *little* of the black primer shadow underneath. 
Sand colored helmets and bases. Boots will be black, flesh hands and faces, two-tone AK weapons, and some more sand web gear to come. An umber wash, followed by touch up and some basing material, and we'll be done. With 70 figures ... and in 15mm ... the trick is to not paint each one like a 28mm Golden Button masterpiece. Iraqi Armor Finished
I have now finished my Iraqi Army armor force for upcoming games / content on the 1991 Gulf War (15mm Battlefront, various sets from Team Yankee and Fate of a Nation).
Next up, Infantry! (ugh …) I have a box of 140+ 15mm Soviet Cold War infantry I’ll be working on … half of this will be painted as 1991 Iraqi Army infantry (plenty for this project), the rest will stay as Soviets for various Cold War games in the future.
First platoon of T-55s I had to do the best I could with T-54s from the Syrian "Fate of a Nation" set. Note the unit markings on the bore evacuators. Apparently that's where the Iraqis put them (various yellows, greens, browns, sometimes with white stripes). Also added antennae.
A platoon of five BTR-60 infantry carriers. Drilled small holes for the antennae.
Second platoon of tanks. These were kit-bashed into an approximation of Type 59 Type IIs. These were Chinese knock-offs of T-55s ... but then subsequently upgraded with L7 105mm rifles and rudimentary laser range finders. So an upgrade of a knockoff? Yeah, weird. But those L7s made them pretty dangerous in 1991.
Second platoon of T-55s. Note these have side skirts, the others did not. Wartime photos show plenty of 1991 Iraqi T-55s with both configurations, some with ... some without.
The Iraqi Army had plenty of ZSU-23-4 Shilka SPAAGs in 1991. However, I doubt many of these would be left when then the ground war actually started on 24 February 1991. Nevertheless I have two of them here just in case their USMC opponents will get cute with their AH-1 Cobras and AV-8B Harriers (or hell, F/A-18 Hornets). 
The whole Iraqi force. Next up ... Infantry!NEXT STAGE: Iraqi 15mm Desert Storm force
With the DAK 28mm force complete, the assault on the Pile of Shame continues with a finish-up effort on the 15mm force I’ve been building for the Iraqis in the 1991 Gulf War.
These are 15mm Battlefront miniatures from Fate of a Nation and Team Yankee, kit-bashed into 1991 Iraqi vehicles (not too much update required except on the Type 59/IIs).
These are still works in progress. I have to finish cleaning them up and then do the detail painting (secondary weapons, stowage, commanders, drybrush/weathering, etc). But they’re definitely coming along.
Work for the weekend consisted of finishing up the dark wash, making and applying the Iraqi flag decals, and hand-painting the brigade markings.
We've got x3 T-55s with side skirts, x3 T-55s without side skirts (wartime photos show plenty of both), x3 Type 59/IIs (upgraded Chinese knockoffs of T-55s, retrofitted with L7 105mm rifles and somewhat primitive laser rangefinders), x5 BTR-60s (BMPs were used almost exclusively by the Republican Guard which these are not), and x2 ZSU-23-4 SP AA vehicles.
Little bit more work required on these guys, including stowage, commanders, secondary weapons, etc.28mm DAK Bolt Action Force complete
All right, that’s it. The 28mm Bolt Action DAK force given to me at the Boot Camp is complete. Thanks very much one more time guys!
But the war against the Pile of Shame continues!
Next up, the 15mm Iraqi armor for my 1991 Desert Storm forces!
Stay tuned!
The whole force, five vehicles, an antitank gun, three mortars, three MGs, one ATG, three officers, radioman, medics, and infantry.
Officers trying to control the madness.
Force from the side.
RIfleman.
Project complete - on to the Iraqis! Next Stage of "Elimination" - Opel Blitz Trucks
The last vehicles for me to finish in my 28mm DAK Warlord force are the three Opel “Blitz” trucks that came with the pack. I decided not to go with any of the “halftrack” options as I believe these were used in the East, and not in the Desert. Just for fun I used two different side panel options and the canvas cover for the third truck, with medic decals just for a change of pace.
While I really struggled with that armored car and had to repair a lot of damage with it, I’m actually pretty happy with how these trucks came out.
Here are the three trucks.
The back. Washing between all those planks was a pain, but the final look was worth it.
Markings are for (left to right) 21st Panzer Division, generic motorized infantry for the medic truck, and 90th Light Division for the truck on the right.
Experimented with putting transfer decals on the wooden planks.
Went ahead and put a driver in one of the trucks. Next Stage of "Elimination" - SdKfz-231/8 Armored Car
This one … I’ll be honest, I’m just happy it got done. This resin and metal kit took some damage in an accident and a fair amount of repair work was needed – to say nothing of a re-do of the priming and base color that cost me a little of the detail. Still satisfied (if not thrilled) with the end result.
Markings are for 33. Panzer Aufklärungsabteilung, 15th Panzer Division.
Next Stage of "Elimination" - Horch Staff Car
Continuing to chew away at the Pile of Shame. Next up was the Kfz 69 Horch 1A staff car.
Pile of Shame ... Rest in Peace.
That’s it, I’m sick of looking at it. Sick of thinking about it. Sick of feeling bad about it. Pile of Shame, the time of reckoning has come.
I haven’t picked up a brush since Christmas 2019. Before I even think of driving into any new projects, this pile of shame is doing down. As in to absolute f***ing zero.
I realize this pile of shame is pretty puny compared to many others. But … (a) … I would hardly say the size of one’s pile is something to brag about, and … (b) … the diminutive size of such a pile is all less reason to let it linger.
So you’re all witnesses to a premeditated murder now, folks.
I am killing my pile of shame.
So this is it. My pile of shame. Note a lot of this is half-completed - which in my mind makes it even worse. I have the Bolt Action DAK force given to me at the Western Desert Boot Camp, the bulk of my Iraqi 15mm force for upcoming Gulf War 30-year anniversary content, a Tiger I and Stuart given to me by publishers and companies during reviews, convention minis, etc.
First up, that 28mm DAK force given to me during the Western Desert boot camp. These guys have had a hard life so far, I've never worked with 28mm plastics before, and an accident in the hours involving a collapsed hobby table resulted in some breakage and a LOT of repair work. But this army WILL be finished, damn it! 
Okay 44 infantry figures now complete, including 7.5 cm PaK gun, 8.0 cm mortar, two 5.0 cm mortars, MG-34 MG in company support tole (tripod), x2 MG-34s in platoon support roles (bipods), AT rifle, radio, medic team, three officers, etc.
Here's my little "command team" - three officers and a radio signals operator. I kept the shoulder board piping white for all figures (infantry) accept the radioman, (yellow = signals troops).
MG-34 support teams (MMG and LMG support roles) and the mortar crew. German shields on the helmets and roundels on the campaign caps hand-painted.
Some of my infantry.
The back view of my PaK antitank gun, with MG and infantry support.
Bipod MG-34s and the big Mauser antitank rifle. 
Side view of the army at large.
Back view of the army at large.
Probably my favorite guy, which I painted generally as a Oberst-Leutnant (Lt. Colonel) battalion commander. It's a little hidden in shadow but I hope you can see my attempt at Knight's Cross ribbon around his neck and the badge ribbon on his tunic. This guy's seen some sh*t! :D All these figures have brown cuffbands to approximate various DAK units, not really aiming at one in particular.Live Stream - Valor & Victory - Imperial Japanese v. US Marine Corps - Bougainville 1943
No big modern expansion this time … today we’re taking Valor & Victory back to its roots for a game in the South Pacific. In November 1943, elements of the US 3rd Marine Division landed at Empress Augusta Bay on Bougainville Island, part of the broader “Operation Cartwheel” effort to isolate and neutralize the Japanese super-base at Rabaul.
But as the men of “George” Company, 2/21st Marines would learn, the Japanese of 23rd Infantry Regiment / 6th IJA Division took a different view on the matter.
We’re hoping to bring aboard a new player this session, so we hope to see some of you there!
The overall swath of the South Pacific theater, showing the key landings of Operation Watchtower (US, Australian, New Zealand). Today's game takes place on Bougainville (red rectangle)
The Operation Cherry blossom Landings at Empress Augusta Bay. Initially 3rd Marine Division went ashore, later reinforced by US Army 37th Infantry.
The map of today's Valor & Victory game
The forces for today's Valor & Victory game
What some to today's action might look like. :DOps Center Episode 16: Pacific War - Island Hopping
The Ops Center wraps up the series on the Pacific War with a look at the doctrine of Island Hopping – how it worked, how it didn’t work, and what specific features you should look for in a tabletop wargame with an island hopping theme.
This isn’t “Saving Private Ryan” … Pacific amphibious landings were very, very different from those in Italy and France, and your games should know the difference as well.
Part 3 (conclusion) Noyjatat vs. Oriskany Playtest Thirteen Hours Transit Game
Good afternoon, all ~
Here the last part of the the recent play test Noyjatat and I did for the upcoming Thirteen Days to Thirteen Hours project.
We’ve made some tweaks to the rules, playing pieces, and tables, and now it’s time to see if our GRS contractors can make it to the US Consulate in time to make a difference on that fateful night.
This game imagines what might have happened if the GRS operators at the CIA Annex in Benghazi had left / been allowed to leave RIGHT AWAY when the US Consulate / ambassador compound came under attack at around 2130 hours local, 11 September 2012.
So far we’ve had some pretty wild results, including dueling militia technicals in the street, our GRS / CIA translator making some great rolls with the Feb 17 militia, one of the deadliest fire phases in the history of warming, and yes, one of our GRS operators is now badly wounded with RPG shrapnel!
Video Replay - Valor & Victory in Afghanistan
Good afternoon, all ~
Here is the video replay of the fantastic game of Barry Doyle’s Valor & Victory between myself and @elessar2590, where we experimented with expanding the system into the 21st Century War on Terror.
In this game we’re experimenting with new rules for IEDs and off-board sniper shots, along with the usual modern expansion features:
• Casualty Evacuation
• Civilians (Rules of Engagement and Evacuation)
• Options for modern air strikes (rockets, miniguns, LGBs, ATGWs)
• POWs for VPs and Evacuation
Operation Perth (July 2006) – 4th Royal Australian Regiment (Commando) vs. Taliban, Chora Valley, Uruzgan Province.
Elessar2590 v. Oriskany in Valor & Victory - Live Game - 2006 Afghanistan
Just a quick reminder of our stream tonight and a few extra snapshots of the prep …
Again, apologies for the awkward UK hour, but we’re trying to accommodate players in Australia and audiences (and game masters) here in the US.
I'll be playing the Taliban, and I am set up to stop the Australian 4th RAR / Commando from taking these objective hexes. The location of civilians is rolled randomly. Their movement will also be random. Australian player gets VP for safely evacuating them and a HUGE penalty if they hit them. There's no penalty to the Australian player in the Taliban hit civilians, but the Taliban CAN hit them just to prevent the Australian player from getting the VP evac award. Yes, there is a game incentive to murder civilians - the Taliban are bastards who are widely hated by the local populace through wide areas of Afghanistan.
A close look at my Taliban counters. These somehow couldn't display earlier, I'm wondering if it was a technical glitch, a screw up on my end, or some kind of legal filter.Elessar2590 v. Oriskany in Valor & Victory - Live Game - 2006 Afghanistan
We’ll be getting together with Dylan for a game of Valor & Victory, streamed live at 5:30 ET, 10:30 UK. For this session we’re pushing the Valor & Victory system into the 21st Century, with a skirmish between Australians and Taliban during Operation Perth (Chora Valley, 2006).
We’ll be playtesting as always. Valor & Victory is of course a solid system, but originally written for 1939-45. Our 1954, 1967, 82, and 93 expansions are doing okay, but this one pushes it (obviously) into the 2000s.
I’m sure there’s a “brick wall” out there somewhere where the V&V system isn’t so smooth, I think we’re getting close but we have’t quite hit it yet. For this game we’re rolling out new expansion rules for IEDs and off-board sniper shots (.50s from 1-2 miles away).
Hope to see some of you there for the steam.
Apologies for the awkward UK hour, hot we’re trying to accommodate players in Australia and audiences (and game masters) here in the US.
A section of the Orūzgān Province, south-central Afghanistan, 2006. Here, a force of Dutch and Australian foces tangled with Taliban elements in the Chora Valley, north of Kadahar. The Australian part of this campaign was Operation Perth, which we'll be taking a small look at in today's stream.
A zoom in. The town of Torin Kowt was the base of this op, carried out to the northwest with sizable American air support, including at least one AC-130 Specter gunship.
A zoom-in on the Chorat Valley, showing one possible guess for a specific location of the action.
The map for tomorrow's Valor & Victory game. Word of warning, the Taliban will have two IEDs hidden somewhere on this map.
I have no idea how tomorrow's game will unfold, but here is a possible mid-game shot to show how some of the units will look.Ops Center 15 - Carrier Operations in the Pacific
The Ops Center continues our look at the Pacific War with an episode on Carrier Operations.
We look at the different types of aircraft carrier, review the most important naval battles and campaigns that featured them, and talk about features of a carrier-focused wargame and what makes such a game so different from other naval simulations.
Few campaigns in history have been dominated as thoroughly as the Pacific War was dominated by the aircraft carrier, but these ships had tremendous weaknesses as well as strengths that should not be forgotten when looking at them from a wargaming perspective.
Hope you enjoy!
Thirteen Days to Thirteen Hours, Transit Playtest 2 - Part 2
Gaz and Jim continue their second playtest of the Benghazi Transit Game, designed for the Sitrep “Thirteen Days to Thirteen Hours” project.
We’ve made some tweaks to the rules, playing pieces, and tables, and now it’s time to see if our GRS contractors can make it to the US Consulate in time to make a difference on that fateful night.
This game imagines what might have happened if the GRS operators at the CIA Annex in Benghazi had left / been allowed to leave RIGHT AWAY when the US Consulate / ambassador compound came under attack at around 2130 hours local, 11 September 2012.
So far we’ve had some pretty crazy results, including dueling militia technicals in the street, our GRS / CIA translator making some great rolls with the Feb 17 militia, and plenty of deadly fire from our hostile militia. But things are about to heat up even more!
This promises to be a wild one, folks. Enjoy!
Expanding Valor & Victory into the 21st Century - Live Game Sunday
Okay, I actually got some “hobby” in today, although really it’s just prep work for the Valor & Victory game we have scheduled with @elessar2590 this Sunday.
I’m looking to take Valor & Victory into the early 21st Century with a look at some of Australian ops in Afghanistan circa 2006.
Happy to say I’ve built up quite the force, enough to mount at least a company-sized engagement with most of the basic rules, plus our usual modern-era additions (casualties, civilians, POWs, CASEVAC rules, etc).
Australian units, including half squads (fire teams), squads, leaders, plenty of support weapons, casualties for the medics evacualte, and civlians to look out for. I'm think of handling the Australian snipers differently ... having one actually ASSIGNED to the force but with a certain number of shots assigned almost as "off-board artillery" - that's the Barrett or MacMillan .50 big boy from a mile away ...Well, I had Taliban forces posted here as well, but apparently the image was considered inappropriate and taken down (??) I cannot put it back up, even after making modifications. No worries, it’s on other platforms like Discord:
