Revell Bundeswehr WIP

As I noted back in May, I have been looking at putting together a Bundeswehr force for Cold-War gone hot type gaming (although a force built for 1990+ wouldn't need much changing for more current operations), recently though money has been tight and I've been feeling the need to do some small scale armor modeling. Compromise? Buy some Revell and Dragon kits on the cheap and put togeather the beginning of a Jäger platoon with supporting aufklärung and panzer elements (light infantry with reconnaissance and armor elements). While the heavy armor and mechanized infantry will have to wait (ridiculous how hard it is to find Marder ICVs in 20mm/1:72 scale), luck was with me earlier in the week when I visited almost every hobby shop I could find until I stumbled upon the now out-of-print Revell SpPz 2 „Luchs“ reconnaissance vehicle and a couple boxes of Revell's Modern German Infantry. Here are some WIP shots:

Top: Assembled Jäger squad and SpPz 2
Bottom: First attempt at a fireteam in Flecktarn

By the way, if anyone out there knows somewhere that offers 20mm or 1:72 scale Marder ICVs please let me know. Preferably a place that has a price list and online ordering (seen way to many places lately claiming to have them but offering no clear way to order them).

The Last Patrol

Something I hadn’t expected to see is happening tonight. As I type this the 4/2 Stryker Brigade is driving through Iraq on it's way to Kuwait. Tonight marks the official end to Operation Iraqi Freedom with the withdrawal of the last US combat units from Iraq. While I had heard that it was planned to happen soon I hadn’t truly believed it would be this soon or this significant.

While the US will still have some military personnel in country they will be operating in non-combat roles (ie training, administration, etc). [Something about the nomenclature and caveats being used here makes me want to draw some parallels to the ostensible mission of MAC-V but I feel that would be inappropriate right now and I don't want to bring political concerns into this.] Let us all hope that this change in deployments, posture and mission will be accompanied by an end to casualties for our troops that are still there.

So, as we all watch OIF move into the realm of history tonight let's prepare to welcome those that are returning home and keep those that are still in Iraq in mind as we await the eventual end of their mission and their (hopefully) safe return.

CORRECTION: The actual official end to OIF and the beginning of Operation New Dawn happens at the end of the month. This is the effective end of US combat troops' presence in Iraq. [Wed 20100819-13:32]

Review: QRF Stryker ICV

The heat wave has receded somewhat which means I can actually enter my work area again which means I can begin working through the rather large QRF order that arrived last week.
The first item on the block is the set of five Stryker ICVs.

Strykers are likely to be pretty important for Force On Force and Ambush Alley players as they are a major component of current US Army mechanized infantry and have been something of a fixture of combat in Iraq. Regardless of the problems and shortcomings of the real world Stryker, they are likely to feature frequently in most modern and near future wargames just as they will likely to continue as the Army's first tier APC.

As is usual for QRF's vehicles all components are white metal although there is less appearant flexability to these parts but that is likely down to the thickness of the parts relative to the generally thinner parts of the HMMWVs. Of the three of these that I have assembled so far none have shown any significant pitting as I have found on some of QRF's other large components. There seems to be a fairly consistent flash seam running along the mid point of the hull which is easily removed with a #11 and a fine file but must be done so carefully as it runs across several detailed sections. There is also a rather annoying plug section on the starboard side of the hull near the front of the sand channel racks; I found it easiest to cut away as much of it as I can with clippers and then cover it over with kneedite ("green stuff") stowage (visible on the vehicle on the right in the photo). Attaching the wheels to the hull is fairly easy and doesn't require much more than dry fitting and gluing.

Although it lacks the slat armor and ridiculous amounts of stowage frequently seen on current Strykers in the field the detailing is very good with clean edged hatches and the various protrusions. Scale seems good, especially compared to most 15mm figures in my collection; comparison with the other vehicles will have to wait until I can dig up the dimensions of their RL counterparts but they appear appropriately large next to most of the other AFVs I have.

The models are good, construction and assembly is fairly simple and the model offers a good base for a number of conversions. Given it's role in the US inventory and how iconic it has been in Iraq since 2003 most collections should be able to find space for at least one or two.

Review: QRF Modern US infantry M4 w/ Helmets (new range)

QRF recently updated their Modern US Infantry line, phasing out their old packs for new sculpts that have a more current look to them. These figures are definitely more 'modern' than the figures they replace, the helmets have more of a resemblance to the current MICH helmets than the PAGST helmets. The M4 carbines have been noticeably 'tacticalised' with suggestions of optics, laser/illuminator units and vertical fore-grips. The uniforms and load bearing gear have suggestions of Interceptor IOTVs and current MOLLE LBE systems. This puts these figures fairly solidly in the 21st century, GWOT era.

[Right: Old QRF US modern infantry in three color desert camo, New QRF US modern infantry in my first attempt at desert MARPAT]

Material quality and casting is good as most of QRF's small and medium sized parts with no noticeable weakness, bubbling or other impurities. Small amounts of flash are present on the ends of gun barrels and on the underside of the integral bases while there were some noticeable mold lines or pits on some of the figures these are generally only present in areas where they are either easily disguised or removed.

[Left: Old QRF US modern infantry in three color desert camo, New QRF US modern infantry in three color desert camo]

Poses are nicely varied and not only cover all of the common ones (running, kneeling, standing) but have some nice variations. Some of the poses are a little stiff but strongly resemble photographs you will see from military training and combat.

Now we get to the difficult part for me. I had very high hopes for these figures and had been very happy with the previous line. The detail on the equipment had been excellent and some of the best I have seen in this scale; there were some shortcomings, such as the lack of facial detail (not a huge problem for most of them as you could paint them as wearing shemaghs or balaclavas). I'm sad to say that unfortunately these figures don't represent an improvement over the level of detail and sculpt quality. The body and uniform equipment is well sculpted and appears sufficiently detailed and authentic as to stand up to even close inspection. Weapon detail, extremities and the head are where there is a recognizable step backwards in detail and fidelity. Many of the faces and hands are distorted and weapons don't hold up well to close inspection.

[Right: Rebel Minis US modern infantry in UCP ACU, New QRF US modern infantry in an attempt at MultiCam]

I've been thinking about how to conclude this review for a few days now. These figures are no longer particularly appropriate for operations prior to 2000. While they would mix reasonably well with Rebel Minis' Modern US line the way the two lines are packaged generally don't give you a particularly compelling reason to do so. They do look pretty good at table distance though and at those distances mix pretty well with QRF's old line. If you want to get a bit more variety or fill a couple of gaps in your modern US collection they are pretty good choices and the line does include a few options that most of the others don't have like M16DMR armed marksmen. We'll see in a few weeks how those line up.

New arrivals

An order from Scale Creep (comprising a QRF M1A2 Abrams MBT and a gaming mat) arrived late last week and today I discovered a parcel containing review copies of QRF's new Modern US M4 armed infantry (codes MAI01 and MAI02, photos on the right).

The figures look pretty good on a quick examination and I've started cleaning, prepping and mounting a few of them to try to paint them tomorrow and do some comparison and detail photos. Look for a full review in the next few days (provided work and home issues allow me enough time)

The Abrams is painted up and is awaiting basing for some comparison photos which I hope to get done in time for a post late in the week.


As a disclaimer Geoff of QRF provided me with these models for review after reading my original review of QRF's old line of US infantry figures. I also place an order with QRF over a week ago for, amongst other things, all 8 of their new Modern US Infantry packs.

Looking for some help on field organization

So I've decided to try to split my 15mm US moderns into two groups, the Rebel minis will act as a US Army Stryker Rifle Platoon while the QRF US Moderns will form a small USMC unit for slightly earlier work (ie late 90's to ~2005). The HMMWVs will go to the USMC unit while I will probably be ordering the platoon's Strykers once I get my Ambush Alley terrain sorted out.

Here is what I am having trouble with right now though, I have a copy of FM 3-21.11 (SBCT Infantry Rifle Company) which lays out the nominally 'official' TOE for a Stryker platoon but I am having some issues figuring out exactly how the 38 enlisted men and 1 officer of the platoon would fit into a set of transport vehicles with a listed capacity of 36(+1 if the lead vehicle replaces it's commander with the PSG). The field manual suggests that the Company Medic will often not be present but that seems like one of the last men I would want to remove from my unit, I would be more tempted to remove people like the Ammo Bearers from the weapons squad or the FO from the PHQ (Although in Ambush Alley that probably wouldn't actually matter since scenarios don't seem to include the weapons squad most of the time and the MMG team Asset specifies a two man team and I don't see many occasions where I would be mounting the full platoon in their ICVs outside of Force on Force). I am having a similar issue with the USMC squad, how do you fit 9 or 13 men into HMMWVs? Yes, I am aware that HMMWVs are not normally assigned as platoon level assets but the question is IF they are made available.

So what I am looking for is some suggestions (or even better, examples from field operations) as to how these sorts of units are commonly organized in their transport vehicles. Your help is much appreciated.

Review: Rebel Modern US Infantry Command Pack

Now, the second part of the Rebel Minis Force onForce Platoon Box, the US Command Pack.
The sculpts are on par with the figures from the regular infantry pack, largely because they are the same sculpts with a handful of exceptions. The medic is simply one of the riflemen with a modified pack and leg bag, the difference is subtle so look closely! The RTO is okay, seemingly based on one of the 'leader' sculpts but showing some noticeable differences (Personally I rather prefer the QRF RTO sculpts from the old US modern command pack but I'm not sure about the accuracy of either one's equipment).

Then there is the last of the unique sculpts, the medium machinegun teams. These are the ones that have given me the most trouble; they are sculpted in pairs as an emplaced two man team operating a medium machinegun. At least that's what it's supposed to be, what you actually get is the same two men from the sniper teams but the rifle has been replaced with what looks like a M249 SAW and the spotter scope has been cut down for binoculars, still wearing their 'boonie' hats and rolled sleeves taking cover behind some boxes and a couple of fist sized rocks. Now I realize why the Rebel SAW gunners seemed to be holding such large weapons compared to my QRF SAW gunners, Rebel's sculptor seems to have confused the M240B and the M249.

The US Infantry Command pack seems to have quite a few extra figures, compared to standard Army Infantry TOEs and USMC Infantry TOEs. You get five MG teams (listed as M240G teams), a SAW gunner, Medic, RTO, Platoon leader, three Squad leaders (one which is expected to act as Platoon SGT), Javelin gunners, six riflemen, and a Grenadier. This seems a lot even for a TOE that calls for a three MG weapons squad and several superfluous riflemen.

Since the sculpts are largely the same (the Platoon Leader and PSGT/Squad leaders are the same figures as the Squad Leader and Team Leader figures from the regular sets I don't think I need to go over the sculpting of the figures and the casting quality is on par with the regular infantry packs I've reviewed before although I think the one I received had slightly more flash.

Unfortunately I really don't think the Medic and RTO sculpts justify the purchase of the entire pack and the mis-equipped and out of uniform MG teams are definitely a point against it. I would probably just purchase an extra one of Rebel's standard US Infantry packs and do some work with a knife and putty. Which would also mean that I would have an actual FO figure.

Rebel Minis 15mm Modern US Infantry

I managed to make some time to sit down with my Force on Force US Army Platoon Box from Rebel Minis, starting with one of the Infantry packs. If you use the commonly found 9 man/2 fireteam squad organization you will get two full squads plus a few extra riflemen and a pair of Javelin gunners which you can swap in if you are building a Stryker platoon or organize them with the Javelins from the other packs in the 'Box' as a weapons squad. These are definitely the most modern US 'moderns' I've seen, obviously wearing the IOTV body armor system and mounting optics on their carbines.

Above: Just finished fireteam and squad leader, first try at ACU's UCP camo pattern.
Below: QRF Modern US (old range) on left, Rebel Modern US on right

The sculpts are clean, well executed and seem well proportioned; some are quite active and dynamic. Uniform detail is good with major features well defined and even some small details sculpted in (one of the few times I've seen sculpted in seams on the boot panels). Weapons are well sculpted and fairly detailed but seem a little bit large compared to the figures (and are definately a larger than the QRF modern US figures), and some proportions or deatails are a bit off this is particularly appearant with the SAW gunners with their rather long barrels and exaggerated bipod and some of the carbines with their oddly short and sharply angled magazines.

Casting quality is somewhat mixed. While the mold lines on the outward facing surfaces of the figures are minimal, flash and mold lines on inward facing areas like between the legs or between the arms and chest can be quite prominent during painting and are difficult to remove without significant care and some very small tools. The packs I received had almost no bent or transit damaged parts but one or two in the pack I looked at today did have miscast details like the SGT who was missing the front sight post and barrel from his carbine. The metal used in the casting is quite hard but not so much that small adjustments of thin parts will cause damage but it can make cleaning and removing flash difficult.

These miniatures stand out as one of the only 15mm offerings to depict current US infantry kit such as prevalent carbine optics, IOTV body armor, radio headset, MICH helmet etc. If you want current or near future troops these are one of the best non Sci-Fi offerings. Having gotten these has gotten me tempted to pick up some QRF Strykers and some supporting armor for Force on Force.

Below: Rebel Modern US Infantry left, QRF US moderns right

Rebel minis have arrived

Earlier this week I placed an order with Rebel minis for their Force On Force US Army Platoon Ambush Alley Battle Box, Modern US Sniper pack and 15mm Fedayeen pack. The package arrived earlier today. I also received the books I had purchased from my good friend Panzerfaust 150 to help him out with his "spring cleaning" (help him out, he's got some good stuff up there and he is a very reasonable man).
But, back to the miniatures... Over the next week I will post reviews of each of the Rebel minis sets, starting with the US Sniper team pack (next will be the Insurgent/Fedayeen as they are higher on my to do list, my US troops are getting a bit bored with no OPFOR around).



The pack consists of four sniper teams, two armed with M24/M40 style bolt action rifles and two armed with M107 "Light Fifty" SASRs. Each team has a spotter using a spotting scope and a sniper with a rifle, both are in a prone position, they are modeled as a single piece.
Figure detail is good with 'boonie hats', basic belt gear and scale appropriate uniform detail.
Weapon detail is a little loose but it is pretty easy to tell the two different rifles apart (the slight differences in bases helps) and for table use the detail is quite adequate. [Photo: Left to right, M24/M40 team and M107 team]

Both flash and mold lines were pretty much nonexistent on the pack I received, only requiring one or two nubs to be removed by clippers and file from the side of the base.

Now, what are they good for? Well, they won't work as Squad DMs but any time you have call for a sniper team they should work just fine. The M107 team is only really usable from about 1990 onward as the weapon didn't enter US military service until then but the Bolt action armed teams are usable for a significant period (the M24 entered service in 1988), at least from the late 1980's and might, depending on the rest of your collection, even be passable as Vietnam era snipers since the uniforms are generically Modern US.
Size-wise they appear to be in line with the rest of Rebel's Modern US line and look fine laying next to my old QRF US troops.

Review: QRF Modern US infantry (OLD RANGE!)

EDIT Important Note: Geoff from QRF contacted me about an hour ago to inform me that the miniatures I have reviewed here are from their recently retired range (appearantly Scale Creep was still cleaning out their back inventory) and that these figures and packs have been replaced with new ones. I will be trying to get some of the new figures soon and will review them as well.

Original Post:
So, I've shown you some recently painted examples of QRF's (recently replaced) US infantry from their 15mm Modern line but just how are the sculpts and where do they fit into the 'modern' timeline (given that the US military has gone through at least three major combinations of combat utilities and load bearing gear in the period often refered to as the 'modern' era)?

First, the quality and detail of the miniature and the sculpt. The minis from QRF are generally very well cast with few significant seams and generally minimal flash, much better than I've seen from even GW's vaunted metals. The detail varies depending on which part of the miniature you are concerned with; Helmets, webbing and packs are well detailed for the scale even going so far as to have a sculpted on helmet band, similarly the uniform is well sculpted with well executed folds and creases. Weapons hold something of a middle ground, they are well proportioned to the figure and are reasonably detailed overall but as you get to the figure's hands there is a noticeable loss of detail and verisimilitude. Hands and faces are noticeably poorly sculpted, although definitely an improvement of the quasimodo-esq visiges of their "Deep Space Marines" their lack of certain prominent features has led me to paint many of them as if they were wearing kaffias or hoods to help hide their lack of a discernible lower face, hands are rather varied from sculpt to sculpt from a well rendered gloved hand to something that is either a bizarre mitten or a flipper. At table distance though these flaws are not noticeable and only detract from the miniature under close inspection, at table distances and even somewhat closer they look just like they are expected to and are generally identifiable as what they are (riflemen are distinguishable from automatic riflemen and grenadiers). While probably not recommended for someone that expects a Michelangelo masterwork a wargamer looking for a solid entry in this era won't be disappointed.

One note on materials: As I noted above, there isn't much in the way of flash of major mold lines but there is always some little bit that needs to be removed or some excess material in a crevice to facilitate molding and casting and the metal QRF uses is probably the easiest metal I've worked with in about 17 years of scale modeling and miniature wargaming. However, this may well be a related to the warning label on the QRF packaging cautioning me that the product contains lead. So, just be careful how you breathe and clean up your work area if you have kids around; the rest of the time just enjoy the easy workability and smooth cutting you will have when working on these.

Now, where do they fit in time and space? While it likely isn't noticeable at distance it is appearant that they are wearing Load Bearing Vests (hard to tell if it's IIFS or MOLLE) instead of the older ALICE LC series of webbing so they might not be appropriate for invading Grenada but would fit right in with the initial invasion of Iraq and the earlier conventional force's operations in Afghanistan. Weapons are M4/M16 series rifles with the traditional carry handle on top, M249 SAWs and M203s) Some of the figures (primarily the "Leader" pack) are noticeably wearing PASGT style body armor (with the prominent shoulder pads no less) but that detail is difficult to pick out unless they are painted to emphasize it. In fact, some of the sculpts appear remarkably similar in appearance to the soldiers on the cover of the original Ambush Alley! cover. So, if you need some troops for your 2003 drive to Baghdad or to drive out the Afghani Taliban, these might be what you need.

USA OIF/OEF/Zombie hunters fireteam

The first fireteam of my planned US Army platoon for Ambush Alley and Ambush Z is done, including bases. From left to right we have the Assistant Gunner, Gunner with M249, team leader, and Grenadier.

In related (but likely not of interest to any of my readers) I finally managed to free the height adjustment bolt on my painting chair so I can lower it and stop hunching over so much. Should help out my back considerably.