Weather delays

Probably for one of the first times ever there is a weather related delay in miniature painting and reviewing. The heatwave in the US this week (and in my area, the week before) has put a bit of a hold on my ability to work on miniatures (when super glue starts boiling in the bottle and paint dries as it pours it becomes very difficult to get much building or painting done).

I will also be attending a security conference this month which between preparations and attending will take up most of what would be my normal productive (miniatures) time. I do have a few items for my USCMC project ready to be written up so I will try to put up something so that I can keep semi regular updates going.

My latest QRF order arrived (cleverly packed in an old Purina box) containing what should be the last models required for the USA Stryker Platoon and the c.2003 USMC for Iraq. Once the weather abates I should have plenty to share.

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.

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.

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.