Excellent work Greg. I particularly like the bases with the rounded edges. They seem to soften the overall look of the miniatures and have that quasi counter feel.
Just a question, what are the sizes of your bases? I am toying with 3mm from OO too...
about the boxy thing over the gun: it is a Xenon searchlight. It was used only on the 90mm armed model and when they switched to the 105mm they removed it and replaced with an IR system. By the way being picky... if you get the German M48A2G2 you have the tank already modified (actually the upgunning was originally done by the Germna Heer, IDF and US Army followed suit).
Hi Arrigo - the square and round bases are 20mm in size, 1.5mm thick, with a bit of magnetic material stuck underneath.
The larger bases - with APCs and troops - are small Flames of War size bases from Litko. The dimensions match the FOW small base exactly, without the beveled edge.
Figures I would have ordered the wrong tanks...even in 1/600 scale the frigging Magach messes me up...
well, the Magach is a nightmare for modellers... I have a nice collection of books on the IDF, including the tankograd volume and still the thing is messy. The big problem is that Magach refers both to M48 and M60! And the IDF mis and match a bit the hulls and turrets (like Taiwan with the M48H and derivates...). Even IDF officers sometime are at aloss at explaining the various iterations (asked one once). anyway the first M48 bought from Germany were already equipped with the 105mm, but then they got some from the US with the 90mm (using both version in 1967). By 1973 they had all 48s with the 105mm but also some M60 (with the rounded turret closer to M48 and you think it is and M48A4 or A5...) and M60A1 (with the trademark long turret). If you can get Hunnicut book on the M47/48/60 series (Patton) it is quite useful.
August 28, 2013 at 5:14 AM
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1/600 scale IDF troops ready for action
Some more Pico Armour painting - this time from the Arab-Israeli wars. Up first is a group of IDF infantry in M3 half-tracks. Depending on what level of abstraction is going on in the game, these could represent either a couple of platoons of infantry, or if going Spearhead-style (where each base represents a platoon), an entire mechanized infantry battalion. The two smaller square bases have support half tracks - one an AA track with .50 cal MGs, and the other mounting a 90mm AT gun.
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M3 half tracks a-plenty
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Magachs ready to roll
Up next is a group of M48 Pattons - known as "Magachs" in IDF service. As they did so often, the IDF modified these tanks, giving them a bigger gun (105mm, up from 90mm) and changing the commander's cupola, removing the strange little MG turret. These models do not capture those changes - on a 3mm scale tank, I don't worry too much about it, but I have to say the muzzle brakes and camera (or whatever that box thing is) over the main gun give it away - a credit to the amazing sculpting on these little figures.
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You can see a couple of the M113 TOWs mixed in with the Magachs here - sorry about the blurry pic
There are a few M113s with TOW launchers mixed in with this group. The Yom Kippur War was a real coming out party of sorts for ATGM weapons like the Soviet Sagger and the US TOW missiles. The IDF used these weapons as part of their crushing of the Egyptian offensive toward the passes in the Sinai.
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BMP-mounted infantry and support
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Company or battalion, depending on the game scale
On the Arab side I have a unit of BMP-1 infantry, with an attached BRDM scout car and a ZSU-23-4 AAA tank. Again, depending on the game, these could represent either a company or a battalion. The BMP-1 made its big combat debut in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, but the results were not great. They equipped a few infantry battalions attached to independent tank brigades in the Egyptian and Syrian armies.
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T-62s ready for action in the Sinai
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An attached ZSU-23-4 and PT-76, used as a recon tank, provide support
And last but not least a group of Egyptian T-62 tanks, again with a couple of odds and ends for support. The T-62 also made it's big time combat debut in the middle east during the 1973 war, but they were roughly handled by the IDF. Still, their heavy main guns and unique ammunition (I believe this tank was a pioneer of sorts for using fin-stabilized rounds in the main guns) were noted.
I've got a lot more Pico Armour painted up, but I ran out of bases, so I am waiting for my next Litko shipment to arrive. In the meantime, stay tuned for more random projects and painting work.
"More Pico Armour Painting"
6 Comments -
Very nice work. This really shows how pico armor allows for you to have a large army, while still being more "alive" than counters.
I think that the boxes on the M48s are infrared spotlights.
August 20, 2013 at 11:30 AM
Excellent work Greg. I particularly like the bases with the rounded edges. They seem to soften the overall look of the miniatures and have that quasi counter feel.
August 20, 2013 at 3:41 PM
Hmm hmm hmm... The more of these I see, the more I want to get some. I mean, how else am I going to have time to paint tanks? :D
August 21, 2013 at 8:53 AM
Just a question, what are the sizes of your bases? I am toying with 3mm from OO too...
about the boxy thing over the gun: it is a Xenon searchlight. It was used only on the 90mm armed model and when they switched to the 105mm they removed it and replaced with an IR system. By the way being picky... if you get the German M48A2G2 you have the tank already modified (actually the upgunning was originally done by the Germna Heer, IDF and US Army followed suit).
Arrigo
PS: great painting!
August 27, 2013 at 4:02 PM
Hi Arrigo - the square and round bases are 20mm in size, 1.5mm thick, with a bit of magnetic material stuck underneath.
The larger bases - with APCs and troops - are small Flames of War size bases from Litko. The dimensions match the FOW small base exactly, without the beveled edge.
Figures I would have ordered the wrong tanks...even in 1/600 scale the frigging Magach messes me up...
August 27, 2013 at 10:53 PM
well, the Magach is a nightmare for modellers... I have a nice collection of books on the IDF, including the tankograd volume and still the thing is messy. The big problem is that Magach refers both to M48 and M60! And the IDF mis and match a bit the hulls and turrets (like Taiwan with the M48H and derivates...). Even IDF officers sometime are at aloss at explaining the various iterations (asked one once). anyway the first M48 bought from Germany were already equipped with the 105mm, but then they got some from the US with the 90mm (using both version in 1967). By 1973 they had all 48s with the 105mm but also some M60 (with the rounded turret closer to M48 and you think it is and M48A4 or A5...) and M60A1 (with the trademark long turret). If you can get Hunnicut book on the M47/48/60 series (Patton) it is quite useful.
August 28, 2013 at 5:14 AM