(SALE) Iran-Iraq War collection

In the process of rationalising my collection I'm selling off my collection of Iran - Iraq War forces.

Nearly all models are from the Heroics & Ros 1/300 range while some are GHQ. All were painted and based by myself.

186 Vehicles
8 Guns
79 Infantry and support weapons
4 Aircraft
3 Helicopters

They are also usable for other conflicts and for example have done double duty as Egyptians, Syrians, etc. against chum Micks Israelis.

I am looking for £250.00 GBP for these.

I will post worldwide.

(SALE) Cold War Soviets and United States - SOLD!

In the process of rationalising my collection I'm selling off my collection of Cold War US and Soviet forces.

All models are from the Heroics & Ros 1/300 range and were painted and based by myself.

US Army
104 vehicles
42 Infantry and support weapon stands
1 Aircraft
2 Helicopters

The majority of the vehicles are painted in the MERDC Verdant scheme, but some are in the later plain green.

11 MERDC Command/Observer stands
10 MERDC M113
14 MERDC Bradley
2 MERDC M901
1 MERDC M113 & TOW
3 MERDC M113 & Mortar
2 MERDC Jeep & TOW
1 MERDC M60 Bridge-layer
1 MERDC M60 CEV
6 MERDC M60
6 MERDC M1
3 MERDC M109
3 MERDC M110
1 MERDC Chaperalle

7 Command / Observer stands
3 M1
13 Bradley
2 Hummer
3 M109
2 MLRS

26 Infantry teams
3 Dragon teams
2 Stinger teams
3 TOW teams
3 MMG teams
4 Mortar teams
2 Scout teams

2 Huey Cobra
1 A-10

Soviet Army

To oppose these Americans are a collection of Soviets from the same era.
84 vehicles
41 Infantry and support weapon stands
2 Aircraft
1 Helicopter

9 Command / Observer stands
9 T-62
10-T64
9 T-80
2 ZSU-23-4
1 SA-11
18 BTR-70
3 BMP-1
3 BRDM-2
3 BRDM-2 & ATGW
1 BRDM-2
1 SA-9
2 BM-21
6 2S1

27 Infantry stands
8 ATGW
3 MMG
3 Mortar

Mig-23
SU-25
Mil-24

 I am looking for £150.00 for the US and £125.00 for the Soviets or both for £250.00

BOTH SOLD

I will post worldwide.

Cold War Commander - Iran vs Iraq 1980s

On Tuesday evening Mick and I played another great game of Cold War Commander, this time pitting Iranians against Iraqis in the 1980s.

I was the Iranians and used:

• CO (Command Value 8)
• One Recce Unit (Scouts), two Recce Unit (4x4)
• HQ (Command Value 7), nine Infantry Unit (Regular), one Support Unit (HMG)
• HQ (Command Value 7), nine Infantry Unit (Regular), one Support Unit (HMG)
• HQ (Command Value 8), three Tank Unit (Chieftain)
• HQ (Command Value 7), six Tank Unit (M47 Patton)
• HQ (Command Value 8), six Tank Unit (M60A1 Patton)
• FAO (Command Value 6), three Artillery Unit (105mm)

Having played the Iranians previously I recalled how they had all the best toys but were let down badly by their commander so I had spent the extra points to upgrade the Chieftain and M60 commanders to CV8, it certainly paid dividend in this game.

Mick picked an Iraqi force of (IIRC):

• CO (Command Value 8)
• Three Recce Unit (BRDM2)
• HQ (Command Value 7), six Infantry Unit (Regular), one Support Unit (Sagger), six IFV Unit (BMP1), one Transport Unit (BTR50)
• HQ (Command Value 7), six Tank Unit (T-62)
• HQ (Command Value 7), nine Tank Unit (T-55), three Infantry Unit (Regular), three IFV Unit (BMP1)
• Two FAO (Command Value 6), three Artillery Unit (152mm)

A few turns in and the T-55 have still not showed

We laid out the table as the image on the right and decided to play the Encirclement scenario and after a roll-off the Iranians would be the defender.

With only twelve turns to get 11 stands off the other table edge with my poor Command Values it would be quite a challenge.

I deployed my troops, one column of infantry on the right would make an attempt to rush the road to the other side while supported by the battalion of M47. On my left another mass of infantry would attempt to use the large wood as a jump-off point for a drive on the escape point while supported by the M60s. The Chieftains would support both flanks from the centre. 

On my left flank Mick had deployed the T-55s and on my right the T-62s and the majority of his infantry.

I took the first turn and for probably the first time ever with the Iranians everything moved, which was a turn up for the books. As you can see from the photos above I had made some excellent progress before any Iraqi tanks had arrived, only the BMP-mounted battalion were deployed in cover from my tanks in that wood on the bottom right.

On my left the Pattons were supporting the infantry who were making great progress down the road from hull-down positions on a small rise. While, on my left the infantry were getting bogged down in the woods, with CV7 it's very difficult to move troops through difficult terrain.

Iranian infantry column capitalises on the road access.

Neither battalion of Iraqi armour had showed up yet, but that was soon to change. The T-62 battalion appeared on my right flank and supported by the Sagger from the infantry had soon made short work of my M47 Patton tanks. However, on the left the T-55 battalion eventually appeared and beat my sluggish M60s to the low hill on that side. From his hull down positions he should have really made mincemeat of my armour, however after a brisk fire-fight all nine T-55 were destroyed for the loss of only two M-60.

On my right the Chieftains swung into action, seeing to the BMP1 that were now shooting up my infantry and two of them engaging in a duel with the T-62s that could only really go one way. Soon, despite some losses I had exited eight infantry stands from the table edge and only needed another three teams off for a major victory although time was running short.

Eventually, on the final turn, with the Iraqi attack in disarray I scooted a pair of Chieftains an a M60 off the table and victory was mine, although the losses inflicted by Mick meant I had a minor rather than a major victory.

Upgrading the M60 and Chieftain commanders to CV8 certainly worked in this game, this coupled with the poor initial Iraqi rolls to activate their tank battalions really had them setting off on a wrong foot.

We polished the evening off chatting about setting up a campaign based in the 1980s, probably some Cold War got hot adventure.

I did not put in my dusty brown cloth and we played on a standard club table, so the terrain is probably a bit too verdant. All the miniatures are from mine and Micks collections mainly Heroics & Ros and GHQ models painted by ourselves.

1967 on the Golan Heights(ish)

It's been an age since I last played Cold War Commander, indeed there is not a single battle report on the blog so I am guessing my last game was before November 2011 when I started Scrivsland.

Back in November, Mick and I arranged a game, but due to work commitments it kept getting rescheduled, however yesterday evening we finally managed to settle down to a game. We both have quite extensive collections, but we decided that this time we would play Israelis against Syrians during the 1967 Six Day War.

As we had not played for such a long time we opted for the encounter scenario with 3000pt forces over eight turns/

I chose Syrians and used:

CO (Command Value 8)
2 Recce Unit (BRDM)
Two infantry battalions each HQ (Command Value 7), 9 Infantry Units (Conscripts), 1 Support Unit (HMG) and 1 Support Unit (Mortar, 81/82mm)
Tank battalion of 1 HQ (Command Value 7) and 9 Tank Units (T54)
Tank battalion of 1 HQ (Command Value 7) and 9 Tank Units (T34/85)
Tank company of 1 HQ (Command Value 7) and 9 Tank Units (T10-M)
Anti-tank company of 1 HQ (Command Value 7) and 3 SPAT Units (SU-100)

Artillery support of FAO (Command Value 6) and 3 Artillery Units (122mm)

Mick used the much better led Israelis

CO (Command Value 10)

2 Recce Units

1 Anti-tank Unit (SS11 ATGW)

Two infantry battalions each 9 Infantry Units (Regulars), 1 Support Unit (HMG) and 1 Support Unit (Mortar, 81/82mm), 1 Support Unit (Recoiless) all in half-tracks

Tank battalion of 1 HQ (Command Value 9) and 9 Tank Units (Super Sherman)

Tank battalion of 1 HQ (Command Value 9) and 3 Tank Units (20-pdr Centurion)

Artillery support of FAO (Command Value 7) and 1 Artillery Unit (122mm)

Artillery support of FAO (Command Value 7) and 1 Artillery Unit (152mm)

Mick only had three commanders to my seven, but they were much higher rated.

I set the table up with some large hills under the cloth (they may not show up too well in the pictures) and with a small road network with three villages. We elected for a mobile deployment bringing on our forces from the start. As was proved later this favours the armies with decent command values as their troops can actually get onto the table!

I went first and managed to entice one infantry battalion, the heavy tank company and the T34/85 battalion onto the table, the infantry even 'double-oned' and were raring towards their objective.. The Israelis countered deploying the Centurions on one hill, the infantry in the centre and the Shermans towards the hill on the other flank, however the Shermans 'double-sixed' and retreated towards their start line. This was to continue next turn when they again 'double-sixed' and were back where they started.

My T34/85 battalion roared up the table towards the Centurions, hoping to cover the distance quickly, however although the T54 had by now arrived their advance was sluggish. The Centurions soon despatched three of the T34/85.

The Shermans had by now sorted themselves out and were duelling with my heavy tanks, Mick soon discovered what beasts he was facing though and soon changed targets to concentrate his fire on my T54s. Along with the fire from the Centurions, SS11 and Recoilless Rifles my T54s were soon wiped out, a lot to do with very poor armour save rolls on my part!

It was now turn four and my SU-100 finally made an appearance, moving to plug the gap left by the missing T54 company!

However, this had allowed my remaining T34/85 to close the distance on the Centurions and to take up defensive positions. In a brisk close-range fire-fight, the T34/85 knocked out two of the Centurions, that was quite a result.

The Shermans closed the distance on my T10-M heavy tanks and I had soon lost one, although the remainder proved very stubborn and were able to account for several of the Israeli infantry who were closing the distance on one of my infantry battalions. Although I was well dug into the village and surrounding crops the weight of numbers and superior quality of both the Israeli command and troops soon began to tell and I was taking off infantry bases at an alarming rate.

Seven turns in with the clock running down and snow falling outside we wrapped up the game, both of us had achieved minor objectives and it was not likely we would make a major breakthrough if we kept playing.

After over a three year hiatus I really enjoyed this game of Cold War Commander and I hope to be writing a few more of these reports over the coming months.

The Syrians are all from my collection and the Israelis from Micks. The terrain is all mine. Most of the figures are from Heroics and Ros with quite a few from GHQ.

Cold War Commander Reinforcements

These will be the last newly painted figures of 2014.

A good few years ago a few of us had some great games of Cold War Commander. I painted up US Army and Soviets for a fictional 1980's conflict as well as an extensive collection for the Iran-Iraq War of the same time period.

About three years ago, Mick and I played a 1967 campaign with Mick using his Israelis and myself using my Iranians and Iraqis as their Arab adversaries. Mick and I have scheduled another game of Cold War Commander early next month so I took the opportunity to paint up some of the stuff I already had, a cheeky little order  of my own to Heroics and Ros, plus a stocking filler from my wife Victoria who also purchased me some Heroics and Ros goodies.

They are Army Painter Desert Yellow, Vallejo Beige Brown for the camouflage patterns, Black for the tracks and a quick dry-brush with Pale Sand. I then washed with Sepia Wash mixed with Glaze Medium.

The bases are US Tan Earth dry-brushed with Iraqi Sand and then Pale Sand.

First of all I found the other three GHQ T-10M to go with those I painted earlier in the month.

These are 10 H&R T-35/85, the command base has a GAZ67 added

These are 10 H&R T54 that Victoria bought for me, the command base has a BRDM-2

Five H&R T-72 from Victoria, I used Chocolate Brown camouflage for these as I wanted a deeper contrast.

Three H&R SU-100

Six GHQ BTR-50 armoured personnel carriers, again using a Chocolate Brown camouflage

Some recce elements, three BRDM1 and a pair of GAZ67 jeeps, one with a spare 14.5mm HMG added.

Here is a shot of the lot

GHQ T-10M

I've not played Cold War Commander in the three years that the blog has been running, However, I had a little hankering and have arranged a game with Mick in a couple of weeks time.

It will be a 1967 Arab-Israeli clash and I'll be using the troops from my Iran-Iraq War collection. I knew though that I had some blisters of GHQ stuff lying around and I found a pack with three T-10M in it so I gave then a quick paint job ready for our game.

They are Army Painter Desert Yellow, Vallejo Beige Brown for the camouflage patterns, Black for the tracks and a quick dry-brush with Pale Sand. I then washed with Sepia Wash mixed with Glaze Medium.

The bases are US Tan Earth dry-brushed with Iraqi Sand and then Pale Sand.

Poor pictures taken in the morning gloom that filtered through our windows.