RPG Stands Painted Up

Here are my first efforts at RPG stands.

These troops could be Cuban, FAPLA, FNLA or UNITA - although I think the FNLA had more NATO type kit - G3 rifles and LAWs etc.

I've deliberately painted these guys up in a variety of khaki and olive drab and camouflage clothing as I think that an army that spent any time in the field would quickly lose any uniformity. I'm not sure about the bases - I used a textured paint and model railway ballast and painted this with acrylic terracotta paint then drybrushed with acrylic sand before adding Army Painter tufts and static grass. I wanted to give the impression of dry ground and red earth. It's growing on me - no pun intended.

More to follow- I'm working on 14 small arms bases over the next few days. 

Storm Clouds

February 1975

 

“Peele’s source in Luanda finally came up with something on the Cubans”

“Anything of substance Neil?”

“Hard to say Sir, a Major Perez and a Major Cadelo spent the last couple of months over there on a ‘fact finding mission’, they met with Neto, who apparently asked for the world, but we know nothing of the response from Havana”

“Is Neto’s star on the rise?”

“The MPLA seem to be gaining ground but it’s hard to tell. The Portuguese are trying to broker a deal between the factions but I suspect they will cut and run eventually. The Chinese dabbled with the FNLA but they’ve pulled out. The Cousins are spending a bit on Roberto and his merry men though”

‘’Hmm…and Savimbi?”

“Unsure Sir, UNITA are very quiet. There’s some indication that Pretoria are taking an interest there.”

“Do the Cousins know that?”

“Highly unlikely Sir, should we tell Ross?”

“Over lunch Neil, over lunch”

Rules of Engagement

I'll be using Peter Pig's AK47 Reloaded Rules for this project.

I've been playing an adapted version of these rules set during during the Russian Civil War for a year or so now . They're fun and fast play and sufficiently realistic for my tastes. I like the way the emphasis is on training and morale and not on technology.

I'll produce adapted army lists for the protagonists in the War for Slow Readers and will write scenarios and victory conditions for my games as well as using the scenario generator in the rules.

I also intend to play some small games with using 300 point armies as per the suggestions in the published rules so that a) I familiarise myself with the rules and b) I get playing, and posting AARs, as soon as possible.

August 1974

‘…the next item gentlemen, is Angola…the Cousins tell us Havana has sent two representatives of the DGI to Luanda…they want to know if our people know anything about this…Harry?’

‘Peele may be able to tell us something, he had a source in Luanda, at least he did until there was a rush on flowers in Lisbon’

‘Find out what you can. Next…there is a delicate matter in Cyprus I believe Anthony?’

January 1975 The White House

'Gentlemen, this is a map of Africa and here is Angola. Now, in Angola we have three factions. There's the MPLA, they're the bad guys. The FNLA, they're the good guys and there's UNITA and Jonas Savimbi we don't know too well'

25 April 1974

'Events in Portugal continue to unfold since troops seized key government buildings, radio and televsion stations and the airport in Lisbon this morning. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in apparent support of the MFA, or Armed Forces Movement, a group which appears to be led by junior officers and which is, amongst other things, opposed to Portugal's continued involvement in guerilla wars in its African colonies of Mozambique and Angola....'





















'Commentators are already beginning to dub events the 'Carnation Revolution' after the people welcomed soldiers with flowers...'

Mobilising the troops

This is the photograph of the 'greens' of the Command Decision 15mm African Irregulars supplied on the Old Glory website. I've a packet of these as well as a packet each of the African Irregular Command & Support Weapons; Middle Eastern Regulars; and Middle Eastern Command & Support Weapons. The latter are helmeted and, mixed in with the irregulars will represent Cuban and FAPLA troops.

The figures are disappointing at first glance, at least in comparison to the Peter Pig range, but I think they'll paint up well and are a relatively cheap way of massing 200 or so figures. I also have half a dozen each of T-55s and BTR 60s from Command Decision.

The next task, apart from painting up these, is to order technicals, URAL trucks and other odds and ends to make up a Cuban/FAPLA army.