Thursday, November 29, 2018

Introducing our New Contributor: Ultravanillasmurf

Jason has kindly invited me to contribute to this blog.

I am of an age where the Nuclear Apocalypse was part of my fictional background. From Andre Norton to Philip K Dick.  I read stories of living in the post nuclear age, but without the existential angst of those who had lived through the very public spat that was the Cuban Missile Crisis. We had been under threat of nuclear annihilation for longer than I had been alive and had made it through so far. Little did I know of the near misses in my lifetime such as Able Archer ’83.

Even television provided images of the post-apocalyptic world. Survivors showed me a world where authority collapses and survivors behave no better than the children in Lord of the Flies (a book we studied at school – more nuclear apocalypse).

It was at University that I encountered Twilight 2000 (via Games Designer Workshop’s Traveller). We ran RPG and miniature games set in the world, and later in the more conventional Team Yankee timeline. This was ably assisted by GDW producing a number of associated board games and supplements. It was not just GDW products, there were a number off suitable Osprey books, plus others.

I used the forces from the Team Yankee board game for weekend miniature campaigns using the Challenger rules from Table Top Games.

I had armies in 6mm from Heroics and Ros, GHQ and Scotia (great for the FAV and LAV-75) and 20mm in metal from Skytrex and MMS, plus the ubiquitous plastic kits in scales from 1/87 to 1/72.

After a number of years away from the “period”, I have started building up vehicles and figures, this time in 28mm. It usefully matches new "Ultramodern" and other post apocalyptic settings such as The Walking Dead.
Bundeswehr infantry defend a supermarket

Soviet forces secure a communications post

I hope you will find the 28mm figures, vehicles and buildings of interest.

Like Colonial period adventures and Inter War murder mysteries, Twilight 2000 has its own prejudices and attitudes that to a modern reader maybe problematical. That does not mean that I do not enjoy returning to them as escapist fiction.

References



2 comments:

  1. Interesting stuff. I have been recreating my own Cold War collection in 28mm as well. So far I have noticed a real lack of appropriate models. Eureka has an interesting but incomplete range for the 1978-1985 period US Army, but there are a lot of missing units. Most of the modern stuff out there is for 2001 and beyond with IBAs, OTVs and now lots of rail mounted stuff on their rifles. Have you had any luck finding models appropriate for the 1990's era "Twilight War" i.e. Milans and Dragons ATGMs, Guys in Kevlar with M60s or M240s?

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