Vehicle Schemes of the Third World War, Part 2 (The Soviet Union, Poland, and Czechoslovakia)

The Soviet Union and Poland

The Soviets had a multitude of camo patterns and paints during the war, but the most common base pattern was a color that compared very closely to FS (Federal Standard) 34077, a dark green known as Zashchitnuy Zelno that the Soviets had been painting their equipment in since 1956. Thousands of Soviet vehicles saw action wearing this color, and it was still the most common paint scheme in Soviet service, especially in Category III and Mobilization Only divisions, but this scheme was not limited to those units by any means.

Soviet T-72B from an unidentified division from the 38th Army in Zashchitnuy Zelno scheme, Manchuria, 1996

Soviet T-64 from postwar modeling magazine, taken from a photo from an actual example in Poland, ca. 1999 (Taken from Cybermodeler)

Zashchitnuy Zelno Scheme

The Soviets had had field regulations regarding disruptive camouflage since the 1960s, but the colors were those used often for other purposes, such as primer coats for equipment or interior colors, and the application and patterns were left on a haphazard basis to the Field Engineer Brigades and was often not applied except in time of war if it was applied at all.

Osprey plate of BMP-1K attached to unknown MR Division in the Ukraine, 1998. Note the Brown No2 and a non-regulation lighter brown (from civilian stocks?) overspray over the base scheme

From the same Osprey of a BMP-1 somewhere in Poland, September 1997, unit unknown, this time there has been a mix of faded Yellow No1 and Brown No2 over sprayed over the base green

Soviet T-80 from 79th Guards Tank Division, in a prewar photo ca. 1994, with an overspray of Silver Grey No1 and Black No2 over the standard paint scheme

Soviet Field Camouflage Schemes

This practice changed in the 1980s, as the Soviets developed a three color (sometimes, only one color was applied) scheme, called “MERDCski” in the West by observers due to its similarities to the US MERDC scheme.

Soviet T-80 platoon from 25th TD moving up to the front, July 1997, Poland. This photo is a good example of the simplified “MERDCski” scheme.

Soviet T-80 Color Plate taken from postwar modeling magazine, ca. 2019, Example is from a T-80 from 12th Guards Tank Division, Poland, ca. March 1997 with a more complicated version of the “MERDCski” scheme. (taken from Cybermodeler).

MERDCski Paint Chart

Poland used similar schemes to the Soviets, apart from the “MERDCski” scheme, which the Poles never adopted. The main way one differentiated between Soviet and Polish vehicles was the unique “diamond” national insignia.

Polish T-55 with prominent insignia on either side of the gun mantlet.

Czechoslovakia

The Czechs had been an early adopter of disruptive pattern schemes for tanks, having done so before WW-II. The current schemes were based off a water-based tempura paint that did not stand up to particularly hard wear, but was easy to reapply, even during the worst of the Twilight years. Standards and even paint shades were left up to the individual unit commanders, and often, as things broke down, the paint schemes got even more complex, and in some cases, gaudier. The Czech tricolor insignia was always present as well, and many vehicles, no matter how shoddy their paint scheme, would have the tricolor loving applied and touched up whenever possible. The colors that were supposed to be used were similar to the Soviet pre-“MERDCski” paints, and the base scheme was the same Zashchitnuy Zelno the Soviets happened to use.

Color Plate of Czech T-55 taken from Czech State News TV broadcast of January 5th, 1998. Vehicle is heavily oversprayed with Yellow No1 and Brown No2

Czech T-55 from Museum of the US Army, Ft. Belvoir, 2022. Vehicle was captured in this scheme of Yellow No1 and Sand No2 over the base scheme by elements of 1st Armored Division, November 1999

Tiny Metal Chariots of the Twilight: 6mm possibilities for Twilight: 2000

I promised I would discuss this as well, there's a lot of 6mm fans who read this blog, and Fistful of TOWs is a popular rules set around here. Surprisingly, while there isn't a lot to be found on some of the more unique Twilight: 2000 designs, what you can find will surprise you. (Someone makes a LAV-75 under the guise of "RDF Light Tank"). Happily, 90% of kitbashing at this scale is pretty much a matter of hull and turret swaps, and perhaps a little putty work.

I personally think, and this is my own opinion, for what it is worth, you're better off gaming the conventional phase of the war in 6mm and the post nuke phase in a larger scale such as 15 or 20mm, but I can be wrong sometimes. I base this opinion mainly due to the paucity of vehicles once the nukes fly. I am sure some enterprising modeler or wargamer is itching to prove me wrong now...

So, who's out there and what do they make?

I owe a big thanks to Micro Armor Mayhem for some of the links to this report, it's a very useful website of it's own and I encourage 6mm fans to pay it a visit as he covers micro armor VERY well indeed.

Photo taken from GHQ Website

GHQ: They are the granddady of micro armor. Their models for the most part are detailed and well built, (even if the barrels on some of their earlier sculpts are a bit...fiddly). They have a lot of what the average Twilight: 2000 player needs, but they are to be honest, kinda pricy at $11.95 for 5 vehicles on average. Yes, you do pay for their level of detail, and they are prolific. They also have awesome customer service and are good eggs to deal with, having done so at quite a few conventions. Plus, their discounted unit packs are a great start for building that Fistful of TOWs army.

Photo taken from CinC website

CinC:  While there isn't as much detail as on the average GHQ model, you cannot say anything bad about the fidelity of the CinC's offerings. The barrels on average, are a bit more fragile, but I also like the "plug" turrets instead of the "pin" turrets you find offered from most companies. I don't own any of their infantry, but I have heard some complaints about it. Their prices are a bit lower than GHQ, averaging between $5-6 for a platoon of three or four vehicles. Of interest to Twilight: 2000 fans is that their HMMWV range is simply the largest in the industry. Hell, they even make a Sgt. York, if you're really that oldschool! Oh and did I mention, their stuff comes in these nifty plastic cases that are instant storage! Yep, you cannot beat that.

Photo taken from Scotia Grendel Website

Scotia Grendel: Scotia Grendel is one of the most prolific manufacturers out there, they make so much it's not funny. But, the detail is a bit lacking, as seen here, but the fact is, they make stuff GHQ or CinC do not, such as this Brazilian EE-9 above. And, they do paint up nicely, with a bit of care and patience, as seen on this T-64BV:

Not bad if you ask me! Photo taken from the 6mm Wargaming Website

Prices are pretty easy, even with the shipping from England, at 0.50 GBP per vehicle. (which works out these days to about $0.69 a vehicle. Not too bad if you ask me.) But, as I said, you do get what you pay for. But, with a little work and patience, you can really do a nice job, plus they have some really interesting stuff, such as the HMMWV with the 25mm, or the RDF Light Tank, which makes a decent stand in for the LAV-75, or an entire range of FAVs, And that's just the Americans. For the Russians, they make the IT-130s! Yep, that assault gun seen in the pages of the 1st Edition of the Soviet Vehicle Guide. They also make a Neutral Equipment Range, that is full of mortars, recoilless rifles, trailers, motorcycles, and the like. It's very useful as at 6mm, you're going to be hard pressed to tell a 81mm Mortar from an 82mm Mortar.

In short, if you're looking for the more esoteric stuff, look at Scotia, chances are, they have it.

A H&R M60, proves they can paint up nice with some care, taken from the Here's No Great Matter Blog

Heroics and Ros: Heroics and Ros, aka H&R are another British manufacturer with a measure of prolific production, their quality is slightly better than Scotia, but where they shine is the number and breath of nations they cover. Want North Koreans? They got 'em. They got Toyota pickups, irregulars, Soviet VDV with RPO (thermobaric) rockets, they have a lot of stuff. At almost $1 a tank, it's a bit pricer than Scotia, but the detail is a bit better. For my money, I tend to prefer H&R when possible if I can, but that is a preference thing. Again, you're ordering from the UK, so shipping for some of you guys might be an issue.

But, if you want a cheaper option than CinC and GHQ, take a look at these guys.

Again, they paint up pretty nicely, take a little care, and you can do wonders with 6mm. Taken from The Miniatures Page

Main Force Miniatures: Main Force Miniatures is to me, the best producer of micro armor scale infantry out there. Other than the MANPADS figures, all of the figures are cast-prone. I know not everyone likes this, but it does make some pretty indestructible infantry for wargaming (6mm infantry is remarkably brittle for the most part.) The current producers of the line, Magister Militum, are selling the line by the individual base, or by the old company groups it used to come in, considering I play FFT 3 for all of my micro armor needs, I like the groups because a 1:1 company-sized group can become a battalion of infantry in 1:5 scale. In short, I rather like these figures, they paint up nice, and as I said, damn near indestructible. There's also a lot to choose from, Israelis, Americans, Brits, US, Iranians, just to name a few.

Well, that's it for my review of 6mm choices for the Twilight: 2000-themed wargamer. I'll be working on getting a user submission up by the end of the month. It's something I wanted to do for a while now, but had some other stuff (like this article), to get out of the way first. Please feel free to comment if I missed anything, or if your experiences have been different from mine. I love feedback as you know. 

TTFN! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (Yes, and Happy Chanukah, I know it's Late)

Santa Delivers Everywhere, and Has a Minigun to Deal With Those on the "Really Naughty List"

Happy Holidays all. I know it's been a long and fun year here at "500 Miles.." and this will be my last post of the year. I like everyone, intend to spend time with family and friends, and enjoying the company of my wife.

That said, I will be back in the new year with more cool stuff, more on the Post-Apocalypse, and Twilight: 2000 and the miniature possibilities thereof.

We'll be taking on as many of the ideas of Where Do We Go From Here? as I can, and I already have one submission I am working on to whip into shape to be published here. But I would love to hear more from you all, especially article submissions.

And I am sure there will be more PDF releases for Twilight: 2000 and we'll be looking at them as well.

Just before I go, I want to hit you all with some numbers: We've had 32,000+ site visits since I started this in February. I've written 64 articles of varying length, and 43 of you have decided to stay and follow this august blog. To me, that's a very good start.

So, from me at "500 Miles.." again, Happy Holidays, and may you have a full gas tank and plenty of ammo.

Where Do We Go From Here?

A familiar photo to all Twilight: 2000 lovers (Image is IP FFE/GDW)

Ok, gang, I have some ideas on what I want to talk about, but of course, I'd love input from you, the reader. This page is about you guys, and what you want to see, or not want to see. I am going to put ideas for future posts out there as a way of saying a) What I am working on, and b) Ideas for you to contribute?

So without further ado:

• A tutorial on how to build a model of a vehicle and give it the proper "Twilight: 2000" look?
• Some product reviews (I would love to do an article on just hobby and super glues out there).
• The long-threatened 28mm figure and vehicle review article. (This is a subject area I am a little thin on, so any help here would be VERY appreciated).
• A discussion of what's out there in 6mm?
• A discussion on scenario design?
• Book Reviews (I have those Iran-Iraq War books to finish and review, and any other suggestions?) (Already done two, and more incoming)
• An article on vehicle weathering and stowage? Where to get it, make it or just plain how to make it look good?
• Some terrain building ideas?
• Your suggestions? What would you like to see?

I am very eager to see your comments about this. I know we have an audience. The Module reviews have been a big hit and I want to continue the momentum we've had.

So, the floor is yours everyone. Let me know what you are thinking!

A Short Entry

Hello all from the windy world of Twilight: 2000!

Been giving a lot of thought to many of the things I have said and written about. I intend to get to some more practical modeling articles, as well as some more writeups.

But I wanted input from you the reader!

So here is what I need? In the comments section, please let me know, am I?

a) On the right track?
b) We need more eye candy?
c) Some other ideas?

One of the other ideas I had was doing a module a week review with an eye towards dissecting it for the opportunities for miniatures play. We'd start at Kalisz and work our way forward all the way towards the end of the 1st Ed modules (they did a couple of modules for 2nd Ed, but those in my mind, didn't have a lot of minis opportunities, unless of course, you play Merc: 2000)?

I wanted to get your input because as my nuptials come up and my workload increases during the spring, posting time is going to become a bit limited, and I want to make sure, you the reader is happy with what's going up. I enjoy writing this blog, for sure, but I want my readers to stick around.

So here is your chance to speak your mind on what has come before, and what is to come ahead!

Don't be shy everyone!

BTW, I just noticed, it's our 15th post. Man the milestones just keep coming, don't they?