Kit bash Airfix 1/76 RAF Recovery Set (03305): PART 1

Our kit in it's natural form

Welcome gentle reader to another installment of "It's 500 Miles to the German Border". As our local Twilight:2000 campaign takes place in the US, I've been focusing my model making more to reflect that.

This time around I'll be sharing my (mis)adventures in kit bashing/converting the Airfix 1/76 RAF Recovery Set (03305). This one from what I have read is a reproduction of the 1970s kit (of a WW2 subject).. Now currently, Airfix has let this kit go OOP. I was able to get it pretty cheap considering all of the goodies it came with: The kit has a few figures, as well as 2 motorcycles, 1 crane/truck and a tractor-trailer, plenty of Post-Apocalyptic conversion fodder goodness!

Normally I wouldn't have bought this as its a WW2 kit. But as my son and others have pointed out that it will still run in a post-EMP world.  That's good enough for me! My apologies to the WW2 sticklers out there.

The kit itself is worth the price I paid, as it was cheaper than I would have spent on a regular Trumpeter or Revell kit with just a single model in it. And, as my full intention was to "Mad Max" this kit, I am not too upset in case something goes wrong, as I might be with a more expensive kit. I also bought a bunch of die cast cars that I'll be modding in another article.

Outside of the usual modelling tools, I also wanted to use a wire mesh (to make windows look mean and really "Mad Max"). Normally an innocuous purchase for whatever reason, the stars really misaligned and nobody in my immediate area carried that stuff. So, I had to improvise and bought a plumbing supply part. Adapt and overcome!

I did pick up some snips which I thought would work well for the mesh but they turned out to be crap and the old standard side cutters (for models, sprue, etc.) actually did a better job cutting the wire mesh! Not so sure I'd want to use em all the time as I'm sure they're dulling out.

And thus, there went the first phase with the tractor-trailer:

The kit itself had pretty simple and well sculpted parts, the instructions were a bit wonky with circled numbers referring to the part numbers and other numbers representing paint shades. It was all a bit of information overload and at times, got quite confusing.

The sprues were easy to to cut and the parts needed minimal filing for very small amounts of flash as well as to assist in fitting.

This time I followed my own advice and dry fitted all the parts before assembly and priming (It was a painful lesson to learn, I assure you). I raided the spare parts bin on this build which is good for getting that post-apocalypse "junk yard" look.

I then finished the assembly and primed the kit in black. I personally like to do a "white wash" over the model, really just a dry brush in white to highlight all of the details then start adding color, by building up layers on the paints. I use washes to highlight different features and this time I used some chalk to help in making rusty effects.

I've added the remaining photos below for your consideration. Thanks for tuning in, till next time!

-Evil von Scary

A Couple of Rules Reviews - A View of the Disunited Kingdom and The Zone

Taken from the Miniatures Page

Skirmish Wargaming in the Late C20th Century

Written by Wayne Bollands

ISBN: 978-1-85818-758-7

56 pages

Paperback

$29.00 from On Military Matters

A new "Cold War Gone Hot" rules set has hit the market, and I've gotten an chance to take a look at it. The only reference to the novel series is that shares the name, and something of the premise, but no hovercraft or hard as nails snipers to be found here! It's a shame, because that series was very, very gameable, both from a RPG and wargaming perspective. The production quality was fairly good, and I was pretty chuffed with it when I first got it, but there were some issues. 

First, I wasn't too happy that some of the gear mentioned in the squad organizations was not stated out in the game. Granted, an M113 is probably very much like an FV-432 in game terms, but it's really kind of phoned in IMO, or one size fits all ATGM?!

You can tell it's descended from "Living on the Frontline", which is a plus, (with some minor but needed changes to activation) and the game's system is very, very similar, if not identical, especially when the game mentions you can even resolve thrown bricks! (Something tells me the Soviet and East German views on suppressing rioting West Germans would be very different from, oh , say, the British in Northern Ireland). Again, my issues are more with what is missing, than what is present.

All in all, I got the feeling they took "Living on the Frontline", ported some elements over to make it more "Cold War Gone Hot" and then printed it. Like that recipe you taste and say, "it's good, but it just needs something." That said, the production values are nice, with gorgeous photos and readable text throughout. The system is solid, and very easy in execution, one wishes there was a bit more here.

Sorry gang, but I have to give this one 3 out of 5 Mushroom clouds. It's not bad, but it could be a lot better.

Authors Note: Wayne Bollands reached out on Facebook and pointed out some cogent points that I may not have elucidated enough on in my initial review. His comparison to Force On Force and derived rules is fair, and I would certainly take that under advisement. As a point being made that there are future supplements coming. I do look forward to seeing those.

We do try to be fair in our reviews at "500 Miles.." and we hope this note of clarification helps better explain the rating "The Zone" got.

Taken from the Miniatures Page

Living on the Frontline – Winter of 79: A View of the Disunited Kingdom

Wayne Bollands

ISBN: 978-1-85818-715-0

48 pages

Paperback

$29.00 from On Military Matters

This is a supplement for "Living on the Frontline" that thrashes out a potential scenario for a "Winter of '79" style "British Civil War". I really liked this book. For a Twilight: 2000 head like me, this is a really good alternate campaign idea and you can use this for a variety of ideas to set a campaign in a post-apocalyptic UK. It's certainly better than SGUK turned out to be, eh?

The book is in full color, and it's got a lot of nice one paragraph writeups of all of the various factions, including flags (which I suppose you could make flags for the various factions if you were so inclined?). I thought the product was solid, and it comes with additional rules for cavalry (riot cops on horseback anyone, or perhaps something more...basic, armed TA on horseback?)

It's also got nine scenarios, and I was very, very happy to see the variety of scenarios available, all of them easily adapted to the Twilight: 2000 milieu. The production values were solid, and I was happy with the ideas behind the scenario laid out in the book as a means to further putting troops on the table, or even role playing? All in all, this is a good purchase, and I would recommend it. 4 out of 5 mushroom clouds here. 

A review of 2 Land Rover Kits - Airfix and JB Models

Royal Marines LWB Land Rover

by Jorge Del Rio

While I was stationed in Europe I came to meet with two groups of British troopers that greatly impressed me. The British Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force Regiment, both of these used the Land Rover 1 ton truck as an operational vehicle. The Royal Marines also use another vehicle that I have been tracking and will continue to track until I find it - the BV206.

Airfix and JB Models Kits

Well, in my Twilight 2000 universe, the elements of the 5^th Infantry encountered an Intelligence Gathering Team from the Royal Marine Commandos, the group is using 2 Land Rover Long Wheel Base trucks and ¼ ton trailers to carry their equipment. So I have two of the trucks and trailers for the signal intelligence team. Looking on eBay I managed to locate 5 Land Rover LWB with trailers, 3 Hard Shell covered Land Rovers and 2 Soft Canvas covered trucks. In 1/72 HO Scale I found most of the vehicles were either 3d printed or Airfix models, so off I went and got them.

I received 4 Airfix Land Rovers and a JB Models Land Rover, first thing I noticed was that both kits were identical, except the hard cover was different, and since I have all this extra time on my hands (am recovering from ankle surgery) I decided to go ahead and knock these out.

The sprue for both kits!

Started the Airfix kit and 10 minutes later it was finished. The model was very easy to put together and very clean in the parts everything fit, I decided that I was going to add a crew for the vehicle, so using the Elhiem Figures OPS11 British Osprey WMIK crew the driver and a sitting GPMG gunner fit into the vehicle. I will add back packs and other gear using from Black Dog’s Modern Soldiers Gear, it will go into the back of the Land Rover.

A work in progress

The assembled kit, plus the Ehliem figures.

Each of the kits of the kits has ¼ Trailers which I am going to use for the carrying of the surveillance and Radio intercept equipment, one of the trailers will be built into a command container, the marines would have set up a remote listening post in the field, capable of listening to Soviet transmissions. 

Review of the S-Model 1/72 scale M151A1/A2 MUTT

Review by Jorge Del Rio

I started playing Twilight 2000, while serving overseas with US Air Force, as a Security Forces member, and where I was stationed we used Jeeps in some of our patrols. When I started playing I collected some of the Miniatures that went with the game and added some Hotspur and MERC figures. When the game went dormant in my area I continued playing other games which used the miniatures. After finding out that this group existed I was able to put all the miniatures that I had collected and was using for another game to use, so I started looking for some other miniature and Models that I could use.

The M151A1
In my area we have a large group of reenactors that play out different battles from World War 2 and Vietnam, in which I have participated in. a couple of them have the Ford M151A1 and M151A2 MUTT jeeps, and quite frankly it is a great utility vehicle.

In my gaming, I pursued a location which could be built up into a safe haven for my players from which they could go out and conduct raids and search and destroy mission, and with the New America Cells cropping up everywhere it was perfect, what better place than Cedar Key, which is a small island chain that has its own Airport and port. With a large population of reenactors, I built a new location, and gave them the ultimate tool the M151A1 jeeps.

Image taken from S-Model Website

The Kit: 
The box contains 2 models which were able to be easily built with the weapons included in the  model kit. The kit has parts for an M2.50 Cal and a M60 LMG, I’m now searching to see if I can find a TOW armed version that I can add as a salvage unit. 

The model box contain 2 sprues, all the parts for a given vehicle are on one sprue.

The model is relatively easy to build, took me 15 minutes. 

The biggest issue with me is that it has photo etched parts (which I’m not a big fan of) and no replacement for the parts in plastic. 

The model is easy and pleasing to the eye. If you get it you will definitely enjoy it. I give it 4 out of 5 mushroom clouds, with the photo etched parts being the only real drawback.

Ironclad Miniatures - a review

I know I have been doing a lot of reviews lately, but hey, it's what I have time for what with 20mm WWII dominating my time lately. I am not a prolific painter by any stretch, in fact, the prep for this game was something of me on a mission, so I will be slowing down to something of a more sedate level in the future.

Now that said, I did paint up something of interest to Twilight: 2000 miniatures gamers, and that is some items from Ironclad Miniatures. Specifically, I painted up FP-1a, Hasty Trench Position, and FP - 5, their Prepared Trench. Both come in a hard resin, grey in color, and are lightweight and durable from first blush.

I was really happy with the ease of painting them, after an undercoat of black gesso which held really well, I painted them a shade of BF Woodland Brown overall, and then scattered some Citadel Scorched Grass flock. I then added random tufts from the Army Painter line, as well as some school project rocks that I then painted grey, and drybrushed a lighter grey. the branches were painted a VMC Flat Earth, and the sandbags VMC Middlestone. The wood slats in the trench I hit with a bit of VMC Flat Earth as well, and drybrushed AK New Wood over it. I then hit the item with pin washes of Magik Mudd Wash (sadly no longer available).

All in all, I was pleased with the product, and highly encourage it. They make an entire Vietnam Firebase line of products that would do very well for cantonments, and I am going to say this much, if they paint up as well as these small pieces did, then I am encouraged. They also have some ruins that I got as well (all of the Ironclad Miniatures products were purchased by my wife as a nice Xmas surprise last Christmas!) and some Hedgerows for Normandy. I am especially looking forward to those, as they look to be as easy as chips to assemble and paint up.

Anyhow, here's some pics of the painted products...ready to play:

In short, I give them 5 out of 5 mushroom clouds and will tell you that they are an excellent product, and one you should give a try for any 20th century gaming! 

The Writing Team is Growing!

Well everyone, we have a new Associate Writer here at "500 Miles..." Evil Von Scary is a long time fan of the blog, and his modeling efforts on the Twilight 2000 fp and workshop page on Facebook are both prolific, and a sight for the eyes.

Those are the reasons I asked (begged him, really), to join the staff of "500 Miles..". I asked him to talk about the kits he has worked on, the methods he has used, and to review the kits he has worked on.

I am still slogging through the Iran-Iraq books I mentioned previously, its a tough read, and it's engaged a minor pet peeve of mine. Proofreading matters. I know they cost money, but running a foreign language book through Google Translate and calling it done is not a way to proceed. Believe me, you'll please more customers in the long run if you are publishing anything for sale if you give it a few good edits.

Rant over, and I will try to keep them few and far between, but I really needed to get it off my chest.

Also, forgot to mention that Henry Hyde, author of the Wargaming Compendium (an exceptional book ANY wargamer should have on his shelf), as well as former managing editor for both Battlegames and Miniature Wargames magazine, mentioned us during a Q & A on his podcast on his Paetron page (its members only to hear the podcast, but we here at "500 Miles" encourage you to join up!) Thank you, Henry!

Module Suitability Review: Korean Sourcebook

Taken from DriveThru RPG

Hey all, been a long time since we did one of these, eh?

Well, this has been long threatened for Twilight: 2000, long demanded, cajoled, and pleaded for, and now, it's finally here. A canon sourcebook for the Land of the Midnight Calm. And, like the last time, it seems this 2nd Korean War has settled into a stalemate again, this time, both combatants are at the ends of long, shattered supply chains, fighting in a nuked, blasted landscape, and they are surrounded by a population that really wishes they'd leave. (Pretty much sounds like a lot of Twilight: 2000).  

So what do you get? For starters? I must say, Raellus did a good job. For a $2.99 PDF download, you do get a lot for your money. A very good description of events in Korea, a whole chapter on Korean Culture (a very useful thing for non-Korean GMs and players!) It has a lot of information on all the players in North and South Korea in 2000, important NPCs, character generation rules, as well as campaign ideas and missions and equipment unique to the Korean peninsula.

What I really like about this module is how it plays off the split between the Soviets and their North Korean "allies" (who are basically allies in at most, name only, really.) and the Milgov/Civgov - esque split in South Korea (which makes a lot of sense considering South Korea's history of Military/Civilian relations in the past). Rae also manages to throw a bit of horror elements into it for those so inclined. 

While the book has some editing issues, it's a solid book overall, I had a lot of flashbacks to the format and writing style of RDF Sourcebook, which as a model, you could not ask for a better template if you ask me. 

Now of course, you ask, what is the miniature gaming scenario potential for this book? Well, as it turns out, a lot, so let's get cracking, eh?

Skirmish Games

Like it's spiritual ancestor, the RDF Sourcebook, the Korean Sourcebook doesn't have any specific ideas for skirmish gamers, but the Mission Generator has some really good skirmish game fodder, as well as the rules for North Korean tunnels (Yes, that alone would make a great table setup and a very unique idea, a post-apocalyptic dungeon crawl! Always a hit!)

But here's some other ideas:

• A small American outpost on the frontline, and it's adventures could be resolved as a skirmish campaign, you could use a mix of rules from the module, and either Force on Force or No End in Sight's campaign systems would shine here, no matter what rules you use. Using Platoon Forward from Too Fat Lardies would be an excellent idea to flesh out the personalities of the American garrison. 
• A race to recover a nuclear weapon that failed to detonate from the remains of Seoul. You could have a three sided race, the US/South Koreans, the North Koreans, and the Soviets all racing to get the warhead before the other side does. And then there are complications with the nuke itself. Black Ops would be a great set of rules for this and a devious referee could make this a very exciting bit of gaming meets an RPG adventure.
• Another great idea is a raid on the remains of the North Korean bioweapons program by either side, neither of whom is going to be really enthused about the Kim family unleashing whatever variety of nasty their scientists have been cooking up on what is left of the world. This would also make great Black Ops fodder.
• Gaming out the initial raids by North Korean commandos and sleeper cells on a South Korean installation (any number of ideas here can be mined), versus a collection of South Korean cops, reservists, and other internal security forces). If the North Korean player can escape with any of his people, you can then game out the hunt for the surviving commandos as a mini campaign for Black Ops?
• A clash between an American/ROK supply convoy and North Korean partisans. Rules for this would be Force on Force.

Larger Games

In terms of larger game fodder, like RDF Sourcebook, you really have to mine that from the chronology, as organized military operations do tend to break down after about 1998. But, it seems you can get some really interesting stuff out of it, some of the more interesting ideas to me are:

• The initial attack on the DMZ, you could do a collection of company sized US or ROK outposts along the "Z" hit by a couple battalions of North Korean light infantry, with a bit of armor, and more than enough artillery (which isn't going to hit much outside it's pre-planned targets, but the pre-planned ones should be hyper accurate), and with some pre positioned North Korean sappers already to the rear of the US/ROK positions). The North Koreans have to overrun all of the positions to win, the US/ROK has to just hold one to win. Rules for this in my opinion would be the Cold War Battlegroup rules put out by the Cold War Hot Hot Hot blog, as authored by Richard Chambers, as the game is kinda too big for a skirmish game, and too small for a 1:5 game like Fistful of TOWs or Command Decision.
• The fight for Munsan in the early days of the North Korean invasion, it's a desperate rear guard action between dug in South Korean defenders buying time for the ROK/US forces to set up a defense further south, and a North Korean mechanized army trying to push down the traditional invasion corridor. Couple this with a heavy chem environment in an urban area, and you have quite the game for Fistful of TOWs.
• The summer 1997 amphibious landing near Kimpo by US 4th Marine Division and ROK 6th Marine Brigade. This landing and the subsequent breakout has the makings of a pretty decent Fistful of TOWs or Command Decision campaign.
• The retreat of US 8th Army from the Yalu in 1997 as the Soviet Yalu Front enters the war in late summer of 1997. Fistful of TOWs works well here, as you might be using a nuke or two to simulate the heavy use of Soviet tactical nuclear weapons here.
• The "Last Soviet Offensive of the War in Korea" in July of 1998, this could make a decent Fistful of TOWs or Command Decision game, as you have a depleted Soviet MRD with support from a Air Assault Brigade (both short on fuel) attacking towards the Gimwha Valley in an effort to seize the farmland to feed the Soviet army trapped in North Korea, as well as the US/ROK counterattack. This also might work as a campaign for Fistful of TOWs or Command Decision.

Well, that is it for now. We have a bit coming down the pike, a review and build of PSC's recently released T-55 kit for 20mm, a review and writeup of the Unofficial Cold War variant for Battlegroup, and those Iran-Iraq books I have been promising a review of. I will get to them, also, my roleplaying group and I want to try an actual Twilight: 2000 themed miniatures game in the very near future, so I am excited about that, and I will be working on that soon, so lots to come.

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!

Some News, and a Bit of Commentary

Hi all, first off, I wanted to thank everyone for the response to this blog, again. You all keep surprising me about the level of interest there is in this blog, and I promise I will do my best to keep this blog going with relevant content and ideas to share, so long as you all keep reading.

Now, the news is good, PSC has hit the halfway mark on those 1/72 scale T-55s! Now I know, it's only the halfway mark, but the fact is? It's a demonstration that there is interest. I personally would like to see fast build kits for the modern 20mm gamer out there. In a lot of cases, we have had to make do with models. (S & S and Libmins, or perhaps random diecasts notwithstanding) It's a long time coming, and while S-Model sorta counts...I have a feeling PSC is going to knock it out of the park.

So, what do I need from you dear reader? Please support the campaign. It's important and if it gets these models made, then others will follow from PSC, and that can't be bad at all.

As for the commentary? I guess I have to state that so far, it has been amazing running this blog. I enjoy hearing people have found my articles fun, easy to read, and altogether useful. It's something that makes me awfully happy especially when all of the module reviews are both eagerly awaited, and just as importantly, they are enjoyed.

I intend to write up the remaining 1st edition adventures...and yes, that does include City of Angels, lord help us, that book makes Kidnapped read like something from the Bard himself. I do not intend to lose my focus on the miniatures aspect of Twilight: 2000, in fact, once the wedding is over, I do intend to work my tail off gluing and painting. I want to get some pics of my work up on this site, and I have some pretty interesting ideas for where this all might go?

Reviews, Reviews

Images taken from Casemate Publishing 

Images taken from Casemate Publishing 

So, I am working my way through Volume 1 of the series, and I understand Volume 3 is due in November and Volume 4 in December. So far, it's a easy, if distracting read. There are some issues, no hyphens between numbers for some strange reason, and a number of photos with transposed captions. These errors all conspire for a distracted read, to say the least. I will say the color plates have so far, proven to be useful, as well as a discussion of Iraqi and Iranian equipment holdings, but what does all this mean for Twilight: 2000 gamers? 

Well, you have some pretty good informational sources for RDF Sourcebook. The descriptions of the terrain to be found in the area, along with the defensive preparations the Iranians made make a good bit of research for games set in and around the area. 

I am not wholly convinced the books are worth $35 a piece. I got them on special at Williamsburg Muster this year, and I still think that the MSRP should be more like $25..but I don't price 'em.

In short, try to get them on sale if you can.

Cool Stuff on the Internet

In one of the games I played at Historicon, "That's my USAID", there were these awesome shanties that frankly, would fit right into a Twilight: 2000 milleu. I asked the author, Mike Demana if I could repost a link to the article here, but I also wanted to show off a photo of the finished product. It's simply gorgeous for very little effort, or cost.

Congolese paratroopers patrol a shantytown looking for signs of insurgents

(Caption and Photo taken from Mike Demana's Lead Legionaries Blog)

It would take very little, if any work to adapt this scenery for a cantonment outskirts, or a refugee camp, and it would give the table an awesome look. I am going to give this a try as soon as I can managed it, and will keep you posted on the results.

So, our next article will be a review of Return to Warsaw, as promised, and I will also be working to get out the first guest article for this blog. No telling on what that is, but I am working with the author as we speak, so stay tuned folks, more is coming for the pages of "500 Miles..".