Review - Elhiem Figures NBC Soviets

As part of a large figure/vehicle purchase from a mate of mine a year or so ago I also managed to snag some of Elhiem Figures NBC Soviets.  I never really needed them so they just sat their in one of my boxes... as things tend too.

Then last year I finally managed to make this:

which you can read more about here.
So if I had a NBC Recce vehicle, I needed a few chaps to jump out and scout about in an NBC environment.  So I got painting...

Very quick and simple paint jobs.  I understand that Soviet NBC outfits came in a variety of colours (not camouflaged though) but all had a slimy, rubberised kind of look or sheen.  I went for a lighter colour, and gave them a "Dip" which even when dull-coated, still had a nice sheen.  So I was pretty happy with them - so much so I ordered a couple more from Matt, so I could get the soldier with the NBC sampler kit.  I'll get around to him later when I remember what colour I used in the first place!

Anyway - where are the lads with their ride:

And here they are in situ:

That's all for now

Richard

Zvezda Soviet Motorised Infantry - A Review

I thought it was about time I reviewed something again - and this time something a little different.  For about a year now Zvezda have been previewing and releasing new Hot War figures, vehicles and aircraft.  In typical Zvezda fashion (which to me at least, is somewhat confusing - but I'm sure it works for them), the figures are in 1/72, the vehicles are in 1/100 and the aircraft - read helicopters only I think at the moment - are in 1/44.

Not a great deal of help in you work in 20mm, but at least the figures are the right scale.  All those 15mm gamers out there are pretty chuffed with at least some of the vehicles as well.

So far, figures-wise, Zvezda have only released Soviet Motorised Infantry and US Mechanised Infantry.  I had a good look at both on line and decided that the US troops so far did not suit my needs.  I actually thought they were a bit all over the place in terms of the weapons provided - too much was missing, like no SAW to be of much use for me at this point in time.

The soviets were better in my opinion.  The weapons were much more representative and better "balanced" for a squad.  Their only difference to what I already have was they all have body armour.  Not a problem - this helps differentiate them and in my mind, makes them perfect for my engineer squad.

So anyway - here is the box art:

And here are my painted chaps:

As you can see I only painted 1 NCO, 1 RPK and 1 RPG as you only need 1 in each squad.

Next up I have some comparison photos.  First are standing figures:

From left to right: Elhiem Soviet NBC, Liberation Soviet Motor Rifle, Zvezda, Elhiem West German

Now walking/running figures:

From left to right: Elhiem Soviet NBC, Zvezda, Liberation Soviet Motor Rifle, Elhiem West German

Officers/NCOs:

From left to right: Elhiem Soviet NBC, Zvezda, Liberation Soviet Motor Rifle, Elhiem West German

RPGs/Pzf 44

From left to right: Liberation Soviet Motor Rifle, Zvezda, Elhiem West German

Finally some "Action" shots:

So - my overall impression is that these are very nice figures.  Compared with some Zvezda stuff that I have literally been reduced to tears whilst trying to stick together, these fit fairly simply.  They took paint and "dip" easily as well.  The figures look natural, anatomically right and come with a good selection of excellent looking weapons.  Price - very cheap - I think I got these for about 3 quid each plus postage.  Sadly I have not seen these in Australia.

My only negative would be that although you get 5 figures in a pack, if you are trying to put together a squad, you will need at least 2 packs, and some of those figures (NCO, RPG & RPK) won't be able to be used twice.  Not really much of a negative really.

Best of all, there are some really nice sets coming out like a US Dragon missile box, which I'm very much looking forward to.  Come on Zvezda - bring 'em on!

Richard

Scenes from the Cold War - Power Lines

Very small update this week - A few months ago I acquired a cheap box of electricity transmission towers - 5 in a box for $15 - a decent price in my book - unlike the Hornby ones which were about 4 for $40.

Anyway - I can't actually remember the brand... but here is what they look like based up:

I find these small enough to not overwhelm the table, but big enough to give the "modern" impression that I after.

I've applied no weathering and have left off some small parts which I didn't think really added to the look.

There you go!

Richard

Scenes from the Cold War - The Farm

Time for a few more terrain pieces.  These are all cardboard and are either from Superquick or from Metcalfe Models.  As I've stated before I've tried to get kits that would work in West Germany - at least the 1980's West Germany of my imagination.

So first up a SuperQuick building I've shown before - but now with a purpose built base.

Here is a photo of the base:

Metcalfe do a very nice set of a large barn and some out buildings:

From left to right that is meant to be a small hen house, cow milking area attached to large barn, the large barn, a sileage pit and a large hen house.

The sileage in the silage pit was simply made by cutting a peice of polystrene to size and then covering it with a peice cut from a black bin bag.  I need to get some toy car wheels and add a few spread around on top to complete the scene.

Added together it looks like this:

And in some Cold War combat scenes like this:

More on the figures in the 3 photos in the near future.

That's all for now.  Have fun

Richard

Plans for 2014...

OK - well 2013 is over, and I'm pretty happy about that for some reason.  Not a really bad year, but one I'm happy to put behind me.  As you could possibly tell things got pretty hectic towards the end there and I didn't have much time for posting or anything really.  BUT - one of my New Years resolutions is to do better this year.

To that end, I have taken the advice of some of you and decided to create a new blog that I've called "Everything else..." that you can find here.  This will allow me to keep this blog focussed on Cold war only themes, while "Everything else..." will focus (probably the wrong word) on everything else.

So what will you see this year on Cold War Hot Hot Hot?  Plans include:

• Starting and completing my 1-to-1 representation of "Team Yankee"
• Starting and completing my 1-to-1 representation of "Team Bravo"
• Finishing my Soviet Motor Rifle Company plus attachments
• Finishing my BAOR Combat Team
• Finishing my West German Combat Team
• Getting my Cold war rules finalised and playtesting them - alot.
• Plenty of playtest AARs

If I could manage to, I'd also like to work on:

• All the helicopters I've collected over the last year or so
• All the jets I've worked on over the last year or so.

So that's pretty much the plans for the year.  Plenty of Cold War action to last the year and plenty to post about.  Typically I'm planning on at least 1 post a week, but I have a few lined up now, so there might be more to begin with.

Please have a look - if you'd like to - at "Everything else..." and let me know what you think.  Thanks to Andy and Barks for the suggestion.

Take care

Richard