Amassing the Troops #6 – Team Yankee British 2

With a few weeks to spare I’ve managed to completely finish the Team Yankee Brits I’ll be taking to the RAFWA tourney in April, and some! It’s only the second time I’ve got a fully painted force to play with so I’m pretty excited to take them out for a spin.  You’ve already seen my Chieftains from my last Amassing the Troops post, but this one show cases the lot.

First up a Scimitars, I’ve only got the 4 but I’d very much like a fully squadron of 12. Thematically these would be great for making an Armoured Battalion. For tournament play, however, having more models on the table is probably better so I won’t be taking these. These were painted in the same way I did my Chieftains. You’ll also notice I’ve added some cam-netting, bought from Armies Army. These were added to the model before basing them in green. Once the model is done, I added some black wash for detail and depth.

I also added cam-netting to my Chieftains gun barrels. These were tricky as I had to paint the netting first before adding them to the model. It turned out well I reckon.

Next up is the air support. So far I have 4 Lynx, 2 of which are HELARM variants with TOW AT missiles, and 2 GR.4 Harriers from No. 20 Sqn.  The Lynx were painted without all the detailed fuss of a Chieftain and with the Harriers I follow the guide and based with BF’s Harrier Grey, camo being BF’s Chieftain Grey and weapons being BF’s Cobra Drab. The transfers were the hardest part of getting these models ready. I used 4 different products just to try to get those damn things to stick and look pretty (Microscale Liquid Decal Film and Micro Set, Humbrol DecalFix and The Army Painter Anti-Shine). I think you’ll agree that all the effort appears worth it.

Here we have some Tracked Rapiers. Personally I hate these models. They’re fiddly as hell to put together, the entire SAM launcher is a mess of poorly case metal parts whilst the body is a lump of resin. If I can find a decent alternative that matches the same dimensions then I’ll happy replace these models. For now, I’ve done my best with them.

Now for the poor bloody infantry. These were a mix of BattleFront’s models and those from Armies Army.  They mixed really well and I can barely tell the difference between the 2 sets. First, we have a mechanised platoon: 3 GPMG teams in the first rank, 2 Carl Gustav teams in the second rank and a mortar and 2 Milan teams at the rear. They were painted with BF’s Maverick Khaki first, then patches of Leather Brown and DPM Sand. The skin was Humbrol 237 then Vallejo 332. Weapons and boots were Worn Rubber and the berets were either an old GW Scab Red for the Para’ HQ team or a lot of GW Thraka Green for a pair of riflemen. Some Vallejo Umbra Wash and Tamiya Weathering Mud later and we’re done.

Finally, a shot of the force I’m taking to the tourney. Good luck to them!