The Forces Assemble . . . The Soviets

After some effort over the past three months I can finally put together a decent sized Soviet force/formation to strike south towards Wurzburg.  Using the formation cards of the Red Thunder book from the Team Yankee series, I can put the following on table:

T-64 Tank Battalion HQ                     6 pts.
T-64 Tank Company (w 4 tanks)      19 pts.
T-64 Tank Company (w 5 tanks)      25 pts.
BMP-2 Motor Rifle Company            8 pts.
(with 4 BMP-2s and associated infantry (4 AK-74 stands and 3 RPG-7 stands)
Recon Platoon (with 4 BRDM-2s)     2 pts.
BMP-1 Observation Post                    1pt.

I can use the OP to bring in a 6 2S1 Carnation Battery 10 pts. that I intend to use off board as I haven't painted them yet.  

This isn't exactly what the TO&E of the various FMs and Cold War websites suggests would be a good representative, but its a start.  This gives me 60-71 points depending on how I want to use the artillery.  I may just leave it out for the first try as I am just getting used to the rules.  

Any Soviet force requires a LOT of tanks.  It may not be a requirement, but it should be.

For some reason, the last 5 T-64s turned out a bit lighter than the first five.  Must have been a poor paint lot at the tank factory.  Or too much vodka that shift.  

The T-64s in full flood.  

The BMP-2s.  I need to get a better picture.  These look very neat to me.  A nice little model.

The Motorized Rifle Company commander in his BMP-2.  

At this level, all you get is a few AK-74 stands and RPG-7 stands.  Not a withering horde to be sure.  I think I painted up a Motorized Rifle Formation commander stand as well for future employment. 

The infantry turned out well.  I used summer foliage on the stands as WW3 is supposed to kick off in August.  

The rear view of the AK-74 stand.  The figures paint up well but require a LOT of prep to get all of the flash off of the castings.  Grrrrrrrrr . . . 

An RPG-7 stand.  It looks menacing.

The Company Commander stand.  Just a regular AK-74 stand but someone has to lead the hordes.

An aerial view of the Motorized Rifle platoon (eventually to be a company).

The Recon platoon with 4 BRDM-2s.  I expect these guys will not last long.

The Observation Post BMP-1.  In reality, this should be a variant, but it is close enough for my initial foray into the Fulda Gap.  

So far so good.  I will continue to build and paint BMPs and Soviet infantry because the 27th Guards Motor Rifle Division has a lot of them.  The infantry are relatively easy to paint but a real pain to prepare.  The BMP-2s are green so that helps.  Perhaps I can get a little better on my color consistency this time.  

Next up, the crafty Americans!