This is your BMP-2 Formation . . .

Nothing breeds excess like a Soviet tank formation, unless its a Soviet Motorized Rifle Detachment.  I did mine using BMP-2s because I liked this vehicle more than the BMP-1s or BTR-60s.  Both of the latter vehicles have their place in any World War III Soviet force, but I liked the BMP-2 better, mostly due to the look of the turret.  The BMP-2 is a more effective infantry fighting vehicle with a nastier anti-tank guided missile and 30 mm main gun, but looks are more important here.

The whole kit and caboodle.  A full BMP-2 company and all possible augments for a total of 28 highly uninflationary WWIII points. 

So, I started my force thinking I would build a ~ a platoon's worth of Soviet vehicles and infantry.  This was a rough start as the Soviet infantry castings are horrible in terms of flash and miscastings, and the road wheels on the BMP are a pain.  But, I persevered and finally finished a platoon.  Well, if a platoon is good, a company must be better, so I started on that road.  And accelerated, adding each of the permittable formation additions.  When I finally finished this, I had painted 14 BMP-2s to field a full company, as well as the command AK-74 stand, 9 other AK-74 stands, 9 RPG-7 stands, 2 PKM stands, and even an AGL stand and a SAM-14 AA missile stand for fun.  This looks pretty impressive!

In game turns though it is pretty unwieldy. The size of the augmented unit (14 total BMP-2s!) and the movement rules pretty much ensure the company will end up as Out of Command, struggling to deploy as various American assets rip them to shreds.  This may actually be realistic, but it isn't necessarily fun.  Trying to discharge the passengers under fire is no fun either.  Once disgorged, the surviving Soviet infantry can be deadly.  RPGs are not a threat to most NATO frontal armor, but can be formidable when used in mass against the side armor of just about everything.  The infantry just have to survive to get close enough to do so, which isn't easy.  Still, quantity has a quality all its own . . .

The Company Commander is glad he doesn't have a Commissar to egg him on like his father had to deal with in the Great Patriotic War.  

The first platoon is led by a stalwart Party member from Irkutsk.  This was the first platoon I painted and I used little to no ink wash on them.  

The second platoon is commanded by a neophyte from the Ukraine.  He bears considerable watching.  The second platoon got additional inkwash as well.  

The third platoon is commanded by a Tartar from the Crimea.  This got even more inkwash.  Probably too much. . . .

The company PKM sections can lay down a lot of fire.  That is if the Lithuanian section leader can be trusted!

The battalion commander has graced the company with an Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL) section to increase my firepower.  Or was it to keep track of my immediate obedience to orders?  

The SA-14 Gremlin AA missile team can keep the cursed American helicopters at bay, if the sergeant has recovered from his vodka binge!

With the size, firepower and overall coolness of the BMP-2s, this is a powerful though hard to maneuver force.  There must be a better option!