Bashnya or Bust - the forces are ready

Bashnya or Bust - the forces are ready

My first foray into 6mm inspired by lardy IABSM Eastern Front c1944 - Bashnya or Bust. We played a Normandy game of IABSM before Christmas and I'm hooked. If I'm honest, I wasn't sure at first when 6mm models appeared on the table and the rules could do with a re-draft for clarity, but every game has been a cracker so far. It's a good change of pace to CoC or SP. I like this scale for IABSM (10mm also works very well) as it lends the game a good sense of a larger battlefield without needing a football pitch to play on. It's a cost-effective way of getting into another period too.

All the models are from Heroics and Ros. Great price, service and safe delivery so a big thumbs up from me. . I wasn't sure how these models would come out but in less than 6 weeks I seem to have two sizable forces! Just a few basecoats, washes and a drybrush highlight plus some transfers. The basing took almost as long as the painting. I decided to use some old Perry/Renedra plastic bases cut to size and these worked out well. I tried thicker bases but the tanks seemed to hover above ground.

I also enjoyed painting the scenery from Timecast (again, great products.) Their Eastern Europe range looks good and I like their bushes (not bocage!), walls, roads and rivers. I maybe would go up a size/width of river if I was doing it all again to "go large".

German forces - 30th Panzer and 30th Panzergrenadier.

Schwerer panzer zugs: Tiger Is and Tiger IIs. A recon Puma has photobombed the gathering. 

There are some extra 8-rads and another Tiger I on the painting table at the moment.

Panthers 

Assault guns - Hetzers, Stug IVs - supported by Wespe SP artillery at the back.

Wirbelwind AA guarding the Jagdpanthers (which have probably broken down.)

Ubiquitous Panzer IVs plus command tank on circular base.

Trucks. They tend to appear for 5 seconds in a game but hey, they're done.

Hanomags/Halftracks. Featuring command, mortar, 7.5cm cannon, Pak 36 and regular 251/1s.

No, I can't remember all the numbers (so I wrote them on the underside of the bases.)

Mobile HQ - on the left is the c-in-c.

Far too many Big Men! 1, 2, 3 figs per base to represent levels 1, 2 and 3. It seems to work ...

A bit of support - FOOs and Panzerschrecks

Rifle / Assault Rifle zugs

Close up just to prove that you can paint these little fellas.

The Russian Steamroller. 

Bykovski's Rifle Battalion, Dushkin's Tank Company and Shansky's Motor Rifle Company

SU-76 and SU-85s. An AA on truck has snuck into shot. 

A second AA truck is on the painting table.

Recon vzvods: M3A1 Scout Cars in a field and the underrated BA-64B Armoured Cars on the road. The star on the BA-64B is to designate the Big Man.

Little and Large. T-34/76s and IS IIs

T34/85s - I think a few more of these would be handy. 

The German tanks tend to out-gun the Russians ...

Sample infantry vzvod - Rifle and SMG as needed. There are two more full vzvods somewhere ...

Big Man levels indicated by the number of figs on a circular base. 

There's a selection of snipers, flamethrowers, ATRs etc on odd bases.

Bottom right is the c-in-c.

MMG vzvod - the Germans have an equivalent on the painting desk.

Nearly done?

Never? Just like, "Work will be better next year," the words "I've nearly finished a project" will be carved onto my tombstone. Tombstone? That reminds me, there's some Apaches ... no ...

On the painting desk:

- 5 German MMG teams

- Another Tiger I for scenario 5 where 4 are needed

- 5 Sdkfz 10s for pulling stuff around

- 2 Ie.IG 75

- 2 PaK 38

- 2 PaK 40

- 4 Sdkfz 231 8-rads
- 2 88s just because

- Another Russian AA truck

- 2 45mm ATG

- 2 76.2 Inf Guns

- 2 Zis-3 ATG