Polish People's Army in Team Yeakee

A few weeks ago I revealed that I'd been working on a Team Yankee campaign, using 2mm figures as campaign tokens.  Now I'm going to share some pictures of the 15mm Battlefront miniatures I've been working on over the last few weeks.

A new scale - and a new game

I've never really been into Flames of War - we did try it once, but found the rulebook very complicated.  Recently, I've found a new gaming pard'ner at work and he introduced me to Team Yankee.  I still don't know how it caught my imagination; the 1980s have never really interested me, even from an alternate history perspective.  But catch it did.

As one of wargaming's Big Beasts, like Games Workshop, Battlefront attract a fair amout of criticism and its popularity is by no means unanimous.  I won't wade into the debate, except to say that the newly-updated Team Yankee rules (which are very similar to the 4th Edition Flames of War rules) are very enjoyable, simple and realistic.  More details will follow in a future battle report.




The Polish People's Army

I decided to collect a battalion-level force for the Polish Army - mainly because I enjoy being quirky and defying the well-trodden groove for no good reason.  But I also feel that the plight of many of the smaller nations in the Warsaw Pact, swept up by the rising tide of Communism with more or less enthusiasm, is quite forgotten today.  People have a conception of the 'Soviet Army', disregarding both the disparate social and political groups forcibly grouped under that banner, and the quasi-autonamous nations like Poland and Hungary which stood alongside the USSR as unequal partners - sometimes fighting hard for their own independence against impossible odds.

Anyway, enough chit chat.  For various reasons I've painted lots of 15mm models recently, and it's my favourite scale for speed painting.  I can smash out a platoon of these in an evening without too many issues.  I should say that the vehicles were expertly painted by my friend Ian, whose skill with a paintbrush far eclipses mine.  Particularly with vehicles, he does a stunning job with weathering powders and details, as you'll see from the pictures.

A scratch-built battalion command post.  The struts will eventually support some camouflauge netting.

An AGS-17 team, whose fully-automatic grenade launchers are devastating weapons in Team Yankee.

Standard infantry, advancing across a beach towel.  I use the standard Soviet infantry, but painted in an OD uniform.

An RPG team (left) and platoon commander (right).  I experimented with some new basing techniques, including those rudimentary gorse bushes.

Alert - I didn't paint this fantastic T-72, that was Ian.

Just love the shape of those BMP-1s.  You can see the influence GW designers were labouring under when they designed the Leman Russ and the Chimera in the '90s...

A ZSU-23-4 quad-barrelled anti-aircraft gun.  I seem to use it against poor bloody infantrymen cowering behind hedges most of the time, rather than aircraft.

This is the homemade rulebook I'm coming up with to represent Polish formations in Team Yankee.

Hope you enjoyed those pictures, and I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts about Team Yankee, if they've played it yet.  I enjoy it so much, it might help me overcome my aversion to Flames of War and start a Second World War force one day.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ed