The Armed Assault (ArmA) series website as long been in my browser favourites and an exemple of nicely done imagi-nations with exaclty the sort of information and details one needs for wargaming purposes. I've never played the games themselves (from what I've read, they're quite good but their realism and steep learning curve puts them outside the reach of the casual gamer that I am) but ArmA 2 Chernarus (a civil war ridden post-Soviet republic) and neighbouring Takistan (basicaly not-Afghanistan) were instumental in me "finding out" imagi-nations as a way to actually play with ultra-moderns minis without stressing my suspention of disbelief too much!
I recently ventured into the ArmA 3 part of the site and discovered the islands of Altis and Stratis and the fight of the NATO and Altis Armed Forces (AAF) to repel the Canton Protocol Strategic Alliance Treaty (CSAT) invasion... Another great looking imagi-nation, original factions and a very interesting weapon mix on the very edge of near future sci fi... What's not to love?
So let's take a look at the "independents" from the game, the AAF, their gear and the best way to model them in 15mm and 6mm (not sure what scale I'd rather go for this yet)... As usual, this is just a much a
place for me to consolidate info and links I gather than an actual post
for your edification ;-)
In the wake of civil war, the Jerusalem Cease Fire of 2030 mandated the
creation of an armed defence force to secure the sovereign territory of
The Republic of Altis and Stratis.
Although it officially operates under the observation and training of
international peacekeepers, the force remains loyal to the new,
hard-line Altis government and acts with de facto judicial and executive
authority. However, it is debilitated by an inexperienced command
structure and is blighted by widespread corruption.
Limited in
scope, the battalion-sized force, led by Col. Georgious Akhanteros, is
weighed-down by on-going counter-insurgency operations on Altis and,
recently, has reached-out to the international community for additional
support including, among others, both the political and militarized
wings of CSAT member states and associated private investment companies.
ORBAT:
- The entire AAF seems to be about brigade sized which ties in with their commander, Georgious Akhanteros, being a colonel.
- This ORBAT portrays the AAF prior the CSAT invasion,
- The 1st Regiment is the main (and only) manoeuvre element of the AAF and made of:
- 1 HQ company
- 2 infantry companies (A and B)
- 1 mechanised infantry company (C)
- 1 armour "company"
- The 2nd Regiment is a support formation made of:
- 1 support battalion
- 1 medical battalion
- 1 maintenance battalion
- 1 service battalion
- The Air Wing is made of:
- 1 HQ squadron
- 1 fixed-wing squadron (1st)
- 1 helicopter squadron (2nd)
- 1 support squadron (3rd)
- There is also a battalion sized naval force
- I find this structure a bit confusing with a weird mix of US and UK usage, one regiment made of battalion and one of companies, and so on... So for my own gaming purposes:
- Both regiments are made of companies (APP-6A symbol "I")
- The wing is a UK/USN sized one (APP-6A symbol "II") and made of squadrons (APP-6A symbol "I")
Infantry:
- Early 21st century US Army style uniforms, patterned in a local digital camouflage (two shades of green and tan), and helmet, with NVG;
→ I won't even attempt to model that kind of kit with any sort of precision... The right helmet and a good paint job (easier said than done) should be close enough, the single most recognisable piece of equimpent is the MBT LAW and the Javelin is close enough: Khurasan Modern US Army seems to be my best bet, with the separate NVG that can be used with whatever miniatures I consider for NATO and CSAT... In 6mm it's even less of an issue!
Ground vehicles:
- Infantry Fighting Vehicle: FV510 Warrior →
QRF (15mm) & GHQ (6mm);
- Armored Personal Carrier: Pandur II (8x8) →
can't find any, but a Stryker is close enough for me: Acheson (15mm) & GHQ (6mm);
- Light armoured reconnaissance vehicle: LGS Fennek → Shapeways (15mm, but I'm not too found of the texture of WS&F and the other materias are a bit too expensive for my tastes) & GHQ (6mm)
Aircrafts:
- Attack Aircraft: Aero L-159 ALCA → no luck with than one, but then again at the scale/scope I'm gaming at, not really an issue;
- Utility helicopter: AW159 Wildcat → no Wildcat but a Lynx is close enough, only in 6mm though: GHQ (6mm);
- Transport helicopter: AW101 Merlin → a bit surprisingly perhaps the Merlin seems to be easier to find in the larger scale: Italeri Die-Cast (15mm).
1/144 is also an option for
using aircrafts in 15mm (≈1/100) miniatures games, as they are modeled
way closer to the ground that they would actually fly so somehow making
them
somewhat smaller actually works... But then you've to consider helicopters that should actually look like they could land right next to the troops and I'm afraid the difference of scales would be an issue then... So rather not.
* All weapons and vehicles are supposed to be near future variants of the ones I mention here, manufactured either by the same company and country as the one I mention, either by someone else entirely (Chinese copies, anyone?); accordingly they wear entirely different in-game names; for documentation purpose I went with the real-life model names.
Disclaimer: this post is not endorsed by, and its author not associated with, Bohemia Interactive, Battlefront, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the government or military of Iran or China, Games Workshop, The Walt Disney Company, any other evil empire, nor any of their subsidiaries! It's made up, wishful thinking and all around bullshit.
No comments:
Post a Comment