Blue Helix Defense Solutions - An awesomely painted (i.e. not by me) 6mm Mercenary Force!

I came across this force on The Wargames Website a couple a month ago while cruising the net, trawling for inspiration and trying to get a sense of what to get to start playing Horizon Wars...

Mathieu Moyen AKA Mr Average AKA Mike One Echo kindly allowed me to show the relevant lead porn and matching fluff (which I edited from a couple of forum messages into a single blog post) on my blog! So, Ladies and Gentlemen...  

Blue Helix Defense Solutions LLC is a "Dispute Resolution Organization" headquartered in Québec City and operating throughout the Americas and Western Europe.

Somewhere near the Sulaco-Costaguana Border, a Blue Helix Intervention Unit starts its day…

BHDS is typical of the hundreds of smaller but higher-quality “specialist” mercenary units operating on Earth and the Near Colonies in the wake of the First Upheaval. Their specialty is rapid strike operations, personnel recovery, hostage negotiations and what are called “active response” missions (named after Active Response, the DRO that first employed the tactic in the waning years of the First Upheaval). To this end they employ a mix of light and heavy hover armor, combined with light mechanized infantry in special forces-style lightweight combat gear, and highly trained in covert and low-to-medium intensity field operations.

Though successful and fairly wealthy for its size, Blue Helix lacks the extensive government connections of a DRO like Erdeslicht Verteidegung-Systeme GmbH, and so are not able to acquire grav armor or other such high-prestige weapons systems. They are also too small an organization to be able to field the battalion-to-regiment sized forces of a DRO like Advance Global Management or Regimento Acero. They have made up the difference by investing in their troops’ training and special tactics, and have chosen to use the Japanese-manufactured Shoei tank series as their main battle unit, since it has a modular turret capable of field-refitting for a variety of mission packages. They also have a contract with the Japanese DRO Zenpan Kokubo Ukeoi, which has been training them in fast-cycle maintenance to increase field performance.

The Cavalry Section (above) consists of Sohei and Shaman tanks.  The CHQ is in a modified Sohei tank on the right – this necessitated the removal of the more powerful fixed-wave Charged Particle Laser used in more conventional battle units of the type. The Shaman tanks are out-of-the-box, having just been delivered to Blue Helix to replace their older, malfunctioning T-46 Hovertanks.

The company used the profits from a successful high-profile hostage rescue in Borduria last year to purchase its key piece of field equipment: a DCT-783A “Dictator-II” heavy combat strider (above), of American manufacture.  It’s not what you’d call “modern” technology – the Dictator-II wouldn’t hold up against what ENSPUN or the UN are using these days – but it will go toe to toe with the best that any Dispute Resolution Organization will be able to put in the field.  In particular, it was meant to intimidate the Earthlight Division, which is known to be operating several armored groups in the area.  It’s making the unit a little bit overconfident, to be sure, but it does pack some very serious firepower – smart missiles, airburst weapons and that very nasty pair of Charged Particle Lasers, heavy enough to boil polyceramide armor.

The mechanized infantry and Special Forces (above) have been in the area for about two weeks, scouting the potential combat zone and showing the flag, while conducting training exercises with local Costaguañero forces.

Artillery support arrived with the new Shaman tanks – they’re Shaman variants carrying Italian-made A-12 “Whisper” missiles.  They’re less powerful than standard artillery missiles but have an equivalent range and are a lot cheaper and faster to load, and ammunition is readily available, making them a decent alternative for field fire support.

Last but not least, Mathieu is also the artist behind the 6-Commando webcomic, "a graphic novel about life, death, and the chain of command in an alternate version of the 1990’s"... His South American Coalition (CONASUR) will fit nicely in my toy soldiers universe (IMTSU)!