a hunka, hunka CBRN'n love

I have finally finished my initial foray into the realm of chemical warfare in 28mm.  As I pointed out previously  Eureka's Soviet collection is much more robust that it's US counter-part.  I picked up 1 of each casting to try out and there are some interesting ones. Above are two engineers with flame throwers.  It is an interesting concept idea, and I think more suitable for post-apocalyptic game play than WWIII skirmish.  (I would hate to be the guy in MOPP 4 that needs to add even more heat to what is already an unbearable situation.)

For support, I picked up the DshK 14.5mm MG in the anti-air configuration.  This is an interesting set-up as the gunner is sculpted with the butterfly handle in his hands.  Thus you have the option of assembling the weapon system separately, or connecting it too the gunner.  This looks cool if you want to do the mega-base, but it does look a little clunky if you like to base the miniatures separately.

Along with a another RPG gunner, I also picked up this guy with his chemical detection gear out.  This is a great figure and really makes sense with the collection.  I foresee him being really popular with his comrades as he gets to answer the question "When do we get to take this crap off?"  There is no similar figure for the US side, but seriously, who wants to sculpt an ACADA?

Exacerbating this disparity between the US and Soviet collections are a 82mm  team and a 9M14 "Malyutka" (NATO: AT-3 "Sagger") ATGM.  For the mortar team, I again went with separate basing, but may need to get a larger base to put the gunner and tube together to get the right look.  

I did go with a 3" round base for the Sagger as I wanted to get both the launcher and gunner on the same stand.  I played with the idea of mounting them separately to allow for remote firing, but went with this option for aesthetic reasons.  The sculpt comes with 2 extra missiles, which just got added to the bits box and are in need of a project.  

Next to the ATGM is the only other prone sculpt in the collection; a PKM machine gunner.  The barrel on the MG has a very narrow base resulting in a break when I tried to bend it back.  I am going to need to drill and replace it with some brass rod.  The sculpt comes with a bipod for the barrel which should help keep it supported.  I am not a huge fan of prone sculpts for the most part because they tend to look odd with the group.  Ideally, it would be nice to have an entire squad in the prone position.

Overall, I am happy with how these figures turned out.  It would be nice to get a few additional sculpts (AGS-17 springs to mind) for the Soviets and several for the US.  I would love to see a similar group done for NATO, so you could get the Bundeswehr into the game as well.

This project is another total aside for me, as it has far more to do with my interest in CBRN during the cold war than a workable game plan.  That said, I could not resist picking up a little support from Sloppy Jalopy:  

to be continued......