Martin is currently clearing out loads of wargaming stuff prior to a house move and he told me he had some 6mm Russians to sell. I decided to look at them on Thursday and was amazed at the numbers involved - over 320 stands!
After some haggling (which involved me paying more than I really wanted but resulted in me also getting some low profile A4 box folders lined with steel paper) I am now the proud owner of a large (but as yet uncatalogued) Russian army.
I know that there are huge numbers of 1941 T-34's, a smattering of KV-1's and KV-2's and a host of other tanks and vehicles (from 1939 to 1945) but I need some time to work out what I have got to see what gaps (if any) I need to fill to ensure that I've got enough troops, tanks and other vehicles to cover the scenarios we could play.
Here are some shots of the box contents. I'm now in the process of repainting these (to get the tanks a nice Russian green with drybrushed highlights) as well as re-doing the bases. I noticed that the bases were quite 'shiny' - where the PVA glue could be seen under the flock - so I'm painting these a dark brown then building up with drybrushing for lighter layers then flocking - mainly a 'burnt grass' colour to represent the ground in the steppe during the Russian summer.
You can see some of the bases I've started working on already (the brown ones at the top of the screen) as well as the new paint job. Sorry about the focus!
This is a 'before' picture. The tanks were too light for me (hence the re-paint) and the bases were all the same - so I've aimed to provide a bit more variety.
Martin says he's got more 6mm Russians which he'll bring down on Thursday which - depending what he's got ' I may buy as well.
I also noticed that he had a load of Germans as well - so I may decide to go after those as well (although my next army after the Russians is likely to be American as Mark already has a German army). But if I can negotiate the right price I may be tempted to give the Wermacht a try!