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Cold Wars 2023 project update

My Cold Wars 2023 modern Afghanistan project is on a tight schedule. I have a play test in two weeks time and then there is only another two and a half weeks until the convention. the rule set will be Force on Force. This post is just a very short update of some of the things I have been up to for the project.

After the play-test on the 18th February, I will post some pictures of the completed layout.

I still have many things to complete, the most demanding will be painting another 30 Afghan civilians that I am expecting to arrive from Empress Miniatures in the next few days.

As they did not arrive before last weekend, I found that I was short of things to do. So I pulled out two M777 Howitzer kits that have been sitting in my To Do pile. These are from Table Top Tactical Simulations. Although they will not be used in the game, they can provide a scenic piece inside the Forward Operating Base. Over the weekend I managed to assemble, paint, weather and base these huge howitzers.

The lighting for the photo is not great, but the colors do look good in real life. As they are only for scenic effect, I do not need to paint the crew for Cold Wars. The town in the game would be much too close for these guns to be used. Also the game will be full of civilians which would make artillery use impractical.

I also constructed some very nice British vehicles from White Dragon Miniatures. These are two Foxhounds and two Mastiffs. Again these will not be used in the fighting but will be add to the scenery of the FOB.

In addition to the civilians, I have a range of scenery to complete. The items include, blue rain barrels, road signs, explosion markers, and a petrol pump. I also have a large Chinook Helicopter that I hope will arrive to carry some SAS troops. If all goes well everything should arrive soon and should be painted for Cold Wars 2023 in March.

Afghan market town in 28mm

Cold Wars 2023 will be taking place from March 9th-13th. There I plan to run a Force on Force battle with Taliban attacking a 3rd Para Forward Operating Base just outside an Afghan town. As Force on Force requires a lot of terrain for a realistic battle, I decided that I needed some extra buildings and a market for the Afghan market town.

I had previously bought about six, two story Afghan houses from Etsy, and I was pleased with them. So I decided to go back to Etsy for some larger buildings, as I wanted to create height on the table. I found a row of shops/small businesses and a larger concrete apartment building.

Preparing the Afghan market town buildings

Like many of the buildings on Etsy, they had been 3D printed. I washed the buildings in a mild soap solution. I don’t know if it is necessary with 3D printed models, but it is a simple step. Finally, I primed the buildings black with a hand applied Vallejo black primer.

Base coating the buildings

I then spray painted the buildings sand on the outside. As I have a lot to do for Cold Wars, I decided not to detail the insides. I left the insides black. I can always go back and detail the insides later.

To break up the flat texture of the models and to hide any printing layer lines, I took a sponge and applied a layer of a slightly darker sand. This instantly improved the building appearance.

I then added model railroad ballast to the roof and secured with scenic cement.

Weathering the buildings

After the roof of the apartment was dry I got to work with a couple of weathering powder colors. These take some time to apply with a brush, but they really bring the building to life. I then added some Afghan signs to the buildings. I cut the signs from internet photos and printed onto paper. Afterwards, I then applied them with white glue and weathered them. I also added some model railroad graffiti decals. Finally, the door and windows were painted and weathered. I then sealed the buildings with a coat of matte varnish.

The finished Afghan market town

I then took some pictures with some of the market stands that I recently made. I purchased all of these items from Etsy, Internet vendors and trade show vendors. The base is just my kitchen counter as I did not have time to get my desert terrain mat out today. I will be play testing this game early February and I will have some pictures then. I have about 50 Afghan Civilians that I am half way through painting, so they will add to the market hustle and bustle.

The following pictures show the completed scene, which I think captures the feel of an Afghan market town.

British Forward Operating Base.

I have been slowly working on a 28mm modern skirmish project using the Skirmish Sangin rules. As part of a scenario I am putting together I have been building a British Forward Operating Base for Helmland Province, Afghanistan.

I decided to only construct the front of the base as that is where all of the action will take place. I built a guard tower at each of the corners. The walls of the base were made from Hesco bags with razor wire on top and in front of them.

Overview of the base covering about 2′ by 6′

S&S Models made the Hesco walls. The image above shows two approaching British Foxhounds (still to paint). White Dragon Miniatures produced the two Foxhounds and these will support two larger Mastif MRAPS. I also have 4 quad bikes for SAS interdiction scenarios.

The entrance to the base guarded by British troops supported by the Afghan National Police.

The entrance to the base consists of a guard shack, New Jersey barriers and a barrier all made by Miniature Building Authority. I will also add a moving chain link fence at the back.

Along the road I have some billboards. One of the billboards was built from a model kit, the other two were scratch built. I will be installing some Afghan election posters on the billboards.

On top and in front of the walls is some razor wire made by Army Painter.

In the back-ground of the above photo is a command post and barracks. These are made from containers from the Miniature Building Authority with one of their satellite dishes on top.

British soldier from 3 Para watching the entrance from atop of the Hesco walls.

The Hesco walls at the front of the base have a lower level of Hesco bags behind allowing soldiers to patrol the wall. Many of these design choices were made after viewing photos of actual Forward Operating Bases in Afghanistan.

View of the rear of the walls and a guard tower.

The guard towers were made by using two containers as the base. A staircase and platform were then made from Plastruct girders and other items. A Hesco bunker from S&S models was then placed on top of some H beams. The roof of the bunker is removable to put figures inside.

I will be purchasing a better, larger desert terrain mat as well as adding more ground clutter to the base including pallets, oil drums, signs and a table tennis table.

I am also working on scenario to include the British Forward Operating Base. This will be a large scale Taliban assault on the base.