Australian platoon HQ

31. March 2021 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, 28mm Miniatures, 28mm Wargaming, Australians in the Vietnam war, Diggers in Vietnam, Empress miniatures, Paul Hicks, Vietnam war, wargaming, wargaming miniatures

Here is the platoon HQ of my Digger platoon. only one and a half sections to go!

The blooper gunner of the HQ

30. March 2021 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, 28mm Miniatures, 28mm Wargaming, Australians in the Vietnam war, Blooper gun, Diggers in Vietnam, Empress miniatures, M79, Paul Hicks, Vietnam war, wargaming, wargaming miniatures

Here is the grenadier of the platoon HQ of my Australian infantry platoon. He is armed with a M79 grenade launcher.

A truck for the trail

29. March 2021 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, 28mm Miniatures, 28mm Wargaming, AA gun, Empress miniatures, GAZ-AA truck, NVA, Paul Hicks, Rubicon, technical, Vietnam war, wargaming

I thought I would need some targets for the SEALs and MACV SOG troops. So I got myself a few of the russian trucks from Rubicon, as these were used by the NVA, too. You can build the truck either as GAZ-AA or GAZ-AAA version. I build the GAZ-AA version. There is a driver for the cab included. So he had to be turned into a more Vietnamese looking type.

I used one of the Empress Miniatures Vietnamese heads on the Rubicon figure. The size fits quite well. So there are hopes that the Rubicon models for the Vietnam war, which should be available at the end of the year, should be compatible with the Empress ones.

Here is the completed truck:

But is this really just a truck transporting Rice or Ammo down the Ho Chi Min trail? Or is there something more dangerous on the flatbed ? More dangerous for gunships, FACs or fast movers? If you get rid of the tarp….

You get something like an early technical. I am not sure if this is really historical correct, but it looks good and anyway it is my game!

The AA gun and female crew is by Empress miniatures sculpted by Paul Hicks. I mounted the gun on a flatbed base to be able to place it in the truck:

And a few more pictures on my gaming table:

I have another two of these trucks which I will finish as another GAZ-AA and a GAZ-AAA with different loads.

Rifle Group 4

26. March 2021 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, 28mm Miniatures, 28mm Wargaming, Australians in the Vietnam war, Diggers, Diggers in Vietnam, Empress miniatures, Paul Hicks, Rifle group, Vietnam war, wargaming, wargaming miniatures

Here is the next rifle group finished. This brings me up to 4 rifle groups a gun group and a medic. Next will be a platoon HQ

Here is the missing digger from the 4th rifle group:

“look behind the bamboo!”

25. March 2021 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, 28mm Miniatures, 28mm Wargaming, Australian diggers, Australians in the Vietnam war, Diggers, Diggers in Vietnam, Empress miniatures, Paul Hicks, Vietnam war, wargaming, wargaming miniatures

Another Australian searching the bush for VC.

Like these figures very much. so am very happy to have quite some more to paint.

Next ANZAC warrior

23. March 2021 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, 28mm Miniatures, 28mm Wargaming, Australians in the Vietnam war, Diggers, Diggers in Vietnam, Empress miniatures, Miniature Wargaming, Paul Hicks, Vietnam war, wargaming

Here is the next Digger. The start of my second section. He has a blonde mustache.

A door gunner for my Huey

22. March 2021 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, 28mm Miniatures, 28mm Wargaming, BellUH1c, Chopper, chopper crew chief, chopper gunner, Empress miniatures, Huey, Paul Hicks, Vietnam war

Over a year ago I printed a Huey with my 3d resin printer. You can read more about this here. Alas I didn’t have any door gunners. Now I got a few door gunners from Empress miniatures, sculpted by Paul Hicks.

And both in the 1/50 printed Huey. I think they work really nice in an 1/50 ship but also in a 1/48 one. Have a look here

First ANZAC digger rifle section finished

18. March 2021 thomasriepe 28mm, 28mm figure, 28mm Miniatures, 28mm Wargaming, Australian diggers, Australians in the Vietnam war, Diggers, Diggers in Vietnam, Empress miniatures, Paul Hicks, Vietnam war, wargaming, wargaming miniatures

Yesterday evening I finished the last missing digger for my first rifle section. Above and below you see pictures of the completed section.

I now have 3 rifle groups a MG group and a medic finished. Below is the last missing soldier. It is the same sculpt I painted the day before , so there are two identical figures in the last group. I probably switch that around .