Howdie.
I have been cataloging my miniatures, and thinking about what gaming I want to focus on in the next few years. I have noticed that I have not been gaming much Vietnam lately (of course I use the
Long Road South Vietnam supplement for
Seek Out Close With and Destroy... the moderns variant to
Disposable Heroes) most of my moderns games are Cold Wars era Europe. Which is a shame, because I have what I think is a very nice "set" of
Battle Honors 25mm / 28mm Vietnam, comprised of reinforced US and PAVN (or NVA) platoons.
These Battle Honors, are, in my opinion, are some of the best miniatures on the market for this genre. The models are proportioned well, the sculpts are a nice combination of active and relaxed, without many static poses and without any ridiculous (acrobatic) poses. The scale of the weapons is accurate... the AK-47s are the correct size, looking comparatively short from some other sculpts. It seemed to me that some of the miniatures were particularly easy to paint with dark flesh tones for Afro-American troops.
Admittedly there are several very nice ranges out there to choose from.
I started these with the purchase of several bags (6 maybe?) at a flea market perhaps 8 years ago... then purchased a few bags to round them out. They are a mix of the BH US Army (no flak jackets) and USMC (flak jackets). Flak jackets were obviously used by the US Army, but, it always looked to me as if the design intended to show two distinct groups of US forces. I liked mixing them up for extra character... as the sculpts are not repeated from the Army to the Marines.
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| US Infantry Platoon... I love the smoking M60 team |
In general, I will admit that I like the USMC miniatures more, but still like the feel of the mixed miniatures better than either alone.
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| The running M60 miniature is nice, as are the "patrolling" riflemen |
Command and special models are also different.... the Army has a sniper model with an
M21 (modified M14) rifle, where the Marine sniper models has a scoped bolt action rifle, probably an
M40. The Marines have a Corpsman, and the Army a medic. The Army has a model armed with a 12 gauge pump shotgun... overrated for combat in in dense growth, it did see use in Vietnam.
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| Snipers, officers, medical, and some radiomen |
I bought a Corgi M48 tank for support (a good choice, this vehicle was widely used), and had purchased a
Company B Ontos (the
Ontos is specifically a Marine anti tank vehicle of this era) which I never assembled or painted. My original flea market purchase included a bag of US Army casualties, which I use as suppression markers.
Here is the entire mob of US troops....
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| Don't mind the "bag of Ontos" in the back.... |
The NVA miniatures are quite nice too. They are generally very active looking (once again, active but not acrobatic), AND they tend to be slightly smaller than the American miniatures. Probably not quite as "smaller" as they should be, but smaller enough to be noticeable.
I have enough to field 4x 9 man squads.
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| Overhead view of the infantry platoon |
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| Straight on view.... |
The PAVN needed some boost, so, I had added heavy weapons. Two 82mm mortars with crew, and two DShK HMGs with crew. Now, the mortars are bad news when you get hit by them.... but the DShK are absolutely lethal, especially in DH moderns, as the range, high ap, high morale modifier, and also the -1 cover modifier add up to Big Trouble. They were not a "common" weapon to be found in small skirmishes, but they definitely were in the PAVN inventory and were used. My bag of casualties for the Vietnamese are VC, not NVA... but I shamelessly use them as suppression markers anyway! Also, the casualty bags included piles of rice bags, a nifty item to use as either terrain or objective markers.
Another view...
The command pack for the PAVN is interesting too. It includes some radios, but also a bannerman, officers, and a model I have not quite decided on... either a sapper or a medic. I have used the miniature as both. There is also a model I think is a Chinese advisor... another interesting mystery. If he is a Chinese advisor, I hope he goes back home before '79....
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| This one is a little blurry.... |
And here is the entire mob, a formidable foe....
All in all, this is a very nice, versatile set... well painted, well based, and full of potential. Now, do I game with it or try to sell it to support other gaming interests? I have wondered about trying Vietnam in 15mm. We used to do company (even battalion) sized games of Disposable Heroes for WWII. In 15mm, I could conceivably put together company sized forces. Its an idea..... hmmm...
Anyway, thanks for viewing. I have enjoyed gaming with these over the years, no regrets about buying them or spending the time painting them.
