After my recent Haywire game with Steve, it got my juices flowing to paint modern forces. I didn't need any new figures, but I still had some unassembled vehicles sitting in the hobby closet. To start, I decided to tackle a couple of armored personnel carriers: The Soviet produced BTR-60PB and the French Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé (VAB).
Looking online, I managed to find find photos of two Malian BTR-60s from the Operation Serval/ Operation Barkhane timeframe. One showed a green/brown/tan camo pattern with spray painted black squiggles, and the other was the below image from the Associated Press taken in 2012 after a coup. The camo pattern looked like it would be a challenge to paint accurately, so I opted for the all green vehicle. Plus, seeing some whitewall parade tires in use gave me a chuckle and I thought it would be a fun quirk on the table.
The BTR-60 I obtained was the 1/56 Rubicon Models plastic kit from their Vietnam range, which gave you the option to build either the A or B versions. I don't know how accurate the kit is, but the final result gave you a nice wargaming vehicle. The assembly was a a bit fiddly at times, particularly the handrails, but I was able to build it in an evening.
I didn't have the recommended Vallejo Russian Green 70.894 paint (I'm assuming the Malians left this stock), so did my best to hand mix the color. I think it came out slightly darker and more bluish than it should, particularly after weathering, but not to the point that is was worth repainting. The Woodland Scenics rub on decals I used for for vehicle ID were a little too big to get the full 5-digit number (and the wrong font), but I think it captured the overall feel of the real vehicle. I had no photo reference for other side of the BTR-60, but opted to throw on another whitewall. For part of the underside weathering, I continued to work on my skills with the AK pigments and solvent. It wasn't perfect, but I think I'm improving.
I bought a 3D print from jjgprint3d.com for the French VAB armored transport. They sell both a 1/56 and 1/50 version of the vehicle for 28mm, and I went with the later larger size. In addition the size options, you could choose between the machine gun, ambulance and T20 turret models. The kit came as two main body halves (front and back), plus the wheels and turret. It took a little bit of sanding and putty to fill the gaps and hide the worst of the print lines, but nothing too serious. The detailing wasn't as strong as a plastic model kit, but still very reasonable for a wargaming vehicle.
For the camo pattern application, it appeared to be standardized for all VABs. I was able to find good photo references for the front and sides, but I had to make some guesses for the back and top. The intensity for the green seemed to vary in the photos depending on the lighting conditions, but I stuck with the lighter tone as it appeared in sunnier photos (and my other French vehicles). As with the BTR-60, Woodland Scenics rub on decals were used for the vehicle ID numbers, along with some freehand detailing. I didn't know if the unit markings were correct for the Mali deployment, but I figured most gamers here in the US wouldn't know one way or the other.
Being in two different scales, there were some size discrepancies between the two vehicles: In reality, the BTR-60 is approximately 0.3 meters taller and wider than the VAB. Even considering that 12% scale difference, measuring the the BTR-60 model showed it was a little undersized at 1/56 and the VAB as being slightly too tall for 1/50. However, those are nitpicky points and I think both vehicles can de be deployed together without it looking awkward in a game.
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