The Russians came up with a range of totally awesome over-snow transport during the Second World War - the "aerosani" - literally, aero-sleigh. They basically strapped an aeroplane engine and propellor to a sleigh, fitted a machine gun to the front and that was it!



CompanyB Minis are bringing out their own 28mm versions of these two models. The RF8 is available now (click here) and the NKL42 is nearly ready for release apparently. I have recently finished the first of these kits and a great looking model it is too. To be honest, it's a pig to assemble and I actually went as far as making my own suspension bars to replace the white-metal versions in the kit. This model is to be used in a demo game and so has to be robust enough to withstand a bit of rough use.

The idea for the game comes from Nic Robson of Eureka Miniatures. He's been mulling over this ever since he saw the master model by Mike Broadbent. The players operate an aerosan model each and are chasing after an armoured train, trying to shoot the engine and damage the boiler enough to make it slow down, all the while being shot at by the gun turrets on the train itself. The board is made up of a number of modules, each about 8" wide and 6' deep. At the start of each turn a new section is fitted to one end of the table and terrain is randomly placed on this. The train, which is located along the centre of the table, is moved forward one module. The players move their aerosans by placing three cards (very much like Wings of War) and attempt to dodge the oncoming terrain. At the end of the turn the last table module is removed, ready for the next turn.

It works like those scrolling backgrounds on a cartoon and players have to keep their aerosans moving forward enough to avoid 'falling behind' while dodging terrain and each other.

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Dagster

That's pretty awesome! I've never herad of that. Would be great for any WW2 or Winter War game. I have yet to find a company that does ski troops!

hehe seems like a great idea. Couldn't have been used much during the war was it? cool idea thought

Apparently the machines were useful across deep snow, flat ground and frozen lakes, where they had the speed and maneouvrability that wheeled or tracked vehicles lacked. But they were unarmoured (being made from aluminium and plywood) and offered little protection for their crew. According to some websites they had a top speed of 75km/h. I find this difficult to believe though, since they were reported to have struggled with hills.

Apparently, they served throughout the war and during the invasion of Finland in reconnaisance and transport roles. Some were fitted out as ambulances too.

Doesn't matter either way to me though - I like the pulp feel to these machines and imagine a very "James Bond" chase sequence. Some ski-borne troops would be good.

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Dagster

Cool looking machine there....I really like that train vs. aerosans game idea, sounds like it could be a lot of fun.

Thats not a ski-tank, this is a ski-tank

I WANT ONE!!!

That's fantastic Dave, thanks for sharing!

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Dagster

The words 'ski tank' could have not been placed into a better illustration than that.

I just took delivery of 5 more aerosans and will set up a production line to assemble and paint them (there goes my painting backlog pledge!) and next week should see the arrival of an armoured train model from Company B. w00t! I made some 450mm long track modules and will post pictures of them over the weekend.

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Dagster

Warlord also produce an Aerosan - http://store.warlordgames.com/soviet-ga ... 6994-p.asp
That sci-fi beastie appeals soooo much!

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I have a few of the 1:48 Dust Tactics models and (naturally) want more since they are beautifully done. Unfortunately, that Russian ski-tank is only in 1:35 scale, but it's likely they'll produce it to the smaller scale.

That Warlord version of the aerosan looks really good too. I would have bought one to compare with the CompanyB model, but it's a bit too late - I now have five more of these beasts on the assembly line and a couple more of the NKL42 machine on the way from America!

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Dagster

As a part of this game concept, I have been researching armoured trains.



Late in the First World War, several Powers experimented with armoured trains as a means to protect the movement of troops and supplies and provide significant fire-power at the point where the troops dismounted.

The Poles in particular developed these trains, as did the Russians and the Germans. Even Britain and Japan flirted with the concept. Ideally suited to provide protection against small arms fire, the armoured train saw action during the Russian Revolution, the Winter War in Finland, and even during the Second World War in Poland and the invasion of the Low Countries.

In modern times we tend to look back on the concept with some puzzlement - how could these vehicles be expected to survive in wartime, especially since the development of aircraft. Well, essentially, they didn't. And so the idea was abandoned eventually.

Probably the high point of their evolution was the "rail cruiser" of the Soviet Union - the MBV-2 railcar, fitted with three turrets and several machine guns.



CompanyB make a model of this beastie in 1:56 scale. It weighs in at a whopping 800g (1.75 lbs) and is about 34 cm (14 in) long. It's easily the heaviest wargaming model I've ever come across!

I started assembling this today and decided up front that I would try to do it justice. The original vehicle has welded seams visible along the sides and a number of rivets etc. that the model is lacking. Also the prototype has pintle-mounted machine guns on each turret, which aren't supplied with the model. So a little bit of kit-bashing is in order.

The resin model is crisply cast for the most part but unfortunately some of the detail has been lost due to air bubbles - typically around the step ladders and hand rails. I started by cleaning off any flash and mould lines, and then began smoothing out side panels of any imperfections that may have crept in - filling tiny air bubbles etc. I carefully cut off the hand rails and sanded back the surface once more, filling any gaps with Milliput.

Using brass wire, I made a number of parts and fitted them to the cruiser's sides. This was all I could manage today (I had to come inside to cook dinner), so hopefully I'll pick up the story next weekend and finish off the model's assembly.

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Dagster

Looks awesome. Although I always thought a traint that has anything more than a machinegun is a bit silly. Beasts of War has a review for Flames of War's polish armored train, although I believe its in a different scale.

The FoW train is 15mm scale (1:100).

You're absolutely right - the armoured train concept was flawed from the very start. It assumed the enemy has no explosives - destroy the track or drop a bomb from an aeroplane and the train is rendered helpless.

They were used in the early stages of the war - in particular the defence of Poland in 1939. The trains made good account of themselves against the Panzer IIs and IIIs, but were soon crippled by precision bombing from Ju87s - a vital component of Blitzkrieg. Some of the Polish armoured trains were captured by the Germans and reputedly used in the invasion of Denmark and the NEtherlands, but I've not found any confirmation of that yet.

The Germans used armoured draisines (railcars) to patrol the rail network and engage any threats, radioing for a full armoured train to provide extra firepower if the target is beyond the draisine's capabilities. Also, later in the war, these trains were used to carry light tanks to a trouble spot and they would roll off and hunt partisans or saboteurs.

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Dagster

Sounds interesting. Yeah, the only fortification I would put on a train is a machinegun just to provide suppressing fire in order to get the troops out in a covered way, in case the enemy was extremely close to the train.

Alan, will the aerosan's and train fit in ok with Dust Tactics size-wise?

Hi Al
looking fantastic !!!
will these be ready for Group Norths Open Day ? do hope so
MTD