John Sulek's Isreali Tank Force

By John Sulek and Eric Lauterbach

There is nothing cooler than when my friend John Sulek dives into a army, he leaves no stone un-turned.

Well once again he has done it again with his Israeli force for the Flames of War Arab Israeli War supplement Fate of a Nation. After admiring these guys during our battles I thought it would be good to show the WWPD community John's complete force so far.

John realized, like many Israeli players, that a force based on Battlefront's  M51 Isherman is the way to go.  The combination of really good gun, great 2+ Firepower, and points cost is the best value in the Israeli tank arsenal.  The light armor of the Isherman does not really hurt it with its ability to Stormtroop along with the Arab's being hamstrung by hen and chicks.  So lets take a look at his force at 1500 points.

The HQ tank complete with maps.

1st Platoon, 4 Ishermans

2nd Platoon,  3 Ishermans

3rd Tank Platoon, Magach 3 (These guys are mean as hell)

120mm Mortar Platoon

The Ch'ir  Mamochan Platoon Halftracks.  Battlefront has a great stowage pack.

The Infantry of the Ch'ir Mamochan Platoon.  Battlefront pack AIS722

John clearly marks all his stands which is a joy to play against.

The complete 1500 point force.

Platoon Commander Tank

John added the troops for inside the vehicle its a nice touch.

The only problem with this 1500 point army is that, with five platoons, it only gets two on in half on half off missions. But, in the games I've played against John, a single tank platoon and the Infantry can really hold out until help arrives. After playing against these guys with Jordanians its not even been close.  Maybe the UAR can do better. 

One thing about John, he rarely stops on an army until it has all the options.  The Israeli army he is making are no different.

John's M50 Sherman platoon from Battlefront AISBX04

The AAA platoon of M3 TCM-20 AIS161

Battlefront Sho't Platoon, ultimate killing machines.

Yikes!

The complete platoon of 4 Magach 3

John is even getting ready for the next war! 



This is Battlefronts great M113 box. 

A few from the work in progress table

John's force so far.  His next adds are AMX-13s and a 9th M51Isherman for 1750 point games.

A lot of internet ink has been spilled on how to paint Israeli tanks and I must say the pictures I took on a snow day seam darker than the vehicles are. So I asked John what his process for painting them was:

1. Clean parts and assemble
2. Base coat Rustolieum camo khaki
3. Airbrushed all the models with Tamiya XF-41 Khaki. This is very close to the Model master Israeli Sinai Gray.
4. Painted the tracks Vallejo German Gray. Road wheels black.
5. Painted stowage a mix of colors
6. Painted the vision blocks Ork Green.
7. Then add the decals from Battlefronts Israeli decal sheet (go here for placement). Blot dry and immediately paint the decal with Model Master flat lacquer to seal the decal and it won't silver.
8.  Ink the whole model with a soft large brush using Ink-mix John makes himself.  (1/2 standard 16.9oz spring water bottle, 1/4 of a bottle of india ink, top of with Future floor wax.  Leave about 1' low to allow room to mix.)
9. After drying spray the model with Army painter matte.
10. Apply a dry brush of apple barrel "Country Tan"
11. Using the BF Mig Pigment set use the smoke on the barrel ends and around the exhaust ports. This is done with a damp brush, blow off the excess and then hit lightly with Army painter Matte to seal.
12.  Then using bristles from a cheap dust pan add antennas and add flags.

Nice tank park!

 Anybody who knows John knows he loves Paratroopers and he really wants to do them for Israelis so Battlefront hurry up and make them!!

Eric Lauterbach can be heard with Luke and Jon on the WWPD podcast ...but only if you are a exceptionally good gamer.. players who suck only hear static.  So you better listen and test yourself out.