"Russo-Finish War" Topic

What are the best rules for this conflict? Who makes figures for it?

What level do you want to play and what scale? We use Chain of Command to run a platoon plus support each. We do 20mm using mostly Eureka and Warmodelling/Fantassin figures.

You could use most any ww2 rules, depending on scale. I've played it with Crossfire and had a good time.

Depends what figures are available. Probably 20 or 25mm. Unit scale depends on rules. Probably squad or company level.

At the company per side level, I'm going to be using I Ain't Been Shot Mum. I'm doing it in 6mm, so I'm no help with figures.

Well, several of us have been waiting more than two years for the Baker Co. minis. Those that have them seem to be giving mixed reviews, but there are some unique ones in there I am looking forward to, like the field kitchen.

In the meantime, I have used Battle Honors minis, with Arc of Fire rules.

More here link

If small scale or skirmish tules, you can use 25/28mm bolt action/ warlord or battlehonors USA who both make Finns and Russians.

Some groups play 15mm here you. Can use many Germans as Finns. It is cheaper. Also zvesda makes a number of 15mm or 1/100 early war Russian tanks and armor cars which being plastic areverycheap

Brigade Games has Finns in winter uniforms. Only 3 packs or so, but they are great figures.

I bought 15mm Battlefront Finns (FoW) in winter garb for Bolt Action and Chain of Command but was dissapointed to find there were no LMg's in the rifle platoon. Just going to convert some rifle chaps to fill in. Battlefront does a range of Finns and lots of german/soviet stuff to use if 15mm is an applicable scale for you.

I just started a 15mm Winter War project using Battlefront and I Ain't Been Shot Mum. I'm not too worried about the lack of LMG's in the pack, since I'm counting one 2.5" base with 4-5 models as an infantry squad (IABSM looks much better like that, in my opinion, and blinds work better with fewer miniatures anyway). At this scale, I don't expect every soldier and every weapon to be modelled on the stand—four riflemen is enough to tell me that it is a normal infantry squad with an LMG etc. If you are modelling every soldier in a squad, BF does sell Finns with the LS/26 in their Jalkaväki pack… You might use that for your Winter War Jääkäri instead or contact BF and see if they sell you some LMG's separately. A mixture of tunics and snow suits is certainly appropriate for certain periods during the Winter War.

IABSM is definitely the best system to model the terrible command and morale breakdowns of the Soviet invasion, particularly in the 1939-1940 Winter War. Both the rules for Big Men and the card system will help you model strategic differences: Soviets commanding officer can be a poor L1 Big Man, with far too few (but slightly better trained) platoon commanders (so that command authority is at all the wrong levels). The Soviets should field a number of platoons without any Big Men at all, so they will get stuck in no man's land and chewed up by machine guns. If you play a Motti scenario, throw in some fuel/breakdown cards for Soviet Armour and some hesitant troop cards to show the terror of being ambushed in the freezing cold, surrounded and methodically destroyed.

Finns should have desperately understrength platoons (including a platoon card for a single squad and Big Man, in certain circumstances). The Big Men should generally be good and available, but antitank guns and heavy weaponry will basically be non-existent. Throw in some Recce Bonus and Tank Killers cards if you have Sissi troops or tank hunters. Be careful not to treat Finns as too superior… Their advantages in battle were largely contextual. They knew how to use the terrain to their advantage, which is more than represented by a couple of "Bonus" cards. Good regulars with a few Veterans mixed in by January is a sufficient range of troop qualities for Winter War Finns. New recruits should probably have Poor Fire Discipline and even Hesitant Troops (particularly after taking a mauling by the Soviets for the first time). Similarly, you might rate the Soviet forces as Poor Regulars with a few Green troops thrown in to represent infantrymen that had barely received any training before heading into a war that most of them were not interested in. The real problems with the Soviets were command and logistic issues (i.e. Big Men, as described above).

I did up some custom IABSM Winter War blinds and cards over on the Lardies forum that may be helpful:

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