M113 Cavalry Troop
Oh boy, if you thought the Rhino from 40k was based on the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier, these things are the inspiration behind the Predator Tank.
In Team Yankee[edit | edit source]
M113 MRV[edit | edit source]
The M113 Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle. This means it is just like the M113 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, but with the rather striking addition of a big fucking gun.
The Aussie Cavalry Troop combines LRVs with MRVs for a strange hybrid: a bunch of recon M113s or a slightly more expensive group of recon M113s with a light tank.
Much like the Scorpion, the MRV is a recon unit that doubles as a light tank. Equipped with a 76mm gun, shots are guaranteed to auto penetrate any vehicles apart from tanks. It also has brutal, increasing the chance of a kill against infantry.
Unlike the Brits, you only get ONE MRV in a single Cavalry Troop. As interesting as this unit might be, you can only get them by paying more points for your Cavalry Troop. Is it worth it? For one to two more points, you could be closer to buying M125 mortars or Land Rovers. Scorpions provide the proper level of anti-armor strength without Brutal firepower, but your list already has a ton of Brutal shots. Between Leopard 1s and Land Rovers, you have little reason to get MRVs unless playing very low point level games.
M113 LRV[edit | edit source]
The M113 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle is just a regular Aussie M113 that you know and love. Like the MRV but without that big fucking gun. Why can't we all just have nice things?
Still, with both a GPMG and a .50 cal, you're one gun up from both the Germans and the Dutch, so it's not like the Aussies are pissing about here. And, in typical Aussie fashion, both guns are mounted in a light turret, providing you with a 360 degree field of fire for maximum Dakka.
You get a couple of these things to go with your MRVs so that's why they are on this page as well. Basically slightly more affordable metal boxes that you should use as meatsheilds for your more expensive and useful MRVs.
IRL[edit | edit source]
The MRV is the Australian version of the Scorpion, mounting the turret of the latter on top of a M113 chassis. The MRV was used in the medium reconnaissance role, for when opposition was expected but not against tanks, fielding them to cavalry units as opposed to infantry as was the case with lighter recon vehicles. Also, another modification that you won’t find on American M113s, was the inclusion of a built-in tea boiler. Smashing.
Modelling: We normally don't discuss the assembly aspect of the models too much here on 1D4Chan, but in this case it's probably fair to make an exception. Thing is, the models for the MRV that Battlefront make (and they are, for the moment, the only ones who do) are plastic/resin/metal hybrids, with the top armour plate (and turret) cast in resin. This is just asking for trouble, as the thin slab of resin tends to be seriously warped and even shrunk, meaning you have to perform serious filling etc. to make it fit with the rest of the (mainly plastic) hull. It can certainly be done, but takes more than average skill, time, and effort. Luckily, an ANZAC M113 Cav Troop only ever includes a single MRV, so you're not likely to construct too many of these otherwise cool models.
| ANZAC Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | Leopard AS1 |
| Transports: | M113 (T50) |
| Infantry: | ANZAC Mechanized Platoon - Milan AT Section |
| Artillery: | M125 Mortar Platoon |
| Anti-Aircraft: | M113 Redeye SAM section |
| Tank Hunters: | AT Land Rover |
| Recon: | Scorpion - M113 MRV - M113 LRV |
| British Support: | Abbot Field Battery - M109 Field Battery - FV432 FOO - Harrier Jump Jet - Lynx HELARM |