1/32 Machine-Guns

Last night, I managed to finish up six figures for my 1/32 WWII forces.

With the exception of the tripod mounted MG-42, they are the "easy wins" of the figure painting world - prone figure; they only need to painted on the side you can see, thereby saving some time.

The 4 prone figures are Airfix, the tripod crew is CTS.

The CTS figures are, like most of the others in that set, undersized for 1/32 (in my opinion, and at least in comparison to Airfix and Matchbox, never mind TSSD). However, by themselves, on the cork tile base, they don't look too bad. 

Regardless, there aren't too many other options. I can't find anyone making a 1/32 tripod MG-42. I would like at least two more of these crews, which means two more CTS sets of figures that I will have no use for.

Even W. Britain has let me down!

The cork tiles are roughly 3" x 3" and are something of an experiment. The next game will undoubtedly see units based on the cork tiles with the help of poster tack. Although it does look like they are on very small cliffs, the thickness of the tile makes it easier to pick up than thin wooden squares.

First Phase of 1/32 WWII Forces 2/3 Done!

Last night I finished up 5 figures I've been working on (1 Soviet and 4 US) to bring 2 of my 3 1/32 armies to "first phase" readiness (3 infantry units of 4 figures + NCO  + 1 CO and 1 tank).

Here is the Soviet commander surveying the troops from a distance:

And here he with his full force (Infantry is Airfix + 2 Supreme figures. Armor is CTS) . In addition to an extra figure per unit, notice the abundance of armor!

The 2 Supreme Russian figures, ATR and mortar, will be re-painted
but are useable as is, despite their ugliness.

And here is the US force - considerably less armor! They too have an ATR and mortar, but also an MMG. Just over half of the US force is W. Britain Big Red 1 figures, the rest are TSSD. The tank is CTS.

The astute among you will notice I have not yet attached the Sherman's turret MG.

I plan to wrap up the 2 German figures I need before the weekend is out and Phase 1 will be complete - allowing me to field these forces for World War Risus, or to play 1:1 section/squad or smaller games.

Phase 2 will either involve getting everyone up to 7 figure units (6 infantry + 1 NCO) or getting all forces to have similar equipment (well, no one will have as many tanks as the Russians, but the Russians need a Maxim, and some kind of transport, the US needs a transport, the Germans need a tripod mounted MG-42). 

And yes, somewhere in there, I'll get around to finishing the Soviet and German bases.

Friday Night Tank Ambush

In an effort to bring my new panzerfaust team into the action again, I decided to play a variation of Scenario 2 from the Nuts! 2.0 rulebook:

The Soviets had to get across the board and I, playing the Germans, had orders to stop them.

I looked at the options for the original scenario and decided the Soviets would field one T-34/76 with tank riders, and then roll on the reinforcements table for their other unit - and they got a second tank.

Tank riders.

I used the small playing area again and changed movement to multiples of 5". I also couldn't find the stone walls for the farm house, so I made do with dungeon tiles:

I had my infantry laying in wait to flank the armor.

The Soviets were cautious and it took a long time for them to move up. When it came time for the first In-Sight, I decided to use the CR3 In-Sight test, rather than the Nuts! 2.0 method.

I don't know if it was me or  what, but the game never felt right. I really like CR3, so I think the mechanism is pretty sound.

In large part, i think, it was because I hadn't played the rules in awhile and had to look so many things up - especially for the armor.

There was one high point. My panzerfaust took out a tank! :

I played for well over an hour before I finally called the game - things were not going well for the Germans - what you can't see below is that the bottom T-34 had wiped out my LMG team with it's co-ax MG. A few more turns and the Soviets would make it off the table, or reinforcements could arrive, prolonging the conflict and I was out of time:

The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything : W. Britain's Toy Soldiers!

Today, I turn 42, hence the post title. Hard to believe - in fact, it's probable that I actively resit believing it!

My girlfriend surprised me with the Wehrmacht Panzerfaust Team from W. Britain - a birthday present I was allowed to open on Friday:

I couldn't let their arrival go unheralded, but I had no scenario in mind, nor did I have any idea what rules I'd use. So, I basically played this scenario, but this time, I controlled the Germans and brought some more toys into the mix.

For rules, I used Featherstone's simple WWII rules from War Games: Battles and Manoeuvres with Model Soldiers (I have the John Curry reprint), rather than DHC7B, because I'm rusty with the latter, while the former is brain-dead simple. 

Feathersone uses 10-figure companies in the book, so, you could say that it was 1 company per side. In my head this was a platoon or company as much as it was individuals - something I think Featherstone's, and other old-school individual figure rules support, even if unintentionally.

The German OOB:
1 Kublewagen w/MG
1 Sd.Kfz. 251 w/MG + carrying one Anti-tank squad
1 10 figure unit of infantry

The Soviet OOB:
2 x T-34/76
1 10 figure unit of infantry

The kitchen table was off limits, and since the arrival of a puppy in our household a few months ago, my cat, Pumpkin, has been taking her meals on my table, so space was at a premium. I broke out two sheets of squared green poster board and squeezed it onto my table between the cat-food and the hobby supplies.

I modified the measurements in the rules to be multiples of 5" so I could use the grid to speed measuring.

Here are some pics of the battle:

This is after turn 1 I think - both sides made it onto the table.

The new guys ride in style. Jake the Dog is photo-bombing!

If it wasn't for those damn woods, the Sdk's MGs could have wiped those Ruskies from the table.

Fire fight in the Seussian Forest!

The triumph and tragedy of war.

Don't ask what my plan was with the kubelwagen was, it was't a good one. Clearly.

A rather ignominious debut for the panzerfaust crew. The grey dice represent the saving throws for the two Germans. A 5 or 6 was needed.

End of game.

It was not a good day for the Germans, to say the least.

 My plan to have the panzerfaust team flank the tanks behind a screen of infantry was an epic failure. That screen was decimated and the crew raced back to the road to disembark the transporter in hopes of getting at least one shot at the lead tank, at which point they were mowed down by some Soviet SMG-armed troops. 

In retrospect, I'm not sure why they I didn't just have them shoot from the Sd.Kfz.

On the last turn played, the transporter was the only thing in the way of the Soviet's exit - I had one infantryman left, and a lot of good he'd do me without any anti-tank weapons, so, I conceded the battle to my worthy opponent: myself.

Somewhere on the Eastern Front

Saturday night, I had a bit of time to game and decided I wanted to bring my painted 1/32 Soviets and Germans to the table for their first real outing.

A few months back, I began looking for a rules to play company level games and as luck would have it, Lone Warrior #182 brought Tactical Combat by David Newport to my attention. My intent is to use them in the Pacific, but I also really like the ideas of fighting larger operations with the big figures. 

The rules themselves are simple - easy to learn and easily modified if desired, and the author himself quite helpful in that regard. I wrote Mr. Newport early on to thank him for making the rules available and told him of my plans for Pacific Theater battles, and he replied with suggestions for additional rules to capture the feel of that conflict.

Basing is 1 base = 1 section, 3 sections = a platoon. For tanks, I'm not sure of the intent but i treated them as 1:1.  As my figures are not ordinarily mounted on a base, I used cork squares as ad hoc bases. Not pretty, but they did the job.

I left the ranges as written. I find this really helps allow maneuver room in a game with the big figures 

The ground scale and figure scale are perhaps far out of whack at that point, but I really don't care. It's a game; if I can accept that 2 static figures represents 10 active men looking for cover and the best firing position available, the notion of a turn sequence, or the fact that a die roll represents bullets, then I can accept the game-facilitating effect of the movement and weapon ranges.

For solitaire's sake, I used the Nuts!2.0 Enemy Activity Level, Possible Enemey Force (PEF, aka blinds), PEF movement and PEF resolution once revealed. If a PEF resolved to actual troops, then their movement thereafter was controlled by he enemy movement rules from Gunstorm! 

Scenario

1943. The German advance has pushed the Soviets from the village of Pushkinskya (to my knowledge, a fictional place). My under-strength company of 2 platoons has been reinforced with a T-34/76 and has been tasked with halting the German advance, so the remainder of the battalion can regroup.

Victory Conditions: Game ends when any German unit exists the board on my base line or all German PEFs are eliminated / forced to retreat off of their own base line.

  The Battle in Pictures

My baseline. German blinds deployed.

Turn 1?: My right flank rather unsurprisingly reveals a Pz IV opposite my own T-34.

The German middle assaults the hill. The unit on my left leads the charge with covering fire from the unit at the village edge.

Turn 2: An ill-fated infantry attack on the Pz. IV results in 2 hits to the section (3 hits and it's eliminated).

The T-34 has better luck and the PZ. IV is forced to fall back, hull down and buttoned up.

The middle is a brutal affair. The German unit on the left storms the hill and pushes the Soviet section back. The Soviet left begins to close in to flank the Germans.

Turn 3: To my chagrin, one of the PEFs is revealed to be another Panzer.

Turn 4: On my left the infantry section is eliminated and my T-34 is hit for a suppression. Meaning it can't act next turn unless it passes a morale check at the end of this one. Which it doesnt'.

In the middle, 1 German section is eliminated. Unfortunately, my units can't hit the broad side of a barn on a clear calm day from 1 meter and they're unable to take out the German section in the village.

Turn 5: The German tank and infantry section on my right break through my defensive line. Another section on my left does the same. My tank is STILL not back in the game. At least i finally took out the Germans in the village.

Turn 6: The game ended on turn 5, but I opted to play one more for giggles. My infantry ganged up on the tank but did nothing. But, hey, look at that the German blind left on the board finally moved! (It needed to roll a 1 on either of 2d6 and this was its first success).

****

I had a great time even with the poor dice rolling for my guys and eventual loss.

Once again, I love the rules and as mentioned, they are easily modified. In this case, I allowed the tanks to fire an MG at infantry (which allows best of two dice, instead of rolling 1), rather than limiting them to their main gun.

Can't wait to get more figures of both sides finished. 

I hope to field a full company each for use with Tactical Combat, sooner rather than later.

Defending Mother Russia from the Advancing Fascist Machine! Urrah!

Another week starting out with more of the same.

I did manage to get some "proof of concept" Soviet troops painted up over the weekend:

For the curious, that's a copy of Ga Pa just behind them.

Painting is easy - they're basically one color: Vallejo Khaki Grey - and they look pretty much like I hoped. My plan is to paint up a Soviet rifle section for the first batch, which is, in fact, not a trivial task with Airfix figures.

Why? Because Airfix is in love with the SMG. I have3 boxes of  Russians and only enough rifle-armed troops to make one section and a few extras. I may have to look into some Marx Russians or some 1/35 scale models to pad the numbers or accept that most of the figures I field will be SMG-armed.

I'm not a huge fan of the Marx poses, but I do like their Officer/Kommissar figure and the rifle figures look useful enough. There's also the TSSD figures, which are beautiful,  but in winter gear and rather pricey, and the Italeri figures which suffer the same problems. There's a knock off of the Italeri poses available from BMC but the price is more palatable and I think i'd be ok with mixing them in.

First Wargame of 2013: Proof that I Still Push Toy Soldiers Around

With all of the RPG related posts lately, I was starting to feel the need to demonstrate that I do, in fact, still enjoy wargaming.

For my 1/32 WWII gaming, I recently took a fall down the rabbit hole, toying around with a mash-up set of rules consisting of ideas from Featherstone's simple WWII rules, Morschauser's modern game rules, Risus! Skirmish (which itself is based on Crossfire), and Disposable Heroes: Coffin for 7 Brothers (which I'm really starting to like).

On Saturday night, for the first time in 2013, I broke out some little plastic men and vehicles and rolled some dice.

It doesn't look like much, but here's a picture from the "play test":

Dice indicate which units have activated - I was lazy and didn't feel like getting out the glass beads or making cardstock markers. Heck, I didn't even bother to put down a ground cloth!

The figure to man/vehicle ratio can be whatever you want it to be, but for this example, it was 1:3.

• The Germans had 2 troops of tanks, and 1 platoon of infantry - they had to hold the hill for 6 turns.
• The Russians had 2 troops of tanks and 1 company - 2 sections - they had to get the Germans off the hill.

The game was fun and since all the rules were in my head, it moved along rather smoothly. Although the Germans managed to keep the Soviet advance at bay, they were knocking at the door. 

I cannot overstate how much I love playing with the larger scale figures. Yes, they're impractical in some sense (storage mostly, from my point of view), but there is an overwhelming sense of nostalgia I get from them.

If it looks like I'm playing with toys, then I'm the right track!*

*with respect to the appearance of the game - specifically how close everything is. The figures will not remain unpainted forever. I have plans you see...

More T-34 progress

This is just to document my progress on the T-34. Feel free to move along if you're not interested. No hard feelings.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm on a Sharpie kick - evidence is amply supplied below.

Don't worry - I intend to build some of the detail I've drawn, and for that which I do decide to draw, I'll use stencils. My freehand is scary.

With the side of the hull cut-away, you can see the box sub-structure.

Note the flex in the card stock - one more reason to build the final product w/ cereal boxes.

I caution that this is just a mock-up at this point and a rather hasty one at that - I'm just using scissors rather than digging out the hobby knife, self-healing cutting mat and steel ruler. And my folds are anything but clean. Still, although there are gaps and unevenness  I think you can see that the target isn't entirely out of reach.

Assuming I can figure out the dimensions, angles and construction techniques to make the model, I'll build a proper one out of much stronger cereal box cardboard. Ideally, the process, once discovered would be easily repeatable - perhaps building a template with some simple drawing tools, as found in Word.

How much fun would it be to build a pile of cardboard T-34s, T-70s and Panzer IVs (perhaps backed up with some Marders or Stugs) for a Little Wars type game to celebrate the 100th anniversary of those rules and to honor the 70th anniversary of the battle of Kursk?

Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself there. I ought to really finish one of these before I think about making them in the 10s, let alone making models for which I have no physical item on hand.

T-34 Breakthrough!

As I mentioned the other day, I've been trying to model a Russian T-34 in paper.

Actually, that sounds a little to generous. I've been trying to model the hull of a Russian T-34 in paper.

I have a pile of failed attempts (although some may be useful as scout ships in 15mm, and of course, each one leads me closer to the goal, so lemons and lemonade and all that), not to mention that it looks like a snow storm happened around me with all the paper cuttings.

Still, this afternoon I have gotten the closest yet - I rushed the completion of it as I had only a few minutes to do it, and rather than measure it all out, I used the previous version as a template and adjusted it on the fly.

paper model hull in "winter camo" with plastic source looking on mockingly

Now I realize it's not terribly exciting to look at yet,  and I really don't need another T-34 (I have two already, but I wanted to start with something I had on hand) and you'd think given the hours I've spent getting to this point there would be more to show, but I'm still pretty excited. 

I have learned 3 things so far:

• My geometry, what miniscule amount I remember, is rusty at best
• I am not an engineer
• It's fun to assemble paper models, it's a whole different world of fun to design your own!

Minimizing the Cost of Armor

This is not about the cost of plate mail in D&D (in b/x it was only 60 gp!), but of tanks and such for WWII, particularly as it relates to 1/32 scale vehicles.

While infantry at this scale are affordable, not that'd I'd want to assemble a 1:1 company, armor is quite a bit different - the cheapest plastic kit I can find is around $10, with some pre-assembled items going for $60 or so. 1/35 vehicles are, to my eye, satisfactory and there are a good many kits available, but these too are pricey.

For gaming at this scale, generally, only a handful of vehicles are required, so that helps some.

Still, it does not alter the fact that my entire gaming budget for the year might only field vehicles for a single scenario from a Skirmish Campaigns book if I'm lucky!

And so, I turned to looking for printable card model PDFs. While searching (and finding a lot, although many looked complicated), I remembered an article in Lone Warrior #168, by Marvin Scott, that described scratchbuilding your own vehicles (among other frugal tips). 

Then, as fate would have it, I stumbled onto some paper modeling sites which led me to some very inspirational card stock vehicles.

Here are 1/35 vehicles made from cereal boxes:

Cereal Box Tanks: Marder III from Kristopher Peck on Vimeo.

Now, that example is a good deal beyond my ability, but his first examples seem achievable and I happen to like the way they look, especially the King Tiger, which has a toy-like appearance to it:

Cereal Box Tanks: The First Three from Kristopher Peck on Vimeo.

I'm anxious to give it a try - to make matters simple, I think I'd start with something I already have in 1/32, a T-34, just to get the measurements and angles right.

Saturday Night Fight: A Bigger Grid for Bigger Figures

As I mentioned in my last game report, I had acquired some poster board to make a grid with larger squares for my 1/32 figures. 

My original plan had been 6" squares, but I used 5" squares instead to gain a little more on the grid. In total, I put the grid on 3 pieces of poster board (total cost $3.00), but in the end opted to game on only two. Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame: Modern has compressed movement and firing ranges, compared to his Memoir of Modern Battle, which means less space is needed.

The scenario was simple again - both sides had to capture the village (2 out of 3 buildings would win). I really need to design better scenarios but for testing, it works well enough.
had 

Germans:
3x Infantry units
1x MG unit
1x Anti-tank unit
1x Commander

Russians:
2x Infantry unit
1x MG unit
1x Commander
1x T-34

The Soviets committed a glaring tactical error early on, sending the T-34 without an infantry escort: 

 and paid for it:

Still, they made a quick claim to the village:

 The Germans advanced left, right and center. Building-to-building fighting broke out in the village:

The end result was the elimination of a Soviet unit and their Commander! 

Meanwhile, fighting erupted on the Soviet left with the unit being held in reserved and the advancing German unit:

The Soviet right is pushed back to their baseline as the German center and left advanced to the edge of the village:

The Soviets were forced to concede defeat. The Germans had control of all three buildings:

On a somewhat related note (which means it's somewhat unrelated), the night before, I had decided to try out 2" squares for some 19th Century imaginations gaming, using 2 figures per unit for Bob Cordery's Memoir of Battle:

This is the only picture I took, grainy as it is. The game was a lot of fun - the troops in the fort held off the assault until the attackers were nearly eliminated.  This an another way to stretch a small number of figures into a sizable battle. This will be most useful for the planned Riesling / Sauvignon-Blanc conflict on the continent and a fantasy campaign I have in mind for 2013.

Unpainted 1/32 Army Men Take to the Table in Generic Capture Village Scenario

This weekend I managed to squeeze in a fun grid-based game using my 1/32 unpainted WWII Eastern Front forces. Rules were a Frankenstein's Monster of Bob Cordery's "Memoir of Modern Battle", Mike Crane's "Pacific Island Assault", Sacre Bleu and some house-rulings.

I ran the Russians and used dice to control the Germans. Both sides started with 1 platoon (3 figs), 1 HMG section (1 MG and 1 other figure), and a commander(single officer figure) on the table and could dice for reinforcements per my house-rules.

The randomized phases of the game, taken directly from Sacre Bleu (you can see this laid out in the Full Size Preview on the WargameVault site if you follow the link above) aided in creating tension - a much needed feature of solo games.

The objective for both sides was to capture and hold the village (the single building in the center).

The game was an overwhelming victory for Germany, as the Russian reinforcements never materialized.

Here's the scene just prior to the Russian surrender:

I did make the mistake of having only one victory objective, which focused the action in the middle of the board. Ideally, there would have been more objectives to spread the forces out.

Not that it would have helped the Russians - they needed a 4-6 to get reinforcements, and every time they rolled a 1, 2, or 3! 

Now, I know it doesn't look like much - but for a hastily thrown together game, it was a blast. If I use these rules again, I'll incorporate the ranges from the new Portable Wargame: Modern rules.

Importantly, I have conclusive evidence that I need a bigger grid surface if I'm going to use 1/32 figures on it.

Talk about cramped! The 24" x 27" surface I have now works well for 1/72, not so much for 1/32. Fear not, I've already acquired some large sheets of  $0.99 poster board for just such thing.