Last One Out of the Valley...

Finally got a game in to try out my new tabletop.

First, the photo shoot.

Verlinden M1117*, Maisto Ford Ranger, Tamiya GMV*, Airfix Jackal

mumble, mumble unpainted... and a Tumbler!

Poochie I'm still waiting on stats...

This shoot was conceived as a scale comparison.

Now with Dish Dash's excellent ANZACs, verdict? All vehicles gameable. 

First game, Kiwis and ANA leaving a valley. IED threat.

Trying to get to the river through this choke point at dusk is hair-raising

IED detonates, then all hell breaks loose...

 I actually missed the Ranger with the IED and both Taliban fireteams with RPG's! Well, that is I hit but only degraded it's 'main gun' and forced bail checks which they passed three times!

Some ANA soldiers are hit, but the Taliban are getting caned.

 Got a serious and two light wounds on the ANA fireteam. They walk it off however...

The Ranger, driven by two Kiwi soldiers, runs the gauntlet!

Why am I using my FoW dice, they never work.

Second time around I play the ISAF, Kiwis and ANA. ANA stop and debuss.

Kiwis debuss and head straight for the compound on the right. Jackpot!

After dropping a few, brick A assaults and clears. Terry does a runner!

Brick B ready to clear the next ridge.

Very fun as usual Mr Simon. Table worked well with plenty of cover and open space, and it looked decent. Would love to hear from you guys during my break!
Huzzah!

Scratch-built Shipping Containers, 28mm or 1/48

So I decided that I needed more modern like terrain a while ago and I had an idea to make some shipping containers. I put it off several times, thinking 'aren't there some cheap ones floating around somewhere?', and ' how much time 'til this essay is due?!'.
Ahem, then the other night I had it visualised and decided to strike while the iron was hot. lol

Quick dimensions... IRL 2.59m x 2.44m x 6.1m for a 20' 'standard' container, (12.2m L for a 40' obviously) Those translate to 5.4cm x 5.1cm x 25.4cm for a 40' 'standard container', (which makes a 40' container pretty big on a 1200mm square tabletop!) So I made two 20 footers, (12.7cm long for a 20'), rationalising that they had a better chance making it to remote areas of Central Asia in any case.;-)

I would also like to add that there have been several attempts to change the standard container size and there are some regional ones as well with slight variation, but this shape has been in use for decades and will be for some time as there are millions in circulation! (No fellow CHCH peeps, they are not all here. Just all of the traffic cones are here...)

Using thick cardboard or foamcore cut the floor and reinforcing for the walls

Roof is cardstock and the walls are stripped cardboard

The second ready to go

Glueing with PVA and weights to add strength to the bond

More of the same

Added cardstock front and split back for the doors

Just need to add locking bars and other details. One red primer the other blue primer, both with random shipping logos. This is intended to make them usable for near future Scifif as well.
The scale looks good. My converson was based on 1/48 if anyone cares. Most of my models for 28mm are 1/48 and look pretty good for wargaming purposes.

Would love suggested corporate logos to use! One might have to be Blue Sun...

50,000 Page Views and the Arid Tabletop

Had a test layout while resting my brain this morning. Wanted to see how it all shapes up.
Not too shabby for quickie gaming potential.
Could use a couple gates, and a bend or two for the road as well as the stream.

ANA patrol heading for a ford on the way home

Trigger-man's eye view

From the mountainside where the civvies are hiding

Gotta make it to the ford.

Next WIP are some scratch-built shipping containers...

[FoF] Contracting for Foreign Terra Federated Corporation Ltd is tough work...

and the bonuses aren't that great either.
(Technically this the Tomorrows War sci-fi variant.)
This whole game and campaign are a kind of tribute to old school sci-fi. I remember reading books and short stories where mercenaries were used to fight proxy wars on behalf of corporations on distant planets. Most were rather thin critiques of the Second Indochina war but the mental imagery stayed with me.

They sure don't look like 'Frogs'...

 The disparaging term we came up with last week before the game sure doesn't fit with the behavior! More of a  recruiting phrase.
To me, last Thursday, they looked a lot more like Dragons! Elusive units, you have to spot them before you can shoot first. Intimidating in melee, morale check after every attack! That is tough. They also have projectile weapons and heavier weapons are rumoured. (ie Martin has a giant box of them ready to go!)

The CEO and his kids are covered by the LT

 The Mayday was sounded by the CEO himself. Strangely only one squad was sent, ours.

The buildings aren't doing too well, but are in fact cover.

 The activity on the ground showed us that we need a lot more than just a squad of grunts to sort this out.

One of three groups that we hear and can't see.

 With two small maneouver elements we had to keep them from massing for a single large attack by quick forays.

The grunts head out for a look see.

I was quite nervous at this point as he had unlimited reserves showing up. Up to a unit of 12 every turn and I had to hold for six. That math looked tough, especially with my rolling.

Another large groups lurks nearby unseen.

Their Elusive feature was very useful, I had a hard time engaging first, couldn't see em. But we could hear something out there! A whole lotta somethings!

Our sweep fireteam still looking for trouble. There it is...

Another assault repulsed, just held down to the wire.

Did I mention they're Hungry?(!)

Relief  sweep fireteam gets wiped out during an assault.

First part of the assault we got two hits, then we got hit, then a pin, then a die shift, then another hit etc. Oh the horror! Two captured, the rest eaten. None seen again!

Another group lurking ready for an assault

The grunts are holding the building but that's it.

Over thirty is the body count to our  four killed and two missing and four injured.

In the end it was four mercs and three dependents being hit four times, luckily one hit a dependent so the 'Frogs' didn't eat us all after the only unit in assault range failed to assault.
That is out of eleven men, there was also the awkward fact of the CEO being injured. Though his dependents came through.
Super fun game and very tense for most of it!
Great game Martin!

[FoF] A small raid in the Solomons

As some of you may know a couple years ago we got into Force on Force with the intention of doing WW2 28mm skirmish with Marine Raiders, Chindits, Aussies and of course Japanese Army as well as Naval Landing Forces.
Between SAGA, Bolt Action, our 6mm EPIC games, Skirmish Sangin and more we had a lot of other things to distract us.
Well Friday night Andy and I finally got in a game of it!
We decided on d8 quality and d12 morale for the Imperial Japanese Army and d8/d10 for the Marines.
I had 33 minis but left behind my flamethrower team as well as Chesty, I wanted it to be a good fight after all.;-)
Two squads of 9 with 3 BAR each, an MMG team, a Corpsman and a stretcher bearer, a sniper team, a 60mm  mortar team and the platoon commander with his RTO. Total 30
Andy had twenty-odd Japanese soldiers in four fireteams of five men including a couple LMGs, a separate HMG team of three and an officer.
We both started with half on the table roll to bring them on. My LVT's were for dropping off only and onl;y had two crewmen. Additionally the Japanese defenders were hidden.

The first LVT lands and plows inland before the Raiders debus 

We couldn't see anyone so we kept moving forward through the eerie quiet...

The half squads lurks well hidden and out of range

'We must stop them before they cross the river."

Empty bunker! Had me worried anyway.

This bunker has a 13mm HMG and a very tough gunner.

It was still quiet and I got my reinforcement roll! Woot!

The second LVT trundles up the beach cautiously.

I had planned on just using the LVT's as transports cus they look cool and doctrinally they wouldn't hang out on the beach really.

Before getting smashed by the HMG! Four of the fifteen Raiders on board get hit!

The HMG's roll was decent but my armor roll was a 3 on two six sided dice. Ouch! Dead vehicle and casualty check for everyone aboard.

My right hand advance has been whittled down to one good fireteam.

There was tons of shooting at this point but most guys were staying in cover and not getting hit. The hits came in dribs and drabs. I got my Corpsman up to support my advance on the right.

The Old Man brings up the Corpsman and takes over.

I actually got one pin on a fireteam! Only once though. Hard cases!

They are in a machine gun battle across the river.

The view from the Japanese bunker. Burning LVT!

This guy got shot to pieces so many times! But he kept making his morale checks and kept shooting until just before we were going to assault the bunker. Probably saved a few lives.

The team on the left does eventually work their way up and take the bunker!

Finally reinforcements! The Yanks are all over the beach and they've crossed the river!

In the end the Marines had a bunker and then the second bunker. There was no easy way for the Japanese to throw them off the beachhead. We had both had series' of good rolls and bad luck.
Rolling off for troop quality once shooting is declared were some of victories that kepy my casualties as low as they were. 7 killed and 5 other casualties were my total.
I like Force on Force quite a bit for this scale of full platoons facing off.
Very fun game Andy! Great table!
Stoked we finally pulled it off!
Huzzah!