Team Yankee playtest with 6mm GHQ minis.

Chris and I  rocked up to Simon's pad for my first gaming in ages. (Woot!) Simon had planned a Frostgrave dust up and it looks as cool as it reads. Very reminiscent of 1st edition D&D (white box) in look, but with a faster, more modern, and opposed resolution system. I will have to rewrite my list and give it a go with some suspiciously, Bulgar, Slav and Viking looking characters...

This was to be my first try at the new rules. Played 1" equals 1cm on a 4x6' table.
These rules are very familiar to any Flames player of course. The point buying is quite different in numbers but the scheme is the same, one core unit then pick from available supports.
We chatted about when the other armies would become available. My opponent Che was keen for Dutch, others are waiting on Brits and Germans of course.

The lists were as follows, Che got 100pts of Yanks
2 M1 command team
4 M1 platoon
4 M1 platoon
4 M163 Vulcan AAA platoon
2 M901 ITV ATGM platoon
2 A10's

I got 100 pts of Soviet Guards
1 T72 command
8 T72 platoon
7 T72 platoon
4 BMP2 Recce platoon
4 ZSU 23/4 AAA platoon
3 2S1 SP howitzers and an observer BMP
4 Mi24 Hind D flight

No infantry. Which is a bummer for Che as we roll No Retreat for a scenario.
Che must leave a M1 platoon off table, the other is in ambush. Which leaves a thin line of M113 variants and two M1's defending Germany from the horde.

I use Spearhead from my Recce platoon to push up our tank battalions past the halfway mark. Very cool rule, reminiscent of the Chain of Command patrolling phase. IMHO a good way to represent the work of reconnaissance units.
I open up with four Hinds, provoking defensive AAA from the Vulcan's. He bags two Hinds.
Our return fire kills an M1. Then our lead tank company takes out a single track and bails another. My recce BMP's fail to hit with their two AT5 shots.
Che retaliates by trying to get his reinforcements or air on station, both refuse. Settles for shooting down another Hind! Pops his ambush M1 tank platoon behind my second tank company on my right flank, 8 shots to the flank of my T72's, kills three!
Not enough to make us blink yet. They wheel around to blast the M1's off of OUR objective.
Remember who is rolling here, I also use two recce BMPs, my CO's T72 as well as moving my Hind over, away from those nasty M163's! After all of the shooting we have killed one and bailed one...

M1 ambush pops in our wood. BMP2 Recce bogs on a hedge.

Che gets air finally! It rolls in on the lead T72's after they had finished feasting on his M163 platoon. We have no AAA nearby, they were all looking fearfully at the M1 behind the hedge that everybody had been shooting at and somehow surviving.

The A10's roll in and get one kill and one bail after using Mavericks and 3cm GAU. Lucky me!

A10 Warthogs bounce the lead tank company, killing one with a Maverick.

Now facing the front of my second T72 company three M1's only get a single kill.

Sole surviving Krokodil after M163 Vulcan party on it's flight.

Again concentrating everything on this bloody M1 platoon we eventually finish them off.

Objective scrubbed clear of Yankee Imperialists

Krokodil, Grozdikas and Shilka supporting the attack

Fun game Che! Che could really have used some dismounted infantry in that central wood. We were both pretty rusty and relied on Pooch to referee. We both got our reminders of FoW's coarse die rolling with some weird results here and there. Of course the assumption in this game as well as our EPIC games in the past the Soviet vehicles actually ran and were assembled to spec. (Unlike many examples in real life!) Also ranges seemed short from what I was used to, we will tweak perhaps as we just went with a 1cm = 1" conversion. I will play again and for the moment can't afford to invest in BF 15mm vehicles so my small collection of GHQ will stand in nicely.
Sorry for the few crummy pictures.
Here is a link to our modern games from a few years ago using EPIC as a base.

First Day of Gaming in 2015!

So during the break I've done a bit of modelling as well as painting on some old projects indeed.
First up is my long forgotten Autosaharianas. Nearly done!

These are coming along. Nearly ready Andy!

 Then my forgotten Fallout army. Need to paint my jump troops and finish basing the rest of my Reavers. They need to score really bad, it's been ages.

Fallout! What's Fallout?

 On the first Jamie came over for a bash at Infinity. (I had played it once before with Martin and company last year, or longer ago.) I had just read over the new 3rd Edition rules. Free at Corvus Belli btw.

Eye of Sauron beer cap is my Fiday (Ninja). Ghulam and Djanbazan Sniper cover the right flank.

Jamie's Akalis combat jumped into my deployment zone!

Wrought havoc on my Janisarie as well as a Ghulam, (my Lieutenant!) and hid!

Had a very fun game. Jason showed up to rules advise and provide terrain (and beer!) we had a great chat in between me fumbling around the rules. I got some good kills in revenge for my troops but Jamie rolled over me with four versus two objectives. He got some pics so hopefully he'll post up a better report. I'm studying!

[FoW] Day of Days with "Speed Kills!"

So after I picked up the Wellington cohort guys at the airport, I hit the passenger seat. Instead of sleeping, I blathered... on and on.
However my teammate Pooch and I, as well as our mates Nick and Bob, who were running the ultimate Tiger and Puma list, were headed south!
Once we got there we had a great catchup with Craig and Ian and Robert while we wondered where Martin was.

Pooch and I's list. I ran TFA, Pooch ran the Tankies.
US Tanks (Confidently Trained!)
HQ- 2 M4 Shermans
Tank Troop- 4 M4 76mm Shermans
Tank Troop- 4 M4 75mm Shermans
Tank Troop- 4 M4 75mm Shermans
Armoured Mortar Platoon- 3 81mm Mortar tracks

Task Force A (Confidently Trained!)
HQ- 2 Greyhounds
TF Recon- 1 Greyhound, 2 Jeeps
TF TD Platoon- 4 M18 Hellcats
TF TD Platoon- 4 M18 Hellcats
TF Engineer Platoon- Full, 3 Bazookas
Corps Field Artillery Battery- 3 Priests, 2 50cal Halftracks

First game versus Dale and Nigel. Panthers, Pzkpfw IV's, Pumas, Pioneers and Panzergrenadiers.
First terrain error on our part, no bog check on an unelevated rail line.

My newly touched up Engineers on Rob St Denis' awesome table

A lurking Puma

Shermans mistakenly bogging on the railine, then Hummels fire a bombardment

Our 81's in direct fire support against Dale's Panzergrenadiers

Dale's haltracks and hamburgers on the hoof

Our Combat Engineers hiding in a wood after getting caned

Second game versus Kent and Ian. Panthers, Pzkpfw IV's and Panzergrenadiers.

Second terrain error, bocage looking stuff should have been bocage not hedges. We needed that LOS blocked

Trading shots with Panthers and Pzkpfw IV's

The opposition tanks run by Ian was well handled

We were putting the pressure on. But they kept saving!

After committing the first platoon of M18's we had to bring up the Combat Engineers to support them.

The 88's that threatened our right the whole test

Our unarmored masses jump forward and threaten some more!

The Cav trying to hold the flank is getting pasted! But they are making rolls and shooting!

They made seven platoon morale saves. We couldn't get a single point!

Third game Sunday morning. Craig and Martins Panther, Pzkpfw IV and Panzergrenadier list!

We got the terrain correct this time!

We were defending but our whole list is attack, attack, attack! With just TFA on table I was worried for a bit, but the whole rope-a-dope has always appealed to me. We had our Priests drop shells and everyone else hunkered down.
Until they got too close and offered us some StuH's

Of course they returned fire... ouch!

Oh yeah our OTHER platoon of Hellcats.

Sneaking shots between buildings

Just about to get hammered, the M18's that is

Luckily the tanks are here now! Covering our flank.

The bloody 'werfers!

That didn't take long...

Our last game was really cool as well. It was our bros from Chch. Andy and Jason and their awesome 21st Panzer lists. Lot's of ersatz Stugs and StuH's and Panzergrenadiers and Motorcycles and Von Luck!
We got stuck in early but a bunch of good rolling saved their asses. ;-)

It was a great comp and we had a very fun list to tank it up with. Rolling on day 1 sucked. But we soldiered on and didn't get stuck into the piss at noon, like our evil dice wanted us to. We had a proper lunch and coffees and continued to watch the dice desert us.

[FoW] M18 Hellcats ready to rock and roll!

Finally showed up and while I prep for school managed some time to knock them out quickly. Painting in daylight is like cheating. You can see everything! I'm gonna add camo nets and antennae.

Full M18 TD Platoon

 I think the sculpt is awesome and I'll back up Evan on including the 'roll bar' looking thing that is actually about an inch in diameter. But the tracks are a bad cast and sculpted wrong.

'Traverse right! Right, your military right!'

 I got the box set and it came with new decals. I had a ton of old ones left so didn't bother but the new ones are thinner and worked great on the back deck.

'The LT is staring at the map again, we are screwed...'

 The included stowage was quite good, though it lacked jerry cans and shell cannisters. I should make some.

"Gunner, Able Peter, tank 600 yards, fire, fire , FIRE!"

Yes these are for Day of Days, woot! Rumoured to be the last FoW DoD. What!
In any case Pooch and I are here for the racing. Drag racing.
Oh and kill Germans.

[FoW] Some more WIP. 2AD M4A1 76mm and Autosaharianas

Don't worry everybody I did get some M18 Hellcats in the end and they are being painted as we speak. BF M18's are kinda fiddly, resin mistakes and pewter flash and bent tracks. Still they look good in the end, pics soon.

Love these Plastic Soldier models.

Reasonably happy with the paint

Maybe just antennae next

With these I can field a respectable force of  17 targets for my German opponents.

Captured Morris AAA trucks

The lovely AS42 with 37mm, foregound and Breda 2cm, back

Ah my lovelies

I've got several more to do. Luckily my mate Andy has taken the opportunity to knock together some Chevy trucks and Willys jeeps into some rag tag force called the LRDG.(!)

Also big ups to Seattle people, go Seahawks! Thanks Keane, now I've got a good pile of stuff to kitbash into my SciFi skirmish force for Fallout.

[FoW] Neither of these are my Day of Days Army...Yet!

I've been nervously looking at the calender and counting on my fingers as Battlefront still hasn't shipped my desperately needed Hellcats to my local store which I like to support. (Comics Compulsion in Christchurch Huzzah btw!) Until they show I've been pottering away on some other projects. Here are a couple WIP shots.

Project number one is being able to run a proper tank company of Yanks if I feel the itch. I got some Plastic Soldier Company M4A1 (76mm) and put them together and now I'm painting them. As you probably know they are great sculpts and a good wee model that's a nice mix between detailed and easy to assemble.

M4A1 (76) tank platoon with an AOP on watch for ambushes

Project two is my Autosahariana Company, god knows what I will do with it. Hopefully smash up some cheeky LRDG or SAS boys!
Pretty fun modifying all of the different trucks as well as the autosaharianas themselves. The Falco is such a cool model of a hopelessly outclassed plane that did quite a bit of hard work for them in North Africa.

Autosahariana platoon reinforced with extra trucks and Falco on top cover!

Day of Days is Feb 22 and 23 in Timaru! See you there!

[FoW] Panzered!

So I was keen to get some more practice against a different German list. I had asked around and Josh was available. He has a truly fearsome list containing;
HQ, Pzkfw IV x2
Tank Platoon, 4 Panther
Tank Platoon, Pzkfw IV x4
Assault Gun Platoon StuH x4
Recon Platoon 8 rads x2
I'm pretty sure they were confident Vets or something.
Josh did a great job setting up the table and I showed up late as usual. I hadn't prepped at all and was running my exact same list from last week.

Sherman Spearhead Ninjas strike!

We rolled Hasty Attack and I took that to heart. Despite the fact that I was facing a ton, or rather tons of Jerry armor! I ninja moved my Sherman's up and they pounced on the StuH's holding the center.

CO and XO loitering on the left flank

My Armored Recon Platoon was on the right, cowering. My TD's were unpopped in the center waiting for the big tanks to take the Sherman attack as bait.(?!)

Oh my that is a lot of tanks

The Panthers were in Immediate Ambush and Josh popped them in the center, just behind his StuH's

The German Commander surveys the killing fields

The two HQ panzers were forcing my right flank recon platoon to rethink, "why we fight.'

Which way to run!

Oh shit! Wait, remove gone to ground or something... Whatttt!?

Not according to plan!

We pop one StuH and bail another. Not he effect I was hoping for, but honestly I shouldn't have expected more... In return we get caned, but it takes a bunch of shots. Both platoons have to shoot at the Shermans and one survives

The Germans counterattack!

My air support refuses to show up setting the precedent for the rest of the game. One aircraft found the battlefield... all game.80

Killing a panzer IV with armored cars! Woot!

Coolest part of the game for me! Killing tanks with armored cars! Well a second tank with an armored car. If I knew then that it would be my last kill I would have drank more heavily!

There's no place like home, there's no place like home...

My tank destroyers realize that since no one else is showing up they had better get shooting! Plus, you know Panthers!

StuH bags an M20

Trying to broaden the deployment possibilties for the TD platoon an M20 goes for broke.

The Combat Engineers finally show up after the M10's appear.

 Unable to get the flank, all of our shots bounce... we know the return fire won't bounce. (I hit them five times?) Arrgghhh!

In the distance you can see the light tanks on an objective...

Finally reinforcements! The light tanks show up and charge for the objective. We hope that all the shooting in the center will delay any reaction so they double. I also mistakenly think that they are out of maneuver and shooting  range.

They are in range of Josh's StuH's which charge through the woods and engage destroying the entire platoon easily. Then the Panthers obliterate the M10's!

I knew it was coming. But I keep juking around hoping that air or arty will work. But nothing.

In the end it's the Combat Engineers and the 105's holding off the Panthers and two Armored Recon platoons shooting it out at point blank range with the StuH's and Panzer IV's.

Good game Josh! Well played and I just didn't have any luck, and versus this list I needed a least a bit.