March Recap

This will be a photo heavy post as there was some painting in March - not so much gaming though.

What gaming there was featured five Sisters of Battle trying to escape a hoard of 21 Tyranids by reaching an extract point. I played two games of the same scenario - once with Grimdark Future:Firefight - which I'm not fond of as a solo game anymore - and once with some improvised rules that were equally unsatisfactory. I think One Hour Skirmish Wargames is going to be the way to go, or something very much RPG-lite.

 Painting-wise, I made some progress on my Alps 1940 forces:

French MG base, two infantry bases, and a leader.

The Italians received reinforcements making one full platoon and one 3/4 (using Crossfire organization):

I'm trying to code the units by basing material. Not an original idea by any means, but very useful.

Work began on the fourth army for my fantasy ... campaign? ... I don't know, I have ideas.

The microphone in the back tells you about what I've been spending most of my time on.

They are WiP. I have a lot of gear remaining to paint - I am hopeful the headgear will really make the figures pop as I don't want to shade them (going for toy soldier look). As they are, the white just washes out the details.

 In my last post, I mentioned painting some lizards (but no picture) and then I painted a few more. Here are the ones done last month:

The archer is intended to function as a Chameleon Hero in Age of Fantasy, while the spears will make up a unit of Saurian Guards (when combined with some command figures)

 Next up, some heavies - a unit of gator warriors:

I don't know who made them - they kind of remind me of Age of Aegyptus figures but not anything currently available.

My favorite of the bunch:

He is an old Grenadier model from the early 80s I believe. His color scheme is based on the yellow-headed gecko (they tend towards orange in spite of the name). He will be a Gecko Hero for Age of Fantasy.

And, just for giggles, the current painted 28mm lizard folk army:

Obviously that excludes the dinosaurs I have, as well as the yet to be painted frog mage and gator hero. Plus I have a fair number of Wargames Atlantic figures to assemble and paint to add to my red-tailed skinks.

I just get a kick out of looking at them. 

Will they ever be used as a full force for Age of Fantasy? I have no idea. I'd have to be able to find people that play it locally (I know they exist but I am no longer on FB which is where they are). I do have an idea for games of small skirmishes between the various tribes that will get them on the table regardless.

I am fairly certain that if I had to abandon all of my stuff to relocate, I'd find a way to pack my lizard folk figures in  28mm and 54mm! 

Until next month!

A Little PTO

 

Marines land on a godforsaken island somewhere in the Pacific.

The view up the beach.

Maries take cover at the log wall (I forget what they are called)

The beloved company commander hits the beach.

Losses are heavy but a platoon, or what's left of it, manages eliminate the enemy protecting the bunker's flank.

It's not going well for the Marines over all though.

The PL and a single squad assault the bunker.

And capture it!

Is the tide turning?

The Marines consolidate and roll up the Japanese positions.

The Marines on the beach are still taking a hammering.

The Japanese mortar crew retreats to the bunker - the Marines are coming!

The Marines mass and assault the remaining bunker on this stretch of the landing zone.

We interrupt this game report to share with you the pitiful die rolls each side made for their close combat. The 1 is the Marines. The only saving grace is they get bonuses for the PL, CC, and more than one squad.

The bunker is captured! This sector is secured!

Rules used were my own - a combination of Crossfire, Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit, and The Portable Wargame.

The turn sequence is as follows:

Side A Phase 

1. Side A Rally
2. Side A Prep Fire
3. Side A Move - except those who Prep Fired including reinforcements arrival.
4. Side B Defensive fire
5. Side A Advancing Fire - fire with penalty, and only those units who did not fire in Prep Fire
6. Side A Assault Move 
7. Resolve Close Combat

Repeat, sides reversed for Side B phase.

I've been messing around with these for a few weeks now, and I think they are usable as is, although I'm sure I will tweak them (and add armor eventually). My plan is to use them for a fictional Pacific Island assault. Possibly using The Isle of Dread (D&D module X1) as the island in question.

The thing I'm most happy with is the way movement and Defensive Fire work to mimic overwatch/opportunity fire without having to simultaneously play both sides. Since I play solitaire, I don't like having to keep an eye out of Opportunity Fire for the other side. All movement is one grid space and allowing units to move 1 space, then defensive fire, and then eventually move one more space means the effect is the same as overwatch/etc., but I don't have to switch back and forth between the sides while I move a unit.

I've played this scenario several times - the USMC wins most times, but at a high cost, which seems right. In this case, they lost over half of their rifle squads.

For this game, I set a 12 turn limit and the game ended on turn 10.  The Japanese had a platoon of three  rifle squads, a knee mortar squad, and a Platoon Leader. They also had two MGs in bunkers. The USMC had a company consisting of three rifle platoons (and their PLs), and a company commander. The heavy weapons teams were ignored and assumed to be functioning as riflemen in the CCs squad. I probably could have rolled them up into an extra single rifle squad (figuring some of the men are carrying mortars and MGs and can't fire their rifle, only run) on the table and might do that next time.

It really looked like the Marines were going to be slaughtered before they got off the beach, but that's why you never give up on the Marines!

State of the Painting Queue

As I've mentioned many times before, more as a reminder for my sake than for anything else, earlier this year, I put a moratorium on purchasing unpainted figures. 

What this has lead to, rather unintentionally, is renewed interest, if not enjoyment, in painting.

Perhaps I have swung too much in the "other direction" - here is my paint queue as of this morning:

For the curious, yes that is a very old Duncan Glow Imperial that I've had since the late 70s or very early 80s. I still can barely yo-yo.

 

Scales represented in that picture are 1/72, 28mm(or 32 mm?), 1/50 (the T-34 hull), and 54mm. Butterfly? Me?

I don't often share close up WiP shots, but I'm pretty excited about the progress on my Skaven Blitz Bowl team. As of last night, they are almost done with the base colors. I still have green, black, and a bone-like color to do yet (for their incisors). Then comes the wash, then a 2nd layer, and highlights.

This picture is a good deal brighter on my phone.

I'm following along with a YouTube tutorial, like I did for the human team. Same instructor - I find his instructions easy to follow, although I sometimes wish he'd show more of what he considers "armor" or where he applies a color because, as they are fantasy figures, I can't tell what's supposed to be what on these figures half the time.

It's possible I'll finish these over the weekend, but, I am also trying to ready a megadungeon-style campaign for my son (per his request) to have ready to take with us on vacation next week.

Fortunately, I really only need to have the ruins and upper level done. 

Of course, the ruins are three separate areas of multiple buildings/areas, two of which have their own mini-dungeons beneath - one connects eventually to the main dungeon. The third ruin connects directly to the main dungeon.

I'm using a number of freely available one-page dungeons to fill these areas, but I need to reskin them to the theme (Lovecraft tropes galore). The goal is to allow some exploration above ground as well as below, so he'll have choices about where to explore, creatures/NPCs to engage with, multiple ways in and out, that kind of thing.

So yeah, maybe finishing the Skaven this weekend is a little optimistic!

One Thing Leads to Another

So, this happened on Friday night while working on some new hills with cardboard and a utility knife (aka box cutter):

Remember kids, cut away from yourself.

The biggest issue is this is my fretting hand, which means playing guitar with just three fingers. And I have lessons to teach. Not impossible to work around, but annoying.

Anyway, I  wanted to do something with my toys, so I got out some old friends to bring them up to snuff for my current gaming preferences. 

Here is how they  started (1/72 plastics definitely not glued to US pennies):

 

 

They were painted some 17 or 18 years ago - the very first "proper" wargames figures I painted and sentimental (along with those homemade Adventures in Jimland counters I mentioned the other day).

 

Craft paints were all I had and that flesh color leaves a LOT to be desired. They look so sickly!The flock? is also from the craft store - its like chunks of sponge.

 

I may touch them up at some point - some paint flaking but also that flesh color - along with overhauling my Pacific figures.

 

In any case, here they are based for squad-based rules like Crossfire, Hammer of Democracy, or even Morschauser's modern rules.

They had a quick impromptu outing on the kitchen table with Morschauser, and given I was a little bummed about my finger, it was just what the Doctor ordered (not really, he said don't get it wet,  prescribed antibiotics, don't use the finger, and the stitches come out in 2 weeks).

All Units Return to Base

Friday was my birthday. I am 51. Not sure how that happened.

Peppermint Update: He came home from the hospital on my birthday, which was the best gift I could get. There's no cure, but at least he's home and comfortable and we can take care of him ourselves.

We went for a walk to the nearest convenient store (a bi-weekly tradition) and I treated myself to a Monster energy (Orange Dreamsicle flavor is amazing!). I may or may not have had three more over the weekend *cough cough*

I had thought that afterwards I might strong-arm my son into playing Wings of Glory with me, as we recently had a great time with the basic rules, but alas, his friends were all online playing Roblox together and I didn't have the heart to keep him from that.

Instead, I sat with Peppermint and re-watched several episodes of HBO's The Pacific.

Fired up, I spent time Saturday rebasing my Pacific Theater collection. 

The result is that I can field a company plus per Crossfire organization tables for both the Japanese and the USMC in 1942. 

Cutting the little b********** free from their individual bases was far more trying than I expected. Fortunately, I only stabbed myself once. Unfortunately, it was right in the tip of my fretting hand index finger, which means playing guitar will be unpleasant for a bit.

The Americans

The Japanese. Each platoon gets a knee mortar. And a badly painted flag.

I toyed with using 1.5" squares and three figures per base, but went with 2-figure1.25" squares (the standard size from the rulebook) because I can field more units this way.

Of course, based as they are, I can use them Hammer of Democracy, too.

I have Britton Publishers Rising Sun: Operation Watchtower for Guadalcanal scenarios and Rising Sun: Operation Galvanic for Tarawa. It's been awhile since I read either, but if I recall, most of the scenarios are infantry only, with off-table artillery, which suits my forces. I suspect that as written they are better suited to Hammer of Democracy, as Crossfire requires substantial terrain laid out with great care to prevent table length line of sight and fire lanes.

Sunday,  which, by my reckoning, was still part of my birthday, I ran the third session of our Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign.

The party made it to the town, spent some time talking to the townsfolk (where we discovered I can do just two accents: Southern and the other Southern) and went on a shopping spree, before eventually making their way to the hideout of some ruffians who have been shaking down the businesses in town. 

They quickly found themselves toe-to-toe with a Nothic (a creature none of us had never heard of before - and they still haven't, I just showed them the picture, not the name) but came out victorious. This was followed by rolling over some skellies in a crypt. We were all shocked to find out that in 5e clerics don't get to turn undead at 1st level! I guess that makes up for them being able to cast spells at 1st.

To my delight, the players have rediscovered the ancient joy of mapping the dungeon as you go.  It's not really accounted for in-play like it is in B/X, at least not in the starter set, so it's not an in-game document they can lose in a fire or flood. 

Not that I'd do that to them. I swear.

First Painted Figures of 2023

Well, I don't know what came over me, but I knocked out a couple of figures yesterday.

Up first is a commander for my French Foreign Legionairres:

Rather than use the Armies in Plastic Foreign Legion officer, which I already use for the basic unit's leader, I decided I wanted the "army" leader to stand out. 

My British and Russians both have mounted leaders, but that didn't seem right to me, given that the French would be serving on Venus and in Lost World environs, where horses may be hard to come by. 

I recalled seeing pictures, in an Osprey that I no longer own, of legionairres in pith helmets. It was the choice for those serving in Vietnam or somewhere tropical in the late 1800s, early 1900s, I believe. A quick search of the web confirmed this was the case in Madagascar in the 1890s and that was good enough for me:

The figure is an Armies in Plastic WWI French officer, with the hand/pistol and head from a colonial British officer figure.

Here he is with the rest of the force:

They are a small group, but given their role against mostly lizard warriors, they are well-armed in comparison. This completes my French for Venus/Lost World gaming as originally conceived. That said, another 10 with red pants to serve as a second unit wouldn't be the worst thing!

Next, I brought my 1/72 US Marines up to strength for Dick Bryant's small Crossfire scenarios. 

Two MMG teams, a mortar team, and an FOO for off-table mortars/artillery, the bases clearly need some touch-up.

They only needed one MMG for the scenarios linked above, but since I was painting anyway, I did two.

I also painted a bazooka-armed soldier, but he will be based with a rifleman (painted eight or so years ago). 

To my surprise, it took just a few hours, start to finish, to knock these out. It helps that my eyesight is terrible, and I can't see my mistakes at wargame's distance, but I am also a lot more forgiving of my painting of the small figures these days.

Honestly, I kind of want to paint more of these little guys!

Island Hopping or Rebasing the PTO

No gaming afoot but I did get inspired to rebase my 1/72 Pacific Theater figures.

Originally they were individually based on U.S. pennies but now I'm basing them on foamcore, for use in Crossfire, Blitzkrieg Commander 1st ed., The Portable Wargame, my Morschauser Modified Modern rules, my various grid games, etc.

I have between 40 and 50 figures for each side (painted around 10 years ago and gamed with very often for a time)- so more than enough for my current small multi-figure base games.

The proof of concept batch.

I liked the light I was getting, so another one of the same batch.

More figures on bases. Perhaps they are fighting in winter? Nope, just haven't painted the bases yet.

Finally, not exactly gaming related but certainly tangential. I acquired a copy of The Legacy of World War II in European Arthouse Cinema by Samm Deighan. I've known Samm for over a decade now and I have been eagerly awaiting this book since I first heard whispers she was working on it, many years ago. By the way, lest you feel like you might be hoodwinked into some affiliate link, the link is to the Google book preview rather than to Amazon for a whole host of reasons.

Cheers to you all  - I have been popping in to read your blogs whenever I can. I've been swamped with multiple efforts on multiple fronts (and enjoying all but the ones involving my day job) and your posts keep me connected to the hobby, inspired, and itching to play. 

I do hope to get a game in tonight or this weekend - a board game perhaps or maybe toy soldiers. We'll see what hand fortune deals us!

A Wee Play Test

I set up a small(both in space and scale of figures, 1/72)  test game on my kitchen table last night to try a few things rules-wise for G Company: two platoons of USMC attacking a Japanese platoon with MG support.

The Japanese MG and their PL.

Two squads and PL of one USMC platoon.

 "Terrain" was haphazardly dropped onto the grid and in the end, it totally looks like it, but despite this, the games were very enjoyable (I had time to play four times) - and for some reason the Japanese always rolled well in close combat, as if they were channeling their historical counter parts.

The same USMC squads advance cautiously to close with the enemy  (Japanese unit in background is disordered and MG doesn't have LOS)

Scene from the middle of one game, where nearly everyone was disordered. Terran looking like it literally fell into place Which it pretty much did.

No quarter asked, no quarter given.

I decided that:
1) I am satisfied with the current turn sequence (as available in the sidebar) and that my other ideas, while they could be made to work, added nothing for my tastes.
2) That said, adding an opportunity fire phase for "Side A" at the end of the turn added some interesting decisions with minima record keeping issues and will be part of the next update.
3) Close combat might be too brutal.
4) I missed these 1/72 figures- it's been a long time since they've been out (almost inspired to paint up the USMC troop additions I picked up 6 or 7 years ago and primed but never painted). If you look too closely, they look to have fuzzy plastic bits, and that's because I had no idea what I was doing when I was trying to remove mold lines back then (I still barely have any idea).
5) These figures probably need some refurbishing.

Great Northern War Troop Review

Inspired by Charge! I pulled out my Great Northern War figures to see just what I have on completed and to get a sense of how much remains if I am to field both sides for Blasthof.

I have enough infantry for both sides for Blasthof, although the Swedes do need a proper leader, and maybe a drummer for kicks (or is that kick drum? Thank you thank you. I'll be here all week. Tip your waitstaff.) - I know I started them, I just have to find them!

My painting style on these won't be to everyone's taste, but I really like the black line with them. It''s sloppy on any single figure, but en masse, I find the effect satisfying.

First the Swedes:

A uniform looking group. This was in part due to laziness and partly because my research didn't suggest a ton of options, so I just went with it.

The Russians have two dozen more figures in a greater variety of colors, plus I bothered to paint up command. Based on the figures I had, I divided up the command equally among the completed units. Three per unit would be nicer, but I don't know if I feel like investing in more boxes.

Color schemes came from multiple sources - at the time there were a handful of affordable options and one really expensive one which I didn't have. So these are accurate as far as I'm concerned but historically, maybe so, maybe not. I am tempted to pick up some of the newer titles on the GNW, but one thing at a time.

Without further ado, the Russian infantry:

Here's a close up of one of my favorite units (I believe these are painted as the Semenovski ):

And another (pretty sure these are the Kievski) :

Basing was more of an experiment and made storage easier. However, for Charge! obviously, I'll move them to individual basing on pennies or washers.

And here are the only two completed dragoons. I do have several more horses done - but the riders are only half started.