Miscellaneous Mid-Week Meanderings

Life has taken a turn for the busy - between the day job, side hustle, and the band, and oh yeah, dad-life, just not a lot of time to hobby. Writing for the blog has taken the back seat to everything else.

I've played a couple of One Hour Wargames "Machine Age" (with my mods) games.  Last night I played the "Shambolic Command" scenario and discovered my variable movement rules need some adjustment for cavalry falling back after a charge. 

I am also inclined to give assault troops and any unit in cover, some kind of bonus when checking morale. It just feels like sometimes the morale failures really up (literally - lots of little dice on the table!) 

One of these days I'm going to label the bases and use an old school roster sheet to track damage.

On the painting front, I've made some progress on the Necrons. I'm painting them in the Novokh dynasty color-scheme (per my son's request). I have no preference and the fact that it uses the same reds that I used for the Blood Ravens is a plus.

The scarabs, foreground, are my favorite.

I was skeptical of the value of the "Necron Compound" dry-brush paint, but I like the end result: a very metal looking skeletal frame.

These are still a WiP bunch - this is just one or two coats of Army Painter Dragon Red. It's somewhat translucent and, over the Lead Belcher/Nuln Oil wash, it has created some highlighting effects already. 

I'll be doing a proper highlight after the next coat and some Caribou Crimson wash - I hope to have this batch done by the end of the week. However, I expect the weapons will be a bit of a challenge to get the look I am aiming for, so we'll see!

Blood Raven Intercessors Done!

Coming from the polar opposite end of the frustration axis of the Necrons, at least in terms of construction, the Blood Raven Assault Intercessors are finished!

Below one of the grunts shows off the Chapter Symbol:

The Blood Raven heraldry is not available from Games Workshop, but there are plenty of enterprising people no Etsy who are more than happy to fulfill your need for decals.

I really like the poses on these figures and am too tempted to pick up some sprues or even a complete box to extend the force. BUT the goal was a single squad - with additional support from some Ultramarine Infernus my son received afew months ago for his birthday (and which, apparently, I'm now going to end up painting as his interest isn't even quite enough to be called minimal) - and so I'll stick with that. 

For now!

Necron Nightmare

 How it started:

Necron pieces - removed from sprue by previous owner. Do not do this!

How it's going:

I do like the assembled figures though.

If I ever meet the individual who thought cutting the bits off the sprue all at once was a good idea, I'm going to give them a right proper thrashing. It's no wonder they gave up and sold the game (Fire Team) to Noble Knight.

It should have been maybe a 20 minute job to assemble them. Instead, it took hours of my Saturday, with breaks to maintain sanity.

These figures are push-fit and each one is designed to go together in a particular way. However, once free of the sprue, there's no way to tell which piece is which part number. Even better there were EXTRA bits to throw me off!

Trial and error - aided by a magnifier and looking for key details between the piece in hand and the assembly instructions ("Oh this arm has a little thingy that sticks out" or "Oh this blade has a thick bar compared to the others" or "The head in the picture has a line above the right eye and this tiny little bit of plastic does not") saved the day.

Unfortunately, in the process of trying different arms on different torsos, I ended up breaking a few of the arms (they are rather thin near the shoulder joint and near the wrist) - so I'm down three Necrons as a result. Also the heads are tiny and apparently designed to bounce a great distance upon contact with a remotely hard surface. I spent quite a bit of time on hands and knees combing the floor for the little buggers - I did manage to retrieve them all, although there were far more heads than torsos.

I will try to repair the broken arms with Super Glue,but the contact points are quite small - and even then, I don't know which body they go with, so there's only a 1 in 3 chance I get it right on the first try. And if I get it wrong, with repeated handling there's a good chance I'll break the arm again.

Replacements have already been purchased on eBay!

Plague Marines Finished!

Well, "finished" as in the seven I have.

I admit, if I were going to play Grimdark Future (as opposed to Firefight) or play 40K (not happening), I'd build up a full Death Guard force. The aesthetic is great, and best of all, they are easy to paint. 

As it is, I feel like this group could use a few more heavy weapons. Maybe support from a unit of Plaguewalkers ...

But I'll stop here for now!

The fellow in the front row, far right, was the final figure to be painted.

I used Tesseract Glow on the bases (the green bits). I was hoping for something like toxic waste  seeping up through, or spilled on, the ground. 

Not quite the end result I imagined but it's good enough to call done.

Also finished, but not pictured, was Reaper Bones orc that I started late 2023.

The last two of the five Blood Raven intercessors are on the paint table - the red base coat and highlight is done. My goal is to start assembling the Necrons this weekend.

One Hour Wargames : More Machine Age Changes

Most of the changes from this post  and this post on this subject still apply in one form or another, but there are new additions that have lead me to a game I find even more enjoyable.

An Unfortunate Oversight - elongated to 2' x 4'. Units are on 3" wide bases. Each infantry base is a company. 1" = 50 yards approximately.

Activation:

• Each leader figure on a side rolls xd6 to see how many units in their command may be activated that turn
• A poor leader rolls 2d6 and takes the lower
• An average leader rolls 1d6
• An above average leader rolls 2d6 and keeps the higher
• Leaders activate for free.
• Assault units activate for free.
• Units already engaged in close combat from a previous turn activate for free.

 

A sturmpatrol assaults the Italian unit holding the town.

Assault Units:

• Always count as in cover (take 1/2 damage)
• +2 in close combat
• May attempt to self-rally to remove morale result failures.  Counts as activation.
  

Infantry Close Combat:

• Requires a Guts Check prior to rolling to move. If succeeds may roll movement. If fails, unit may not advance and counts as having activated.
• Otherwise, use the modifications from the linked posts above.
  

Movement:

• Infantry, Leaders on foot, MG/Heavy Infantry - 1d6"/2d6"
• Assault units 1d6"+2" / 2d6" 
  
• Field Guns  1d3"/1d6"
• Cavalry  1d6" + 3"/ 2d6"+ 6"

The first number is for rough ground (almost everything), the second is for roads, flat solid ground etc.

Leaders :

On their activation, a leader figure may move and one of the following:

• Before or after moving, choose a unit within 6" recover 1d3 points
• Before or after moving, attempt to rally a unit with a morale failure marker
• Instead of moving, call in off table artillery on a target within 12"
  

Rallying:

Leader rolls 2d6 and if less than the damage taken by the unit, remove one morale failure. Poor leaders -1 to the roll, Avg leader +/- 0, Above Average +1 to the roll.

Meanwhile on the Austrian right, the battalion there effects a river crossing. It is slow and some of the units were more hampered than others.

 

Hit Point / Strength Point / Cohesion Points Recovery

• A unit that does not move, shoot, or engage in close combat may automatically regain 1 point.
• A unit that withdraws (increases the distance between it and the nearest enemy) automatically regains 2 points.

Shoot out across the river in support of the sturmpatrol assault.

Morale Results Test:

Every time a unit takes damage, they take a Morale Results Test.

Roll 2d6, if less than damage taken, fails

1st fail - no penalty, just a marker
2nd fail - May not advance towards enemy, attacks are 1/2 damage
3rd fail - routed

 

Guts Check:

Performed as Morale Results Test with no Morale Results Test failure rules applied. Taken before charging, going over the top, etc.

 

The situation at the end of turn 15. I decided the Italians could not withstand much more, but the Austrians had suffered on their left (the battalion that tried to take the village suffered high numbers of casualties). I ruled it a minor victory for the Austrians.

Recently, having read this post over on Blood and Spectacles  about wargame design, and then reading back through various linked post, I realized that what I enjoyed most in Contemptible Little Armies and in Trench Hammer was the way leader figures mattered.

I determined I wanted to focus my WWI rules around Morale primarily, and its relation to the other Ms (Movement, Melee, Morale, Missiles).

Neil Thomas explicitly notes that hit points for a unit represent morale, as well as casualties, so their recovery had to play some role in this. I wanted to find a way to reflect the leader's impact in some way ( a la Contemptible Little Armies), but also allow units some opportunity to manage their own morale (a la Trench Hammer). 

I settled on splitting the loss of morale from the effects of that loss. The former could be managed by the company commander on down. The latter would require a combination of both the company leadership and assistance from the battalion HQ to keep the unit on the battlefield. 

Does this reflect anything in real life? No idea.

The game pictured played out 15 turns in an hour with over half of the units remaining on the table, as is proper I think. Rather than finishing the game with one or two units total left on the table, they were able to stave off morale loss in different ways.

The leaders had a lot to do putting out fires and I enjoyed the decisions between rolling to remove a morale failure or removing hits on a unit. Logically there are times where one always makes more sense than the other, but there were often times where it felt like a gamble and I struggled to make the "right" decision.

Other changes I added this time around were simply to increase friction in a way that I find leads to an enjoyable narrative and solo gaming experience - activation pips, test to charge, the variable movement rate, that kind of thing.

These points of friction make a more dynamic and interesting game in my opinion,while still maintaining the underlying beauty of the One Hour Wargames Machine Age rules.

p.s yes, I re-based AGAIN. I decided I like the multi-figure bases best for the majority of my WWI gaming. I easily see them as companies, and have followed Hordes in the Trenches basing suggestions for number of figures per base (doubled in width due to figure size). If I decide to do individually based figures, I'll do it in 28mm or maybe 1/72.

In the Emperor's Name, Let None Survive

From 1917, we jump ahead 39,000 years ...

While I had wanted to paint the Space Marines in the blue of the Ultramarines (the different "chapters" have different names and color schemes), my son really wanted Blood Ravens. And, in the ongoing quest to entice him into playing games with me, Blood Ravens it is!

Blood Raven Intercessors. Chapter symbol decals have been ordered but are shipping from overseas. 

They won't win any awards, but they are easily good enough for the tabletop. They also continue my exploration of this method of painting - base, wash, base again, highlight - which is light years away from my usual, Deetail-inspired toy soldier painting. I really enjoy the results - although sometimes, mid-way through, after the wash is applied, I wonder how I will ever salvage the figures.

Also, this red was a bear to paint. 

Last weekend, I made a trek to the game store for paints, but they were out of Mephiston Red which I had wanted to use (based on a video I saw). Some quick searching on the web and I found that Army Painter Dragon Red was supposed to be a close match. They had it in stock, so I bought it.

It might be a good match, I don't know. I just know it took what seemed like 100s of coats to get an even finish.

Perhaps it was the white primer? I could have bought Mephiston Red primer but it's spray, and it's been so cold, that wouldn't be an option anyway.

Also, last weekend, I finished the second group of three Plague Marines:

These were painted with the drybrush-wash method.

After my lizard folk in various sizes, these are my favorite figures by far. I love their aesthetic, even if half of the time, I'm not even sure what different bits are supposed to be.

Obviously, basing still has to be completed. for both Blood Ravens and Plague Marines. Although I think I have a plan now, I have one more Plague Marine and two more Intercessors to paint before I will tackle that project. 

Country Road

Inspired by a rewatch of Many Wars Ago combined with a couple of situations I came upon while scrolling through Infantry in Battle, I put together a little scenario for the Southern Front.

An Italian column is in retreat when a scout comes under fire and orders a halt. In Many Wars Ago (Based on  Emilio Lussu's A Soldier on the Southern Front), the commanding officer become incensed that the column has halted and orders the scout shot. Hilarity ensues.

In the movie and the book , an already dead soldier is used to convince the commander that the execution was carried out.

 In my scenario, the lead, well you can call it a platoon of four sections and a platoon leader, takes cover in the treeline and the platoon leader organizes an effort to eliminate the gun so the column can pass. The Austro-Hungarian force has improvised some defensive cover on a hilltop. It consists of a machine gun team and a security detail of 8 men (all of my "sections" are 8 figures), and low ranking leader type to oversee the whole thing.

The PL starts in the road. He is very brave or very stupid.

A group of soldiers on the Italian right draws a portion of the Austrian rifle fire.

A section is sent forward on the Italian left and struggles to reach the hill.

In the middle things are going terribly as MG and rifle fire take their toll.

The Italian assault reaches the objective. Bayonets clash!

Alas this did not go well for the Italians. As a result they failed two morale checks and can't advance towards the enemy - except for the one stuck in close combat. The PL takes off at a run to rally them but he is nowhere close.

The PL sends the adjacent section to storm the hill and to relieve the stalled effort.

They reach the top and finish the job. The MG team is struck down and the game is over. Italian victory!

 

Rules were Contemptible Little Armies(CLA), played at the author's stated scale of 1 figure = 1 man (although he's clear that it's whatever you want it to be). The pathetic rifle ranges were adjusted to cover the entire table (I may use Bolt Action's shorter, more cinematic ranges next time). 

Shooting in CLA is figure to figure - which allows the Austrians to split their rifle fire between Italian units. Most rules I have are unit to unit shooting, which would severely hamper the Austrians. That said, in CLA, in practice, I tend to do either figure to unit, or small subset of unit to unit. It works for me.

I think going forward I will implement GASLIGHT's method of distributing hits on a target unit - that way, your group of figures may score three hits on the target unit, but all three end up on the same individual.

The game went 10 turns overall, which surprised me, as I had thought 6 would be sufficient. However, the Italians, due to poor movement dice, took forever to get to the hill let alone engage in close combat. 

There needs to be a win condition for the Austrian force, too - perhaps casualties inflicted or "hold out for X and then retreat", otherwise there is no natural stopping point other than a fight to the last man for one or the other side. I'll be setting it up for another go soon.