1/600 Pico Armor moderns for sale

Next time I will have an actual post, but i have been busy with work and a consulting job I am doing on the side.

I think I am done with my 1/600 scale Stryker Rifle Company project.  In typical magpie fashion, my interests have drifted.  I have also satisfied myself that a Stryker Brigade Combat Team would have significant issues projecting credible ground combat power on NATO's eastern border, without significant air superiority.  This is highly unlikely against a near-peer opponent such as Russia with a sophisticated air defense network, superiority in artillery and electronic warfare, and the advantage of deploying along their own borders.   Your opinion and mileage may vary, and I will leave up all my Stryker BCT resources up on the web.  (note nothing political driving this, I was just purely interested from a military feasibility standpoint)

So, for your purchasing pleasure, I offer the following for $50, free shipping anywhere in CONUS.  Pay Pal only, please.

Everything is based on 20mm x 30mm bases.  Not going to count these up, what you see is what you get, but includes at least the following.

US Army:

• Includes Stryker ICV Company with 3 platoons and dismounts
• 3 x Stryker TOW
• 3 x Stryker MGS
• 2 x Stryker 120mm mortar
• 14 x M1A2 SEP 
• 14 x M2A3 BUSK 
• Misc such as a  Striker company sniper team

OPFOR:

• 10 x Boris MBT's (from sci fi range, but used to proxy T-72B3 or T-90
• 12 x Matabele APC (proxy for BMP-3)
• Dismounted company with heavy weapons such as AGS-17 and Koronet ATGM
• 12 x BTR-82A
• Misc including 2S1 SP guns, large SP Guns from sci fi range, MLR's from Sci-Fi Range, Armored cars.

If interested, please leave a comment  (I won't publish it)  Thanks!

CSS Hunley and a 6mm AWI Hex game

Just back from helping my wife chaperone her 8th-grade field trip to Charleston.  Besides our normal itinerary of Ft. Sumter, the USS Yorktown (CV-10), Charles Town Landing, etc. we also visited the CSS Hunley.  I have not been for about 5 years and I am very impressed with the progress that has been made in restoration.  All of the hardened silt has been removed from the interior and it is looking great!  If you are ever in Charleston, SC, it is worth a visit.

I only managed to snap a few pictures, as I was shepherding nine 8th grade boys, but the boat is looking good:

I had a great group this year with some very smart, inquisitive, and well-behaved kids.  Thanks to my wife for bringing me along every year, as it gives me a captive audience to ramble on about history.

We took today as a recovery day, but I did dust off my One-Hour Wargames modifications for the AWI and tried them out on a hex grid.  They worked pretty well, I need to exercise them before.  I have not played them in so long, I am not sure why I changed the sequence from Move and Shoot to Shoot and Move, I might revisit that.

Here is a rough overview of the game.  I used my AWI Southern Campaign Army generator and the Damned Rebels fielded Militia plus some riflemen and the British sported Regulars with a battalion of lights, Hessian Jaegers, and 17th Dragoons.
(Click Photos to enlarge)

Here was the initial deployment:

The British tried to use the Light Bobs to clear the woods on the Patriot left flank with the bayonet, but the riflemen put up a stiff resistance in a bitter struggle that actually lasted most of the game.

The Jaegers dueled with their American counterparts on the other flank and gained the upper hand in the firefight.  The Backcountry riflemen decided to fight another day.  Meanwhile, the Regulars in the center charged up the hill at the main body of Patriot Militia.

With predictable results, the militia could not face the cold steel of the regulars and mostly quit the field. 

All in all a fun little diversion this afternoon.  I need to exercise the rules some more, the hexes certainly sped up play, but I need more games before I know how I feel about using them for linear warfare.

If anyone has any opinions on the Move - Shoot or Shoot - Move sequence, let me know.

Thanks and good gaming!

Birthday Diorama for the best son in law in the world!

Nate loves any Reality TV show that involves looking for treasure or gold.  We especially enjoyed the ridiculous Legend of the Superstition Mountains about a group looking for the Lost Dutchman mine.  The women folk of our little clan just don't get it, but that's why they have not found and treasure yet! (Of course, neither have we.)

So, for his birthday I decided to do a diorama using Bob Much's prospector figure from Pulp Miniatures.

Here is the result on my table right before gluing the cover down on the display case.

And afterward.

If you look carefully, you can see the black hand of the Apache Black Legion warning the prospector off.

That's all for now.  Going to fiddle with my hex based One Hour Wargames AWI mods next, until then, good gaming!

Orienting hexes for Linear Warfare, opinions?

Contemplating my 4" hex grid cloth and trying to decide the best way to use it for linear warfare such as the AWI and Darke Ages.  The Portable Wargame recommends using squares for this purpose, but I have this great hex cloth I want to use!

So, anyone with hex grid miniature gaming have any advice?

I see two options, here are examples using my 6mm AWI troops.

Option 1: With the grain

Like this, but the disadvantage is that you cannot make a continuous line.

Option 2: Against the grain

This option was inspired by the excellent Tigers at Minsk rules by Norm at the outstanding Battlefields and Warriors blog.

I am going to modify my One Hour Wargame variant for the AWI to hexes and am experimenting with infantry units moving 1 hex per turn.   Melee only happens when you enter the opponent's hex.  So a British line advancing on a Patriot line would look like this:

Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

In this scenario, assuming a musket range of 2 hexes, the Patriots get 2 shots off at the British, which is exactly what they get in the non-hex version.

But in principle, you can see how it would work.  I am leaning heavily towards this option.

Here is what moving and arcs of fire would look like, facing changes are done inside the hex at the start and or end of the move like in One Hour Wargame.  The black arrows show 1 hex movement and the red outline shows 2 hex range target hexes.

Opinions? Am I cracked?  Thanks for looking, good gaming!

Frugal Forests for 3mm and 6mm

UPDATE: I found the source for this technique HERE and he does a much better job!

Pesky real life has been taking up my time, so I have not updated in several weeks, but I have been keeping a few hobby projects going in the background.

Inspired by The Portable Wargame, Developing the Portable Wargame, and One Hour Wargames, I have been making hex compatible terrain for use with my Cigar Box 4" hex grid mat.  One of the terrain feature you need in quantity is forests and as I will be playing with 6mm and 3mm figures, I turned to my trusty friend the grout sponge, which I have used before for making forests for 6mm.

You can see another method at the Storm of Steel Blog as well, but this is my cheap and fast method.

Disclaimer: I did NOT come up with this method, I saw it on a blog or forum somewhere and cannot remember the source.  If you originated this, please take credit!

Supplies

I used:

• 4 x Tile Grout Sponges
• 1 x Can Dark Green Spray Paint ( I used Rustoleum Camouflage Green)
• 1 cheap acrylic craft paint in a lighter green
• 1 cheap acrylic craft paint in an even lighter green
• Wide Paint Brush
• Good scissors
• Needle nose pliers
• A hex template if you are trying to make a hex shape

Step 1

I cut each sponge in half as they are pretty thick.  I then use a plastic 4" hex I bought off of Amazon (I think quilters use them), but any hex template will do, and cut the sponges into rough hexes.  You do not have to be precise as you want them slightly irregular.

I managed to get 4 hexes from each sponge.

Step 2

This gets a little messy.  First I used the scissors to shape the edges off of the pieces and then I used the needle nose pliers to pluck out chunks of foam to give each piece a more irregular forest like appearance.  Remember you are making forests, not trees.

Do this somewhere you can clean up easily, as it generates a lot of little pieces of sponge.

Step 3

Spray paint the pieces.  I mean really get in close and spray paint the heck out of them.  I did 2 coats, as the pieces soak up the paint, well, like a sponge.  Let dry thoroughly.

Step 4

Heavily damp brush your darker green craft paint on first and let it dry, I used this:

Then dry brush on your lighter green.  Use whatever shades you prefer and dry brush to taste, I used this:

Let dry! Then the pieces are ready to use and are darned near indestructible.  If not using hex terrain, you can do as I have done for my other games and make smaller or larger chunks as you see fit.

Here are some posed shots of the trees on my 4 inch hex cloth with 1/600 cold war vehicles from Pico Armor, mounted on 1.5" squares

 I hope this is helpful.  Meanwhile, I am working on a few odds and ends, including a historically accurate set of hex based rules for the Ruritanian-Elbonian War of 1925.   Until then, good gaming!

Battle Report: British Assault on German held village, 1918

First, I want to promote my friend Ivan Sorensen's Indigogo campaign for Hammer of Democracy, a WW2 set of rules adapted from his squad hammer set.  Just for the record, even though I am the co-author of Trench Hammer, I am not benefiting from this and have thrown my hat (and cash) into the ring.  Please give it a look, I have never supported a crowdfunding campaign, but I know this one will be a good one!

Another go with Trench Hammer this weekend, this time with the wife!  She is long-suffering and the best spouse/opponent a guy could ask for.  She is usually convinced I am cheating, but was willing to dive in and give Trench Hammer a try.

We played a simple British attack on a German-held village, circa mid-1918.

The Germans had 2 grenadier section with bombs, an MG08/15 LMG section, and an MG-08 Maxim HMG.  The British had a standard platoon with a Rifle Section, Bombing Section, Lewis Gun Section, and Rifle Grenade Section.

Apologies for the poor quality pictures, but I was drinking a nice lager at the time and the lighting was poor.  I need some more lamps.  I am not going to do a blow by blow, just an overview, as I was too busy playng to document everything. Anyway, on with the show...

 Here we have the initial setup, with the German defenses arrayed and the British skipping down the road.

 The lead British element took heavy fire from the Maxim, while the Lewis section returned fire.  Meanwhile, the bombers assault the woods

 The Bombers chase the Germans out of the wood, while the Rifle section decides enough is enough and is out fo action.

 The Germans counter-attack the woods but are thrown back.  Meanwhile, the Lewis gun trades fire with the Maxim and the Rifle Grenadiers move behind the other wood to take up a firing position

 The Bombers have completely secured the wood at the top of the picture, after knocking out the German MG08/15 squad.  The Rifle Grenadiers are thrown back when the German bombers sally out of the village to assault them.

 The Bombers get in close and force the Maxim team on top of the hill to fall back.

Here is the German commander, sad at her defeat.. the Bombers manage to infiltrate the village from the flank.  This is a narrow British victory, but the butcher's bill is high.  The Britsh lost their platoon leader, rifle section, and Lewis section and are incapable of further offensive action at this time.

The Germans lost their platoon leader, a Grenade squad, and an LMG squad.  After the British infiltrated into the village and the Maxim pulled back, the remaining combat effective German squad was forced to fall back or face being cut off.

A great game we played in 45 minutes!  She likes it and we will be playing more.  I hope you enjoyed it and contribute to Ivan's new rules if you can.  Until next time, good gaming!

Battle Report: German Raid on a sap

I played out my scenario, full details of the scenario, map, briefings, and setup can be found here, now on with the show...

Here the raiding party works its way down the trench towards the target

 Lt Klink leads with the Stossgruppe against the Lewis Gun section.  They knock out the section but are disorganized (5 hits) and the rest of the platoon passes through them while they sort themselves out.  Lt. Klink is seriously wounded in the action and his senior NCO takes charge and leads the Grenadier squads through.

A British suffer from several turns of terrible activation rolls, so are only able to bring on the reinforcing bombing squad after the hun is well into their position.  The lead German squad manages to bomb the British rifle grenade section in the sap out of action.

 The reinforcements from the adjoining unit are met by one of the German Bombing squads.  The melee is intense and the Germans wind up with 4 hits and barely drive off the enemy.

 Back at the T junction of the trench, the trailing German Grenadier squad gets into a grenade fight with the British Bombing section for a couple of turns.  Once again, the combat is bloody (the Germans take 5 hits) but they manage to rout the British.

Meanwhile, the lead German Grenadier squad clears out the rest of the sap. Given that there are no combat effective British units on the table, the Germans has enough time to blow the sap and withdraw back across no man's land as planned.  So a major success with fairly moderate casualties.

Lt. Klink is carried back by his men and will spend several weeks in a field hospital in the rear having his wounds attended to.

I hope you enjoyed it.  The game took exactly 31 minutes to play, I know because I listen to a podcast while playing it, but I also played it solo, which speeds things up quit a bit.

Until next time, good gaming!

Scenario: German Raid on a sap

This scenario is inspired by “Gentlemen at Loos” from Too Fat Lardies Stout Hearts and Iron Troopers Great War scenario book.  I cannot exactly recreate it given my terrain and troops, but I can get pretty close, consider this scenario “inspired by actual events.”

When playing scenarios involving trenches, the gamer will find one of their biggest limiting factor is how he represent trenches on their table.  I use rather large rubber trenches, really designed for 15mm FOW bases.  As a result the trenches don’t have what I consider enough bends and kinks as an actual trench would to prevent enfilading fire and protect from shell blasts, so some abstraction is in order.

Here is how I am tweaking the rules to handle my trenches and handle fighting along a trench (no changes from the main rules if one unit is outside a trench:

Special Rules for Fighting along a trench

·        Visibility along a trench is limited to 3”

·        All fire between two units fighting along a trench is limited to ASSAULT combat

o   With the exception of Bombers and Assault Troops, all fire is limited to 3”

o   Bombers and assault Troops may ASSAULT out to 6”

§  They may ASSAULT enemies they cannot see

§  They may ASSAULT enemies if there are intervening friendly troops

§  (It is assumed that bombers are trained to attack into adjacent traverses, etc. as was the practice, and will stop if intervening troops get into bayonet range.)

Your mileage may vary, these rules are for my peculiar circumstances.

Raid on a Gas Sap

German Briefing:

The perfidious British are digging a sap from their trench lines into no man’s land that intercepted phone traffic tells you will be used for gas cylinders to attack your regiment. The Colonel has ordered you to take a picked raiding party, infiltrate the British Trenches, and destroy the sap while it is under construction.  Your raiding party consists of:

·      

•   1 Officer Leader (yourself) and 1 other Leader (a senior NCO)
•      3 Bombing Squads
•      1 Assault (Regimental Stoss troop) Squad

Bags of grenades are distributed to your men and you carefully rehearse behind the lines for several days.  Your route across no man’s land will be covered by smoke and harassing artillery fire, and carefully camouflaged routes through the enemy wire have been cut over the last few nights.  Your will rush through these gaps during daylight hours, enter the enemy trench is a poor defended spot, and work your way down the trench using grenades.  Once in the enemy sap (S on the map), destroy it using concertation charges (each bombing squad carriers one, they must spend 1 turn and 2 activation points performing no other action, then must roll a 3+ to succeed.)

As soon as you have succeeded or are driven off, fire a green flare and more artillery fire will cover your withdrawal.  You troops enter at point A on the map.

British Briefing:

Your Platoon is being used as coolies to dig a sap for the Special Brigade to conduct one of their infernal gas attacks.  It will only encourage the Hun to plaster you with shells while the Special Brigade detachment heads back to the comfort of the rear, so you are not terribly happy with this.

You have your Rifle and Rifle Grenade section in the sap (S on the map) working under the supervision of their NCO’s, while your Lewis Section is preparing to relieve one of the other sections (B on the Map)

You and your Bombing Section are located off map at point C.  Reinforcements consisting of an assault section can be had from the neighboring company, and enter the table at point D.

·        Given the surprise the Germans achieve, the British roll for initiative as if they had poor training (2d6, select lowest)

·        Every turn you may choose to save activation points each turn instead of activating a unit.  They may be saved from one turn to the next.  At the beginning of each turn you may choose to spend the points, roll a d6 and if it is <= the number of points, you and your Bombing Section arrives at point C and may activate this turn.  The next turn the assault section will arrive at point D with 1 leader.

Don’t let the Hun ruin your labor!

The Map:

Player Aids:

I hate having my squads drag dice around with them to indicate hits, so I am using unit cards to track them.  There are only 4-8 units on the table in a typical game, so this should never be too much of an issue in Trench Hammer.

(As a side note, BUY YOURSELF A LAMINATING MACHINE if you make your own player aids. Mine was $10 at Wal-Mart and I buy the sleeves from Amazon so it costs me < $0.02 a page to laminate.  Do your self a favor and get one now!)

Here is the German force, it has a Leader card with the leader rules and a card for each unit that tracks hits with a red paperclip and includes any special rules for that unit.

Here is the British Force:

The QRS I use now can be found here, it can be pretty small as I have offloaded some of the rules to the unit cards.  After I get them painted, I intend to also use casualty markers, 1 for when a unit reaches 3 hits and a second one for 5 hits, so I remember to apply the negative damage modifiers.  This should leave a fairly uncluttered table.

Let me know what you think!

Next time I will actually play the game and we will see of Lt. Klink can deliver a blow to the British.

Note this is not the same Klink as Just Jack's, but his ditant cousin,  Just in case I get him killed off, we won't have any temporal paradoxes.

Trench Hammer, Infantry Platoon in the Attack 1917

I christened my gaming space this evening with a quick game of Trench Hammer.  I played (again) the first training scenario from Stout Hearts and Iron Troopers, a British Infantry platoon attacking a German strongpoint.

In the background, you can see the Hun in his trench with 2 Rifle Sections, 1 Maxim HMG, and 1 Officer, a young Lt. Klink.  In the foreground is the British platoon forming up behind a small hill. From left to right you have: Rifle Section, the platoon commander, the Bomber section, the Lewis Gun section, and the Rifle Grenade section.

The plan was to send the Lewis gun team to the top of the hill and suppress the left rifle squad, send the rifle grenades to the shell hole to keep the Maxim gun under fire, and maneuver the Rifle section and bombers to roll up the German position.

What actually happened was the Rifle Grenadiers were put out of action by the Maxim gun,  but the Lewis Section did manage to lay down some suppressive fire.  The Rifle Section and Bombers received some fire as the maneuvered around.

The Rifle Section and Bombers made it to the Hun trench and assaulted while the Bosche swung his other rifle gruppe around to counter attack.  It was touch and go with the Germans holding out for some time, but eventually, they succumbed to Mills bombs and bayonets.  The Bombing Section was exhausted and unable to continue, though, after subduing the enemy and were out of action.  The Rifle Section meanwhile dealt with the flanking Germans.

And here is the end game, with the Rifle Section in the Hun trench about the assault the Maxim position from the flank,  Lt. Klink decides discretion is the better part of valor and pulls back to regroup the survivors of his platoon.  The British have carried the day, but at a cost, with the platoon combat ineffective as the Bombers and Rifle Bombers need to be rallied and reorganized and wounded sent back to the aid station.  They are unable to continue the attack and will be passed through by another platoon.

(Out of action does not mean the unit is necessarily destroyed but has taken enough casualties and are disordered or demoralized enough that they are just hunkering down and are combat ineffective for the rest of this fight)


And here is a better shot of mt total workspace.  The grey boxes on the top shelf hold my 28mm buildings and the spool cotton box is from my Great-Great-Grandfather's roadside store.

Thanks for reading and until next time, good gaming!