Home Front 1941: Fallschirmjaeger Command

More fallschirmjaeger for Bolt Action/Chain or Command. This time these are from Artisan Designs and include an officer and his NCOs, radio operator etc. I painted the officer in field Grey, but then I found out his trousers are field grey but his jacket is Luftwaffe Blue (as paratroopers the FJ were part of the air-force not the army). Luftwaffe Blue is very similar to the RAF blue, but I didn't have any. In desperation I mixed some blues and greys together, then watered it down into a wash and painted it over the grey jacket. I couldn't begin to tell you what colours I had used, but by sheer chance when it dried it was exactly the right colour!

We played a game of Chain of Command at the Earlswood Club last week and I was very impressed. The Germans are VERY dangerous compared with the Americans. The GI's get one Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) per rifle section, while the Germans get two MG42 in the period we were gaming. Now the MG42 is a much better gun than the BAR,and the amount of fire-power the German sections could lay down war frightening. Added to that the fact that the Germans managed to secure the best ground, and nearly everything when right for the Germans, than the Americans were doomed from the start. It's a great game that certainly has the feel of the period.  Officers and NCO's have a real effect on the game, and their actions make all the difference. Added to that the fact that there is 'Fog of War' elements, reserves and hidden deployment all built into the core of the game mechanics means taht it is a game that is more 'realistic' than Bolt Action, but just as much fun to play!

Lead Painters League 9: Armoured Foot Knights

Here are some Perry plastic foot knights I have painted. I have entered these for Lead Painters League (a painting competition on Lead Adventure Forum). I bought them specifically to paint and then put on eBay, as a sort of experiment, having seen the silly prices even averagely painted historic miniatures can command on eBay. I am hoping to make a tidy profit. They were not particularity challenging to paint, given that they are mostly metal, but they are rather nice figures.  By the way- I won my first round. 

On The Seven Seas: Pirate Crew

  I got these for Christmas, and have really enjoyed painting them. It's given me that eighteenth century bug again. As you can see I haven't held back on the colours, going full on for garishness and tastelessness. My pirates like nothing more than spending their ill-gotten gains on bright coloured clothing. Not very realistic or historically accurate but what the hell- their captain is Captain Hook for God sake! 

  The only down side of this is that the On The Seven Seas starter kit doesn't contain enough figures for the starter crew, so you have to go an buy as second box- and then you end up with spare! Just silly if you ask me. 

  The figures are from North Star. I am considering getting sailors from Foundry or Galloping Major to fill out the ranks but I am not sure about scale compatibility, and beside, these North Star ones are a pleasure to paint. 

Home Front 1941: Fallschirmjager Light Artillery Piece

  Here is picture of fallschirmjager (German paratrooper) crewing a 7.5cm light howitzer as part of my FJ army for Bolt Action/Chain or Command. It is made by Black Tree Designs and I picked it up last year in the January sales. 

  From a painting point of view I prefer the Artizan Designs sculpting style to the BTD ones, but they are very comparable in terms of size/bulk etc, so work well together and the BTD range does fill in some of the gaps in the Artizan range, like this little cannon. 

  The 7.5 cm Howitzer was a very common gun in the German army and Luftwaffe ground forces. it was used by the FJ as it was light and easy to transport, often being towed with a Kettenkrad, which was a sort of half tracked motorbike light enough to be transported by plane (The Kettenkrad is on my to to list).

War Machine Heavy Warjack

Here is the first of what can only presume will be an army of Warjacks for War Machine. I got this one of my mate Pulp Citizen for Christmas and have finally got round to slapping some paint on it. Hopefully it might motivate Pulp Citizen to get cracking and paint some more of his. There is also a good chance that this might be press ganged into In Her Magnesite Name as a steam powered automaton. We are trying the game  (IHMN) out at Earlswood this weekend, as one of the young lad fancies having a go at building his own company. I don't know what the older members of the group will think of Victorian SciFi- I hope they don't think I am lowering the tone.

West Midlands Military Show 2015

Today was the West Midlands Military Show (also known as Allumwell Show), a wargaming and modelling show. I went with my son and had a really nice time, and saw some familiar faces. Here are a few photos of some of the battles being showcased. There were lots of nice tables but here a a few of my favourites. 

WW2 Chain of Command

VBCW (Tym and Tom)

VBCW madness- A guy fishing in the midst of battle- one of countless lovely details

Tym's scatch built terrace street for the VBCW game

Drop Zone Commader- very icky and green!

Buildings by Blotz.co.uk

Indian Mutiny

Needless to say I spent a load. I bought some more Fallschirmjager from Artizan, Spanish militia from Eagle Miniatures, some terrain and, most unexpectedly, some 15mm Weird World War 2 stuff from Clockwork Goblin (not a company I have even heard of before but their figures are lovely). I plan on using them to spice up my Flames of War army. 

All in all a great day out. 

Freebooter's Fate: The Pirate Crew

Here is Dirty Maria, another crewman (crew-woman) for my Freebooter's Fate pirate crew. She brings the crew to six. 

Freebooter's Fate: Pirate Crewman

Introducing Stabby Pete, a crewman for my Freebooters Fate pirate crew. I bought him almost twelve months ago at Salute and just finished painting him. A nice characterful model that was a pleasure to paint!

French Indian Wars: Ambush in the Forest

In the second instalment in the Songs of Drums and Tomahawks games the British major of the garrison, upon hearing of the massacre at Johnson's Farm, has dispatched a patrol of British Regulars into the valley to find and punish those responsible for the attack. Sargent Skinner is leading the patrol, a man with a reputation for really hating the French. Unfortunately for the British an Iroquois turncoat has informed the French of Sargent Skinners movements. The French Commander, Lieutenant Philippe de Champion, has decided to lead a force of his militiamen to ambush the British as they march through the woods.

In this ambush the French has slightly less points that the English, but they set up using hidden deployment and the British can not retreat into cover if they are shot at  so long as there is Frenchmen hiding in the trees. If the results of an attack compels them to move towards cover they musty instead go prone. Once one flank is secure then the normal rules take over and the British can fall back into cover as normal. 

Skinners Patrol through the forest

French Force

Lt de Champion Q 3+ C 3 Musket, Leadership

11 Canadian Militia Q 4+ C 2 Musket

British Force

Sergeant Skinner Q 3+ C 3 Strong, Primitive Weapon, Leadership

10 Line Infantry Q 4+ C 2 Musket

2 Light Infantry Q 4+ C 2 Musket, Elan

A light infantryman spots the ambush- a bit too late for him, as he is shot and killed!

The ambush was sprung when the British light infantrymen moving ahead of Skinners column came under attack. One of the lights was killed outright, and another musket-ball came perilously close to Skinner. The sergeant, who was jolly annoyed, charged into the trees to take the fight to his French foes. Armed only with his pole-arm, he set too, killing a Frenchie with a powerful blow. The Redcoat infantrymen formed into two lines, facing each flank,  and fired their muskets into the forest. It was difficult for them to see their foes, but even so a few Frenchmen were wounded by the attack. 

Skinner goes 'barbarian' and charges into the woods after the French he so despises.

Sargent Skinner and the remaining light infantryman dashed through the woods and eventually killed or captured the remaining French militiamen on the one flank, while his men poured relentless musket fire at their foes on the oppose side of the road. The militiamen were forced back by the English firing, although they managed to wound two more redcoats. 

The Redcoats form two lines and fire into the trees

The final blow for the French came when a lucky shot from an English musket wounded Lieutenant de Champion, and the remaining militiamen dispersed back into the forests, carrying their stricken officer with them. The English were not about to charge into the forest after them, so they collect their dead and wounded and head back to the garrison. The French had lost six men, compared to the English, who had three casualties. 

Lt. de Champion (in the white) is shot and wounded, ending the ambush. 

Despite the difference in points it was felt that the game was balanced. The fact the French had split their troops up made maintaining command and control was difficultly, while the English benefited form Skinners leadership throughout the battle. Skinners skill in close combat proved quite effective as well. He has the trait "Strong", and a Combat statistic of 3. The combination of the two make him a serious threat in combat. 

French Indian Wars: The Raid on Johnson's Farm

This week at Earlswood Wargaming we decide to try out the French and Indian Wars game Songs of Drums and Tomahawks, from Ganesha games. It is very similar to Songs of Drums and Shakos, as you might have guessed, but with some tweaks that add to the feel of the French and Indian wars. The game emphasises small unit tactics, and dispenses with the rules for volley fire, fighting in ranks etc. The author rationalises that this is a better representation of the way the British, German, French and Indians fought in the claustrophobic confines of the forests and rivers of Northern America. The tweaks certainly add to the character of the games, especially rules for scalping and hidden deployment. 
I was GM for two game for James and John, two of the clubs younger players: being young they are more inclined to try out novel things. The games were quite short, so we could get two games in in an evening. James has played Drums and Shakos before, but John was a complete novice: Even so he managed to pick up the rules in just a few minutes. John played the French, and James was the British. Both of them said they enjoyed the game, especially the peace and drama. James said he preferred it to the games of Drums and Shakos, but that might be because there was more cover and terrain to fight over, making the environment more 'interactive'.

The first fight (it seems over egging it to call it a 'battle') was a French raid on an English farm. The valley has been disputed territory for for some time, as English settlers encroach on the hunting grounds of the French fur traders and their Huron allies. The fur traders were particularly incensed when they returned to the valley for the hunting seasons to find that the settlers had built a farm in the middle of the valley. The head fur trader, Guy de Ville, lead his men,and some Huron allies in an attack on Johnson's Farm. Unfortunately for him a Mohawk scout- Two-Rivers, and his young brother, Little-Bear, spotted the French and hurried ahead to warn the English settlers, giving them a vital few minutes to grab their hunting rifles and send their womenfolk to safety. 

French Force

Guy de Ville Q 3+ C 2 Pistol, Tomahawk, Leadership, Woodsman

5 Couriers de Bois Q 4+ C 2 Musket, Tomahawk, Marksmen, Woodsmen

4 Huron Warriors Q 4+ C 2 Musket, Woodsmen, Scalper

English Settlers Force

Bill Johnson Q 3+ C 2 Pistol, Rifle, Leadership,

The Johnson Boys, 5 Settlers Q 4+ C2 Rifle

Two-Rivers, Mohawk Elite Brave, Q 4+ C 2 Musket, Woodsman, Strong, Tomahawk, Scalper

Little-Bear, Mohawk young warrior, Q 4+ C2 Musket, Scalper

The French deployed poorly, attacking from the open, while their Huron allies moved slowly through the forest on either flank. The French had not appreciated that the English rifles were better suited to the long range attacks than their muskets, and after the first few scares as the rifle bullets whizzed past' Guy de Ville and his fur traders sprinted for the cover of the trees and advanced more cautiously. The Couriers de Bois were used to hunting deer and beavers, and they don't tend to shoot back. 

French Couriers de Bois attack the Johnson Farm

Most of the shots fell wide, or failed to do much damage, as the Couriers de Bois preferred to dash out from cover, fire a shot without aiming, then dive back into cover. This hit and run tactics eventually paid off when Little Bear and two of the Johnson Boys fell, collapsing one flank. Old man Johnson ordered his boys remaining boys back to the  farm house, as their position was indefensible, but as they sprinted across the yard a musket-ball of a Huron warrior cut Mr Johnson down. 

Guy de Ville and the Johnson boys exchange fire at very short range- without much effect

Two Rivers, the Mohawk brave, had been in the woods on one side of the clearing, holding off two Huron warriors on his own. When he saw Old Man Johnson fall Two Rivers raced across the clearing to tackle Guy de Ville. Guy's pistol was unloaded, and the brave staved his skull in with his tomahawk, before he was killed in turn by one of Guy's men.

Old man Johnson leads his boys in the defence of their home

With only two men left the English lost the fight, and the farm was burned to the ground, and the Huron took the scalps of the fallen Englishmen, including Old Man Johnson!

I will post the next 'battle' report in a few days.