Just a Quickie

After posting last night I cranked out anther two Germans so I’d have a platoon commander for tonight’s game!

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


These are more of the Crusader Miniatures World War Two Germans.

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

An AAR for tonight’s game!

Yet Another Painting Update

I haven’t been feeling like organizing things the last couple nights so I’ve been painting instead of stock-taking…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


Another West Wind Productions “Town Elder” – from the Gothic Horror/Headless Horseman line. This will be Capitaine Joseph du Morainne, the captain of La Isabella – the ship on which the characters in my new Savage Worlds: Pirates of the Spanish Main campaign are currently employed.


The last of the Foundry Pirates.


…and fresh off the painting table (so fresh I haven’t even put on the static grass and the paint on matte varnish is still drying on them.....!); Some Crusader Miniatures World War Two Germans – I got a little excited about having some new opponents to paint in the not TOO distant future as I’ve traded away the 15mm Fallshirmjagers for some 28mm WW2 Russians?!

It’s also got me thinking about skirmishin’ again for tomorrow night…

Painting Update – 7 April 2008

A couple things I worked on over the weekend:

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


Inspired by last weeks game I finished up a few more Artizan Designs Desert Commando types.


Inspired by the new Savage Worlds: Pirates of the Spanish Main game I’ve started up on Saturday nights I finished a few Foundry Pirates – YA-HARRRRRR!!!


West Wind Productions “Town Elder” – from the Gothic Horror/Headless Horseman line. He’ll likely be robbed by the pirates in the aforementioned POTSM game.

15mm WW2 Early War Germans

Carrying on with my plan to Take Stock of all my toys... 15mm WW2 Early War Germans. By early war I mean 1939-40 - Fall Weiss and Fall Gelb - the Polish and French Campaigns - maybe Operation Sealion, if I ever did some early war Brits.... Far too many times, however, they have been pressed into service as Flames of War "mid-war Grenadiers" and were slaughtered by hordes of Russians with entire companies of tanks that the pak36s had not a hope in hell of even scratching... (not to mention the endless "field excercies" against other "mid-war" Germans with Panthers, etc...!!) These are currently organized for playing with Blitzkreig Commander.

Most of the comments on the 15mm WW2 British post apply here too… Like the DAK this is a more or less “finished” force – I can play with what I’ve got, there is very little I have left to paint and even less I could possibly seriously consider adding at this point…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


These were th infantry stands from my three FoW Early War German Infanterie Kompanie. They’re on smaller than standard FoW bases as they were originally based for Crossfire… though they’re not on the Standard 1-1/4”x1-1/4” Crossfire bases either… Now that I’m through with FoW I’m going to rebase these to 2”x1-1/4” bases, which, strangely enough, is the standard base for infantry in Fow… Go figure… When I rebase them I’ll be basing them four to a base and that will give me enough extras that I sould be able to make three formations of 9 stands and have a few left over to add to the pioneer stands.

When is this all going to happen…? Who knows!?

These are a mix of Old Glory, Peter Pig, Battle Honors and Battlfront… Can you tell which is which…?


The old FoW Platoon Commanders and observer teams, now BKC HQs and FAOs… again a wild mix of Quality Castings, Peter Pig, Battle Honors and Battlfront.


Support – MGs and Mortars. Technically for a Regiment (three battalions) in BKC, I should probably have two more MG stands. MGs are all Battlefront, the Mortars are Battle Honors, Peter Pig and, get this, ESSEX!


Two Pak36 and Two infantry guns. All Battlefront


Light mortars (of little use to me now) a couple pin markers and a sniper team. Mortars are Battel Honors and Battlefront, pin markers are Exssex, the Sniper team is from Peter Pig.


Pioneers to be painted... Battle Honors.


Transport – Two Krupp boxers to tow the Pak36s ( I think these were Battle Honors or Quality Castings… I can’t remember), two horse limbers for the infantry guns and a pile of horse carts for the mortars (all Battle front).

There’s also a second sniper team to paint there. I was going to do these guys based in rubble hiding behind a wall… Someday…


AA – The Flak36 (2.0cm) are Battelfront, the Flak 38 (8.8mm) is either Old Glory or Battle Honors with a battle honors crew. The Prime mover (yet to be painted) is Old Glory with a Battle Honors crew. I think the command team/HQ is Quality Castings…?



The Panzers! I think everything here is Battlefront…. no, wait… I thin the crew commander for the Pzkw38t (on the extreme right of the picture) is from Peter Pig…? And there’s an Old Glory infantryman on one of the PzkwI bases…


Luftwaffe – a pair of Stukas from Minifigs and Dragon?

THE PLAN

Panzer Battalion
-BHQ & Signals Platoon – PzBef - DONE!
- 1x Company w/ 3x Pz38t, 1x PzrIV –HAVE: 1 Pz38t Painted, NEED TO GET: 2x Pz38t, 1x PzrIV
- 3x Company w/ 3x PzI, 1x PzII – (9x PzI, 3x PzII) HAVE: 4x PzI and 2 PzII Painted, 6x PzI To Paint, “NEED TO GET”: 1x PzII

Not entirely historical, I know, but I bought a pile of PzkwI… And I like the look of those crazy Czech tanks… I know during Fall Weiss 4 Panzer division (35 and 35 Panzer Regiments) and others, possibly, had far more PzkwI than anything else… so the exceptional number of PzkwI isn’t too out to lunch, perhaps… Of course they didn’t have any Pzkw38s… ah well… Like these guys are going to see any action anytime soon…

I guess a more realistic OOB for the light companies would be to have 2x PzI, 2x PzII… but that would mean buying four more PzkwII. Which isn’t about to happen. For the medium company I should probably have 3x PzII or III, 1x PzrIV. But like I said I like those crazy Pzkw38s, so…

Infantry Regiment
RHQ command stand – HAVE: 1 Painted DONE!
Bicycle/Reconnaissance platoon
-1 Recce Stand (Bicycle) NEED TO GET!!!
Regimental AT (part of RHQ Coy?)
- 4x Pak36 (37mmATG) HAVE: 2 Painted, 2 Trucks To Paint NEED TO GET: 2 more?
Regimental Infantry gun company
- 3x 7.5cm Infantry Gun HAVE: 2 Painted, 2 Horse limbers To Paint NEED TO GET: 1 more?
- 1x 15cm Infantry Gun NEED TO GET? (not really…. Maybe someday…)
Regimental Pioneer Company
- 3x Pioneer Stands HAVE: 6 To Paint
3x Infantry Battalions, each (totals are for Battalion/Regiment):
- 1/3x BnHQ – Command Stand (1/3 total) – HAVE: 3 Painted - DONE!
- 9/27x Infantry Stands HAVE: 24 Painted (Once they’re re-based I could easily make it into 27 stands by reducing the number of figures per stand from 5 to 4…)
- 2/6x HMG HAVE: 4 Painted, NEED TO GET: 2 more?
- 1/3x 80mm Mortar – DONE! (actually I have SEVEN!?) – oh except for the 6 horse cart transports to paint…

Divisional/Corps Support (for either)

Artillery Observation Company (from Artillery Regiment)
-3x FAO? (this is all I’d ever be fielding the guns will always be off-table…) – DONE!
Divisional Reconnaissance
– Armoured Cars or Motorcycles for Panzers…? “NEED TO GET”
- More Bicycle platoons for Infantry…? NEED TO GET!
Anit-Aircraft
-3x Flak 38 (2cm) HAVE: 2 Painted, 1 To Paint, NEED TO GET: Trucks?
-2x Flak 36 (8.8cm) HAVE: 2 guns Painted, 2 prime movers To Paint,
Attached from Luftwaffe
2x Stuka Dive Bombers

Well that is IT for 15mm stuff…

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Moving on up… I should finish Taking Stock of the 20mm forces…. Though I might do a bit of painting this evening….

Take Down in North Africa

Gary came by Thursday night and we played some Savage Worlds Skirmish action!

I ran a game based on a Modern Ops scenario I ran earlier – but set in North Africa during World War Two.

North Africa, 1941

SITUATION

Allied intelligence has been tipped off that a VERY high ranking Nazi official will be spending a couple evenings in a remote North African villa. A crack squad of British SAS has been dispatched to rendezvous with a patrol of French Foreign Legionnaires to raid the compound and kill or capture whatever VIP they find there!

SCENARIO

The SAS and FFL troops can deploy within 8” of the North, West, or East table edges. The south table edge is steep cliff walls with a couple of narrow rubble filled Wadi.

They Allied force may chose to attack under cover of darkness or at dawn.

Axis forces start the game hidden and asleep – with the exception of one team of infantry which are standing sentry but are considered “non-active”.

FORCES

Allies

Captain H. F. Somerville, SAS
SAS Patrol (5)

Capitaine Jean Francois Leduc
Sergeant Karl Ulrich
3x French Foreign Legionnaires (7)

Axis

Hauptmann Karl Meuller
Unteroffizer Helmut Jarlhoff
4x Panzer Grenadier Section (5)
1x HMG section

Karl von Kindershisse, Gestapo Agent
Gunter and Hans, Gestapo Thugs

Adolf Hitler, Nazi Dictator
Kendra Meyerhoff, Nazi groupie bimbo

THE GAME

Gary played the Allies as I had all the hidden Axis forces plotted out beforehand. I had hoped at least one other person might show up and there would have been two allied players. Alas it was not to be… Gary elected to attack at dawn and approached the town mostly from the west – had he been spotted earlier I would have tried to make a run for it off the east table edge…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


The SAS (in the foreground) and Foreign Legionnaires (background) advance on the villa.


Same thing, wider view.


Gary actually got a section of Foreign Legionnaires into one of the buildings occupied by a section of German Panzer-Grenadiers before the alarm was even raised – though he had “the Drop” he didn’t have enough movement to get enough men in there to take them out quiet-like so the first two in just shot a couple of sleeping Germans – raising the alarm!


Other Foreign Legionnaires and SAS enter the Northwest end of town undetected – for the moment…


Once the alarm was raised ALL axis troops started getting dealt in and had to recover from their sleepiness (everyone started the game shaken). One recovered and was able to act the first turn – he made it to the door where he shot dead one Foreign Legionnaire – but was quickly taken out himself as the Foreign Legionnaires scattered into cover.


One German actually recovered quickly enough to get a shot off at the Foreign Legionnaires storming their building, but missed. The rest of the Germans were murdered in their beds as they grabbed for their rifles!


A second squad of Foreign Legionnaires stormed the next compound throwing grenades in the windows and doors. This took out Unteroffizer Jarlhoff but only managed to wake up Hauptmann Meuller (caused one wound – successfully soaked – removed shaken status)!


The SAS managed to take down four of the five roof-top sentries (who were in hard cover)!? The remaining one remarkably passed his morale test (guess he didn’t like his squad mates much anyway…).


Continuing their sweep of the Villa.


Things went badly for the Foreign Legionnaires in the compound at the south end of town. Hauptmann Meuller angered about being so rudely awoken tossed a grenade of his own back out into the courtyard taking out a Foreign Legionnaire and shaking two. The Panzer-Grenadiers then threw a second grenade into the courtyard but scattered wildly into the corner where it exploded harmlessly. Capitaine Leduc decided to get in on the action and tried to toss a grenade to the upper level where the Panzer-Grenadiers were hiding – unfortunately it hit the wall and bounced back amid his troops and took out four of them!!!


The Panzer-Grenadiers at the Northeast end of town finally make it out of bed and to the windows and doors to find the street outside a “target rich environment”. The LMG hit three of these guys out in the open shaking them…



The Foreign Legionnaires relentlessly carry on with their assault however. This lot stormed into the compound on the east end of town, grenades at the ready. Unfortunately Gunter and Hans had been sitting inside the doorway on hold for the last couple turns and riddled them with bullets as the entered. KOed one, two others shaken.


The Foreign Legionnaires numbers finally got them in there. A grenade into the room took down Karl and Hans, but failed to take out von Kindershisse, who was also waiting to ambush anyone coming in (good thing he had that leather coat that gave him +1 armour – otherwise he might have been down as well…)

The SAS outside the compound dealt with the Panzer-Grenadiers in the Northeast building in a rather singular and violent manner – but then one of the HMG team dropped a grenade into the alley below taking one out and shaking the rest…


Of course, though the leather coat could apparently absorb shrapnel and concussion, it couldn’t stop bullets and Karl too was taken out.


Capitaine Leduc and the remaining Legionnaire at eh south compound were taken out by the Panzer-Grenadiers with Hauptmann Meuller. Who then began shooting up the SAS and Legionnaires in the center of the Villa.

Gary had to leave at this point as it was far from over… I think the Allies had a pretty good chance; the Foreign Legionnaires were in the building which lodge the VIP. However they were slowly being chipped away at. A couple more grenades tossed into the courtyard and down the stairs could have thinned them out further and the Panzer-grenadiers with Hauptmann Meuller were still “fresh” and in a pretty good position… hard to say which way this might have gone….


Little did the Foreign Legionnaires know who was waiting upstairs for them.

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

More Stock Taking!

15mm WW2 Deutches Afrika Korps

Most of the comments on the 15mm WW2 British post apply here too… This is a more or less “finished” force – I can play with what I’ve got, there is very little I have left to paint and even less I could possibly seriously consider adding at this point…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


The Panzer-Grenadiers: 24 painted stands, 3 to be painted. This will make 3 battalions in BKC. These are all from Old Glory


Support units for three battalions of Panzer Grenadiers: 6 Machine-gun stands (one still to be painted) and 3 Mortars. Old Glory, Battle Honors and Peter Pig


8 HQs and 3 Observers. Old Glory, Battle Honors and Battlefront.


Pin/Suppression/Casualty markers – all from Battle Honors, except the single guy on the extreme left which is from Battlefront.


Assorted Recce in various stages of readiness. Battlefront motorcycles, Old Glory Sdkfz222s and the other two are from Battle Honors.


The painted panzers. 6 Old Glory PzkwIII, 3 Old Glory PzkwIVf1, and 1 Battle Honors PzkwIVf2.


Battlefront bailed out panzer crew.


More panzers to paint; 6x PzkwII, 3x PzkwIII – all from Old Glory.


AT guns; 2x Pak 38 and a captured 6pdr – all from Battlefront.


The most useless stands I own. 5cm Light mortars – not represented on the tabletop in BKC, and, according to Battlefront/Flames of War they didn’t exist in North Africa (despite the fact that I have, in a book, a picture of one sitting in a trench in North Africa….) and not included in any of their lists (not that that’s ever stopped ME for fielding something I know should be there…).


Pioneers, still in the process of being re-based.


The Tiger. Everyone has to own ONE, right?


You see this is why I hate point based, you-bring-your-army-and-I’ll-bring-mine systems…. Lorraine-schlepper self-propelled 15cm Howitzers…. How many were there in the entire North African theatre of operations? How many compared to, say, the good old 10.5cm leFH18 howitzer…? Not too damn many! Which, then would be the more sensible (historical) thing to buy…? And yet, here I have the Lorraine Schleppers. WHY?! Because I was damn tired of having to always ASSAULT twice my number (thought less “points worth”) of dug in Russian troops with nothing that could blow them out of their trenches to prep the assault. And $60 and a week or so of painting later was it worth it? hell no. I can’t believe I was so stupid as to get sucked into that whole mentality for even this one brief instance. Never again. Never again.

Anyway, they’re now being based and I picked up some extra artillery crew to spread around carrying ammo to the guns, etc. These are all Battlefront.


Ack-ack! Two 88’s (Battle Honors or Old Glory – I forget which - with Battle Honors crew), prime movers (definitely Old Glory with Battle Honors crew), and two Sdkfz 10/5 still to be painted (Battlefront).


The Motor Pool - all Battlefront.


Three CO/HQ stands in the works. The totally unprimed one will be the divisional Commander (if one is ever fielded) and is the Rommel pack from Battlefront, the other two would be Panzer-Grenadier and Panzer Regimental Commanders, respectively, and are a mix of Old Glory, Battlefront, Battle Honors, and Peter Pig.


Other odds and sods… Objective markers, extras, etc.


The Luftwaffe. A die-cast Fieseler Storch (a friend picked up for me – I have no idea where…), Some plastic pre-paints – I think they were 1:144 Dragon (maybe?), and a Minifigs Me109.


Our Italian allies. I had thought about putting together a force of Italians at one point – there were FAR more Italians in North Africa than there ever were Germans. But then Avanti Savoia came out and four different guys all bought Italian forces… I’m not sure ANY of them EVER got fully painted… but I gave up. Also I had wanted to do a 1940 force and around the same time Battlefront took these CV33s and M11/39s out of production as they were focusing on “mid-war”….


Some Minifigs Arab types of some sort I picked up to use a general nuisance/random factor in North African games… or irregular mercenary “recce” troops (i.e. spies!) for one side or the other

THE PLAN

Panzer Division (North Africa, 1941-42) - Blitzkreig Commander (yeah, I know – I’m totally out of my head… but I had briefly thought of trying to field an entire Panzer Division at one point – this is the closet megalomaniac poking his nose out here – so here’s how close I am/what I’d still need to be able to do so)

Div HQ –HAVE: to assemble and paint (BF GE885 Rommel figure and halftrack)

Panzer Regiment
RHQ & Signals Platoon (Pzr IV) HAVE: 1 To Paint,
Protection Troop – PzII?
2x Panzer Battalion, each (totals are for Battalion/Regiment):
-BHQ & Signals Platoon – PzBefIII or Panzer IV?- (1/2 total) – to get –
- 1x Company w/ 3x PzIV, 1x PzrII – (3/6x PzIV, 1/2x PzII)
- 3x Company w/ 3x PzIII, 1x PzII – (9/18x PzIII, 3/6x PzII)
Totals for Battalion/Regiment
- 1-2/3x Command Stands (PzBef or otherwise…) HAVE: 1 To Paint, NEED TO GET: 1-2 more?
- 3/6x PzIV –HAVE: 4 Painted, NEED TO GET: 2?
- 9/18x PzIII HAVE: 6 Painted, 3 To Paint, NEED TO GET: 9?!
- 5/9x PzII –HAVE: 6 To Paint, NEED TO GET: 3?!
Hmmmm… maybe I’ll just stick with the one battalion…

Motorized Panzer Grenadier Regiment
RHQ command stand – HAVE: 1 To Paint
Regimental AT (part of RHQ Coy?)
- 1x Pak36 (37mmATG) “NEED TO GET”
- 1x Pak38 (50mmATG) “ NEED TO GET”
Regimental SP battery
- 1x 150mm (infantry guns?) “NEED TO GET”
Regimental Pioneer Company
- 3x Pioneer Stands HAVE: 6 To Paint
- 1x Pak38 (50mm ATG) HAVE: “NEED TO GET”
3x Motorized Panzer Grenadier Battalions, each (totals are for Battalion/Regiment):
- 1/3x BnHQ – Command Stand (1/3 total) – HAVE: X Painted, X To Paint,
- 9/27x Infantry Stands HAVE: 24 Painted, (lots) To Paint,
- 2/6x HMG HAVE: 5 Painted, (piles) To Paint,
- 1/3x 80mm Mortar – DONE!
- 2/6x Pak38 (50mm ATG) HAVE: 3 Painted (one’s a captured 6 Pdr) NEED TO GET: 3 more!?

Artillery Regiment
RHQ/Staff? – HAVE 1 Painted – DONE!
1x Heavy Artillery Battalion
-BnHQ/Staff?
-2x Howitzer Battery (155mm) – well I’ve got those Lorraine Schleppers…?
-1x “Gun” Battery (105mm Infantry Guns?) “NEED TO GET”
2x Artillery Battalions (Each/Regiment)
-1/2x BnHQ/Staff “NEED TO GET”
-3/6x Howitzer Battery (105mm) “NEED TO GET”
Artillery Observation Company
-3x FAO? (this is all I’d likely be fielding for most cases…) DONE!

Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion
1x BnHQ – Sdkfz247 (armoured staff car?) “NEED TO GET”
1x Artillery Battery Howitzers (105mm) “NEED TO GET”
1x heavy Armoured Reconnaissance Company
-1x Sdkfz 261z (4x4 Signal car) “NEED TO GET”
-1x Sdkfz 263 (8x8 Signal car) “NEED TO GET”
-1x SPATG (76.2mm Dianna? MarderIII?) “NEED TO GET”
1x Armoured Car/SP artillery troop (1-2x Sdkfz233 – 8x8 75mm)
1x Scout Car Company
-1x Sdkfz 231 (8x8 Armoured Car – 20mm) HAVE: 1 To Paint
-1x Sdkfz 232 (8x8 Armoured Signal Car – 20mm + Radio) “NEED TO GET”
-3x Sdkfz 222 (4x4 Armoured Car – 20mm) – HAVE: 2 painted - “NEED TO GET: 1?”
-1x Sdkfz 223 (4x4 Armoured Signal Car) – HAVE: 1 painted – DONE!
1x Panzer-Grenadier Company
-3x infantry Stands HAVE: 3 To Paint
-1x HMG stand - HAVE: 1 To Paint
-1x ATG (28mm?) - “NEED TO GET”
-1x ATG (76.2mm?) - “NEED TO GET”

Divisional AT Battalion
BnHQ
1x SPATG Company w/ 3x ATG (7.62 – MarderIII?) - “NEED TO GET”
1x ATG Company w 3x Pak38 (50mm) - “NEED TO GET”

Divisional Pioneer Battalion
“NEED TO GET” More pioneers?! (okay this is getting silly now…)

Corps/Army Assets
Attached heavy SP Infantry gun company (150mm) “NEED TO GET” (not really…)
Attached from Luftwaffe:
AA Regt
-2x Flak 36 (8.8cm) - HAVE: 2 painted – DONE! (2 prime movers to paint, though)
-2x Sdkfz 10/5 HAVE: 2 to assemble and paint.
Dive bombers
- 2x Stuka – DONE! (I could repaint them someday – and I need better flight stands…)

Seriously though – I can’t see me painting anymore 15mm stuff in the near future and realistically… even if I DID finish this off – I’m not entirely sure it would all fit on my table!?

I should finish up the bases that need doing, that’s easy enough. Tanks aren’t too bad to paint so I should manage to get them done sometime and the three CO/HQ stands, three infantry, 1 HMG, and three Pionoeer…. One would whink those wouldn’t be to hard to finish off… Probably not this year (I’m a little busy with Other Things).

If I were to ever add to the North African collection I’d like to add some Italians. Maybe some 105 field guns for the rare occasion that I want them on the table…. (but only if I had a nasty fall and damaged my brain further…).

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

15mm WW2 Early War Germans.