tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2566911179329724362024-03-13T04:05:34.834+01:00The NecroleadiconA blog about horror wargaming...and other, less describable things!Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.comBlogger256125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-82685815944760336682016-12-13T14:03:00.002+01:002016-12-13T14:03:12.958+01:00WW1 project - update 3Hi guys,<br />
<br />Another month, another update. <br /><br />I was not as active as I'd hope as far as sculpting goes, but I made some jumps.<br /><br />Firstly, I now have six initial dollies, with 3 more being sculpted that were not photographed.<br /><br />You can see them below. A persistent tendency to make them smaller is rather obvious and it is something I just can not fix. I am not satisfied with them but rather than leaving them as they are, I will probably try to bulky them up eventually, so to at least get the proportions where I want them. It is not all bad, as I am quite satisfied with the puttees on the last three. This is something I was unable to duplicate on the three I am working on now, so they will be a step back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnHg9odTCg_5oYget2OIhc5678DaAOtc0rp3BdllofX9nts54PiA4pvAcCpGdJk0sBoW16W4pVroe7i3-IvlSK2pqzyCQkuJo98piLTfMuJoSgK_W_QkzqIH7YdGYGWx4M5GZzIZ4v53B/s1600/PC137901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnHg9odTCg_5oYget2OIhc5678DaAOtc0rp3BdllofX9nts54PiA4pvAcCpGdJk0sBoW16W4pVroe7i3-IvlSK2pqzyCQkuJo98piLTfMuJoSgK_W_QkzqIH7YdGYGWx4M5GZzIZ4v53B/s320/PC137901.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Weapons are proceeding no better, I went to hunt for the just right thickness of wire and here, too I struggle as my rifles are too thin, too narrow and as far as the latest go - too short.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RUC5LqjAsEgxMA6yIWHLnqcMQfxDHJvcSPV4fgqo5UsCrPIjk8YlpIXzwElRrFtPZkjXMM-ZxybES4x7X9y1vvIP0RbgmPyN-MGOwmLoiHRciUILR5_qMsK8adJt43qZ3_QKzRoO79F1/s1600/PC137902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RUC5LqjAsEgxMA6yIWHLnqcMQfxDHJvcSPV4fgqo5UsCrPIjk8YlpIXzwElRrFtPZkjXMM-ZxybES4x7X9y1vvIP0RbgmPyN-MGOwmLoiHRciUILR5_qMsK8adJt43qZ3_QKzRoO79F1/s320/PC137902.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The hopefully recognisable machine gun on top, however, is a different story. It needs some cleaning up before I go on to details, but so far I am quite satisfied. It took me a while to find a store that carries brass tubes and then some more to return the optimistically 4mm wide one for 2.5. <br /><br />As proportions follow the tube, I was able to make it bulkier. It's a bit 'heroic', but I quite like that and hope other equipment and miniatures will be able to follow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJOfHXuOHP2nIQuPK0a48yFNgODZ4nTtINBQT-1pVFt99r-b9y6nLvgeG5jOx5P4EfJZFzJwFUft5ytgY43dgL8VS5XmYbhuhpax7eazQs_E2TXVlh3BMtKj0CnT_X0i6yZvomEnc_rTC/s1600/PC137905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJOfHXuOHP2nIQuPK0a48yFNgODZ4nTtINBQT-1pVFt99r-b9y6nLvgeG5jOx5P4EfJZFzJwFUft5ytgY43dgL8VS5XmYbhuhpax7eazQs_E2TXVlh3BMtKj0CnT_X0i6yZvomEnc_rTC/s320/PC137905.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />In other news, my motivation for the project is slowly lower as the progress is slow, but I am just realising how better I feel now that I posted the progress and will hopefully be able to do so at least every other week. <br /><br />Thanks for looking,<br />Math-yooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-45590006271621277322016-11-16T17:57:00.000+01:002016-11-16T17:57:59.698+01:00WW1 Skirmish Rules: Playtest 5Hi guys,<br />
<br />
It has been 2 months since I played my last playtest - or at least it was 2 weeks back when I played this game and wrote this post. Yup, it took me 2 weeks to put photos in and slightly edit the text I've written while playing the game.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the rules were being worked on and have now reached a point where I can confidently call them 'draft 1'. No, not 'version 1', draft. As in they now include more or less everything I wanted in a game and it is time to see how it works out. Scenarios and victory conditions still need to be done, but the core game should be fine now.<br />
<br />
For those unaware, the rules are intended to play with something like 20-30 miniatures per side and should (that is the intention, at least) encourage players to engage in melee. If anyone would like to give them a run, please contact me via the form on the right ->->->->-><br />
<br />
This particular game, as I imagine it, would look something like this: <br />
1 - Assault troops attack<br />
2 - Defenders launch a defensive bombardment<br />
3 - Defenders counterattack<br />
<br />
As usual, I am making things up as I go. <br />
<br />
<b>Attackers forces:</b><br />
<br />
4 men Shock unit (assault troops)<br />
4 men Shock unit<br />
4 men flamethrower <br />
4 men light machine gun unit<br />
<br />
3 turns after the initial attack, attacking infantry is scheduled to consolidate trenches:<br />
<br />
3 units of 4 men with rifles each.<br />
<br />
They appear on a roll of 3+, all at once.<br />
<br />
<b>Defenders forces:</b><br />
<br />
2 men sentry unit<br />
2 men sentry unit<br />
2 men sentry unit<br />
<br />
Additionally, they get support from one off board HMG flanking the trenches.<br />
<br />
When assault troops enter first trenches (4" into the defender's half of the table), defenders get an artillery barrage.<br />
<br />
The barrage is followed by the main counter attack:<br />
<br />
4 men assault troops<br />
4 men assault troops<br />
4 men rifles<br />
<br />
They appear on a roll of 4+, all at once.<br />
<br />
Additionally, every turn before the main counter attack force arrives (after the bombardment), on a roll of 2+ a local force emerges from the dug outs, attacking from any board edge except the attacker's (randomly determined). <br />
<br />
This 'force' consists of 2 men armed with rifles.<br />
<br />
Everyone is rated 4+/4+, except both sides assault troops that are rated 3+/4+.<br />
<br />
Game lasts for 8 turns, at which point VPs are counted:<br />
<br />
Each opponent killed - 1 point<br />
Each opponent captured - 3 points<br />
<br />
Attackers control defender's forward sap - 10 points<br />
Attackers control defender's first trench - 20 points<br />
Attackers control defender's second trench - 30 points<br />
<br />
Defenders control their second trench - 10 points<br />
Defenders control their first trench - 20 points.<br />
Defenders control their forward sap - 30 points.<br />
<b><br />THE GAME:</b><br />
<br />Markers:<br />
Yellow indicates modifier to save due to action or terrain (1-3)<br />
Orange indicates unit activated already (or failed to do so).<br />
Blue indicates 'On guard' status.<br />
Red indicates suppressed units.<br />
Green indicates penalty to saving roll due to terrain <br />
<br />
DEPLOYMENT<br />
<br />
The barrage has lifted and the six sentries, fortunate enough to have survived the bombardment, have signaled for help at the sight of advancing assault troops.<br />
<br />
Attacker has divided his troops (top down): shock unit, LMG unit, flamethrower (paras), shock unit.<br />
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<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>TURN 1</b><br />
<br />
I gave the attackers the first turn, given they launched the attack.<br />
<br />
Attackers all activated and pushed forward. Shock and flamethrower units are armed with pistols and could not fire. LMG made use of 'marching fire' rule to suppress the forwardmost defenders.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3P1EeV3fFgjRytjsGbPIxzx2pjYdQFPp4BO2vz0OjYEPtvCE-dz5H8Fo7439uDmQU_0k5eYgHRuqxgHZDW1YMtNMDwjrNhBju2TF3RrALrQ1RNQ6BfFPw2nmqjGg2pMldiWMe0xEg2s1I/s1600/PB037713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3P1EeV3fFgjRytjsGbPIxzx2pjYdQFPp4BO2vz0OjYEPtvCE-dz5H8Fo7439uDmQU_0k5eYgHRuqxgHZDW1YMtNMDwjrNhBju2TF3RrALrQ1RNQ6BfFPw2nmqjGg2pMldiWMe0xEg2s1I/s320/PB037713.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this miniature and it fits perfectly as a stand-in!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Defenders were less lucky as the suppressed unit lost its chance to activate and the other two failed to do so and went 'on guard.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl9jZZj7esKu4F1-a_PMwOw7vOcEsHO-ni87bJfNtmKRi7yLpkUX2ORs0YxIWPWILDBqSSdysIfueFNiH2TsahX0-rfQXANN20tYqyoOULvEUmxfgwUnEy4BUbMJpYXofTRUkav0IrMfE/s1600/PB037716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRl9jZZj7esKu4F1-a_PMwOw7vOcEsHO-ni87bJfNtmKRi7yLpkUX2ORs0YxIWPWILDBqSSdysIfueFNiH2TsahX0-rfQXANN20tYqyoOULvEUmxfgwUnEy4BUbMJpYXofTRUkav0IrMfE/s320/PB037716.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>TURN 2</b><br />
<br />
Defenders won the initiative and previously suppressed unit activated. To buy them some time, they withdrew and fired their rifles at the LMG unit, as it was standing out in the open. They both missed.<br />
<br />
Middle unit also activated and fired at the LMG unit, hit one but failed to produce a casualty (hit was saved).<br />
<br />
Last one failed to activate and went on guard.<br />
<br />
Attackers had a bit more moderate luck, as upper two units (shock, LMG) failed to activate and bottom two surged forward, flamethrower engaged the defenders. A burst of flame was enough to convince the defenders this battle is lost and they surrendered!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMIhCOgyVqflItJEaGR-McZj_1Z8tiEUeRCO7wzQwfnmZnCEPD5C6Vonf91qMKI2T3JKzF-sOWHOHipi9TE8iE_OkISmTLUS6qialsqprTLtymwfg_yPHoR4LB9MXKFpTsCIjR6lV8HpW1/s1600/PB037718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMIhCOgyVqflItJEaGR-McZj_1Z8tiEUeRCO7wzQwfnmZnCEPD5C6Vonf91qMKI2T3JKzF-sOWHOHipi9TE8iE_OkISmTLUS6qialsqprTLtymwfg_yPHoR4LB9MXKFpTsCIjR6lV8HpW1/s320/PB037718.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flamethrower!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Defenders that were on guard now opened fire at the flamethrower unit and killed one of the crew.<br />
<br />
<b>TURN 3</b><br />
<br />
Turn 3 marks the timed arrival of the follow up infantry, which failed to keep pace with the assault troops (roll failed).<br />
<br />
In the same turn, defenders off-board HMG opened fire in the area in front of the barbed wire, catching all 4 of the attacking units in its beating zone.<br />
<br />
<u>The problem</u>: 6" wide corridor at any angle might be a bit of an over kill!<br />
<br />
Resolving the impact from bottom up, shock unit didn't lose any of its members and was not suppressed by the barrage; flamethrower lost a member, but was not suppressed; LMG lost a member but was not suppressed; shock unit didn't lose any member but was suppressed.<br />
<br />
Initiative was won by the defenders again. Both units activated and fired at flamethrower (1 man killed) and LMG unit (no effect).<br />
<br />
Attackers successfully activated flamethrower's lone survivor who jumped over the barbed wire and continued down the trench.<br />
<br />
One of the shock units moved to the wire with an intention to cut it, rather than trying to jump over it - this will also make a passage for the reserves that are bound to arrive sooner or later.<br />
<br />
The LMG team is making great use of its marching fire as it pushed forward and suppressed another of the defender's units. While this fire can't grant kills, it is a god way to force the defenders to keep their heads down.<br />
<br />
Last of the shock units failed to activate and keeps hiding in one of the shell holes!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqljWyz4tDETgrza7id280AkIyN5V-FDdaj420osqoCCQwNxdkGI4CGZxV99Dk24nYc4wmId7Xi5PXElRXlYjyzy15PhE53DGXTDWOATKejRGi1LDnXciaeEJQBj3rNAdhe1IuEuFexilj/s1600/PB037720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqljWyz4tDETgrza7id280AkIyN5V-FDdaj420osqoCCQwNxdkGI4CGZxV99Dk24nYc4wmId7Xi5PXElRXlYjyzy15PhE53DGXTDWOATKejRGi1LDnXciaeEJQBj3rNAdhe1IuEuFexilj/s320/PB037720.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>TURN 4</b><br />
<br />
The reserves arrived!<br />
<br />
<u>The problem:</u> I neglected tackling accurate rules for support. In previous games they were unit by unit dripplets and getting support equaled activating the unit. This time, I played it that successful roll for reserves brought supports to table edge (just outside it) and a successful activation would bring them on board.<br />
<br />
Defenders won the initiative again, but fail to activate their first unit.<br />
<br />
Attackers activated the wire-cutting shock unit first and it cuts the wire sufficiently. Flamethrower's lone survivor activates next and moves forward, eager to lob some grenades. He must have been the last on the list of dedicated bombers, however, as he failed miserably.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0aYd_RC_-hv67XFJ2AS7C2ue83Oin47A2rDtF3VhuZ_zVu2I1dWYW9OcHXuysXatJ7beliBSkEKHf8W0GEluWIRoMhQ7ySkoExwDv0lccdHWlE5UVApg16iafVf2v03e0f-GmcWs_O7e/s1600/PB037722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0aYd_RC_-hv67XFJ2AS7C2ue83Oin47A2rDtF3VhuZ_zVu2I1dWYW9OcHXuysXatJ7beliBSkEKHf8W0GEluWIRoMhQ7ySkoExwDv0lccdHWlE5UVApg16iafVf2v03e0f-GmcWs_O7e/s320/PB037722.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two-left-hands Joe did not pay attention at the bombing practice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Attacker's other shock unit, the lazy one, failed to activate again. As it is suppressed its members simply sit it out in the shell hole. This reverts initiative to the defenders, who activate and kill two of the wire cutting shock troops!<br />
<br />
Attacker's LMG activated again and moved a bit closer into what looks like a good position to hold the line from. The LMG didn't fire but two of the crewmen fired their rifles at top defenders, hitting both and killing one.<br />
<br />
Only one of the reserves activated and the unit sprinted in one of the old saps, to close in with the defenders.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2O58kVf_22j6K0KVvKtor0KFCyIeoAX6x3KF4RN5agr8bw_0oR8ddgB2Hwigou5rYc_DizvkC8vpn2SLXLrEe0HwpsRC9fdVCi5iApFpM9uwDyrWFNBjFsGrKtPnBDaqBvj4z88ZSSig/s1600/PB037724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2O58kVf_22j6K0KVvKtor0KFCyIeoAX6x3KF4RN5agr8bw_0oR8ddgB2Hwigou5rYc_DizvkC8vpn2SLXLrEe0HwpsRC9fdVCi5iApFpM9uwDyrWFNBjFsGrKtPnBDaqBvj4z88ZSSig/s320/PB037724.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>TURN 5</b><br />
<br />
Defenders won the initiative again and failed to activate its unit.<br />
<br />
Keeping the mid defenders suppressed is a good chance to get them to surrender, but the attackers are still too far away. Flamethrower crewman fired, but missed again.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WAROjTn6CUVB5wKtr_xUlNxQyOQqPO-zBGpxXKPnb3oOkX22IRgD0QNBHKzQd2ltrfeDpYvXj_Qzl2_WUZZZ8t1xEJZuiE7Lm95pGgMSwzA2tQTqt5S9-yUl1bLADTCWfpgEJjU9LsaO/s1600/PB037729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WAROjTn6CUVB5wKtr_xUlNxQyOQqPO-zBGpxXKPnb3oOkX22IRgD0QNBHKzQd2ltrfeDpYvXj_Qzl2_WUZZZ8t1xEJZuiE7Lm95pGgMSwzA2tQTqt5S9-yUl1bLADTCWfpgEJjU9LsaO/s320/PB037729.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...nor on the shooting range.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All attacking units, except for the two reserves that failed to activate last turn, now activated. Apart from some shooting without effect, they just closed in.<br />
<br />
The last remaining defender's unit failed to activated.<br />
<br />
<u>The problem:</u> I have the attackers at the level of the first trench in the sap (flamethrower), but to make it easier to determine who controls the trench, I decided this does not yet count as them being in the trench itself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRijkWljicia929xhjMOv41uNDaQNrt63Z9m5YBMtBxmVrpnvLe8Vyyy3uzjqUCk8sbmhw3wWd2QfZ1i0fUjbwXsfqTRN7nnGHQUqqaPgXdvN73zW3vsGHAZ6ELU7yNeA7s5-YCVyMmdPy/s1600/PB037727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRijkWljicia929xhjMOv41uNDaQNrt63Z9m5YBMtBxmVrpnvLe8Vyyy3uzjqUCk8sbmhw3wWd2QfZ1i0fUjbwXsfqTRN7nnGHQUqqaPgXdvN73zW3vsGHAZ6ELU7yNeA7s5-YCVyMmdPy/s320/PB037727.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>TURN 6</b><br />
<br />
The attackers won the much needed initiative this time, and the flamethrower lone survivor activated. Inspired by the thought of a medal, he surged forward and captured the startled defenders!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9BSrSVzHGZsXK_REyYpPtvfEJJezXh9XFNzMFSgq7T9-bbYJwc1HqHzDknAXmtDH3tmUPAFwRP8Od6c4m9kvfQ-4_C3FkarwWwcz05LDBwkFyi5ln4yILsmkgJo-HlMheamHujiXgFb5/s1600/PB037730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9BSrSVzHGZsXK_REyYpPtvfEJJezXh9XFNzMFSgq7T9-bbYJwc1HqHzDknAXmtDH3tmUPAFwRP8Od6c4m9kvfQ-4_C3FkarwWwcz05LDBwkFyi5ln4yILsmkgJo-HlMheamHujiXgFb5/s320/PB037730.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prisoners of war!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The top shock unit, that gained a reputation for laziness earlier has now activated and bombed the last defender - time to push forward!<br />
<br />
While the board was empty of defenders, some attackers pushed as far forward as possible, while those that failed the activation went on guard to wait for the incoming counter attack.<br />
<br />
Yet, even now one of the reserves failed to activate for the first time.<br />
<br />
<b>TURN 7</b><br />
<br />
The defenders have signaled that enemy has broken into one of their trenches! Not long after the rockets were fired, barrage felt on the area.<br />
<br />
Mind, as this game is played on such a small area, the bombardment covers whole table, if the defenders would not have all been removed from play by now, they would have been hit as well.<br />
<br />
The effects of bombardment were determined from defenders edge towards the attackers as follows:<br />
<br />
2 men shock unit - 1 man dead, not suppressed<br />
1 man flamethrower - dead<br />
4 men shock unit - no casualties, not suppressed<br />
4 men reserves 1 - 2 dead, suppressed<br />
3 men LMG - no casualties, suppressed<br />
4 men reserves 2 - 1 dead, not suppressed<br />
4 men reserves 3 (waiting to enter board) - no casualties. Mind, I rolled for them as usual, seeing they are 'close by', why would they be spared?<br />
<br />
The main counter attack does not yet arrive, but from near by, two defenders rushed to delay the tide!<br />
<br />
While the initiative was won by the defenders, they failed to activate.<br />
<br />
Attackers used the time to find better positions, go on guard and so on - except, of course, for the reserves unit 3, that still didn't show up!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oBzcUjEbIk-4BuZIjfZLmXxkWzzIgEY1Kc2B8g_-FU_LDeIjACmR45oMIvMtKMhTFBF_ZK-nBpy2y7QOMiV3zY3s3RT9wzmqKjImqRY08Xk271sMelVAKhi00GXrSbYtKiaQDuS0Vhg6/s1600/PB037731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6oBzcUjEbIk-4BuZIjfZLmXxkWzzIgEY1Kc2B8g_-FU_LDeIjACmR45oMIvMtKMhTFBF_ZK-nBpy2y7QOMiV3zY3s3RT9wzmqKjImqRY08Xk271sMelVAKhi00GXrSbYtKiaQDuS0Vhg6/s320/PB037731.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<b>TURN 8</b><br />
<br />
Whistles were sounded as the counter attack force made its approach!<br />
<br />
The attackers have not only won the initiative, but also managed to activate every single of their units in the anticipation of defenders' arrival.<br />
<br />
The defenders jumped on the attackers and the advancement of two assault troops ended in one of the attackers (lone survivor shock unit) fallen as a casualty to grenades.<br />
<br />
Large, 4 men rifles unit that was with the counter attacking force also moved down the safety of the deep trenches, lobbed their grenades at one of the attacker's reserve units and while scoring two hits and forcing a suppression test, failed to get any kills or at least to suppress them.<br />
<br />
Small defenders unit failed to activate.<br />
<br />
Now, at the start of the game I said the game would last for 8 turns, but as the game has only really started on the 8th turn, I decided to end it on 10th (okay 12th at start, but then I got tired of playing and concluded at 10).<br />
<br />
Should the game have ended now, the result would be:<br />
<br />
Attackers: sap (10), first trench (20), kills (2), prisoners (12) = 44 VPs<br />
Defenders: second trench (10), kills (7+ 5 bombardment), prisoners (0) = 23 VPs<br />
<br />
This seems hardly fair perhaps, as the attackers took so long to initiate the defenders bombardment.<br />
If we also count the troops deployed: 28 attackers versus 20 defenders and add the difference (8) to the defenders (to even the field), the result would be 44 versus 31, for a good attacker's win.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEime3ax5Gv_IMst9y-9Ung5VXYrAhD8ahPyRa2n_wa4w3sNH9YFUC8pm2TdQ-bz7XXPj2semFWBcIasYqCyblCiPNIENUNZ0hbZoE-uvwXkne684c73t7zrdtPWmUwonmpJ1kvhh_57hFBN/s1600/PB037733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEime3ax5Gv_IMst9y-9Ung5VXYrAhD8ahPyRa2n_wa4w3sNH9YFUC8pm2TdQ-bz7XXPj2semFWBcIasYqCyblCiPNIENUNZ0hbZoE-uvwXkne684c73t7zrdtPWmUwonmpJ1kvhh_57hFBN/s320/PB037733.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>TURN 9</b><br />
<br />
Defenders won the initiative, but their bombers failed to activate.<br />
<br />
Attacker's reserves that were subjected to grenading last turn now returned the favour and killed 2 of the defenders!<br />
<br />
Attacker's surviving shock unit moved up some shell holes in the trench system and bombed one of the defenders bombers. As the tradition goes, they scored 3 hits but failed both to suppress the target unit and to remove any figures from play!<br />
<br />
The rest of the attackers units either activated and moved forward or failed to do so and went on guard, ready to cut down any defenders bold enough to climb out of their deep trenches.<br />
<br />
Defenders, too had a changing luck with activations. Notably, the larger rifles unit activated within assault distance of the enemy, but out of sight. So instead of engaging in melee, they had to move down the trenches and opened fire, killing one.<br />
<br />
The smaller of the defender's units now activated and lobbed grenades at the aforementioned enemy unit, killing another one.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxEUt515has4xz8zrEqcEmz61acVmTswrnHdhfCgWeKnJcXN1i-yZpuP7FJSsxvLb7LV5ed91v03RTnGtSZuCsQCQqF8y6dnBynubJfeaGwfMakM76ClYAG_MhZsQe07OC8wOfrkAnzNj/s1600/PB037736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxEUt515has4xz8zrEqcEmz61acVmTswrnHdhfCgWeKnJcXN1i-yZpuP7FJSsxvLb7LV5ed91v03RTnGtSZuCsQCQqF8y6dnBynubJfeaGwfMakM76ClYAG_MhZsQe07OC8wOfrkAnzNj/s320/PB037736.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close up on trench junction. Slovenes were stand-ins for the defenders.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUe2-t6zXC7DR0igF6jLIPJvCSI0V_t_4kkDeYQvJ-j9hLMpybPIhPb-RE5VIXv4D0qo1yc_um2MfAJSnEF8uyY4Yx7IjvwRpavqogb3qOlmhdRqQiDPfU7Poy3zBvN4hPYyzCoVTa0u2/s1600/PB037735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUe2-t6zXC7DR0igF6jLIPJvCSI0V_t_4kkDeYQvJ-j9hLMpybPIhPb-RE5VIXv4D0qo1yc_um2MfAJSnEF8uyY4Yx7IjvwRpavqogb3qOlmhdRqQiDPfU7Poy3zBvN4hPYyzCoVTa0u2/s320/PB037735.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>TURN 10</b><br />
<br />
The defenders won the initiative yet again and the larger of the rifle units tried to activate in order to assault the attackers. They failed, which produced an awkward situation.<br />
<br />
They were in LOS and within 6'' of the enemy, but there was also a friendly unit within 6" and LOS. The rules state the unit does not surrender if there are more friendly units within LOS and 6" than Enemy units, but as there's 1 of each it surrenders. <br />
<br />
Had I gave it a thought earlier, I would delay the activation of this unit, because the attacker might fail his activation and give himself up to the defenders instead. Alas, 2 prisoners for the attackers!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-B7qaiAkCIk5IBGVQtYDXCgNHHmVgIfLXj0HVSVXErUe2SHSZFZWmWEoXJtWsJ4ZTQwQ4Kp0-HVeatFcta3YJOtkI44oxszYy5pO3DPkazPIfQdE8XGbDfnyCoWYlRJs2aa_JMG7biT3/s1600/PB037738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG-B7qaiAkCIk5IBGVQtYDXCgNHHmVgIfLXj0HVSVXErUe2SHSZFZWmWEoXJtWsJ4ZTQwQ4Kp0-HVeatFcta3YJOtkI44oxszYy5pO3DPkazPIfQdE8XGbDfnyCoWYlRJs2aa_JMG7biT3/s320/PB037738.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper duo surrendered!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Attackers shock unit moved forward just slightly to avoid being confronted by two of the defender's assault units and kept lobbing grenades into one of them, scoring a kill. It is better for the attackers to wear down the defenders (who are the ones attacking at this point), making the melee easier.<br />
<br />
Defender's bombers disappointed as they failed to get any hits with their pistols and bombs.<br />
<br />
Other unit emerged from the dug out they were in and threw a salvo of grenades towards the enemy shock troops. In all fairness, I forgot to do that with the attacker the turn before. Anyway, they scored 6 hits which were distributed between the 4 men so that two got two hits each and two got one each. Now, they were saving on 5+ and both of the former made it, while both of the latter failed them! Ugh!<br />
¨The explosions were enough to suppress the unit.<br />
<br />
The last of the defenders units, the smallest one, activated and moved to the cursed junction, where their friends surrendered to the enemy just moments ago. While they did not surrender, they missed their shots and the lone attacker survived - will he be able to capture them as well?<br />
<br />
Well, as it turned out - no. He failed his activation and raised his hands. First prisoner for the defenders!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaD05GVB0OXBKsWKRga4c8tUGQFu5iJdIVf_plgY69Q79pmHg0AirWzU2DgiLXV1jJzHR1R5zw2zkGFYJWGotFeJ_ulRA0t78W7mM68ePFXlQ5roP8pOeN4VIKvVQ7dYI3t8p7aeUqP6Qa/s1600/PB037739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaD05GVB0OXBKsWKRga4c8tUGQFu5iJdIVf_plgY69Q79pmHg0AirWzU2DgiLXV1jJzHR1R5zw2zkGFYJWGotFeJ_ulRA0t78W7mM68ePFXlQ5roP8pOeN4VIKvVQ7dYI3t8p7aeUqP6Qa/s320/PB037739.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attacker surrendered this time.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The rest of the attackers did nothing worth mentioning.<br />
<br />
So, after another 2 turns, the end result is:<br />
<br />
Attackers: sap (10), first trench (20), kills (5), prisoners (18) = 53 VPs<br />
Defenders: second trench (10), kills (11+5 bombardment), prisoners (3) = 30 VPs<br />
<br />
If I continued, the defenders with fresh shock units would defenitely wipe out the attackers at least in the first trench. While LMG is a formidable weapon, it is night useless when troops are fighting in the trenches, out of line of sight. <br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>POST GAME THOUGHTS:</b><br />
<br />
Well, I inevitably become bored sooner or later when playing solo, but this is not the rules fault. This is perhaps rare with me, but I am VERY satisfied with how the rules work. I was a bit surprised at the power of six sentries, but that was in part my fault for slowly advancing, when I should instead run to the wire, cut it and get across by turn 5 the latest (as opposed to turn 8 as it was). <br />
<br />
While there was no melee fought (in the one chance I had, the sentries surrendered before I'd roll to hit), I found surrender rules to work very well. There were not that many prisoners that the game would have been broken and I am really satisfied with them.<br />
<br />
Except for grenade salvo (where every member of the team throws a grenade), grenades don't seem too powerful at all, and as for salvo - c'est la vie?<br />
<br />
The off board support worked fine, the machine guns are a nuisance more than a real threat and the bombardment, while devastating covers up whole table and can hurt the defenders as well. As the rules stand at the moment, the owning player decides from where to the end of the board bombardment would hit, which is honestly a bit too much of a good thing. Joe offered some ideas for random hits, which I have yet to look into - but so far I am quite satisfied with the saturation of the whole board. <br />
<br />
Reserves I am not sure about yet - they would certainly come en masse, but when they fail to activate it is a bit of a buzz kill. Still - why give them free activation?<br />
<br />
Lastly, small units of two or even just one man seem to do just fine. This is another great thing, I never understood what good does having 100 miniatures per side do.<br />
<br />
I suppose this was another of the long posts, where I mostly talk to myself. If it helps, I finished three initial dollies for my sculpts and started working on the rifley YET again. More on that at a later date! <br />
<br />
Thanks for looking,<br />
MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-85933182830242852722016-10-31T18:33:00.000+01:002016-10-31T18:33:18.082+01:00WW1 project, update 2Hi guys,<br />
<br />
I have to admit I did not realise I haven't posted in almost a whole month - this is quite horrifying. <br /><br />I can only apologise for the lack of presence on the blogosphere, I do actually look at a lot of blogs, but mostly fail to comment - and to write my own.<br /><br />Interestingly, I was not passive in this time, as I kept sculpting the WW1 dollies. The progress was (and still is) slower than I'd like, as every time I hit an obstacle, I take a few days of 'rest'. I gave up on weapons momentarily, to focus on the dollies. The thing here is, weapons are eating up my nerves as I've must've started working on at least 7-8 rifles and I'm still not satisfied. Secondly, the more I work on the dollies the better I feel, as they start to resemble miniatures I want them to look like.<br />
<br />
<br />Some of the rifles below:<br />
<br />
From bottom down: a ruler; two of the early ones; two of the 'these will be it' ones. There should be 4 but I lost 2 somehow (don't ask, I got no idea); lastly one that tries different approach and that proved to be too thick.<br /><br />It was not all in vain, for I learned that 1:50 is too large and they need to be slightly smaller.<br />
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<br />
Since last time, I ditched the dollies without the cork and I dressed up the two I had on corks. Should you care - I decided they are not good enough and I am now using them to practice on the jackets.<br /><br />I started working on a new trio of walking, bracing/semicrouching (?) and standing/firing rifle poses. As it takes time to get them from being a confusing wire to something odd to apparent legs, I didn't really feel like photographing or posting them. <br /><br />Here they are, 2 out of 6 legs dressed up. They are the ones on the corks, while the older two sculpts are below them. Left, walking is supposedly Austrian and the right one is sorta-kinda-hopefully-eventually an Italian.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnR3Fy7SE1nHezKhM76DLzSMZ503PCB7Q6US4WMrqCTu6e_0E9eJIRwdx4Se-O3bGvpJ4I1GxA8y5_m14UFytb8DqOH1xuTqwOy4KyrNOAUQtXaycddgSYfvsrB7AbczXl7q6EXAIdZDeQ/s1600/PA287691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnR3Fy7SE1nHezKhM76DLzSMZ503PCB7Q6US4WMrqCTu6e_0E9eJIRwdx4Se-O3bGvpJ4I1GxA8y5_m14UFytb8DqOH1xuTqwOy4KyrNOAUQtXaycddgSYfvsrB7AbczXl7q6EXAIdZDeQ/s320/PA287691.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Close up on the two 'test pieces':<br />
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<br />The photos below are as advanced as I've gotten so far. The legs are 'done' and after I add some bulk to their shoes, I will probably start working on another 3 poses. The idea is to have these legs cast in resin and use them to build up both Austrian and Italian uniforms out of them. That's why I won't be working on the torso.<br />
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<br /> Back photo here. It is amazing how hard it is to make folds look good.<br />
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<br />
Here is a close up on Austrian uniform. It lacks some medals (really), ammo pouches and that's about it. It also needs some clean up around the pockets and I will have to find a better way to do the characteristic flaps.<br />
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<br />
I've mad another face today, it still appears slightly too narrow. I am a horrible judge of scale and I can't really figure out what could I do to have it appear wider, but not larger. <br />
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Compared to UFM East German sniper. I suppose my miniature is '28mm to the eyes', which is a welcome surprise.<br />
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And again with the Italian uniform that unfortunately doesn't get as much attention as the other one.<br />
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<br />That is pretty much it, if I'd really try, I should have another 3 sets of legs finished by mid month. I suppose it does get easier with time.<br /><br />Lastly, you might have noticed (I know you didn't!), the photos are a lot brighter. That is because I am a proud owner of a new LED white light lamp. Not to brag, but as the luck would have it, the most affordable one (yup, the one I got, naturally) also had a magnifying glass installed. Now I can both not worry light will dry my paints and putty AND work after 6 pm!<br /><br />Thanks for looking,<br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-47516102458613452232016-10-04T11:20:00.006+02:002016-10-04T11:21:52.004+02:00WW1 Progress - No progressHello,<br />
<br />
In the past weeks of radio silence project's momentum was lost by other
more pressing matters - as one would expect. The plan is still alive
and the time spent on hobby was spent doing some trial and error (by
which I mean error). <br />
<br />
I tried myself at all sorts of things, from faces, weapons to bodies themselves.<br />
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I sculpted 6 faces to go with my initial six dollies (that I have since quit working on). They are all a bit too small or at least too narrow - the second from the right being the only one I was satisfied with. And yes, it does look better in person!<br />
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The best face with UFM German below. Perhaps the size isn't that bad at all.<br />
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I also realised there is no chance I can sculpt shoes "in the air" and I needed a base to help me sculpt my miniatures from. This is the reason I quit working on the initial 6 dollies, but being raised to recycle, I will cut them slightly and repurpose them sooner or later.<br />
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I also decided 6 is an overkill while I am still finding myself, so I started working on two instead. I also decided to try and look up to <a href="http://www.underfireminiatures.com/">Under Fire Miniatures</a>' Germans instead of Great War Miniatures. I began to believe natural poses are what makes miniatures great (even if sculpting is sub par as in my cases), so this is what I am aiming for.<br />
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As you've probably noted so far, I took <a href="http://ebobminiatures.com/">Ebob</a>'s advice and gave paper putties a try. I wasn't too convinced at first, but they give just the impression I want. Unfortunately, I am having huge trouble with consistency and only one leg out of 4 ended up as I imagined it.<br />
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The good leg up front, with the other being swollen:<br />
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And another view:<br />
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The other dolly has both of them awfully chunky. I was actually meaning to show them to you then cut them, but have instead decided to finish the dolly - it will be good practice and if miniature ever gets finished it will be fine for my purposes.<br />
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Both together, mind the leftmost leg is the one I am happy with. <br />
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What I will do with the next batches is keep the lower legs very slim, but slightly exaggerate the muscle and the curve of the bone when looking from the side. That should hopefully work. <br />
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You might notice I didn't talk about shoes at all. I can be brief here: not satisfied.<br />
<br />
To keep me interested, I was jumping from one part of the project to another and started working on some weapons and equipment. The latter I didn't bother photographing as there's nothing to show, but here are my rifles.<br />
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Bottom up: First test short Austrian; First test long Austrian; Short Austrian; Long Austrian; Short Italian; Long Italian.<br />
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These are between 2 and 2.5 cm long. Carving is "easy" but I have no clue whatsoever how will I make short versions have the same stock as the longer. The best option would be having long versions cast and made smaller, but that's a task that can not really be done at this point. <br />
They are now on stand by as I am gathering courage to work on them some more.<br />
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Sidearms I had more confidence doing as being 4-5mm long and being covered by the hands, they are essentially a rectangle for Austrian and a box for Italian. Should you care, left one is Steyr M1912 that looks (but doesn't really) like Colt pistol and the left one is Italian that should (but doesn't) look like an "Italian luger". <br />
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The problems encountered were all expected, so I am not too surprised and I indeed told myself I would sculpt 20 dollies to get 4 decent out if necessary, so I think its best to finish these and work on fixing mistakes with the next batch. I have a very old Miliput and GS to use anyway.<br />
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While sculpting prevents me from playtesting the rules, I can say there are nothing but good news in that department, as core mechanics are more or less all done and I am now working on some additional features.<br />
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Thanks for looking,<br />
Mathyoo<br />
<br />Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-53004511874509693602016-09-13T09:03:00.001+02:002016-09-13T09:06:50.152+02:00WW1 project - expanded!Hi guys,<br />
<br />
The WW1 really sparked my interest and now I'm neck deep in the project - and already on the edge of desperation.<br />
<br />
The rules I'm working on are slowly taking shape and I started looking out for suitable miniatures for Austrians and Italians (I am aiming for the time around 11th Battle of Isonzo, a prelude to the more famous 12th). <br />
<br />
Long story short, I found there aren't any. Brigade Game has Italians and Austrians for 1915, which isn't good enough. Then there are Scarab games, which have lovely characterful miniatures, but I couldn't get myself to like the style (not the quality of the sculpts, that doesn't really bother me that much). <br />
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In the end I decided I could sculpt my own. Yes, again. Yes, from the scratch. I started gathering material, being very familiar with Austrians that part was easy. Italians less so, but I slowly gathered enough information to be able to put something together. <br />
<br />
To help me with judging scale and style, I bought some Great War Miniatures Germans. While waiting for them to arrive, I was working on one of Ebob dollies I had laying around to give me some taste of what's to come:<br />
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The first lesson I learned was premade dollies are no good. They snap and this guy has wire for the arms, for example. His legs are held together by putty alone and I am afraid to touch it by now, as it's all woobly. The other lesson was I convinced myself this is something that could yield results.<br />
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By the time my GWM packs arrive, I had a helmet 3/4 done (it is supposed to be a Berndorfer, please). This is where I quit working on him, but I will be using left over putty to slowly have him finished for that 2 minutes rush of pride when a "project" is finished.<br />
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First thing I noticed when I got my GWM Germans was just how large they were. I hereby apologise for claiming Open Fire Cold War Germans were extraordinarily large. As it happens I just happen to have smaller miniatures in my collection!<br />
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Having made some rough measuring, I decided they are both more or less in 1/50 scale, which makes it easier to sculpt weapons to fit. I also noted that Open Fire are far better proportioned and more naturally posed (mind there's quite some years in between the two sculpts - I am not judging, merely comparing). If you stare at them long enough (as I did!), you can see how exaggerated the position of the legs are on the GW miniatures. <br />
Secondly, they are both something like 6 heads tall (as opposed to natural 7-8) and GWM is a lot beefier. In a way, I prefer the GWM as they are easier to paint, but I found it hard to force myself exaggerate both the details and the poses, for better or worse.<br />
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Unrelated to sculpting preparations, I was otherwise disappointed in my GWM Germans. Sculpts are lovely and I would love to have more of them, but the casting was horrendous. Below, you can make out a large flash in the backpack-helmet-rifle triangle. That's just one of many simpler examples.<br />
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Secondly, look at the legs on this one. Firstly, notice the best putties I've seen (I told you I stared at a lot of miniatures), they are made to look as if they cover each other. Exaggerated, yes, but they look fantastic. And then notice the cut in the knee, just below yet another piece of flash. I think this could be due to fact the moulds are old and worn out. It was a bit of a joy killer, however, and they probably won't see their turn to be painted any time soon.<br />
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Anyways, using some of the poses as an inspiration, I started twisting the wire. I consulted my charts carefully and did my best to measure them. This is the point where I learned that you can not use (3 years old) milliput, as it cracks. What helps is to mix it with some GS, making it rock solid, yet slightly flexible.<br />
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I made 6 poses out of wire, 3 of them looking something like these:<br />
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Now, full disclosure, this is the point where I died a bit inside, feeling I'll never make it. The wires just didn't seem right, something was off and I couldn't figure out what would it be. I am fully aware I need to practice, but looking at that wires made it seem as a bridge too far.<br />
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Anyway, I pushed on and started bulking out the legs. It is amazing how much better I felt after I've put some muscle on the wire and just as fast as I'd give up, I was full of optimism again.<br />
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Having three done, I decided I would only work on 3 at a time at most, anything else is already a burden. And even here one tends to be left out in favour of other two. <br />
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For only a short try, I started working from bottom up. Not using corks that would give me a solid base, I found shoes very hard to do and rather moved on to puttees. The idea is to work from puttees up and if that doesn't quite work, to bulk out the tights first and then work down with a good support.<br />
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I started working out how to make puttees. I can not imagine the greenstuff being rolled around a leg as a real puttee, and I generally came up with two ideas. On the photos below, leftmost example is the first one. I simply wrapped the GS around and indicated puttee with a knife. <br />
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It doesn't follow any patterns, but the notches are subtle enough to give what I believe to be a good impression (it honestly looks better in person). It is hard to get a knife all around to dent it, but it looks great from a bit further away.<br />
Other examples were done by twisting a thread around the leg, which both gives a clear indication of a puttee being rolled up, and also looks somehow wrong. <br />
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I am thinking what I should do is use GS-milliput mix for a harder putty, so that threat can't cut too far inside and then figure a way for a slightly more consistent rolls. As you can see on the rightmost example, I left far too much space in between the turns, making it awful. Harder putty could also simply be sanded where it would bulge.<br />
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While I try to do something every day, I found myself very busy elsewhere just in the time I started working on these! Keeping it fun, I do try to do little at once to make sure I don't start hating them. I plan on working on these 3 up to a certain level and treat them as a practice, hoping the next 3 might fare a bit better. And then 3 after them should hopefully be reasonable and if all is right, I might be satisfied with the 3 after those. Or that's the plan at least.<br />
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As usual, thanks for looking, any comments or ideas would be most welcomed!<br />
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MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-48436083778126943442016-09-04T19:25:00.000+02:002016-09-04T19:25:22.704+02:00WW1 Skirmish rules: Playtest 4Hi guys,<br />
<br />
Long overdue I finally played another test game. I am getting progressively lazy so I decided to limit myself to a 2x3 board once again. The size suffices for my current needs, but I imagine game being played on a larger board, so there are more venues of approach, which makes moving more than just means to get closer to the enemy and it saves games from being a one trick pony frontal assaults.<br />
<br />
I am aware it's a bit pointless to talk about the rules you haven't seen yet, but I would wish to have them finished-not-polished before I show them, because things literally change from day to day even now.<br />
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The biggest change from earlier games is that I've dropped the concealment + cover modifiers. It was a hard choice, because I really liked the variation it produced, but the added complexity made it all a bit too awkward. <br />
Now, shooting unit's ability to shoot never changes, which is justified by the logic that unit's expertise limits the model's chance to hit an intended target area as it is. Obstructions in LOS due to terrain are also ignored, as this leads to nothing but arguing in the game. Or at least that is my experience - true LOS sounds great until one argues he can see your standing miniature through a crack in the wall, but you can't see his crawling one. <br /><br /> To avoid that, what matters is where the target unit is at the time of being shot at, which then improves or worsens the targeted model's saving roll. Every model has a generic saving roll, so there's always a chance for a lucky escape. Additionally, some weapons can lower that save or ignore it all together. It's all a bit abstract, but it helps with high rate of fire and survivability of small units. Well, or doesn't as there's so many more hits now.<br />
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To test the new mechanics, I played a quick game where two rifle units and a HMG are defending against the attacker with 2 bomber units, supported by LMG (to test new weapons), supported by a reserve of 2 rifle units. <br />
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THE GAME<br />
<br />I used my modern Slovenes and cold war Germans to act as proxies. I have to admit I am really happy to be using them, albeit as proxies.<br /><br />
Defender's rifle units were positioned right next to the wire, with a HMG some distance behind.<br />Attackers were simply left off board, this seems to work just fine so far.<br /><br /> One thing I keep pondering about is how machine guns would fire down the flank of the line, so they should not really be in a game like this, but an off-board machine gun rule of some sort would have to be implemented. When a HMG would be on board for the defenders, it should ideally be positioned for flanking fire somewhere off table, and thus have little effect on the game played.<br /> For now, I've accepted that shouldn't be forced, game is just a game after all and I for one always liked my machine gun models. <br /><br />With a gradual introduction of means to deal with machine guns, including (off table?) infantry guns, I suspect players would be more eager to try and conceal machine guns behind some kind of terrain.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Massive 'points difference' in the two armies - can the defence hold?</td></tr>
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I
am no fan of markers, but as I'm playing alone and considering the
rules and what not at the same time, I am finding them very useful to remind me what I was doing. This is even more important because this drawn board gets quite confusing at time.<br />
<br />
Just for the sake of my own consistency, here are the beads I used:<br />
<br />
Yellow indicates modifier to save due to action or terrain (1-3)<br />
Orange indicates unit activated already (or failed to do so).<br />
Blue indicates 'On guard' status.<br />
Red indicates suppressed units.<br />
Green indicates penalty to saving roll due to terrain <br />
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<br />TURN 1<br />
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Bombers (paras) activate and rush down the deep sap towards the defenders.<br />
Bombers (West Germans) activate and run into the nearest shell hole. As they are both armed with pistols there's not much else they can do.<br />
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[at this point I realised I saved the new version of the rules as the old ones and I've printed the old ones, confident that I'm printing the new ones!]<br />
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LMG team rushed to a disused listening post and set up their weapon.<br />
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With attackers all activating, it was defenders' time to try. HMG fails outright, going "on guard".<br />
Defender's rifles at the mid promptly bombed attackers in a shell hole! This was a no-nonsense affair, attackers losing two of their numbers!<br />
<br />
Defender's last unit fired their rifles at the same bombers and managed to kill another one. That's quite a bummer and bombers (West Germans) were down to 1 man just like that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sole survivor on the mid left side of the wire.</td></tr>
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TURN 2<br />
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Turn 2 sees the attackers win the initiative and the now single survivor bomber activates, filled with thirst for revenge. <br /><br />THE 'problem': As it has dawned to me in the next second, trying to activate him first was a horrible idea, as he was slightly outside the bombing range. If he would try to move closer, the HMG on guard would rip him apart. Not wishing to sacrifice him for nothing, I rather had him hunker down and hope he survives until there's a better chance to react. That, I feel, is a good example of where "skills" would come in play with the game.<br />
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He 'takes cover', enjoying a luxurious save of 2+.<br />
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To prepare the field for the advance, I tried to activate LGM team, which, true to Murhpy's laws, failed to do so and went on guard. [Talking about skills before, that's a good example of one die roll ruining all your plans. ]<br />
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There is a war to be won, however, and bombers (paras) move on into a firing trench, offering them solid protection. I don't even follow my own rules, so I was ready to cast the MG ROF die before I noticed there's a defender's unit obstructing the fire of the machine gun! Yay! (Or nay, I am unbiased!)<br />
<br />
Having all 4 members of the team in range of grenades, bombers (paras) unleash a hail of bombs down the defenders on the middle. They scored 5 hits that had to be distributed among 3 of the 4 defenders and as luck would have it, only one would be removed from play!<br />
There was enough of bang in these grenades to have defender's nerves waver, failing the motivation roll and becoming suppressed. If only I had a unit that could assault them now!<br />
<br />
The defender's other rifles now activated, firing at bombers (paras), hitting twice but without any visible effect.<br />
<br />
Defender's HMG failed to activate agian and remained on guard.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIHQFm8rub0XcRZln6rb-dEfHgsFIipMlAkMJzlm2GIo8sfT68LljGkPx5_oOeusiw9lcP4LGH_Z1_Y30JCyA7orBHPyeAJyxXh9YPwuIwuOvzJJtPUU9wsJY98qP2RlrqoFCkcQFCsoW/s1600/P9017567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbIHQFm8rub0XcRZln6rb-dEfHgsFIipMlAkMJzlm2GIo8sfT68LljGkPx5_oOeusiw9lcP4LGH_Z1_Y30JCyA7orBHPyeAJyxXh9YPwuIwuOvzJJtPUU9wsJY98qP2RlrqoFCkcQFCsoW/s320/P9017567.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Situation after turn 2.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
TURN 3<br />
<br />
Skipping my own rules, I noticed I should roll for attacker's reserves on previous turn already! Any way, one unit of riflemen did appear and can help press the attack.<br />
<br />
Defenders won the initiative and rifle unit on the mid failed to activate and decided to go 'on guard'.<br />
<br />
THE PROBLEM: I am still deciding whether I should let on guard units react to movement and fire; movement only; movement and assaults. I am currently favouring the idea that one can't react with fire to fire, but only movement. I might let them fire on the assault actions with pistols only, as riflement, for example, would brace for the bayonet charge. I will let them react to movement this time, but not firing.<br />
<br />
Learning from my mistakes earlier, LMG team activates first this time with an intention to prepare the grounds for infantry assault.<br />
<br />
The way MGs work now, they build up their ROF based on how many crew members the unit has. But these being weapons of suppression, they can force a suppression test based on ROF alone, and not on hits as other weapons do. In general, 2 men serving HMG and 3 men serving LMG are enough to force a suppression test by ROF alone. <br />
<br />
As troops aren't fit for assault across barbed wire, LMG fired at defender's HMG in an attempt to suppress it. It scored massive 4 hits (4 sixes!) out of 6, but it can only hit the gunner himself, the rest of the defender's crew being safely out of LOS! Gunner was thus forced to save 4 hits and did so for all but one. As another man simply takes his place, a spare crew man was removed from play.<br />
The defenders failed their motivation and weapon became suppressed - this means it won't have a chance to activate (or react) this turn, so it's a job well done!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6taH9bUpmDGPx7bMNFn0kt9axWcQW909IEH6Bjob1HXO00inKO2eJTpmYKAbzZ7OWmk7JtrcZyQAIAgoLGhyphenhyphenfUj9z4Bn_Txwy5BjU7cHZArDwjp0B7LE4TORLQiQQIZ2emFBHZl0jI3aS/s1600/P9017570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6taH9bUpmDGPx7bMNFn0kt9axWcQW909IEH6Bjob1HXO00inKO2eJTpmYKAbzZ7OWmk7JtrcZyQAIAgoLGhyphenhyphenfUj9z4Bn_Txwy5BjU7cHZArDwjp0B7LE4TORLQiQQIZ2emFBHZl0jI3aS/s320/P9017570.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HMG team ducks, 3 yellow beads indicating they now save on 2+.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bombers (para) activated next. They've spent their bombing volley now, but one of them can still lob grenades. The rest fired their pistols like some kind of cowboys.<br />
Combined, they scored 4 hits (plus additional 2 as bomb's hits count for 2 in regard to suppression), triggering a suppression test.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNomIQgccKve3lz5rNsTyZx1nOlTbyEdOKTu5RtyKkksJAAWS2Q3MKFAKgo12QG6c-5FW1C3r7atrigwWqQPVcIdzGQEPmMe3fTEQ-OEcRM7UxAhUpAZGwf6igfCu1jLIFPhZ6OvCx8F4K/s1600/P9017571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNomIQgccKve3lz5rNsTyZx1nOlTbyEdOKTu5RtyKkksJAAWS2Q3MKFAKgo12QG6c-5FW1C3r7atrigwWqQPVcIdzGQEPmMe3fTEQ-OEcRM7UxAhUpAZGwf6igfCu1jLIFPhZ6OvCx8F4K/s320/P9017571.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attacker's LMG team didn't have a desired impact on the game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
THE PROBLEMS: Rifle, being the basic weapon all other weapons are tailored to, has 1 die ROF. Pistol has 2 (as they are faster to fire etc), but I'm starting to believe that's already too many. Three men armed with pistols fired 6 shots combined. But on the other hand, when in trenches at least the lead man can have 2 shots instead of one. That will need some further consideration, with SMGs being additionally annoying to resolve.<br />
<br />
A more pressing matter, 3 men unit now faces 4 hits of 2 kinds. Bomb hits lower their saving throw and pistols do not. So one could put 2 bomb hits on a single man, the other 2 having better chances. Instead, I will play it that hits granting the lowest save are distributed first. So two guys get 1 bomb hit each, one gets a pistol hit and third is allocated to whomever.<br />
<br />
In the end, both bomb saves were saved and guy with 2 pistol saves failed one of them. Furthermore, unit passed their motivation and was not suppressed, which is really annoying, as this means that bombers (West germans) unit's sole survivor can only go to ground again, lest it gets shot to pieces by defender's reaction fire.<br />
<br />
The other defender's rifle unit failed its activation as well and it too, went on guard.<br />
<br />
With all units activating, failing to activate or being suppressed, reserves finally move on board and run straight into the shell hole where bombers (West Germans) were. As rifle units only get to throw grenades one per game, they are reasonably safe in there, but they do receive reaction fire from the defenders.<br />
<br />
THE PROBLEM: 2 units are on guard, so the question is, can they both react to single movement action? So far, I've been thinking it should be allowed. If they all react to one action, they simply won't be able to react to another one. But now that I'm actually playing I am not too sure and I think it should be limited to one unit (justified by time frame of reaction, each unit covering one sector or simply game playability). I will play it with a limit for now and see how it works out.<br />
<br />
The defenders thus decided to react with the larger of the 2 units. They scored 2 hits, killing one man.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir0pi06sksmJHS0H5lrY7E89Al3DUXPF5M_qYnWPbFhHTNTmkIMQWqIf1hYftUBn_g78wObARUpV_4Fh-3BRJhxN8o1knmEJQceYHzWm9bcQ7Z_wd9IDjLiu4SDTapm09M8kdtMMrwNUe/s1600/P9017569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir0pi06sksmJHS0H5lrY7E89Al3DUXPF5M_qYnWPbFhHTNTmkIMQWqIf1hYftUBn_g78wObARUpV_4Fh-3BRJhxN8o1knmEJQceYHzWm9bcQ7Z_wd9IDjLiu4SDTapm09M8kdtMMrwNUe/s320/P9017569.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Situation at the end of Turn 3. Can the attackers push through?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
TURN 4<br />
<br />
No reserves for the attackers this time, and the defenders won the initiative again.<br />
<br />
Defenders' HMG tried and failed activating yet again, which is slowly becoming rather annoying.<br />
<br />
Attackers' LMG fared no better this time. <br />
<br />
Nor did defender's larger infantry unit...<br />
<br />
Bombers (paras) activated just barely and I started considering what to do with them. They would not be able to move too much as everyone is on guard on the other side of the barbed wire, so they kept bombing the defenders in the middle.<br />
<br />
They were far less effective this time, scoring no hits with a bomb and 3 hits with pistols (all were saved). That was, luckily, enough to force a motivation test for suppression - which defenders passed.<br />
<br />
Attackers' reserve unit now activated and faced the problem the bombers faced before. If they move forward they will be shot at by the machine gun. I have no rules for smoke yet, which is rather limiting. Having one man in the grenade range (if the board was 4 feet long I could have put barbed wire outside grenading range - hows that for a trick, eh?), they threw that and would fire rifles if they weren't so foolishly placed. They scored 3 hits with grenades, killing both of the remaining defenders.<br />
<br />
Bomber (West German) activated yet again, and went to ground. The thing is, should he fail his activation, he would start running away, so now at least I have him there in hopes of him being useful in this game.<br />
<br />
TURN 5<br />
<br />
Last of the attacker's reserves arrived on the battlefield.<br />
<br />
Defenders won the initiative and their HMG failed the activation, as usual. I could swear this pattern repeats itself in every single game.<br />
<br />
Attacker's LMG activated this time and fired at the HMG with an intention to suppress it. Scoring 2 hits, it failed to produce any casualties, but it did suppress the HMG crew due to weight of fire (as noted earlier).<br /><br />
Now is the time for the attackers to push - or is it? As expected, attackers' bombers (paras) failed to activate, wasting their chance.<br />
<br />
Defender's rifles were a tad more lucky and activated, opening fire on attackers' reserves, killing one.<br />
<br />
Reserve unit then activated and pushed forward, attempting to cross the wire by jumping over it. Being no athletes, both failed miserably and became entangled.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWa1cVd1VyKLmaf8rcU9VHobGJahXv2RasDKUXTAtLhw5GBuOkSfRHjYvGdRdJMuNZkpVQzK-UPCyjBUD_V9JB2je5wPLzvIGIaQyKmynCuLxh9IVeTVhw2GJDAd2-ktahpDObqencuxx/s1600/P9017574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWa1cVd1VyKLmaf8rcU9VHobGJahXv2RasDKUXTAtLhw5GBuOkSfRHjYvGdRdJMuNZkpVQzK-UPCyjBUD_V9JB2je5wPLzvIGIaQyKmynCuLxh9IVeTVhw2GJDAd2-ktahpDObqencuxx/s320/P9017574.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uh-oh.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
THE PROBLEM: The option to jump across wire was suggested by Joe and I have to admit I couldn't wait to try it out. Leaving history aside, I find it very amusing. Now the lads are entangled, so the question is, how easy they are to hit? A default save is 5+ and being hung on a wire like that, they can't be as nimble as an ordinary man on the battlefield. I think removing the save all together is a bit harsh, given how easy it is to hit, but they should suffer a -1 modifier. <br />
Further more, entangled models should count as being suppressed for melee (meaning they can surrender before the fight), given how they can't really do much. Perhaps they should automatically surrender to units within a certain distance, but hat would be another deviation from standard procedures. <br />
<br />
Bomber (West German) activated (this guy really showed some motivation in this game) and attempted to cross the wire by jumping as well - surely a trained assault trooper would fare better? Not really, and now there's 3 scare crows in the middle of the board.<br />
<br />
With all units activated this turn, reserves moved on board taking the usual way towards middle shell hole.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKtbnoPf90s5L_GQoZ_awxbgfObc1fgsZ7xCpaQqqrrGyS5y8TkU5Tz_JzsF1y9VBlheTGagvOIrnd_ZHJiKwbSzHPMftimYqquwUVTXbuUlbQi47PSzwwFPyzGQ-BDXzZGheLGivx4x5/s1600/P9017576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKtbnoPf90s5L_GQoZ_awxbgfObc1fgsZ7xCpaQqqrrGyS5y8TkU5Tz_JzsF1y9VBlheTGagvOIrnd_ZHJiKwbSzHPMftimYqquwUVTXbuUlbQi47PSzwwFPyzGQ-BDXzZGheLGivx4x5/s320/P9017576.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The attack is crumbling!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
TURN 6<br />
<br />
Defenders won the initiative yet again and, you guessed it, HMG failed its activation roll once more.<br />
<br />
Attackers' LMG failed to activate.<br />
<br />
Defenders' rifle unit failed as well and defenders would have to count on reaction fire to keep the attackers at bay.<br />
<br />
To conserve larger units, I decided to start by try to activate two of the units in the wire. Reserve didn't activate and remained stranded, and bomber (West German) both activated and wiggled himself free, eager to push on.<br />
<br />
Moving into grenade range of defender's rifles, I had to decide what to do about him. I didn't wish to waste HMG's reaction on a single man, and defender's rifles could only have one man fire his bolt action, with a bad chance of scoring a hit. So, being true to reality, defenders threw a bomb. They scored one hit which wasn't saved and the bombers unit was now finally completely wiped out.<br />
<br />
No other unit activated, so bombers (paras) couldn't benefit from the spent reaction of the defenders.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpBu0OwRYkIu_jy2iy_AEaoWjdZQuPXV1NKyzU2itqKwlHb7s3VvQMNGEfI4BMEwwj6D71NaJL9akVRb0mF8cgLX9GQz3B6E_VRhVV3Zq7gFqSKHzvXScj_BaKx8L-O3He-8JlbFW9mUJ/s1600/P9017579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpBu0OwRYkIu_jy2iy_AEaoWjdZQuPXV1NKyzU2itqKwlHb7s3VvQMNGEfI4BMEwwj6D71NaJL9akVRb0mF8cgLX9GQz3B6E_VRhVV3Zq7gFqSKHzvXScj_BaKx8L-O3He-8JlbFW9mUJ/s320/P9017579.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Situation at the end of turn 6. The sole attacker that has pushed across has already been removed from play.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
TURN 7<br />
<br />
This turn saw defenders win initiative again, but this time HMG activated, meaning things are about to get ugly.<br />
Recognising bombers (paras) as more dangerous than the LMG, he sprayed them. Scoring 6 hits it failed to remove any miniatures from play (whaaaat?) and failed to suppress the bombers. Awful.<br />
<br />
Defender's rifles failed to activate and went on guard.<br />
<br />
Attackers LMG failed to activate and as reactions can only be made to enemy movement, can't do much as the defender has no reason to move around, being safely positioned behind the wire.<br />
<br />
The rest of the attacker's units all failed to activate.<br />
<br />
TURN 8<br />
<br />
Attackers won the initiative for a change this time, but as LMG failed to activate that helped them little.<br />
<br />
Defender's HMG failed to activate as well, reassured that it can always react to the enemies that will have to move sooner or later.<br />
<br />
Attackers earlier reserves unit, now free of the wire, rushed towards the machine gun, threatening with the assault. The machine gun crew had to react with fire to them, lest they get assaulted with bayonets.<br />
Scoring 6 hits, they erased the riflemen without much hassle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIFC3NeVDesr_ylFRpQilq7iTEtlkQqdbQFB-CkvSCt7TzzPsHoKL2_7GNepoSNUzxsi2UsmTMLRb1hvdDWuY_De3wC8-Jjxw51PWCcgoYdPSe9gLn65cAbYNUpsAR-CHsrnGgU1pjnew/s1600/P9017581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIFC3NeVDesr_ylFRpQilq7iTEtlkQqdbQFB-CkvSCt7TzzPsHoKL2_7GNepoSNUzxsi2UsmTMLRb1hvdDWuY_De3wC8-Jjxw51PWCcgoYdPSe9gLn65cAbYNUpsAR-CHsrnGgU1pjnew/s320/P9017581.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foolish attempt to dislodge the MG crew failed miserably.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Losing half of it's maneuver units and barely breaking across the wire to say hello, attackers need to make their best to end this in their favour.<br />
<br />
I had reserves moving first, attempting to force cross the wire (that should've been cut by now!)<br />
Only one of 4 men made it through and two of the Defenders rifle unit could take reaction shots [at this point I also remembered reaction activates units, to avoid abuse!] and scored that one kill.<br />
<br />
Attacker's bombers (paras) failed to activate and the turn ended.<br />
<br />
TURN 9<br />
<br />
The defenders won the initiative, but HMG failed to activate.<br />
<br />
Attackers reserve unit, stranded on the wire lucked out and activated, both entangled men wiggling themselves free of the wire. They pushed on towards the defender's rifles, as attacking HMG on guard wouldn't end too well for them. They threw their grenades and scored one kill.<br />
<br />
Attacker's LMG failed to activate and could not attempt to suppress the defender's MG. <br />
<br />
Defender's rifles activated and to give me at least a taste of close combat, assaulted Attacker's reserves.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3gSqGUvr1mY-ehJWj65E10d5yrPOEq7EqPyC4twgqqhAItfslO7llOurDBANQyTS3YsXXkvW6AMtL8lbqY22nR6IXLTSvaoHqCmuYvIwpZ-_9fB8ZB1PYzlDcutqGoviYxbR7p6RlPKo/s1600/P9017582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3gSqGUvr1mY-ehJWj65E10d5yrPOEq7EqPyC4twgqqhAItfslO7llOurDBANQyTS3YsXXkvW6AMtL8lbqY22nR6IXLTSvaoHqCmuYvIwpZ-_9fB8ZB1PYzlDcutqGoviYxbR7p6RlPKo/s320/P9017582.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In contrast to earlier test games, this was the only melee fought in this game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If assault actions could trigger reaction fire, attacker's LMG would stop this assault dead in its tracks. While I like that the battlefield is a dangerous place to be, losing units cheaply would ruin the game as everyone would just sit in their shell hole without any incentive to move.<br />
<br />
As the defenders assaulted the attackers in deep trench, the latter never saw it coming and fought with a slight handicap. The melee round ended with 2 of the attackers and 1 of the defenders lost.<br />
<br />
Bombers (paras) failed to activate again, which is slowly becoming very painful. I have little idea how to fix that, as they activate on a roll of 3+ as it is!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkfdBFhH6wFsEKJVKgt-gIh_qTu9M6En3_mcRPnuPrV4mS5aDHHJbglsv883Ui-FSB9ehdomujU538TH3UIFFHgFmKi50FnVj1tTwvn9r1RDevsm5XKWNdA3iWyXLUl57OLTy-ZsgA5hc/s1600/P9017585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkfdBFhH6wFsEKJVKgt-gIh_qTu9M6En3_mcRPnuPrV4mS5aDHHJbglsv883Ui-FSB9ehdomujU538TH3UIFFHgFmKi50FnVj1tTwvn9r1RDevsm5XKWNdA3iWyXLUl57OLTy-ZsgA5hc/s320/P9017585.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">End of turn 9 leaves defender's with only a HMG and half a rifle unit alive.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
TURN 10<br />
<br />
Turn started with resolution of the melee that has been started last turn. In 1 vs 2 fight, everyone scored a hit, leaving one defender alive and victorious.<br />
<br />
Attackers then won the initiative and LMG failed to activate, followed by defender's HMG failing to activate. <br />
<br />
Attacker's bombers (paras) finally activated and set out to end this charade.<br />
<br />
The rest of the turn was pretty uneventful as very little started to happen. <br />
<br />
After in turn 11 three of four units failed their activation tests, I decided to call it a day, as the game became boring. The attackers had 8 men versus defenders' 4, but unless HMG would be kept suppressed, the game would probably eventually come down to HMG and LMG spraying each other.<br />
<br />
POST GAME THOUGHTS:<br />
<br />
Well, this game was different that those before in so many respects. Barbed wire completely shut down the attack. As opposed to last game I played, the attack was now limited to a frontal affair, had the attackers have some bombers working their way from the flank, this game would have played a whole lot differently. <br /><br />In general, I think the simplified shooting rules are a step in the right direction. Saving rolls keep both players busy and the lack of penalties for shooting, while at first glance counter intuitive, helped speed things up quite some. <br /><br />I am not too convinced by the reaction fire and on guard status. Failing the activation limits your choice of action (hide or scan the horizon basically), but I feel weapons like MGs are just too powerful, which could lead to abuse. I think best option is to force a re roll to hits for reaction fire (ie its snap shooting). Another options are halving the ROF and having a yet-another test to see if a unit can react. Former is doable, but re rolling of hits is a much more elegant solution I think.<br /><br />In other news, I've gotten really deep into this whole WW1 project and I have grand plans for it. More about that at a later date, but let me say it will hopefully keep me occupied for another year or two.<br /><br />Thanks for reading (or at least looking at the photos!),<br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-35028070625263963652016-08-23T14:02:00.000+02:002016-08-23T14:03:42.655+02:00Underfire miniatures: 28mm West Germans<br />
Hi guys, <br />
<br />
while it might look different from my posting time frame, the hobby mojo is really high lately.<br />
<br />
I've managed to paint another of Underfire's pack, this time West Germans for the change. <br />
<br />
There are 4 riflemen in a pack, armed with G3 rifles. Equipment wise, they are almost identical to the East Germans, but not that this came as a surprise.<br />
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As with the first East German pack that I painted, it took me quite some time to figure out the paints I want. Consulting photos (there aren't all that many, honestly), I figured it should all be done in a very pale green grey. EVERYTHING. So to gain some contrast, I cheated a bit and painted the equipment slightly khaki.<br />
<br />
Other than that they are rather simple to paint and to save me further trouble, this is what I came up with. Mind, some steps could be avoided.<br />
<br />
1. Uniform was base coated with Feldgrau, followed by Green grey highlights. This was too striking, so I washed it in Feldgrau and for a moment felt impressed with my painting skill.<br />
Note, this step is way unnecessary and a straight go for Green Grey would probably suffice. I found it advised to mix Feldgrau and Green grey in 60/40 mix, but I think that'd still be too dark.<br />
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2. Helmets, plastic rifle parts (stock and grip), gas mask bag and canteen were all painted violet brown. Mind, gas mask could be of another colour, I just could not find any reference.<br />
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3. Pouches, webbing and any other bag were painted in Green Grey mixed with Khaki. Finding what I wanted here was a nightmare as anything that felt right simply became too similar to the uniform. <br />
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4. I washed it all with black, I ALWAYS try something different (see point 1) and I always settle for base coat - black wash - highlights. I find that sufficient for my painting skills (and indeed expectations) and the wash really helps bringing tiny details out. <br />
This sculptor has a very subtle (= realistic) style and a lot of details simply disappear with a bad paint job.<br />
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5. Pretty regular highlighting, so now that I think of it I could simply tell you I used Green grey and shorten this "tutorial" for quite a few lines.<br />
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Lastly, a few comparison photos. The miniatures in this range are rather tall, I am not sure if that's the latest trends or intentional, but I suppose that makes them a better fit for 1/48 kits.<br />
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East German - West German - Empress "Slovene". Technically, they are all around the same height to the eye, with the Germans being bulkier - but not at all grotesque in proportions. This really seems to be a new standard for the miniatures.<br />
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East German - Hasslefree Ken (I think?) - West German. <br />
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<br />
Other than that, the WW1 project is in full swing. The rules are giving me a bit of a headache. I am very satisfied with them, but now I am having trouble cleaning them up. Evidently I can't say things on the short way!<br />
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I've also tried myself at modelling a mountain gun (felt in despair at the wheels stage and yes, I started with the wheels); I'm drawing up a plan for sculpting a whole range - didn't have plans like that since the modern Slovenes project; I'm preparing a campaign for the rules that haven't even been written yet; I am thinking about tackling a WW1 battlefield board AND I am finishing some sculpting projects I started the magical 2 years ago when things were moving with speed.<br />
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After almost a year of a lack of enthusiasm, it's really astonishing what a fresh project can do for the motivation!<br />
<br />
Thanks for looking,<br />
MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-89416226056344711582016-08-05T12:50:00.000+02:002016-08-05T12:50:05.240+02:00WW1 Skirmish Rules: playtest 3Hi guys,<br />
<br />
I have to thank everyone for every little bit of input on the rules. After giving it quite a lot of thought and debating them over with Zabadak, I gave them another try now.<br /><br />
I am now at a stage where I am afraid I am overthinking the rules and I am holding myself way back to try and find the optimal stance between too complicated and too simple. As this is a rather new experience for me (and a quite entertaining one), I searched for any tips and tricks and I found all sorts of "what makes a successful game" kind of "suggestions" that I found absurd to be frank. It is a lot like searching for medical advice online and it's horrible. From several blog posts and pages that took game design as a serious business (offences punished by severe talk down), the only reliable advice I came upon was that game has to be playtested a lot.<br />
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Should you wonder, I do get overwhelmed by all the things I have to do, mostly because there's a huge gap to be bridge between "keep it simple" and "making it realistic". The easiest solution to that, and something I should probably use in everyday life more often is to break the load in smaller pieces. So instead of doing everything at once, I just have to fix the movement, fix the shooting, fix the melee and add stuff that looks cool.<br />
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<b>UNIT SIZE</b><br />
Units have to roll for activation and can be useless given bad rolls. To fix that, I considered breaking squads in halves. In previous games I had up to 10 miniatures per unit, portraying squads, because 'reasons'. Now I broke them in half-squad sizes, so there would be 2-4 (1+D3) miniatures per unit. Most squads were 8 men strong by mid war, so with the added simulation of bombardment effect, half would be anywhere from 2 (barely playable) to 4 (full half-squad).<br />There was an instant fear present, that this might be too small, but as you will see I think it worked just fine.<br /><br />
Having smaller elements means in a game with 20 miniatures per side, you can have 4 and more units, while before you could only have 2-3. More units means more flexibility and a failed activation roll doesn't render 1/3 of your army useless. An unfortunate roll for morale making whole unit surrender doesn't affect you as much, if that's 1 in 6 units. The surrender rules I think are very elegant and I feel they are a nice addition and I would like the players to try and force as many 'surrender' checks as possible on the enemy, which can only be done by suppressing them and assaulting them, so by combining the units with some thought behind it, rather than simply throw some dice hoping to hit something.<br />
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The problem here comes with the support weapons. I love the idea of large HMG teams, where spare men take over the casualties positions. In one of the period manuals, Vickers HMG was described as being "invincible", because only 2 man were needed to man it, and even 1 could do in desperate times. So by cutting teams to 2-4, that lowers their survivablity a lot, but also displays the danger of having a machine gun this close to front line. <br />
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Likewise, this would mean each unit would have 1 bomber (the rest being carriers, spare men), so grenades would not fly all over the place anymore.<br />
Rifle grenades are a bit more problematic as surely they would be firing as batteries, all together. So a mechanism to allow two teams of same type (ie a full squad) in a certain distance of one another was devised. This, I figured later, could also be used to have a separate infantry unit serve to help crew a machine gun whose unit was depleted. This is another thing I found very great (at least on paper), as obviously anything that would keep the machine gun going was a good plan.<br />
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Should a player wish to keep the spirit of the squads, teams made into a single squad could be forced to stay within a distance to one another - but why restrict it? Everything happens in the chaos of battle, so the more flexibility the better. It is not as if a 3-4 feet wide board represents any large area.<br />
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Not to make this post text only, I decided to give small units a try in a game of trench fighting, to see how Actions work. If you remember me being bothered by weapons in last game - I decided I will rework them completely. Instead of making stuff up, I will find a weapon (ie a Rifle) and then build others around it (more or less bullets fired; more or less mobile; more or less accurate; more or less destructive). I plan on making all sorts of weapons profiles, as nothing I hate more than buying and painting a fantastic artillery piece and not being able to use it, because "it would be far away". I've read several memoirs where guns were very close, for better or worse, and even an instance where on the Balkans front, late in 1918 civilians would fire grape shots at Austrians soldiers from Austrian guns during the latter's retreat. So, while manuals are great, anything can happen in the war and should player wish to have a force made of nothing but machine-guns, why not - as long as weapons are balanced there should be a counter to every thing but a diverse fighting force.<br />
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To cut the already long intro a bit shorter - the game:<br />
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The attack is well under way and the attackers are advancing both from the front and the flank.<br />
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Bombers Unit - 2 men - activation 3+; 4+ expertise<br />
Bombers Unit - 4 men<br />
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Riflemen - 4 men - activation and expertise 4+<br />
Riflemen - 3 men<br />
Riflemen - 3 men<br />
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This equals to 16 miniatures, which should be enough as I am playing on 2x3 this time.<br />
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I gave defenders exactly the same number of units:<br />
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Bombers - 4 - same as attackers.<br />
Bombers - 2<br />
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Riflemen - 4 - same as attackers.<br />
Riflemen - 4<br />
Riflemen - 3<br />
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Rolls were slightly better for them, so they have 1 man extra.<br />
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<b>Weapons note</b>: Bombers are equipped with pistols, close combat weapons (daggers, clubs etc) and grenades, where a dedicated thrower (1 miniature per unit) can throw grenades all the time. Once per game, a whole unit can throw a salvo.<br />
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Riflemen are armed with rifles, bayonets and grenades, where grenades can only be thrown once per game. For now, this means once per game, one miniature can throw a grenade once. This sounds a little, but it saves us from book keeping and it keeps grenade salvo unique to bombers.<br />
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<u>Set up:</u><br />
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Ouch! The small table really shows. For defenders, I've put two riflemen units (3 and 4.1) in front trenches. Behind them in a purpose built bomber's pit (I know!) are 2 bombers. In trenches, desperately trying to delay the flanking bombers are riflemen 4 at the end of parallel communication trench and bombers 4 in a reserve trench. First thing I noticed was my parallel trench is WAY too straight and bombers advancing down that trench would need a lot of luck. It's more of a not for future, but when designing terrain it shouldn't be straight in any direction for too long.<br />
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Attackers were positioned off the table (because I decided to use half size table), 4 bombers rushing in from flank down the aforementioned comm trench, 2 bombers will roll up the fire trench from shell holes and 3 riflemen units will push from the front.<br />
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Attackers have first turn, because there's nothing useful defenders can do with no enemies on board.<br />
I am trying to avoid counters, but lest I forget who tried activating, green beads represent units that can still be activated.<br />
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<br />
<u>Turn 1:</u><br />
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Attackers bombers 2 activate and move in a shell hole towards defenders in firing trench. <br />
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[THE PROBLEM: Yup, right at start. Can they assault the defenders right away? I think they could - why wouldn't they? Game started in middle of the battle, so there's no reason to delay. Enemy is within 8" of the table edge. To compromise this, I decided the bombers can't throw grenades before the assault as they were not on board at the point prior to move.<br />
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The defenders do not get reactive fire on the assault move (I justify this by defenders bracing to meet the melee. Option here would be to decide if defenders fire as a reaction (if they were 'On Guard'), but then hit second (after attacker's hits are resolved) or meet the attack and fight as per melee rules. The problem is, assault troops armed with pistols pretty much always hit first anyway. I will look into it, but at this moment, I would prefer it not being an option as whole game portrays one large assault.]<br />
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The bombers rushed into the defenders, who were then repositioned to fight (get as many as possible in base-to-base contact).<br />
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[THE PROBLEM: I decided only miniatures in btb contact can fight - trenches are narrow, so this means a unit with more troops would still only be able to use only a few. As defenders left enough space in between them, I've put bombers in those spaces, to make a sandwich: bomber-defender-bomber-defender-defender. Last defender can not hit anyone. I am not sure about moving pass miniatures, but it makes sense that an engaged miniature can be moved forward to engage with someone unengaged.]<br />
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Bombers have an option of using pistols (no bonus to hit, but resolved before the rest), to try and avoid being hit by defenders. Their other option are daggers, giving them +1 to hit, but would be thrown simultaneously with the enemy. Pistols can only be used for the first round of combat.<br />
Defender's only option is bayonet, giving no bonuses, but having no drawbacks either.<br />
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Bombers missed both their hits, while defenders got a hit. Melee will continue next turn.<br />
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Larger attacking bomber unit activated next. Risking enfilade fire from defenders down the trench, they rushed towards defending bombers and assaulted. Again, no pre-assault grenading was allowed to make up for the instant rush. Again, because they're fighting in trenches, a melee of two units came down to being a duel where both sides suffered a casualty!<br />
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[Both have an option of pistols and clubs, which is something I can not playtest myself. As long as both use pistols or both use daggers and clubs - there is no difference. They both either hit on +3 or +4. The problem is, one of the sides can opt to use clubs (easier hitting), but has to hope the side using pistols does not score a hit. <br />
Ie. If attackers fire with pistols and hit the only defender in contact, he won't get to hit. This is a great chance for players to decide, but I will simply use pistols as solo gaming can not solve this.]<br />
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One of the attacking units didn't activate, so initiative passed to defender. <br />
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I was not sure whom to try and activate here, rifles far back could try to rush in melee against larger attacking bombers, but that can also wait. So I decided to try and activate rifles in the fire trench.<br />
They passed and went 'On guard' - orange bead.<br />
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Defender's 2 bombers did the same, while larger unit in the supervision trench ran towards attackers engaged in a melee against defender's bombers.<br />
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Only troops left to activate were two of the attacker's rifles. 4 man unit activated and moved towards the barbed wire.<br />
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[THE PROBLEM: The wire being really close, the attackers could choose among these actons:<br />
- Walk (and fire or throw grenades)<br />
- Run (harder to hit, no other bonus)<br />
-Take Cover (3" move for extra concealment and cover). In this instance this move represent rolling in/out of a trench hole and so it has to be renamed (Joe's idea and I love it). "Take Cover" indicated miniature could not advance).<br />
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If they'd 'Walk', they would suffer reaction fire by two defending units and whoever survives would be able to toss a grenade or fire against well entrenched enemies. Run is pointless and 'Take cover' would mean they up their survivability chances quite some.]<br />
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I decided to have them 'Take cover' (I've renamed the action to "crawl" after the game) towards the wire. This means they enjoy +1 concealment and 6+ cover. On top of that, they get another +1 concealment and cover from wire. Concealment is always cumulative and cover only adds up because they try really hard not to get hit with this kind of move.<br />
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[THE PROBLEM: This looks like an action that could be abused, moving 3" infront of enemy for an abundance of cover. After the game, I made a "Take Cover" action with 0" move, extra concealment and cumulative cover (as it is now). And another action (currently named "crawl") that would enable a 3" move, have extra concealment and cover, but where cover would not add up (so a player would choose this 6+ or whatever terrain would grant him if it's better)]<br />
<br />
Defending rifles in a fire trench ahead can now react to this crawl move with one of these:<br />
Fire 4D6 of rifles at basic 4+, and additional +1 for wire and +1 for crawling, so a roll of 6 would hit. Or they can throw one grenade (3D6) which ignores concealment (as blast radius negates the need for a really careful aim). <br />
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[THE PROBLEM: Grenades will be played as they are written atm, but I have to consider if they would not only negate some part of concealment (-1 or -2 as opposed to all of it) and if they would negate any cover (my guess is no, so larger calibers, like trench guns can be useful). Also, I need to consider if grenades would give extra "hits" towards suppression (1 grenade hit could count for 2 hits suppression wise, so hitting with all 3 grenades would suppress an enemy). Grenading will demand a game of its own for testing.]<br />
<br />Riflemen's grenade did absolutely nothing, because dice rolled were 1, 1, 2. So much for the overpowered grenades!<br />
Defender's bombers in a bomber pit are too far to react to this group, but will react to middle group, if it activates. <br />
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Same story here, attackers crawled to the wire and bombers throw their grenades, hitting twice (4,4,1). The wire and crawling grants attackers a 5+ save (none basic -> 6+ crawl -> 5+ wire, so cumulative covers seem to be okay. They failed both. [Mind, this would now be changed, so there would only be a 6+ save from either crawling or the wire].<br />
<br />
Everyone had their chance at activating and everyone but one attacking rifles did so. First turn left 4 attackers and one defender dead. Not the best of the starts for the attacker!<br />
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<u>TURN 2:</u><br />
<br />
At start of turn 2, there were 2 unresolved melees to fight.<br />
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I first resolved melee in fire trench. There, both sides activated. Gap, opened by a dead attacker was closed (2" move for miniatures not in btb). As pistols can only be used in first turn of combat, bomber enjoys +1 to hit on his truncheon (hitting +3), while defender needs a roll of 4+. Both are thrown simultaneously and bomber scored a hit.<br />
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The melee is not over, but there's a large gap between the fighting sides, so I think gaps should be closed at end of previous turn instead of at start of this one. If this is not done and another unit jumps in that gap, unit that was in fight all of the sudden loses contact. (After the game, I decided gaps should be close right after the casualties are removed, so the units keep contact).<br />
<br />
[THE PROBLEM: Resolving melee does not count as activation, so if it would have been concluded, surviving unit could give activation a try. As it was not resolved, I suppose this means they both activated now, as they are still brawling.]<br />
<br />
In the other unresolved melee, both teams activated as well, gaps were closed and each team rolled a single die, looking for a +3, owed to their daggers. In this case, the defender was the only one that hit and now both units are activated.<br />
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<br />
The initiative was rolled to see how the rest of the turn would play out and attackers have won it.<br />
<br />
I tried to activate sole survivor of middle rifles unit, so he could at least throw grenades before he dies. He activated, scored one hit, but failed to kill any of the defenders, well protected by their trenches.<br />
<br />
The other attacker's rifle team, standing by the wire failed to activate and was put on guard.<br />
<br />
[THE PROBLEM: The problem here is, what happens with extra cover, the unit did not move, but I want to keep away from book keeping, so now only the terrain will count. It also opens another option: Should a unit that fails activation be given a choice to be on guard (scan the horizon to fire at enemy) or take cover (gain extra concealment and cover). Units caught inactivated in the open would surely prefer extra cover than a lousy try at hitting well entrenched enemy.<br />
After the game I introduced a "take cover" action as discussed above, while "crawl" action is the same, but has 3" movement and non-cumulative cover.]<br />
<br />
Defender's rifles in fire trench were put on Guard as they failed their activation.<br />
<br />
Attacker's unit that still didnt move on the board activated. I was not sure what to do with them. There's an opening, so I wanted to assault and had to consider how to tackle difficult terrain. I decided it would take 1" of movement every time they crossed a difficult terrain. As they start in a shell hole, that is -1" for climbing out of it. Possibly -1 for jumping in trench, but I think not - climbing OUT is the problem, not jumping in. So, as they were 7" from the enemy, they could assault. <br />
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One made it in trench, 2 are on the lip. Given these are miniatures on bases, I think its fair that those on the edge of trench count as in b-t-b for purpose of melee. <br />
<br />
This means that attackers get 3 dice and defenders only one. If attackers would attack head on (assuming there was no wire), each side would get at least 3 dice (both units would be parallel). To simplify, the melee counts as being fought in the trench, so there is no pros or cons for any of the sides in this regard.<br />
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They both use bayonets, attackers scoring 2 hits and defenders none. As defenders now engaged in melee, they are not considered to be on guard anymore.<br />
<br />
Defender's 2 bombers fail to activate and are put on guard. Defenders rifles in supervision trench activate and assault into melee between two bombers units.<br />
<br />
[THE PROBLEM: Defender's rifles just assaulted across 2 corners, as did bombers before. This sounds pretty bad, as assault move is long and table is quickly covered.<br />
It would be worth wondering why isn't assault same as running action (6"), justified that second part of action is done by fighting (and in walk action, by firing). This is another of Joe's suggestions that I might quite like and I changed it after this game. <br />
Another thing that I did was introduce a LOS as a necessity to the assault. This means attacker's can't just run around trenches, but have to move carefully around the corners, which slows game on small tables down a bit, making it more playable. This opens another set of problems, like assaulting into deep trenches from above ground (which is bad for those in trenches), but that can be fixed by proper wording.]<br />
<br />
Anyway, I decided to let them assault into an engaged melee, which is something I have not yet tackled. I have not prepared anything for this instances, so this is what I did:<br />
<br />
As assaulted unit is already fighting, it does not expect to be hit by another unit, so it counts as "suppressed" - it has to throw an activation (=morale) die right away to see if overwhelming melee forces them to surrender.<br />
The assaulted bombers passed, so another round of melee is fought. Bombers can't use pistols, but they have +1 to hit on their close combat weapons, which isn't enough and defenders rifles score the only hit.<br />
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[After the game, the rules were written a lot like played in this game, as it seems to be quite logical]<br /><br />
All units have now activated and the turn ended.<br />
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<br />
<u>TURN 3:</u><br />
<br />
Again, the melees were resolved before the turn started. <br />
<br />
I went through multiple unit combat first, as it was the most complicated.<br />
<br />[THE PROBLEM: <br />
This is what usually happens:<br />
Units throw for morale, if both activate they fight; if none does, you reroll until one does. The one that fails to activate surrenders. <br />
<br />
But now I have one unit fighting two (not to mention the one unit only has one survivor left!). The attacker has 1 unit that activates on 3+, the defender has two, activating on 3+ and 4+. I was thinking about having the defender roll 1 die for both of his units (but which one then, and why so?) and add +1 to the roll for any unit he has more than the attacking player. <br />
Second option, each unit rolls its own (3 for bombers, 4 for rifles) but unless both fail, they do not surrender. This sounds good and viable and I've put it in the rules.<br />The problem is now, the one that fails - does it still fight (even if it failed) or it simply stands there, but it does not surrender, because friendly unit continues the fight.<br />At the moment, I believe it can not just stand there watching, so as long as one passes, both fight. While this is an 'Activation' role, it's actually a role for morale.]<br />
<br />
So, I rolled for activation and defenders both passed, while attacker didn't and thus surrendered. I really need to sit down through this however, but I think the general idea is good, as to avoid any unnecessary complication.<br />
<br />
As melee was not fought, both defender's unit can give it a try at activation this turn.<br />
<br />
Second melee I resolved was between attacker's bombers (started as 2 man) and defending rifles. Both units activated and only the bomber scored the hit.<br />
<br />
Lastly, the fight between two rifle units ended with a casualty on each side.<br />
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The initiative was then rolled for and attackers won.<br />
<br />
[THE PROBLEM: Similar to an earlier case - does being "On Guard" move to the next turn? That is worth thinking about, it and "take cover" actions (that can also be a result of failed activation) should persist until next try at activation - or until 'on guard' is activated by reacting fire. This sounds viable, so a unit that failed to activate on turn 1 can enjoy the bonus defence from 'take cover' until it tries to activate on turn 2 and can be tactically left to be activated last.]<br />
<br />
Larger attacker's rifles unit cut some passages in the wire, that were then taken advantage of by the smaller (sole survivor) rifleman.<br />
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Defender's bombers in the bomb pit failed to activate and were put on guard - after the attacker has already moved, which shows why initiative is very important.<br />
<br />
On the north, defender's bombers activated and sprinted towards the front line and rifles failed to activate. Turn ended.<br />
<br />
At this point, I decided to stop playing as I ran out of time and I pretty much got the idea of how game could work with smaller miniatures and found some more grey areas.<br />
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In 3 turns, Defenders managed to get one prisoner and 7 kills (50% of Attacker's starting force), while attackers managed to kill 5 of the defenders, less than a third.<br />
<u><br />POST GAME THOUGHTS:</u><br />
<br />
There is not much to say, I think the smaller units are the way to go. Trenches are really narrow and should be numerous, so having more smaller units is better than one long snake. If we assume miniatures in melee would never fail their activations, a fight between 2 equally strong 4 man units could last up to 4 turns, while 8 man units would be fighting for 8 turns.<br />
<br />
Even now melee is almost tediously slow if both units activate, so I might wish to enable fighters to hit anything in 1" (so first two in line), to speed it up a bit. But I am not sure if I want melee to be fast, as the longer it takes, more chance there is for other troops to do their objectives or come to aid. Another option would be the melee is fought over and over again in a single action until someone wins, but that would leave players with not chance to tip odds in their favour by having another unit join the fight.<br />
<br />
I am really trying hard not to have the game too complicated, with as little to consider as possible, but making it too simple would essentially water it down to a generic set, while I want it to portray the WW1 trench fighting.<br />
<br />
One other thing I find bad is my table - I made way too many deep trenches that should not be as numerous and I might find myself planning a game that is far more confined that an ordinary game would be. I will try playing on the other half of the board next time, that's mostly covered in shell holes to see how it would fare if everyone could see everyone else.<br />
<br />
Thanks for looking,<br />
MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-32944294663292876302016-07-26T15:27:00.002+02:002016-07-26T15:30:18.632+02:00Underfire Miniatures: 28mm East Germans team 5Hi guys,<br />
<br />
To begin with, I noticed my blog has now reached over 100,000 hits, so thank you for that. While blog is more a way to fill my must-type quota, I always try to post what someone else might find useful. I really like seeing how other people tackle their hobby, so I have to say I am quite surprised to learn how many people dislike posting WIP posts. <br />
<br />
Anyhow, I have yet another team of East Germans from the Underfire miniatures. This is a duplicate set, so I was reluctant to simply paint it. For any new readers, I have grown very reluctant to painting miniatures as they come in the past years. Not that they're done badly (or that I could honestly improve them), it's more that the conversions are the part of hobby I enjoy the most. <br />
<br />
So, the problem with East Germans is that they are rather unique as it is - except for their weapons. I can not tell you how annoyed I am at being able to play 70 years of conflicts with one constant - bloody soviet weapons. That is, of course, not the problem or miniature makers. <br />
<br />
That being said, I still wanted to do *something*, so I started researching East German special forces and I found a fitting unit, whose gear differs from the ordinary rifles: Fallschrimjaegers of NVA. <br />
<br />
They was only one paratroopers unit in the NVA and you can enjoy their superior skills on the video below:<br />
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Basically, what I did was quite simple. Firstly, I dropped my expectations way low. I've decided to give them paratroopers helmet, AKs with some kind of folding stock (not being too picky!), sort-of sculpt their signature vest and keep any gear that would not go off easily.<br />
<br />
Firstly, I chopped the helmets. Ruthlessly. Really, without any mercy. <br />
<br />
Then I chopped them some more. And more. And filled them. And then I sanded them as well. <br />
<br />
At some point, very early while doing so, I was left wondering why am I destroying these nice miniatures, but well, alea iacta est, so I carried on. I also made a decision that as opposed to my original plan of having several teams (at least 2!), these 4 will have to do.<br />
<br />
Next were the blanket rolls. Gone. Then entrenching tools handles - all gone. Any large remains of any straps that would go across the body (i.e. NBC suit bag) - gone.<br />
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<br />
Rifle butts were carved into something resembling a wire frame.<br />
<br />
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As you can see, I kept the large haversacks (where gasmask would be stored) - surely being a paratrooper does not give you any sort of protection from chemical attacks. I decided to cut away the straps, thinking it could be attached to the vest "somehow". That was a mistake, but nobody really notices.<br />
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Below you can see how I destroyed fantastic mesh on the helmets (that I would actually need on mine, but there was honestly no other way). Also notice the rifle butt being very simply carved.<br />
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After a few days of relaxation, I started slightly resculpting the helmets' shape with milliput. In the end, I opted for clean finish and did not try to reproduce the mesh in any way.<br />
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Furthermore, deciding I have enough of the pointing-there miniatures, I resculpted the hand of the team-leader (third from left, with binoculars).<br />
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The painting was pretty uneventful, I am not quite satisfied with the pattern. I mean, the idea is great, but I would much prefer smaller strips with less mistakes. I tried really hard to subtly indicate the vest around the shoulders, but I can't say I succeeded with every man.<br />
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One thing I did notice while painting the miniatures was all the extra details (like flag!) on their shoulders that I sadly ignored on the first batches, and didn't really think to fix with this one!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEftwOolWTOPZsBDTz7Ya1Eja8ruvWBf6evcUxTZl_UG5Gd6KM3HK41LQSD8gTS7TmLaWCzXv8tvjbdam4dqus4J84Atg3MYOMjvJZVJvbARfT-XRALWlRnsZsu_1iNPsd61VvPJJDguWe/s1600/P7267347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEftwOolWTOPZsBDTz7Ya1Eja8ruvWBf6evcUxTZl_UG5Gd6KM3HK41LQSD8gTS7TmLaWCzXv8tvjbdam4dqus4J84Atg3MYOMjvJZVJvbARfT-XRALWlRnsZsu_1iNPsd61VvPJJDguWe/s320/P7267347.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Talking of the pointy-man, here is a side-by-side comparison of the original miniature and the paratrooper conversion. I have to say I was really glad how it turned out, it's barely noticeable that it is the same miniature!<br />
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And the back shot. The miniatures look very different, but paratrooper only lacks the bedroll and entrenching tool handle! Okay, and the helmet is different. But that's it!<br />
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<br />
Looking at them all done, it makes me want to do another four (a RPG would be useful!), but I hope my sanity prevails! <br />
<br />
As usual, thanks for looking!<br />
Mathyoo<br /><br /><b>PS</b> I really, REALLY wanted to paint their faces with camouflage black stripes, but I couldn't see how this could be done without messing the faces completely.Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-53160450196842198752016-07-16T12:15:00.003+02:002016-07-16T12:15:33.164+02:00WW1 Skirmish Rules: Playtest 2Hi guys,<br />
<br />
I'm really fired up about this project (could be the speed with which I set up my board he he), so there's little reason not to play another test game! It was actually played a few days ago, right after I've implemented changes from the last game.<br />
<br />
This time, I decided to make things a bit different, a combined arms assault force is to raid the enemy trenches, destroy the defender's machine gun and then make a hasty retreat!<br />
<br />
The size of forces was rolled with same idea (D6+4 for infantry, D3+2 for support weapons) and I decided to include some new weapons to see how they would fare.<br />
<br />
<u>Attackers:</u><br />
Assault squad - 8 bombers (SAF)<br />
Assault squad - 8 bombers (SAF)<br />
<br />
*They can not use rifles, but are armed with pistols and truncheons/knives. Last game I played it wrongly, these are the only troops that can throw grenades before the assault!<br />
<br />
LMG Squad - 5 crew (East German)<br />
Rifle Grenade Squad - 4 crew (East German)<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> LMG I have to work on. Instead of being an "automatic rifle", it is same as HMG, except it has 3/4 ROF and does not have minimum range. That is not good and when writing the rules I imagined it more as of another rifleman. That would either mean I need to greatly cut its power, or put them in their own teams, where - again - only the LMG could fire, while the rest of the team is there to feed the machine gun. That might look like an awful lot of spare figures for "no" gain, but I kind of like where this is going.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> Same goes for Rifle grenades, how many per squad? Largest squad size for them would be 6 (using support weapons roll), so maybe limit them to every second person. But that's a lot of book keeping all of the sudden. I played it this time that only 2 can have them, the rest are spare men.<br />In general, I think I started the game too simple - with most of teams having same weapons. This should change (in modern fire teams, for example, each miniature has its own kind of weapon!), so even asassault teams would perhaps only have 2 bombers, as opposed to everyone throwing all the time etc.<br />
<br />
<u>Defenders:</u><br />
<br />
HMG Squad (also objective) - 5 crew (Rebels)<br />
Infantry Squad - 5 rifles<br />
Infantry Squad - 10 rifles<br />
Infantry Squad - 7 rifles<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
SET UP:<br />
<br />
Defender's HMG Squad starts in its emplacement, 10 rifles are reserve, 7 and 5 in dug-outs.<br />
<br />
Attackers I deployed up to 12" from their table edge. Rifle grenades are pretty much in place, while LMG squad will move up shell holes to support the advance of the bombers.<br />
<br />
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GAME:<br />
<br />
<u>Turn 1:</u><br />
<br />
Attackers won the initiative.<br />
<br />
Att Bombers1 (in sap) activate and sprint down the sap.<br />
Att Bomber2 (with rifle-grenades) activate and sprint towards defender's D outpost.<br />
<br />
Def MG reacted on their movement with fire. From last game, I decided all the fire is done against the end position of the unit that moved. MG can only fire at the bombers that didn't make it to the sap and took cover in a shell hole. They scored 2 hits, but didn't kill anyone.<br />
<br />
Att Rifle Grenades fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Def MG fails to activate.<br />
Def 7 rifles activate and sprint out of dug-out to offer the MG some protection.<br />
<br />
Att Rifle Grenades react and fire their rifles at Def 7, killing one.<br />
<br />
Def 5 rifles activate and run towards fire trenches.<br />
<br />
Att LMG team fails to activate.<br />
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<u><br />Turn 2:</u><br />
Defender's reserves aren't coming yet.<br />
<br />
Defenders win the initiative (with a roll of 2!)<br />
<br />
Def MG activates and opens fire on bombers, killing one.<br />
Def 7 rifles activate and open fire on the same bombers, with little effect.<br />
Def 5 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Att Rifle Grenades activate and open fire at the machine-gun. So, that means 2 grenades (3 dice each), that ignore concealment (blast radious), but not cover (trenches are dug too well for grenades to have impact on cover, but larger field artillery would be destroying cover). They scored 3 hits, killing the gunner (but a spare man gets removed, as he would simply take gunner's place).<br />
<br />
Att LMG fails to activate.<br />
Att Bombers2 activate and push forward down the trench. As they moved down a very deep communication trench, their grenading was not accurate (I decided throwing grenade out of LOS is at -2 penalty).<br />
Att Bombers1 activate and push out of the sap towards enemy trench, while bombing the enemy. Here, I wasn't sure how to establish LOS, Bombers are on ground, but defenders are deep in trenches. As Bombers aren't just next to trench, I played it as if they can't see anyone (I think that's fair and very simple, too). They threw bucket load of grenades, managed to get one hit but didn't kill anyone (because of -2 to hit when blindly throwing grenades!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT2oWM5xbeaBwdkos1fByBDliVQMcxahux_zEQlQ4CrIDWKuVkTb_w2_MxWGk7NwY69kao4agjj6ex05_FPEf7_MIEQcxSqWsBwaNHyqLu2twWoQ51i6VuiKck8Yye-g_ye8zHIA7FKHl/s1600/P7117255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLT2oWM5xbeaBwdkos1fByBDliVQMcxahux_zEQlQ4CrIDWKuVkTb_w2_MxWGk7NwY69kao4agjj6ex05_FPEf7_MIEQcxSqWsBwaNHyqLu2twWoQ51i6VuiKck8Yye-g_ye8zHIA7FKHl/s320/P7117255.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bombers1 rushing the trench</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> I think I really need some sort of penalty for climbing out of 2+ meters deep trenches. The simplest way I can think of is a restriction to "Walk" (so can't run out of trench), but I would not restrict firing, as to keep things very simple. Defenders sprinted out of their deep dug outs into the land, but I won't be doing that anymore I think.<br />
<br />
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<u>Turn 3:</u><br />
Defender's reserves are still nowhere to be found.<br />
<br />
Defenders win initiative (again with a roll of 2!)<br />
<br />
Def MG activates and unleashes fury at Bombers2, scoring 5 hits and suppressing them. Guys had no chance in the shallow hole and lost 4 of their men.<br />
Def 5 rifles failed to activate, which is really unfortunate, seeing they could destroy the Bombers.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> MG fired across the barbed wire (granting +1
concealment) and into shell hole (granting +1 concealment). Should this
be cumulative? I am not sure on this one. It could quickly get out of
hand, but it could also help in crossing the no-mans-land. I did not
add it this time, but will probably do so next time.<br />
<br />
Att Rifle Grenades activated, fired at the MG but again done little because of the safety the MG emplacement provides.<br />
Att LMG Squad activates, moves into position and the crew fires its rifles at Def 7 rifles, killing one.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> The LMG in this instance is a support weapon, so
can't fire on the go. That's really unfortunate, but given its
firepower, probably quite fair. I will sit down and think about having 2
separate classes for MG08/15 and Lewis guns and alike. They are very,
very different, but I also enjoy the simplicity of having them all
treated the same. <br />
Another reason for two classes is that this would then give at least a slight flavour to fielding different nations.<br />
<br />
Att Bombers2 activate, but can not charge the MG, because there's an intact wire infront of the emplacement (What a great idea it was, putting that there!), so they move down the trench, still throwing grenades in general direction of the MG crew.<br />
That is 7 grenades (21 dice, there's a lot of dice in my game!), that managed to score 4 hits, but failed to kill anyone!<br />
Att Bombers1 were activated when they were suppressed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bombers2 advance towards the machine gun</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<u>Turn 4:</u><br />
<br />
At this point, I remembered I have a rule that failed activation within 6" of an Enemy makes unit Surrender. This is now changed to 6" AND in LOS, because trenches are very close to each other and it would be sad to lose a whole unit of bombers to MG crew just because they'd fail to activate!<br />
<br />
Still no reserves for the defending side.<br />
<br />
After two ties, Defending team wins the initiative again!<br />
<br />
<br />
Def MG fails to activate.<br />
<br />
<br />
Att Bombers2 activate, but to try out their fancy CCB equipment, they assault the MG without prior bombing.<br />
<b></b><br /><b>THE PROBLEM</b>: The assault was a bit of a moot-point, some parts of Bombers assaulted
the crew from out of LOS (thus putting them at a distinct advantage),
but some did not, so I ignored that. I believe the bonus should only count when whole units are jumped like that, even if one man stands in the open, he could warn the rest of the incoming assault.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM: </b>MG failed to activate and was so on guard. This means, it would be able to fire its pistol (gunner) and rifles (the rest) as a reaction to the movement. I threw the dice and it would wipe out three bombers. I don't think that is quite fair, and two things can be done: Reaction only counts for movement (not assaults) or - preferred reaction - the fire is done at -2 because of the surprise and urgency of the Assault. This is how I played it.<br />
<br />
The reaction fire of MG crew failed to achieve anything (but keep in mind any hit would result in a dead man now!) and the close combat began. <br />
Small fire arms (pistols, revolvers, but also shotguns and SMGs) give no bonus to hit in melee, but they roll to hit first (opposed to simultaneously as knives, bayonets etc). The drawback is, they only do that on first round (this is justified with brawlers being too entangled for fire arms to give any distinct advantage afterwards). This wiped out MG crew, destroying it.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> Melee was very successful for bombers, but would leave them in the open, where they attacked from the ground down. This is unjustified, so after melee is done, winners will be given 1" of free move to consolidate their position - jump in the trench or cover.<br />
<br />
Att Bombers1 activated and decided to assault Def 5 rifles. (that's an unnecessary move, as MG was destroyed, but hey - can test melee again!). Their grenade salvo was uneffective, but the scored 2 hits with their pistols. This left only one defender to fight back (because the rest are not in contact!), who scored a hit.<br />
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<b><br />THE PROBLEM:</b> Melee will need much, much more testing to decide when do fighters move in contact, who all can hit (just those in base-to base?) and so on. I will probably be doing that next, without playing a game.<br />
<br />
Att LMG crew opens fire at Def 7 rifles, but does nothing.<br />
Att Rifle Grenades do the same, scoring a kill.<br />
<br />
Def 7 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
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<u>Turn 5:</u><br />
<br />
Melee that was not resolved before is fought again as both sides activated. This time, bombers are using their knives and truncheons, giving them some advantage over bayonet armed defenders. Bombers scored one hit, while the defenders were unable to hit anyone.<br />
<br />
<br />
Defender's reserves arrive (counts as activation, too) and move to the
back-line fire trench. They opened fire at Att LMG, killing one of the
crewmen!<br />
<br />
Attackers won the initiative.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> Reserves arrived and could open fire before attackers could react, even if they won the initiative. This should perhaps be changed so that reserves are rolled for as an activation. But that, I am afraid, would lead to forgetting about reserves, plus when battle is raging the arriving reinforcements surely enjoy some degree of surprise.<br />
<br />
Att Bombers2 activate and instead of retreating (as per scenario idea), they go assault some more (for the sake of testing, of course!). They must have been really tired, as they scored no hits with their pistols! The defenders were better at this game and scored two hits on the attackers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bombers apparently fired their pistols with their eyes closed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Att LMG failed to activate.<br />
Att Rifle Grenades did activate, also scored 3 hits but failed to kill any of Def 10 rifles!<br />
<br />
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<u>Turn 6:</u><br />
<br />
The fight between Def 5 rifles and Bombers1 continued as both units activated again. Also, Defenders were again better in the fight (there must be some martial arts in these units!), killing 2 and losing 1 of their own.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A never ending street fight in the front line trench!</td></tr>
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Fight between Bombers2 and Def7 was less eventful, as the former failed to activate and gave up!<br />
<br />
Defenders then won the initiative again and victorious Def 7 rifles activated, just to fail to do any damage to the att LMG.<br />
Def 10 rifles failed to activate.<br />
<br />
Att Rifle grenades activated again, killing one in Def 7's team, but Att LMG failed to activate again.<br />
<br />
<br />
At this point I quit playing, but I gave the melee between sole survivors of Bombers1 and Def5 another try. They both activated again, but neither scored a hit!<br />
<br />
It did show that 'elite' Assault troops are still just men and can be beaten, which I am very satisfied with, so there are no super heroes here.<br />
<br />
<b>POST GAME CONSIDERATIONS:</b><br />
<br />
This really took a turn for the worst as far as the attackers go! There were less problems than in the first game, so the progress is visible, but there is a lot to be done with the weapons and scenarios. In this particular scenario idea, the attackers ought to retreat as soon as their mission was done and defenders would have to somehow score points for prisoners taken and damage inflicted, to lessen the extent of victory of the attackers.<br /><br />The main change that I see necessary is to slightly limit the dice used - I don't mind using buckets and I don't know why people do. I am awful with numbers and probabilities, so I do it all by the "feels", and I get a strange feeling of satisfaction when 20+ dice "burst" around the defenders for no effect! <br /><br />The need for some sorts of unit organisation is apparent, so in bombers' group only two would throw at a time, except before the assault where everyone should be able to throw a salvo (it's what the Germans did and I'd expect everyone else as well).<br /><br />While I'm glad the trenches offer extraordinary protection, it should be easier to suppress the enemy, I do not see this happening nearly often enough. I suppose explosives (grenades included) should count double (1 hit = 2 hits for suppression), which would also make rifle grenades actually useful. The strength of MG is clearly lower once the attackers are working down the trench, which is exactly what I'd want of it.<br /><br />I will write up very generic teams (bombers, crew served weapons, ordinary rifles etc) that could be used for all the nations, and I would be looking up for differences at some later time, for now it really does not matter.<br /><br />As usual, thanks for reading!<br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-90991442480704559782016-07-10T11:47:00.002+02:002016-07-10T11:47:27.148+02:00WW1 Skirmish rules: Playtest 1Hi guys,<br />
<br />
For a while now, I was thinking about yet another project (that is correct!) - World War I. I will not bore you with my life story, suffice to say the trenches are - for reasons unknown - my "thing". <br /><br />At least 2 years or so ago, I started thinking about writing the rules of my own. That was mostly to give me something to do, but also the reports I've read for other games (and I even looked at the Warhammer Historical's rules, that are way too Warhammery - can't remember the name though) did not seem to offer what I wanted of them. All these rules seems to assume WW1 is interesting in its early stage or late stage.<br />
On contrary, I find the most amusement in the time in between. While the frontlines changed little, there were constant battles and activities all along the front-lines.<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slovene stormtroopers. The sign reads "Assault company - Slovene boys - To live or to die"</td></tr>
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I want the game to be really period-representative, for machine-guns to be feared and for battles to be won by the bayonet charge.<br />So in the essence, the game would be melee-oriented. I had some ideas with dungeon crawl type, but in the end settled for a modification of FUBAR rules. I really like their system of activations and initiative. I stripped the system of everything Sci-fi, greatly changed the weapons and added few things I considered necessary. This is the first time I actually gave game a try and had absolutely no idea of what to expect, so there is a lot of text as I made notes. So in the end, the post is more for me than for you, unfortunately, but I would love to hear any ideas on how to tackle some of the numerous problems that I've encountered.<br />
<br />
So - what really drags me into WW1, among other things, is the terrain. It is very specific, which means a lot of work, but with that, also a unique game play. I decided to simply draw my board for the playtesting, its fast (meaning it will get done), cheap and offers a bit better insight. I would love to build a proper 3D board at one point, however.<br /><br />That is a 4x3 board (two 2x3), left half has a by-the-book system of trenches, with some dug outs; MG emplacement; bombers pit; listening post extends to the right half of the board (D shaped bastion). Right side is less elaborate and has some communication trenches leading into consolidated shell holes and there's a sap down below. <br />
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I've added some barbed wire and simply wrote what kind of cover and concelment any of the parts offer. There are deep trenches, fire trenches, underground dugouts, various shell holes etc.<br />
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For my first game, I opted to give each side four infantry squads (randomised strength D6+4, I like the unpredictability of rolls) and one Machine-gun squad (randomised D3+3). Infantry are all armed with rifles and grenades to prevent me going too deep on my first game (I should probably limit myself to 2 squads as it is!)<br />
They are all of equal level, that is they are all line infantry, the usual peeps, not the old reserve soldiers and not young elite assault troops.<br />
<br />
<br />
Defenders:<br />
Infantry squad 1, 9 rifles (East German miniatures)<br />
Infantry squad 2, 5 rifles (East German miniatures)<br />
Infantry squad 3, 8 rifles (SAF miniatures)<br />
Machine-gun squad, 4 members (SAF miniatures)<br />
<br />
Attackers:<br />
Infantry squad 1, 7 rifles (Rebels miniatures)<br />
Infantry squad 2, 5 rifles (Rebels)<br />
Infantry squad 3, 10 rifles (Rebels)<br />
Machine-gun squad, 5 members (Rebels)<br />
<br />
<u>Set up:</u><br />
<br />
Defenders were put in their dug-outs, where they'd go to survive the preliminary bombardment. As I only have three, I've sheltered larger two infantry squads (9 and 8 rifles) and an MG squad.<br />
The smallest squad (5 rifles) was put in a shell-hole trench, as if it was caught outside by the bombardment.<br />
<br />
Attackers I had more problems with, as their side is not done too well, it needs more shellholes. I've put largest unit (10 rifles) in a communication trench with an intention to rush them down the sap.<br />
Next larger squad (7 rifles) was put in a fire trench section. 5 man squad was put way upfront in shell holes (damaged by defender's artillery perhaps?), while the MG squad established itself in the shell holes, connected by trenches.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Defenders on the left, attackers on the right. Never mind the 3 defenders, there were 5 before game started.</td></tr>
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<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> The first problem I encountered was the deployment. How far in or out can units be deployed? Why not put defenders in fire trenches etc etc. But this can be solved by scenarios. There's no reason not to play a quick game where attackers in fact start their first turn in enemy trenches already!<br />
<br />
GAME:<br />
<br />
<u>Turn 1:</u><br />
<br />
First turn, defenders won the initiative (game is based on FUBAR).<br />
<br />
Defender's MG Squad fails to activate.<br />
<br />
Attacker's 10 rifles activate and run down the sap.<br />
Attacker's MG fails to activate.<br />
<br />
Defender's 9 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Attacker's 5 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Defender's 7 rifles activate and run towards fire trenches.<br />
Defender's 5 rifles activate and fire at Att MG. They get bonus for aimed fire, but also suffer penalty because their target unit is in purpose built fire trenches. They hit one, who then fails his save. I removed the miniature from play, but I am considering giving a miniature a chance to become light casualty, continuing to fight; heavy casualty (-1 to everything) or be removed from play. I am afraid that will greatly complicate everything, so I'm leaving it out for now.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> Att MG's troops were in two shellholes with different bonuses, which one is counted? Always the best (shooting player wise), always the worst or the fire only focuses the group in either of bonus areas?<br />
<br />
Attacker's 7 rifles activate and run forward.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> They ran (long move) across shell holes, which seems unfair. I like the ability to run from cover to cover, but not over it. I will leave it for now, but that is something to think about to prevent rushes. On other hand, it might be desirable, too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<u>Turn 2:</u><br />
Attackers win the initiative.<br />
<br />
Attacker's MG activates and fires at Def 5 rifles. They scored 6 hits, but only managed to kill one. The weight of fire, however, suppressed Def 5 rifles.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM: </b>MG is really powerful, so I think whole team can only fire either their rifles or the MG. It must be clear that it is not possible for the rest of the crew to also fire their rifles.<br />
MG crew should not be able to move and then fire, which makes sense, but the question is - should they get the bonus for aiming (as rifles do) if they do not move? I think yes, so I avoid yet another exception and MG can't move and fire because it has to be set-up, once that is done, there is no reason why it wouldn't be able to benefit from careful aim.<br />
<br />
Attacker's 10 Rifles activate, move closer to Def 5 rifles and throw grenades. Now, grenades ignore concealment provided by trenches (so always hit on unit's training level), which means the extra concealment Def 5 Rifles got by hunkering down when being suppressed, is useless!<br />
They hit five times, but trenches proved very effective, as no defenders died!<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> Grenades that were thrown from shell-hole to damaged trench (visible to visible) ignore concealment. Grenades were also thrown from the sap (out of LOS), so some sort of penalty has to be put in place. I think not-ignoring concealment is fine, but could also punish it as far as having the worst concealment (+2) used. That is more than fair for blind lobbying of grenades!<br />
<br />
Attacker's 7 rifles activate and advance in communications trench. Their leading soldier lobbed a grenade towards Def 8 Rifles, but missed (I gave him -2 penalty for them being out of LOS and I'm quite satisfied with that).<br />
Attacker's 5 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Defender's 8 rifles fail to activate.<br />
Defender's 9 rifles activate and run out of their dug out to try and save the day. Or something.<br />
Defender's MG fails to activate.<br />
Defender's 5 rifles were suppressed, which made them activate by default.<br />
<br />
<u>Turn 3:</u><br />
Defenders win the initiative that they so desperately need.<br />
<br />
Defender's 5 rifles fail to activate -.-<br />
<br />
Attacker's 7 rifles activate and Assault Def 8 rifles, but before going in, they throw a grenade (there's only one in range!). Def 8 sensing their approach, threw a grenade back, hit one but made no real damage.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> Being On Guard as they have not yet activated, Def 8 Rifles was able to react to the assaulting unit's movement by throwing a grenade (3 dice on 6) or shooting their rifles (1 shot on 4 as there's only one of them that can fire). The problem is, attackers moved from area with less cover into area with more cover - at which point does the defender throw grenade? If it was a normal move, I'd say when there's best chance of hitting (obviously!), but with the assault, it could be the same or at the enemy units as they are when assault hits (so very close and unprotected). I will go with "best chance" for both for now. Then again, when assaulting troops are close by, shooting them is the best option either way.<br />
<br />
The melee resulted in only one miniature from each side fighting each other, and both scored a hit on one another.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enemies meet in the trenches!</td></tr>
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<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> What now, do miniatures close up before the activation is over or is that done when resolving melee at start of next turn? Does melee still continue, when they are not in base-to-base contact anymore, or it has to be restarted?<br />
I have to give this more thought, but for now, I'll play when melee starts, it only ends when there is a winner. I doubt troops would charge into one another just to run away from one another mid-brawling.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> Is assaulted unit now automatically activated? I suppose yes, they are locked in melee anyway. <br />
<br />
Attacker's 5 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Defender's 9 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Attacker's MG activates and fires at Def 5 rifles again. They only hit 3 times now, but score two kills.<br />
<br />
Attacker's 10 rifles activate and attempt to assault Def 5 rifles, but killing them with grenades before they do so.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> A unit can fire or grenade their enemy before charging, with an attempt to suppress the defenders. What happens when targeted unit is wiped out? I played out as if they assault defender's position, there's no way of knowing everyone is dead!<br />
PS: Grenades are perhaps too powerful with 3 Dice and ignoring concealment, plus some cover. I might reconsider if that is what I want, but then again, grenades were very effective. <br />
<br />
Defender's MG fails to activate and will probably be useless for the rest of the game!<br />
<br />
<u>Turn 4:</u><br />
<br />
Pre-turn events, resolving melee:<br />
Att 7 Rifles activate, while Def 8 Rifles do not. Therefore, the defenders surrendered and are now prisoners.<br />
<br />
<b>THE PROBLEM: </b>Attacking unit has taken prisoners, because the melee was resolved. They gave up and must be escorted to table edge, but this can only be done if the winner of the melee activates this turn.<br />
<br />
Attacker's won the initiative.<br />
Att 7 rifles (that just won melee) fails to activate.<br />
<br />
Def 9 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Att 10 rifles activate and assault Def 9 rifles, after throwing grenades. They did nothing, but attacked unit's close rifle fire killed two of the attackers.<br />
Att 5 rifles fails to activate. I guess each side has a unit that doesn't do anything.<br />
<br />
Def MG finally activates and runs down the trench to see what can be done.<br />
<br />
Att MG fails to activate.<br />
<br />
<u>Turn 5</u>:<br />
<br />
Resolving melee: Def 9 rifles activate, but Att 10 rifles do not and thus surrender!<br />
<br />
Defenders win the initiative. <br />
<br />
Def MG climbs out the trench in an attempt to bomb Att 7 rifles and save their mates. Their grenades obliterated the enemy squad, leaving sole survivor.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Defender's MG team bombed the attackers, but would be erased by attacker's MG in a next second!</td></tr>
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<b>THE PROBLEM:</b> The problem with some parts of unit visible and others invisible appeared again. All grenades were thrown at best chance, but cover save was applied according to the position of the miniature (ie those in deep trench having better save).<br />
<br />
Another problem is that Att MG and Att 5 rifles could open fire at any point when Def MG climbed out of trenches (and became visible). They were 24 inches from Att MG and 20ish from Att 5. I did not fire with any of them before grenades were thrown (as I forgot), but here, it would be really important to decide if Def MG can throw all grenades and then suffer responsive fire from the two units, or it suffers the wrath before it can throw grenades. <br />
I threw the dice and Def MG would suffer 6 hits from Att MG response and 4 from Att 5 rifles, being caught in the open they would have no save and would be literally mowed down. Then, they would be unable to grenade Att 7 unit they destroyed. <br />
<b>Problems:</b> Should there be a distance limit to responsive fire (there is no limit for rifles and MGs when firing normally); Should activated unit, subject to responsive fire get some kind of save (because they are technically running at the moment!). <br />
I don't wish to limit responsive fire with distance, plus the whole point of covering fire is to, well, cover. Perhaps the responsive fire should suffer (additional, where applicable) +1 penalty to hit, as the targets sprint, but that's it. <br />
Another solution is that responsive fire activates the unit, so owning player must decide if he should react or hope to activate later on. That sounds like a good trade of. <br />
<br />
Def 9 rifles activates. One member starts to herd the prisoners, others take position in the firing trench and open fire at Att MG. They could not hit well entrenched enemy.<br />
<br />
At this point, I decided that responsive fire should certainly activate a unit, so it is not just a bonus shooting. So, as all units were activated, dead or surrendered, turn ended.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MxhaTQFCAQCTebRkZHy0b214M5KYIYceM8utSVHIxdFRBnsfukvirK2Yh9NlkWX-fsrRViSNIcx6VcSNA7CIZ_ZXSIe1kt0zJhnT0rLi7lDZBQ4zAYil7P-sWXj8hN9-nGgk3JSetTfP/s1600/P7097240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MxhaTQFCAQCTebRkZHy0b214M5KYIYceM8utSVHIxdFRBnsfukvirK2Yh9NlkWX-fsrRViSNIcx6VcSNA7CIZ_ZXSIe1kt0zJhnT0rLi7lDZBQ4zAYil7P-sWXj8hN9-nGgk3JSetTfP/s320/P7097240.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Defenders lead attacking side's prisoners to the rear.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>PROBLEM: </b><br />
Prisoners get in the way; standard 6" move for prisoners is way too slow. It just drags the game way too much. Perhaps prisoners should instantly move off board, and just count more end-game victory points or something. But then, they can not be saved, which sounds like fun. Perhaps make them move 8" as they just have to walk, but not quite run (this is how I'll play it out for this game as removing them from table would greatly change what Def MG team did etc etc).<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Turn 6:</u><br />
<br />
Defenders win the initiative.<br />
<br />
Def 9 rifles fail to activate.<br />
<br />
Att 5 rifles fail to activate.<br />
Att MG fails to activate.<br />
<br />
<b>PROBLEM:</b> Do troops, relegated to escorting prisoners of table activate automatically? I think yes, there is little reason not to wish to go towards back lines!<br />
<br />
I have an awful situation with Att 7 Rifles lone survivor. He failed his activation, so he should fall back. But he is also the only surviving member of a unit that has SEVEN prisoners, so he should activate automatically. I can not see how surrendering concept could work, if prisoners are not removed from play instantly. <br />
This time, I played it out as if he is escorting them, so he activated automatically. Then yet another problem arose - can he be fired upon by Def 9 that is on guard? I will be ignoring prisoners and just move them to the back. This means escorting soldiers are invincible, but also useless until they drop their prisoners with rear echelon units. So that's another positive side of what I think is overly complicated and very flawed concept.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIc7wOOWsuTK3bQjkg8FOSAQt9dCFNz2DTu-hL8agabfBFM9cQuwDP0BNLFudk-SWPmDMiboWzKiZZEzGJ-lxGsIQEpB08xBYtTDcWoU_UUkiN-xfTOMV-nEIk3F6EOByYSi5o1JURYKuD/s1600/P7097242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIc7wOOWsuTK3bQjkg8FOSAQt9dCFNz2DTu-hL8agabfBFM9cQuwDP0BNLFudk-SWPmDMiboWzKiZZEzGJ-lxGsIQEpB08xBYtTDcWoU_UUkiN-xfTOMV-nEIk3F6EOByYSi5o1JURYKuD/s320/P7097242.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Board at the end of turn 6</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<u>Turn 7:</u><br />
<br />
Defenders win the initiative.<br />
<br />
Def 9 rifles activates, but I'm not sure what to do, they can not move up to dislodge the MG because it's responsive fire will shred them. Thus, they fired their rifles, managed to hit once, but the hit was saved. Game really bogged down now.<br />
<br />
Att MG fired it's shots at Def 9, killing one. This, however, also means next turn, Def 9 will be able to rush forward.<br />
<br />
Att 5 Rifles failed to activate.<br />
<br />
Prisoners on both sides were moved. That concept certainly doesn't work.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5rekDSTJPam381bTjT3noMmIWvroSph17WMU_tvyNeHykCn_STHfmKryqDVfPhS-x6jF7AM0Wmm1O2xDo3UBl5UC9cJDt1VTMvi86g2j1oTqPpwskDNDPV-efua-BQgi5Qp7v0ERNdCPs/s1600/P7097244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5rekDSTJPam381bTjT3noMmIWvroSph17WMU_tvyNeHykCn_STHfmKryqDVfPhS-x6jF7AM0Wmm1O2xDo3UBl5UC9cJDt1VTMvi86g2j1oTqPpwskDNDPV-efua-BQgi5Qp7v0ERNdCPs/s320/P7097244.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Situation at the end of turn 7. Not much going on now.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<u>Turn 8:</u><br />
Defenders win the initiative.<br />
<br />
Deff 9 rifles rushes across the land into enemy sap. Att 5 rifles made a responsive fire and killed one (luckily just one!). <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBroY76rKF15SXeFXJxGeJWdAOlmRh8Inr4ddQscgc6GEzTjt6_6uwUTKAfgnb9LDSKpTG3jWnqbxmoeTzfVe8Pgco-o5i6z7RH3g5164xFoQ0V9B0XGAB_wh-yI83O4jtyN27H48KsbWp/s1600/P7097245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBroY76rKF15SXeFXJxGeJWdAOlmRh8Inr4ddQscgc6GEzTjt6_6uwUTKAfgnb9LDSKpTG3jWnqbxmoeTzfVe8Pgco-o5i6z7RH3g5164xFoQ0V9B0XGAB_wh-yI83O4jtyN27H48KsbWp/s320/P7097245.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last surviving defenders rush in the enemy sap.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcBi9kvIjXo1ZqJywiwMaYKiQxJvnfyM2ApWnwqwUSwQZcm2DfNlLEpjpsrOwaYKF-h6Xof42kkjXl9HLqKDc7W0pSpMf_uTN67KoLHtZ6jV1kTbF-zOoP8gop5zK7t5Ob3FlrlPja7wH/s1600/P7097247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcBi9kvIjXo1ZqJywiwMaYKiQxJvnfyM2ApWnwqwUSwQZcm2DfNlLEpjpsrOwaYKF-h6Xof42kkjXl9HLqKDc7W0pSpMf_uTN67KoLHtZ6jV1kTbF-zOoP8gop5zK7t5Ob3FlrlPja7wH/s320/P7097247.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>PROBLEM:</b> The responsive fire, gained by Attackers because they failed to activate is doing way too much damage. Perhaps the "overwatch" rule should only be done as a deliberate action. But this means, units that fail to activate just sit there being useless, which is also something I dislike.<br />
I am not sure about Casualty roll anymore, who would wish to book keep about individual miniatures that are lightly or heavily wounded etc. That, like prisoners is another idea that sounds good but would just delay the game.<br />
<br />
Maybe the responsive fire should be done in regard to active unit's last position. So if a unit makes in a deep trench in one bound, they are safe?<br />
<br />
Deff 9's guard reached the table edge and is free of guard duty. Now what - does he become an invincible man again until he joins his unit? Can he only move when unit activates? The prisoners concept really doesn't work. I'll have him move independently 8" per turn until he reaches parent unit, but will greatly simplify the surrender.<br />
<br />
<u>Turn 9:</u>Defenders win the initiative, but fail to activate.<u><br /></u>Att MG then activated and moved closer to Def 9 rifles in order to grenade them. Throwing grenades blindly, they didn't hit anything. <br />
Def 9's reaction bombing resulted in one Att MG soldier dead.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlTbBIJK289Uk5Txab4tlHoT5zPZeov927pKRyJWWWZ7jWB0kn1iUcWaT-TfyIcYmttreoSNkfXg3zWqB5vOqqc3bQuUzWfMjaU_Bqc5XYAqWgtVcWeNn5ZaDcij_dIggCTEU1VZCNXiC/s1600/P7097249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlTbBIJK289Uk5Txab4tlHoT5zPZeov927pKRyJWWWZ7jWB0kn1iUcWaT-TfyIcYmttreoSNkfXg3zWqB5vOqqc3bQuUzWfMjaU_Bqc5XYAqWgtVcWeNn5ZaDcij_dIggCTEU1VZCNXiC/s320/P7097249.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attacker's MG squad moves in to seal the defender's fate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>THE PROBLEM: </b>Should Def 9, positioned in a very deep trench even be given a chance to throw grenades as a reaction? At first, I thought not, but surely they would throw grenades back at the place where grenades are coming from. But this is another reason why reaction fire should be always done after active player's move.<br />
<br />
Att 5 rifles failed to activate again.<br />
<br />
Turn 10:<br />
<br />
Attackers win the initiative, but Att MG do not activate.<br />
<br />
Def 9 Rifles activate, bomb and assault Att MG. They threw bombs before leaving the sap, so they only managed to hit three times, which resulted in one MG crew man dead, but there were not enough hits to pin the MG.<br />
<br />
The MG crew then fired a pistol and a rifle (too close for MG to be effective).<br />
<br />
PROBLEM: I considered having MG crew use grenades, but that seemingly defeated the purpose of having different weapons (like pistols, whose range is same as grenade's, but with less dice). While using grenades often is fine, there has to be some sort of restriction for their use. Perhaps a 2"minimum range, plus no speculative fire (grenade lobbying out of LOS).<br />
<br />
However, responsive fire from Att 5 rifle killed what MG crew failed to, at which point I ended the game. <br />
<br />
In all fairness, I forgot to consider grenade's bonuses, so MG team would probably be wiped off, but that would change little when Att 5 Rifle would still erase the attacker. <br />
<br />
<u>End result:</u><br />
Attackers:<br />
Starting miniatures: 27<br />
Miniatures lost: 20 <br />
Prisoners taken: 7<br />
<br />
Defenders:<br />
Starting miniatures: 26<br />
Miniatures lost: 26 <br />
Prisoners taken: 7<br />
<br />
There's loads and loads of things to be rethought; playing solo surely added to the problems; table is just awful (but I can imagine it be really nice if it was done in 3D!) etc etc. But overall, I think the game is very close to what I want it to be. A lot of ideas were ultimately shattered, but that's not to bad, at least I gave them a try.<br />
<br />
<b>POST GAME CONSIDERATIONS TO BE TESTED:</b><br />
1. Not sure if it's fair to have units move 6" and fire, but assault 8" and fire/bomb is fair. But on another hand, this does make people want to get into close combat, which is the point of the game.<br />
<br />
2. I had a (very short) melee taking place in the communications trench, where only 1 miniature can fight another one at a time. That I feel is fine, but will take ages. Perhaps additional rule should enable 2 miniatures to fight, but certainly not more.<br />
The question that rises is, what happens if a unit in a deep trench (out of LOS) gets attacked from above? Do units count as fighting in trench, even if there's only place for one miniature? I think that is fair, but also the attacker coming from OUTSIDE the trench (as opposed to down the trench) should have some benefits. Bonus to hit might sound too good, as this equals attacking suppressed units - but maybe still? <br />
As it stands now, melee is fought simultaneously. With assaulting suppressed units, it could be done that they hit second (thus having less dice when some of them are bound to die by the attacker hitting first). This makes suppressing units really important. At the same time, unit in trench, assaulted from above suffers -1 to hit, which is at the moment penalty for being suppressed.<br />
3. I really like the idea of prisoners, but, can they be saved? And if - how? Must the unit that took them prisoner be destroyed, or just the soldiers escorting the prisoners? What about prisoners, do they get rifles automatically or would simply have to fight barehanded? Currently, I like the sound of a compromise, they count as having rifles, but when pooling dice to throw, the pool gets halved (if if 4 soldiers would normally fire 4 dice, as saved prisoners they would only get 2).<br />
4. Reaction fire must be regulated somewhat, but should still have an impact on the game. While it's disappointing to see so many units get wiped out by units that even failed to activate, this really shows how deadly being above the ground would be.<br />
5. The board HAS to have a lot of cover, shell hole by the shell hole, in order to give troops somewhere to hide. There also has to be a very good concept for providing artificial cover (smoke), that could and should be used a lot.<br />
<br /><br />Congratulations if you made it to the end and even if you just looked at the photos - thanks for looking!<br /><br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-7848268920707254662016-05-19T12:03:00.001+02:002016-05-19T12:03:50.153+02:00War Correspondent and InterpreterHi guys,<br />
<br />
Hobby is still slow here, the solo gaming just does not seem to cut it for me. Bunker is progressing slowly after the initial enthusiasm, but an unforseen surge of modelling made me finish yet another two recycled projects.<br />
<br />
The War Correspondent and Interpreter miniatures you are about to see both started years ago (literally) when I started working on Slovene soldiers for the first time. The latter have since been replaced with the fantastic Empress Americans, which I think was great choice as it let me finish a lot of them reasonably fast.<br />
<br />
Still, I was left with 4 half done dollies and I used two of them to make the miniatures I wanted for a long time - interpreter and a journalist.<br />
<br />
Below you can see them at the stage where I essentially gave up on trying to make them look any better:<br />
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The 'terp on the left looks a lot like what my Slovenes would have looked like if they were ever finished, including the 'old' helmet cover with loads of camo stripes. He was given a walkie and a single pouch. I thought about giving him an AK and eventually settled for an unarmed version.<br />
<br />
The correspondent was given a plain helmet (that would need slight beefing up, they both use same heads actually!), slightly different vest and a small one-hand camera. The first idea was to give him a large camera, because they 'look cool', but that would have involved a lot of work and I think someone embedded with a fighting unit would appreciate the flexibility of a lighter equipment. He was given a satchel and yet another camera, however.<br />
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<br />The interpreter was painted in a mix of camo and plain greens to keep him interesting. I've hid his identity behind a ski-mask and gave him tacticool gloves. While my painting efforts have lowered somehow in the past year, I think it looks quite fantastic.<br />
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Here he is compared to an Empress US soldier, as you can see he is slightly smaller, as dollies are older, when 28mm was 28mm.<br />
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The War Correspondent was given more civilian clothing. Green helmet was justified as a military surplus. I was not sure about vest colour, I vividly remember reading how blue vests were only good for snipers to shoot at the journalists in Bosnia. But apparently they are still in use, and if nothing else, it helps with a recognition of the miniature. <br />
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There is not much to add, below is a size comparison photo. It was made using same E-bob dollies as the Interpreter, so there are next to no differences - keep in mind, however, that I 'grew' both of them for a milimeter or so by adding putty to their shoulders back when I started making Slovenes.<br />
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As usual,<br />
<br />
Thanks for looking!<br /><br />Mathyoo<br />
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<br />Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-78129801847842149562016-05-02T16:03:00.000+02:002016-05-02T16:03:00.815+02:00Bunker model - part 2Hi again,<br />
<br />
the work continues on the bunker (and a wish to make it in a smaller scale instead!).<br />
<br />
The list of things done is rather extensive, counting the fact I barely touched it in the past two weeks.<br />
<br />
First, I had to peel the paint off, as mentioned in the last post. <br />
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Except for being rather messy, it actually gave the bunker a nice worn out look!<br />
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<br />Next, I decided it needs the cuts in the roof to help keep water off it, and to give grass something to root into for camouflage (can't be seen on photos). I also started filling some holes with milliput and then I started working on the firing embrasures (a plate with three holes for the cloche, plus a single flank mounted machine-gun).<br />
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I also started preparing holes for ventilation, periscope and a grenade chute. Lastly, I sculpted a horrible stone wall that holds the mound of earth vertical at the entrance. I think I will redo it, but I would have to figure out how to make it look a bit more realistic. <br />
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What else can be seen is the fact that the turret in particular is very crooked, which is driving me mad. As usual, the lesson learned is that more time and attention should be invested in planning! <br />
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That's it for today!<br /><br />Thanks for looking,<br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-17823458098592218922016-04-17T11:18:00.001+02:002016-04-18T09:40:00.724+02:00Bunker model - part 1Hi guys,<br />
<br />
I have honestly been working on more fantasy miniatures for a while, but then got preoccupied with other non-hobby things and have then - as usual - dived in a whole new project. I started making model of a bunker. <br />
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Should you be interested, the type chosen is a "Small Object". If you imagine a typical Casemate on the Maginot line, this would be it's smaller brother. <br />
Modelling wise, this is a square bunker with a round turret on one of the side. It has a single heavy machine gun mounted in one of the sides. I decided to give this one a try because it's very, very recognisable and somewhat simple, without any odd shapes.<br />
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Strangely, I was unable to find many good sites on the internet about this kind of builds, but there are some people around that are making (mostly) Atlantik wall bunkers and some even actually make a wooden scaffolding and pour the concrete in.<br />
I, however, went with the simpler approach and simply cut the general shape out of an insulation foam leftovers. I found a decent scale calculator online and set for a 1:48 model, which could potentially be used in 28mm games. <br />
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As you can see, my enthusiasm for precision work was abandoned very early.<br />
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After the general shape was constructed, I realised I am missing the protective heaps of earth around the bunker. The bunkers in my area were not dug in as the Blitzkrieg caught up with the construction workers, but I think having some earth around it adds to the visualisation. <br />
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Then it was all covered in plaster. Two or three times.<br />
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Back view with the entrance:<br />
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Yes, I do realise the earth is way unnatural. I plan on making another model in 1/100 where I could make the surrounds more natural and possibly put more types of bunkers on it for the sake of presentation.<br />
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When I got bored with plastering and sanding, I decided to give the model a coat or two of - and this is very important - cheap black paint.<br />
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Main weapon, a HMG would be mounted in the wall below:<br />
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There was a slight problem, however. I have intended to make further adjustments to the model after painting it, and when I've started scraping it, the paint peeled. I presume the bad paint quality, paired with thick coats (my bad!), that were put on before the paint fully dried (my bad!), with the added fact that the model was still dusty because of the sanding (I know!) had a lot to do with it.<br />
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I will show you the photos next time, but lets just say I've spent quite some time peeling the bugger off. The result was actually fantastic, as it gave bunker a bit of the "rustic" feel to it - but to no effect as it will be painted over. <br />
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More about it next time!<br />
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Mathyoo<br />
<br />Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-38273418947451602032016-03-30T09:11:00.001+02:002016-03-30T09:11:09.270+02:00Meet the Cynocephali!Hi!<br />
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Another group of miniatures finally got the loving they deserved after two years in the "tomorrow, really" drawer.<br />
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This time it is a group of Cynocephali, the dog-headed race from the other side of the Rotten sea that is known for their war-like, cruel and human-hating nature in general. <br />
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They are generally described as having human bodies and dog heads, but some claim they have goat legs or even one eye at the front and one at the back of their skull!<br />
<br />The eldest will have you know the dreaded soldiers ride in battle on horse-back and howl!<br />
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While the idea of Cynocephali is really, really old, the resemblance to Atila and the Huns is evident. Later, the Pasjeglavci/Pesjani/Pasjedlani as they are called in Slovenia, were associated with the Turks, whom in their invasion of the Balkans and push to the Vienna left a lasting impact on the region to a point where everything bad was associated with them for hundreds of years after they were gone.<br />
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Among others, there is a tale of Pes Marko ( "Mark the Dog",). Marko was born by a count's daughter that was locked up in a jail (tower) by her father. He gave her a dog to play with, which made her pregnant and thus she born Pes Marko. He eventually became the leader of Venice and pillaged the city in rage.<br />
<br />This tale supposedly originates from middle ages, during the wars between the Holy Roman Empire (that included most of today's Slovenia) and Venice, which is known for Saint Mark and venetian lion - you get the rest!<br />
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<br /><br />I imagined these ruthless creatures would be the most common enemies of any heroes wandering in the land of old gods and made four of them. A leader armed with an axe, a bow man for some long-range support and two spear grunts.<br />
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For the soldiers, I simply used some of left over GW Ungors I had from the Dunwich project. I have to admit I really like the miniatures. They are plastic and easy to work with, they are on the large side and quite cartoony, which I think fits well with the fantasy. I did, however, cut the axe to something more manageable. <br />
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Other than that I gave them a quick paint job and that's about it. They were kept very simple and I really have to say the photos don't do them justice. Surely I shouldn't just go with black pelt and the brown is all wrong, but overall I am quite satisfied. <br /><br />In other news, I am preparing some of my own sculpts/conversions for moderns and fantasy and looking at my Strange Aeons collection, I really think I should start a campaing - which brings me to my Moderns, that I would like to at least remotely finish first. Ah, so many plans!<br />
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<br />Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-3163498602628416752016-03-05T10:27:00.001+01:002016-03-05T10:27:47.740+01:00Meet Kresnik!Hello guys,<br />
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Almost 2 years ago - I checked the <a href="http://mathyoo28mm.blogspot.si/search/label/slavic%20mythology">blog history</a> - I started converting Horrorclix's Fiend (<a href="http://940ee6dce6677fa01d25-0f55c9129972ac85d6b1f4e703468e6b.r99.cf2.rackcdn.com/products/pictures/144739.jpg">Frankenstein monster</a>) into a Kersnik, a local Slavic pagan (demi)god. .<br />
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To refresh your memory, influenced by SAGA and 7th Voyage that were both really popular back then, I decided to start a project, where wandering pagan party - consisting of nothing but heroes, of course - would fight the creatures of the lore with the intention of saving a damsel in distress or performing a similarly important deed. Equally, the mythos creatures could be used in games of Strange Aeons and would give me something to sculpt and convert. Evidently, the project didn't live long, but as I am clearing my old stuff, I decided to restart it.<br />
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Kresnik is the most common god (or semi-god) in Slovenian mythology, so he was an obvious choice for my god on earth. It appears to be a very localised deity, only known in Slovenia and parts of Croatia.<br />
Mythos wise, he is a rather complicated character and it is believed that Kresnik is either Perun himself (kind of a Slavic Thor); that his brother, named Trot is Perun; that Kresnik is Perun's son. <br />
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As omnipotent gods would not be any kind of fun to game with, I decided to go with the semi-god option. Thus, Kresnik is a "Hercules" type of character, a son of Perun and mortal. As the luck would have it, it is believed that Kresnik did the 12 deeds, too!<br />
According to the legend, the Son of lightning Kresnik was carried by his mother for whole nine years. He was close to the people and in some versions, every village had a Kresnik of their own, protecting them from foul creatures and being that would want to hurt them or humanity. Those include, but are not limited to: Veles (Perun's arch nemesis), dragons, giant snakes, giant snake queens, false Kresniks (these are the worst!), vampires, cynocephali, centaurs etc etc.<br />
Kresnik is not immortal and can die, but always returns to the world.<br />
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He has the arms and hair of gold and carries an axe, mace, lightning bolt or a knife. <br />
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At first I had high plans of sculpting my own, but I've decided to simply convert Horrorclix's The fiend instead. I got him a veeeeery long time ago from <a href="http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.si/">Vampifan</a> - THANKS AGAIN!<br />
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The fiend is taller than ordinary human being, being almost 50mm tall, so he was perfect candidate for a god on Earth. I've cut him off his base and cleaned him up a bit. I've cut off the shackles, cleaned up the nails in his spine and made some other surgical tasks, before giving him a nice shirt, girly long hair and a manly beard.<br />
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Below is an eons old photo of him, before he was equipped with the second axe as well. If I am not mistaken, his hair were slightly retouched, as was his shirt, but no major work was done.<br />
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Then I left him in my drawer, forgotten until last week. To paint him, I went with a simple linen shirt that is these days associated with the pagan Slavs. Those are very popular in Russia and Ukraine, which is where Slovene "neo pagans" imported them from. I do not recall reading about them being worn here. I would presume 6th century Alpine Slavs would wear woolen clothes, but the combination of white and red was too good too pass.<br />
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I armed him with two axes and gave NMM Gold a try. It didn't succeed and now he looks like a member of the Simpsons family.<br />
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The painting was straightforward and I dropped all the ideas of energy flow shown passing through his eyes and/or axes. Now, he could also be used as a generic giant. He is mounted on a 40mm base and is shown with a flabbergasted explorer down below:<br />
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There is little to add, I have to paint a group of the most evil creatures imaginable and then I will get back to finishing sculpting other projects.<br />
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Thanks for looking,<br />
MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-9454070950240030512016-02-20T13:15:00.000+01:002016-02-23T12:08:04.814+01:00Evergreen Fields: Operation Angelica - AAR 2Hi guys,<br />
I played another game earlier this week. It was rather large and to keep it interesting, involved the introduction of elite foreign fighters on the rebel's side and a tank (yes, a tank) in the arsenal of Slovenes. <br />
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Following the ambush of Slovenes [<i>look at the last post</i>], more similar attacks on the international and government forces were carried out in the capital. The attacks in the North of the city were so fierce and numerous, that the rebels were able to fortify themselves in the area and do not plan to be moved from there.<br />
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As a result, <b>Operation Angelica</b> was devised with hopes of clearing this large pocket of resistance and to establish a firm governmental control of the capital again. Once the capital will be secured, recapturing of the inland will be made possible. Attacking from several lanes of approach, the IIF (International Intervention Force) will push into the territory and clear it. It is hoped that sheer strength and determination of the attack will break the rebellion, but the fighting could just as well bog down to a costly street fighting.<br />
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Assault at the Cedar lane will be spearheaded by the Slovenes. The road is blocked and covered by fire from the near-by houses turned strongpoints, overlooking the position. Slovenes have to make their way to the barricade and check it for any signs of explosives <i>[a fair roll of 4+ on D6</i>]. If the barricade is mined, EOD team has to be called in [<i>arrives next turn on the roll of 6, then 5+, 4+ on any other turn</i>] and cleared by the EOD technician [<i>roll of 4+</i>].<br />
Once the barricade is safe to be removed, an M-84 tank will assist in pushing open the road for the reinforcements to advance.<br />
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<b>Beware</b>: Damage to property must be minimal, so tank's main gun is not to be used, unless against enemy armour - if it appears.<br />
For the same reason, artillery or air support will not be available for the attacking troops.<br />
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<b>SAF Force</b>: Three fire teams (Ankaran, Bled, Celje), supported by a MMG team for the initial assault.<br />
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An M84 tank is to join the attack for the push past the barricade. It is vital that the tank is not exposed to unnecessary fire and - when engaged - that it is fully supported by the infantry.<br />
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If the attack bogs down, SAF troops on the flanks might send additional men to make sure the attack goes well.<br />
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<b>Rebel force</b>:<br />
One group of foreign fighters, well equipped with an RPG (Group Arnold).<br />
Three groups of local fighters, armed with automatic weapons (Groups Brad, Charles, Duncan) [<i>low rolls so no RPGs here</i>]<br />
Sniper.<br />
MMG team.<br />
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<b>Starting set up:</b><br />
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SAF in left side, bottom up: Team Ankaran behind a grey house, MMG team at the concrete wall, Team Bled behind the trees, Team Celje behind the terracotta house.<br />
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Rebels from right to left, bottom up: MMG team on top of the super market, Foreign fighters Group Arnold behind the sand bags, Sniper on top of the motel, Group Brad in blue semi-detached house, Charles in light blue house, Duncan behind white house on top.<br />
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Opening Operation Angelica, Slovenes pushed rather reluctantly. <br />
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Team Ankaran ran to the green house in an attempt to secure barricade's right flank.<br />
Team Celje pushed in the larger house in the orchard and opened fire at rebel Group Charles, scoring one hit that suppressed one of the rebels. The rebels were rather passive and even the fearsome foreign fighters decided to wait to see how the attack unfolds before they join the fight.<br />
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Team Celje managed to keep the steady rate of fire and scored another hit against Group Charles, slowly reducing their numbers.<br />
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Team Bled joined in the firefight against Group Charles, but contributed little more than just a sound. <br />
Team Celje kept their fire going and scored another lethal hit against the same target.<br />
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In the mean time, team Ankaran surged to the other side of the house and opened fire at Group Brad, scoring a hit. The return fire from well entrenched rebels was devastating, leaving two soldiers suppressed! Luckily, SAF MMG team was well positioned and sprayed Group Arnold through the barricade, scoring a hit!<br />
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Further north, Group Duncan - lead by the infamous Yellow Jacket - took on the initiative and moved towards the orchard where Teams Bled and Celje are positioned. They opened fire at team Bled, hoping to aid their comrades of the Group Charles, suppressing two Slovenes and scoring a lethal shot on the SAW gunner. Judging by the recent events [<i>Every single modern game I played so far</i>], carrying a SAW brings a curse and a bullseye on you. The return fire of Slovenes was not effective.<br />
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Combat continued, bullets flew everywhere, but still - nobody was able to obtain any form of superiority.<br />
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Targeted by Group Brad, Team Ankaran suffered a heavily wounded, that had to be escorted to the back - but how, when the fire by the rebels is so heavy?<br />
<br />
Things were going even worse for Team Bled, that lost another soldier to the rebels of the Group Duncan. Luckily, team Celje's aim was accurate and they scored two kills and a suppression on team Duncan - is the luck for the Slovenes starting to turn?<br />
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Apparently not, as Team Ankaran just lost three men, 4th being heavily wounded and waiting for extraction to medevac.<br />
The success of whole assault in jeopardy, an M-84 tank was called in to intervene.<br />
<br />
[<i>Out of interest: In the next turn, the initiative was rolled as follows: 1-1; 5-5; 1-1; 6-6; 6-6 and finally 3-2 for the Rebels</i>]<br />
<br />
Cavalry arrived! Cautiously, an M-84 rolled down the street, stopped and opened fire at the Group Charles. Still respecting the ROE, it sprayed the house Group Charles has turned into a fort with HMG fire and has failed to leave an impact.<br />
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<br />
The arrival of the tank meant the foreigners better go in action, they tried hitting the tank with an RPG across the barricade. The rocket flew in the gap between the trucks and scored a hit, badly shaking the crew, but otherwise not damaging the tank.<br />
Second shot was more accurate and exploded near the tank's main gun, destroying it. There goes the temptation to use the main gun!<br />
<br />
SAF MMG team kept firing at Group Brad in an attempt to keep them away from the wounded mate. Up north Teams Bled and Celje were still exchanging fire with Group Duncan, killing one of theirs but losing another one of Bled's to a heavy injury.<br />
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<br />
To help evacuate bleeding member of the Team Ankaran, another team was been sent in - designated Team Drava. Joined by a combat medic, their mission is to stabilise the wounded and escort him back for medevac.<br />
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In the orchard, Team Celje eliminated Group Duncan and moved on to engage Group Charles. The rest of the battle was at a stalemate.<br />
<br />
Medical team reached the wounded soldier and medic immediately started escorting him back to the casevac [<i>Medic became a separate group in game</i>]. The rest of the team divided their tasks, rifleman checked the barricade for explosives , but thankfully the rebels did not plan them [<i>Lost another chance to use my EOD team in game!</i>]. Team's SAW gunner and Grenadier opened fire at Group Brad and scoring 2 kills in their quest for vengeance.<br />
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<br />
Team Celje moved forward and engaged Group Charles, scoring two hits. This got them in the range of the sniper on top of the apartment blocks, but he failed to hit any of them. Team Bled retreated in the back to bring the wounded to the casevac.<br />
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<br />
As the medic was escorting the wounded member of team Ankaran to the back, the rest of his team opened fire at Group Brad, completely obliterating it, but was in turn suppressed by the rebel MMG team.<br />
In the orchard, team Celje completely demolished Group Charles.<br />
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Foreign fighters' RPG gunner kept firing at the tank, scoring a good hit on the tracks and thus immobilising it. The assault will have to be carried out on the flanks of the barricade, after all!<br />
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Rebel sniper has managed to get a hit on team Celje's infantryman, who was saved by the armour plate.<br />
<br />
Crew in M84, while immobilised, turned their attention to the foreigners and sprayed them with HMG fire, suppressing a rifleman and killing a RPG gunner [<i>as per dice rolls!</i> <i>- but I later realised elite rebels can have more than one person suppressed</i>.]<br />
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Dropping his friend at the casevac, Bled's team lone survivor caught up with Team Celje and attached himself to them.<br />
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With the RPG gone, M84 crew started firing at Rebel MMG on top of the market store, suppressing the gunner. Team Drava, the three man team that joined the fight with the medic, exchanged some fire with the Foreign fighters, but without any effect.<br />
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Out of targets, SAF MMG team pushed forward to engage from a closer range.<br />
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The sniper aimed was on point now, scoring a heavy wounded in team Celje!<br />
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<br />
After dropping wounded man at the casevac, medic returned to battle and was on his way to rejoin Team Drava. His team divided fire between MMG team and Group Arnold, suppressing two of the latter and killing one of the former.<br />
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The joy was short lived as rebel MMG sprayed them, causing a heavily wounded.<br />
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Team Celje split as wounded man was escorted to the back, while the rest of the team moved forward.<br />
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<br />
Accurate fire from rebel MMG suppressed SAF MMG team.<br />
<br />
Team Celje engaged the sniper, suppresing him and in eventually killing him, while also engaging Foreign fighters. The assault was closing to an end.<br />
<br />
In a subsequent fighting, M84 managed to destory the rebel MMG team and SAF MMG team moved forward, just to lose an assistant gunner to the Foreign fighters.<br />
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It was then just a matter of time, before the last of the rebels were destroyed and the battle was won.<br />
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<br />
<b>Post game thoughts:</b><br />
<br />
Initially, I imagined that the only way forward would be through barricade, but I am quite satisfied that I left the gaps open for infantry. Infantry can, after all, move rather freely.<br />
<br />
I fed Slovenes a tank and an extra fire team, that I believe saved them from suffering a retreat. This isn't totally fair to rebels, that got no extra troops, but I did say the games would be rather biased. The idea was that this game was just a part of a larger battle, where
attack would not be started without a decent numerical superiority and
being surrounded, the rebels couldn't quite get relieved. Also, three mediocre SAF teams and a MMG team were up against three bad an an elite Rebel teams, supported by MMG team and a sniper. The worse problem than team composition is the unintentional fact that I think about what to do with my Slovenes and less so about what to do with the Rebels. To remedy this, I will try to shift my AARs into more story-like posts as who shot at whom makes for a rather dull read.<br />
<br />
I am satisfied that I escorted all the heavily wounded soldiers to the back, as in the last game my wounded soldier was just waiting for the game to end.<br />
<br />
Tank proved to be a rather fun addition. The rules are so simple, anything heavier than small arms and HMGs can penetrate the tank - so there is no difference between a RPG of this or that description. I simply used tank as a Medium tank, giving it a 3+ save. With my bad rolls, this made it rather vulnerable - as it should be. Bringing a tank in town is never really a good idea. Other than that, I think I had too many teams on board and I got lost in knowing who was activated and who was not (which is also due to fact I was not concentrated on the game, which is a side product of playing alone).<br />
<br />
Furthermore, I made a bucket load of mistakes during the game. While the rules are really minimal, I kept realising I forgot about several things. Other than that, I am growing to like he system.<br />
<br />
All summed up, at least I am continuing with the "campaign" and using my miniatures. I expect to play more games eventually, but have currently been struck by a painting mojo, so I am working on some of my other projects.<br />
<br />
Thanks for looking,<br />
Mathyoo<br />
<br />Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-79165075359013302292016-01-30T14:42:00.001+01:002016-01-30T14:42:58.823+01:00Evergreen Fields: The rebels introduce themselves - AAR1Downtown Evergreen, Evergreen Fields.<br />
March, 2016.<br />
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As part of the International Intervention Force (IIF) a small contingent of Slovenes was sent to the island. After the contingent established a base just outside the capital, they started patrolling the streets to assess the security situation, get used to their new lives and to make them known to the local population. <br />
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SAF force size: A convoy of two humvees, armed with HMGs. Each carries one fire-team.<br />
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Enemy size: Contact not expected. Evergreen is firmly in governmental hands.<br />
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(But there are 4 groups of untrained militia, armed with AKs and an RPG) with an IED and a PK team.)<br />
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[Patrol has to follow main road through Evergreen. Unknown to the patrol, rebels have infiltrated this neighbourhood and are setting up an ambush. There are three IED markers on the road. On a roll of 1-2 the marker is real. If first one is fake, roll of 1-3 makes it real and so on. If it blows, it blows. If SAF troops manage to spot it, an IED team has to be called in. Ambushing troops will start their attack when the real IED detonates or based on a roll while patrol waits for the IED team]<br />
<br />
As soon as the patrol entered the ambush zone, the gunner in the lead Humvee spotted something on the road, but it turns out it was only a pothole. <br />
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Moving on, gunner in the lead humvee spotted something again, but it turned to be false alarm again - we are deep in the friendly territory, after all.<br />
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Losing his edge after two false alarms, team in the lead Humvee failed to spot the real IED that detonated when they came close! While Humvee's armour is nothing to brag about, luckily, the vehicle only lost its mobility. The passengers were shook up, but other than that, nobody got hurt. <br />
<br />
They got to their senses very fast. They had to call in someone to come pick them up and secure the area. The team in lead humvee disembarked, leaving a rifleman in the position of a HMG gunner on the vehicle and after slightly reparking their vehicle, second team did the same.<br />
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Meanwhile, the ambush has started, but only one rebel team, armed with six rifles, managed to get in contact and suppressed Team2's SAW gunner and the designated marksman!<br />
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Due to incoming fire, Team2 was unable react afterwards, while Team1 kept scanning their sector.<br />
<br />
The incoming fire from the rebel team, now safe behind house walls, however, intensified and resulted in two more hits on the Team2. Gunner in Humvee was luckily just lightly wounded and would continue to fight, but the SAW gunner was in need of immediate medical attention and evacuation. SAF's return fire was less than accurate, but they did succeed in hitting one.<br />
Patrol leader has called in for QRF, but unfortunately there can be no air support due to civilian casualties that it would cause!<br />
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The success made the rebels even more daring and they even hauled in a PK team in an immediate vicinity of the Team2, while a group of riflemen, lead by the notorious Yellow jacket started moving in from the north-east.<br />
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As if things weren't bad enough for Team2, a foreign fighter squad, armed with a RPG (the only one the ambushing forces have!) has started moving in from North-West!<br />
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<br />
The rebels, realising their advantages, pressed forward! Again the group in the house fired at Team2, but this time the hit they did was saved by armour. The return fire of Team2's HMG and designated marksman was, however, deadly and resulted in four dead.<br />
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The foreign fighters team moved up and took cover behind the small wall. They managed to put two rifles and an RPG in the LOS of their targets and fired at Team2. The RPG gunner aimed for the humvee and hit it. Lightly armoured vehicle had no chance against a direct hit and gunner had to bail. Luckily, he made it out in time and, cooperating with the designated marksman, returned fire. They managed to hit and suppress the gunner!<br />
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The Man in Yellow's group decided to rest a bit longer and 4th group of rebels still didn't make it to the scene! <br />
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Luckily for ambushed soldiers, a squad arrived in their support and with them, a medic that was desperately needed!<br />
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After the arrival of QRF, things have changed a bit for the ambushing rebels. <br />
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Concerned with the questions of life and death, the lone survivor of the group in house started to flee. With the SAF troops infront and behind them, foreign fighters stopped to rethink the situation, too. PK team was no different, still suppressed, they didn't do much.<br />
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Yellow jacket did not stand idle. He moved his group forward and managed to find a good firing position for 4 rifles. They've hit a SAW gunner (everyone targets those!), but failed to do any damage. Team1 was watching their sectors closely and a fire from the mounted .50 cal, SAW and 40mm grenades resulted in one rebel suppressed and one killed on the spot.<br />
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By now, the last ambushing group managed to reach the scene as well and they, too spawned up north.<br />
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Team1 came back with the vengence and after slightly repositioning of the patrol leader, they opened fire, that resulted in 2 dead.<br />
Team2, still affected by the shock, did not do much but wait and try to regroup.<br />
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QRF's Team3 and Team4 also took some time to rethink the situation. Experiencing the first real fire fight was heavy on their nerves.<br />
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Few moments later, ambushed teams, Team1 and 2 are still not acting, but QRF's leader and his Team3 moved in to regroup with ambushed team and stabilise the hit SAW gunner. Moving his team's SAW and grenadier to the corner of the house, they opened fire at the rebel group out in the open that was planning on closing in with Team2 and beating it in a close combat! Unfortunately, their fire served little more than making noise. Who gave them these peashooters!?<br />
Team4 did little better and still sat in cover.<br />
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Rebellion's sole survivor, this time enraged by the loss of his friends, turned back and took the fight to the enemy. Running back towards Team4, he took cover behind a car and threw a grenade infront of Team4 leader! Luckily for the Slovenes, his hands were shaking of adrenaline and he missed. Unlucky for him - they didn't miss.<br />
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Afraid that they might get outflanked, foreign fighters group took cover behind yard walls and divided its fire between Team2 on the road and Team3 lurking around the corner. Foreign fighters have a fearsome reputation - and for a good reason! They scored two hits on Team2, but they had no effect in the end. Against Team3, they scored three hits - two on SAW gunner and one on the grenadier. Their vests proved useless and if the grenadier was lucky enough to just be lightly wounded, SAW gunner was hit too bad even for the team's medic to help him.<br />
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Rebel HMG team gathered courage again and fired a burst, scoring two hits. One for no effect on the marksman and the other as a light wound on the Team2's rifleman. This time, Team2's return fire resulted in assistant gunner being suppressed.<br />
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Rebel group just next to HMG team was apparently startled by the inaccurate fire of Team3 enough to wait a bit with their advance. <br />
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Yellow jacket's group, horrified by the SAF fire, hunkered down in their cover, too.<br />
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Being a bit more optimistic after the arrival of QRF, Team1 opened fire at Yellow jacket again, to try and carry the initiative and end the battle. Their fire completely erased the enemy.<br />
Team 2 failed to regroup and remained in their position without trying to obtain a fire superiority or pretty much do anything else.<br />
<br />
After losing their SAW gunner, Team3 rearranged their position a bit and fired at the same target again, this time with a grenadier and the team leader, while medic remained in cover. They barely managed to suppress one of the rebels and hopefully delay the assault for some more time!<br />
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Shocked by their first contact, Team 4 stopped to regroup.<br />
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Having lost two whole groups, rebels were a bit tense. They were desperate for at least some prisoners, if not a full blown victory! Their HMG team, however, did not plan on playing part in that plan just yet. Blood thirsty foreign fighters were more zealous and moved in towards the assault. Firing on the go, they scored two hits, that both ended in KIA! With team leader and rifleman dead and marksman suppressed, badly injured SAW gunner did his best to stop the incoming assualt. Due to his injuries, he was unable to put down accurate fire and didn't hit anyone. <br />
[While rules specifically state that ISAF troops have grenades, it doesnt say so for the Taliban. As these are just random militia, I decided against it.]<br />
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Rebel group at the building did not move, even by the remarkable show of courage by the foreigners.<br />
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SAF Team1, seeing the danger that Team2 was in, turned around and engaged the incoming foreigner fighters. Hitting them with grenades, SAW and HMG fire, they managed to kill 4 and suppress one fighter, stopping the assault dead in its tracks. Adding salt to the wound, Team3 managed to score another kill on the foreign fighters' group, reducing it to a sole survivor.<br />
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Team4 finally pressed forward and opened fire on the last remaining large rebel group. Firing very far, they scored 2 hits, downing two rebels.<br />
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Foreign fighter's lone survivor was determined to carry on with the assault and continued closing in with the remained of the Team2, but failed to do anything else. The rest of the rebels, shaken by seeing the elite foreigners [they were no different than anyone else game rules wise in this game], they needed some time to regroup.<br />
<br />
Foreigner now moved even closer to the suppressed marksman of Team2 and engaged in close combat. The fight didn't last long before the suppressed and disoriented marksman fell to the attacker.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FuKO0sKYuZk065lk4U7pmOGvyWzZ_BaNXVf8cQ6g-X9MRdphWqB0fcE7y7vtVJxxmc0p0PcnfWwm7rouEl3YMzz30I9GvhL7NJz8E1Gl91PPjD8vMpg99FUhlBrtxyoLgdH2udPLufVM/s1600/P1116846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FuKO0sKYuZk065lk4U7pmOGvyWzZ_BaNXVf8cQ6g-X9MRdphWqB0fcE7y7vtVJxxmc0p0PcnfWwm7rouEl3YMzz30I9GvhL7NJz8E1Gl91PPjD8vMpg99FUhlBrtxyoLgdH2udPLufVM/s320/P1116846.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Even with the success of the foreign fighter, the HMG team refused to take any part in the fight. Rebel group, now down to two thirds of its starting size, however, moved in to join in the assault.<br />
Taking no interest in the badly wounded SAW gunner, they opened fire on Team1 that was right in front of them. They suppressed the team leader and in return, suffered 2 dead and one suppressed.<br />
<br />
Still, the fire was fierce enough to prevent Team1 from taking the initiative and proceed with the assault of their own. Desperate to save what can be saved, SAW gunner of Team2 opened fire with his minigun again, scoring one hit. Team3 and 4 did not react.<br />
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The foreign fighter didn't however, and continued with his assault, this time against Team1. The fight ended in a draw. Lone survivor of the once mighty rebel group has hit the dirt and didn't move.<br />
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Rebel HMG team, now desperate to make a contribution, fired a burst in the melee. They failed to hit anyone.<br />
[There are no rules for shooting in melee, so I just randomly allocated hits between SAF and the rebel]<br />
<br />
The melee continued without result, so the Team1 SAW gunner moved in to help, while gunner in Humvee opened up at the other rebel. Melee was still ongoing, but fire from the HMG was accurate enough to down the last rebel in the group that joined the fight last.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSN0BnKE32JYZPNbogF88mlsUYTsdOhOqysNOFnMTF-QtOe6maOSSrL0k_mWyaozxAYRq9s4Ebge1PpNVRP-faIADvaDtFhITgsWseDfBEfQZydOsDjKmZgtVpA4xtvMbtC_FG_21C8eZC/s1600/P1116848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSN0BnKE32JYZPNbogF88mlsUYTsdOhOqysNOFnMTF-QtOe6maOSSrL0k_mWyaozxAYRq9s4Ebge1PpNVRP-faIADvaDtFhITgsWseDfBEfQZydOsDjKmZgtVpA4xtvMbtC_FG_21C8eZC/s320/P1116848.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Team3 ran towards the HMG to engage it and Team4 just stood there once again.<br />
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Rebel HMG opened fire again and hit one of the Slovenes, grazing him.<br />
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Finally, the melee was won by SAF troops and foreign fighter was downed.<br />
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Team1 abandoned the immobilised humvee and took cover by the destroyed one to open fire at Rebel HMG team, destroying it and with it, the ambush force.<br />
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Post-game thoughts:<br />
<br />
In their first encounter of the Evergreen Fields campaign, SAF suffered four killed in action, one heavily wounded and some light casualties. They also lost two humvees!<br />
<br />
Rebels made a great show at start and had most of the high rolls. Apart from QRF arrival (roll of 6 first round after ambush, 5+ for the rest), SAF only had high roles for injuries, losing 4 soldiers. I was genuinely concerned at start that ambushed teams won't hold out. It is a very bloody game.<br />
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I am not sure about the size of my QRF, it doubled the amount of Slovenes on the table. On the other hand, anything else would be just too small in size. I wish I had an armoured transporter for QRF, as my humvees were busy. In the end I opted for foot entry.<br />
<br />
Well, what I changed from test game is that my soldiers were just trained as opposed to veteran from the last game. This made them hit on 5+ instead of 4+ and activate on 4+. In comparison, rebels were of worst quality. Very motivated, they also activate on 4+, but they hit on 6+. They always hit on 6+, but because SAF hit on 5+ and rebels are usually in cover, they hit on 6+ as well. This means, they are there-there by quality and I had 8 guys against 24 + a machine gun team.<br />
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I cheated a bit and forgot to give rebels a chance to be suppressed instead of killed in first hitting session, but I redeemed myself when HMG team was hit!<br />
<br />
I think I kept forgetting that activated teams do NOT return fire, which is something I should work on.<br />
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Using casualty chart only for SAF helps with micromanaging, but it might be slightly unfair that a downed SAF can come back as lightly injured guy without any pentaly. Perhaps a -1 to experience would help (so he'd hit on 6 instead of 5 etc). The problem is, I'd probably keep forgetting about it!<br />
Another option is, light casualties, if a casualty again, would suffer a +1 modifier, to up their chances of becoming a higher tier casualty after the initial light wound. It took me a long time to see a heavy casualty can actually operate, but at -2 - so my SAW gunner could fire his weapon. I used this when I remembered about it.<br />
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With Slovenes, I had no luck as far as Team2 goes. I needed a roll of 6 to activate and remove suppression tokens (4+ and 2 for each suppressed, then 5 but even that didn't help). My worst mistake was presuming 1 foreign fighter is not a threat. By letting him live I did remove some of the fighters in the larger group, but didn't stop the bloody assault. <br />
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All in all, I think I will stick with FUBAR instead of Breaking news. I considered both sets for this game, but as I have to re-learn rules every time I play, I simply went with the shorter ones. The only thing I have trouble getting used to is how RPG is basically same as a machine gun (3 dice to hit), and there is nothing to differentiate one from another. Which isn't necessarily bad, if you consider the weight of fire and all. How different can things be, using D6, after all?<br />
<br /><br />Thanks for reading,<br />
Mathyoo<br />
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<br />Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-22547215306937673092016-01-13T12:50:00.001+01:002016-01-13T12:50:34.007+01:00Evergreen Fields: International Intervention Force arrives at the island.<br />
<i>Evergreen Fields, once lush island resort for the tourist from all over the World had a turn for the worse.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Unsatisfied by the actions of the elected government, an opposition party "Evergreen now!" staged a coup. It went wrong and two years later, the island's population is divided.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Being a peaceful place, Evergreen Fields did not have any armed forces. Grabbing any weapons they could, the forces on both sides are mostly equipped with 20-30 years old equipment. Uniformed armies of both sides are, at some places, supported by local militias.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Evergreen Fields president, one Gideon Morrison has so far managed to keep the control of Evergreen, island's capital and some larger coastland cities. Inland and in parts of the coastline, Evergreen Now! party is in control. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Finally, after two years of considerations, the UN have decided to send a mission to Evergreen. Comprised of several nations, the mission's task is to support the government in regaining control of whole of the Island's territory and to aid in disarming of the rebels to make sure the islanders can start living to their full potential again. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The mission was named International Intervention Force (IIF). First troops to arrive were those of United Kingdom and a Multinational task force of Hungary, Italy and Slovenia. </i><br />
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The scenario is set as openly as possible, to let me introduce new nations should I wish to do so. Don't hold your breath for it, however. As I am not really a fiction writer and every blog needs photos, here is what you can expect to see in in future. Apart from bragging, this collection helps me see just how far I've really came with my moderns, as all I see are things that still have to be done.<br />
<br />I will be using Slovenes I have been working so hard on. For those, that joined the blog at a later date, they are all conversions of Empress Miniatures' Americans. If you would like to know more about the process, see this <a href="http://mathyoo28mm.blogspot.si/search/label/Slovenian%20Army">link</a> (scroll to older posts as I am not too conservative with the tag). <i>Thanks again to Grekwood miniatures, Project Zeke miniatures and Ebob miniatures for all the help involved!</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: Rifleman, armed with F2000S; another one, also carrying RGW-90; SAW gunner with Minimi para.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CB3mw4VtAbMURZ8KhEatFTvnCcwc33mN1yBEmb-GLPR-cTd5I05RB0aFIyPcmwkQs9VFtX8PfRKwTm_qDGnhO1JP503i6Ry-0I3-DdBSjD2CzYq67EiDDJihk5Jd85V-vKkv0B7gudTM/s1600/P1136855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CB3mw4VtAbMURZ8KhEatFTvnCcwc33mN1yBEmb-GLPR-cTd5I05RB0aFIyPcmwkQs9VFtX8PfRKwTm_qDGnhO1JP503i6Ry-0I3-DdBSjD2CzYq67EiDDJihk5Jd85V-vKkv0B7gudTM/s320/P1136855.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: a medic; vehicle crewman (converted from Empress Apache pilot crew), bomb technician (slight helmet conversion only).</td></tr>
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<i> </i>A very long time ago (time flies!) I converted some Poundland Hummers into SAF humvees. See <a href="http://mathyoo28mm.blogspot.si/search/label/HMMWV">here</a> for the posts about the conversion work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkfSacRRKL37e6hOV1j3hlLKf59Ocu2v2tyJez1stZh-iUVFPA1NlcDc4-H4HUvW5cG6rXSg9xqIydRIw1iNNhJ0xpu4avAVFCOaBm25YqcEcLyoEARG3XkTnBGJyvxuGZZlnQPfTdHQl/s1600/P1136896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkfSacRRKL37e6hOV1j3hlLKf59Ocu2v2tyJez1stZh-iUVFPA1NlcDc4-H4HUvW5cG6rXSg9xqIydRIw1iNNhJ0xpu4avAVFCOaBm25YqcEcLyoEARG3XkTnBGJyvxuGZZlnQPfTdHQl/s320/P1136896.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SAF Humvees, poundland vehicles conversion.</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, I do not have any armoured transporters for the Slovenes, but I have a <a href="http://mathyoo28mm.blogspot.si/search/label/Zhengdefu">Zengdefu </a>T-90, that will be a stand in for both sides as a generic main battle tank.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQplKAqKHodWQEhsRr7MeYVYD399VQwJ26KqS3q8FNH2Cumipd0g9uNXH4H9zdp9-i7lNILYh2lSLPLtHEXF7pECnaxOBQ0AthwgNMhyphenhyphen5UjWLJrXLCxFHvq-V3eS-6_IcjnDUTBTt_RRS/s1600/P1136891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQplKAqKHodWQEhsRr7MeYVYD399VQwJ26KqS3q8FNH2Cumipd0g9uNXH4H9zdp9-i7lNILYh2lSLPLtHEXF7pECnaxOBQ0AthwgNMhyphenhyphen5UjWLJrXLCxFHvq-V3eS-6_IcjnDUTBTt_RRS/s320/P1136891.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i> </i>The rebel forces were converted from Wargames factory male survivors. Some worked better than others, but in general, I am quite satisfied. See <a href="http://mathyoo28mm.blogspot.si/search/label/Insurgents">this</a> link for conversion work (again, scroll through posts to find them). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdisjCpCDUdjIaKywWCS9otF8tA-1kXoiU-UwPRRwK44vl2lxqmow8j-BzcXyPY8pIqjCZq0c9J_EZUuQrfy7pvI6H5MSaj4RM078PteIgiy38b3WL0-sndWdahXAm5mFkJHWIw_F26wI/s1600/P1136861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdisjCpCDUdjIaKywWCS9otF8tA-1kXoiU-UwPRRwK44vl2lxqmow8j-BzcXyPY8pIqjCZq0c9J_EZUuQrfy7pvI6H5MSaj4RM078PteIgiy38b3WL0-sndWdahXAm5mFkJHWIw_F26wI/s320/P1136861.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: RPK gunner; another one; "RPG gunner" armed with a RB M-57. Sculpted from scratch, I only made one. The rest are armed with RPGs from female survivor sets (Thanks Carl and Colgar6!).</td></tr>
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<br />To give them some mobile firepower, I started working on technicals a while ago, but I didn't came anywhere with them since. Perhaps starting a campaing will give me the boost needed to make at least something of them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjpAsp0zQsy8y2QyrBPWqW7A9nieebxBc5yhoVkV4VH1X0XDLmKj_WuVu56I569XSFz3QUpDl1z5NZnaycqjBE2P8pNGPJpsOE2xMCUc-WaSbYzKw5rFArNpdh22EjYNpdXS7PoUHkApQ/s1600/P1136894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjpAsp0zQsy8y2QyrBPWqW7A9nieebxBc5yhoVkV4VH1X0XDLmKj_WuVu56I569XSFz3QUpDl1z5NZnaycqjBE2P8pNGPJpsOE2xMCUc-WaSbYzKw5rFArNpdh22EjYNpdXS7PoUHkApQ/s320/P1136894.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awful vehicles, but they should work fine.</td></tr>
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Governmental forces will, at least for the time being, be represented by a conversion of Warlord's WW2 Marines. More about them <a href="http://mathyoo28mm.blogspot.si/search/label/warlord%20games">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvQuED-FhgRJrg4phbmSSLExANN76QjJXWoIBgoIWeIVUQYo0czYU0W0FhnK_xIAAdPbwCVoLEbiE1KXmu6ckA7IIFjE9oJcyhtqO5BMMB7AhlawTqO4kB7mEPjIeM4e4AhmLwMS83KQk/s1600/P1136886.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHvQuED-FhgRJrg4phbmSSLExANN76QjJXWoIBgoIWeIVUQYo0czYU0W0FhnK_xIAAdPbwCVoLEbiE1KXmu6ckA7IIFjE9oJcyhtqO5BMMB7AhlawTqO4kB7mEPjIeM4e4AhmLwMS83KQk/s320/P1136886.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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As for the armed branch of Evergreen Now! party, they will be represented by Under fire miniatures' East Germans (thanks Pete and Bill!). They might seem a bit out of place for a campaign set in today, but I would really like to use them. More on them <a href="http://mathyoo28mm.blogspot.si/search/label/Under%20Fire%20Miniatures">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrfliB_7EBf4nCgwCyiBhKbens7cYCohYs0jj4kFtwv8QCMkh4DP9a2pZQsMGxPuOCuSsc3QD95TnqfZHETpstftzNsiZBfodAJCHh1s-rK6k-ICjk0wssUiUhiMDp5PbBlW1ZOa1Xlgk/s1600/P1136863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTrfliB_7EBf4nCgwCyiBhKbens7cYCohYs0jj4kFtwv8QCMkh4DP9a2pZQsMGxPuOCuSsc3QD95TnqfZHETpstftzNsiZBfodAJCHh1s-rK6k-ICjk0wssUiUhiMDp5PbBlW1ZOa1Xlgk/s320/P1136863.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: PK gunner; rifleman; RPG gunner.</td></tr>
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While playing, I found my board pretty dull with the absence of civilians. To make use of what I have at hand (and to make me want to play some zombie games - unrelated to campaign!), I will be using zombies. Some of the Studio miniatures zombies were converted in actual persons (see different basing), but I only have 3 so far.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIKliefxObiRU27SNC2p0BTWFg4ysCAGJv_EBnXNQr6rU5P99Ef7VprPb3Dym9CeJfhzO3SnIq_ZP3FRofyNNs9leVdtLScK7GeoBPQEvl9fSIbIn4rZQZyRMELlo9Gx6wtlQHe6TzjAi/s1600/P1136868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIKliefxObiRU27SNC2p0BTWFg4ysCAGJv_EBnXNQr6rU5P99Ef7VprPb3Dym9CeJfhzO3SnIq_ZP3FRofyNNs9leVdtLScK7GeoBPQEvl9fSIbIn4rZQZyRMELlo9Gx6wtlQHe6TzjAi/s320/P1136868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: Studio miniatures Reporter conversion (note the camera!); Wargames factory Soldier conversion (not the helmet!); Studio miniaures zombie converted to a rebellious civilian.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Additionally, kicking off the campain made me sculpt again! I used old Ebob dollies and turned them from a failed SAF infantry project into something useful. Needless to say, I am not satisfied with the end results, but practice makes perfect.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZL_O0yBA_GHhoiq5m2qy0V-M03hy1ywxFScq5A_CitrPw_yyQ73jHBnw0lj-nJeStV4Ze7zwVx310I7MYmmcQKmsJP8dxyaB3EpPbHY84o4m-P2GJX02Lj3Z89GHiXswxhsaq1XA_Wjfc/s1600/P1136871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZL_O0yBA_GHhoiq5m2qy0V-M03hy1ywxFScq5A_CitrPw_yyQ73jHBnw0lj-nJeStV4Ze7zwVx310I7MYmmcQKmsJP8dxyaB3EpPbHY84o4m-P2GJX02Lj3Z89GHiXswxhsaq1XA_Wjfc/s320/P1136871.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L to R: two half done dollies before project was scraped and I used Empress miniatures for the basis of my infantry; dolly turned into an unarmed interpreter; field reporter, needs beefing up and a camera or 3.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />I have also started working on a long-planned idea of a wounded Slovene. It is based on Studio miniatures torso and needs a lot of work. It also comes with a twist!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLyuO1MHgaeqZv0BeqA6aNuiMWk_6RBeQetvMmJOCtXnsJUTPooUN1FeJLALTTmOr5h8hPO-7qWj_XVe4Wsv0WXBiD6_JPjRhYtLSzjVEni_qrIq_U_RGVZk18gMNCvnnZsdpC9QjU5nD/s1600/P1136878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLyuO1MHgaeqZv0BeqA6aNuiMWk_6RBeQetvMmJOCtXnsJUTPooUN1FeJLALTTmOr5h8hPO-7qWj_XVe4Wsv0WXBiD6_JPjRhYtLSzjVEni_qrIq_U_RGVZk18gMNCvnnZsdpC9QjU5nD/s320/P1136878.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torso on stretchers. I dread the idea of sculpting his boots.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2jO5PQxfNJkxFGjOBaAwXDUhyphenhyphen9FpTDEJFx2RgZ64xUunRDgevG8mXDKi6oV09eVZBpQMWMzlc6Ao4HdK4V9l7n-St8SJXCSy7ss4deGhYEQM5gwAdemIvdUiFn3G-_GwNT_RPo7Gz-To/s1600/P1136885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY2jO5PQxfNJkxFGjOBaAwXDUhyphenhyphen9FpTDEJFx2RgZ64xUunRDgevG8mXDKi6oV09eVZBpQMWMzlc6Ao4HdK4V9l7n-St8SJXCSy7ss4deGhYEQM5gwAdemIvdUiFn3G-_GwNT_RPo7Gz-To/s320/P1136885.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It fits on a humvee!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZrm6DtuciM0de6O7v7asQHwxNllXPlqOuPs2fo39MBHjNloExbox7QQb-xCl5tkBzf9VhCMlNEiYwKDA8cnR3BSclY14qBI0PV88dWwyWS2fK-Fy-h4-mUqvNocGDut_pql8GuwEMyxU/s1600/P1136882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwZrm6DtuciM0de6O7v7asQHwxNllXPlqOuPs2fo39MBHjNloExbox7QQb-xCl5tkBzf9VhCMlNEiYwKDA8cnR3BSclY14qBI0PV88dWwyWS2fK-Fy-h4-mUqvNocGDut_pql8GuwEMyxU/s320/P1136882.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Lastly, a photo of a project on hold:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQTmjdMujwA7E6u96Uuv5qNot-cWvz23xvEJuNFyBa4prOxHVbNOMxebHppy5qXZKh9zMm6ACw4VflfyBcBDZjStPzO4aM9Tn36r_GGneMM52U_j-deBMcmhCfYABSohrmdb6tjTEH8EV/s1600/P1136875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQTmjdMujwA7E6u96Uuv5qNot-cWvz23xvEJuNFyBa4prOxHVbNOMxebHppy5qXZKh9zMm6ACw4VflfyBcBDZjStPzO4aM9Tn36r_GGneMM52U_j-deBMcmhCfYABSohrmdb6tjTEH8EV/s320/P1136875.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top to bottom: F2000S with an UGL; Empress M4; sniper to be; another sniper; .50 cal to be; Automatic Grenade Launcher to be. They probably won't see the light of the day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I will be making up scenarios and happenings as I go. I can not promise too much, but I have already played one game. I will post it in a few days, as I have to trim down the text a bit.<br /><br />Thanks for looking,<br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-13602723538353126642015-12-25T00:02:00.003+01:002015-12-25T00:02:49.992+01:00Underfire miniatures: 28mm East Germans team 4Hi guys,<br />
<br />
I would like to wish everyone happy holidays, and - assuming my posting trend continues - a happy new year, too.<br />
<br />
<br />In December, I painted up 4th team of East Germans, which is something like a command pack with assorted figures. It includes two leaders of some description (one even has a personal radio, which surprised me and made me wish there was a proper radio man, too!), another RPG and a <strike>sniper</strike> designated marksman. As you would expect, I am not quite satisfied with my paintjob, but all in all it isn't too bad.<br />
<br />
I honestly tried making better photos, but it appears the more I try the worse they get.<br />
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<br />
I have 16 now that would make up two squads. That's more than enough to fill the tiny 3x4 table I game on. I will mainly use them in my moderns campaign as the organised bad guys, assisted by the rebels I've been using so far. I got some ideas for the campaign in my head already, but I'll probably play a few random games until I'm satisfied with the rules and while I insist on keeping the games free of politics, I think some sort of background would still be in order.<br />
<br />
Thanks for looking,<br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-48422960071488552782015-11-30T10:00:00.000+01:002015-11-30T15:33:26.006+01:00Underfire miniatures: 28mm East Germans team 3Hi guys,<br />
<br />
I barely caught my November post (could you imagine I once had plans to post twice every week?) with another pack of <a href="http://www.underfireminiatures.com/index.htm">Underfire miniatures</a> East Germans. I had them on my paint table for about a month or so, sitting half done waiting for me to sit down and finish them. The camouflage is really a bugger and I think I am getting sloppier, but even with a bit of a drop in quality, the result is really worth it. I need to go invest in another tiny brush so next pack I do can be even better.<br />
<br />
<br />
Without further ado, I present you team 3. It includes 3 East-German-AK guys and an RPG gunner, which I really missed in the earlier packs. For some reason, I really like backpacks on my guys and I plan on revisiting my RPG armed rebels and adding them some rocket packs.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTaqhiYBwiRctv7lAgNF1nHXJx5C38Sd2lD73AGb8pgN3e1erwauUqLPbXcK2cNgoOHPgxwg23TMkKtDBadjG6GbeU2ZMXm3T9wjy-WP8z4CZKVW8BMZazuuDnljD4qJMAvtWwgEW7ysO/s1600/PB306766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTaqhiYBwiRctv7lAgNF1nHXJx5C38Sd2lD73AGb8pgN3e1erwauUqLPbXcK2cNgoOHPgxwg23TMkKtDBadjG6GbeU2ZMXm3T9wjy-WP8z4CZKVW8BMZazuuDnljD4qJMAvtWwgEW7ysO/s320/PB306766.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I apologise for crappy photos, but at least they are no worse than usual. You can see they all carry their bags, including the RPG gunner! There are two things I miss with these packs, however. One is the RPG team assistant with extra rockets, the second more RPKs!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Here is a nice video I stumbled upon while searching NVA troops. It is just one part of many and it is about the breach. It shows you just how little things have changed from WW1 as they charge cross open ground, albeit with the tank support.<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GOjA-cm7mEU/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GOjA-cm7mEU?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<br />
Thanks for looking,<br />
Math-yooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-20031789542285720612015-10-24T12:52:00.000+02:002015-10-24T12:52:05.006+02:00FUBAR Afghanistan test game Hello guys,<br />
<br />
Last month or so, I found new set of free rules for modern games. Now, there are some great ideas in Breaking news, but I got lost in all my additions (that were never written down), plus they aren't quite finished, so they proved problematic often.<br />
<br />
I decided to give FUBAR, one page rules, a try. I am using the Afghanistan supplement and I opted to use some of the alternate morale rules (just casualty chart for first game). As if this weren't enough, I also decided to play a scenario from their Afghanistan missions that includes civilians. Because...well, it sounds like it should be plenty fun!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://thegamesshed.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/fubar-core-rules-4th-edition1.pdf">FUBAR core rules, 4th edition</a><br />
<a href="https://thegamesshed.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/fubar-alternate-morale-rules.pdf">FUBAR alternate morale rules </a><br />
<a href="https://thegamesshed.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/fubar-afghanistan.pdf">FUBAR Afghanistan supplement</a><br />
<a href="https://thegamesshed.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/fubar-afghanistan-missions.pdf">FUBAR Afghanistan missions</a><br />
<br />
I decided to play the Stopping the IEDs - airlifted assault mission. Not that it sounds great because it's a helicopter assault (curb your enthusiasm, no helicopters will be on the table), but it's a great chance to show of my new houses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5drHGD3q_I2HVzSmuHTc4JeKgaFLlZZ3wf2DwFacIZPDSuez9uKTUUje-Ylq9kH89CmHLln-h3YkFITzYIK5g3B8rXgEiLvlDpS8IoHVb_9QUxMNgG0dV3FFqHmYpceJYNClDC4-JVGC/s1600/PA216621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5drHGD3q_I2HVzSmuHTc4JeKgaFLlZZ3wf2DwFacIZPDSuez9uKTUUje-Ylq9kH89CmHLln-h3YkFITzYIK5g3B8rXgEiLvlDpS8IoHVb_9QUxMNgG0dV3FFqHmYpceJYNClDC4-JVGC/s320/PA216621.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
As this is my first game, I used points guidelines from Afghanistan missions sheet. I opted for:<br />
Two "type 2" squads, and I added a squad leader.<br />
No EOD support can be called in, because this is an airlifted assault. <br />
<br />
Four "tier 3" insurgents groups. Rules say group is 6 fighters with AKs, that get a RPG on a roll of 4. I also gave them a RPK on a roll of 4, meaning best armed groups have 4 AKs, a RPK and a RPG. This is what they got:<br />
<br />
Group 1 5x AK, RPG<br />
Group 2 5x AK, RPK<br />
Group 3 5x AK, RPG<br />
Group 4 5x AK, RPK<br />
<br />
It turned out them and another AK, RPK and RPG are all the insurgents I have, which made me realise the East Germans I've been painting will have to represent a higher tier bad guys in eventual campaign.<br />
<br />
This was deployment. You can see two SAF teams on the left, Rebel team by the grey building and another one having a rest at the hay rack. The rest are out patrolling and should return soon, surely they heard the Cougars bringing in the troops? As they are just local villagers, defending the factory, their cohesion distance is "touching". There are also 7 civilians standing around randomly, being annoying. Washers represent IEDs and were put in what I consider "fair" positions, on the roads leading inside the village, regardless of SAF position.<br />
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The barn is a store, inconspicuous small yellow-ish house is the factory.<br />
<br />
<i>Turn 1</i><br />
<br />
Storming the village, team Ankaran moved in to secure the barn right away. Lacking UAV support, they were unable to identify rebels for combatants, but the rebels opened up right away to try and keep the SAF from the bomb store. They fire resulted in two SAF soldiers suppressed. A return fire from an UGL, Minimi and squad leader's rifle resulted in a rebel suppressed and one casualty (a RPK gunner, even!)<br />
<br />
Seeing the action, team Bled rushed forward and opened fire on the rebel team hiding behind the wall. This time, I did not forget to count in the civilian (shooting 5" around it might get him killed, I forgot about him first time round, so I decided to ignore him). As any role of 1 around civilian gets him killed, he died.<br />
<br />
Receiving all that fire, rebel team in the firefight failed to do much but react to the attackers! Sounds of casualties must have scared the other rebel team as well, as they decided not to react just yet. (Both failed activation tests)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6H_v92cjPcRoNrPRyAIX-W8iv757j7Y8-eHnETqvFm-vPM9qf3ct7hv3dvqwa_AZ5AQxBE01uFE3FnG40LT3EulO8UcAuzZXj_-rXLRyiC4bq_BM6xVxRcSq92fv5kjzmLvog8iulzIT/s1600/PA216622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6H_v92cjPcRoNrPRyAIX-W8iv757j7Y8-eHnETqvFm-vPM9qf3ct7hv3dvqwa_AZ5AQxBE01uFE3FnG40LT3EulO8UcAuzZXj_-rXLRyiC4bq_BM6xVxRcSq92fv5kjzmLvog8iulzIT/s320/PA216622.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdXtaN8DD95bK9lFWn0rfOmV8ZDH8gYM2GC77SxlDcDUFpCXSXwyRneOWTIO__YTH5aRvmdIskA1epQhgOs_b2-Z3jT1mhGsSmmsWSM3t2hDLXY8H7KSNG0dLXZgq9uPV_Zjjxp5XT_kC/s1600/PA216624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdXtaN8DD95bK9lFWn0rfOmV8ZDH8gYM2GC77SxlDcDUFpCXSXwyRneOWTIO__YTH5aRvmdIskA1epQhgOs_b2-Z3jT1mhGsSmmsWSM3t2hDLXY8H7KSNG0dLXZgq9uPV_Zjjxp5XT_kC/s320/PA216624.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Turn 2</i> <br />
<br />
Hay rack group activates and opens up with all they had and succeeds in suppressing two more soldiers and killing 2 civilians.<br />
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The weight of fire stops SAF assault in their tracks (they don't activate).<br />
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<i>Turn 3 </i><br />
<br />
Team Ankaran is still being held by the fire, but team Bled surges forward. This time I remembered to use cover modifiers against rebels (SAF don't get cover modifiers because rebels hit on 6 as it is, I think I will use Breaking News' idea here that downgrades the rate of fire in cases like this. Just because rebels are bad at firing, it doesn't mean cover is useless all of the sudden). They score 3 hits and mop up with the Taliban team.<br />
<br />
*At this point I realised I played it all wrong. Rebels can have 1 man suppressed, the rest all die outright. So I removed 1 that shouldn't be suppressed, leaving 3 rebels that were removed as a result of Bled's fire.<br />
<br />
The defeat of one rebel team left the one at the hay rack paralysed, unable to perform. The two groups that were out on patrol, however, now returned to the village.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<i>Turn 4</i><br />
<br />
Only one rebel group activates, that moved on to the grey building, trying to prevent SAF from entering the bomb store. They were spotted by team Ankaran, but because only a suppressed rifleman saw them, they took no action.<br />
<br />
Team Ankaran finally recovered and moved in the barn. Target was confirmed and explosives were set. Objective completed.<br />
<br />
Team Bled moved forward through the building and engaged rebel group hiding behind the hay rack, who returned fire. Bled scored 5 hits, one becoming a suppression, 4 are kills. This is too easy, I must be doing something wrong!<br />
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<br />
<i>Turn 5</i><br />
<br />
Rebels won the initiative and one of the groups moved in through the grey building and its members took the best advantage of the single window and an outside space they could. They fired at the team Ankaran, but scored no success.<br />
<br />
Seeing their friends at hay rack in despair, second rebel group sprinted to the hay rack, to take on the team Bled once they get a chance.<br />
<br />
Team Ankaran repositioned slightly to get another man to fire and scored two hits on the rebel group hiding in grey house, killing one.<br />
<br />
Team Bled failed to activate.<br />
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<br />
<i>Turn 6 </i><br />
<br />
Team Ankaran moved up to the Rebels and engaged with hand grenades, erasing the rebel group quite literally.<br />
Team Bled failed to activate again, as did both rebel teams.<br />
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<i>Turn 7</i> <br />
Team Ankaran pushed forward once again and was met up with a fire from both rebel groups. Firefight with a larger group didn't go well for Slovenes, they ended suppressing one of the rebels and had 3 guys suppressed and a minimi gunner lost themselves. Fire from a rebel in the second group had no effect.<br />
<br />
Team Bravo failed to activate.<br />
<br />
Now one-man rebel group that started this fight at the hay rack fired at team Ankaran, scoring a hit, that was saved by a body armour. Whew!<br />
<br />
Larger group didn't activate.<br />
<br />
<i>Turn 8 </i><br />
<br />
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Small rebel group didn't activate.<br />
Team Ankaran didn't activate.<br />
Large rebel group activated and fired at helpless soldiers of team Ankaran (I was maximising the casualties here, because Ankaran was an easy pray, while Bled had all its members up and was on overwatch). The only hit they did put the Squad leader out of action, making him seriously injured (needs to be taken to off the table to the medevac).<br />
My only hopes to ending this battle quickly, activating team Bled, failed.<br />
<br />
<i>Turn 9 </i><br />
<br />
Large group activated again and unleashed another volley at team Ankaran, trying to destroy it before its members can return to fight. They scored one hit. The save failed, which means one of the suppressed members is now a casualty. Random roll decided it was Grenadier who is now badly injured and in the need of medevac.<br />
<br />
Small group failed to activate again.<br />
<br />
Against all odds, team Ankaran returned to fight and opened fire, scoring a hit and suppressing one of the rebels.<br />
<br />
Team Bled still didn't activate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAdmTGb4gCvA9Vx-HTQ7cHRsYZIMZdqh5AqEpnTnTzFF2cNRnukX7gpx5mIsUzWvr1hj-UHOKFqcL-ScXrjsoSI1fOtNA53sr-tpz0cokWK5dWRtxBorzJkQABYb7j0qg7co-jI8kPtdq/s1600/PA216639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIAdmTGb4gCvA9Vx-HTQ7cHRsYZIMZdqh5AqEpnTnTzFF2cNRnukX7gpx5mIsUzWvr1hj-UHOKFqcL-ScXrjsoSI1fOtNA53sr-tpz0cokWK5dWRtxBorzJkQABYb7j0qg7co-jI8kPtdq/s320/PA216639.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>Turn 10</i> <br />
<br />
Team Ankaran activates (I realised their roll is 3+, not 4+, so that's another mistake), fires and kills a rebel.<br />
<br />
Team Bled finally activates and moves out in the open to end this dispute. They spotted an IED marker, which turned out to be false. Their grenades scored 7 hits, which means they were now the only survivors.<br />
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<br />
According to the victory points, assuming SAF blew up the second building after the battle, as there was no opposition, it came down to:<br />
<br />
SAF<br />
10 obj + 48 rebels - whatever a civilian would be worth, so we'll ignore those = 58<br />
<br />
Rebels<br />
18 for 3 SAF members killed/badly injured<br />
<br />
That's quite a victory for SAF and it does seem in line with what I've read about these engagements, so far, but I have done some mistakes. The system probably isn't bad, but I think I prefer some of the ideas in Breaking News (especially low ammo rules). I also think I would like to add something like an off table sniper support and bombardments, but as we were fighting on such short distances, the latter would not be used too often. What bothers me is that UGL, minimi and RPG all get +3 FP, compared to rifle's 2, but then again, that is 50% higher fire power. There is absolutely no difference between a RPK and a RPG, so perhaps I'd make RPGs ignore cover.<br />
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<br />
<b>House roles ideas that I had during the game/deployment:</b><br />
<br />
1. In AFG Supplement, there is a bonus for SUSAT optics (4x sight that Brits use). I only made one guy per squad (1/2 per team if you prefer) using it in a role of a designated marksman, so I opted to only give him the bonus. <br />
Should you be interested, as everyone else, SAF figured marksman needs something heavier than a 5.56 rifle with a scope, so some of our units are now equipping their marksmen (that is not a sniper, we got those, too) with spare M76 sniper rifles (ie. Dragunov).<br />
<br />
2. IEDs - For 3 teams that Taliban (so rebels in my games) have, they get an IED. Each has 3 markers (2 blanks, 1 real). If a marker is real, it will be decided by rolling 1-2 on a D6 (instead of picking one and not telling myself).<br />
<br />
3. On guard/overwatch enables inactive teams to react to enemy fire and movement. I decided troops start on guard, as this would kind of make sense, the distances are short enough to imagine rebels expected the assault on the village.<br />
<br />
4. I think advance casualties should work for both sides, as there is 1/3 chance of a light wound, which would give rebels some kind of a "save", they get none other way and are pretty much obliterated by the veteran infantry.<br />
<br />
5. Talking about veteran infantry, SAF will be downgraded to "Seasoned" as we're assuming Evergreen campaign is their first real FUBAR since 1991.<br />
<br /><br /><br />Thanks for looking,<br />Mathyoo<br />
<br />Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-46214857843238285872015-10-07T10:45:00.001+02:002015-10-07T10:45:09.967+02:00Building the Evergreen FieldsHi guys,<br />
<br />
I have a very clear idea of what I want to do with my moderns campaign in my head:<br />
<br />
For reasons that don't matter, lets say a coup was made, a certain group started rebelling against the government forces and gained control of a large part of the island. I am not quite sure if I'd make a campaign map or something, not in the least because I couldn't do it, but the games I'd play would all be really small.<br />
<br />
The idea is to play series of scenarios, that all look great in my head, but when I am about to play (or when I play) I keep finding my games lacking *something*. Apart from an opponent, I blame it on the terrain. So what I did in the past weeks was I've cut up my<a href="http://mathyoo28mm.blogspot.si/2012/04/on-streets.html"> urban boards</a> I never used (which also reminded me that it's my 3rd+ year in blogging and I still haven't gotten anywhere far!) and recycled them.<br />
<br />
I decided to build more of the small houses as I built last time, again leaving the roofs to save my limited mojo, but still get a playable city. I cut up all the roads and got more stripes than I'd ever need.<br />
<br />
After 3 and a half years, I also finally built a fence on top of my apartments block. In the upper right corner, you can see some stripes that are supposed to be terrain irregularities and/or ditches and a burnt car I wanted to build for years.<br />
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As mentioned, houses follow the same pattern. I will add windows to them and probably plank them with coffee stirers from the inside. I could do this much!<br />
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What couldn't be used elsewhere was torn apart and used for rubble bases. I'm not too happy with the pile two because they are too low in height, but once put together, they should add some value to the terrain as a whole. You can see a squad of Slovenes working their way through them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QB7H5SwQDjCh7zNcK9GYhaeNfmuIEyXIJNbN2cvD2xZq1-n2tdNXm1Y3ZjuFQF8vA4HUONrBaUw2z-MTeqP9zLiq8b0lvISzLqoCdzyCR2F6zKKd0o4NmI0vFcoDfFO4POcKZFPbN_c5/s1600/PA076609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QB7H5SwQDjCh7zNcK9GYhaeNfmuIEyXIJNbN2cvD2xZq1-n2tdNXm1Y3ZjuFQF8vA4HUONrBaUw2z-MTeqP9zLiq8b0lvISzLqoCdzyCR2F6zKKd0o4NmI0vFcoDfFO4POcKZFPbN_c5/s320/PA076609.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next step is adding the windows, doors and other details to the houses. After that, I need to wait for the weather to get better (it has been raining for most of the week now) to go out and put sand on them. Then it's all about painting them and I am all ready to go.<br />
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Just to keep a list of other ideas I had, I also need to work on:<br />- a check point<br />- IGLA anti-air rocket launchers to represent an AA strongpoint that would have to be neutralised to bring the air support in.<br />- technicals. I made no progress, but I'd really need some battle taxies for the rebels!<br />- Vegetation, my bane enemy. I have a lot of aquarium plants laying around and I just need to get on with it and use them.<br />
- Find a way to make more trees, possibly with some leaves on them!<br /><br />If you have any ideas, feel free to share them in the comments!<br /><br />As usual, thanks for reading!<br /><br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-8316174866015756682015-09-23T17:59:00.002+02:002015-09-23T17:59:44.670+02:00Underfire Miniatures: 28mm East Germans team 2Hello guys,<br />
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I am quite pleased that I have finally finished another team of East Germans from Underfire miniatures.<br />
The photo is bad as usual, so some of them seem larger than the others, but they are actually pretty much of the same size.<br />
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From left to right there is a NCO (as you could guess!), a gung ho PK gunner (my favorite!), and two riflemen, one armed with a LAW.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheu0-894Jl0wll41CbaiyLBH6sqUtwywlyYGEXnD9uKCHkkNZFXc9h7ubYvaILefMkMoMvMg4wkk-ldYhTnFe1QBJcIBOqr1e99-n9hSbcR6IcVFR0WLiod_aOW-RzcbAtLRG9b8uTB1Ty/s1600/P9226601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheu0-894Jl0wll41CbaiyLBH6sqUtwywlyYGEXnD9uKCHkkNZFXc9h7ubYvaILefMkMoMvMg4wkk-ldYhTnFe1QBJcIBOqr1e99-n9hSbcR6IcVFR0WLiod_aOW-RzcbAtLRG9b8uTB1Ty/s320/P9226601.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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There is not much to add, apart from the pain that painting the camo gives me, they are quite pleasant, I really like the poses on those. There are 3 different helmet covers variations between the 8 figures, which is very welcoming. <br /><br />In other news, my "work placement" ends by the end of the month and I will have more time to devote to hobby again - hopefully I will do so as well.<br />
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I have a long list of things I want to do, from playing a game (!); making more terrain which is why I have trouble starting to play; sculpting as I haven't held a putty in my hands for 4 months or so - which is when I bought a new stripe of GS that I haven't yet used!<br /><br />I am still gathering courage to work on my technicals some more, which would also be welcome.<br /><br />Well, this is it for now, I hope I'll post again soon enough!<br /><br />Thanks for reading,<br />Mathyoo<br />
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<br />Mathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256691117932972436.post-16948639151944123702015-08-03T18:28:00.000+02:002015-08-03T18:28:02.278+02:00Underfire miniatures: 28mm East Germans<br />
Hello guys,<br />
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I have finally finished painting a pack of <a href="http://www.underfireminiatures.com/index.htm">Under Fire Miniatures</a> 28mm East Germans. These are one of the two packs that company does in 28mm, but they have a huge range of 20mm miniatures. They were sculpted by the same guy that sculpts Moderns for Empress, and quality hasn't suffered - they are absolutely fantastic. <br />
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Cold war is not something I was planning to dab into (as I opted for moderns instead), alas they were a gift so I was more than happy to paint them. They will not be put away, however, as they will take the role of the Evergreen army in my moderns that was so far filled by my WWII US Marines conversions.<br />
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Being ignorant of Cold War Germans of either description, I had to do some research figuring out the equipment and camouflage. I am not too confident about my paint choices, but I think it should do well enough.<br />
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If I am not mistaken, they would fit in the late eighties, should anyone be interested. <br />
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This pack gives you three guys armed with AKs and a guy armed with a RPK for a support. The barrel of the later actually broke in transit, but by simply sanding it a bit and gluing it back, the damange is not noticable at all. Other than that, they pretty much all sport same equipment, with ammo pouches of the RPK guy being a tad larger, which I think was a nice attention to detail.<br />
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As I mentioned they were sculpted by the same sculptor that made the US Infantry I am using for Slovenes, but as you can see below the Germans are just a tad bulkier: <br />
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Unrelated, below are some notes on the paints used, mainly for myself as a future reference:<br />
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I had trouble picking up paints (not to mention painting the pattern). The pattern is horrible, it really is. It is brown stripes on brownish-greenish-greyish-beige background. The pattern gets lost from 5 meters away, so the easiest way would be to just paint the uniforms in one solid colour...but where is the fun in that?<br />
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I decided to make the pattern obvious, as these are miniatures after all and for that, I went with lighter brown background, so that brown stripes can be made out.<br />
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I painted the uniform this way (because of what I had available):<br />
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German Beige Camo base<br />
Green Brown wash, some black wash<br />
Brown stripes<br />
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Brown violet for helmet netting and helmet straps.<br />
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Helmet - German grey, highlited with German Grey + Green Grey to lighten it up<br />
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Straps, gas mask bag, bedroll all in Green grey with some black<br />
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I finished it all of with a light drybrush of German Beige Camo mixed with some white.<br />
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I have to admit I miss the RPG in this pack, but it will be provided in one of the next packs that are due to be released, so I can always put them in. With my Evergreen army now matching my Slovenes, I am running out of reasons not to play a game soon. I am setting up an idea for a scenario already, but I always find myself missing some more terrain, so hopefully this can be a project for this week - perhaps some waist high banks that could represent various ditches and act like a cover in the large open areas?<br />
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As usual, thanks for looking!<br /><br />MathyooMathyoohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254075235438097742noreply@blogger.com22