Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI Reboot

I've been thinking about rebooting my very old Rapid Fire project from fifteen or more years ago, a late war British force representing the 5th Battalion Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. This was originally a 20mm or 1/72nd scale project using Valiant Miniatures and Ready to Roll vehicles, but it fizzled out and the stuff I had painted went to eBay. I've dug out my old notes and this was what I had sorted back in the day:

This requires the following:

1 x HQ (7 figures)

4 x Infantry Companies (32 figures)

1 x Support Company (9 figures)

1 x FO team (2 figures)

There are four carriers plus a six pounder and mortar to equip the battalion as well, but I've decided to leave the attached 8th Middlesex Vickers platoon out of the painting schedule for the moment.

Finally, for armour support I will add a squadron of the Sherwood Foresters or the 4/7th Dragoon Guards, both of which will be equipped with a Firefly and two Shermans. 

This time round I'll be using Rapid Fire Reloaded and the Plastic Soldier Company 15mm figures and vehicles, some of which I already have, but with the infantry and heavy weapons being a new outlay. I do have some Peter Pig figures I could use but I'm saving those for other things. 

The other option will be to build opposing US 29th Infantry Division and Fallschirmjager battalions for the campaign in Brittany. This is a really interesting campaign and I have the Plastic Soldier Company Fallschirmjager figures already, as well as plenty of armour for the Americans. I'll just need to add the US infantry figures, for which the Flames of War range is the best option, the PSC figures being a bit rubbish. 

This is all a long way off but no harm in planning and preparing the ground for a later time.

Rapid Fire Reloaded Revisited

An old wargaming friend of mine has been doing some rather splendid things for Rapid Fire Reloaded lately, building opposing late war British and German forces in 20mm, the conventional scale for the rules. I already have a copy of the rulebook, together with previous editions, and a long time ago even had most of a British company almost completed. That went to eBay years ago but I'm now thinking of a reboot in either 15mm or 12mm, so have ordered some of the new rules supplements to see if I can work out options for a future project, once again focussed on the 5th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in Normandy, or the Breakout into Brittany project which was originally for ISBSM back in the day.

Operation Clipper

5th DCLI in Geilenkirchen, November 1944

I've just read the chapter in Brothers in Arms detailing the role played by the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry in Operation Clipper, the arduous battle for Geilenkirchen in November 1944. This has been a long term interest of mine, as the 5th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry were also heavily involved, albeit on the opposite flank of the attack.

I've had two or three abortive attempts to do a wargaming project based on the 5th DCLI over the last twenty years, from IABSM in 15mm, to Rapid Fire in 20mm and Chain of Command in 28mm, but have decided that 15mm with Chain of Command is probably the best option. In fact, despite my recent 28mm Western Desert Perry and Rubicon purchases, the lure of Peter Pig late war 15mm British infantry is very strong, urging me to go have another crack at this project. Mind you, my last spurt of enthusiasm for this was five years ago, so why I haven't done it by now is a moot point!

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/2018/06/summer-holiday-project-re-think.html

Incidentally, we drove within spitting distance of Geilenkirchen a few days ago but didn't stop off as we were in a rush to get back home. It's ironic as the twin is twinned with the in-laws town here in Brittany as well. The battle was a particularly nasty one but the project would have a wider scope, from September 1944 through to April 1945, allowing for all the background reading I've done to be worked up into some historical scenarios. 

Who knows, if I get my act together and really get a grip on the rules, it could even turn into an article for the Lard Mag one day?

Brothers in Arms

 

The weather hasn't been great today and I've been feeling a bit under the weather as well, so I dug in and started reading James Holland's account of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry in NW Europe, Brothers in Arms. I've read a lot about this regiment and the wider 8th Armoured Brigade, as they supported the 5th DCLI during much of the campaign, which is a particular interest of mine as well as a long-term wargaming focus, not that I've realised it yet. 

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.com/search?q=5th+dcli

It's a testimony to the readable style in which the author pens his narrative, which is similar in approach to that of Max Hastings, that I've got all the way to Chapter Ten already, with the added bonus that he's actually a professional historian (although some may disagree). I've enjoyed this a lot so far and will be digging in deeper this week, as the weather forecast is now looking pretty ropey for the next twenty-four hours or so.

Rapid Fire Reloaded

It's too flipping cold in the garage for painting today, so I've been thinking about my options for a 15mm WW2 wargaming project for later in the year. I have always planned to do this using I 'Aint Been Shot Mum for company level wargaming, although I have also considered Chain of Command for platoon level actions, the former with multiple and the latter with individually based 15mm figures. 

However, there's a new stripped down version of Rapid Fire! that might well bridge the gap, enabling me to set up some skirmish style games with a minimum of figures that could subsequently be expanded out to cater for one of the Too Fat Lardies rules. I'd probably aim to base in multiples of two figures to a base, which ties in nicely with both Rapid Fire! and IABSM, so I could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Valiant Miniatures 5th DCLI

I did actually have a half finished Rapid Fire! late war British project in 20mm years ago but that went to eBay when no one at the club was interested. I have also thought again about 20mm as an option, making use of my AFV's for What a Tanker! which are all painted and ready to roll, but I think 15mm is probably a better way forward. So, to cut a long ramble short, I've sent off for a copy of the Rapid Fire Reloaded rules to take a closer look and see if they are any good for 15mm.

British Armour for What a Tanker!

I've been thinking through the options for a British extension of the What a Tanker! project, with the same winter theme so that I can use the terrain that I've already set up. This limits things a bit but there's still plenty of scope for some interesting units.

This reminded me of an old Rapid Fire project from nearly ten years ago, for which I used Armourfast Sherman M4A2's as Sherman III's alongside an Armourfast M4 Sherman Firefly. These were lightly converted by adding some homemade camo netting and stowage, with the sand skirts removed from the Firefly.

These were painted as A Squadron, 4/7th Dragoon Guards, 8th Armoured Brigade, to deploy alongside the 5th DCLI in Normandy, although they really represent a under strength single troop. In Rapid Fire the army lists are based on a condensed format, so a squadron is represented by only three tanks.

Unfortunately, they went to a new home via eBay ages ago, when I decided to drop Rapid Fire as a set of rules. However, It has given me some ideas for modelling the Firefly for a 1st RTR, 7th Armoured Division troop. The standard organisation was three Cromwells with one Firefly per troop.

Luckily, I still have the other Sherman Firefly spruce stashed away, along with two boxes of Armourfast Cromwells, so it will be easy to assemble a new British troop for the Desert Rats. I can also paint them in all over winter whitewash camouflage, which will look really effective on my snow terrain.

What a Tanker! Ready to Roll?

I was asked the other day about where I  got my 1/72nd scale tank kits from for What a Tanker!, so suggested Armourfast, Italeri and Pegasus, together with Early War Miniatures for the accessories and other detailing bits. I then realised that I'd forgotten entirely about the Ready to Roll resin models, despite actually having used some way back for a Rapid Fire 1944 British project. These have long since been consigned to eBay but it did get me thinking.

I had another look this morning to see what they had in the range that I could use for the Russian Front and was pleased to find a Churchill IV, amongst other things, that I could use for the Soviets. I had considered the Plastic Soldier Company kit for this but it's pretty expensive at £20 and I only want one or two of them anyway, with the Ready to Roll models about half the price and also designed specifically for rough handling. 

They also have a Matilda, T-26, Jagdpanzer IV and a Hetzer, all of which I'd eventually like to add to the line up. I'll have to wait until the end of the week to order some but, if you can cope with the solid resin base and minimal detailing, I think the Ready to Roll range could be the answer for all of those one off vehicles that are available as model kits but that are probably too fiddly and delicate to use as wargaming models.

Summer Holiday Project Re-Think

I've been debating whether or not the IABSM 15mm project is the best option for the holidays, mainly due to the vast number of plastic figures and vehicles that I'd need to assemble, let alone eventually paint. As an alternative, I've been considering the other 15mm WW2 project that I set out a few months ago, namely to re-purpose my Peter Pig 15mm lead pile for Chain of Command. 

These figures were originally intended for IABSM but, now that I've switched to Battlefront and PSC for that, they are surplus to requirements. The idea is to use them for Chain of Command, initially assembling a late war British unit with various support elements, to represent a platoon of the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and tanks of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry or 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards.

This is all I'd need to base and paint for the 5th DCLI

I had a 20mm Rapid Fire! equivalent of this ages ago and have always wanted to pick it up where I left off, only in 15mm this time around. I'd also build a corresponding German platoon, possibly of Volksgrenadiers rather than standard infantry, as the plan would be to set up skirmish scenarios based around actions in Holland and the Rhineland in late 1944 to early 1945. 

It's just an ideas at the moment but it would be a lot more manageable than the IABSM option?

What a Tanker! Weekend

The What a Tanker! rules arrived yesterday, so I have dug out a couple of my old Corgi 1/50th scale tanks for a run through over the weekend. The Sherman is a re-paint but the Panther is straight out of the box. This makes it easy to set up a game but, in the longer term, I'm seriously considering a switch over to 20mm or 1/72nd scale using the Armourfast range and whatever old Airfix kits than I can dust off for the purpose.

I have some of these kits left over from a Rapid Fire! project and they would be a much cheaper option than going large in 28mm, especially now that the Corgi diecast tanks are so expensive. The only issue would be terrain, as I don't want to have to make lots of 20mm scenery that I wouldn't otherwise use? It would, however, make it quicker and easier to build a good selection of tanks for a progressive campaign, opening up the possibility of some early to mid war multiplayer action as well. 

Armoured Guardsmen

I'm finishing the half term holidays with a change of reading focus to NW Europe from D-Day to the Rhine and beyond. The campaign in NW Europe after the break out from Normandy has been an interest of mine for ages, with best laid plans for wargaming the progress of the 5th Battalion DCLI having been attempted in 20mm before, only to fall by the wayside for various reasons. I'd really like to pick this up again in 15mm at some point this year, probably using Chain of Command instead of Rapid Fire!, so this book is a good source of inspiration even if it isn't directly relevant. It is very well written and full of the sort of little details that make for a fascinating read, so I've really enjoyed it and have whizzed through almost to the end in a couple of evenings.

Rapid Fire! Redux

I've had a change of mind over the last couple of days and have been thinking about finishing off my Rapid Fire! 20mm Late War British Rifle Battalion, the 5th Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry. This may seem to be overly virtuous on my part but it makes a lot of sense.

The force is about 80% complete as it stands and thus only requires about twenty figures and half a dozen vehicles to be painted up. I can add a couple of new assets to the force to beef it up a bit but I don't need to, so I can keep things manageable given my limited time for painting.

I can scale the force up and down to use with other rules if I want to including Kampfgruppe Normandy and  the new edition of IABSM, the latter of which I have on the birthday present wishlist. Finally, I have an opponent with a fully complete German Kampfgruppe to put them up against, although we'll have to wait until after half term for me to get myself sorted.

I'm feeling quite enthusiastic about a return to Rapid Fire!, having lost my cutting edge a few months ago when it started to drag a bit. I'm not completely decided yet, as I also want to work on preparing the rest of the 28mm Nkonde units for In the Heart of Africa and also have the PITS / Men of Company B 15mm option to consider

Hmmmm.

Kampfgruppe Normandy

Thanks to the ever vigilant Steve Blease (cheers Steve!) I discovered that the Warhammer Historical rules are 50% off at the moment. I popped over to the WH webshop thingy, with a mind to pick up the new Great War supplement Over the Top, but decided instead to get a less than cheap copy of the otherwise totally extortionate Kampfgruppe Normandy 20mm WW2 rules.

I'm thinking that they might be good as an alternative set of rules for Rapid Fire! and would give me another use for the 5th Battalion DCLI figures and AFV's that I've assembled. I'm not intending to switch from Rapid Fire! but it might be interesting to do a bit of platoon level gaming using the same stuff, sort of ' two for the price of one', if you see what I mean.

At £24 (plus postage) it's at the upper end of the outlay spectrum but, as it weighs half a ton and is full of useful information, pictures and orbats, it should be worth the asking price. I could never afford it otherwise so it's a bit of a bargain, whichever way you look at it.

Return to Rapid Fire!

I've had a very busy weekend, hence the absence of any posts over the last seventy two hours but normal service has now been resumed. On Saturday we had a ninth birthday party to organise, followed by the arrival of some French relatives for the weekend. The whole of Sunday was occupied with sightseeing in Bath as a result, despite the terrible weather, so no painting has been done and I'm a bit behind schedule.

However, I have managed to arrange a game of Rapid Fire! or possibly Armies in Crisis for later in the month. This will involve my 5th DCLI battalion with armour support from a squadron of the Sherwood Rangers against a scratch Kampfgruppe of Jon's Panzer Grenadiers. It's therefore imperative that I finish off the last carriers and figures to complete my battalion for the 28th.

We've both got Armies in Crisis and thought it might be interesting to try the rules out as an alternative to Rapid Fire! The rules are based on Contemptible Little Armies so the mechanisms should be quick to pick up and easy to work with. I've also loaned my copy of Rapid Fire! to a chap at the club so will be a bit stuck if I can't retrieve it by the end of the month (although I could print out the .pdf).

I'll try to round off the Back of Beyond figures and the Garford Putilov this week leaving the Rapid Fire! stuff for the week afterwards. I've still got quite a lot to do but the added impetus of a game at the end of the tunnel should help me shift things along.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [32]

Although this project seems to be never ending, I have started on the carriers and transport for the 5/DCLI this evening. I've painted the tracks on the first batch of four carriers and drybrushed the second lot, including the recce platoon jeep, with a three stage Foundry Phlegm Green basecoat.

It doesn't look that impressive now but should look fine in the end.  

Valiant 6 Pounder AT Gun Kit

As expected, the Valiant 6 Pounder arrived today and very sturdy it is too, compared to the SHQ and Airfix versions that I originally intended to use. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the old Raventhorpe gun as the crew figures look very much like the metal crew figures I've seen in the vehicle range. It's a good piece of kit nonetheless and will be easy to stick together as it only consists of five components.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [31]

Not a lot on the Rapid Fire! front over the last couple of days but I have managed to assemble and undercoat the FAO carrier, the recce platoon jeep and a carrier for the extra Vickers HMG team. I've also stripped the figures from the 6 pounder AT gun base to make a second Vickers team for the 8th Middlesex. The AT gun will be re-crewed with the metal figures from the Valiant 6 Pounder gun set that I should get in the post tomorrow.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [30]

I stayed up late last night to finish off the last of the Shermans for the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. I now have A Squadron done and dusted, minus the base texturing and painting. I also need to add some aerials to the turrets out of stretched sprue of very thin wire. It's on to the carriers and recce jeep now, all of which I'm going to tackle in one go.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [29]

This is what I have left to finish before the Rapid Fire! project is sorted. I've decided to add another Vickers and carrier for the attached support elements of the 8th Battalion Middlesex MG Company, as one machine gun seemed a little less than helpful. I'm also going to add a Wasp flamethrower to the unit, as it's available in the army lists from July '44 onwards and seems like a useful bit of kit.

I was wondering about a second tank squadron for the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, as I've really enjoyed putting together the three Shermans of A Squadron, even though the last one is still waiting to be finished off. I've also thought about some attached AT assets, in the form of the half track towed 17 pounders of the 59th AT Regiment, but have decided to leave that until later. Ideally, I'd like to field some SPAT Archers but, as no one makes them in 1/72nd scale it's a bit of a dead end.

This weekend I hope to make some decent progress toward the finishing line as I have done very little recently due to work commitments. If I can finish the vehicles that will be a good start. In the meantime, I'm going to dig out the rules for a good read through in advance of a game sometime after Easter against Kampfgruppe Emmenthaler.

Valiant 6 pounder AT gun!

Someone forgot to tell me that Valiant have released their new metal AT gun range as individual models. I was following a thread on TMP and found out that the 6 Pounder is now available in a compatible scale to the Valiant infantry figures.

Woo hoo!

I've ordered one to replace the underscale SHQ version that I was going to use. As I have a crew for this already, I may well keep the metal figures as spares or re-use them for other purposes. It's a bit pricey at eight quid but worth it for something that looks right next to the Valiant foot sloggers.

Rapid Fire 5th Battalion DCLI [28]

I added the decals to the two Shermans that I painted and weathered yesterday, using 15mm waterslide  transfers from Dom's Decals and a few bits and bobs from the spares box. I also did a bit of toming down on the tarp and wooden box with a light drybrush of GW Rotting Flesh.

I finished off with an overspray of Army Painter Matt Varnish, after sealing the decals with some Decalfix.So, overall, not a lot of progress this weekend but better than nothing. I'm hoping to finish the last of the tanks tomorrow and then crack on to the carriers.