Gallipoli Game at the Club

 Last night at the club, Josh put on a superb 6mm game depicting the initial landings at Gallipoli.  There were 2 stunning board - one for the Helles point (on which I was the Turkish commander) and another for ANZAC cove (picturedat the end of this post).  The first picture shows my initial deployment using blinds.

Each side had a CIC who played but wasn't allowed to see the boards - we could only communicate via messages - command control was umm difficult!    There were 10 total landing sites and the British had to secure 6 to win the game.  Greg was our overall commander and decided to roll the dice and overload my table (which has 6 beaches) so I had an extra regiment (the 27th) to deploy in reserve behind the 26th which was deployed along tip.

The British, under command of Ed as CIC, elected to land at night.  They gave up any ship-to-shore bombardment but gained 4 "unopposed" turns to land and move troops inland before the Turks could react - as long as they stayed 2 inches away from any Turkish unit.  Tom did just that and chose to land at 2 beaches and here was his progress at dawn (turn 5).  The troops stands in the water are waiting to land and there is a similar stack behind the beach in the lower right.

The fighting was very intense but I was lucky in some early command rolls and rushed 2 battalions of the 27th regiment to try and stem the flow of British troops

British losses started to mount as the dice gods favored the Turks this day.  I also took an extreme gable and pulled the battalion guarding the point to launch a counter attack on beach Y.  The British Brigade there broke twice and was pushed into the sea

On the upper beach, the British brigade also broke but was able to retreat back to defend a small pocket.  They could not be dislodged by the end of the game.

 The view of the Helles after the battle.

Things went much better for the Empire on the ANZAC board, as the Aussies made great progress inland - in part because one of the regiment defending in this area was transferred to my board.  Still Dave and his son put up stiff resistance against overwhelming British forces.

The battle ended with the British controlling 5 of the 6 beaches they needed so was a marginal Turkish victory.

We used the Great War Spearhead2 rules, which I have a mixed set of feelings about.  Some things are good and other are maddening.  I need to play them a few more times to give them a good shot.  They are simple so will work well in a convention game.

Ed, as the British CIC, seemed a bit doubtful about his prospects as he came to the club with some pre-made newspaper headlines that was sent out on facebook just after the battle.

It was a grand, very closely fought game.  Josh will be running the game at cold wars and if you're attending I suggest you sign up - it's well worth your time.

Wings of Glory

 I played my first game of Wings of Glory, a WWI aircraft combat game.  It's a very intuitive game with simple mechanics but a lot of fun to play.  It's like X-Wing for WWI, but I think it plays cleaner and has a lot more maneuver options.  Each type of plane has a deck of 25 of so cards that have different types of maneuver options.

I really liked the game and its one I think I can get my son interested in playing.

A very fun day

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge X: Three weeks of Painting

It's been a productive three weeks.  My first submission for the Challenge was these 3 Russian generals from AB Miniatures in 18mm scale.  As I've said many times before AB makes the best 15/18mm Napoleonic miniatures around.  Old Glory's Blue Moon line is a close second and may pip them on value but AB's have stolen my heart. 

 Next up some 28mm WW1 Sailors formed into a Landing Party.  These are for to use with both the upcoming Blood and Valor skirmish game plus a convention game concept I'm working on that may see the light of day at Fall In 2020.

Next up Some Austrians and Russians.  From left to right for the Austrians are 2, 24 figure Austrian infantry Battalions, 10 skirmish stands, 3 batteries and 6 generals.   These are almost all Old Glory figures.  Next we have some Russian command stands and 12 artillery batteries, all from AB Miniatures.  When the Challenge is over I'll do a review of my entire 15mm Napoleonic collection, which now has forces for the French, British, Spanish, Portuguese, Austrians, Russians and US (War of 1812).  Sadly the Prussians are missing - I suspect that will be remedied over the course of 2020.  The club is thinking of doing a Napoleon in Egypt project so there may also be some early French and Ottomans/Mamlukes joining the ranks.

 A space Marine for one of the "X-Marks-the-Spot locales.

 Some 28mm Aztecs, cause I had them on hand

Another X-marks the spot submission in the form of Swedish Dragoons from the wonderful "By Fire and Sword" game system.

Lastly, some War of 1812 miniatures in 15mm from Old Glories Blue Moon line.  A bunch of US commanders and two large calvary groups - US light Dragoons in the front and Mounted KT rifles in the back.  You'll be seeing a lot more of these chaps in a few weeks.  In the lover right are 10 stands of Native Americans.

I would like to leave this post with a plug for Old Glory and their "Army Card" subscription option.  Old Glory make very nice and affordable figures but they also have an option to pay an annual fee of $50.00 and get a 40% discount on the entire line - thats 40% off already reasonable prices.  It's the best deal I know off and one you should take advantage off if you're building out just about any army in 15 - 18mm scale.  Thanks Old Glory!

WW1 French Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient in 6mm: Done

 My contribution to the clubs upcoming Gallipoli game is complete - well I still need to seal the bases but I like to let the glue dry a few days before doing so.  I present to you the French Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient in 6mm scale.  The figures are from Baccus.

1st division: 8 battalions of infantry, one artillery and one HQ unit.

2nd Divisions also of 8 battalions of infantry, one artillery and one HQ unit.  There's also a corps HQ/Supply Depot.

All the stuff behind the divisions is "extras" that came with the French Division set I purchased from Perter at Baccus.

This is the first time I've painted up 6mm figures in a long time.  How long - maybe all the way back to 2012.

I had forgotten how freeing painting 6mm minis are - there isn't a lot of detail that I can paint so rather than focus on individual minis one focus on the entire basing to convey the setting and time period.  It was a lot of fun.  I suspect you'll see some more 6mm in the future.

WIP: WW1 French Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient in 6mm

A really messy "work-in-progress" shot of some Baccus WW1 French I'm working on for a club mate.  These are being painted up to be 2 divisions of the French forces used in the initial landings at Gallipoli.  The basing is at the Battalion level.

It's an interesting force with a mix of troops in French blue and a range of colonial and Senegalese troops.

I am not the most skilled painter in 6mm so am trying to make the basing look good - see the "barbed wire" to distract people from my really awful paint job.

I suspect Peter Baccus will see some additional orders from me for his WW1 line

Challenge VII: The Last Day's posts

 I submitted the following on the last day of the Challenge - a Winter themed late war German army and some odds-n-ends at the bottom of what remaining of my leadpile.

 The Winter germans are are Warlord figures including the Stug (one of the Italiarie plastic kits)

 The metal figures were superb and a lot of fun to paint

 The plastic Stug really wasn't a fun kit to build but still painted up well

 I went with the 105mm variety

 A shot with the JagdTiger

 A group of 12 plastic US Marines from Warlord and their ride a LVTP.  I've now done WW@ marines and LVTP's in two scales this challenge (12 and 28)

 A pair of WW1 vehicles from Trenchworx

 Ans 2 dinosaurs - a baby T-Rax and a Utah-Raptor

What Challenge is complete without Dinosaurs?

Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge V: Week 1 Report

 Week 1 of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge V is "in-the-books" and my progress was more or line with plan with 4 submissions totaling 147 points vs a plan of 129.  Of course there was some variation is what was actually done but more on that in a later post.  The submissions themselves are a bit of an eclectic mix:

 First up is a unit of US Mobile Artillery for All Quiet on the Martian Front.  This is a really fun unit to play and the models are based on the basic Steam Tank plastics with metal parts for the gun cabin and barrel.  Both fun and easy to paint up.

 Next was a US 105mm Artillery unit from Battlefront for Flames of War (15mm).  We all can use more US artillery in that game!!

 The third submission is the HMS Hector - a 1/600 scale British Ironclad that will be used at my upcoming Historicon Game in 2015.  The model is essentially scratch built as the hull casting I purchased was really bad.  It may not be the most detailed of models but she'll do well on the table top.  The masts are plastic rod and the sails are made of greenstuff.  I went a bit oversized on the mast/spar dimensions to ensure durability when used for gaming.

The fourth and last submission of the week is a 28mm Scaled Rolls Royce Armored car from Trenchworx - this model rocks - go out and buy one!!!!

Trenchworx: French FT Tank

 Trenchworx is a new miniature company that is currently running a very successful Kickstarter campaign for 28mm WW1 tanks.  At Historicon, one of the guys behind the company (Nate) very generously gave me some sample models to try out and all I can say is wow - these are some top notch models.  First up is the smallest of the three tanks - a French FT.

 The model is resin based but comes from a master that is 3D printed - Nate is astonishingly talented with 3d CAD design and these models are proof it.  The French FT kit comes with 11 pieces - a body, two track sections, the skid assembly and two gun options - a machine gun (which I used) or a light howitzer.  All of the parts were flash free and had no defects (as in none).

 I primed the model with grey auto primer and then made up my own camo scheme.  Decals will be added later when I figure out what nationality will use the FT.  Assembly, priming and painting took less than 90 minutes.

 I do have some experience with some of Trenchworx other products - namely the Japanese Type 97 Tankettes.  I have a blog post on the tankettes which can be seen here.

 This model was a pure joy to both build and paint up and I really can't recommend it more.  In fact Trenchworx has now replaced Blitxkrieg Miniatures as my favorite provider of top notch 28mm scaled vehicles.  I can't wait to get started on the British and German models I've got.

I was very grateful to receive the demo models and can't wait to get started on both the British and German tanks - which are big beasts indeed. You can get a peek at the British tank over on the Bolt Action.net

As for scale, here's a shot next to a 28mm scaled Perry British figure - the FT was a tiny tank and it's model reflects that well

Trenchworx has a e-store up and running where you can get some of their ww2 stuff.  I highly recommend these models and the kickstarter.  Give them a try, I doubt you'll be disappointed.