Here is the final platoon (for the moment) for my Operation Weserübung project - some German infantry in greatcoats (I based these so they could also be used in other theatres) - these are from Crusader Miniatures:
Showing posts with label crusader. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crusader. Show all posts
Tuesday, 5 January 2021
Sunday, 24 June 2012
WW2: Later British Infantry
Some more additions to my Crusader British Infantry along with some armoured support, this time aimed at later in the war:
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
WW2: British Infantry
I've just finished basing a few Crusader British Infantry so I thought I would post a couple of pictures of them supported by a Vickers Mk VIB:
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Wargames Weekend: Marche Machineguns
On the Sunday we kicked off with the first scenario from Face of Battle: Act with Daring, the Invasion of France scenario book. Once again this had been converted to work with Nuts! and also to provide forces which matched the figures and vehicles available! In this case the figures were 28mm French from Crusader Miniatures and Germans from Wargames Foundry.
Once again I took the Germans with Lenin commanding the French. The French objective was to take the farm buildings and hold up my advance as long as possible before withdrawing without taking too many casualties.
Initially the French seized and held the initiative, advancing forward and deploying their two light machine guns in positions which were to make my life pretty difficult. I attempted to forestall the French advance by rushing my motorbike team with their MG34 forward but they were almost immediately pinned down by one of the French LMGs.
I decided to switch my main advance to the other flank but my second MG34 team got caught in the open moving across the road and that plan stalled. That allowed the French to occupy the farmhouse.
I tried to push some of my riflemen forward to harass one of the French LMG teams but to no avail. At this point my advance had lost any energy as I waited, in vain, for my armoured support to arrive.
The correct dice combination for my reinforcements just wasn't coming up so I decided to try another push having put some fresh crew with one of the MG34s. Fortunately, I managed to pin down the French rifle grenadier in the farmhouse and rushed their riflemen in the garden of the farmhouse. Things were starting to look up for the German attack. Of course, now the Panzer 38(t) arrived!
Despite their best efforts the French LMG on the left flank just couldn't stop my tank and with infantry support running along behind we soon had that flank secured. Meanwhile a bloody close quarters struggle had begun in the farmhouse. I had sneaked up and thrown a grenade through the french doors and then burst into the kitchen over powering the dazed riflemen inside. But the Lieutenant upstairs took the initiative and rushed my men, defeating them easily. The French then tried a desperate withdrawal back to their start line under heavy rifle fire but managed to get to the trees covered by their second LMG team before I could outflank them.
Once again I took the Germans with Lenin commanding the French. The French objective was to take the farm buildings and hold up my advance as long as possible before withdrawing without taking too many casualties.
Initially the French seized and held the initiative, advancing forward and deploying their two light machine guns in positions which were to make my life pretty difficult. I attempted to forestall the French advance by rushing my motorbike team with their MG34 forward but they were almost immediately pinned down by one of the French LMGs.
I decided to switch my main advance to the other flank but my second MG34 team got caught in the open moving across the road and that plan stalled. That allowed the French to occupy the farmhouse.
I tried to push some of my riflemen forward to harass one of the French LMG teams but to no avail. At this point my advance had lost any energy as I waited, in vain, for my armoured support to arrive.
The correct dice combination for my reinforcements just wasn't coming up so I decided to try another push having put some fresh crew with one of the MG34s. Fortunately, I managed to pin down the French rifle grenadier in the farmhouse and rushed their riflemen in the garden of the farmhouse. Things were starting to look up for the German attack. Of course, now the Panzer 38(t) arrived!
Despite their best efforts the French LMG on the left flank just couldn't stop my tank and with infantry support running along behind we soon had that flank secured. Meanwhile a bloody close quarters struggle had begun in the farmhouse. I had sneaked up and thrown a grenade through the french doors and then burst into the kitchen over powering the dazed riflemen inside. But the Lieutenant upstairs took the initiative and rushed my men, defeating them easily. The French then tried a desperate withdrawal back to their start line under heavy rifle fire but managed to get to the trees covered by their second LMG team before I could outflank them.
Friday, 16 April 2010
Wargames Weekend: Viareggio
For our next game Lenin had converted a scenario from the Final Combat Medal of Honor Skirmish Scenarios Volume 1 to allow us to play it with our preferred WW2 skirmish rules, Nuts!. In this case based on the engagement for which Vernon J Baker was awarded the Medal of Honor.
We normally play the Nuts! rules without any "Stars" as we have found that these can dominate and unbalance the game; however, when you are dealing with remarkable individuals, as in this instance, we thought this would be a good opportunity to have the hero represented as a Star.
In this scenario I took control of the German forces with the objective of counter attacking the US troops before they had a chance to reorganise themselves.
Even though I had two sections each with an MG34 team and various automatic weapons I initially found it difficult to pin down the US troops so that I could advance from my starting positions. Lt. Baker played a the major part in keeping our heads down as he was never Outgunned. He also put quite a few of my men Out of the Fight. As the US troops started to withdraw I eventually managed to get one of my sections to advance across the table and started to give the Americans some trouble. One of my groups fell on one of their teams retrieving the wounded and pinned them down. But then Lt. Baker appeared and the balance changed.
In the end the Americans managed to get most of their men away after having given the Germans a bit of a pasting.
On the whole including the Star was a success; however, I think making Lt. Baker Rep 6 probably made him a little too powerful and in future we would probably have the Star as a lower Rep. It was clear though that the use of Stars needs to be sparing as it could easily unbalance the game and lose the great feel which was what attracted us to the rules in the first place.
We normally play the Nuts! rules without any "Stars" as we have found that these can dominate and unbalance the game; however, when you are dealing with remarkable individuals, as in this instance, we thought this would be a good opportunity to have the hero represented as a Star.
In this scenario I took control of the German forces with the objective of counter attacking the US troops before they had a chance to reorganise themselves.
Even though I had two sections each with an MG34 team and various automatic weapons I initially found it difficult to pin down the US troops so that I could advance from my starting positions. Lt. Baker played a the major part in keeping our heads down as he was never Outgunned. He also put quite a few of my men Out of the Fight. As the US troops started to withdraw I eventually managed to get one of my sections to advance across the table and started to give the Americans some trouble. One of my groups fell on one of their teams retrieving the wounded and pinned them down. But then Lt. Baker appeared and the balance changed.
In the end the Americans managed to get most of their men away after having given the Germans a bit of a pasting.
On the whole including the Star was a success; however, I think making Lt. Baker Rep 6 probably made him a little too powerful and in future we would probably have the Star as a lower Rep. It was clear though that the use of Stars needs to be sparing as it could easily unbalance the game and lose the great feel which was what attracted us to the rules in the first place.
Friday, 1 May 2009
Sunday, 25 January 2009
My 1938 Project - Update
Having bought the 1938: A Very British Civil War Source Book and discussed it with Lenin last weekend it not only looks like this project is a real goer but I've also got him hooked (he ordered the Source Book when he got home!).
As with most other projects I always try to justify my "investment" by trying to ensure I get multiple uses for the figures, vehicles, terrain and the like. So my first thought was to look at the stuff I already have to see what might be suitable for 1938.
Figures
Obviously I'm keen to get some 1938 specific figures but it would be useful if at least some of them had alternate uses or were sourced from my existing collection or other developing projects.
Police and Auxiliary Constabulary
The most obvious choice for these would be to source them from my IWI Musketeer Miniatures collection; however, the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) wore a rifle green uniform that I really can't see an easy way of justifying on the mainland several years later. I am considering getting some more of the RIC figures but getting them done in the traditional blue uniform rather than the green. I think the uniforms and equipment should work.
Picture from the Musketeer Miniatures website
The Musketeer RIC Auxiliaries figures, whilst a nice mix of police and army uniforms, are again based on the RIC green and so I am reluctant to use them in this role; however, I can see them be useful elsewhere (see below). So as to Auxiliary Constabulary I am wondering whether I might use some of the Anglian Assault Guards I already have for Spanish Civil War:
As you can see these still need to be finished
Regular Army, Territorials and Yeomanry
For the regular army I can see an opportunity to utilise some of the Crusader Miniatures figures I have just bought for my early WW2/Operation Sealion project:
It is, of course arguable as to whether the new uniform patterns etc. would have been available in 1938 but since it is an alternative history project in any event I don't have too much trouble stretching it a little. Of course I would only be using these figures for only a small number of the key units.
For the others and also for any Territorials I plan to use some of the excellent Musketeer WW1 BEF figures:
I do have some Renegade WW1 figures but they are significantly larger than the other figures I am planning to use and, in any case despite what I said above, these are so nice I must have some!
I am also wondering whether this might be an area where I could usefully make use of my Musketeer RIC Auxiliaries:
The BUF Legion and Fascist Militias
For the BUF (although I think this should be British Union or BUF&NS by this time) I think I need some very distinctive figures and the upcoming Musketeer ones seem just the job.
Of course this is another area where the Anglian Assault Guard might be used as an alternative to using them as Auxiliary Constabulary.
Local Defence Forces and Militias
With Wargames Foundry having a sale over the Christmas period I decided to pick up some packs to expand my early WW2 project and, in particular, figures suitable for Operation Sealion. So some of the Foundry Home Guard were an obvious choice. I avoided the traditional Dad's Army figures and opted instead for the ones in steel helmets which can then be used for 1938 as part of the Local Defence Forces.
Obviously these can be supplemented with the upcoming Musketeer militia figures for example.
The less well equipped militias provide an obvious opportunity to utilise my existing Musketeer IRA figures:
The key gap with these figures is, of course, in the area of standard bearers which, as with the Spanish Civil War, is likely to be a major differentiator for the various factions. I am hoping that I may be able to utilise some of the Anglian SCW standard bearer figures but, unfortunately, a few of them are simply too SCW to work. This will need a bit of thought and possibly some head swaps!
Others
This is obviously an area for a fertile imagination and Lenin and I have already discussed the idea of some US forces appearing either as volunteers (a la SCW) or as a more official but covert intervention for some reason to be determined.
Clearly there will be advisors from the various interested foreign powers as was the case in the SCW. It is likely that the Anglian range is going to be where most of those will be sourced, although I do have some early WW2 German figures which might be appropriate.
I also have several of my Pulp collection which might see service including the various seafaring types.
Vehicles
As with the figures there are some obvious overlaps with the vehicles I currently have, or am planning to get for, Spanish Civil War, early WW2 and Operation Sealion.
For later in the conflict, once Soviet supplies have started arriving I can see a use for my Anglian T26:
Most of the other Anglian vehicles are a little too obviously SCW to be ideal although their Panzer I (which I was already considering purchasing) might be appropriate.
Force of Arms are another potential source with several possible vehicles in their range (which are cast in a fine resin and very easy to assemble) including their FT17 (which, if the paint scheme is selected carefully might also be usable for WW1, the Soviet-Polish War and SCW):
They also have a Citroen truck which is relatively generic:
along with their Gaz truck which I picked up for use in the Winter War:
And then there is the Bedford 30cwt in two variants:
Adding the Matchbox Models of Yesteryear die cast conversions I already have for SCW this should provide enough variety.
As with most other projects I always try to justify my "investment" by trying to ensure I get multiple uses for the figures, vehicles, terrain and the like. So my first thought was to look at the stuff I already have to see what might be suitable for 1938.
Figures
Obviously I'm keen to get some 1938 specific figures but it would be useful if at least some of them had alternate uses or were sourced from my existing collection or other developing projects.
Police and Auxiliary Constabulary
The most obvious choice for these would be to source them from my IWI Musketeer Miniatures collection; however, the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) wore a rifle green uniform that I really can't see an easy way of justifying on the mainland several years later. I am considering getting some more of the RIC figures but getting them done in the traditional blue uniform rather than the green. I think the uniforms and equipment should work.
Regular Army, Territorials and Yeomanry
For the regular army I can see an opportunity to utilise some of the Crusader Miniatures figures I have just bought for my early WW2/Operation Sealion project:
For the others and also for any Territorials I plan to use some of the excellent Musketeer WW1 BEF figures:
I am also wondering whether this might be an area where I could usefully make use of my Musketeer RIC Auxiliaries:
The BUF Legion and Fascist Militias
For the BUF (although I think this should be British Union or BUF&NS by this time) I think I need some very distinctive figures and the upcoming Musketeer ones seem just the job.
Of course this is another area where the Anglian Assault Guard might be used as an alternative to using them as Auxiliary Constabulary.
Local Defence Forces and Militias
With Wargames Foundry having a sale over the Christmas period I decided to pick up some packs to expand my early WW2 project and, in particular, figures suitable for Operation Sealion. So some of the Foundry Home Guard were an obvious choice. I avoided the traditional Dad's Army figures and opted instead for the ones in steel helmets which can then be used for 1938 as part of the Local Defence Forces.
The less well equipped militias provide an obvious opportunity to utilise my existing Musketeer IRA figures:
Others
This is obviously an area for a fertile imagination and Lenin and I have already discussed the idea of some US forces appearing either as volunteers (a la SCW) or as a more official but covert intervention for some reason to be determined.
Clearly there will be advisors from the various interested foreign powers as was the case in the SCW. It is likely that the Anglian range is going to be where most of those will be sourced, although I do have some early WW2 German figures which might be appropriate.
I also have several of my Pulp collection which might see service including the various seafaring types.
Vehicles
As with the figures there are some obvious overlaps with the vehicles I currently have, or am planning to get for, Spanish Civil War, early WW2 and Operation Sealion.
For later in the conflict, once Soviet supplies have started arriving I can see a use for my Anglian T26:
| From Workbench |
Force of Arms are another potential source with several possible vehicles in their range (which are cast in a fine resin and very easy to assemble) including their FT17 (which, if the paint scheme is selected carefully might also be usable for WW1, the Soviet-Polish War and SCW):
They also have a Citroen truck which is relatively generic:
along with their Gaz truck which I picked up for use in the Winter War:
| From Workbench |
And then there is the Bedford 30cwt in two variants:
Adding the Matchbox Models of Yesteryear die cast conversions I already have for SCW this should provide enough variety.
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