2 More Platoons.+

Well continuing with the 15mm US Paras here are 2 more platoons.

Firstly the MG platoon. in this platoon we have 4 .30 cal machine guns a command stand, a Garand rifle stand and as usual for me a bazooka stand. While you can have too many bazookas I have not as yet reached saturation point. I will know I have when my opponent fails to take any armoured vehicles and that has only ever happened in one game! All the figures in this platoon are Peter Pig except for the Command and rifle stands.

As with models shown previously they also have the US flag patch on their arms but no regimental flash, allowing me to use them as the 82 or 101 regiment should I choose.  I have given them orange tufts as in PBI these will count as medium machine guns and not light machine guns. As opposed to the red tufts I have given them in rifle platoons shown last time. As these guys are lying down I felt they were in more of a prepared position so the change of tuft colour made sense to me.They use the same .30 cal machine guns as the second platoon but as these are lying down.  It is a just a peculiarity in the rules and besides I did want a machine gun platoon so please forgive me that small peccadillo.

Next we have a Stove Pipe platoon. In the old rules Mortars were quite deadly as they effected everything in the same square which meant I would try to use them as often as I could. Yeah I am like that. But I know they have changed the rules and it will be interesting to see these in action under the new rules.  So we have 3 medium  mortars, command stand Bazooka stand (you are not surprised by that) and a Garand rifle stand to represent some troops carrying ammunition for the mortars.

The Bazooka stand might discourage armoured attention, but probably not so I think I had best keep something close by these to deter any German big cats. It is also hoped that the rifle and command stands might stop the stove pipes from being assaulted if they get to close to the Germans. But the idea is not to get them close!

I will no doubt have to add or subtract a stand or two as the points dictate so when it comes to a battle the platoon organisation throughout the force is likely to change.


Finally for today. Yes I can see another 2 posts for this company so I hope you are not bored just yet. I have included a single sniper crawling through the reeds. As with all the Mortar platoon this is a battlefront miniature, I had 3 in the boxed company set. But think I only need 1 in the new rules. So I may well do another just in case.

Next time I will show 2 support sections. And the time out My Engineer Platoon which has not yet been on the Analogue Painting challenge so I am forbidden from showing it until it has been for at least 24 hours. And as It will go on the challenge on Monday you may have to wait a very short while for that. But as it is not greatly exciting I am sure you can wait.

That's it for today, thanks for looking have a good day or two and see you again soon I hope.

Kind regards Clint

US Paras, 15mm PBI

For the painting challenge and because Peter Pig have bought out version 3 of PBI. I have done some 15mm WW2 Us Paras. I have never mentioned which regiment these are from but I have called them dog company. All the names are made up and I will probably repaint the names if the stand of figures dies in a game.

So starting with Captain Brown the leader of Dog company. You will note the white rank marking on the back of the helmet and along with every other figure the US flag on the Right arm. Not an actual US Flag I may be quite a good painter but there is no way I will paint all the 13 stripes and all the 50 stars on a figure this small. Sorry that is just not going to happen but what I have managed on 15mm figures is close enough for me!


The Ist Platoon is commanded (in my world) by Lt Cole. Consisting of 10 stands in all. A command stand a Bazooka stand (Directly behind the command stand|) 1 smg stand, 3 Lmg (BAR) stands and 4 Garand Rifle stands. Originally they did not issure Browning Automatic Rifles (BAR) to paratroopers thinking at 48 inches it was too long a weapon for them. Each of the Bar stands has a yellow tuft on the base to clearly identify them on the table top. After all I might need all the fire power I can get, you never know it might make a difference.

 2nd Platoon Currently Under Lt Powell, but likely to change to Lt Spiers (Thanks Dave Docherty you scoundrel), is not equipped with BARs but with .30 Cal Light Machine guns. These have a higher rate of fire and need more ammunition! They are designated with red  tufts. Again so when on the table top I am able to see where they are and then attempt to use them appropriately. Despite the Battlefront miniatures showing a tripod with these figures again originally a bi pod was used for Paratroopers. As wargamers we can easily quibble over such things but as in the rules they are all treated as LMGs is there much point arguing
about it? So moving on.

3rd Platoon is of a similar make up to the first 2 platoons but this time with BARs instead of  .30's. So back to the yellow tufts. As with the other two Bazooka antitank is included in the platoon and a stand of SMGs. By keeping Bazookas in every platoon I hope to give them enough integrated anti-tank weapons that they can keep the Germans at bay. Or at least make any German tanks weary of getting too close. Well that's the idea anyway. It may now work at all.

In the next few weeks I will add extra stands to swap out the SMGs for Garand's if need be. I am not sure if it will be better in the game but it should provide all the options I need.

I will be splitting this post over several days as I am still beavering away at the Engineer platoon so I will expect to show that by this time next week.

In the Challenge I have received much high praise for my basing so if you can let me know if you would like to see a basing walk-through and I will try to do one in a couple of weeks.

Well that's part 1 done, parts 2 and 3 to follow later on. But this is the bulk of the fighting troops. Which is not to say the others don't fight just that these are in most cases the front line troops.

Thanks for looking I will post again soon all the best Clint.

Cavalier 2015

Cavalier is a good show. It is the first show of the year for me and packed full of enjoyment. Normally.  I think I must have been having an Off day. I did not enjoy it hugely. Enough to go back but not so much that I will cry if I do not!

There are very few stand out games and here they are!

 Firstly a zombie game by East Street Games which they plan to release in the spring. The figures will start flowing  at the Salute show and each survivor will get a zombified version as well so when they turn muhahahahaha! You get the idea.  Quite an open cityscape with a few randomly placed tyre barricades sure.  But it was a zombie participation game so I will forgive them that. But No you could not play the zombies they had a ref who did that part. Yeah I know spoilsport!

Next up is a game by Southend wargames club. A 10mm ACW game using a mixture of figures from various manufacturers and looking the nuts as far as I was concerned.

 Nice figures and a terrain mat embellished with fences and hedges and  woods and trees. For me it was clearly the best looking game there.

 

 Some Wild west Malarkey from the North London group. I know wild west games always look great and this is no exception and would be an excellent club game but for me on the day it left me a little meh! I feel sorry for saying that as it was easily one of the best games there maybe I am wild wested out at present. I think it is all the mdf wild west buildings that make it so for me now. It just seems to be let's throw some money at it and it will look good. Whereas time, imagination and effort will always look better to me.

What on earth is going on below? Well clearly this is a James Bond skiing game. Maidstone wargames club really do put on some very good looking games. This one did not spark my interest though. But it was interesting as it did add a 3rd dimension which many if not all games seem to miss.  There are so many "Flat" games at shows it is a joy to see something different. Again this would make a great club game to waste an afternoon with but I feel sure I will get bored of it at the next show I manage to get to. But at least they are showing something different which to my jaded tastes is always good.

 

Overall I would give the show 6/10. worth a visit but with traders and numbers down it did seem to have lost a lot of atmosphere this year. (Normally I would give it 8/10) I know I am in a hyper critical mood but I did come away with some good buys (See previous post) and I am only showing games I like and not the other 12 or so that were there. But many of the other games just seemed bland club type games that I have seen dozens of times before. So I must endeavour to make any game I put on MORE than just blah! I will try to use this to do something better than the average club game. So from that point of view inspiring and inspirational. But the games on show mostly were not. (with exceptions noted above).

 

It was a good day, and meeting the other bloggers was nice. In fact for me that was the best part. So if you were there and we talked thank you for making my day.

 

 

All the best Clint.

 



Cavalier Swag!

The time id 4:15 and I have just got back from the Wargames show in Tonbridge. "Cavalier"

So having just munched a cheese sandwich the only thing I have eaten since 7am I will now go through my list of special and very needed prizes from the day. Starting from the left and working down fro the top.

4 Bags of figures WW1 Aircraft.

1 Pack of static grass as I had run out..... the first time ever!

1 Pack of Artizan Sky Pirates..... don't ask, they were an impulse buy!

3 Packs of 10mm Samurai...... Only 2 shown, but the price was right so I snaffled them up.

1 Zveda Sdkfz 222 (I did want 2 but 1 will do for now)

2 Packs of Peter Pig WW2 US Paras. (OK that's 1 pack of DEAD paras and one pack of US Marines with flamethrowers.....Best if you don't ask!)

3 (Back to the top again) packs of 2mm round MDF bases

3 Foundry tubs of paint (Bargain they cost a pound each)

4 Packs of EMP miniatures. Not a company I had heard of but one I will be getting more stuff from. Trust me they are figures best not thought about. (I will get more at Salute though).

Well that's my loot list I will do a show report in a day or so and YES there was a zombie game.

Thanks for looking feel free to comment or not as the mood takes you,
all the best Clint