Soviet Tank Riders & German mortars.

This last week has been focused upon Flames of war. I had been meaning to get around to painting the Peter Pig tank riders for ages. so they got a black undercoat and a fairly quick paint job picking out the colours, a bit tricky as each casting is 3 figures hunched together behind the turret of a T34. I added 2 'strips' to each tank in one of my platoons of 6 models. My Soviet tank platoons each consist of 4 T34/76's - one of which is the command tank - plus 2 T34/85's upgraded. I have 3 such platoons totalling 18 tanks.

The models are all 'Battlefront' resin and metal kits. Aside from looking good on the tabletop these chaps have a role to play in Flames of War, protecting the tanks from enemy infantry. Page 200 - 201 in the 'Specialists' section of the rule book tells us that these 'escorts' cannot be targeted when on the tanks, firing must go to the tank itself, but when a tank is destroyed the riders are lost with it. The riders can fire independently of the tank whilst still perched upon the back at a ROF of 1 with no penalty for the tanks movement, but of course cannot damage armour only enemy infantry. They should prove to be a useful addition especially where those pesky tank hunters are lurking about.

Some objective markers in the making.

While I have the Russians out I'm going to strip off the horrid hairy static grass from the infantry bases and replace it with the short strand grass for consistency. I have a pack of Forged in Battle mortar teams to add too at some point.

I also managed to finish off a 4 base German mortar support platoon plus command base. These are Forged in Battle with additional Peter Pig figures in late war zeltbahns (cammo smocks). I'm pleased with how these turned out and the FiB & PP figures go together very well. While I'm in a Flames of war frame of mind I'm going to get on with some more German armour as I have a box of  Panthers and a box of StuG assault guns that have been here for ages. I'll start with just 3 of the Panthers (5 per box), they really are fine little models as you can see from the undercoat picture below. Again, all are spray primed with Army Painter matt black whilst still on the sprues before assembly, the plastic cement simply melts away the paint at contact and I have never had an issue doing this. The 'shurtzen' side armour will be be painted on the sprues and fitted once the models are painted.

I hope to get some terrain work in along the line, I'm keen to have a go at using cork bark to create rock faces on my hills as illustrated by 'The Terrain Tutor', what than man can do with a bag of cork bark is simply amazing!

Also added a panzerschreck team Peter Pig figures.

First of the British, Universal Carrier and Banana Beer!

Having made the decision to finally start a British force for Bolt Action I could not resist beginning with the lovely little Universal Carrier model by Warlord. It's the earlier plastic kit, but I have come to enjoy assembling these models as well as the multi part infantry figures because it offers so many conversion possibilities and variation of poses etc. I use Revell Contacta glue as it makes the job very easy and bonds quickly, and also allows you to fill any gaps.

This kit was undercoated as usual with Army Painter Matt black whilst still on the sprues, I have a dedicated little spraying spot in the shed at the bottom of the garden and I now do all of the plastic stuff this way - still on the sprues - as I find it covers so much better with no missed areas. Some parts such as the 4 figures in this case are painted whilst still on the sprues then removed and assembled before sticking into the model. For the British Uniforms I used Vallejo' British Uniform' (there's a surprise!), followed by a Sepia ink wash, then a highlight once dry of the British Uniform/Khaki 50/50 mix. I'll stick to this formula and it should see the force painted up fairly quickly.

Next I'll paint the 4 figure command set (metal), and then I'll do the Dad's Army set before getting stuck into the plastic infantry box.

Universal (Bren) Carrier for Bolt Action.
Cost: 60 points (regular)
Weapons: 1 forward facing hull mounted LMG.
Damage value 7+ (Armoured Carrier)
Transport: 5 men
Can tow: Light or medium anti tank gun
Options: Pintle Mounted LMG (+10 points) replace forward facing LMG with Boys Anti Tank rifle (+10 points)
Special rules: open topped. May turn on the spot enabling it to execute a full speed run rate 'reverse', move, finishing the move facing in the direction of travel.

That's quite a versatile little vehicle that can get itself quickly out of a tight spot and zip about towards an objective.

Sod FIFA, wear those poppies with pride!

The Warlord British HQ set of 4 metal figures. It includes a medic with stretcher and a very 'British' looking officer!

Still working through the beers, didn't think I was going to like this one (bit gimmicky), but the banana taste is very subtle on the top, I actually really enjoyed it!

Bergepanther and King Tiger for Flames of war.

I finally found time to paint the Peter Pig Bergepanther recovery vehicle. It's a hefty model once assembled, and I found it made a nice change from painting the more standard model tanks. I added a Peter Pig command figure plus a couple of spare wheels in the top. Next order to PP I will get the crew set that goes with this model to complete it, I'm also awaiting decals via eBay. Recovery vehicles do have a role to play in FoW such as dragging tanks that are stuck or bogged back out. My only slight gripe here is that the model does not feature side skirts to protect the upper tracks, OK I guess for a non combat vehicle, but it does leave an annoying gap showing between tracks and hull.

The 2 'King Tigers' were purchased via eBay at a bargain price and arrived with a flat coat of matt sand. I'm pretty sure that they are Forged in Battle models from the resin bases. A touch of cammo followed by a wash of Sepia ink to blend things together, tracks painted and upper detail added improved the look. I also fitted rare earth magnets to the hull and turret to steady the heavy turrets with their massive 88mm guns as they were a bit wobbly! Again I'm waiting for decals to arrive to finish them off and will add the hull machine guns from pins. As I already have a platoon of 3 Tiger 1's I had not intended to add the Tiger 2 because they are just too powerful on the table top and nothing can stand against them, but I seem to have become an enthusiastic model tank collector, the 15mm collection having grown to in excess of 70 models German, Soviet & US.

Compare the Flames of War stats of the King Tiger to those of a Mk V Sherman!

Sherman V:  Front armour 6, top armour 1, side armour 4, anti tank 10.

King Tiger: Front armour 15, top armour 2, side armour 8, anti tank 16.

The massive frontal armour was sloped to deflect shots, a lesson learned from the encounters with the T34's during the Russian campaign.

Hull MG's will be added from pins.

'Band of Brothers' for Bolt Action.

I received these in this mornings post, Warlord US Airborne figures painted by (as usual) John Holsman to his usual crisp high standard. These were not commissioned figures but rather 'Buy it now' via eBay and I am very pleased with them. I had been eagerly waiting for the US Airborne plastic multipart box set to be released, and the opportunity to grab a couple of squads ready painted was more than I could resist.

The Bolt Action lists for post Normandy offer the chance to feature both US infantry and Airborne in the same force as they quickly linked up after the D Day landings. 'Band of Brothers' has long been a favourite TV series of mine and these figures replicate them perfectly. Having now decided to focus BA purely on infantry based actions it seemed fitting to add these into the growing collection.

2 x 8 figure airborne squads, 6 riflemen, 1 BAR and one NCO with SMG Veterans.
1 x 'Pathfinder' sqaud of 4 riflemen and an NCO with SMG. Veterans.
2 x Browning Machine guns, veterans

These guys should give the Germans something to think about!

Dad's Army set.
This is the 8 figure 'Home Guard' set plus the 2 figure Verger and Vicar set. I  wanted to show them in the bare metal before they are painted because everyone who has seen them so far has been astonished at the way in which they have captured the iconic characters. These again by Warlord and come with rather nice slot in bases, as the strip below the feet is inscribed with each characters name so would be a shame to cut off. My intention is to texture the bases as usual so that the painted figures simply slot in or out. I can see these becoming quite a collectors piece in fullness of time.

 

Godfrey

Mainwearing

 Jones.

Walker

Hodges.

Sergeant Wilson (of course!).

The Verger.

Breaking down the Germans for Bolt Action.

Reading through the posts on 'Army lists' section of the BA forum has given me some fresh impetus to give Version 2 of the rules another bash. I started looking at the smaller 750 point lists and found a particularly good one for my Germans, and what struck me was that it broke down the standard 10 figures infantry squads into 2 sections of 5 men each, working independently, but supporting each other. This is a historically accurate representation, with the MG42 section (Gunner, loader and 3 riflemen) putting down suppressing fire, pinning the enemy while the other section (NCO with sub machine gun and 4 riflemen) moves forward. In Bolt Action terms each section gets it's own order dice, so it's possible to replicate this tactic in the game, and if the LMG section can cause the enemy unit to return fire then the second section is free to attack them as the enemy unit will have used it's order dice for that turn. I like this use of historical tactics so decided to see how I could make this work in my own German platoons.

My Bolt Action Germans have grown to a sizeable collection, so it was no surprise to find that I could easily field TWO 750 point platoons from just the infantry alone, leaving the tanks and armour etc in the boxes as potential reinforcements for bigger games. Going through the squads I found I could now field a mid war (1943 -1944) Regular Heer reinforced platoon of three squads in six sections, plus a later war (44 - 45) force of Waffen SS or veteran Grenadiers. In addition I am also able to field a smaller 'Last Levy' force comprising Volksturm and Hitler Youth squads for those final desperate days in Berlin against the Soviets.

To give an example of how the veteran 'SS' platoon breaks down this is the list:


2nd Leutnant (Lieutenant) + buddy (2x rifle, veteran)

1 medic

5 waffen SS: 3x AR, 2 PZ faust (veteran, rifle section)
5 waffen SS: 1x LMG (veteran, LMG section)

5 waffen SS: 3x AR, 2 PZ faust (veteran, rifle section)
5 waffen SS: 1x LMG (veteran, LMG section)

5 waffen SS: 3x AR, 2 PZ faust (veteran, rifle section)
5 waffen SS: 1x LMG (veteran, LMG section)

1 veteran sniper team

748pts, 9 order dice, 35 models 

The option remains to add in MMG teams and /or mortar team and anti tank (panzershreck) team. I have added to this list an armoured car or half track with machine gun to act as a transport for the command team if required. The Heer list is much the same and retains the same options. Like many I'm not keen on having SS troops on the table, so I just consider it a 'late war' list, but BA is just a game after all.

I'm now trying to find a matching list for my hordes of US infantry before giving it a run through. Leaving armour and artillery off the table means I get to focus on the infantry tactics in this scale.

A few pictures of how this breaks down, the latter army has more distinctive cammo patterns and assault rifles, plus a sprinkling of one shot panzerfausts etc.

 Firstly the 'Heer' force, regular infantry 1943 - 1944.

And now the latter war 1944 - 45 force, same structure, different figures.

Still working on the terrain, adding fields etc.

General Patton awaiting the arrival of the US infantry!