Tanks - hit the beach!

I took part in the first round of the Tanks (by Gale Force 9) organised play season today at Athena Games and thoroughly enjoyed it!

The game shares many similar rules & mechanics with the hugely popular X-Wing, using simplified a version of its movement template system and just varying numbers of 6 sided dice for attack and defence. Typically an attacking tank may fire with 5 (this rarely changes in game) dice and will be looking to score 4-5 for a hit and 6 for a critical hit. The target tank will often start at a single defence die and gains extra dice for movement, positioning and cover up to a maximum of 6 dice. A roll of 6 will cancel out a hit (or critical) of the defenders choice and a roll of 4-5 will cancel out a hit of the attackers choice.

I decided upon going with mother Russia as my nation of choice and opted for two IS2 heavy tanks being backed up by a T34, concentration of fire was my main plan. The Russian national trait allows an additional attack die when firing at the same target that a nearby ally has already fired at this turn.

My 100 point Russian platoon.

As the games began I quickly realised the effectiveness of coordinated fire, operating in a tight formation the T34 would make the first shot with its 4 dice (any damage caused is a bonus) this would typically score two hits and depending on what the target is doing (speed & cover) they'll often be defending with 4 dice (typically saving both hits.) Now however, the real shooting starts! If I've been doing it right I have both my 6 attack dice IS2's firing on the same target with an additional 7th attack die and hopefully causing some real damage and/or destruction to the enemy vehicle.

The scenario of the day involved the attacking force making their way across the battlefield to capture an objective. This proved to be quite tricky for the attacking players as there was little time (6 turns) to make it all the way and if a defending tank was within a range stick of the objective, points could not be claimed until they'd been shifted.

My first game was against Chris and I opened up with volleys of coordinated fire as his tanks tried to scurry from cover to cover. I managed to destroy all his tanks, thus preventing any point scoring.

The Russian & German platoons face-off!

My second game was against Jack who bought a Super Pershing heavy tank to the table, this is a beast not to be trifled with! Supported by Sherman's he made it very hard work for me to get to the objective and scored 1 of 2 points needed before reaching the 6 game turn limit, at least I managed another total annihilation of the enemy with them falling under the coordinated bombardment of the IS2's in the final turn!

The Super Pershing was a monster, until it's crew bailed out!

My third game was against just two well equipped Panthers. Both formidable tanks. Dave decided to make tracks directly for the objectives, taking full advantage of the German's ability - Blitzkrieg! I was lucky to score debilitating damage on one of the panthers in the first volley and perform the coupe de grace on it in the next turn. This left a solitary Panther trying to outrun and outmaneuvere my full platoon. He made a valiant dash for victory but fell under my hail of high explosive rain!

The final battle!

I'm very much looking forward to the next round of the campaign, but I will certainly make note of a few things.

1. There's a big difference between 4 and 6 attack dice.
2. Coordinated fire is awesome.
3. If the enemy is destroyed they can still win!
4. Be sure to read the mission briefing in advance!

Panzer grey

I've built and now painted my Rubicon Tiger 1. Currently it's rather clean, but I'm going to (learn) whitewash it and add a little mud.

A good kit to work on.

I'll be off to read some tutorials on whitewash effects and see what I can come up with. There are some great tutorials out there but I've got to admit I'm quite nervous about trying it out.

Watch this space.

See you soon!

Tanks!

Opening up "Tanks" from Gale Force Nine, it's a cool little game with great models and a simple lightweight game system.

Not meant to be a simulation of any kind, Tanks is for 30 minutes of easy going gaming. The full colour rule book is only 22 pages and a fair bit of that is pictures helping to explain the mechanics.

Anyone who has played X-Wing the miniatures game will recognise many familiar aspects in this game from the (simplified) movement template to the crew and upgrade cards you can buy for your chosen tank(s) it's all laid out on the cards and a reference sheet, only needing the actual rule book for double checking bits.

The tank cards included in the core set.

The core set comes with a load of cards for a variety of tanks, including all the possible builds from the three tank sprues included.

Damage, crew and upgrade cards.

After you have selected your tank, you can then add a variety of upgrades including crew and mechanical options for a wide variety of choice. You might be able to build a (100 point) list of 5 basic tanks or maybe 2 highly skilled and we'll equipped versions of the same vehicles.

The models in the set (and the expansions) are multi part plastic kits and will require some assembly, the Sherman and Jagd/Panther models can be built in several variations, which is great. Whilst well detailed they are basic, you won't need to build all the track and suspension assemblies!

Tokens and terrain.

The starter set also comes with a ton of tokens & counters for keeping track of things and a selection of cardboard scenery, two wooded area terrain pieces and four buildings! Everything you need to get up and running.

All this for the very reasonable price of £18 ;)

Making a monster! (well, a Tiger 1)

The Tiger 1 from Rubicon Models seems a decent kit, good and sturdy parts (for heavy handed wargamers) but still well detailed.

The mighty Tiger is something I've been wanting for a while, not really for use in a game as such (in Bolt Action it is hard work) but just to have the iconic tank!

Over compensate much?

The model itself was pretty easy to build with one piece tracks (very strong) and just a couple of parts to assemble all those wheels - the tank seems to have more wheels than it needs. Then the hull was two central parts, again very sturdy, with front, rear, side and top 'plates' glued onto the central box. this all went together pretty easily and looks like it will stand my using it in battle the test of time!

The profile of the beast

The turret was peculiarly in two halves (left & right) with the choice of three different turret tops to go on the top of these two, again a good solid fit. The main gun is hinged so it can be elevated and comes off the sprue in one part too.

"Aim here"

Along with the good quality and detail of the kit's structural offerings is the nice amount of options available - early, mid and late war options for wheel, turret, several ports & hatches and an optional air filtration system - all allowing you to build several different variants. The pintle mounted MG is also an option for those that want to mow down enemy infantry!

Next I need to get this thing painted!

Rubicon Tiger 1 unboxing

I have a Rubicon models Tiger 1 Ausf E kit here to build and paint, let's see what there is to see.

One of the first things I have noticed is the impressive amount of options allowing you to build early, mid or late war variants. This includes two entire sets of tracks and running gear! The tracks are single piece with the wheels, so you can select the set with steel or the set with rubber road wheels.

The options extend to most other parts too with three different turret tops, ventilation systems and a variety of accessories that may be selected and attached as desired.

Three different turret tops

Another nice feature of the kit is that each sprue is sealed in it's own plastic bag to help keep any bits that may come loose whilst the courier is launching it from orbit.

Two complete sets of wheels & tracks

The instruction leaflet is a very well laid out piece with all parts easily recognisable and clearly numbered (including all optional parts) as well as that is some rather cool historical notes, just telling you little bits of information about the vehicle during it's tenure as the beast of the battlefield.

"From Nov 42, for Tigers sent to regions like Tunisia, Sicily, Heeresgruppe Süd and Mitte in Russia, Feifel air pre-cleaners are installed.
After Aug 43, these were no longer fitted at the factory."

I'm thinking that I'm going to enjoy building this monster!

The instruction leaflet contains loads of detail

A quick count up reveals 68 parts (including various options) so it's quite detailed and sturdy at the same time. The main hull particularly looks hardy enough to deal with clumsy gamer hands (well, mine) and the front, top and rear hull facial glue onto the central lump.

The main options include:

• Steel or rubber road wheels.
• Early, mid or late production turret tops.
• Gun sight choices.
• Optional spare track sections.
• Three different headlight configurations.
• Pistol port.
• Optional Feifel filters.

A strong looking (half) hull.

So now we have seen all the bits and the great detail, I better get to building (my favourite bit) and then trying to figure out what colour scheme to go for.

Bolt Action - WW2 miniatures gaming for the modern gamer

This was a game I noticed upon visiting Aftermath I saw all the superbly painted 28mm soldiers and after sitting in a game for a while decided it looked like something I could get into.

Soviet T34/76 from Warlord games

I promptly visited www.warlordgames.com and saw a wide range of great looking armies and after some reading and research decided that the Mother Russia would be the nation for me! I soon got myself some very reasonably priced plastic Russian infantry (less than £1 each) and my collection began! I now have 3 box sets (120 men) and many, many other soldiers from various sources.

The game and it's mechanics are simple at their core, you can move (6" normally) and shoot your enemy, hitting them on a 3 and each hit causing a wound on a 4. These rolls are of course affected by a variety of modifiers which are applied depending on each situation. Each nation has a set of national traits which might be the ability to move and fire without penalty or maybe never fail a morale test when charging an enemy, there are many to choose from, for my Russians it includes a FREE squad of conscripts and the ability to retake failed morale tests that are triggered by heavy casualties, as well as slightly improved artillery strikes.

One of the great things about the game is it's relative simplicity, generally speaking all the infantry are the same with very little in the way of "stats" your regular soldier hits targets on a 3, gets wounded (from hits) on a 4 and has a morale of 9 - that's it - all the stats the standard infantryman has! A game can be played out using nothing but squads of infantry like these, but of course you can have more.

Other troop types will typically include inexperienced or Veteran who are as you would imagine lower and higher quality compared to regular. Inexperienced soldiers have less morale, are wounded slightly easier and are less accurate when firing. Veteran infantry whilst not being any more accurate have better morale and can be hard to kill.

Then of course once you've got your infantry there are support elements (tanks) like HQ units, weapons teams and vehicles (did I mention tanks?) HQ units will typically be an officer who provides morale boosts to nearby infantry, medics and air/artillery observers who will call in off table support (sometimes on his own side!) Weapons teams are often quite fun with snipers, machine gun crews, flame throwers, mortar teams and a variety of field guns.

Did I mention tanks?
These are a hugely popular support item, with countless makes, models and variants available from the smallest scout cars to the mightiest super heavy monsters. Everyone has their favourite and most loved (or feared) tank, for me it's the cheap and cheerful Soviet T34/76 a good all rounder, a jack of all trades. The game can be played using just tanks, armoured platoons for you treadheads out there and comes with it's own supplement Tank War for those that want to recreate armoured engagements (but you can get by without the book if you like).

Another fantastic feature of the game is random activation, each unit of infantry, HQ, support and vehicle gets it's own order die. These are placed in a bag (or cup) and drawn blindly to see who goes next, this adds greatly to the game, you've got to be careful where you move your squad because the next move could be yours or that enemy squad who are waiting to blast 'em!

There'll be more to come, but for now visit www.boltaction.com to learn more ;)

The good ship Venus

Some pictures here of my Bronekator the good ship "Venus" from Warlord games.

Let me start by saying that this kit is enormous! 16" long and about 4" wide. The main hull of the boat comes as one very large resin cast with the bridge and the T34 turret and machine gun turrets also cast in resin. Then there is a multitude of metal parts, gun barrels, antenna, masts and safety railings to name but a few.

The required cleanup on the kit was absolutely minimal, no trimming required on any of the resin parts and only light filing needed on the main gun barrel. In spite of its size the hull was flawless with no additional bumps & lumps or any holes that needed filling.

Construction was surprisingly straight forward with all the main parts being turrets that don't necessarily need to be glued in place, some of the railings were slightly bent (easily rectified) and all have flat sides to enable better location in the deck. I purchased brown linen thread from a local haberdashery to use as the cables in the railings. The main mast was slightly tricky being quite long & thin, it is easily bent. All the gun barrels glued in place as you'd expect (if you've built any resin tanks) with a dab of superglue and pressed into place.

Painting this presented a slight challenge in that I (hangs head in shame) do not have an airbrush but I knew I simply had to paint it in a camouflage scheme! So after priming and spraying the grey using a spray can, I seized the nettle and used a spray can to spray the green strips. I was so pleased when it came out well, a disaster was lurking!

Using the boat in a game of Bolt action is an entertaining challenge, it has a myriad of options and upgrades and can use a substantial chunk of your points! Secondly the model itself is absolutely huge so covert movement isn't often an option, in fact even gaining cover can be quite a tall order.

All said and done I was mightily pleased to have bought this model, adding it to my extensive 28mm Russian force

The Bronekator "Venus" waiting for fuel.

Before the fuel trucks arrive an enemy armoured car approaches!

Oh Fubar!

The Bronekator model can be found in Warlords webstore here.