What a Tanker! game day Recap

 A quick recap of our What a Tanker game day yesterday at the Spartanburg (SC) county public library.  If you are a gamer in the South Carolina, North Carolina, or Georgia area please consider joining our IO Group.  There are wargamers everywhere eager for a game!

The facilities were great, we used the conference room on the 2nd floor, lots of windows and natural light and plenty of space.  Here is the table set up and ready to go.  A Cigar Box battle mat, Kallistra (non-Hex) hills underneath, and a mix of resin and 3D printed buildings.  We used my 10mm / 1:150 scale 3d printed tanks.

 A close up of the village, somewhere in Ukraine, 1943-44.

We played 2 games, the first was two T-34/76's against two Panzer IVH's.  Here we see my wife's T-34 burst in to flames after trading point blank shots with a German for 2 turns.

The players seemed to get comfortable with the rules pretty quickly, so for game 2 I mixed it up a little bit.  We shifted the teams and ran a STuG III and a Panther versus a T-34/85 and SU-152.  In retrospect it may not have been fair, the SU-152 having a ridiculous armor and strike value. 

The first game saw the players charge in for a close in knife fight, the second saw both sides being much more cautious and camping out on high ground and shooting it out from afar.  Here are the Soviets parked on their hill.

It ended with the catastrophic explosion of the StuG and eventually the Panther as well, after much backing up behind hills, running up and shooting.

We wrapped after than, each game taking right at 1 hour, with 4 players new to the rules and a referee not much better off.  

Here are the players, thanks to Charlie, Jason, and his daughter Lilly.  But most of all thanks to my lovely and talented wife, Jozi (of whose tin man I am) , who encouraged me to do this, helped set it all up, and pushed some tanks around too.

I am looking to make this a regular thing, maybe monthly or quarterly, so stay tuned. 

28mm 3d Printed Pulp Submarine

This is something I have been wanting to do for a while, now I can check off another box on my hobby bingo!

28mm Pulp Submarine on Thingiverse

I needed a 28mm Submarine for villains to pour out of when boarding the hero's tramp steamer in the South Pacific for games of Pulp Alley, Astounding Tales, etc. I needed it to be fairly big, but not too big, and historical accuracy was NOT a requirement.

So... I remixed a Oral B toothbrush holder, which is itself a remix of the bathtub U-Boat, scaled it up, and split it into 3 pieces to more easily fit onto my Ender 3.

The aft section does not fit very well, no matter how much I fiddled with it using my novice Tinkercad skills. I wound up having to file and cut to get it together, so be warned. you may want to adjust it yourself before printing.

I printed on my Ender 3 using the Fat Dragon games terrain Cura profile, but set the layer height to .12

Hobby Bingo Progress and 3d Printer repair

Just a quick update I am making progress on my hobby bingo.  I really need to catch up and take some pictures, but given the choice between photo shoots and painting, right now I am choosing painting!

Also, I have to replace the hot end and fan on my Creality Ender 3 Pro 3d printer.  Unknown to me, plastic has been accumulating and the fan started making a noise, so, $25 later I have a replacement.  I just need to install it now, that work is in porgress.  here is what the old one looks like...

Good gaming!
 

My (mostly) 3D Printed "What a Tanker!" layout

I am preparing for the upcoming holiday and decided that What a Tanker! will be my game of choice.  To prepare, I have set up my table and wanted to show off a bit.  This project is entirely 3d printed for the tanks and dashboards and cost me almost nothing, just plastic for the 3D printer I already owned!

I got the tanks from m_bergman's famous set posted for free at Thingiverse HERE.  I wanted ~10mm tanks, as I have limited space, so I printed them at 133% for a scale of 1/150.

I also created a fairly simple to print dashboard that I have posted to Thingiverse along with the Unit cards, it is available HERE along with links to 3 or so other dashboards if you fancy a different design. 

Here is my table set up, not only are the tanks 3d printed, but the trees as well.  Buildings are from Pendraken.  The play area is 56" x 40" so a little smaller than the 6' x 4' recommended, but i decided to leave the ranges alone in the rules, just use the smaller tanks in the slightly smaller area. 

It works well with the smaller scale, the tanks are not to small to handle and the turrets are easy to shift without being too fiddley for me.

Here are examples of my dashboard with unit cards.  I printed the markers in different colored plastic and I am rather happy with the way they turned out.   I set everything up for the Eastern Front 1944

Here is my German motor pool, from left to right:

• Marder III
• STuG III G
• Panzer IVH
• Panther
• Tiger I

The Russians have:

• T-70
• SU-76
• T-34/76
• T-34/85
• SU-85
• SU-152

And here is yet another reason I went with 10mm 3d printed, teh storage is so flipping easy!  Plus I can leverage my existing 10mm buildings and terrain I have for WW1 and the Korean War.

I am rather pleased with this project and it is a great set of rules.  I have roped my wife in a few times and it is a LOT of fun.  With the 3d printing option, I can knock out (thanks to m_berman's hard work) any tanks I want.  If I get the hankering I can easily add Early war, Desert, Western Front, all for minimal cost.

I'll get a battle report or two up over the next few weeks.  Good gaming!

Made some rocks!

 Whew!  Now that I have unloaded several projects that had no chance of completion in this decade, I am free to focus more.  So, I needed some rocky terrain for Korea to represent really rough terrain that would also provide cover in Crossfire. 

I 3d printed these rocks designed for 28mm available free on Thingieverse, but being the dolt I am, I cannot find them now...  They were sized for 28mm, so I scaled them down, but not evenly, I "squashed" the Z axis more to make them shorter for my 10mm figures.  Yes, it would probably have been easier to go get actual rocks, but where is the fun in that?  As nothed my 3d printer is my hammer and I turn every problem into a nail...

Here is what they look like finished. 

They will also work for rocky ground in 28mm, maybe perilous areas in Pulp Alley.  Nothing worse than a sprained ankle, but more likely to conceal a snake...

Where have I been and what have I been doing?

 I am shocked to realize that I have not posted since the beginning of May, but I have a fairly decent excuse. Work. That terrible thing we must do to finance our hobby... in April my boss and my peer manager both left my company and I picked up both of their jobs.  Keeping the "grist mill" running., hiring new staff, and doing all that has kept me busy. 

I have gotten a few things done over the last few months hobby-wise, here is a montage.

Darkest Africa with Smooth and Rifled

Just a short game, worked pretty well but I think I am doing it wrong.  I think it might work well for Darkest Africa, reminds me of the Mark Copplestone rules from Wargames Illustrated in the 90's (I have a copy on my shelf) with leaders running around motivating troops.

Or I need to just accept it and use Sharp Practice 2.  Too bust to follow up right now, but will come back to this. 

Making a Hex Sheet

I made a hex play mat for my long planned WW2 Eastern Front Double Blind game I want to run at a convention. (See labels to right.)  I created and 3d printed a template I could use to mark out a 100mm / ~4 inch hex grid. 

You can find it HERE

Played some Pulp Alley

A couple of weeks ago, I got some Pulp Alley in with my wife's nephew.  Lots of fun, I ran Dr. Nefario, he had his cult.  We played Hidalgo fire and I lost two of my minions to snake bite trying to riffle through Lady Elaine's tent.  He won.  I need to play more though as rules were slipping my mind.

Printed Tanks and Played What A Tanker!

There will be more of this, I have printed up some 1/150 scale tanks (more on the painting table) to play What A Tanker!.  Played a game with the wife, it was a hit, you will see more of this...

Painted 10mm Korean War

More pictures coming, here is a preview.  I have a nice force of US Army and NKPA / CVF troops, time to start playing.  I am leaning towards Crossfire, I have not played in years.

Went on a cruise

Despite the global pandemic, we worked in our first cruise in over a year.  Mostly visited private cruise ship islands or stayed on the ship and took the steam in the spa. Did see this neat thing on the beach at St., Augustine, evidence of sea turtles...

Ok, I am going to try to get on at least a monthly update schedule.  I hope everyone in our community is doing well, stay healthy and roll dice!

More Pulp Perils and Plot Points

 

Just a few more 3d printed perils and plot points for Pulp Alley (see the collection on Thingieverse here)

You cannot have too many suitcases or briefcases, who knows what horrors they may contain?  The footprints will make great clues, the safe will obviously contain a secret formula, and the ladders may be the most sinister of all!

Enjoy!

3d Printed 28mm Dugout Canoes

 

I now have a fleet of 6 dugout canoes I printed up and painted.  here you see one crewed by a few 28mm Pulp Miniatures Southe Seas islanders and Wargames Factory Zulus.

The STL files can be found HERE.

Good gaming!

Small scale (6mm / 10mm) 3d printed forest

 I have finally painted up my 3d printed trees for 6mm / 10mm figures.  The prime requirement I had for this little project was that the trees be robust and durable.  While not as pretty as model railway trees I think they look pretty good.

The files are HERE

Here is the forest...

And next to some figures for size comparisons.  I printed the trees at 55% - 60%

Left to right:

• A T-34/85 that is 1/150 scale
• 10mm Pendraken figures
• 6mm Baccus foot
• 6mm Baccus mounted

Good Gaming!

Mustering the Punitive Expedition and 3d Printed Huts

 Here is my expedition, mustered for my Darkest Africa Punitive Expedition solo campaign.  I have decided for the first time out, I will be using The Men Who Would Be Kings with the "Skirmish Kings" option, basically half-sized units.

I am doing that so I can ease into the rules and play on my table in it's "small" configuration of 40" square.  My field force will consist of 24 points.  Troops will be pulled from regulars from the Zamunda Field Force, along with colonial volunteers and some locally raised askari to guard the baggage.

Here is the expedition in all its glory, including the supply train:

The force consists of:

• 3 x Regular Infantry from the Zamunda Frontier Force
• Speed: 6"
• Firing: 5+ / Obsolete Rifles
• Fighting: 5+
• Discipline: +1
• May form close order and volley fire
• 1 x Unit of colonial volunteers / hunters (Irregular Infantry with Field Craft)
• Speed: 6"
• Firing: 4+ (Sharpshooters) / Modern Rifles
• Fighting: 6
• Discipline: +1 (Veterans)
• Supply train: I know it should be much larger, but I only have 5 porters painted...

I will post the opposition next.  Meanwhile, I have printed up some huts from Thingieverse here for villages.  They are being painted now but here is what the raw prints look like.  Enjoy!

But wait! I built Hogwarts!

 I forgot to post this, I printed and painted up a model of Hogwarts for the oldest for her Christmas present.   Like most of you with 3d Printers, I rapidly find that given a hammer, I make every problem a nail. A 3D Printed nail!!!

I put it in a display case and she has it on her bookshelf now.  I found the model on Thingiverse, I cannot remember exactly where, but if you like it a quick search should pull it up for you. 

Trench Hammer: Platoon Attack between Trenches 1917

 I got in a quick solo game of Trench Hammer last week, and it holds up nicely.  I played the second training Scenario from Stout Hearts and Iron Troopers from Too Fat Lardies, involving a British attack on a German machine-gun bunker located in a trench system (provided by my 3D printed trenches)

The British mission is to eliminate a Hun machine gun bunker enfilading part of the line and pick up some prisoners if possible.  This will be a daytime attack supported by a box barrage that will isolate the bunker and prevent the Germans from sending in reinforcements or a counter-attack.   Lanes have already been cut in the German wire over the previous few nights by patrols.

For this mission Lt. Barnaby will lead his own platoon, consisting of:

• Rifle Section
• Bombing Section
• Lewis Gun Section
• Rifle Bombing Section
• And extra Section of bombers to act a "mopper uppers"

The German mission is to keep the machine gun bunker in action.  Besides the Maxim Gun, the defenders available to Feldwebel Shutlz consist of 2 rifle squads.

The game opens with the British through the wire and picking their way through craters to the forward German trench when they are spotted.  Click photos to enlarge.

Here is the first turn of British movement.  I tried to follow the "book" tactical solution, using the Lewis and Rifle Bombing sections to cover the movement of the rest of the platoon as they break in to the trench and maneuver to take the bunker in the rear. 

Here is the situation after a couple of turns. The British have managed to get into the trenches, but the rifle squad has been driven back by the Hun defenders in the front trench.  The mopper uppers are stuck in a crater just short of the trench as well.

A turn or so later, the British have bombed their way along the trench, driving the defenders back.  Meanwhile the Maxim gun brings the Lewis and Rifle Bombers under effective fire.  Felwebel Shutlz knows that time is not on his side and personally leads his reserve squad over the the top from the communication trench in a desperate close assault... and it pays off!  See the die rolls below, the British lead squad doesn't like Teutonic cold steel and is rendered combat ineffective, the survivors stumbling back.

The other British squad in the front trench is still regrouping from the damage it sustained previously and the Feldwebel knows the best defense is a good offense and launches another bayonet charge, this time against the crater sheltering the mopping up section right over the top.  Once again, the Hun's audacity pays off, here are the die rolls...

While this is going on, a the Maxim gun cuts down several members of the British Rifle Bombing section off camera to the right, including the corporal.  The rest of the section have had enough and start crawling back to the gaps in the wire.

At this point Lt. Barnaby decides the mission is compromised and blows his whistle signaling the platoon to fall back.  He has lost 3 sections as combat ineffective and does not have enough strength to take out the bunker.

As usual Trench Hammer gave a nice, fast, cinematic game with a believable narrative.  I hope to get it back on the table soon.

Meanwhile to all of my wargaming comrades the world over, Merry Christmas and with good fortune we will all be rolling dice face to face again in 2021.

3D Printed WW1 trenches are painted and table ready!

 I have finally finished painting up my 3d Printed trenches for my 10mm WW1 troops.  They have shown up a few times on the blog but are finally table ready!

If you are going to play WW1 Western Front at any scale, trenches are vital pieces of terrain to have in your collection. Ideally, trenches would be carved into a terrain board so that troops are truly under the level of the ground (like Sidney Roundwood's amazing terrain boards)  

But, trenches that sit on top of the ground cloth are more flexible and meet my other needs better as well. My requirements were:

1. Flexible layouts
2. The right size for my 10mm troops and handle the 40mm x 20mm bases they are on.
3. Don't stick up too high above the table.
4. Be rugged and able to stand up to abuse

Number 2 was difficult, I had previously tried Flames of War sized trenches for 15mm, but I felt my 10mm guys looked like they were in the Los Angeles River and not a trench. 

This was the perfect problem to solve with (drum roll) my 3d printer! For an inexpensive FDM printer like my Crealty Ender 3, making terrain is an ideal project.  All I did was take another guy's 28mm trenches he had designed and posted to Thingieverse and (with his permission) I remixed them and shrunk them down to the exact size I wanted and created the exact sections I wanted as well.

You can download the STL files here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4150347  

I printed a stack of these up a few months ago and have finally finished painting them, including gluing sand for texture (I do not know how to do textures in 3d design programs yet)

(Click pictures to enlarge)

Here is the VERY messy process in progress

Here is a layout to show you what types of setups I can do.

A Vickers HMG in a sap.

A British section occupying a firing bay waiting for the Hun.  All of my troops are Pendraken 10mm mounted on 3mm thick bases, to give you an idea of size. 

Here are the unique pieces.  If you click and enlarge the photo, you can see I have the ability to add dugout openings as well.

I am very pleased with how they turned out.  The next stop is to refight every Western Front scenario in the Too Fat Lardies scenario book and in their WW1 compendium, Play The Game.

Until next time, good gaming!