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!

Short Solo playtest of Guards Tank Brigade

Still keeping busy, my wife and I are trying to read some fo the classics and are currently halfway through The Picture of Dorian Gray.  Not exactly what I was expecting, the writing is superb.  Quite a bit of ennui sloshing around, though, but there are some deeper themes if you can get past that.  It helps that my wife was an English teacher. 

I am now down to ONE more class before I am done with my Master's degree, and it is my capstone project. I am taking a breather this weekend before diving in again, but I plan on buckling down and getting this thing done.

I did get a very quick playtest of my Guards Tank Brigade rules. They are designed to be a fast play set for conventions (if we ever get to have those again) to be used double-blind, with two identical tables separated by a divider with the players only able to see what their units can see / report.

I won't go into mechanics because they are still so fluid I changed some of the rules while in the middle of the game!  In a nutshell, each hex is ~500 meters across and each unit is company strength or an artillery battalion.  Units can be fresh, spent, or worn (0 ,1, or 2 hits respectively) before becoming combat ineffective aka knocked out.  It is very abstract, focused on being fast for multi-player games with me running between the tables. 

Click photos to enlarge

Here is the table, with some unpainted experimental 3d printed roads and buildings from Forward March Studios.  Lead elements of a Soviet Tank Corps are attacking town at a road junction circa 1944.  Two Tank Brigades are deployed with the general scheme of maneuver being each will attack the flanks in a pincer movement.

Each Tank Brigade has 4 x T-34/76 companies and 2 x SMG companies with 2 field artillery battalions in direct support.  They also have 2 x armored car platoons, for reconnaissance

The defending Kampgruppe from a Panzer division has 2 x companies of Panthers, 2 x Armored Panzer Grenadier companies, 2 x motorized Panzer Grenadier Companies, 1 x PaK-40 AT Company, and 1 battalion of field artillery along with 2 x heavy armored car platoons.

Panthers in hull-down positions await the onslaught

On the Soviet left Recon elements clash.  I am tweaking the recon rules, but in essence, the German armored cars were screening the main defensive positions and prevented them from being sussed out by Ivan.  I am still working on the exact mechanics.

On the Soviet right, the leading tank companies take damage from the Panthers at long range.  Units that are unspotted may not be targeted until they fire or are spotted, otherwise, all combat is considered simultaneous.  So, previous unspotted units firing basically get a free shot and are considered to have a tactical advantage, a catch-all I use to give attackers bonuses.  So, it is very important to use to your recon units to prevent this.

Later on the right, the Panthers are knocking out T-34's but taking damage in return by the weight fo fire coming from the Soviets.

The Panthers on the hill pack it in (combat ineffective), but the field is littered with burning T-34's.  An SMG company of tank riders tries to clear the wood of Germans but it taking damage.  

On the left the Soviets run into the Pak-40's dug in on their flank, and start taking damage on their way to do an end-run and cut off the town.  The rest of the Brigade gets bogged down by more Panzer Grenadiers.

Here is the end game.  The Soviets almost push into the town and the Germans are up against the wall, with effective use of artillery by the Soviets.  But they just don't quite have enough combat power left to finish the job.

I learned quite a lot, and am following the maxim (from Bob Cordery I think) to eliminate any rules you forget to use.  There were a few...  I am going to simplify recon, add simple close assault rules, tweak Infantry overall, and next game try my ideas for some simple logistics rules that allow units to halt an advance or pull back and regroup, 

Until next time, stay safe and good gaming!

3mm Eastern Front Painting Update, Soviet Motor Rifle Brigade

Despite my distraction with 3d printing and the holidays, I have made more progress.

Every Tank Corps had 1 Motor Rifle Brigade, which I will be representing with 6 x Bases of Infantry and 1 - 2 bases of 45mm Anti-Tank guns.  Infantry is not terribly photogenic, but I believe they will look great en-mass. 

You need a lot of Infantry for a Tank Corps or even a Panzer Division for that matter.  Not as sexy as AFV's, but a critical component of the combined arms team.  As I fiddle with the rules and hopefully start playtesting, I want to make sure that is represented.

Here is a single Brigade:

And both Brigades for the double-blind game:

And my updated Kanban Board, whoohoo!

Good gaming!

Double Blind game Progress, Hills

Slowly working away on the project still and continuing to make progress.  Here is my update Kanban Board!  To hear how it can help you, see this episode of Henry Hyde's Battlechat.

I purchased extra Kallistra hills, and now I have 2 identical sets to use with my Double-Blind game project.

 Here is how they'll look with troops

 And here is how they will stack up and be VERY portable for transport to conventions.

The Soviet Motor Rifle Brigade is about 1/2 way through, I hope to have it wrapped up the end of next week.

Good gaming!

3mm Eastern Front Painting Update, another Tank Brigade Finished!

As usual, real life has interfered with the important things, like gaming, but I have made some progress on painting up my double-blind game project, Guards Tank Brigade.  I have finished the second Tank Brigade for the Tank Corps, which since this is double-blind means I had to paint up TWO Tank Brigades.

Here is everything I have painted so far, Two Tank Brigades x 2.
• 16 Companies of T-34’s (mix of 76mm and 85mm guns), 64 vehicles
• 8 companies of SMG armed infantry (~ 160 figures)
Plus a few armored cars and trucks for logistics markers.
I need better lighting, but I think these are going to look good in mass. (Click to enlarge)

I am keeping my Kanban board updated:

Next up, is the Motor Rifle Brigade of the Tank Corps (X2).  I think I have a good technique down for the infantry, so I hope to have them done and table-ready in 2 weeks.
Until then, good gaming!

New Project putting 6 x 6 challenge on hiatus... 3mm Eastern Front

Now on to my new project…

I am officially putting my 6 x 6 challenge on hold after only two measly games.  Why?  Not because I am losing my enthusiasm for the hobby, but because it has been reinvigorated!  Participating in the double-blind game at Southern Front has inspired me to develop my own game to take to conventions next year.  While Mike’s game was tactical, I plan to do this at a little different level.

In summary:

• Eastern Front, 1942-44
• 1 Base will = 1 maneuver company or artillery battalion
• On a big 80mm x 40mm base because I like the look
• 1 small base = 1 recon platoon
• The rules will be very fast and inspired by 5Core Brigade Commander and Tank on Tank:East Front
• They will play on a hex grid, to facilitate laying out identical terrain and speed up play
• 1 hex = roughly 500 meters, with max 2 units in same he

Command friction will be the focus and will be provided by:

• Multiple players per side (this by itself adds a lot)
• Players will not know where the enemy is until spotted, recon is critical!
• Players will not necessarily know when they have been spotted, so they will not know what the other guy knows about them!
• Players will not know the exact results of their firing on the enemy
• Must play fast, fast, fast
• Some Logistics will be included as in an abstract manner

I have drafted rules and will post them after I have had a chance to do some playtests.

As a double-blind game involves painting twice the number of units you would normally, and I want a grand, sweeping look, I am using:

• 3mm Picoarmor
• Based on 80mm ovals (ovals look more like situation maps!)
• On a 4-inch hex grid

Here are some shots of my first completed units.  I am aiming to give each player 6 - 8 elements to command, so this would be one command.  It is a Tank Brigade, a little understrength, with 2 x T-34 battalions, a motor rifle battalion, an armored car platoon, and a couple of logistics markers plus a duplicate version to use on the German table.

 Close up of 1 Tank Brigade.  3mm is not that photogenic, but at gaming distances, they look like an areal photo.  And the vehicle look more tactically spaced than hub to hub games.

 Motor Rifle Battalion.  SMG's, for rifle companies, I will add Maxim machine guns to distinguish them.

A battalion of T-34's, slightly out of focus so as not to give intelligence to the Fascist invader.


As you can see when I am done, I will have big forces for face to face games as well.  I have gotten a good start, considering I am balancing family, work, and grad school.  Stay tuned and I will do weekly updates and I hope to get the rules exercised next month.

I am tracking my progress via a Kanban Board HERE

Good gaming!

Orienting hexes for Linear Warfare, opinions?

Contemplating my 4" hex grid cloth and trying to decide the best way to use it for linear warfare such as the AWI and Darke Ages.  The Portable Wargame recommends using squares for this purpose, but I have this great hex cloth I want to use!

So, anyone with hex grid miniature gaming have any advice?

I see two options, here are examples using my 6mm AWI troops.

Option 1: With the grain

Like this, but the disadvantage is that you cannot make a continuous line.

Option 2: Against the grain

This option was inspired by the excellent Tigers at Minsk rules by Norm at the outstanding Battlefields and Warriors blog.

I am going to modify my One Hour Wargame variant for the AWI to hexes and am experimenting with infantry units moving 1 hex per turn.   Melee only happens when you enter the opponent's hex.  So a British line advancing on a Patriot line would look like this:

Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

In this scenario, assuming a musket range of 2 hexes, the Patriots get 2 shots off at the British, which is exactly what they get in the non-hex version.

But in principle, you can see how it would work.  I am leaning heavily towards this option.

Here is what moving and arcs of fire would look like, facing changes are done inside the hex at the start and or end of the move like in One Hour Wargame.  The black arrows show 1 hex movement and the red outline shows 2 hex range target hexes.

Opinions? Am I cracked?  Thanks for looking, good gaming!

Frugal Forests for 3mm and 6mm

UPDATE: I found the source for this technique HERE and he does a much better job!

Pesky real life has been taking up my time, so I have not updated in several weeks, but I have been keeping a few hobby projects going in the background.

Inspired by The Portable Wargame, Developing the Portable Wargame, and One Hour Wargames, I have been making hex compatible terrain for use with my Cigar Box 4" hex grid mat.  One of the terrain feature you need in quantity is forests and as I will be playing with 6mm and 3mm figures, I turned to my trusty friend the grout sponge, which I have used before for making forests for 6mm.

You can see another method at the Storm of Steel Blog as well, but this is my cheap and fast method.

Disclaimer: I did NOT come up with this method, I saw it on a blog or forum somewhere and cannot remember the source.  If you originated this, please take credit!

Supplies

I used:

• 4 x Tile Grout Sponges
• 1 x Can Dark Green Spray Paint ( I used Rustoleum Camouflage Green)
• 1 cheap acrylic craft paint in a lighter green
• 1 cheap acrylic craft paint in an even lighter green
• Wide Paint Brush
• Good scissors
• Needle nose pliers
• A hex template if you are trying to make a hex shape

Step 1

I cut each sponge in half as they are pretty thick.  I then use a plastic 4" hex I bought off of Amazon (I think quilters use them), but any hex template will do, and cut the sponges into rough hexes.  You do not have to be precise as you want them slightly irregular.

I managed to get 4 hexes from each sponge.

Step 2

This gets a little messy.  First I used the scissors to shape the edges off of the pieces and then I used the needle nose pliers to pluck out chunks of foam to give each piece a more irregular forest like appearance.  Remember you are making forests, not trees.

Do this somewhere you can clean up easily, as it generates a lot of little pieces of sponge.

Step 3

Spray paint the pieces.  I mean really get in close and spray paint the heck out of them.  I did 2 coats, as the pieces soak up the paint, well, like a sponge.  Let dry thoroughly.

Step 4

Heavily damp brush your darker green craft paint on first and let it dry, I used this:

Then dry brush on your lighter green.  Use whatever shades you prefer and dry brush to taste, I used this:

Let dry! Then the pieces are ready to use and are darned near indestructible.  If not using hex terrain, you can do as I have done for my other games and make smaller or larger chunks as you see fit.

Here are some posed shots of the trees on my 4 inch hex cloth with 1/600 cold war vehicles from Pico Armor, mounted on 1.5" squares

 I hope this is helpful.  Meanwhile, I am working on a few odds and ends, including a historically accurate set of hex based rules for the Ruritanian-Elbonian War of 1925.   Until then, good gaming!