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!

Chasing the Ripper with Tom

Yet another delayed post from before vacation last month, I finally got to go down to Om's house and play in the excellent game he hosted at Southern Front this year.  He adapted it from a board game and printed out the giant map.  The original game had you chasing the Ripper all over the British Isles, which is absurd, so we reset everything in Whitechapel as it should be.

Lots of running around trying to get the clues for each murder and avoid getting killed by Jack the Ripper.  What better way to spend and afternoon? 

I have another live gaming opportunity, as it is Tom's birthday coming up and he is hosting a game at the Military History Center of the Carolinas.  Alas it is the same day as I have a bounce house in the backyard for the oldest granddaughter's 4th birthday, so I will miss it.

Working out another date to get down there and I can push lead with an actual, live opponent!

Here are some pics:

Stab, stab stab...

Darkest Africa mini-campaign Part 4: Attack the fort!

 The final installment, see Part 1 (details rules), Part 2, and Part 3

I am running behind in posting, finally catching up.  Here is the final installment from the solo campaign I did before I went on vacation last month.

We ended last episode with Lt. Barnaby receiving assistance from the eminent missionary Dr. Bravestone, leading the expedition to the gates of the slaver's fort.

Lt. Baraby's plan of attack is to split his force into 2 groups, one under himself and one under Sgt. Singh.  Using improvised ladders, the askaris will mount the walls and deal with the slavers.

Sgt Singh leads his men from the front, attacking from the river side.  His men manage to get to the wall and prop up the ladder in the dead zone between the firing slits (this is NOT a Vauban style fortress!)  But, two of the Askari are out of the fight in the process plus the redoubtable Sgt. Singh.

Lt. Barnaby's troops also manage to get their ladder set up and start firing directly into the firing slits at the Arabs.

Lt Barnaby and a coupel of Askari make it over the wall.

And they manage to clear out most of the slavers.  But... once again Lt Barnaby is knocked down by a bullet and is out of the fight!

The slaver leader is has been dispatched and both Lt. Barnaby and Sgt Singh are both hor de combat.  The redoubtable askari keep up the attack and in an exciting finale, both sides fail morale on the same draw of the card.  I have them redraw and the remaining slavers scamper off while the Askari hold firm.

The expedition was a success!

Lt. Barnaby is mentioned in dispatches for his sterling work and so is Sgt Singh for his bravery during the attack on the camp.  Lt Barnaby returns to his home in Midsomer county to recuperate from his many, many wounds and is ultimately invalided out of the army on half pay.  At loose ends, he and Sgt Singh partner to form a detective agency specializing in discretely handling cases for wealthy clients as well as HM government.  This leads to a tradition of detecting in the Barnaby family that last until this day (or at least the end of season 22)

Reflection

A very satisfying little solo campaign.  The Snakes and Ladders approach has proven to be a very nice mechanism that provides narrative with very low overhead.

One Hour Skirmish Wargames also worked very well.  I urge you to get a copy, it is very extendable and feels "Open Source" like One Hour Wargames.  The card mechanism adds a lot of tension.  It is very fast play but gives as good a result as more complicated systems and has some subtle mechanisms.  I plan eventually (once I paint the models) to fiddle with a version for the Dark Ages.  More Stabby than Shooty.  

Ok, off to work, I hope you enjoyed this.  Next up, my game with Tom and some newly painted figures.