Dipping my toe...FoW gaming in 20mm

 Dipping my Toe...FoW game in 20mm

Ok, so it had to happen sooner or later. Wargames are turn-based. Mostly. Period. (No pun intended)

 WWW2 (Warhammer WW2) is great fun, but I'm not all that keen on initiative/leadership  testing to see which units get to go, nominating this unit, then that...

Even Phil Yates must have come to the same conclusion when he started developing FoW.

... On the other hand I found the FoW rules we played last nightjust  a tad tedious. (Maybe its just because I have to look so many things up, and we were all noobs at it)

 It does differ substantially from Lionel Tarr and Donald Feathersone's rules that I cut my teeth on; and the Games Workshop stuff that's my main  fodder at the moment.( Just took part in a Team Championship Tournament last week.)

So back top WW2, as I've had enough of Dark Elves and Daemons for a while. But then again they have brought out some great looking models...Isn't avarice a terrible thing?

Ok, so there we went, Luc and I at the Kapiti Wargames Club, chose to random opposing sides,

 Late War: German PzGrenadiers with 2 platoons of Panthers, 

and British Armoured Squadron, with a lorryload of Shermans, a platoon of Firefly Shermans, and 4 M10 Achilles Tank destroyers.

We chose to play a simple capture and hold the objective battle, with a small farm, Pas de Douchie,  in centre of the table, with 2 roads leading to it, a ploughed field, and a forest.

Panzer Grenadiers rushing in with their Hanomags, just failing to make it to the objective before Luc's Motor Company. Think I forgot some of the German special rules, but so hey...

Time and ineptitude constrained us, but we got in a couple of rounds, Luc took the farm, and held it successfully.

Still struggling a bit with the concept of hits being based on opponents experience rather than shooter's ballistic skill. Suppose it will come with time. Thanks Michael for offering to help us next week.

LSSAH Panther on the road to Pas de Douchie

BTW: check out this great graphic site for armour I discovered:

Gunpoint -3D

NZTC (New Zealand Team Championships) Tournament Warhammer Fantasy Battles

Kapiti Krushers at the NZTC (New Zealand Team Championships) Tournament
Warhammer Fantasy Battles

The Kapiti Wargames Club fielded a team called the Kapiti Krushers at Saturday and Sunday's New Zealand Warhammer Fantasy Battles Team Championships, held and Ngaio Town Hall, in Wellington

This was my first tournament, which I approached with just a bit of trepidation, but I found all the opponents I came up against accepting of my lack of tournament experience and ignorance of some of the finer niceties of the 8th edition rules.

We came in 7th overall, which was a little disappointing for some, but I am generally quite satisfied with our performance (being the newbie)

Still some bragging rights in that: I suppose KWC's Kapiti Krushers are now Ranked no 7 team in NZ until next year.

Not bad for a start, I think... And…we beat the Aussies (yay!)

Check my WHFB blog for more detail and photos: Trouble in the Border Provinces

Of Hobbits, Cars, Trains and Aeroplanes

Of Hobbits, Cars, Trains and Aeroplanes

Thought I'd share this with all you Aeroplane, Wargaming and Hobbit Fans out there: Some really quirky accommodation we slept in while on a road trip in January:

Link to better pictures of the hobbit holes and the plane on my aeroplane blog:

Aircraftnut Blog

Xmas Haul: Support Vehicles for D-Day

Xmas Haul: Allied Support Vehicles for D-Day and El Alamein

Allied Support Vehicles for the Late War campaign: 

Some collector's items, destined to become table top gaming pieces: 

Lledo and Corgi Trackside models

Some may say it is sacrilege, but these will be repainted and join my Allied Armies in North Africa and Europe.

AEC Mamouth Tank Transporter

D-Day Allied Command Vehicles, including Caravan

D-Day Allied Soft-skin support Vehicles and Command Car

  El Alamein Soft-skin support Vehicles and Command Car

Happy Xmas

Happy Xmas to all my followers and readers!

A bit of WW2 demotivational:

Allied Commonwealth Forces start to muster for El Alamein

Allied Commonwealth Forces start to muster for El Alamein

Being as enthused as I have been of late with gaming  El Alamein and the Desert War on the one hand, and Kursk on the other has led to some confusion. Having just converted all my Desert Themed armies to European theatre of war the Desert Lust grabbed me again. so here I find myself building Gun Tractors, 6pdr guns and painting Desert Rats again...

Thought I might convert some Aussie Jungle Fighters to Desert Fighters, and Some regular  8th Army and Ghurka figures into Indian Troops, giving my 8th Army a bit more Colonial flavour. 

My Indian Division have received a couple of coats, and have been glued to their bases. Still a way to go before they are ready for the table.

Turbans and Kukri, cold steel and conquered warrior tribes, all in service of the Empire

While on arriving from down under, we have a boat load full of Aussie cobbers

In the confusion of a dust storm on my workbench Friend and Foe seem to have been thrown together: Luftwaffe Gunners, Heer Artillerymen, Regular English 8th Army Sappers, and Aussie Infantry mill about, waiting to be based.

I have struggled to find figures in 1/72 scale with the obiquitous tropical pith helmets that both sides were issued with, until I stumbled upon some Hong Kong made copies of the old Airfix figures that were not too badly cast, except for their over-sized tin hats. Just perfect for converting to tropical helmets!

The South African troops in particular seemed to have been issued with these useless items (did block the sun, but no protection against flying metal). The conversion to Indian headgear is relatively straight forward, and the turbans are drying as we speak. The Aussies came with bush hats, and most of the Ghurkas too, so no issue there. Some Ghurka also wear a fez or kepi-like cap. No hope of finding a NZ Lemon squeezer hat though ! The truth is that all of these exotic headgear saw little use in battle.

Arrivals from the Reich: More Boys of Summer

Fresh Arrivals from the Reich: More Boys of Summer

Received a fresh batch of arrivals for my 20mm German WW2 Forces over the last few weeks:

Mixed box of WW2 soft skinned vehicles: 

Kettenrad and Kubelwagen for my Recce Zug and a Utility Willys Jeep for the Allies

Bridge-layer Sd.KFz 251/1 for the Pionier Zug...

... and a 234/4 packing a PAK 40 75mm gun as tank destroyer while teay lay that bridge

And just for good measure a Raketenwerfer Sd.Kfz 251/2 Ausf D

Two 88mm bolster the Luftwaffe's artillery, and a Pak 38 "Doorknocker"

A Great little find off Trademe (NZ Ebay equivalent): A complete coastal defense battery! ($15 including postage! One may's junk is surely another's treasure)