Blitzkrieg in the West: The Germans: Cover Revealed

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Just to give my latest handbook for I Ain't Been Shot, Mum a little pre-publicity, I got the cover through from Rich today.

The handbook will be available from the TooFatLardies website on May 10th (next Thursday) and weighs in at over 180 pages!

The good news is that despite its huge size (over twice as big as the other handbooks in the series) we're not making it more expensive than the other books: it will be the same price as the French, the BEF and the Dutch/Belgians.

The handbook will cover the German army that invaded France and the Low Countries in May 1940. It will contain lists for each of the ten different types of infantry division, each of the ten different Panzer Divisions, the cavalry, the SS, the Fallies, the army troops...you name it, it's in there!

A Company of Tanks: The Build

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A few posts ago I mentioned that I had bought a whole company of Polish 7TP tanks, plus six extras for the dw version, from Battlefront via Element Games. It was now time to build the little blighters.

The jw single-turret versions are very easy to build: all you have to do is add a commander and hatch to the top of the turret, the gun to the front of the turret, the correct turret base plate to the main body of the tank, and then the tracks to either side. 

There is, however, one thing to watch out for. There is a spot on the left hand side of the hull, towards the front, where the resin is very thin and very weak. Fully six of the twenty-two models I constructed either came out of the packet with this bit chipped away, or broke there as I glued the left hand track on.

Here's a picture to show what I mean:

Now with the turret on, and after painting, these gaps probably won't be noticeable on the tabletop, but it's enough of a hole to make me think about reaching for the green stuff.  Six out of twenty-two tanks broken in this way (about half out of the packet like that, about half caused by me until I realised how careful you need to be) isn't a very good score from Battlefront.

In my earlier post, I did mention that building twenty-two of the same type of tank would be a good opportunity to check quality control. You've got the above weak resin spot, but were there any more problems?

Well unfortunately there were. Two of the twenty-two had genuine mis-casts or breakages, as shown in the pics below:

So if we count half the tanks with the weak spot gone (i.e. blame me for the other half) and add the two shown above, that's five out of twenty-two packs or 22% damaged items.

22% or about one in every five.

That's much worse than I was expecting.

So, Battlefront, and it gives me no pleasure at all to say this, you have an amazing range of great-looking kits but, given availability of the tank I want, I will always go for Zvezda and/or Plastic Soldier Company before you: not because I particularly like plastic tanks, but because your quality control is so rubbish. Simples.

Here's a final picture of the end of the build:

Matilda I from Zvezda

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Real life and all the work I have been doing on the IABSM early war handbooks has kept me away from the painting table recently, especially as what currently lurks there is the company of 15mm PSC late war Germans with all their camouflage and bits of kit...so, it was a relief to actually sit down and paint something else.

What did I paint, I hear you ask? A company of this? A company of that?

Regrettably not: I managed one 15mm tank!

I was reading the IABSM BEF handbook and realised that I only had two Matilda I's painted and ready to go and, as all those of you who have kindly purchased the handbook will know, they came in troops of three tanks.

I did, however, have a Zvezda Matilda I in the lead mountain. Not sure why...but I think it might have been an impulse purchase using up the last few pennies at Warfare last year rather than anything considered. 

Anyway, I had one and I needed one, so built and painted it in a couple of hours.

The kit snaps together in about twenty seconds and, as you can see, paints up to be perfectly serviceable for the wargames table. I paid £1.95 for it, so very cost-effective for a tank that won't get used very often.

How does it compare to the Battlefront version?

Well, it's slightly smaller, particularly in the delicacy of the tracks, but not enough to make a difference at a distance of 3ft or so.

I am quite a fan of the Zvezda models. They are a great way of affordably fielding large numbers of tanks. Recommended.

 

Blitzkrieg in the West: The Low Countries now available

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I'm very pleased to announce that the third in the series of early war handbooks for I Ain't Been Shot, Mum, Blitzkrieg in the West: the Low Countries, is now available from the TFL website.

The handbook is 88 pages long (bigger than either the French or BEF books) and contains two separate sections: one on the Belgian army of 1940, and one on the Dutch army of 1940.

The Belgian section contains sixteen separate lists covering everything from the Active divisions through to the Cavalry and then on to the Chasseurs Ardennais and Border Guards. There's also a section on the forts and bunkers positioned along the Belgian border.

The Dutch section contains seventeen separate lists covering everything from the First Line divisions through to the Light and Peel divisions through to the three independent brigades, the cavalry and the various territorial commands. There's also a short section on the defence of the main airfields and another on the defence of Rotterdam.

Both the Belgian and Dutch sections contain a lot of background information, so the handbook should be very useful for players of other game systems as well.

And don't forget the other two handbooks that are already available:

As one review on the TFL website says about the BEF handbook: 

Picked this up this morning – I got the French one last month. Absolutely brilliant resource that I really look forward to using. Can’t wait for the German one. *****

Jonathan

Coming Next Tuesday: Blitzkrieg in the West: The Low Countries

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Just in case people were wondering why it's all still been a bit quiet on here lately, it's because I'm still working hard on the series of Blitzkrieg in the West theatre books for I Ain't Been Shot, Mum.

The French and BEF handbooks are already available from the TooFatLardies website, and I'm pleased to announce that the handbook covering the Low Countries - Belgium and the Netherlands - should be available to buy right after the Easter Bank Holiday weekend i.e. Tuesday next week, 3rd April.

The handbook is 88 pages long (bigger than either the French or BEF books) and contains two separate sections: one on the Belgian army of 1940, and one on the Dutch army of 1940.

The Belgian section contains 16 separate lists covering everything from the Active divisions through to the Cavalry and then on to the Chasseurs Ardennais and Border Guards. There's also a section on the forts and bunkers positioned along the Belgian border.

 
 

The Dutch section contains 17 separate lists covering everything from the First Line divisions through to the Light and Peel divisions through to the three independent brigades, the cavalry and the various territorial commands. There's also a short section on defending the airfields and another on the defence of Rotterdam.

Both the Belgian and Dutch sections contain a lot of background information, so the handbook should be useful for players of other game systems as well.

So don't buy that extra Easter egg: save your money for Tuesday morning and a trip to the Low Countries!

Late War German Infantry Squad

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What with real life and working on the IABSM early war theatre handbooks (the Dutch and Belgian handbook is out at the end of the month:  almost broke me!) I have had no time for either painting or gaming so far this year.

So I'm quite pleased to be able to post that I've finally managed to finish the first of nine late war German infantry squads, shown here on a custom-made sabot base from Warbases:

The figures are Plastic Soldier Company in 15mm.

Just think: only another eight more squads to go. At this rate, the company will be finished sometime in 2019...not a very good showing for this year's painting challenge!

Blitzkrieg in the West: The BEF Now Available

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I'm very happy to announce that Blitzkrieg in the West: The BEF, the second of the series of theatre handbooks covering the early war in the West is now available.  It covers the British Expeditionary Force from 1939 to the fall of France in 1940. Designed primarily for use with IABSM v3, the handbook will still prove useful to all players of WW2 company-sized wargames.

This incredibly detailed guide to British forces, written by me, is 75 pages in size and is packed with data, including the following British forces:

  • From the Infantry Division
    • The Infantry Company
    • The Infantry Battalion Carrier Platoon
  • From the Motor Infantry Division
    • The Motor Infantry Company
    • The Motor Infantry Scout Car Platoon
    • The Motor Infantry Motorcycle Company
  • From the Line of Communication Troops
    • The Line of Communication Infantry Company
    • The Pioneer Infantry Company
    • The Searchlight Infantry Troop
  • From the Reconnaissance Troops
    • The Divisional Cavalry Squadron
    • The Armoured Car Squadron
  • From the Detached Element of the BEF
    • An Infantry Company from Saar Force
  • From 1st Tank Brigade
    • A Tank Squadron from 4RTR
    • A Tank Squadron from 7RTR
    • Parkes Force
  • From 1st Armoured Division
    • A Paper-Strength Armoured Squadron from 1st Armoured Division
    • A Tank Squadron from the Queen's Bays
    • A Tank Squadron from 10th Royal Hussars
    • A Tank Squadron from 2RTR
    • A Tank Squadron from 5RTR
  • From Calais & Boulogne
    • A Best Guess Tank Squadron from 3RTR
    • A Motor Infantry Company at Calais
    • A QVR Motorcycle Company at Calais
    • The Guards at Boulogne
  • From the Beauman Division
    • An Infantry Company from A Brigade
    • An Infantry Company from B Brigade
    • An Infantry Company from C Brigade

With additional sections on the Second British Expeditionary Force, other British independent formations, fielding British forces, rating your forces and a comprehensive armoury. 

The handbook is available in PDF format only from the TooFatLardies website. Click here to go straight to that page.

Coming on Thursday: Blitzkrieg in the West: The BEF

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Just in case people were wondering why it's all been a bit quiet on here lately, it's because I've been working hard on the series of Blitzkrieg in the West theatre books for I Ain't Been Shot, Mum.

The French handbook is already available from the TooFatLardies website, and I'm pleased to announce that the handbook covering the British Expeditionary Force should be available to buy on Thursday this week, 1st March.

Covering everything from the Regulars to the Territorials, from the Pioneers to the Searchlights, the BEF handbook will give you everything you need to field a British force in May/June 1940. There's a lot of background info too, so the handbook should be useful for players of other game systems as well.

Late War German Panzerschrecks

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The good news is that I've finished the first draft of the Belgian Army handbook for IABSM v3. That should be out in a combined Belgian/Nederlands pack on 1st April, following the BEF handbook which is still on track for publication on 1st March.

The bad news means that all the research and writing is severely cutting in to my painting time. All I have managed to finish this week is three late war German Panzerschrek teams for my Aufklarungs Kompanie.

Nice figures from The Plastic Soldier Company, but it's going to be a long haul to finish the main body of the infantry!

Blitzkrieg in the West #1: The French Now Available

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When IABSM v3 was published, two late war handbooks quickly followed:  Battle for Liberation and Vpered Na Berlin. I am very pleased to say that today sees the publication of the first of the v3 early war handbooks: Blitzkrieg in the West #1: The French.

The handbook is 73 pages long, and covers the French Army from 1939 to the fall of France in 1940. It has twenty-nine force listings in it, all looking at core company structure and then the possible battalion, brigade, regimental, divisional and higher level supports. It also has a guide to rating your French forces, and a comprehensive armoury.

Available only as a pdf from the TooFatLardies website, Blitzkrieg in the West #1: The French costs £8.40.

Handbooks covering the BEF, the Belgians and Dutch, and the Germans follow one per month in March, April and May this year.

Blitzkrieg in the West #1: The French contains the following lists:

Infantry Divisions
Infantry Company
GRDI Cavalry Squadron
GRDI Motorcycle Squardon

Motorised Infantry Divisions
Motorised Infantry Company
DIM Motorcycle Company
GRDIM Motorcycle Squadron
GRDIM AMD Squadron
GRDIM AMR Squadron

Independent Tank Formations
Independent Tank Company (R-35, H-35, D-2 or fCM-36)
Independent Tank Company (FT-17)

Colonial Infantry
North African and Foreign Legion formations 

Light Cavalry Divisions
Cavalry Squadron
Mechanised Dragoon Fusiliers
Dragoon Mixed Reconnaissance Squadron
RAM AMD Squadron
RAM AMC Squadron
RAM Motorcycle Squadron

Cavalry & Spahis
The Cavalry Squadron

Corps Reconnaissance Groups
GRCA Cavalry Squadron
GRCA Motorcycle Squadron
GRCAm Motorcycle Squadron

Light Mechanised Divisions
Tank Squadron
RDP Mechanised Dragoon AMR Squadron
RDP Mechanised Dragoon Fusilier Squadron
RDP Mechanised Dragoon Motorcycle
RD AMD Squadron
RD Motorcycle Squadron

Reserve Armoured Division
DCR Heavy Tank Company
DCR Light Tank Company
BCP Fusilier Company

First of the Late War Germans

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One thing I don't have in my WW2 collection is any late war German infantry. Yes, I've got Fallschirmjaeger in camouflaged smocks, but no men in a mixture of feld grau and Zeltbaun.

Until now, that is.

My self-bought Christmas present this year was a PSC company of "Normandy infantry" and their heavy weapons support in 15mm, the first of which I painted this weekend just gone:

I've decided that I'm going to use the figures to build an Aufklarungs Company to go with my already-bought-and-painted SdKfz 250's. I'll then pad that force out to make a full Grenadier company.

Now after painting a company of British Paras in their Denison smocks, I did vow never to paint another camouflaged smock again, but painting these chaps wasn't too bad.

For a start, these are first PSC infantry I've painted: a nice change from the Battlefront and FiB Poles I've been concentrating on recently.

Secondly, these are lovely figures: well posed and with plenty of clear detail to work with. I'm not sure I like the kneeling chap in grey with the binoculars - he looks a bit tall to me - but the others are cracking.

Technique was simple. Undercoat in black, then paint the base colours including the basic tan for the zeltbaun. A very light wash brings out the detail, then highlight and paint on the little green and brown stripes that make up the camouflage. I might have highlighted the greys a bit too strongly, but 15s always look a bit better if a bit over-exaggerated.

I wouldn't say I'm looking forward to painting three platoons worth plus the other supports (about another 100 figures) but the first ten weren't too painful and seem to have turned out quite well.

Wyevale Winter Trees Bargain

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For those of you who hadn't noticed, many garden centres are selling off their winter model Christmas trees.

I had heard about this wondrously cheap way of acquiring snowy terrain for the wargaming table, but hadn't actually seen the proof of the (presumably Christmas) pudding.

Until now.

The wife of a friend picked up the above Battle of the Bulge, winter wonderland forest for me for a mere £13.50: and that's for sixty-one trees! A bargain, and they look to be good quality as well.

For me, unfortunately, this was a false economy, as I now need to buy myself a snow-scene mat for the top of my gaming table...

Back From Warfare

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Back from the Warfare 2017 show, held at the Rivermead sports centre in Caversham near Reading.

I like Warfare. It's a two-day show, and has got plenty of traders, a bring and buy, a fair number of demo games to wonder at, and vast numbers of competition games to raise a quizzical eyebrow at!

I went both days: Saturday in the afternoon and first thing Sunday morning. I'm told Saturday morning was absolutely jam-packed, with the traders doing roaring business, and a three stack high bring-and-buy being emptied almost as soon as the items could be out out., but when I was there on the Saturday, it was just right: enough people for a good buzz, but not enough to have to fight your way through the hazards of backpack hell and wargamer fug. First thing Sunday morning was quite empty, but the halls were filling nicely as I left just after eleven.

The demo game that really caught my eye was a huge 28mm ACW game from Earlswood Wargames Club covering one bit of Gettysburg (Lee's right hook):

There were several other big battles elsewhere in the hall, including a nice ECW game, a couple of big Ancients games, and even Team Yankee played, as far as I could see, in 15mm on Saturday and microarmour on Sunday.

I didn't spend too much money: and that mainly on undercoat and a few bits of scenery. Unusually for me, however, I did buy something from the bring and buy: five 15mm late war Panzer IVs which I got for only £26. They're only averagely painted, and a bit over-washed, but five camo-ed tanks for about what you'd pay in the raw is well worth it...especially as they will serve as a second platoon on the rare occasions that I need more than five Panzer IVs.

£26!

All in all, a couple of good visits to a great show.

A Pond...a Very Nice Pond

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Second piece of loot from Colours was a pond from Debris of War.

This is shown here with a couple of bases of Polish infantry for scale purposes.

Lovely bit of kit. Not on the Debris of War website, so I'm assuming it was made up just for the show. Whatever, it cost me £10.50 and I'm very happy with it. DoW also do movement trays, resin walls, the odd building: lots of different stuff really, well worth a look.

Expect to see the pond appearing in many AARs to come! 

15mm Buildings from Minibits/RedVectors

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First of the loot from Colours: some slightly different buildings to round out my Russian village.

Hadn't seen these before: they are a selection of five laser-cut MDF buildings from a company called RedVectors that market through Minibits.net.

As you can see, there are two different houses, two different open-fronted barns, and a pig pen with fence.

They go together very nicely (not quite as nicely as the 4ground or Sarissa stuff that I have already, but very nicely all the same) and are a great way of adding a bit of variety to your hamlets.

How do they directly compare? Well, I prefer the 4ground roofs, and I think that the RedVector houses look a bit gingerbread, but the open-fronted barns and big pen are just fantastic. Here's a couple of comparison shots with a 4ground Russian shack:

Yes, they look a bit different...but not enough to matter on the 15mm wargames table. I shall probably use the barns and pigpen all the time, and save the houses for when I need to represent a hetman's hut or something different to the run-of-the-mill shacks.

As regards price, the five buildings together cost me £18, or about £3.50 each. 4ground come in at a whopping £8.50 for one house, down to about £7 each for their collections. Yes, 4ground are "better" (more detailed, I prefer the roofs) but £18 for five buildings is a really, really great price.

Incidentally, the RedVector/Minibits buildings also come in a ruined variety, at £15 per pack:

In all, these get a huge thumbs-up from me: a change to the 4ground buildings; I love the open-fronted barns and pigpen; and the price is excellent.

Highly, highly recommended.

Second Polish Infantry Platoon

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Here they are at last: the second Polish infantry platoon. These are a mix of Forged in Battle and Battlefront figures, but mostly FiB.

Love the Poles as an early war army, but thirty-six man platoons are a killer to paint, especially as they're all in khaki! Only one more platoon to go now.

It will soon be time to start on the armour. I'm just waiting for PSC or Zvezda to produce Vickers and/or 7TP tanks, as I need about three squadrons worth, which could get rather expensive if I go the Battlefront route.

Gaming Models' Polish wz.29 Armoured Car

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Regular readers might remember that the chaps at Gaming Models in the US sent me some of their 15mm Polish models to have a look at. A previous post dealt with the Polski FIAT truck, now let's look at the Ursus wz.29 armoured car.

The wz.29 was supposedly obsolete at the start of the German invasion, having been largely replaced by the wz.34. All remaining wz.29's were attached to Polish units in the Modlin area, and fought against the reconnaissance elements of Panzerdivision Kempf and infantry from the SS Deutschland regiment. Despite their apparent obsolescence, the wz.29's fared better than their more modern counterpart: mainly because in addition to the standard MMG, they had a 37mm gun in what must have been a very crowded turret.

So what of the model? Very nice really, and good value at $5 (£3.80) a time. The detailing on the gun is quite difficult to bring out but, as I said, it is a very small turret, and I'm even considering gluing it in place so it doesn't get lost. 

That said, the detailing on the wheels makes the tyres really easy to paint, and you can see how the various doors and hatches come out with a bit of dry-brushing.

The model above was sprayed green, then had the bone and brown camouflaged patches brushed on. A brown wash followed, then a very light bone drybrush focusing on the  edges.

Recommended.

Gaming Models

Intense Frustration!

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I'm not a fan of painting huge numbers of infantry. I love painting a squad here or a squad there, but table-topping an entire company of three platoons of, say, thirty men each, plus light supports, drives me absolutely crazy.

I like to try and do a good job on every figure, but doing 100 good-jobs without going mad is proving more and more difficult as time goes by.

Fortunately, I have already collected most of the WW2 figures that I will ever need (just Afrika Korps and Desert Rats to go!), and as my current non-WW2 focus is sci-fi and moderns, with their smaller, more powerful units, I'm hoping not to be troubled by the 100-plus malaise any more.

So you can imagine how frustrated I was today to finish my penultimate platoon of 1939 Polish infantry (that's three squads of TWELVE men each) and discover that I have run out of 'biscuits of death' bases on which to mount them!

Yes, I had enough small bases to mount the light mortar team, but not enough medium-bases-with-the-holes-in-them for the main platoon.

Obviously I have ordered some bases for tout-suite delivery, but I still cannot get the instant gratification that I require...and require now!

What frustrates you about painting miniatures? Comment below please...

Gaming Models' Polski FIAT 621 Truck

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The chaps at Gaming Models very kindly sent me a few samples of their WW2 Polish vehicles to have a look at.

First off the painting table is the standard lorry of the Polish army in the 1930s: the Polski FIAT 621 truck.

This is a very nice little model, cast in resin, that comes with a separate canvas cover that you can glue in or keep separate. The truck comes unbased but in one piece i.e. you don't need to faff around gluing the wheels on, all you have to do is decide what you want to do with the canvas cover.

Priced at $5 (about £4 at current exchange rates) it's good value and, as you can see in the picture above, paints up very nicely indeed. Even better value is the platoon pack, where you can buy eight trucks for $32 i.e. $4 or £3.12 each.

Mine required no preparation (I didn't even bother to wash it in soapy water) and was painted by undercoating in green, highlighting, then washing using Agrax Earthshade, then a light dry-brush in first a lighter green then Bleached Bone or whatever the modern equivalent is. I decided that this one-off truck wouldn't be camouflaged:  I have seen paint jobs with very garish yellow and brown stripey effects, but the only appropriate photo I can find with the suggestion of camouflage is the one below:

So, there you have it, a very nice and very affordable model: just what you need to properly motorise your Black Brigade!

Gaming Models

LCVPs for the Pacific Theatre

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Regular readers will know that I recently painted up a company of Landing Vehicle, Tanks  (or Amtracks) as part of an attempt to satisfy a friend's craving for a bit of War in the Pacific action. Planning the game, I realised that I only had three Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) to accompany the Amtracks into action, but had a box of another three buried somewhere in the lead mountain.  

I still had a whole week to go before the game (it was today:  cracking game, AAR on here tomorrow or Monday) so thought I could just about get them done in time. I'd already painted three, so another three should be relatively simple.

Well, yes, in theory, but I had, of course, forgotten that Battlefront aren't interested in the Pacific War any more, so have let the molds go to wrack and ruin whilst they concentrate on Team Yankee. Never have I seen do much flash on so few models in a box set...and whilst I can clean them up in an hour or so, it was still an hour of painting time wasted. 

Worse, one of the strips of infantry was missing: a real pain as there was no way I could get a replacement in time.

I know Battlefront are great and all that, and a huge part of my collection comes from them, but it's things like the above that make you just go "grrrrrr" and do everything you can to support their competition.

Anyhow, I cleaned up the figures, substituted spare truck-passenger figures for the missing strip (see if you can spot them!) and got the little craft done in time.

Lovely models but, please Battlefront, if you're going to go all "the Hobby" on us, get your basic quality control right first!