FOW Vehicles painted.

Been going crazy painting up more FOW , have bought some new paints from Boyes chain store - Vallejo WW2 tank colours , this is the first time I have used them although my wargaming colleague 'A' raves about them - pleased with the results so far . Above is my Motor Company HQ section and transport.

Here are 4 Carro Armato L3/35 for the Italian Tankette Platoon ( this photo is not very good but my camera batteries were failing so had no time to take a better one ).

These are my pride and joy at the moment 2 Rolls Royce armoured cars from my Recce platoon, I need a Morris CS9 armoured car for the command vehicle to complete it.

Although under the rules you don't have to base vehicles I have decided to do so as I think it ties in with the infantry bases better for visual appeal. Busy reading the rule book and am pleased with the layout - all rules are carefully summarised at the end of each paragraph , very clear and easy to find - and understand !. A few more figures painted and I will be able to try them out with a small game .

FOW British Motor Platoon.

Got the first of my British forces finished off. It is a Motor Platoon , comprising off 3 squads - each of a MG team and a A/T team plus a 15cwt Truck. There is also a HQ section - Command MG team and a light mortar team plus transport.

The trucks may not be painted the most accurate colour scheme - but they looked a bit anemic so I redid them and added contrasting canvas backs .

Not convinced by the basing colour but it will do for now .

Still finding it harder to photograph 15mm and finding a suitable backdrop to pose them against .More Italian figures have arrived so will be doing some of them next to balance things up .

FOW Bits and Bobs

One of the things I like about FOW is they seem to cover all the angles , must admit I'm a sucker for gaming counters and dice in general , so I  just had to have the relevant boxes for my two forces . Painting is coming on okay although it has been a bit of a culture shock painting 15mm figures again after a diet of 28mm and 42mm !.

Oh No ! NOT another Set of Rules !! (2)

Yes I have succumbed to yet another period and set of rules !, the flesh is weak !. I have been toying with the idea of Flames Of War for quite a while , but always resisted the temptation - until now !. FOW seem to divide the wargaming community into people that like them and those that don't with no middle ground . the detractors of FOW  say its Warhammer 40K  with WW2 tanks , whilst those that like it say its a playable set of rules for WW2 . Must admit I  have always liked the wholistice approach - the packaging, cute dice boxes, templates etc , having recently sold some painted figures I  decided to take the plunge and buy into the whole FOW idea . The  new book (above) on the early desert seemed to be the period for me - no need for masses of terrain  for a start plus all those cute early war tanks etc.

I am planning on doing 600 points each of a British mobile 'Jock Column' and a Italian light infantry Bersaglieri company. I  have the basis for these on order , but have managed to pick up a Bersaglieri platoon off EBay .

These comprise of 3 squads each of 2 teams and a command section.

The figures come packaged with plastic bases for this organisation (very handy).

The figures are very detailed for 15mm .

It's much harder photographing 15mm than larger scales !.

Am pleased with my first paint attempts and look forward to trying out painting some vehicles . When I've painted up the 600pts for each side , I will expand up to the 1500pts that seem to be the norm for games . I have also got a copy of the main rules which I am slowly reading through . My wargaming colleague 'A' an officianardo of FOW  has promised to lead me through an introductory game to learn the rules... STOP PRESS.. My neighbouer has just dropped of a package which he took delivery of whilst I was out this morning , it contains the British force I ordered, Huzza !!

Russians on the N.W.F.

These are the Russian I should have got painted to participate in the last game of TSATF .

Although the Afghans seemed to get on quite well without them I am sure they will be making a appearance in future games.

They are Askari 28mm figures from the USA and are actually dismounted Cossacks but the uniform matches my idea of Russians in the 1880s . 

TSATF- N.W.F. Game (3)

With the game drawing to a close the Bengal Lancers charged the Afghan cavalry unit , who caused heavy casualties on the Lancers with their rifles (Afghan shooting this game was exceptional) but they still managed to charge in breaking the Afghans and causing them to flee. The Highlanders fire discipline broke down again but this time they caused heavy casualties on the Afghan tribal infantry and they routed to.

By now both Afghan units in the village had run out of ammunition and a lucky shot from the Gatling gun severely wounded the Afghan CinC  .

Having caused substantial casualties on the British forces and their leader wounded the Afghans decide to withdraw .

Col. Crawly confers with Lt. Chambers commanding the Royal Artillery Gatling gun . The Gordon Highlanders had run out of ammunition (due to drawing a succession of 'Poor Fire Discipline' cards) and with over a quarter of the force as casualties the decision is taken not to pursue the retreating natives . The game ended there , a winning draw to the British force who were rather lacklustre and Col. Crawly must do better next time . The Highlanders are returning to base for firing practise and the Afghans leader Mustapha Kuppa is recovering from his wounds with his military prowess enhanced. The Afghans were ment to be reinforced with a unit of Russian infantry but real life interveaned and they have not yet been painted . The new card deck worked well and I look forward in using it in future games. P.S. the figures are a mixture of Old Glory and Foundry .

TSATF - N.W.F. Game (2)

The Afghans in the village open fire and cause the first casualties . The piles of pennies are to keep track of the ammunition a unit has and its expenditure .

 A special card is drawn and this unit gets to move quicker !

The British Commander Col. H.C. Crawly ( creepy Crawly to his men !) tries to deploy his men under heavy fire ( the Afghans fire was very lucky in the first few moves - the British had a 'Poor Fire Discipline' card drawn and shot off half their ammo and hit nothing !)

The Lancers fall back to allow the Highlander to move forward , with the Gatling in support .

The other Platoon deploys under heavy fire .

 The British move forward cautiously and open fire on the enemy in the village - causing few casualties .

 When a 'Halt' card is drawn you stop the present bound and move onto the next , as in this example the Highlanders fire at the Afghans in cover - then a 'Halt' card was drawn and the firing bound stops and you move onto Hand to Hand, if there is any - the Afghans don't get a chance to fire this move . This is a new rule to me and I must say although at times frustrating I like it as it adds another degree of uncertanty to the game . Too be continued....

Return of a Old Favorite

Its quite a while since I've had a game of TSATF and since I have just received a new card deck from TVAG  I decided to try them out with a N.W. Frontier game.

The British force comprised of 2 companies of Gordon Highlanders , a Squadron of Bengal Lancers and a Royal Artillery Gatling gun . The Afghans drew their force from a random prepared card pack , only 3 bands of Irregular Tribesmen and a unit of cavalry - Hmm ! the Afghans are up against it !.

However the Afghans are in talks with potential allies - the Russians !

A view of the table . The British are moving on the road nearest the camera , the Afghans are scattered about the board (positions where diced for)

In the village the Afghan leader Musthafa Kuppa harangues his men from the house roof.

Other Bands creep up on the British using the rough terrain as cover.

The Afghan horsemen move up to reinforce the village . To be continued....

Conquistador Crossbowmen

Been busy enlarging my Spanish Conquistador forces . These are Assault Group Spanish Crossbowmen from their Renaissance range, rather nice figures with a good mix of armour and clothing styles and fit in size wise with the 28mm Foundry that I already have .