Resources for France 1940 - Too Fat Lardies

My France 1940 project has taken inspiration from several sources. Today, I want to take a look at Chain of Command from Too Fat Lardies. These are an innovative set of platoon-level rules for World War 2. The core strength of any set of TFL rules is the depth of research that Rich and his team invest in each publication.  The basic rules concentrate on the later WW2 period, but TFL offer some of the best resources in the business.  The first is a supplement called At The Sharp End, which provides a framework within which a whole campaign can easily be created.

The other TFL resource is actually a series of resources.  Twice a year, TFL publish specials that are packed with all sorts of interesting content.  In particular, the Summer 2014 and the Summer 2015 Specials each include a potted campaign for France 1940, designed to be used with At the Sharp End.  

The Summer 2014 edition includes a campaign called Strawberries for Elephants which follows the exploits of the 2nd Durham Light Infantry on the River Dyle that I mentioned in my last post. This time it is covered in more depth with 11 scenarios (more if the first battle is inconclusive). The Summer 2015 edition then looks at the retreat of the Welsh Guards towards Boulogne.  Each of these campaigns provide background, force lists (although Chain of Command doesn't use a points system) and some brilliant maps.  

I can't recommend TFL products highly enough.  The rules allow the player to think about the problems with which a small-unit leader would have to contend, and are also of the right size - I can easily play these games of a 3' x 4' table.

Bye for now.

Resources for France 1940 - Battlegroup

My current project isn't my first attempt to re-fight France 1940.  Back when I was at school, I had a small selection of models in (sort of) HO Scale.  I had an Airfix 25 pounder, Panzer IV and Bren Carrier, along with a Matchbox Matilda II and PAK 36 anti-tank gun, and not much else.  In the days before disposable income and the internet, I had little information to go on.  For rules, I remember having a choice between the Donald Featherstone books I could find at the library or a selection of WRG publications.

Moving forward about 30 years, I was afraid that wargaming resources would still be thin on the ground. It didn't take me long to realise that I would be spoilt for choice.

In the next two or three posts, I'll take a quick look at the resources that I have been using to plan my campaign.  I don't plan to review these in any detail - there are people out there more eloquent and insightful than me who would do a better job. These are just the books and websites that I have found useful.  Today I want to take a look at the Battlegroup rules and supplements from Ironfist Publishing. 

Ironfist started publishing in 2012 with a book called Battlegroup Kursk.  Focused on the Eastern Front in 1943, the book is a lavishly illustrated, hardback book which contains all of the rules, army lists and scenarios to recreate the battles around Kursk. Following this book, Ironfist took a slightly different approach and starting publishing supplements. They next focused on the later periods of the war with Overlord and Fall of the Reich. Each supplement provides the history, army lists and scenarios for each period, but in order to play any of these supplements you will need either the Kursk book or the smaller, rules-only book which is also available as a PDF.

I happen to like this approach.  I am a sucker for books, and the book lover in me really likes these supplements.  Publishing the rules separately allows more space for the specific content - artwork, photographs, maps and data - that will give each game the right flavour.  And I must say, the quality of the army lists and research is top notch.  

I was delighted when Ironfist published Battlegroup Blitzkrieg earlier this year.  This book covers not just the fall of France but also the invasion of Poland in 1939, and is packed with some great stuff.  It includes all of the equipment and forces that were involved (Belgian and Dutch armies included) and the example battles are presented beautifully - the maps in particular are great. One of the highlights is a scenario covering the 2nd Durham Light Infantry on the River Dyle, and in particular the award of the first Victoria Cross to the British Army during the war.

The publication of the rules as a separate book has actually helped me enormously as it has allowed me to learn the core rules more quickly, and only then dive into the detail of the period. I was very pleasantly surprised by how the Battlegroup rules work.  They offer different scales of encounter, from squad/section level all the way up to battalion-sized actions. With a 3' x 4' table, I'm not going to recreate the entire retreat to Dunkirk, but the rules seem to work really well for a platoon-sized action. 

Even for those not interested in the Battlegroup rules, I can thoroughly recommend Battlegroup Blitzkrieg as a sourcebook for any early WW2 campaign. The research appears very complete to me, and the artwork is stunning.  The books in print and PDF format are available from The Plastic Soldier Company.

As inspiration, both of the photos in this article are of the stunning Battlegroup Blitzkrieg demonstration game at Salute 2015, taken by me.  If I could only get my games to look this good...

Bye for now.

Painting stuff

I haven't been entirely inactive over the last few years. Here's a selection of what I've painted, and then subsequently sold.

All of the Vietnam stuff has gone...

 The ACAV's are 1/72 scale  from Britannia, the 

waterline ACAV is a converted Trumpeter kit.

These 1/72 scale M548s are old Liberation resin 

kits, each with a driver from Britannia.

The start of my Spanish Civil War collection has gone...

1/72 Scale Panzer 1s from Minairons.

I also did a few random bits to keep me occupied...

This was a Britannia T-55 in 1/72 scale.  I enjoyed this one.

These were part of a batch of four M5 halftracks 

in 1/100 scale from The Plastic Soldier Company.

It feels like I'm improving.  I hope it looks that way too!

Bye for now.

A New Start

Well, the last few years have flown by.  I'm told that tends to happen when you have kids, but I guess you're never fully prepared for it.  Anywaaaaaay...

My mini-board as I'd originally planned it never actually happened, mainly because something better came along! My father in law listened to my plans and said "What if I made you a bigger board?"

Well, I wasn't going to say no, was I?

So, a trip to Wickes and a couple of hours in Ted's shed resulted in a 3' x 4' table made up of two locking 2' x 3' boards. I finished them with a bit of flock, and I'm quite pleased with the result.

Once the table was completed, I needed to start gaming.  When I last posted all those years ago, I had a collection of 20mm Vietnam stuff, but I came to the conclusion that I couldn't play the kind of game I wanted to within that period.  I started looking around for a new challenge.  

Chain of Command is a platoon-level skirmish ruleset from TooFatLardies, and is designed to be played with 28mm figures on a 4' x 6' board.  I worked out that if I scaled everything down and used 15mm figures, then my 3' x 4' board would be perfect. At about the same time I discovered the early WW2 figures and vehicles from The Plastic Soldier Company, and so my next project seemed to decide itself - France 1940.

As a result, I have sold all of my Vietnam stuff and I now have a complete platoon each of German and British infantry already painted, along with some supports.  I've even had a game or two.

Here's a quick shot of some of my first efforts, I'm hoping to improve!

Bye for now!

The Building Work Begins

The raw materials for my mini-board have arrived!  

Not particularly inspiring, I know.  However, I have a dream...

The kids are in bed asleep, my wife is out for the evening, so I've been able to make a start.  As you might be able to see, the board is actually an old piece of marine ply.  Completely intact, but a little grubby and filled with screw-holes.  So task number one is to use filler to plug the holes, then a coat of thinned PVA glue to seal the wood.

The next task on the list is to start texturing.  My plan is to scale up my basing technique, which textures the base with builders sand, and then use static grass to provide colour.  I'm hoping it's going to work!  This is what it looks like in small scale...

Making Plans...

I've now ordered the raw materials I need to turn my basic chunk of wood into a wargames table.  While I'm waiting for my table to be completed, I guess I'd better start thinking about what I'm going to do with it...

The obvious idea was to go "small-scale".  There are some fantastic figures available in micro-scales from the likes of Baccus or GHQ, but the idea of using them in a wargame leaves me uninspired.  I'm not interested in recreating huge battles so I'm going to try and come up with some creative things to do in the scales I like.  Here are a few ideas.

My collection at the moment consists of 20mm Vietnam War figures and vehicles.  My painting skills are probably of an acceptable wargames standard - here's an example of my vehicle work.

 I really like the Charlie Don't Surf rules from Too Fat Lardies and I'll use these for my first games on the new table.  I have an interesting idea for a mini-campaign using random, hidden movement on a hex-map.  If it works, I'll tell you about it.

Another period that I find fascinating is the Spanish Civil War.  A new Spanish company called Minairons has started producing models in hard plastic for this period, and their first offering - a box of Panzer 1 models in 1/72 scale - is due for release imminently.  I really hope they do well, because this looks like it's going to be an extremely nice range.  They'll be manufacturing in 15mm scale, too.

I recently bought a copy of the Force on Force rules from Ambush Alley Games.  These rules emphasise the quality of the man holding the rifle rather than the quality of the rifle itself, and I think they'll adapt perfectly for the Spanish Civil War.  The huge variation in the forces that fought in the conflict means there will be some really interesting stuff to paint, too.

One more conflict I want to research is the French-Indian War.  I knew next-to-nothing about this period until I started hearing lots of good reviews of the new Muskets and Tomahawks rules.  Designed for skirmish games using 28mm miniatures, I think that they'll work really well on my small table.  There are some great figures available from Warlord, the Perrys and North Star - here's just part of the range from Warlord.

I might only need two or three dozen figures per side, and that'll keep the cost down.  I will need lots of trees, though...

Hopefully by next time my scenic materials will have arrived so I can make a start.  I'll let you know how I get on.

The Start of a New Project

Thanks for visiting my new blog. I am starting with a new chapter in my wargaming life - with a 2-foot by 3-foot table! Along the way, I want to learn some new skills, create some new stuff and see if I can play entertaining, challenging wargames on a small table.

When I started wargaming, 20-something years ago, I wanted nothing more than a purpose-built wargames table. I was filled with ideas of a games room, with at its centre a lovingly created layout filled with beautiful terrain. Unfortunately, such things are out of the reach of 15 year old boys, and so the dream was forgotten.

I have gone away from wargaming and come back a couple of times over the years, and now I am in the position where I have the inclination (and, just as importantly, an understanding wife) to create my dream wargames table. The only problem is that our house is also home to our two wonderful children. As a result, I don't have the time or space to have a permanent 6' x 5' table, and so I need to find a way of keeping my "wargaming footprint" to a minimum.

I have worked out that a 2' x 3' wargames table will fit happily on our dining room table without me having to re-arrange the whole room. I have even found an old worktop of the right size that my Dad created years ago. And so I have hatched a plan.

I'm going to convert this worktop into my new wargames table. I have a selection of hills from S&A Scenics that I will re-cover to match the table, I'll make (or buy) some new trees, and I'm actually going to try and play some games. My interests at the moment are mainly 20th century, especially post World War 2. The new-ish rules from Ambush Alley, Force on Force, say that it is very possible to have a good games on a 2' x 2' table, so I'm going to test this out with 20mm figures.

Having said that, I'm keen to try out new things. I'm really interested in painting some of the new ranges of hard plastic 28mm figures that are available from Warlord, Victrix, the Perrys and others. Can you have a game on a small table with 28mm figures? Let's find out...

Next time, I'll have made some decisions about colours, raw materials and techniques. Please come along and see how I'm doing!