Tuesday 30 July 2019

Vampifans Views 121 - Monthly Musings 91

This has been a big month for me, which I'll tell you about shortly. To the left is an unusual portrait of Vampirella by Jim Silke. It is unusual due to the fact that Vampi is wearing normal casual clothing over her iconic costume. Sometimes in the comic books, Vampirella has to appear incognito. More often than not she just wears a trench coat over her costume. I must admit that I do like this costume.

Currently on my painting table are the Galactic Corps Cops and Security Guards from my Core Space set, plus a bunch of WW2 Bolt Action German and American infantry, which brings me round to my newest project - WW2 gaming.

Ever since last November I have had a hankering for getting back into WW2 wargaming. When I first started wargaming way back in the 1970's I started out by playing WW2 games with my big collection of figures and vehicles from 20mm scale Airfix, Matchbox and Japanese companies like Fujimi and Hasegawa. I nearly always played the Germans and my brother played the Allies. We mainly concentrated on the D-Day Landings and the breakout from France. That period still remains my favourite.

So what happened in November? That was when I backed the Reichbusters Kickstarter boardgame with miniatures by Mythic Games. Delivery is expected this November. The miniatures are just gorgeous and from the play-through videos I've seen on YouTube, it looks like a whole load of fun as a small unit of four assorted elite larger than life Allies infiltrate a German mansion and secret base to cause all sorts of havoc. Interestingly enough, the mansion is named Wewelsberg Castle, where the SWD operate from in Secrets of the Third Reich. Coincidence? I don't think so! As more and more stretch goals were released, the more I realised I very much wanted to get back into WW2 and WWW2 gaming. I already had the SOTR rules and a fully painted German infantry army so that should have been my obvious choice. But the fact that West Wind has ignored this game for many years made me question whether it was a viable long-term option. So I spent a while looking for other options but in truth, it wasn't a hard decision.

Bolt Action for its WW2 rules and the Konflict 47 Weird World War 2 rules (both produced by Warlord Games with similar rules) provided me with all I was looking for. That, plus the fact that both games are incredibly well supported as well as being a popular choice amongst many gamers made them "must have" purchases. My first purchases were the Bolt Action hardback book and three army book supplements for the American, British and German armies.
I also bought the Band of Brothers starter boxed set, which was described on the On Table Top
website as the standard by which all starter sets should be judged. You can see all that this set contains in the photo to the left. The forces are 24 American Airborne infantry verses 12 German Panzer Grenadiers and a Hanomag SdKfz. 251/10 with PAK 36 Anti-tank gun. It also contains a ruined farmhouse, Pin markers, HE Template and order counters, 5 order dice for each army, 12 regular d6 dice, an A5 soft-backed version of the basic rules and a handy quick reference sheet. I bought my starter set from Amazon UK for £55, a considerable saving over the £70 price on the Warlord Games website. I've actually found it pays to check out other sources such as eBay, Wayland Games or Element Games to find cheaper priced Warlord Games products. However, not all Bolt Action products can be found cheaper on other sites but it still pays to shop around.
Seeing as most of my games will take place in the late war period in Europe (1944-45) I plan on collecting the following forces. For the Americans, the Airborne troops and the regular infantry troops; for the British I'll be collecting the regular infantry troops, the Airborne troops and possibly some Commandos; for the Germans I plan on fielding Panzer Grenadier troops and Waffen SS troops. That's a lot of figures I need, but this will be a long term project and I'll be adding to my forces slowly. I'm mainly interested in small force (platoon level) infantry battles with a limited amount of vehicles (no more than one tank, self-propelled gun, tank destroyer or armoured car per platoon) which is exactly what the Bolt Action rules cater for. Once I master the Bolt Action rules I'll move onto the Konflict 47 rules for my Weird World War 2 fix. Again, that will be a long term project.
I've already painted an American Airborne HQ section and a German Panzer Grenadier HQ section. Currently on my painting table are a 10 man veteran Panzer Grenadier squad plus the American Kelly's Heroes squad. I had planned on getting the Kelly's Heroes set (called the Oddball's Heroes by Warlord Games) but they were low down on my wish list. However, someone on eBay was selling them for £7.00 and I won the auction. Considering the RRP for them was £20.00 this was a fantastic bargain. Now I'm going to have to get Oddball's Sherman tank. Both the Oddball's Heroes and the elite Panzer Grenadier squad plus the American and German HQ squads are made of metal. The figures in the Band of Brothers plus the Hanomag and ruined farmhouse are made of plastic. However, they do mix together very well.
This is a project that excites me greatly, not least because of the memories it evokes from the 1970's. Of course I am a much better painter and modeller now than I was back then. I'm looking forward to playing my first few games as I slowly build up my forces. Figure reviews and batreps will follow soon.

14 comments:

  1. A lot on show in this months musings Bryan, must be nice starting this project that brings back such great memories

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Dave, and you're absolutely right about the happy memories.

      Delete
  2. Will Oddballs tank be making pretty pictures when it shoots Bryan ?:)
    I played Bolt Action a couple of times some years back & while I know the rules have been updated since then but would imagine it more or less the same, I think the activation is good for solo play.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, Frank. Rather bizarrely, Oddball's tank does have the option to fire paint. Of course, it will be having the loudspeakers fitted and the 90mm drainpipe fitted over its gun barrel.
      I haven't seen "Bolt Action" 1st edition but from all of the comments I've seen, 2nd edition greatly improves it whilst remaining very similar. "Strontium Dogs" used a similar mechanic for activation which is, as you say, great for a solo player.

      Delete
  3. Great posting, Bryan, and having played both "Bolt Action" and "Konflikt '47" I'm sure you'll have a great time... Maybe even give "Beyond The Gates Of Antares" a look?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your insights into both games, Simon. I feel I will have a great time. As for "Beyond the Gates of Antares" I may get into it but certainly not in the near future as I have enough on my plate already.

      Delete
  4. Bryan I never figured you for a traditional wargamer, it just goes to show theres one inside all of us ;)
    I'll be interested to hear your take on Bolt Action, I've seen some games played on YouTube and if the rules support the tactics used then I'm not impressed but I look forward to your games reports because it should give me a better understanding of how they work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Much appreciated, John. When I first began wargaming, I would frequently play WW2 and Napoleonic games along with a smattering of American Civil War, Wild West and Ancients (which I was never a big fan of).
      Hopefully my batreps will give you a better insight into how Bolt Action is played.

      Delete
  5. Hi, my name is Phil and I used to be a Napoleonic wargamer .... there my secret is out !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Look forward to seeing your Weird War forces take shape.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers, Simon. Keep watching my SOTR German reviews. There is a lot of crossover potential with "Konflict 47."

      Delete
  7. Hi Everyone,This was how me and my Boyfriend became VAMPIRES. I got a guy from the internet called Lord who was a VAMPIRE so i told him that me and my boyfriend would love to become a VAMPIRES so he asked me of my Name ,Country, Age ,State , address and in the next 3 days i got the blood sample through the DHL which me and my boyfriend took in the blood into our body and in the next 30 minutes we turned into a VAMPIRE so if you are interested in becoming a VAMPIRE. First: Vampires is not at all like in the movies or books, Sure. I understand. You are young; you have the whole world open to you. You can be anything that you choose if you apply yourself and try hard to work toward that goal. But being a vampire is not what it seems like. It’s a life full of good, and amazing things. We are as human as you are.. It’s not what you are that counts, but how you choose to be. Do you want a life full of interesting things? Do you want to have power and influence over others? To be charming and desirable? To have wealth, health, and longevity? contact the vampires creed today via email: Richvampirekindom@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. My name is Olisa Blessing, I am so happy. I never believe I will be this happy again in life. I have worked as an air hostess ( cabin crew ) for 3years but early this year, I lost my job because of this deadly disease called Herpes virus (HSV).
    I never felt sick or notice any signs. Not until the day all workers were asked to bring their recent doctor's report card, that was how I got tested and I found out that I'm HSV positive and that made me lose my job because it was considered as an STD and is an incurable disease.
    I was so depressed to the extent that I started thinking of suicide. I explained my situation to an older friend of mine, who often said to me 'a problem shared is a problem half solved.
    She felt so pity for me that she referred me to Dr. Utu Herbal Cure, that was how I contacted Dr. Utu and got the medication from him and was cured for real.
    I went back to my work a month later with a HERPES NEGATIVE test result. They were astonished and curious when they saw my HSV NEGATIVE result so they carried out another test on me in the company lab to be very sure and they found out I am indeed a HERPES VIRUS FREED PERSON.
    Finally, the initial HERPES POSITIVE result was replaced with a new HERPES NEGATIVE test result, and my position was given back to me with an apology letter and a salary increase.
    Beware of impersonators,
    Dr. Utu can only be reached at:

    drutuherbalcure@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete