Bolt Action Ruined House & Craters

Up till now I have shown quite a lot of my American and German infantry forces for Bolt Action, as well as a smattering of vehicles. What I haven't shown so far is some of my scenery items - and I do have quite a bit to show. Anyone who knows me well, will know that I place a great deal of emphasis on my terrain and scenery items. I like nothing better than a fantastic looking gaming board that makes you want to play on it. So, ever since I began my Bolt Action project I have slowly been amassing various scenery and terrain items.
In this post I'll be looking at three separate sets I bought - a ruined a house, a set of bomb craters and some road sections.

I'll start with the ruined house. This is a plastic construction kit produced by Warlord Games specifically for Bolt Action. It comes with its own scenic base to which I have added a few tufts of static grass.

It is a simple rectangular building with a staircase leading to a small landing. The walls are very thick and a selection of sandbags are provided for extra cover on the doors and windows. It is big enough to hold a squad of about ten men.

To the right of my photos is the Warlord Games crater set, which contains six small resin cast craters. I don't think you could play a game set in World War 2 without craters!

Finally, are my modular road sections, which are produced by War World Gaming, a firm I discovered on Amazon UK. The road sections are roughly 8" in length and about 3" wide. They come in straight sections, curved sections and an assortment of junctions. They are textured and ideal for country lanes. The road sections are available in grey (as shown) or dirt brown. I found them very useful and with a few sets I can easily fill my gaming board.

Bolt Action - German Panzer IV Ausf H

The Panzer IV Ausf. G evolved into the Ausf. H with the addition of a slightly improved L/46 75mm high velocity anti-tank gun. The Ausf. H would become the standard German battle tank until the final Ausf. J was developed, but this only had minor changes, such as the improvement of the gearbox and the turret's roof armour. If any tank can claim to be the standard battle tank of the German Army then it is the Panzer IV.

It was not well liked by its crews, who were often veterans and very aware of the tank's drawbacks. They nicknamed it the Sardinebuchse, "Sardine Tin" due to its relative lack of armour.

In Bolt Action, it is classed as a Medium Tank with 1 turret-mounted heavy anti-tank gun with co-axial MMG and 1 forward facing hull mounted MMG.

This Panzer IV has Schurzen Armoured Skirts fitted. These stand-off, thin armoured plates protecting a tank's turret and sides were developed  to act as additional armour against Russian anti-tank rifles. Later they became more widely used and also helped protect a tank against shaped charges by detonating the warhead  before it hit the main armour. If a German tank has Schurzen , then anti-tank rifles and shaped charges such as bazookas, PIATs, etc. never get the +1 penetration bonus for hitting the vehicle in the side.

The Ausf. G, H and J tanks all cause Tiger Fear. Such was the lethal reputation of Tiger tanks, that often Allied troops were spooked by the appearance of any German heavy armour, mistakenly thinking that any Panzer IV was a Tiger waiting in ambush. All enemy units that have line of sight to one or more German vehicles with the Tiger Fear special rule suffer from Tiger Fear. Units suffering from Tiger Fear count as having one extra pin marker on them when taking any order test, except if ordered to Fire against a vehicle causing Tiger Fear.

I decided to give my Panzer IV a mottled green and red-brown camouflage scheme over a sand base coat. It looks quite effective and I'm happy with the results.

This plastic kit is produced by Warlord Games and you have the options of making the Ausf. F, G or H variants. It went together very well and I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to add the Schurzen, which are also optional. Interestingly enough, the points costs for the inexperienced, regular and veteran crews of the Panzer IV Ausf. H are identical to the points costs for the inexperienced, regular and veteran crews of the American M41A1 Sherman 75mm tank, which is what Oddball's tank is that I showed earlier, albeit stripped of its Hollywood extras, i.e. 188 points, 235 points and 282 points respectively. This makes my only two tanks (so far) a good match in theory. I'm keen to try them out in a battle to see who is the better.

Konflict 47 Colonel Grauler & Werewolf

Konflict 47 is Warlord Games' Weird World War  2 game based on the popular Bolt Action rules, featuring giant mechs and supernatural creatures. It is very similar to the Secrets of the Third Reich game by West Wind but the history differs somewhat. Even so, you could use figures for both games together with your preferred rules set. For me, that is Konflict 47 as I much prefer their rules, background and figures.

I recently bought this two figure set of Sturmbahnfuhrer (Colonel) Grauler and Werewolf by Warlord Games. The great weakness of Hitler’s Occult Forces is the Vampire’s inability to go out in daylight. To overcome this weakness the mountains and forests of Germany were scoured and the shock troops of the Wulfen SS were formed.
We have here a werewolf stormtrooper from the Wulfen SS, ready to rend the enemies of the Third Reich limb-from-limb. Never too picky in their rendition this Wulfen is accompanied by Frau Grauler, the She-Wolf of the SS who keeps her minions in line with frequent admonishment with her riding crop.

I plan on buying even more Werewolves (at least six off them) to bolster this set. Full rules for using Wulfen are provided in the basic Konflict 47 rulebook and they are fearsome troops.

Bolt Action - German Medium Mortar Team

The standard German medium mortar of WW2 was the 80mm Granatwerfer 34. It was a very effective and accurate weapon that could provide longer range, on-call support. It had a maximum range of 2,400 metres and could maintain a rate of fire of 15-20 rounds per minute.

 It was carried by its crew in three pieces: base plate, tube and bipod.

As with the medium machine gun team, I have based the figures separately to make it easier for removing casualties. This set is produced by Warlord Games as part of their Bolt Action range and the troops are all Panzer Grenadiers.

Bolt Action - German Medium Machine Gun Team

The Germans were equipped with two excellent machine guns  in the MG34 and the MG42 - known to Allied troops as "Hitler's Buzz Saw" because of its distinctive noise. Unlike other armies, the Germans used the same machine gun both as a squad weapon and as a tripod-mounted support weapon. The tripod mount provided a much more stable firing platform and made it easier to keep up a sustained fire using a belt feed. Therefore, the tripod-mounted machine gun is treated as a medium machine gun, while thee squad weapon is treated as a light machine gun.

The Warlord Games Panzer Grenadier Medium Machine Gun team for use in Bolt Action consists of a gunner, loader and spotter all in prone poses. The  machine gun is mounted on a tripod.

German Medium Machine Gun teams are either regular or veteran troops. The MMG has a range of 36" and because of the "Hitler's Buzz Saw" special rule gets 6 shots per turn instead of 5 shots. It is classed as a Team and Fixed weapon. This is a very powerful support weapon.

Vampifans Views 125 - Monthly Musings 95

It is time for another of my Monthly Musings and I start with another Jim Silke panting of Vampirella. It has been an interesting month for me. Of late I have been doing a lot of painting and modelling but hardly any gaming. That changed this past month. I have played many games of Judge Dredd: Helter Skelter (it's very addictive!), a few games of Wacky Races and even a game of Zombicide:Invader. It felt so satisfying to play so many games.

On the painting and modelling front I have been concentrating on my German Panzer Grenadier army for Bolt Action. I have just about finished painting 30 plastic Warlord Games Panzer Grenadier infantry, a Panzer IV Ausf. H, an Sdkfz 251/10 Hanomag half track with 37mm gun and two Sdkfz 251/1 Hanomag half tracks. All vehicles were produced by Warlord Games. Speaking of them, I made use of their Black Friday sale and bought a King Tiger tank, 3 Tiger 1 tanks and an American M10 Wolverine tank destroyer. The reason for buying so many tanks is that I bought the Tank War supplement for Bolt Action earlier this month. I do plan on buying more Sherman tanks later. I was most impressed with Tank War but my main focus for Bolt Action still remains infantry vs infantry with just a small smattering of vehicles. However, playing Tank War will be an interesting diversion from the norm.

The big news for me is that yesterday I received my Mega package of the Judge Dredd: I Am The Law skirmish game from those fine folk at Warlord Games. A full review of it including the rules and figures will appear on my WOIN blog. Initial impressions are highly favourable. The figures are absolutely first rate although they are rather large at 35mm tall on average. Some may see this as a bad thing and yet another example of scale creep. This does not bother me at all as it means they fit in well with some of my older Judge Dredd miniatures and scale creep has never bothered me that much. As I keep saying, people come in all shapes and sizes so why shouldn't our miniature figures reflect that?

Having played Warlord Games' Strontium Dog sci-fi skirmish game before I am very familiar with the new rules in the Judge Dredd game, which are based on them. By the way, my Judge Dredd WOIN campaign is ready to go and will be played alongside any Judge Dredd: I Am The Law games. I haven't decided yet if they should be connected by running them at the same point in time with the same characters or not. Most likely I will. It would seem to make sense.

There's not much more to report here so I'll sign off and remind you to check out my WOIN blog for all my Judge Dredd news. Cheers, folks!

Bolt Action - German High Command

This set of three 28mm scale German High Command figures is available from Warlord Games as part of their Bolt Action range.

 They are poring over a map spread out on a small table, which is also included in the set.

Although they are shown all grouped together on a single 60mm diameter base on the Warlord Games website I have based them all individually.

These are not named characters but I probably will name them some time soon. As well as using them as possible high ranking leaders (Captain level or higher) for your German forces, they would make for a fine objective, much like the downed RAF pilot I showed recently. An Allied mission could be to capture one or all of them, or perhaps an assassination mission in the style of the Dirty Dozen.

Bolt Action - US Deuce and a Half Trucks

At the same time I made my Oddball's Sherman Tank I made and painted a pair of American 2.5 trucks made by Warlord Games.

Like Oddball's Sherman these are a combination of resin and metal parts. The cab, main body and tarpaulin cover are made of resin and the rest of metal.

Sometimes referred to as the "deuce and a half" the 2.5 ton truck was the standard US general purpose army cargo truck used for haulage as well as troop transportation and as a prime mover for howitzers and anti-tank guns. Nicknamed "Jimmy" at General Motors, over 800,000 were built and these vehicles contributed enormously to the Allied victory.

 The model comes with an option for having a pintle mounted HMG with 360 degree arc of fire for +25 points. I have fitted one to the truck to the right.

 Note that the cab and front engine part must be glued to the main body.

 You could leave the tarpaulin covers off or just clipped on. I have glued mine in place.

These are very fine models and useful in games of Bolt Action for transporting your American forces. It can transport 18 men, which is a lot. They went together very well and were fun to paint.

Bolt Action - Oddball's Sherman Tank

I have spent a lot of my time these past couple of months making and painting infantry figures to use in my Bolt Action games. The time felt right to start work on some vehicles. So, my first choice of vehicle to make and paint was Oddball's Sherman Tank from the excellent movie, Kelly's Heroes.

The tank is produced by Warlord Games as part of the official Bolt Action range and comes with a booklet giving its stats for use in the game. Stats are provided for a realistic version as well as the Hollywood version, which is so over the top.

The main body, turret and tracks are made of resin and all of the other parts are made of metal. As you can see, it comes with four figures - Sergeant Oddball sitting in the turret, Turk sitting on the turret, Private Moriarty the loader in the hull and the unnamed driver sitting next to him.

I have glued all the figures in place. Note the loudspeaker at the right side of the turret. At the end of each turn, Oddball's Sherman and any other Sherman within 12" loses D3 pin markers, such is the soothing power of Hank Williams.

There is a 90mm drainage pipe sitting next to the turret. If placed over the main gun barrel any enemy vehicle which can trace line of sight to the drainage tube must pass an order test to  activate, even if it does not have any pin markers. The Sherman's crew are immune to Tiger Fear because 90mm is greater than 88mm.

The Sherman is festooned with all sorts of gear, such as backpacks, jerry cans, crates and sacks. Who knows what loot they may contain?

The engine has been replaced by Moriarty's Detroit Motors engine, which allows the tank to move at wheeled speed instead of tracked speed. It also has the option of firing paint ammunition, which may be fired intentionally or by accident.
Oddball's Sherman is a great model, full of character and humour. As my only Sherman tank so far I'll be using it as a veteran Sherman tank using the standard rules. I'll use the Hollywood version rules in a special Kelly's Heroes scenario.

Bolt Action US GI Easy Company

Easy Company of the American World War 2 General Infantry was the unit that Sergeant Franklin John Rock served in and in this post I'm going to highlight him and his squads of men. Sergeant Rock is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Sgt. Rock first appeared in Our Army at War #83 (June 1959), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. The character is a World War 2 veteran who served as an infantry non-commissioned officer. During World War 2, Sgt. Rock fought in the infantry branch of the U.S. Army in the Italian and European Theatres and eventually rose to authority within his unit, Easy Company. The unit was a collection of disparate individuals who managed to participate in every major action in the European war. Rock's dog-tag number was 409966, which had been, it was claimed, Robert Kanigher's own military serial number.

At the far left is the Warlord Games figure of Sgt. Rock. Being ambidextrous, he is shown holding a .45 Thompson Sub-Machine Gun in both hands. Naturally his uniform is torn because he is always in the thick of any action. There were a number of figures I could have used for Sgt. Rock but this is the one I liked best of all.
Next to him is Corporal Horace "Bulldozer" Nicholls, Rock's second-in-command. Big as an ox with a heart to match, he's had the closest relationship with the Sarge and calls the shots whenever Rock is out of action. His figure is a Heroclix version of Sgt. Rock but because of his size and physique he is a perfect version of "Bulldozer".

Ex-heavyweight champion Jackie Johnson is a private in Easy Company's roster. He was a Heroclix unnamed G.I. who I thought was a good match for Private Johnson.
Last in line is the fourth figure to be armed with a Thompson SMG, Worry Wart, who is convinced that every enemy bullet has his name on it. He is an unconverted Artizan Designs American infantryman with SMG.

Moving on, at the far left is Harold Shapiro, a mild-mannered history teacher who becomes "Wildman" when pushed too far. He was a Heroclix G.I. Medic whom I converted by adding his distinctive red beard and moustache and losing his medic markings.
"Four Eyes" is so nicknamed because he wears glasses. His figure was another Heroclix version of Sgt. Rock, which, in my opinion, was too static for an a iconic action hero but perfect for "Four Eyes". I added his glasses, backpack and assorted pouches.

Third in line is Private Terry O'Riley who hated the heat but became the perfect "Ice Cream Soldier" when the weather was freezing. A native of the hard-scrabble New York City streets, he's the company's wise guy. He is an unconverted Artizan Designs American Infantryman with Rifle.
Kneeling down is "Farmer Boy" who refused to let the war stop him from doing what he was born to do - grow crops. He is a Warlord Games plastic US Infantryman depicted growing a flower in his helmet, which he has adapted to be a flower pot.

These next four figures are all produced by Artizan Designs from their WW2 American Infantry range. At the far left is "Sunny" so called because of his ever cheerful disposition. He is the spotter for the team's sniper, "Little Sure Shot".
"Little Sure Shot" is a full-blooded Apache Indian tracker and is regularly Easy Company's point man. He is an expert marksman and what he lacks in size he makes up for with stealth, speed, accuracy and cold blooded efficiency. I added his trademark feathers to his helmet out of Milliput.

The bazooka team is made up of Short Round the loader and Long Round the bazooka firer. They replaced Zack, the one-armed bazooka operator who was killed in action.
Sadly, there are no rules for using Easy Company in Bolt Action. However, I would definitely class them all as veterans and I would give them the Stubborn and Tough Fighters special rules.

Vampifans Views 124 - Monthly Musings 94

I have had yet another incredibly prolific month painting and model making. But first, I present another portrait of Vampirella as painted by Jim Silke. It certainly shows her in a playful and naughty mood. It does not offend me as I really like this picture. It does show just how skimpy Vampirella's costume is.

I mentioned above that I have been doing a lot of model making this past month. For Bolt Action I have made my first vehicles - two "Deuce and a Half" trucks for my American forces and Oddball's M4A3 Sherman tank. I have just about finished painting them so expect reviews of them very soon. Once they are finished I plan on making three German Hanomag Sdkfz 251 half tracks. These are plastic models. The two "Deuce and a Half" trucks and Oddball's Sherman were part resin and part metal, so were very quick to assemble. I thoroughly enjoyed making them as I very rarely make vehicles.

I was especially pleased to finish painting the last of my Core Space Trader crews. Expect a Core Space batrep very soon. I am still painting lots of figures for my Bolt Action project. I finished painting two American G.I. squads, one of which was led by Sergeant Rock and features about a dozen named characters, which I'll be showing very soon. I am currently painting some German specialist teams - a medium machine gun team, a medium mortar team, two sniper teams and a high command squad. They should get finished in the next couple of days. I am trying to get as many Bolt Action figures painted during November because of the following.

Warlord Games will be releasing the new Judge Dredd skirmish game in late-November, just in time for my birthday. Because I want everything to do with this game I have pre-ordered the Mega One Launch offer package, which features everything available from the first wave. At £230.00 it is definitely expensive but it is cheaper buying everything in one go than in buying the components individually. My favourite figure out of this launch is Judge Dredd on the Mk.III Lawmaster bike - a quite exceptional sculpt. The timing of this launch is perfect for me as I am very close to starting my Judge Dredd Role Playing Game campaign on my WOIN blog. I am more interested in collecting the figures than in playing the game, which is based on the Strontium Dogs rules. That's not to say I won't play the game but how often will be determined after I read the rulebook.

With me spending so much pre-ordering the Judge Dredd Mega One pledge I was hoping not to spend any more money on gaming items but lo and behold I spot this item to the left here on Blaxkleric's blog and knew I had to have it. This is Zombicide 2nd Edition, which has upgraded the rules for easier play and what I found most exciting, offers the Zombicide Role-Playing Book. That is something I am very keen to play. The new figures are a vast improvement over the ones in the original Zombicide boxed set. I was pleased to see that the original six survivors are still present with stunning new sculpts. In addition, I have also ordered the Washington ZC expansion supplement in which the survivors get the chance to meet the president of the USA. This is a Kickstarter game so won't be released until November 2020 barring any delays. I'm patient, so I don't mind waiting. Once again, I want everything that is available for this game so I have gone for the All Out pledge for £141.00. Given the huge amount of free stretch goals you get this is really good value for money. On the down side I am going to have loads of zombies to paint as well as a large amount of survivors. Ah, well, it'll keep me busy! Also, the figures and tiles from the previous contemporary Zombicide sets can be used with 2nd edition.

Yesterday I received the Judge Dredd: Helter Skelter boardgame by Osprey Games. This is based on  the Helter Skelter story from 2000 AD comics #1250-1261 written by Garth Ennis. Martin Wallace is at the helm once again here, bringing his Wildlands format to the tabletop but with a Judge Dredd spin. This miniatures board game has you playing as unique and iconic characters from the worlds of 2000 AD like Judge Dredd, Slaine, Nikolai Dante and Strontium Dogs as you rush around Mega-City One trying to find aspects of their shattered universe and of course crushing, blowing up, and shooting anyone who gets in their way. The game comes with 20 superbly sculpted 28mm scale plastic figures - five unique characters from each of the four factions. All of them are ink-washed in order to bring out the detail in the figures which means that you don't need to go that extra step to pretty them up if you don't want to! I have played the game once and absolutely loved it. The Strontium Dogs defeated the Judges in a very closely fought fight. I bought it primarily for the figures but the gameplay has really won me over and I want to play it again and again. The production values of this game is excellent and I have no criticisms to make. A review of the figures will appear in my next post. It has a RRP of £60.00. Amazon UK has it for sale at only £39.00, which is an absolute bargain.

Bolt Action Panzer Grenadiers Infantry 02

My first German Panzer Grenadier squad that I showed last month were all metal figures. This second squad that I'm showing here were made from the plastic sprues by Warlord Games.

This ten-man squad is led by an NCO at the far left, holding a pair of binoculars and a map in his hands. His STG44 Assault Rifle is slung across his back. 

With him are five men armed with STG44 Assault Rifles. Four are shown in the two photos above and the remaining one, throwing a stick grenade, is in the two photos below at the far left.

To maximise the squad's firepower I have included two LMG teams. Veteran Panzer Grenadier squads are one of the very few squads that are allowed to take two LMG teams. With the Hitler's Buzzsaw army rule, the two LMGs have 10 fire dice and the six Assault Rifles gives the squad a further 12 fire dice for a total of 22 dice to hit using ranged attacks. That's a scary amount of firepower from just ten men!

Note that the dark green tubes carried on the backs of the two machine gunners and their loaders contain spare barrels for the MG42s, which were prone to overheating.
These figures went together very well and they come with a very good selection of weapons and equipment. I can highly recommend them. I am not a big fan of prone figures so I was pleased to see no prone figures in this set.

Bolt Action RAF Downed Pilot

Still sticking with my new Bolt Action 28mm scale figures, here is something different from my usual American and German forces - a British RAF downed pilot.

This is Squadron Leader "Topper" Redfern who has just bailed out of his Spitfire, having been hit by a German pilot. He has landed in no-man's land, hoping the Allies will rescue him before the Germans capture him.

In the Bolt Action rulebook, there is a scenario called Top Secret, in which both sides must locate the crash site of a downed plane to retrieve a briefcase containing secret documents. There is no reason why the objective couldn't be this downed pilot instead, making him an ideal objective marker. Try to rescue him before your opponent catches up with him.

Bolt Action US Pathfinder Infantry Sections 01

On the plastic sprues for the US Airborne Infantry are two heads with Mohican haircuts. I thought these would be perfect for making a Pathfinder Section. I had enough heads to make two 6-man squads and you can see them below.

This is the 1st Pathfinder squad of the 101st Airborne Division. They are led by an NCO armed with a M3 "Grease Gun" SMG and a machete. Of the other men, one is armed with a Thompson SMG, whilst the other four are armed with M1 Rifles and Carbines.

American pathfinders were not drawn from a dedicated unit in the same way as the British 21st Independent Company, but from the main body of parachute infantry regiments or in some cases, from a battalion level "scout" platoon. The men were chosen on the basis of skill-at-arms, dedication and proven initiative. Pathfinder units could be as small as three 4-man teams and no larger than three 6-man teams. For Bolt Action purposes the latter choice is used. Given their very specific task and high level of training the teams did not really have a command structure as such; every man had a task to perform and knew exactly when and where to carry it out without direction.

The 2nd squad is made up exactly the same as the 1st squad - an NCO and one private armed with SMGs and the rest with Rifles and Carbines. US Pathfinders are classed as veteran units. The stats for them can be found in the campaign supplement Market Garden.

Pathfinders have the following special rule - Exceptional Training. This exceptional level of training and motivation means that Pathfinder teams always use their unmodified morale of 10 for any and all morale-based tests (i.e. order tests, morale checks, tank fear, etc.).