Wacky Races Deluxe Edition Boardgame

I recently received the Wacky Races Deluxe Edition boardgame produced by CMON. The Deluxe Edition differs from the standard edition in that it comes with pre-painted cars, which was a huge deciding factor in me buying it. I wanted the pre-painted cars - they are gorgeous (see photo below). Painting all eleven cars would have been far too time consuming for me, especially considering how many other projects I have on the go.
The game is really simple to play and I've found it a lot of fun. Although designed for 2-6 players I've been playing it solo by randomly choosing three cars to control and adding three random neutral cars. There must always be six racers plus Dick Dastardly (whom no one controls) in the game.

Here are the game contents - rulebook, a deck of 40 racer specific cards (four per racer), a deck of 64 movement cards, a deck off 16 Dick Dastardly trap cards, a quick play rule sheet, 11 miniature cars, 10 racer dashboards, assorted terrain tiles and the starting grid. The components are very well made and produced.

Here is a close up of the 11 highly detailed pre-painted cars. I love them!

Each racer starts with a dashboard to place their special cards on. They can be played at any time in the game but once played are turned over to show they have been used. They feature various tactics that are specific to each racer and as such are very flavourful.

Here is an example of the board layout. The terrain tiles are placed randomly to make the race track consisting of four different terrain types. Players  each receive three movement cards per turn and must match them with the tile they are on to advance. For the first tile they move to each turn they can play any movement card, ensuring they always move at least one tile per turn. After that they must match the ties they are on with the appropriate movement card, so they could move one, two or three tiles per turn depending on the cards they pick. No dice are used in this game - it is entirely card driven. Tactic cards play a big part of the game. Knowing when to play them is key. For example, when I was playing the Red Baron in his Crimson Haybailer, I kept his advance 4 tiles card to the finale and won with it as he overtook the two cars in front of him who were closer to the finishing line!
Race cars are placed at either side of a game tile when they move. If both sides are occupied the car advances to the next available tile. Dick Dastardly, however, moves along the centre of each tile.
Dick Dastardly randomly moves by moving onto a tile that matches the movement card on top of the discard pile at the end of each player's turn. If he moves into the lead, he stops and lays a trap card then retreats to the back of the pack of racers. Note that he can never win the race but he does cause much mayhem.
I really like  this game a lot. It brings back so many happy memories of watching the cartoons. Indeed, I also bought the DVD with all 34 episodes of the original Wacky Races cartoons on three discs. So who is my favourite racer? Obviously it is the Creepy Coupe driven by the Gruesome Twosome. It is the only car with a vampire driver!

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 G.I. Squad 01

When I was putting together my Easy Company figures I purchased a few sets of American G.I.s from Artizan Designs. With the figures I had left over (they come in packs of four figures) I had enough to make up a single squad of infantrymen to use in Bolt Action. Here they are -

The section is led by a corporal at the far left. He is  armed with a Carbine. These are all regular Late War infantrymen.

Three of the squad are armed with .45 Thompson SMGs. Whilst not strictly legal rules-wise I am including them anyway. At the far right is the squad's Browning Automatic Rifle user.

 The remaining five men are all armed with M1 Garand Rifles.

I like this range a lot because the figures are very well sculpted in a variety of realistic poses. They certainly complement the Warlord Games plastic American Infantrymen very well. I have a box of 30 of them to make and they're high on my to do list.I am now expanding my American army to include airborne troops and regular G.I.s.

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.