Terrain Matters and a New Tank

This weekend's hobby time was devoted mostly to some terrain matters. First off, I cut down to size the large piece of felt I had found to cover my entire 6' x 4' table.

I say, "cut down" because I intentionally purchased a piece that was about double the size of my table, so that I could use the excess to make tree skirts.

I'd been bothered for a while about how the color of my tree bases don't quite match my felt. Then it occurred to me that I could use excess felt of the same color to make tree skirts (like with a Christmas tree).

Like any other terrain base, if the model is on the tree skirt, it's considered to be in the cover of the trees.

While I was at it, I took the time to cut some gray felt to make roads and paved areas for buildings. Just as with the tree skirts, the paved areas will act as an abstract way to show that a unit is in the building.

Finally, just because I was in the mood, I put together and painted a Sherman tank by Armourfast.

A Little Bit of Focus Pays Off

Despite a hectic start to the academic year, I finally got focused and finished painting the rifle platoons for my U.S. infantry company. Well, okay, they still need a protective clear overcoat, so they're technically not completely finished, but all the real work is done.

So now I need to turn my attention to a few HMG and mortar stands, and then I should have two full opposing infantry companies for Crossfire.

After that I can start thinking about some of the Armourfast tanks I have sitting on my to-do pile.

German Infantry Company – Rifle Platoons Completed

I finally got focused and back on track, finishing the rifle platoons for my German infantry company, along with the company and platoon commanders. I still have to do the support elements (two HMGs and one 50mm mortar).

Ten of the figures in the photo were completed previously (from before I had decided to do a one-stand-equals-one-squad game), and so they needed to be rebased.

Trying to keep organized and on task, my to-do list for this project now looks like this:

1. Finish the rifle squads for my American company (just to paint with some different colors!)
2. Paint and base the MGs and mortars for each group
3. Work on some additional terrain pieces (Crossfire, of course, requires a lot of these)
4. Build and paint a few tank models I have currently have sitting on the pile

By far item #1 will be the most time consuming, and if I can get that done, say, in the next two weeks, I think I should have no problem getting my Platoon Forward + Crossfire solo campaign ready by the start of "Solo Gaming Month" this November.

Edit: I should have mentioned, for anyone interested, you can find info on solo gaming month here:

http://solonexus.blogspot.com/2011/05/commit-to-solo-tabletop-gaming.html 

Bunker and M8 Armored Car

Inspired by the Angry Lurker's post today, I put together an Italeri bunker that's been sitting on my "to-do" pile for a few weeks.

Also recently completed, an American M8 Light Armored Car (a.k.a. Greyhound). This one's been done for a while, though I only just took the photo.

Otherwise I'm still looking at possible rules to use in conjunction with Platoon Forward.  I've tested a couple of very simple free sets -- Paper Tigers, FUBAR, Red Poppy/White Feather -- all of which are good options. I've also been buying and reading through a few commercial sets -- Fields of Honor, Battlefield Evolution World at War, Rapid Fire -- which have potential as well, and I'm waiting for a copy of Crossfire to arrive in the mail.  The latter intrigues me because I like the use of "initiatives" rather than fixed turns or bounds.  I've fiddled with this type of system a bit with Red Poppy/White Feather.  The possible advantage with Crossfire over RP/WF, in terms of my own preferences, is that the infantry units are squads (rather than RP/WF's individual soldiers), which makes vehicles a more reasonable asset to have on the table as well. Crossfire needs tons of terrain, since all weapons (I'm told) have unlimited range in the game, but I have a fairly decent stock of trees and buildings at this point, and I have some Italeri stone walls on the workbench which I just primed today as well.

German Squad

Finished a second batch of five German infantry, so my first German squad is complete – now I can start toying around with rule sets to use in conjunction with the Platoon Forward campaign system.

Among the rules sets I'm considering are: 

• Skirmish! (by Skirmisher Publishing)
• Men of Frost (by Paul Scrivens-Smith, available for free online)
• FUBAR (by Craig Cartmell, available for free online)
• Battlefield Evolution World at War (by Mongoose Publishing)

Both Skirmish! and Men of Frost will work really well for up for small squad-size engagements (which is what the size of my figure collection limits me to at the moment). FUBAR and Battlefield Evolution World at War appear better-suited to platoon-size engagements (where I'd like to be eventually). Some other rules sets that have caught my interest in other people's blog posts appear to be out of print now (Face of Battle, Crossfire) so I'll have to see if I can track them down used somewhere.

All the houses are by Miniature Building Authority

On an unrelated note, Lock 'n Load publishing's Tank on Tank is a fun little game.  It really does play quickly and, clocking in at about 30 minutes a game, it's just the ticket for something light to kill time waiting for a coat of paint to dry on some minis or to play during a lull between chore and errand sessions on the weekend.

Puma on the Prowl

The past week's project was an Sd. Kfz. 234/2 Puma armored car, my first armored vehicle model in many years (and my first ever "serious" attempt at one). The model itself is an Italeri 1/72 kit. I used a very basic paint scheme – a generic "Panzer Gray" with a black wash for the crevices and then two layers of lighter gray dry-brushed highlights. It's extremely simple, but since I have no true vehicle painting experience, I figured it would be hard to actually go wrong with that.

The Puma was always one of my favorites back in the years I was obsessively playing AH's Panzer Leader. It sported a 50mm gun, and despite being one of the most heavily armored recon vehicles of the war, it still had a top speed of 53 mph (85 km/h).

Same vehicle -- just a change in camera angle that radically changes the appearance of the color.

Enemy Contact! – First German Infantry Models (and Some Eye-Candy)

One half of my first squad of Germans is complete – squad leader, LMG gunner and assistant, and two riflemen.

You may notice that the building in these photos is certainly not constructed by me. As I am at the completion point of two massive multi-year projects at work, I decided I would reward myself by throwing budgetary considerations momentarily to the wind and buying some buildings from the Miniature Building Authority.

MBA's buildings come pre-painted, and of course, run a little bit higher than unpainted buildings from other companies, but it's not like I'm going to build a massive Stalingrad-esque urban area with them. I just need a handful to represent part of a small town or village in Normandy or along the Siegfried line.

MBA makes some nice-looking buildings, far better than anything I've attempted to construct or paint. I like these so much I may well pick up just a couple more (but really just a couple, I don't think I could possibly afford more than that).

All Present and Accounted For: U.S. Rifle Squad Completed

I finished my U.S. Rifle Squad yesterday afternoon. I think painting the figures in batches of four works nicely, breaking up the monotony of the process and giving a periodic feeling of "accomplishment" as each batch gets done.

The four new riflemen

The completed squad

With my basic American squad completed, I can now move on to their German adversaries. This will be the larger task (since to use Platoon Forward I'll need more enemy troops than friendlies), but I'll try to proceed logically, from the "foundation" up, starting with a German rifle squad or two, then moving on to MG teams,  then mortars, and finally any heavier weapons or vehicles.

Once my first German squad is done, I'll be able to start experimenting with various rule sets I might use in conjunction with Platoon Forward (PF governs the campaign only, and allows you to use any rules you like for fighting the battles themselves).

New Recruits: Painting Progress

Not much to say beyond the fact that I've completed four more riflemen for my U.S. squad. Just four more and my basic rifle squad will be finished. Then I'll get to work on larger task of painting the Germans.

Four new riflemen.

Squad in progress.

Move Out!

I'm taking the plunge. I have decided to prepare a WWII campaign for Solo Nexus' Solo Gaming Month in November 2011. I spent this weekend painting my first set of WWII minis in several years.

1/72 Plastics from Valiant

I'm planning to use 1/72 plastics mostly because I already have four boxes of American and German Infantry on hand, purchased some time ago but still unpainted.

At 1/72, I won't be able to produce the same level of detail as I do with my 28mm fantasy minis, as can be seen in this close-up shot: 

The squad leader

But still, while less detailed than my 28mm fantasy figs, I think the photo at the top of the post shows that these minis pass the "arm's length test." And as I work with the scale more, I suspect I'll get better at it.

This blog will chronicle my progress toward the 40+ minis I need to get done between now and November to be able to run a minimal "starter" Platoon Forward solo campaign for Solo Gaming Month.