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Post by RedsandRoyals on Nov 13, 2021 20:12:06 GMT -5
Thanks guys! I played a silly 150pts, tank-teams-only game against a friend yesterday (who happens to own my local shop). He ran SS, I ran my Americans. The armies awaiting deployment! I had a full Sherman company backed up by M10s, M18s, and M36s (and a small recce troop), he had Panthers, Panzer IVs, Stugs, and some AA halftracks. A Sherman platoon, 3 Hellcats and the recce troop close in on the Stugs and Panthers. Despite fire support from my (just out of shot) M36s, my assault was repulsed and the survivors fell back to hold the objective. It was a narrow US victory. Total casualties? Germans: 6 Panzer IVs, 8 Panthers (including a panther ace), and 2 Stugs. Americans: 14 Shermans, 4 M10s, 4 Hellcats, 1 M36 and the recce troop.
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Post by judcottrell on Nov 14, 2021 11:40:50 GMT -5
Looks like great fun!
I find no matter the system good terrain and painted models add to the immersion and suspension of disbelief!
Good to see.
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zmmot
Conscript
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=wYbq8mfW&id=C1BF91A77F2F7C092FCE29D36F7ECE0637
Posts: 3
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Post by zmmot on Nov 20, 2021 2:12:15 GMT -5
A whole thread full of fantastic stuff.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Dec 6, 2021 8:45:57 GMT -5
It's done! This is a full TO&E US tank battalion, circa early 1945. Each tank battalion had 4 companies. Three would be Shermans, and the fourth would be light tanks. US doctrine insisted the light tank still had a battlefield role, but at least in the independent tank battalions, they were most often used for security duties and as a replacement pool by 1944. A Company, fitted out with M4A1 variants. The Flames of War rulebook for D-Day era Americans erroneously insists all 76mm armed Shermans be grouped into a single platoon. There's no basis for this as far as I can tell, but considering a lot of battalions didn't even GET 76mm Shermans until the fall (which is a long story), I should be glad to have them at all I suppose. The tank riders in the front rank are mostly rule of cool, although there are rules for them. B Company, using M4A3s. Each tank platoon consisted of 2 HQ tanks and three platoons of 5 tanks each. That's where the myth of "It took 5 Shermans to kill a Panther" comes from. That's just the unit size they operated in. C Company. 1st Platoon has a mishmash of M4A3s, including a Jumbo (second from the left), the famous Sherman assault tank variant. 2nd Platoon is closest to what a Sherman unit would look like in the spring of 1945. There's a Jumbo (second from the right this time), two M4A3 76mms, an M4A1, and an M4A1 76mm. The new American: Bulge rulebook allows you to represent pretty much every kind of Sherman in a single squad. 3rd Platoon are all M4A3E8s, the famous Easy Eights. The platoon leader in the center is actually a special model, which I'll take pictures of later. D Company, with M3A5 Stuarts. By the end of the war these were getting replaced with the fantastic M24 Chaffee, but I've grouped those into a recon cavalry troop in my collection. The back rank is fitted with sandbags and additional armor, a rules upgrade that helps them survive panzerfausts. Support elements! Each battalion had three 81mm mortar halftracks, seen in the back. In addition to the regular Shermans, each company had a single Sherman equipped with an 105mm howitzer. There were two attached to the HQ as well, but they were sometimes grouped into a single battery. I've modeled mine with extra armor for Rule of Cool reasons, since the tanks themselves are a bit crap in game. Finally, the battalion HQ tanks. The one on the left is an uparmored M4A3 sherman, while the one on the right is an uparmored M4A3E8 that will eventually be Creighton Abrams' command tank, Thunderbolt. I just need the decals to come in. More pictures later of a few special models in the collection.
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Post by Walk on Dec 22, 2021 11:49:00 GMT -5
So much armor, it’s beautiful. That’s really what makes smaller scale games like FoW so great. There’s nothing better than seeing an entire division on the tabletop
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Post by treadiculous on Dec 24, 2021 5:19:26 GMT -5
Stunning!
Excellent work sir!
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Post by nutty on Jan 11, 2022 2:15:14 GMT -5
those look great; I really like all the small touches that make the tanks look like individual vehicles.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jan 11, 2022 7:57:34 GMT -5
Thanks all! At some point I'll post pictures of the recent New Year's big game when our local store throws them up on their FB.
In the meantime, I've decided to detour to North Africa to revisit my 8th Army force. The current plan is for basing it around XXX corps at El Alamein, so expect to see some Grants and Crusaders from the 9th Armored Brigade soon!
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Post by Walk on Jan 14, 2022 4:39:20 GMT -5
Very much looking forward to it. I have some bolt action Brits from North Africa I got free in a Wargames Illistrated a few years back. Maybe this will finally inspire some paint onto them
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Post by RedsandRoyals on May 21, 2022 16:43:52 GMT -5
I've been lurking more than posting, but I finally remembered to take some pictures while I had stuff at my local store! First, I've teased some North Africa, so while I got sidetracked on that project, here's at least a glimpse. A Valentine of the 40th RTR and a Grant of the 8th Armored Brigade (iirc). I managed to get a few valentines done, and a whole Grant company. This has been what's taking up most of my time, though. This is a German Fallschirmjager (paratrooper) company, and it's been one of my dream projects since I got into Flames of War. The out of production metal models are almost impossible to get, but I got lucky and snagged them off of Ebay. Annoyingly the mortar platoons are the current (bad) plastic ones, but still. This is 3 platoons, an HQ, an 81mm mortar platoon, a 120mm mortar platoon, and a Fallschirmjager stug platoon in support. 1st Platoon, with two panzerschrecks. The scheme is slightly ahistorical (the pants shouldn't be blue for the time period and the camo should be more complex) but it's close enough for my tastes, and it actually makes the army much more vibrant on the table. You can also see some Panther G's lurking in the back corner. 2nd Platoon, just one Panzershreck. You can also see the mortar teams, and the stugs behind them look less violently yellow than in the group shot. The intent for the army was that they could, in theory, represent the final Monte Cassino battles and the breakout to Rome in spring of '44 in Italy, the 3rd Fallschirmjager in Normandy in the summer, or any of the Fallschrimjager during the spring of 1945. The models have a mix of equipment including captured US .30cal machine guns, FG 42s, teller mines, and the like. Elements of 3rd platoon. I went really all in on the basing, using Battlefront's scenic rural bases to get the fences and tree trunks, etc, but then flocking the trees myself and adding on long grass to represent fields that have overgrown since the civilians fled. I also threw in the US jeep as a fun little extra since I had a spare. I still have more Stugs and about six more stands of infantry to paint, but I've been sidelined by preparing for our next big game in two weeks, and the release of the newest German army book (the one with king tigers and such in it). I'm a little miffed that my phone's camera can't quite capture the army's look properly, but I'm extremely pleased with how they turned out and it's the first time I've unveiled a painting project to gasps (of the good kind). I've been dreaming about doing this for almost four years and now it's just about done! Then, like an idiot, last week I bought a box of OOP German mountain troops which will distract me. Curses.
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Post by nutty on Jun 9, 2022 16:14:19 GMT -5
They look great, the grass works really well to.
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Post by Walk on Jun 16, 2022 14:31:52 GMT -5
Alright fine you've got me, I just ordered a company of British infantry to start up again. Those bases look absolutely fantastic and I like that you put the short history blurbs in about the units.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jun 20, 2022 7:26:09 GMT -5
Alright fine you've got me, I just ordered a company of British infantry to start up again. Those bases look absolutely fantastic and I like that you put the short history blurbs in about the units. Good man! If you can track down some Vallejo English Uniform primer it will save you an enormous amount of time and effort. Also, invest in Achillies and bren carriers. On a side note, I actually got to go up to Battlefront's US headquarters in northern Maryland a few weeks back in order to pick up a new release in time for another megabattle at our local store (more on that later if I have time). It was extremely cool. I got to read through the hard copy of a new release coming in August, see previews of stuff coming out later this year and early next year, and got sneak peaks of a lot of kits that aren't out yet.
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Post by cheminhaler on Sept 26, 2022 14:39:51 GMT -5
Those Flames of War infantry stands look great.
REds, did you buy the Warlord games starter set for ACW Black Powder? 'cos I can see it in that bag, kind of hidden.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Sept 27, 2022 6:59:11 GMT -5
Those Flames of War infantry stands look great. REds, did you buy the Warlord games starter set for ACW Black Powder? 'cos I can see it in that bag, kind of hidden. Welcome back! I did, but it has since been given to someone else. I didn't have the bandwidth to learn the game or paint the minis. My current project is collecting a squadron from each of the Commonwealth armored divisions in NW Europe in 1944-45. - Irish Guards Sherman squadron (Guards AD, done)
- Desert Rats Cromwell squadron (7th AD, done)
- 23rd Hussars Comet squadron (11th AD, in progress, should be done by the end of October)
- 79th Armoured Division breaching group (all models owned, will start painting this week
- Polish 1st AD recce squadron (sloooow progress being made, slated for November)
- Canadian 3rd AD Ram squadron (slated for December)
I can crank out a british tank platoon in an evening fairly easily, so it's mostly a question of finding the time and getting the models in hand. What I don't have I should be getting by mid October thanks to the new British releases.
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Post by cheminhaler on Sept 28, 2022 4:06:18 GMT -5
Nice plan.
That's fast painting dude. I'm moving at a snails pace right now painting wise.
I've got a fair few Bolt Action sprues as magazine freebies; using them to kitbash NPC types for Stargrave. Recently they released Desert Rats - great head selection but not a fan of those long shorts they wore. The late war British/ Canadian/ Commonwealth and US marine GI kits have identical bodies but different helmets.
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Post by treadiculous on Oct 9, 2022 4:47:32 GMT -5
Great loooking stuff Reds!
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Oct 9, 2022 9:13:03 GMT -5
So, project update: The 79th Armoured Division is done! For those who don't know, the 79th was a unique formation under GOC Percy Hobart that was used as an administrative formation for all the various specialty tanks and vehicles- known as "Funnies"- that the British used from D-Day until the end of the war in Europe. I chose a "Breaching Group" formation, which represents a special task group designed to attack fortifications. Originally organized for the Normandy landings, it was successful enough to see use from France to Germany, and this particular group is representative of the 79th's organization after September of 1944. The ShermansThe 79th had a traditional armoured brigade (equivalent to a US tank regiment), the 30th, but rather than the usual mix of Sherman Vs and Fireflies, they used "Crabs", Shermans equipped with large mine flails. These could provide traditional gunfire support to the other elements of the breaching group, or rotate their turrets to the rear, spin up the flails, and wade into minefields to help clear a path for the shorter-ranged AVRE Churchills. Depicted here is the HQ section of the breaching group (2 tanks) and the Sherman Crab platoon (one normal tank and two flail tanks). The choice to represent the flail platoon with one normal tank was entirely my own- it made the platoon leader more distinct for game purposes, and Crab Shermans are expensive and hard to find given they're out of production resin models. The Arm of Service number indicates they're from the the brigade's second regiment. I believe that was the 1st Lothians and Border Yeomanry, but I've seen conflicting organization charts that suggest it might be the Westminster Dragoons. The AVRE ChurchillsNext up are two sections of AVRE churchills, organized into pairs. Armed with a 230mm petard mortar for bunker busting, these were operated by the Royal Engineers. The AVRE closest to the camera has a Small Box Girder bridge (There are supposed to be cables connecting the end of the bridge to the superstructure on the back but that eludes my hobby capabilities at the moment). The one that looks like it's got giant bails of sticks is a fascine carrier, and would dump those bundles into trenches to allow tanks to cross. Much like the Crab shermans, the bridge is actually an upgrade you can take on your tank in game (but the fascine is just for show), although the bridge itself and the fascines are 3D printed by a third party. The tanks are badged as from the 6th Assault Regiment, RE. The CrocodilesThe Churchill Crocodile was the best flamethrower tank of the war, and also had one of the lowest crew casualty rates (due to their selective use, ample support when deployed, and thick armor). These particular ones are badged to represent the 31st Tank Brigade, which was moved under the 79th in the fall of 1944 to replace the disbanded Grant Canal Defense Light units. This particular section is from the 1st Fife and Fofar Yeomanry. Crocs are excellent, if expensive, in Flames of War, so I only have the one platoon (despite the ability to take two). That's it or the 79th. I may add some Ram Kangaroos (Canadian Ram tanks converted to troop carriers by removing the turret and ammo storage), but those are only available in an infantry company in the game, not in the breaching group. Next up should be my Irish Guards, which are done, or my Desert Rats, which I'll probably finish tonight. That would put me through three of the six divisions I intend to collect a formation for. Of the remainder. Guards Armoured Division: Done! 79th Armoured Division: Done! 7th Armoured Division 2 tanks left 11th Armoured Division: 10 tanks done, remainder releasing on October 15th. 1st Polish Armoured Division: Some models built/primed, awaiting October 15th release for the rest. Canadian 3rd Armoured Division: Sherman fireflies almost done, awaiting October 15th release for the rest.
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Post by Walk on Oct 9, 2022 15:02:45 GMT -5
What a cool unit, the bridgelayer is a personal favorite. Do they make the model or is it a third party attachment?
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Oct 9, 2022 19:22:38 GMT -5
What a cool unit, the bridgelayer is a personal favorite. Do they make the model or is it a third party attachment? I ordered a 3D printed one from this guy, then cut off the winch, bridge, and bridge attachment and stuck it on a BF model (the quality of the 3d Printed stuff is mediocre but looks fine on Battlefront plastics). I actually also have another Churchill that has the same kit for laying the bridge on it, but the bridge is a separate piece so I can place it on the table and replace the churchill with the bridge with the model that's already laid one.
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Post by Walk on Oct 16, 2022 15:19:48 GMT -5
Arnt 3d printers the best? My boss recently got one and I have been non stop printing random crap I dont even need haha
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Oct 17, 2022 18:30:20 GMT -5
The power is intoxicating, but it all depends on the quality of the printer and the file. I pick up printed stuff sparingly for things I can't otherwise find, but I know people who are printing out whole armies. It's really amazing what it's done for tabletop gaming in the past 5 years.
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Post by cheminhaler on Oct 21, 2022 8:17:37 GMT -5
The factory finish on the tanks looks great. Those transfers look good; I just can't use transfers at all without creasing them or folding them somehow.
The bridge-layer tank needs someone on top waving a sword, and encouraging the crew to drive closer.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Mar 30, 2023 17:49:15 GMT -5
Haven't posted much lately, due to the lack of decent lighting in my place to take pictures (and burning out on hobby stuff over the winter), but I'm back on the wagon. Someone challenged me to a "Bring your whole collection and let's throw down" game. Doing so math, we figured out his Germans versus my Brits would come out to 1,200pts (a normal game of Flames of War at my store is normally 120pts). We would take three massive lists each to simplify some rules. I based each of mine around a historical corps fielded by British or Commonwealth forces. I also vowed that I would have every single model painted. I present the Canadian I Corps. The Canadian I Corps was a mish-mash of forces of different nationalities, including Brits, Canadians, Poles, Czechs, and a few others. This army list is themed around the corps' 1945 iteration, and contains the following units from left to right... - B Squadron, Grenadier Guards, 4th Canadian Armoured Division. They're using Ram tanks, which isn't historical, but I did it to make it a unique formation. Due to US tank losses during the Battle of the Bulge, there was apparently discussion of taking the Ram (used as a training tank) and equipping some elements of the Canadian tank divisions with it and transferring the Shermans to the US. It was decided that just reducing US tank platoons from five tanks to four was preferable. There are three troops of Rams, and one made of the Fireflies from each of the troops. This organization was experimented with by the Canadians and New Zealanders, but never seemed to work out.
- Breaching Group, 79th Armoured Division. See my earlier post about these guys! They often worked in conjunction with the Canadian corps, due to the British Army's habit of sending them against fortified positions in difficult terrain.
- A Squadron, 10th Mounted Rifle Regiment, Polish 1st Armoured Division. The 10th was the division's armoured recce regiment, one of two reconnaissance formations in a British-style tank division. These consisted of Cromwell tanks in the Polish and British divisions, while the regular regiments used Shermans (although the 11th Armoured got Comets- more on them in another post). British recce regiments were also issued with the Challenger. This was an elongated Cromwell with a trash can on top that someone stuck a 17pdr in to try and give Cromwell formations a fast alternative to the Sherman Firefly. By 1945, some divisions had traded in their Challengers, which were reissued to the Poles. This is, by far, my favorite formation due to how it plays and the history of the division.
- C Company, 1st Battalion, Lake Superior Regiment, Canadian 4th Armoured Division. It took the Brits a little while to figure out how to organize their divisions, but eventually each armoured division had an infantry and armoured brigade, each with three regiments (In US terms this would be considered two regiments with three battalions) in addition to supporting elements. Somewhat uniquely, the Armoured brigades also had an integrated "motor regiment". These usually were smaller in size than the regular infantry regiments, but carried more in the way of firepower. Later in the war, certain divisions would issues them halftracks, but the Lake Superiors here are relying on bren carriers and three Ram Kangaroo APCs. They have support in the form of bren carriers equipped with Vickers MMGs and flamethrowers and some 3in and 4.2in heavy mortars. I'm holding off basing some of the infantry until I've finished a paratrooper platoon that'll use the same materials so I can do them all in one go, but the figures themselves are done.
- Rounding out this list are four Archer tank destroyers, and for Sextons. The Archer was a 17pdr plunked backwards onto the hull of a Valentine, in the continuing quest to install the enormous gun in weird and wonderful ways on any chassis that could hold it. They were considered self propelled anti tank guns rather than tank destroyers, and were issued to infantry divisions in Europe and Italy. Few were made and fewer still saw combat, so finding records of them is difficult (and finding infantry division transfers in 15mm for non-ruinous prices is harder still), so these are mostly represent a corps-level attachment. The Sexton is a Ram tank chassis converted into a self propelled artillery piece once it was decided that the availability of the Sherman made the Ram redundant. Similar to the US M7 priest, the Sexton mounted the ubiquitous and excellent 25pdr howitzer. This was something of a Godsend logistically, since it meant that US forces wouldn't need to share 105mm shells with their allies.
Next up will be XXX Corps. This will consist of the Guards Armoured, 6th Airborne, 7th Armoured (Desert Rats), and 11th Armoured divisions. I have a single platoon of infantry left to paint for it, so with a bit of luck it will be done next week. After that, I'll have to tackle the New Zealand corps. Gurkha and Kiwis and Churchills, oh my!
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Post by nutty on Mar 31, 2023 2:10:59 GMT -5
That is going to be a serious battle, and even more epic if everything is painted as the units in the picture. How many points worth of stuff are in your Canadian I corps?
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