World War III What If

 During 2024 I worked quite a bit on my armies for the Cold War Commander (CWC) rules system. In these rules each vehicle/infantry stand is a platoon. I was a cavalry officer in 1st Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the FRG 1983-1986. Part of our mission was to patrol along the FRG/DDR/CSR border.

Because of that US Army experience and my interest in just about everything French Militare, I have focused my WWIII interests to the southern area of operations. Hence my first units have included French and Czech armor and infantry units. Here are some pictures of the French units first:

Gazelle with HOT ATGM’s

AMX-30B2 Company HQ tank

A Company of AMX-30B2’s on line

AMX-10RC heavy recon company. 

VBL light recon vehicle. 

VAB light APC. 

French infantry platoon stand. 

Battalion command stand. 

VBL light recon vehicle with Milan ATGM. 

I really like the French paint scheme and I found an excellent set of decals from Peddinghaus 1/100 scale decal range for these vehicles. There are tanks, APC’s, Artillery, and soft skins on the sheet. The really tiny door decals on each of the wheeled vehicles are a pain, but they add a lot to the end product!  I am using a mix of Team Yankee plastics and resin vehicles as well as 3d printed vehicles. 

To face off with my French forces, I have Czech tanks, APC’s, SP Artillery, and command stands. Here are a few examples: 

OT-64C APC and BRDM command vehicle

An OT-64C Battalion ready for action!

A divisional reconnaissance battalion with BRDM-2 command and recon versions and BMP-1R’s including one with ‘Small Fred’ radar. Note the BMP-1R’s do not carry the Sagger ATGM. 

T-55AM Tank Battalion. 

Czech Battlegroup ready to invade the FRG!

I plan to expand my collection of 15mm moderns with Germans and Americans over the next few months. Just need to get another project done and I can get back into these. 

Chocolate Box Wars - First Armies

 I have been playing a lot of Chocolate Box Wars (CBW) during 2024.  This is a set of homegrown rules by my friend Ed of Ed M’s Wargames Meanderings blog https://edmwargamemeanderings.blogspot.com/. You can find everything about CBW including rules, playing aids and extensive material on building forces in different areas around the world. This is a great game focused on the mid 19th Century (1840-1880) rifle-dominated battlefield. There were a myriad of wars, small and large, where weapons became more deadly and leaders struggled to determine the best tactics for the new age.

Ed and others in our gaming club are collecting and building European based armies.  Just so we have more options for gaming, I decided to focus on N. America.  My first army is the Union Army of the American Civil War (ACW).  Here are some photos of my Union troops:

Here is my complete Union Army ready for combat.  

My Union army is composed of (left to right) four regular infantry regiments, the Berdan Sharpshooters, a Zouave regiment, Iron Brigade regiment and artillery battery, 2nd Dragoons cavalry regiment, a command stand and an ADC (second in command) stand.

A work in progress shot of my Iron Brigade veteran infantry unit. 

Work in progress of my Union artillery battery. 

Having the Union Army, I now needed an opposing force.  I decided to raise a British force based on the excellent Perry Miniatures British Interventionist Forces. With the Fenian movement threatening an invasion of Canada at the end of the ACW, the British moved several units to reinforce Canadian militia units along the Niagara Peninsula.  The British were also supportive of the Confederacy and so these forces along the northern border could have engaged in combat with Federal forces.  In fact, I am working on a scenario for a future club game night that I call ‘The 2nd Battle of Lundy’s Lane’ with an 1866 version of the War of 1812 battle.  Here are some photos of my British CBW forces:

 

My British Army ready for battle!

My British Army is made up of (from left to right) a Confederate infantry regiment Auxiliary unit, four regular infantry units (including a Gurkha battalion), a Royal Artillery battery, the combined Guards light Coys, the 42nd Royal Highlanders veteran regiment, the 11th Hussars and my commander and ADC.

A work in progress of my British 11th Hussar Regiment.

A work in progress of the combined Guard light companies which is my light regiment. 

These forces are great base forces for my CBW armies. I am adding to them and will publish more photos as I get into 2025. I also have a new front on the N. American area of operation. I am currently basing forces for a Maximillian Adventure of my own - a ‘What if?’ of the Union Army chasing Franco-Mexican Imperial forces along the Rio Grande River.  Who knows, maybe some rouge Texas Confederates will join the Imperial cause in fight the hated ‘Bluebellies’!

Blood Red Skies

 Blood Red Skies is an excellent set of rules for WWII Aerial Combat. I have always loved the game system with one exception - the movement system is a big challenge particularly for a new player. I have addressed what I consider to be a potentially fatal drawback by adapting the rules to a hex based movement system. 

Here is a pic of a game in progress using the hexes:

I make a one to one relationship of inches to hexes so I do not have to change the rules in any way. Even though the hexes are 1.25” each, the rules are unaffected. I have models face a hex side and make a 45-degree turn as on hex side and 180-degree turns as three hex sides. I also have developed a template to show when an aircraft is ‘tailing’ an opponent and when the shooter is in range to fire and when in short range. 

We played several games of BRS as part of a recent Northern Conspiracy club game day. The game day was a combination of land (Blitzkreig Commander Rules), sea (General Quarters Rules) and BRS for air combat to recreate a fictitious Italian and German invasion of Malta in 1942. This campaign gave me an opportunity to paint some really interesting aircraft and paint schemes. Here are some photos of planes I painted for the game day:

These aircraft are a combination of Warlord resin, 3d prints and Warlord plastics. All of the decals are from Miscellaneous Miniatures. 

The day went well with three BRS games.  The Axis definitely had the better of the games through out the day. There were some interesting scenarios being generated by the pre-game campaign play. I do not have access to game photos on my current device, so I will have to do another post for game narratives/recaps. I think the hex system worked really well and I look forward to more games in 2025. 

2021 Re-Visit Part II

So the gaming and modeling continued through 2021.  Played a WWII Skirmish Game at Ralph's and a lot of Bolt Action and Pikemen's Lament, Wings of Glory (WWI), and other games.  

Here are some photos of the second half of the year.

A great addition to my Wings of Glory collection - A Target!!

A big Wings of Glory game at the Adlernest!  Lots of canvas and lead flying around the table!

German Tobruk Pillbox for my German Bolt Action forces.

Added a Command Stand for my British Bolt Action forces

Plastic Modern Russian troops for 7 Days to the River Rhine (7DTTRR)

A really nice WWII skirmish game table at Ralph's

Towards the end of 2021 I played a couple of games of Pikemen's Lament.  This is one of the Osprey Blue Book rule sets.  It is very fun to play, and our club has revised the rules (as we do every set of rules we use) to make them even more fun (and more historically accurate the way as we see it).

Some photos of a PL game during 2021:

Ed's beautiful gaming table and troops.  I'm a cavalry commander in war-games, but those troopers at the bottom left of the photo caused me quite a bit of grief in this game!

Pike and Shotte units in Pikemen's Lament.

Ed and AJ as we play through a game turn.

2021 Re-Visit Continued

 This is the second installment of my catch-up for gaming through 2021 and 2022.  As I did not keep a full journal of my gaming, I can only go by my available photos to recount my gaming experiences.  

The middle part of my 2021 gaming included a good dose of WWII Rules and Scenarios.  First among these games was a  version of Bolt Action at Adler Gaming Shop.  The rules set is called Bolt Action Firefight I believe.  This is a smaller scale game where each figure has a command die instead of each squad.  Here are a couple of photos from a BAF game in June of 2021:

I like BA Firefight.  The smaller scale means the table set up can be smaller and more detailed.  The game can also be quicker to play, making it a good gaming system for an evening between two friends.  I would recommend the game to others.

Along the same lines of WWII Skirmish gaming, I also revived the excellent CROSSFIRE rules set.  I have taken my 20mm British and Germans that I use for my Pegasus Bridge Scenario and mounted them individually for use with other rules such as Bolt Action or Chain of Command.  Here are photos of a game I hosted in the summer of 2021 at the Northern Conspiracy:

Although designed as a two-player game, I find that CROSSFIRE is easily converted into a nice game for four players and can even take up to six players in a pinch.  I believe that this game had four players that night.  CROSSFIRE is one of my favorite set of wargame rules ever.  You must approach the game as a real commander by planning for your movement using cover and concealment.  Moving in the open once contact is made will almost always lead to heavy losses.  One must also provide covering fire when moving in the face of the enemy, suppressing enemy forces before closing with them.

Here is another Bolt Action game that I played in at Adler Gaming Shop.  Proprietor Gordon hosted a demonstration game - Chariots of Steel.  This is set in the N. African Desert between Australian and Italian forces outside of Trobruk in 1941.  I have played the scenario a couple of times and the game is challenging and fun for both sides.  Gordon has tweaked the terrain, figures and vehicles over the years and developed a very nice looking game as well.

That's all for right now.  I will post again soon to continue through 2021.

Reboot After a Long Absence

 Ok.  Wow!  It has been more than two years.  Hard to believe all of that time has passed by.  It has been a busy time in my wargame experiences as I have branched out into several new areas and worked on completing new projects in my normal gaming areas.

I think I will spend the next couple of months sharing some photos and recollections of games that I have been playing.  I also will be reporting on my gaming experiences during 2023 on a much more regular basis.

I will begin by going back to January of 2021 and show some of the gaming/projects I undertook at that time:

The year began with a wonderful event (especially for the COVID era!).  Our son married his sweetheart.  The ceremony was small due to the pandemic.  Her dress, his uniform and the simplicity of the event gave it a WWII era feeling that was incredible!  We were all very happy!

Early in the year my gaming focus was on Blood Red Skies and Cruel Seas.  The collections grew immensely!

Among my favorites were these He-162 Volksjaeger jet aircraft.  They bring the "Jet" rule into BRS without the overwhelming force of the Me-262.  During this time I also developed a movement and firing system that used hexes instead of the movement and firing sticks for the game.  I feel that the hexes make movement and combat resolution much easier, but does not affect the feel of the game.

He-162 and Fw-190 on the gaming table.

F4U Corsairs of the Fleet Air Arm in their first game.

Also in early 2021 I worked very hard on my Cruel Seas navies.  At the same time, I took the plunge and purchased by 3D printer.  Here are a couple of photos which combine both of these.  This is a picture of an RAF Rescue Launch that I printed and added to my RN Coastal Forces.  This in one of my favorite models in the collection.

3D printed RAF Rescue Launch. I am mounting my ships on clear acrylic bases to help with movement.

RAF Launch for the top down.  Print lines are prominent, but do not detract too much.

So, this covers the first few months of 2021.  During this period, we were still pretty deep into COVID restrictions so the gaming experiences were not that great.  But I have to say, I certainly added significantly to my painted forces.  Also, I was 3D printing my heart out on the new printer.  I hope to get some additional photos up of my boats and other vehicles/terrain in the near future.  So stay tuned.