Pretty Maids All in a Row (Part 3 - 1st Platoon Finished!)

The 1^st Platoon and Command HQ are done to an okay tabletop standard. I intend to go back and add some highlights at a later date and pick out some details like helmet straps, etc, but otherwise am happy with how they turned out. Last minute, I decided to add red unit markings to each of the soldier’s upper left shoulder for a little extra detail. It made “that much more” difference strangely.

 

 

The Company Commanding Officer (left) and the 2iC (2nd in Command - right). Tried to make these bases a little interesting. The CO is pointing off with a trooper looking on as the radio operator NCO is trying to get his attention. The 2iC is about to order the men forward, but his NCO is holding up his hand to stop the advance because he's seen something.

 

This is the Rifle Platoon Commander, most likely a Lieutenant. He about to draw out his Webley revolver, whilst his supporting NCO and Private heft a grenade and advance respectively.

 

 

Their bases are done with spackle (wall filler) and in some cases, a raised area was created using a piece of sprue cut to shape and the spackle spread over that. I felt that not all the ground would be flat and it created some interesting modeling opportunities, especially with the one half section containing the prone shooters.

 

 

 

Minwax was used as a cheap shade option and it turned out very nice, though took a damned age to dry and a hazard to my basing materials application thereafter (Imagine furry green soldiers due to being covered in flock…..). I have read somewhere that spraying with a gloss varnish over this will give a dry finish that will offer a more conducive surface for my basing efforts and I’ll then spray on top of that a layer of flat.

 

The rears of the bases in 1st platoon were also marked with a stripe so that they will be easily identifiable on the table top. Any further platoons will receive markings in a similar fashion – two stripes for 2^nd platoon and so forth. I think I’ll only use this method for infantry though. The HQ stands also received a marking – red stripe for the CO and blue for the 2iC, again to spot them easier when I play.

 



 

 

O and also scrubbed, sanded and stuck this flyer together.

 



 

Speaking of playing – I got my first game in! That’s right, (I think) this blog’s first battle report, a teaching experience for me to start to actually learn the rules to this new game. I am lucky in that I have the expertise of my mate Eric to aid me in my efforts to get into Flame of War. Eric has lots of tournament experience and so I feel I’ll get some fine tutoring.

 

Last Saturday, whilst the sky decided to fall on California’s head, we played a little intro game - me playing 11^th Armour Late War Brits versus his Generic Late War German Infantry Company. Sadly I neglected to take pics, so I’ll try to illustrate in a vague fashion (As silly me forgot to take notes) how the game went.

First off, we played to small 12-1300 point lists, so that we could concentrate more on HOW to play the game.

So saying that, my force consisted of:

 

Sherman tank HQ and 2iC

2 Platoons of 3 Sherman tank + Firefly tank each.

1 Platoon of 3 Universal Carriers (One with a PIAT launcher for any nasty armoured surprises.)

1 Infantry platoon (HQ, 3 sections, 2” mortar and PIAT Launcher)

Limited availability RAF Hawker Typhoon

 

Eric’s Germans were:

 

Grenadierkompanie HQ and 2iC

2 Platoons of Grenadiers

1 Platoon of 4 StuG G tanks (I think)

1 Platoon of 4 Marder Tank Destroyers

1 Heavy Mortar Platoon

1 4 gun Howitzer Platoon (memory fuzzy on which though.)

Am sure there was some other German stuff, but don't think it came into play.

 

We played the Free for All mission and I tried to use my air support to take out both his artillery and Marders. This went okay for the 1st two turns (the final 3 saw my stupid plane not return at all.), but he knows what he was doing and so spaced them out well enough that casualties were minimal. At the same time, the Marder's were doing well bailing out and destroying Shermans on that left flank. By the time we called it quits, the Shermans were all gone, tho so too were all the Marders and all but one of the artillery.  

In the middle, my 2nd tank platoon, spearheaded by my carriers recce squad tried to head toward the center. The Recce squad I have to say, did pretty much nothing all game. Which was sucky. The tanks faired only a little better, eventually ending in an assault on one of the Grenadier platoons which was dug in. It was at this point in the game that my dice rolls went to pot (See below) and so my poor tanks ended up getting Panzerknackered and 'fausted badly.

On the right, my brave dug-in infantry had the right most german objective safe, or so I thought. The StuG platoon were making a careful advance down that flank, and at one point 3 out of the 4 tanks were bailed out. "Great!" I thought, "I'll assault the remaining tank with my infantry and should hopefully be able to rout the unit!". Statistically speaking, this should have been a certainty. Of course, the dice had other ideas. My lead PIAT shot missed in the shooting phase. Then my troops failed their tank terror test and stood stark still, quivering in their stupid boots. So bang went that idea. Eric's next turn all but one of his tanks remounted and turned their machine guns onto my now not-dug-in troops and wow, he rolled 8 out of 9 hits and chewed up my boys something rotten. The remainder ran away after my failing two morale checks in a row, poor sods.

The final turn saw all my tanks but one destroyed which pretty much called an end to the game. If my dice hadn't been so bad with my own tank assault and his being so good in his tank assault and mine been so bad rolling otherwise, it might have been a different story. Either way, I had a great time and Eric was a splendid host. Next time I'll hopefully have enough painted miniatures to get some worthy pics in too and I'll be sure to take notes.

 

If you read this far, then I thank you!