Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Heroics and Ros Unboxing - Cold War Era US models

As I look to expand my Cold War Era 6mm forces, I placed an order with Heroics and Ros.  I had heard they have good prices, but some of their models are a bit lacking in quality.  I wanted to get my hands on a few to judge for myself and placed an order to expand my US forces.

My order included some basic infantry, infantry support weapons, infantry Dragon lanuchers, some Hummers, M113 transports, and M1 Abrams.



These are not as detailed as either GHQ or CinC, but they still look nice. The quality of the models is reasonable and I think once painted they will look just fine on the table.  Given the price point on these and the fact that you can order individual vehicles, these might be a good choice for many players.

M113 Transports

Dragon Launcher

Hummers

M1 Abrams
 
US Infantry
US Infantry (close-up)

US Infantry Support Weapons

US Infantry Support Weapons (Close-up)

US Infantry Support Weapons (Close-up)


The downside for me is that shipping from the UK to the US was a bit high.  My order was about 25 pounds and shipping added another 13 pounds.

While the models are nice, I think I will be making use of CinC for most of my models purchases in the future.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Memoir '44 - Flanking Caen Battle Report - Capturing the Crossing - 6 x6 Challenge

Amy and I played the second scenario in the Flanking Caen Campaign for Memoir '44.



Capturing the Crossing Historical Background

The main thrust of Operation Epsom began at 0700 hrs on June 26th.  The British made good progress early on, with solid artillery support that included some naval gunfire.  It looked like the path was clear.  The forward German positions were lightly manned, however, the British soon discovered the German defense in depth.  Capturing the bridge crossing the Odon River just south of Cheux was the first day's goal.  This crossing was critical to maintaining the momentum of the operation.  The 15th Scottish Division, supported by the 31st Tank Brigade, made its way toward Cheux were it soon was bogged down in hours of bitter hand-to-hand fighting.
The German 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division alongside elements of the 21st Panzer Division launched a counter-attack to protect the bridge and  to repel the British.  The Germans were beaten back with the aid of the British artillery but succeeded in temporarily halting the allied advance.  Using the 11th Armoured Division, the British pressed the attack, but it too stalled out.  Without the support of armor, the British infantry soon ran into trouble and opted to dig in for the night well short of its desired crossing.  General Dollman, the German Commander, viewed the containment as an outright defensive victory.
Amy is again in command of the Allied Forces and I will be commanding the Axis forces.

The full play-through  video can be seen here:



The game was pretty tense at times and the momentum swung back and forth a bit.  The allies managed to pull out a victory, but failed to capture the crossing (though they got very close a couple of times).  At the end of the game, the Allies had earned 6 medals, but the Axis had 5.  A much closer game than the last one.

The campaign points after the second battle (including objectives):

Allies:  13
Axis:  6

Stay tuned for our next battle, Withdrawal from Hill 112.


Saturday, February 18, 2017

Painting a unit of Wraiths for Kings of War

I've pretty much got my goblins finished for the moment, I'm sure I will add stuff to the army eventually, but I've at least got a solid core that I can play with, so I decided to work on my Undead army.  I've got a fair number of models (mostly GW) sitting around that will be the core of the army.



I want to include a unit of wraiths, but I decided to use a different model than what Mantic has.  I picked up a couple of Ghost models from the Reaper Bones range.  These are pretty nice models and I think they will work well as a substitute for wraiths in my army.


I attached these to the appropriate sized base and decided that I wanted them to look like they were coming out of the ground.  So I decided to put a dark color on the bottom and have it transition to an ethereal blue on the top of the model.  This is the first time I've done some kind of thing like this and was hoping it would turn out alright.


With the base colors applied, I figured a couple of layers of drybrushed colors should give me the look I'm hoping to accomplish.

After doing 3 colors of dry-brushing on the blue and a grey dry-brush on the bottem, I based the models and Ta-Da, a pretty good looking unit to add to my army.




Paints Used:

White Primer
Vallejo Game Color
  Beasty Brown
  Stonewall Grey
Vallejo Model Air Color
  Anthracite Grey
Army Painter
  Deep Blue
  Crystal Blue
Vallejo Model Color
  Sky Blue
  White

I love it when a simple paint job turns out well.  What do you think of the unit?  Would you use these in your army?

Monday, February 13, 2017

Cold War Commander Battle Report 2 - 6 x 6 Challenge

I played my second game of Cold War Commander.  I got several rules wrong in my first game.  I decided to replay the same scenario with the same forces.



1985.  The cold war has gone hot and I have a small unit of US forces facing off against a Russian force using the encounter scenario.

I recorded a play through of the battle and you can watch it here.



I enjoyed the game and I really do like the mechanics presented in the rulebook.  I feel like the small points I played limits the US forces (based on me only having M1 Abrams tanks) and puts them at a disadvantage.  I'm going to play a larger point game next time and might try to get some different units painted up.


Saturday, February 11, 2017

Painting Night Goblin Shamans/Wizards

I've been playing a few games of Kings of War lately and decided that I needed to add a few wizards to my force.

A big portion of my army is made up of night goblins so it makes sense to use some night goblin wizard models.  I dug through my unpainted models and found a couple appropriate models.

You can see my process for painting these in the video below.



I'm happy with the outcome and these will fit in nicely with the rest of my army.




Paints used:

Black primer
Army Painter
  Greenskin
  Oak Brown
  Matt Black
  Lava Orange
Vallejo Game Golor
  Chainmail Silver
  Leather Brown
  Scorpy Green
Games Workshop/Citadel
  Mechrite Red
  Agrax Earthshade
  Nuln Oil
Vallejo Model Color
  Green Ochre
  London Grey
  White
  Pure Red

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

6mm Gaming - Unboxing some Country Homes

I've got some US and Russian forces ready for my 6mm Cold War Gone Hot games so I thought I needed to expand my terrain offerings.  I've got some basic trees, hills, and roads, but wanted some buildings.  I decided to go with rural buildings so they would fit in with my existing stuff.

These should work with all the rules I'm planning to try out; Cold War Commander, Team Yankee, and Fistful of TOWs 3.



My order included 3 different models with a duplicates of one of the models.

The first two models have the boards on the exterior modeled with raised areas for a very 3 dimensional look.  The last model has the boards etched onto the model.  I'm kind of disappointed with that model, but am hopeful that it will look better when painted.

Overall I liked the buildings and think they will look very nice once painted.  I think a pretty simple paint job will serve these well and they will be ready for the table quickly.





If you like what you see you can find these at 6mmgaming.comhttp://6mmgaming.mybigcommerce.com/.

Monday, February 6, 2017

PFC CinC Unboxing Cold War Era 6mm US and Russian Models

I placed an order with PFC CinC to expand my collection of US and Russian models for Cold War Era gaming.  These are 6mm models to be used with games like Team Yankee, Cold War Commander, and Fistful of TOWs 3.

I ordered several different packs and thought I would share the details with you.


Below are some photos of the models.

M113


M901


M163


M1


BMP-2


T-72


Overall I'm happy with the quality of the models.  My only complaint is that some of the weapon barrels are very thin.  I'm guessing that they are to scale, but they may be damaged through normal play.  I will just have to be careful with handling the models during my games.

If you are looking for some models for your 6mm gaming, I'd suggest you check out some of what this company has to offer.