28mm Bolt Action - UK Paras

 A year ago I made a purchase from Facebook Marketplace of a 2nd edition Bolt Action WW2 Airborne Force. The figures were from Artizan Designs and were painted to what I thought was an excellent standard, based and varnished. Certainly better than what I could have obtained through my own efforts. 

The photos were the original photos that were on the marketplace. The total force was 45 figures and consisted of 

3 Airborne command squad armed with pistol, Stengun, Rifle + 1 Medic

Troops 

Section 1  - 10 man Airborne Section armed as follows 4 Rifles, 5 Stenguns and 1 Bren gun.

Section 2 - 10 man Airborne Section armed as follows 6 Rifles, 2 Stenguns, 1 Thompson, 1 Bren gun

Ad Hoc Section - 10 man Airborne section armed as follows 7 Rifles, and Stengun and 2 Bren Guns

Weapon teams 

1 metal Airborne flamer 

1 metal Airborne light mortar 

1 metal Airborne Sniper 

1 metal Airborne spotter 

1 metal Airborne medium mortar team (3) 

1 metal Airborne MMG team Artizan (3) with wounded/dead trooper 

4 metal Airborne PIAT team armed with 2 PIATS and 2 loaders

Artillery 

1 - 6 pounder anti tank Airborne (3)

The purchase of these figures allowed me to gift the Warlord Games British Airborne Starter Army that I knew I would not get around to painting anytime soon. 

Anyscale Models - RAM Kangaroos

Work has progressed in recent days after sitting on a back burner for almost 7 weeks. Fenders were added and the body adjusted slightly to accommodate the add-on. The paint job was complete and the infantry were painted as my intended first entry into the  Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge XIII. Due to circumstances they became the third entry.

According to Wikipedia, the Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardization on the American Sherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for training purposes and was never used in combat as a gun tank. The chassis was used for several other combat roles however, such as a flamethrower tank, observation post, and armoured personnel carrier.

BONUS - The RAM Badger

The Bager was a flamethrower equipped tank. The first Badgers were Ram Kangaroos with the Wasp II flamethrowing equipment (as used on the Universal Carrier) installed in place of the bow MG. Later models were turreted Rams with the equipment in place of the main gun.  

BA-10 Armoured Cars

 A couple of more vehicles for The Anatomy of a Small War. The BA-10 first saw action against the Japanese in Manchuria at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939. Some were captured and later used by the Manchukuo.

 According to Wikipedia the BA-10 (Russian: Broneavtomobil 10) was an armored car developed in the Soviet Union in 1938 and produced through 1941. It was the most produced Soviet pre-1941 heavy armored car – 3311 were built in three versions. These versions were the BA-10, the BA-10M (improved version with new radio), and the BA-10ZhD (equipped for dual railway/road use). The basic BA-10 design was developed from the BA-3 and BA-6 heavy armored cars. It had an improved GAZ-AAA chassis and improved armor (up to 15mm at front and turret). 

 I purchased these resin vehicles from JTFM Miniatures produced here in Canada. I have always been happy both with the product and the service (other than the irregularities provided by Canada Post).

WIP - Anyscale Kangaroos

 When I started to build my Canadian Bolt Action force, I knew that I would need some RAM Kangaroos to act as my armoured troop carriers. Looking around at the various options available I decided to purchase them from Anyscale Models. At the time, they offered the best price for my wallet.

For mid-November it was unseasonably warm today in Montreal. I knew these vehicles needed a second coat of spray paint. The first coat had been a British Army Bronze-Green at the beginning of the summer and I was not happy with the overall colour. Today the second coat was Army Painter Armoured Green. Combined with the bronze-green undercoat it looks okay. I now have a base upon which to work.

However it wasn't really a nice day over all so I sat down and thought about what project I wanted to advance. I remembered that I had purchased a box of Warlord Games WW2 British Infantry. When I made the purchase I knew it would be to cannibalize the figures to provide me with removable infantry for my APCs. I used all the whole torsos that were available and then sliced another 6 bodies off at the waist. I am happy with the results so far.

Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go light tank

 I have continued with my interest with either pre-war or early WW2 actions. Over the years I built up a substantial collection of 20mm early war Japanese. These are posted under titles of  The Anatomy of a Small War. I had no interest in doing a counter force  and the project stalled. 

I felt that Bolt Action allowed me to turn may attention to the conflict in Outer Mongolia or even China. Americans think of WW2 as starting on December 7th 1941. Those of us in the Commonwealth as September 1st 1939, with the German invasion of Poland followed two days later by the British declaration of war. Although Canada waited until the 10th, to show our independence. However the argument can be made that the war began as early as the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, on September 19th 1931, or at the very least, the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on July 7th 1937. 

I did purchase two Type 95 Ha-Go light tanks from warlord games to provide some firepower to the Imperial Japanese Army for this project. I was also fortunate to pick up 4 packs of WW2 metal Japanese infantry at fire sale price at auction.  There were 20 figures per pack. 

Again they can also be used in a RPG sitting and I had completed them as such for possible use in a Daredevils campaign that I was running. The campaign stalled last tax season due to limitations on my availability and was never relaunched.

According to Wikipedia the Type 95 Ha-Gō (九五式軽戦車 ハ号, kyūgo-shiki kei-sensha Ha-Gō, also known as the Ke-Go was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry but, like the American M3 Stuart light tank, was not designed to combat other tanks. Approximately 2,300 were produced, making it the most numerous Japanese armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War.

Morris CS9 armoured car

 I picked up a Morris CS9 armoured car from Warlord Games to just bump up my order to free postage. It didn't cost a whole lot more than the price I would have payed for the shipping without it. 

The prototype was available early enough to fit into a 1938 Very British Civil War, a project I had toyed with. I even picked up the rules from Sally 4th. Despite historical accuracy, it might even be found patrolling the fringes of empire in a RPG sitting, or as support in a Sea Lion Campaign.  For some reason I had/have no interest in starting a WW2 North Afrika army.

According to Wikipedia the vehicle was based on a Morris Commercial C9 4x2 15 long cwt (760 kg) truck chassis. On this chassis, a riveted hull was mounted with an open-topped two-man turret. The armament consisted of either Boys anti-tank rifle and Bren light machine gun or Vickers machine gun. The vehicle carried a No. 19 radio set.

The prototype was tested in 1936. A further 99 cars were ordered and were delivered in 1938. Thirty-eight of these cars were used by the 12th Royal Lancers in the Battle of France, where all of them were destroyed or abandoned. Another 30 served with the 11th Hussars in the North African Campaign. It was found that, when fitted with desert tyres, the vehicle had good performance on soft sand. However, its armour and armament were insufficient. The vehicle was retired halfway through the North African Campaign.

Sarissa Precision - Small House

 Earlier this year I picked up some early war French and German figures for Bolt Action. In the package was the Small House N-009 by Sarissa Precision, Today I put it together. Overall I am impressed with both the quality of the components and the ease with which they fitted. Having picked up some of their Streets of Rome, as well as some of their English Timber Framed line, I feel this bodes well.

The only tools were my trusty blade and a bottle of Elmer's white glue. I have left the house in three parts. I still have to decide if I will keep it "au naturale", or subject it to spray paint. It was far too windy today to go out and fulfill such a mission.

My other project for the day, was to make a staff head for my room-mate's nine year old niece. It is for a Halloween accessory some character named Maleficent. I have two weeks to complete this project. My instructions were for a large gem stone, supporting a crow/raven to be mounted on a staff. 

No members of the Corvus corax family, were captured, injured, or stuffed in the production of this project

Heroes of the Soviet Union: Heavy Metal

The T-34 was the most widely produced Soviet tank of the Great Patriotic War. This week I built two ARII 1/50^th Scale T-34 model kits. They were included in a box of gaming supplies I picked up at Cangames in 2006. They have been in the cupboard ever since.

ARII T-34s with 28mm Infantry for Scale

These kits are for remote control motorized models and I am sure the diehard model builders out there will slight me for not going the extra mile and completing the kits as originally designed. All I intend to do is run a mid-war Soviet tank platoon alongside my 28mm Soviet Infantry. I have a third tank that has been shown in a previous posting. It too, was purchased in the same box of models and game bits and is clearly a different scale. That’s OK, it can be the Platoon Leader’s vehicle.

Today was a fabulous, warm day in Montreal. It was a perfect day to sit on the balcony, catch up on some reading, take some photos and spray some minis. The tanks were treated to a coat of Flames of War, Soviet Armour War Paint. Decals and detailing need to follow.

Cangames 2013 Day 3 Sunday May 19th

It’s another late night with beer and pizza and good friends. The sun arrives far too early and with 5 guys sharing one bathroom I decide to forego the morning shower and shave. It’s 8:30 AM and I head over to the convention by myself. I didn't preregistered for anything but I am sure that there will be something available for me. I am torn between the annual Diplomacy Tournament hosted by Ken Murray or trying out a new rule set. The miniature game wins out.

9:00 AM: Recon to the Reichstag by Tod Creasey.

View of the Terrain

This Bolt Action game is designed for 12 players at a beginner level and I always try to play at least one new system at Cangames. It’s a chance for me to check the waters without any outlay. The rules are a collaboration between Osprey Publishing and Warlord Games.  Bolt Action is the name of Warlord Games’ line of 28mm WW2 miniatures. I have a collection of about 150 WW2 Soviet infantry (mostly Westwind Productions and Black Tree Design) in 28mm, along with three T-34 tanks, for use with The Face of Battle, that can be played in a Bolt Action game as is.

Selecting the Trroops

IMO the simplicity of the game lies in its method of activation and actions. Each unit in play is represented by a 6 sided die. The referee pulls one die at a time from an oblique container and announces whether it was Soviet or German. The die is handed to the C-in-C of that side. It is then passed to a sub-commander who announces which unit he/she will activate and then places the die next to the unit with a selected action face up.  The six possible actions are: 1. fire, 2. advance, 3. run, 4. ambush, 5. rally, and 6. down.

I selected 1 Half Track, 1 LMG Team (mounted in Half-Track)and a 6-man SMG Squad on Foot

These actions are all fairly self-explanatory: fire allows the unit to shoot at full effect whilst remaining stationary, advance allows the unit to move and shoot but at reduced rate and effect, run allows the unit to move at maximum speed without shooting, ambush puts the unit into ‘ready mode’ and allows it to shoot later, as opportunity fire, at enemy units that move into sight, rally reduces the number of hit markers on the unit, while down simply gets the unit to take cover, making it harder to hit.

The Soviets I will Face in the Battle
10-man Rifle Squad and a 10-man SMG Squad

Units have to pass a morale roll in order to carry out an order, which can be modified by the presence of officers, the quality of the troops and the number of accumulated hits on the unit. When hits are taken, your opponent rolls to try to convert them to kills, which remove figures from the game. In the shooting phase each figure fires (throws) dice based upon the type of weapon carried. A rifle gives one die, a SMG allows you to throw 2 dice, an LMG team giving 3 dice. Fire is directed unit against unit. The roll is modified by range, cover, movement etc.

The Soviets Advance Quicker than I

My SMG Squad takes Two Hits as I Cross the Road. 

I Go Down and Take Cover

Once the ref has emptied the bag, the turn is over. If a unit is eliminated from play, its die is removed from the pool. I found it to be a simple system that allowed for quick play. Once we understood how the combat tables worked the game ran rather quickly. The main problem laid in getting your commander’s attention to be given the die or dice you need.

I get very lucky. Better yet, the Soviets are very unlucky. They Fail to Destroy my SMG Unit by Fire from their SMG Squad. They then failed in a Close Assault with their Rifle Squad.

Based upon my experience in this game I will be making an outlay at some point in order to purchase these rules.

My Troops are receiving support from a friendly Stug III

My Half-Track and LMG Team have outflanked the Soviets

The Remains of the SMG Squad clear the Position

2:00 PM: Plassey 1757 by Nick Swales.

According to Wikipedia, " The Battle of was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757. The battle established the Company rule in Bengal which expanded over much of India for the next hundred years. The battle took place at Plassey (anglicised version of Palashi) on the banks of the Bhagirathi River (another name of Hooghly Riverupstream of Calcutta), about 150 km north of Calcutta and south of Murshidabad, then capital of Bengal.

The forces of Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal

The troops of Mir Jafar awaiting their orders

Siraj-ud-Daulah had a numerically superior force and made his stand at Plassey. The British, worried about being outnumbered, formed a conspiracy with Siraj-ud-Daulah's demoted army chief Mir Jafar, along with others who assembled their troops near the battlefield but made no move to actually join the battle. Siraj-ud-Daulah's army was defeated by roughly 3,000 soldiers of Col. Robert Clive, owing to the flight of Siraj-ud-daulah from the battlefield and the inactivity of the conspirators.”

Lord Clive's Command Stand

This was a six player game using the DBR rules. Nick provided three magnificently painted 15mm armies to take part in the game. There were the soldiers of the Honourable East India Company and the army of Siraj-ud-daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, and standing in the wings the forces under Mir Jafar. Whose side were they on, who knew, or which way was the wind blowing? 

Both Sides Advance. The Bengalis take the Reservoirs.

I played the part of Clive, commanding the troops of the HEIC, with my two  sub commanders. Joseph took command of the right flank and I the left, with Simon in command of the centre. Our forces were fairly evenly divided. Paul took a cavalry command under Siraj-ud-Daulah and was joined by Duncan and Mark.

Clive rushes to join his Troops

Rgts of the East India Company Advance

One thing I like about the rule set is the ability of units outside of tactical range (240 paces) to continue to use additional pips to keep moving. This can allow some grand manoeuvers.

Until the very end I was not sure if we could pull a victory out of the hat or not. 

After the Battle, Lord Clive Meets with Mir Jafar

The forces of Mir Jafa were controlled by the referee and released depending on how the game was going. Some of those troops initially activation joined the native side. Later in the game, others joined up with the company. My greatest fear was of the right flank being smashed by a sudden release of the majority of Mir Jafar’s forces against the Company. Finally, the Bengalis reached their breaking point and victory was ours.

Meanwhile next door to us was another interesting game.

7:00 PM: DBA Tournament  DBA 2.2 ‐ Tod Creasey 

Intermediate ‐ 4 rounds open book DBA tournament with NASAMW clarifications. Players can bring their own armies or borrow one of the loaners provided. Some degree of teaching the rules will be provided but players should be aware this is a tournament. Prize is a painted 15mm army.

I arrived with three armies.  I was going to play using my Seleucids, and I brought two loaners. Paul planned to borrow my Nikaian Byzantine army, but I also had Mongol Conquest Army for the use of any who needed an army to play.

This tournament is what I look forward to the most at Cangames. Normally, it is the only time in the year I get to play DBA. My first match was against a gentleman by the name of Chris. Chris, like Paul used to play WRG years ago, but never played DBA. He borrowed my Mongol Conquest Army from me for duration of the tournament.

I must apologize to Chris if I lost my cool, but we were playing in a competition. Each round is of 45 minutes length and after 20 minutes, he had failed to complete his set-up. The clock was ticking. I don’t mind losing, and I don’t mind teaching the game, but I want to complete my match. Finally we were engaged in close combat when Tod walked by and told us to finish the round. I was fortunate in that I achieved three more kills and was able to walk away not only with a completed match, but a win. I would have been upset if we were halted with a draw.

My second match was against Nick Swales and his Indian Army. It was the second time today I faced his figures, the previous being in the Battle of Plassey game. Due to the shortest of the DBA matches I didn’t take any photos, nor make any but the briefest of notes. I can do no more than announce a 2^nd victory in the evening.

My third match of the evening was against Mike Abbott and his Viking Army. It was a close run game but in the end I destroyed four of his element for the loss of two of mine. This was the third year I faced Mike in the tournament and the 2^nd time I've defeated him.

My final match of the evening was against Duncan Martelock. We were the only undefeated participates in the tournament and were waiting for the next round of play to begin. So Tod matched us up and said we could start early if we wanted. Duncan fought using a Middle German army, which was very impressive. Along with elements of six knights, he also had two war wagons. It covered a lot of space.

This was an interesting match because I recently painted a Hussite Army with War Wagons, but I had never faced them in game. It was for that reason I decided not to deploy them this year. Next year may be a different matter.

Of the troops I had at my disposal only my elephant offered a real chance to get a kill on the war wagons. It was going to be a difficult match and despite my best attempts I failed to get the upper hand. In the end, Duncan won his second DBA tournament and I walked away for the third time (2006 Welsh Army, 2010 Burgundian Army) in 2^nd place. As a consolation prize I received an unpainted 15mm Viking Army to which I have already added a black base coat.

At this time I want to thank all the volunteers and the people who year after year help put on Cangames. I for one am appreciative of your efforts and enjoy the chance to go to Ottawa and game in an atmosphere of friendly mayhem.