15mm assorted German and US vehicles

To beef up late war US armor, I've added an M18 Hellcat to go with my Battlefront version.  Crew are cut down FoW US SPG crew (courtesy of Ian). 

I also printed an M36B1 Jackson tank destroyer, a 90mm turret mounted on an M4A3 Sherman hull - crew figures as before.

US armor is painted in brown violet, dry brushed Iraqi sand, black grey for rubber on wheels and metal tools, MGs, etc.  Beige brown for wooden tool handles.

A platoon of 3 M4A3E8s for late war.  I have one more open hatched model curing, ready to command a second platoon of vehicles.

A beute Renault Chenillette UE half track, one of Becker's transformations with the addition of a lightly armoured rear cabin for artillery spotters - in this case it will spot for a pair of 150mm Lorraine SPGs which I have yet to print.  Just realised, I need to add a couple of spots of blue or silver onto the range finder lenses.

Finally for now, a Famo repair and recovery half track.  I have some 15mm mechanic figures somewhere so here is the chance to make use of them on the tabletop.

The printer continues to print, so until the FEP wears out, I'll try and make the best use of it to fill in more gaps or items from my wish list.  Current focus in my grasshopper mind seems to be vehicles for the Middle East and Africa, the latter for AK-47.

Thanks for looking.

Early 21st Cent action in the Middle East

Thursday was a Jubilee open day at the local community centre where we normally play club games on a Thursday evening.  The centre invited us to put on all day games for visitors to watch, so Dave, Paul, Mick, Nathan, Tom, Ian and I did an early 21st Cent ME game based on a US probe into the outskirts of, let's say, Fallujah (no idea if the forces involved are in any way historical).  A US battlegroup with recce squads in Bradleys, supported by various infantry squads in M113s and Hummers, with 4 M1s, met up with Republican Guard recce screen in BMP-2s, supported by a pair of T-64As, with follow up waves of T-64As and Fedayeen infantry in technicals.  All terrain and troops from Dave's collection.

The calm before the storm with US deployment 24 inches on from the far table edge and Iraqi deployment from the near table edge (Iraqis were allowed to occupy the buildings on the far side of the road just over 24 inches on).

One of the US objectives was to place special forces adjacent to what appeared on satellite to be a WMD - of course, the Iraqis knew there were no WMDs and this was just an innocent length of drill pipe.

Iraqi left flank.

The killing ground - but who for?

Iraqi right flank.  Bradleys in the distance waiting to be deployed.

Dry wadi crossing the centre of the battlefield - good cover for infantry.

Three turns in and the Iraqi recce screen (vehicles in camo green) have been overtaken by the waves of T-64As on the left flank.

On the Iraqi right T-64As also advance rapidly, followed by Fedayeen technicals swarming with irregulars. 

The Republican Guard AT-4 team in a sand bagged emplacement in the apartments with blue balconies has done a sterling job in dissuading US vehicles from breaking cover, despite its poor strike rate.

The empty battlefield - the US have pushed a Hummer forward on the Iraqi left.

Towards the end, the Iraqis have their danders up and are surging forwards trying to close the range with those M1s.  There is, however, only one operational T-64A on the left flank, but even one of the BMP-2s has come forward to try and pin the troublesome LAW and TOW teams that have made it to the wadi.

Burning T-64As (T-80s proxying for recce T-64As).

The moment of truth, swarms of Fedayeen unleash salvos of RPGs, taking out M113s and an M1.  The last T-64A on this flank also despatches an M1.  Not photographed, but US special forces dash out of a building and attempt to identify the load on the truck (just to the right of the apartment block), only to be pinned by a recce infantry squad that had been on ambush fire the whole game.  I'd like to claim this was due to my superb generalship, but was in reality a hangover from the first turn when all they could do was go on ambush and a lack of orders meant that I could never get them to do anything once reserves arrived.  A desperately unlucky casualty check roll of 1 meant the special forces team were wiped out to a man and the contents of the truck remained unresolved.  The Republican Guard ensured the drill pipe was delivered to a nearby oil field as quickly as possible.

There were some minor distractions for the US troops.  A concealed sniper in the wadi on the Iraqi right flank occasionally pinned down US infantry trying to push forwards, while two innocent lads on motorcycles heading home from work and a lady driving an SUV caused some heavy handed US actions involving cable ties, car crushing and I think double taps to the head were also mentioned, possibly in front of the worlds news networks, with Al Jazeera running the clips every 15 minutes!

A fun game, played using most of the Battlegroup Northag stats and rules mechanics, minus pulling chits, with a roll for the US for helicopter support, which, fortunately for the Iraqis locally, was in use elsewhere on the day and not available.  Great looking 20mm forces and terrain from Dave, although several of those playing could have fielded both US and British troops suitable for the theatre.  Playing this meant I had a search through my stash for some 15mm Old Glory ME and insurgent infantry, which are now on the painting table, while the 3D printer is generating some BMP-2s and I'm searching for Toyota Hilux pickup stl files for the insurgents.

Thanks to Dave for laying the game on and my sporting and gallant allies and opponents - it was a lot of fun.  Thanks for looking.

More 15mm WW2 vehicles 3D printed

 Another batch of 3D prints from M Bergman stls, some modified by Peter Fitz (IIRC).

Kettenkrads with just the driver.

Kettenkrads with driver and passenger.

A whole gaggle of Kettenkrads ready to tow light AT and infantry guns.

A pair of Renault UE Chenillette vehicles in German service as tows for AT guns and artillery. 

A Daimler Dingo, captured in the aftermath of Dunkirk, pressed into German service.

A Kubelwagen with the regulation driver plus three passengers, plus an extra Jabo lookout, carrying an MG34, riding on the rear parcel shelf.

An Sdkfz 250/8 variant armed with a 7.5cm KwK 37 L/24 gun.  Crew are spare bods from various PSC kits.

PAK 40 auf Raupenschlepper Ost.  Just the hull and tracks are 3D printed, the gun and crew are spares from a PSC kit.

I have some US late war tank destroyers and M4A3E8s and British Comets in the pipeline, all for Fall of the Reich games/scenarios, plus some odds and ends for the British in the desert; Bishops, Dingos and M3 Stuarts.

As ever, thanks for looking.

More 15mm WW2 3D prints

 Some more 3D prints based on Bergman and Tigerace1945 stl files.  All need decals to finish them off.

Cromwell platoon with Challenger.  I already have a Battlefront Cromwell platoon with Sherman Firefly, so will at some point do another Challenger and a Firefly to make both platoons suitable for Normandy and Germany and the Low Countries.

The Challenger (two views).

One of the Cromwells (again two views).

A pair of Archer SPATs with Skytrex tank crew figures.

The business end of the Archers.

A Stug 33b SPG  (two views).

A zug of beute S-35 tanks (with Becker added commander cupolas).

A zug of beute Renault FT-17s.  Maybe useful for anti-paratrooper duties but way past their best in 1944.  Still armoured support is still armoured support.

Lots more 3D prints to work on.  Sadly, the printer prints far faster than I can paint, so I'm giving it a little rest at the moment - it has been somewhat hammered the last few months.

As ever, thanks for looking.

20mm BG Pacific game

 I played my first game of BG Pacific last Thursday.  Will set up the table and all the terrain and models are his - and very nice they are too.  We played one of the island hopping scenarios, taking the point or getting the point.  This pitted a US marine platoon in Amtraks (in this case LVT-4s), landing on beaches in front of a rocky plateau lined with Japanese pillboxes and armed with two 47mm field guns, an HMG and two LMG teams, guns and HMG with loader teams.  The Japanese also gained a reserve platoon on turn 3 coming on from the right hand table edge (in the photo above).

First turn, Wills marines stormed ashore with two Amtraks scuttling out of the surf and crossing the beach, only for one of my 47mm guns to open up.  A spot, lucky to hit throw of 6 and AP roll of 8 meant one of the Amtraks brewed up with lots of pinned and broken infantry teams bailing out.  This worked quite well as Will dismounted his 60mm mortars from an Amtrak at the edge of the surf and they advanced up the beach, under a timed 81mm mortar strike pretty much on the destroyed Amtrak - more pinning and more misery for the bailed out teams.  Luckily for Will, his second Amtrak on the beach got a successful beyond the call test and motored up to some shelter from the jungle before dismounting his troops.

Pinned survivors of the destroyed Amtrak.

Reinforcements arriving on the edge of the surf.

Survivors of the brewed up Amtrak mill around ineffectually, while infantry from another Amtrak in the surf push up the beach on the left.  Yet another Amtrak dismounts its infantry in the surf on the top right.  Wills infantry in the jungle push forwards and secure one of the objectives marked by the star (the other is on the heights behind the Japanese pillboxes).

The defenders with their commanding positions on the bluffs overlooking the beach.

Some of the plucky defenders, the lucky 47mm gun crew that picked off a fully loaded Amtrak.

More American marines advance into the jungle and work their way forwards, taking out a sniper team in the process.

American infantry starting to concentrate for the push into the jungle.

Japanese reinforcements advancing in a skirmish line ready to meet the American infantry as they push forwards.

Sadly, we ran out of time, with the Japanese having taken 8 BR losses out of 27 or so, while the Americans were in the mid-20s with a BP in the mid-30s.  Still lots of hard fighting to go, but with so many American infantry units pinned down on the beach and kept there by mortaring pre-registered target points, it seemed only a matter of time.  Not a lot of decisions for the Japanese player in this one, which would make the scenario quite suitable for a solo practice game, basically, the Japanese shoot at anything with a sensible target priority and push their infantry as far through the jungle as possible to prevent the Americans getting up the flanks of the plateau.  Choice of PRTPs is important - its tempting to put one in the jungle rather than having both on the beach.

Lots of fun, thanks to Will for laying the game on and providing such a determined US Marine force.

As ever, thanks for looking.