|
|
Post by Aaron on Aug 3, 2005 13:47:06 GMT 12
Well this month has seen me cave into the pressure of 3 successive loses to German tanks. So (quite sensibly I feel) I invested in a platoon of M10 Tank Destroyers. That’s the largest anti-tank gun that American troops had access to mid war. But don’t think this was just a random purchase born of frustration; I’ve got a cunning plan!
The M10 box set I bought comes with 4 M10’s, 3 jeeps, 3 carbine teams, stowage and decals. The arrival of some decals means I can finally get started on some finishing touches for my figures from the last couple of months. Bizarrely enough although having only collected FoW for 2 months I have already acquired a sizable bits box. (thanks to some extra bits in blisters and general confusion from battlefront replacing miscast figures I requested) & its time to start putting them to use.
Ive got enough extra infantry for 3 teams which means if I don’t field the M10’s I can borrow the jeeps and 1 command team & field an I & R platoon. Also I’ve got 2 spare machine gunners which when combined with a carbine team gives me a half strength HMG platoon. So in games where Tank Destroyers are unnecessary I can actually get quite a bit of flexibility out of the figures. Which is pretty handy considering the heaviest tank 1 of my regular opponents (see the NZers in the other thread) currently field are Stuart “Honeys”… yes I know the Honeys aren’t real tanks but <ssssshhh> don’t tell Stu he might get some Shermans! Whereas my other regular opponent has Tigers and Ferdinand’s just waiting in the wings for a bigger battle! Obviously I could run into headaches if I want to field I&R & my M10’s but if that is happening regularly I know I need to buy a few more jeeps!
So my target for this month is to complete the M10 Platoon, which doesn’t sound too impressive but its 4 tanks, 3 jeeps, 3 command teams and just for fun I’ll try and rustle up a few bailed out crew markers. I hope to get my wife to complete the 3 infantry teams for the I & R (Information and Reconnaissance if you are wondering) platoon, as she seems to really enjoy helping me out and if I can turn painting time into “quality time" then I might be able to sneak in a bit more painting each week!
At the end of this month I’ll reassess how the army is looking and work out targets for the following months but its looking likely to be a Weapons Platoon, HMG Platoon, AAA halftracks, Mortars and Howitzers. Somewhere in there I’d like to squeeze in a couple of 2.5 tonne trucks & a couple of objective markers but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. Hmm… Having looked at that list Im going to need to pick up speed to be finished in 6 months.
I possibly should mention that overall points target has jumped from 1500 to 2000 due to the purchase of a 500pt unit this month!
|
|
|
|
Post by c0d3monk33 on Aug 3, 2005 14:45:48 GMT 12
Heh, I'm keen to fight against the Germans again myself once I get that Artillery unit at least assembled. Tigers and Ferdinands? Crikey I think I'll stay at 1500pts then thanks  . Stuart Honey's are light tanks which puts them a notch above armored cars. It's all about applying them correctly. I seem to recall they caused the Americans some difficulty in the last game we had. It's just if I think of them as tanks they get into trouble . M10's should be good! Brits can get them too courtesy of the Lend/Lease program during WWII...so I'll be interested to see how they perform. How well armored are they? Cause if you're going toe to toe with German tanks you'd better have some reasonable armor! |
|
|
|
Post by Aaron on Aug 3, 2005 15:21:33 GMT 12
The armour on the M10 is pretty week (Front 4 Side 2 Top 0) but they use ambush rules all the time. The jeeps cruise around until they decide to ambush at which point the tanks deploy. Apart from this they also get to use some of the I & R rules, which means they can retreat when fired upon (limiting retaltion to 1 shot). So basically the theory is pop up in cover, fire (ROF 2, AT 12, firepower 3) if you dont destroy your target and they retaliate, retreat back throw the cover or out of sight to limit damage. Rinse and Repeat.
I wasn't really serious about the "Honeys" they are very good value for money as they pack enough punch that you have to deal with them, along with enough armour that you have to allocate a reasonably powerful anti-tank unit to do it. However I do feel that 500pts of M10's would be considered an over reaction to your Honeys ;D
I'm actually really keen to include some light tanks in my force (probably the M5's rather than the M3's tho), I could include 5 M5A1 Stuarts for fewer points than the Shermans but at some point you have to compromise... and the Shermans work well against you and Nat.
So how does the whole lend lease thing work in Flames of War? Are they included in your standard army list or does it have some kind of "Allies" rule?
|
|
|
|
Post by c0d3monk33 on Aug 4, 2005 10:42:11 GMT 12
Brits have access to the M10 as a self-propelled AT gun in the main rulebook army list. It's got Front 5 but doesn't play the Recce rules. I haven't used them because it would be historically inaccurate for the NZers. I've got those wacky 6pdr Portees instead. M3/M5's eh? You know the Stuart 'Honey' is just the British version of a Lend/Lease Stuart M3 right? They're good little tanks (the story goes the first British tank driver had a go and said 'she's a honey to drive')...not tough and not that powerful but they move fast and pack plenty of machine guns for harrassing those pesky Infantry. I'd leave the top hatch shut though and resist the temptation to use the AA MG as well . Lord knows I can't...I guess my tank commanders just like to get their hands dirty eh? |
|
|
|
Post by PitYak Studios on Aug 4, 2005 10:48:58 GMT 12
No tank commander worth his salt would leave his cuppola buttoned up.
Everything I've read about WWII tank warfare said that!
Does FOW allow for better command? I'm thinking about cases like the russian front, where the russian tanks (t-somethings?) where far superior to the german panzers, but german tactics were leaps ahead so they had the advantage despite their poorer materiel.
|
|
|
|
Post by c0d3monk33 on Aug 4, 2005 11:02:32 GMT 12
Yeah FOW does it quite nicely in fact. There's two 'stats' that each unit has. Experience and Morale basically. From memory:
Experience wise a unit can be:
Conscript
Trained
Veteran
Morale wise a unit can be:
Reluctant
Confident
Fearless
The interesting thing about FOW is it's the Experience of the unit you're shooting AT that modifies the difficulty to hit. It's meant to reflect the fact that more experienced troops know how to use the 'lay of the land' to get cover...don't expose themselves...know about firing angles etc. Works quite well too imho.
So the Russians are typically Fearless Conscript. They suck but there's lots of them and they're not going to take One Step Back!
Brits and Germans are generally Confident Veteran and Yanks are usually Confident Trained I think. We're playing mid war so that reflects their late entry into the thick of it. Yanks have other advantages though...particularly in terms of their equipment.
|
|
|
|
Post by Aaron on Aug 4, 2005 11:31:40 GMT 12
Yep thats about the size of it. I think Battlefront has worked pretty hard to get the character of the different warmachines accurate. The Soviet T-34 tank is really impressive but suffers from being part of the soviet army, which Im pretty sure means it can run out of ammo has poor skills and leadership and have to stay close together so their tactics are a bit limited to "all ahead full!"
The germans on the other hand operate well dispersed, are limited in number but highly efficient which gives you a wider opportunity for tactics. Plus the germans have lots of cool stuff whereas the soviets have the T-34 and commsiars (which shoot a retreating team and give you a re-roll for Command).
Everything I say about the Soviets is based on a brief read through of the army list in the rule book so things maybe a bit different in the army book.
|
|
|
|
Post by c0d3monk33 on Aug 4, 2005 11:49:48 GMT 12
Man it'd be cool to have a 'Stalingrad' Armored Company ...then you'd only have to paint a third of the tanks and the rest you could just do in undercoat because it'd be historically accurate . As evil as the Russian dictatorship was in WWII I'm still tempted to play Soviets...I have no idea why. Probably read Antony Beevor's 'Stalingrad' book too many times. |
|
|
|
Post by burbsee on Aug 4, 2005 13:41:44 GMT 12
i think what you are refwering to was the russian t-34 1 of the best tanks in world war 2.though they did have several t- named tanks this i think was the most common.but yeah thier strategies sucked.
|
|
|
|
Post by PitYak Studios on Aug 4, 2005 15:48:07 GMT 12
Harry Turtledove's "World War" series are good books for anyone interested in the difference between german and soviet armour and tactics (and the difference between earthling and alien tactics and armour as an aside)
|
|
|
|
Post by Aaron on Aug 8, 2005 9:19:44 GMT 12
Well this weekend saw me make absolutely no progress on my M10 platoon. I didn't however waste the entire weekend I've spent most of my time organising a new Mordheim warband and chopping them up to fit onto my shiny new PitYak Studio resin bases, these took a bit of work to get them all sitting flat but are looking good so far. I know its been said before but its just freakish how much they look like white chocolate!
Anyway thats got nothing to do with my FoW army, I spent the rest of my modelling time working on terrain. I got the craters (again courtesy of PitYak, damn if I just put on my t-shirt next time I play a game, I'll be a walking advertisment!) all painted up and some walls that I aquired from trademe also all ready to go.
This was actually a pretty quick process thanks to a $3 pack of house brushes & a tester pot from bunnings but it will/has made a big difference to the overall look of the table. I now dont have any large white plaster features to contend with.
Altho it is probably time to get some more as its amazing how quickly you can use up 2m of wall!
The progress on the trees, as discussed in another thread, have slowed down due to some serious warping of the foam core. Ive painted the reverse side in the hope of brining it back a bit but that might be too little to late. Im giving it a few days to cure then will decide if its time to start again, this time on cork tiles (currently some on special @ bunnings for $13, hopefully the right thickness).
Anyway that was my modelling weekend, very enjoyable and a break from the FoW figures but now I've only got 3 weekends left, I had better get started on thursday!
|
|
|
|
Post by PitYak Studios on Aug 8, 2005 11:28:41 GMT 12
You using your craters for FOW? How are they?
|
|
|
|
Post by Aaron on Aug 8, 2005 12:19:54 GMT 12
I consider them the result of naval or aerial bombardment so the fact that the small crater will fit a tank is believable. Even so the big one is a bit too big.
I like them because I think sculpting craters the size of ground based fire could look a little strange. A bit like a lawn done over by gophers!
I think that the current small craters and then some half that size again would make up a good combination to represent the result of an aerial bombing run.
|
|
|
|
Post by c0d3monk33 on Aug 8, 2005 13:42:17 GMT 12
I still maintain I can produce some closer to scale craters . I think you're right though they'll have to be slightly over-sized to look good. I still have plans dagnabit...along with plans for my own 15mm stone walls, my on 15mm entrenchments (actually progressing on that one), my on 15mm North African modular houses...etc. etc. There's just never enough time! |
|
|
|
Post by Aaron on Aug 8, 2005 13:49:21 GMT 12
There's just never enough time! Well I think the problem is all these damn figures you are painting! Now what you really need to do is get someone to organise a 6 month modelling project where the goal is to build a themed battlefield! ;D |
|
.
