AAR: Soviet Counter-Attack a Stalingrad
/Originally posted 18th May 2013
Grah continues his Stalingrad campaign with the Soviets counter-attacking. Looks like some nasty FIBUA action!
Grah continues his Stalingrad campaign with the Soviets counter-attacking. Looks like some nasty FIBUA action!
A first time player's report covering one of the scenarios given in the v3 rulebook: North of Caen.
A rather unsubtle bludgeoning by a Soviet heavy tank company with Yours Truly on the receiving end. Good fun, though.
I've had the Battlefront Heavy Tank Company box set sitting on my painting table since Christmas. Finally got a chance to paint them up, with not a small amount of delay caused by the fact that two of them had badly damaged hulls.
I can repair a bit, or green-stuff a bit, or even paint up damaged models as battle-damage, but two of the hulls had major damage to the mudguards. Now I know they replaced them as soon as possible after a simple e-mail, but this sort of thing just shouldn't happen. I have ordered loads of stuff recently and, time and time again, it's only the Battlefront stuff that consistently arrives damaged or missing a part. Is it any wonder that people are switching to FiB or PSC or Zvezda?
Anyway, five beautiful models with the heft and weight that a heavy tank should have:
I have often raved about Khurasan's range of 15mm sci-fi figures: Garn, Felid, Stikk, Kingdom of the Jasmine Throne, Karkarine...a seemingly never ending list of top class models. Now, however, Jon has broken even better new ground by launching the MAKO range of 15mm sci-fi support equipment.
The range consists of a gun tractor and cruciform stand onto which fit a range of different support weapons: currently an autocannon and a heavy mortar. So far so good, you say: cool idea, but not incredibly novel. The new bit is the fact that Khurasan are producing crew figures for each of their alien races to go with the support weapons, so that you can use the MAKO equipment with whatever range or ranges you happen to be collecting, with the possibility of two opponents on the same table top using the same equipment to fight each other.
Although the Kark crew aren't launched yet, the Felid are (along with other ranges I'm not yet collecting) so here are the current Felid MAKO units in all their various combinations:
With the release of the late war Eastern Front supplement (Vpered Na Berlin) I've been checking that I have everything I need for the Soviets, and have found a few holes in the collection.
Here the first "plug": a platoon of BA-64 armoured cars. Lovely little models that paint up beautifully. These are spray undercoated in black, then have a coat of GW Orchide Shade, then a heavy dry brush of Vallejo US Dark Green, then a coat of Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash. Do the tyres and crewmember, add decals and done!
So I made the usual pilgrimage to Salute on Saturday. Much busier than the last couple of years (could this be a sign of the end of the recession?!) and with a real buzz.
There were the usual problems with the queue: it took an hour to get in which, given the show is only on for a day, is neither big nor clever.
Met and chatted to loads of Lardies, and picked up some new toys too. One purchase which I couldn't wait to build were some Russian Front log houses from 4Ground. Very nice models which go together surprisingly easily once you get the hang of them. No need to paint them either: these can go straight onto the table, and I will definitely be getting some more. I love the smell of laser-cut wood in the morning!
Although some people are now sending me their battle reports direct*, I do still make sure that I regularly search the Internet to make sure I have reproduced every AAR out there on this site.
This does sometimes cause a few problems as my language skills are sometimes just not up to the task!
Here then is an AAR translated from the Hungarian. Google gave me the base text: all the other mistakes are mine!
I have updated the Ursid army list with details of the Lesser Ursids: slightly smaller bear-like aliens from Stan Johansen Miniatures. In my Ursid army list, the Greater Ursids (from Khurasan) are pure mercenaries, soldiers if you like, and the Lesser Ursids are miners who fight as militia armed with a variety of sidearms and converted mining equipment, including triple-barrelled mining lasers mounted on grav platforms. Tasty!
The latest episode in my Blenneville or Bust! campaign. The Germans counter-attack, with theschwerepunkt being the small Normandy village of Saint Melotte.
But who would my opponent be? Read the AAR to understand what on earth I'm babbling on about!
A quick, picture heavy AAR, also IABSM!, featuring action within the Kuban Bridgehead: it's 1943 on the Eastern Front.
Two superb After Action Reports from Brian Cantwell, both for I Ain't Been Shot, Mum!
In the first, an American recon force tries to scout ahead in the first scenario from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack.
In the second, the Germans counter-attack at Anzio: their target is the Campoleone Salient, scenario 11 from the Anzio: Wildcat to Whale supplement pack.
Benito reports on a game of Charlie Don't Surf in which the Free World Forces come a cropper in a big way. It's scenario #08 from Surf's Up: Rawhide.
Some more transport for the Felids: the excellent Wombats from Antenocci's GOT range of 15mm vehicles. I've renamed them Pumas, to fit in with the Felids.
"Grizzly" walkers for my Weird World War II US army. More to give the space bugs something to contend with.
I took advantage of the Bank Holiday to get in only my second actual wargame this year: plenty or writing and painting done, but not much gaming as real life bite back with a vengeance.
The game played was one of the scenarios from the Blenneville or Bust! scenario pack: #2B Near Belle Maison. Those of you who favour the Allies and have a nervous disposition may want to look away now!
Nice battle report from Benito covering a Charlie Don't Surf game using one of the scenarios from theSurf's Up scenario pack. This time it's scenario #07: A County Fair.
The promised update to the Garn/Felid list as I add the Mako weapons system just released by Khurasan.
I've also added a picture of the Mako figures taken from Khurasan's website, showing how the system works. You buy the guns (a mortar and a twin-barrelled piece) with the crew you want (there are crew figures available for most of Khurasan's main ranges), and then choose the mounting you want: either a static stand or a small tractor. This multi-race approach really has to be the way forward for multi-range, sci-fi figure manufactures.
I've finally had time to varnish and photograph my Khurasan Stikk troops that I'm playing as Space Bug larvae for my Hive army. They bring a much needed depth to the Hive forces, with support weapons and the Skuttler tank.
A new army list covering the Gitungi from the Micropanzer Wargame Studio. There's something just so right about these aliens: now all I have to do is decide how to paint all mine up.
Vis Lardica is a website devoted to wargaming and military history, with a special emphasis on the company-sized rulesets produced by the TooFatLardies: I Ain't Been Shot Mum (WW2); Charlie Don't Surf (Vietnam); and Quadrant 13 (science fiction)
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