Airfix Battles Play Test: Scenario Two - "Save Colonel Parker" (Part 1 of 2)

Gaining the initiative the German player opened up with his Veterans spraying the large American Squad causing two casualties (see photograph below):

The German MG42 team was now set-up and in position to fire (see below):

However the American player was able to rally his squad first by using an interrupt which recovered their morale. In retribution the reinvigorated  US Squad then opened up on the Germans taking out all three remaining Veterans (claiming VPs as well), leaving the German Commander horribly exposed for the next turn. all depended on who got the next initiative. The Germans got it. The German Commander quickly played an Artillery Card and MG42's followed up breaking the US Squad (see below):

The German Grenadiers now played their card and on the last move of turn two jumped into the objective capturing the "dazed" Colonel Parker. With the large US Squad no longer in an imposing fire base it was left to a crack team of Snipers and four Veterans with their commander to try and wrinkle them out by the end of the last turn or the Germans would lose the game. The Grenadiers were isolated (as in away from the MG42 LOS and supporting fire) and suffered from some good shooting from the Snipers who cunningly kept out of range. However it was up to the US Captain to "lead the way" and close combat the farm with his Veterans forming a brave rescue attempt (see below):

Despite knocking down two Germans the Americans were caught in a terrible "machine pistol storm" and were forced back. Withe the objective firmly in their hands (and the game won) the Germans passed their remaining move so to avoid any embarrassing American interrupts [that could have saved the day]. So it was "For you Colonel Parker the war is over!" (see below):

End Game: Colonel Parker is now on the way to a POW camp! Unless there is a daring escape ;)

The game seemed all the more epic for inclusion of classic Airfix illustrations on eh cards. For my part it left me wanting to unearth the old Airfix classic figures I know I have in the loft, as well as the new British Infantry figures. I sense a micro Airfix renaissance project wise in the near future. You don't need that many figures if truth be told :)

Airfix Battles Play Test: Scenario Two - "Save Colonel Parker" (Part 1 of 2)

Airfix Battles has been languishing at the bottom of my "to play in the near future" draw for some time now, so I naturally leapt at the chance to finally "get a game under the belt". It may be branded as an introductory wargame but it looks simple and 'neat'. I have seen so many  'advanced' (aka unnecessary complex) set of rules leap into the "bin of rule despair" I will give anything a go for inspiration and novelty.

Note: The playing pieces and counters are of high quality (which bodes well) and have already cross-fertilised other game systems

Scenario 2: Rescue (or try and capture in my case) Colonel Parker who has got himself trapped and injured in a French farmhouse (see middle square of the board below) in the early hours of the D-Day operation. He carries vital operational information, so both sides "want him" for completely different reasons (see below, terrain used instead of paper game board, US coming in from top and the Germans from the bottom):

A subtle twist to game play is that both sides position two pieces of blocking (LOS) terrain, so cover appear (see below) to help both sides get a safe route "near" the farmhouse. The US are apparently trying to recover from a loss in Scenario 1, while I as the Germans are tasked to "nab" Parker and spoil the party for the Americans (see below, "spot the difference"hedges have miraculously appeared):

Side set-up alternatively "squad" at a time, the player winning the initiative choosing to go first or second. The US have a powerful Full Squad (see bottom), a gaggle of Veterans and their commander (see center) and a small half-squad or large team of Snipers (see top below). The American troops being a friend's metals, from the Britannia Miniatures WWII US range (see below, the long green line):

The Germans put a Grenadier unit (powerful but short range), the commander with his Veterans and a  pair of deadly (at least I am hoping so) MG42 machine guns to the right. Nobody is in Line of Sight (LOS) so the winner of the initiative can focus on effective movement. The objective is to hold the central farmhouse square for "two turns" and be deemed to effectively have captured or rescued Colonel Parker (see below):

The Germans are my old (favourite) Revell Panzer Grenadier figures (bought in the twentieth century but painted in the twenty first century). The Captain barks orders after to move up to the right of farmhouse, The large US Squad plays an interrupt card and takes out one of their number (see below, quite a nice game mechanic):

The German MG42's set-up to the far right of the German line in a rather exposed position while the German Grenadiers tuck in behind the objective ("Farmhouse Bleu") where Colonel Parker is hiding. This is part to act as a threat against any quick US snatch attempt and partly to keep the Grenadiers safe and out of long range fire (the Grenadiers only have a range of three whereas the normal is four). The German's hunker down and tensely wait for the next turn (see below):

Next: Crunch time "Colonel Parker tries to hail a cab."

Eastern Front (4) Chain of Command: Germans v Soviets

The German MG42 shuffles into place alongside the Rifle Section to give it some "much needed fire power assistance". The German NCO's and Senior Commander elect to stay more than 4" inches back to avoid getting "bad things happening" dice rolls affecting their depleted Force Morale (see below):

Nevertheless the "shock" steadily mounts (see below), though the MG42s pour out a stream of devastating firepower making the Russians suffer. The German player is now in the tactical dilemma of needing his NCOs forward as he is losing 'fighting' bodies at an alarming rate (see below):  

The Russians in "Suppression Wood" are particularly "well hammered" (see below). To alleviate the pressure on their comrades the Russians hiding in the Wooden Dacha become 'Heroes of the Soviet Union' nominees as they heroically expose themselves to the Germans and open fire with the LMG team adding more shock. The point blank German response makes them 'posthumous heroes" KIA all three of the LMG and the Junior Leader to boot (see below):

Russian Force Morale is tumbling at this point while somehow the Germans are holding it together despite the almost critical levels of shock (see below):

Then it happens. Despite all the German NCOs in the front line a good round of Russian fire breaks the German Second Section and they route. The Russian player smiles as his carefully hoarded Six Chain of Command Points are used to "End the Turn" immediately removing routed troops. The following "bad things happening" dice rolls reduce the German Force Morale to zero and "Game Over" (see below):

Wow.A good one. Instructional, even if for the things we got wrong and emphasising the need to"read the rules again" as there are plenty of other special things we could be doing to add spice and flavour to the games.

Great to get the Soviets on table. Need to paint up some more Americans and 'odds and sods' of other nationalities. There are plenty of speciality "Platoon Forces" hiding in the loft wanting painting.

:)

Eastern Front (3) Chain of Command: Germans v Soviets

The Germans looked on in horror as the last man of the First Section dropped lifelessly to the floor. Immediately their professional training clicked in and they turned the small hillock into a fortress, preparing themselves for the inevitable Russian assault (see below):

The MG42 in the cemetery was told to move up (see below):

Meanwhile the Russians lined the woods on the German left (see below):

And also to the far German right [definition of the Nazi party I think] figures shrouded like ghosts emerged from the trees and formed a firing line (see below):

The firing started and the shock started to mount on the German defenders (see below):

Three and a half "healthy" Soviet squads faced two "heavily armed" German squads in a fight to the death!

Eastern Front (2) Chain of Command: Germans v Soviets

The Soviets put pressure on the isolated German section by fanning out another section into a firing line along cover (see below):

It works as 'shock' and 'KIA' mount on the startled Germans (see below):

Finally there is only the Adjutant left who is ruthlessly hunted down and also eliminated (see below, actually the Soviet player was the father shooting his son! Teaching his protege that "all is fair in love and war"):

However, the trade-off is not all one way, as the German rifle section on the central hill manages to take out the Soviet LMG team with accurately aimed fire. As the only Soviets in LOS are the LMG team, they have to take it (see below):

The survivors however are capable of being 'shocked' but as it happens not quite "pinned" (see below):

It all still hangs on the balance but the complete elimination of the German section with all its leaders has seriously dented their Force Morale. They cannot afford another reverse!

Eastern Front (1) Chain of Command: Germans v Soviets

The OoB:

• German Infantry Platoon + Adjutant 
• Russian Infantry Platoon + Extra Infantry Squad

The same terrain as used for the Normandy battle, but this time used correctly going across the table (East [Nazi] - West [Sov]) instead of the narrower up/down (North - South) which should mean more room for maneuver (see below) :

Both sides get an even amount of positioning in the Patrol Phase, but the Germans get the better of the Command Dice as the Russians had to effectively "miss a go" rather than let their Senior Leader face the 'might' of the Germans all on his own (see below,the Germans take up strong defensive positions):

When the Russians got onto the board they decided to use the cover for as much effect as possible (see below, nore the Russians moving into "Suppression Wood" as named after the last battle):

An exchange of fire sees the first German casualties in the 'turnip field'. One suppression and a KIA (see below):

The Russians keep up a telling fir on the lone German Platoon in the 'turnip field', while avoiding with the two German Platoons to the top (north) of the table (see below):

It comes at a price as "Suppression Wood" lives up to its name in true style. The young headstrong lieutenant commanding the Russian First Platoon becomes another casualty of this struggle of ideology. The Russian Captain (Senior Commander) has to step in (see below):

As it stands the game hangs in the balance. Can the Germans afford to stay passive, not being elite German Panzer Grenadiers means only half as many MG42s!

October Project: Day 30 "Paint Review"

Project review and wrap-up. First of all these are the paints I used in Project (see below, as much for my memory as for posterity):

Anita's Acrylics:

• Metallic Black (11211)
• Earth Brown (11014)
• Coffee (11044)
• Lemon Yellow (11055)
• White (11001)

Vallejo Acrylics:

• German Field Grey (Model Color: 70830)
• Green Grey (Flames of War: 886)
• Gun Metal  Grey (Model Color: 70863)
• Flat Flesh (Model Color: 70955)
• German Camo Pale Brown (Model Color: 70825)
• German Cam Beige WWII (Model Color: 70821)
• Charred Brown (Game Color: 72045)
• Beasty Brown (Game Color: 72043)
• Dark Fleshtone (Game Color: 72044)
• Stonewall Grey (Game Color: 72049)

Airfix Acrylics:

• Primer Grey (1)
• Black (33)

Tamiya Acrylics:

• Flat Yellow (XF-3)
• Dark Green (XF-61)

Games Workshop Citadel Foundation Acrylics:

• Tallarn Flesh
• Calthan Brown

Games Workshop Citadel Washes: 

• Ogryn Flesh

As I pronounce the figures are now suitable for tabletop wargaming (aka battle ready) I also hope to put them to immediate good use and effect in a mini-campaign set in Normandy '44 for "Chain of Command" so that they can fulfill their 'wargaming destiny' (not bad as they were originally purchased over twenty years ago). Smiles all round!

However, there are several things NOT done (as of yet):

• German Insignia Markings
• Protective Varnish (a practical must)
• Static Grass(maybe?)
• Further German "Odds and Sods" for the Chain of Command Support List, painted in the same fashion

Also thinking ahead, I have these possible follow-on "Thirty Day Projects" from my unpainted legions in the loft?

Normandy 1944

• US Infantry Platoon (1944)
• German "Green Devils" Paratroop Platoon (1944)
• British "Red Devils" Paratroop Platoon (1944)
• US Paratroop Platoon "Screaming Eagles" (1944)

 BlitzKrieg 1940: 

• French (1940) Infantry Platoon
• BEF (1940) Infantry Platoon
• Belgian (1940) Infantry Platoon
• Dutch (1940) Infantry Platoon
• Polish (1939) Infantry Platoon

Decisions, decisions, decisions! Whatever I do methinks I may concentrate on doing it in only twenty steps rather than the thirty I took for these figures, as looking back the 'cleverness and detail' of one layer of paint was often submerged in the next.

October Project: Day 29 "Panzer Grenadier Parade Ground with 251 Transport"

The final force composition for a Chain of Command German Panzer Grenadier Platoon (Normandy):

Four Hanomag 251 Half-Tracks:

• Hanomag 251/10 (37mm AT) x 1: Platoon Commander Half Track
• Platoon Commander and PzShreck Team (2 Men) 
• Hanomag 251/1 x 3: Squad 
• Team 1: Squad Leader + MG Team (2 Men) + Two Rifles
• Team 2: MG Team (2 Men) + Three Rifles

Parade Ground Formation (see below):

The one comment I would make is that the Order of Battle is for Normandy 1944 (which means for 1943 and earlier scenarios you'll end up dropping the PzSchrek team and maybe replace it with something as interesting as an AT rifle tean or the like). Also the Hanomag paint scheme is 1939-42 (early war), so I will (eventually) paint another platoon in 1944-45 three-tone "ambush" camouflage colours. Also yes, only one out of four vehicles has been decalled, but there's nothing new there for me ;)

I now pronounce this formation "battle ready" for a Chain of Command outing ... watch this space :)

Next: The Paints Used Recap and Review

October Project: Day 28 "The Joy of Flocking"

Once again the watered down PVA comes out. This time the figures are dropped into the "flock box" which still after five years of sporadic activity is half full of the original 2009 railway scenic "spring-time grass" covering, I think "buy in bulk" is the morale of the story here. Aiming for between 60-70% flat area coverage a lot of my previous good highlight work gets covered over, never mind (see below):

The group photograph (see below):

For the moment I am not bothering to "static grass" ... as I type I find myself caught in too minds as I technically still have a spare night! As all the figures are now to the same "wargame combat tabletop ready" state so ends my reference to the 2009 Painting Guide.

Next: Panzer Grenadier Parade Ground

October Project: Day 27 "Basing (III) Shade to Highlighting the Earth"

Painting the base proper!

Note to self: Now you do have to let this bit dry thoroughly out or you court disaster if you press too hard on the brush and to be fair it is hard mot to.

Anita's Acrylics yet again come to my rescue, starting with a plain lick of Earth Brown (11014) covering the base using a wet-brush rather than a dry brush technique. You can judge for yourself if you think the extra 'watery base coat of brown-black" was worth it from the previous stage (see below):

Next mix Earth Brown with Anita Acrylics Coffee (11044) in a 1:2 ratio. Again a rough and ready wet-brush application but less searching out the nooks and crannies than the first brown layer (see below):

Then despite it sounding slightly crazy, add Anita's Acrylic (11055) Lemon Yellow on a 1:1 ratio with the left over mix from the previous stage. This time I adopted a very lazy "let and let live" approach to painting, dabbing here and there as a lot of this will be covered in a layer of flock. Why bother at all then? Well, over time the flock will drop off or go bald, so if/when this happens the base still does not look too bad (see below):

Finally to the remaining residue add Anita Acrylic White (11001) to add that final 'rim' highlight on prominent raised places on the base. Less is definitely more here and subtlety is the watch word, so I pretty much reverted to more of a drier-brush than the previous stages (see below):

Here's one I may slightly of over done (see below):

With that it is the end of the painting! Moving onto the final phase of where I got to the in the original 2009 Painting Guide.

Next: For the "FLOCK" of it

October Project: Day 26 "Basing (II) Brown and Black Earth"

Once the sand has dried, or in the case of impatient and impetus people like myself, is "almost dry" (say 80% there) slosh together a very wet [think along the lines of a heavily coloured "wash" constituency] dark earth mix (Anita's Acrylic Earth Brown 11014) and apply it to the miniatures base, letting the sand soak all the paint up (see below, the platoon formation):

An individual MG Gunner (see below);

Just to be different, I then mix a dab of black (in this case the remaining Airfix Acrylic Matte Black from a starter set) into the watery mixture, leaving the figures for a few hours (again almost but not quite dry) and re-coat it over (see below):

This gives the base a bit more shadow that I can work up from when I layer the paint on. Again still going to plan aka the original 2009 Painting Guide.

Next: Painting the Base, from Shade to Highlight

October Project: Day 25 "Basing (I) - PVA and Sand"

Time to temporarily put down the paintbrush and pickup a bottle of PVA and "tub of wargaming sand". Watering down the PVA to a semi-fluid rather than treacle consistency, I dabbed it around each figure's base then dunked the feet into the "sand-box" and gave it a gentle "shake and swirl" (see below, the platoon result en masse):

An individual (see below, Rifleman "Shultz"):

Note: The sand has "chunky" bits in it, possibly on the large side as I had previously been working in 25/28mm.

Again still going to plan aka the original 2009 Painting Guide.

Next: Paint the Base

October Project: Day 24 "Boot Grey Day - Final Highlight"

The project has progressed to its final slot of painting the figures before 'basing' is addressed. This really is a final touch up job. If I were completely honest I was of half of a mind to miss it out, but by comparing the 'master 2009' figures with what I had done so far there was still just a subtle difference - so what the heck, "in for a penny in for a pound". Vallejo Game Color Stonewall Grey was added in small highlight dabs to prominent boot points (see below):

The Whole Range of Figures: 

MG Gunners: 

Riflemen:

Again still going to plan aka the original 2009 Painting Guide.

Next: Start of the Basing Process

October Project: Day 23 "Woodstock"

Next up is the little finishing touch highlights I want to apply to the wooden surfaces, which in the case of the Panzer Grenadiers is 95% rifle and MG weapon stocks and the odd hand grenade (potato masher style) in hand, belt or boot (the latter must have been unconfortable). This is done by a Vallejo Game Color Beasty Brown, with a subtle extra dab to highlight the highlights mixed with Tamiya XF-3 Matte Yellow (because that was all I had to hand at the time). Almost there now (see below, mostly grey with a bit of colour here and there):

Again still going to plan aka the original 2009 Painting Guide.

Next: Final dabs of grey on Das Boots!