I saw this week that Games Workshop is offering a new Osgiliath focused starter set for the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. It is an all plastic set with new sculpts for Faramir, Damrod, Madril, and Gothmog. These look so much better than the old metal ones. Plus it comes with 12 Rangers, 12 Warriors of Minas Tirith, 24 Morannon Orcs, and a Troll. Plus an updated Rulebook, Osgiliath scenarios book, tokens, plastic ruler, dice and Osgiliath ruins.
GW Battle of Osgiliath
Sigh, should I buy, hmmm. The thing is that I have everything I need for this campaign but the new sculpts, books and ruins entice. On top of that I have run two Osgiliath battles in the past. I will probably cave, even though I have only played LOTR once since my LOTR club fell apart in March 2020 (Care to guess why? It was not Sauron or the those pesky elves.)
I realized that the last Osgiliath game in 2014 did not make it to the blog. So here it is.
After the Battle of Pelennor Fields, the Forces of Good cleansed Osgiliath. These include Gandalf, Prince Imrahil, Aragon, Gimli, Legoland, and Eomer. (The Lord of the Nazgul, Gothmog, Theoden, Eowyn, and Meriadoc are casualties at this point.) The game was called in favor of the forces of Good. I don’t remember many details, but folks had a great time.
Units included Swan Knights, Rangers of Ithlien, Rohan Royal Guard, Riders of Rohan, Rangers of the North, Morannon Orcs, Mordor Uruk-Hai, Easterling Phalanx, and Easterling Kataphrakt.
The Osgiliath QuaysideEvil ForcesGreat Beast of GorgorothSwan KnightsThe Orcs AdvanceMorannon OrcsThe Heart of the BattleGandalf Faces Down Great BeastResin TombGW Ruins with a Resin SarcophagusGandalf on Shadowfax and Pippin on a PonyMordor Uruk-Hai Elect to ReceiveGood and Evil Knight’s ClashEasterling Kataphracts versus Rohan KnightsDeath to the OrcsEasterlings Seek Shelter in the TombKill the BeastMorgul KnightsKyle does FantasyKids Push LeadChris Muses StrategySwan Knight’s Holding the LineAquariaNazguls on the WallThrough the Ruins
I bought the Monolith Conan King pledge and have been slowly painting the minis to a wargaming standard. I know that half the work is selecting colors to paint your minis. So here is my painting guide. For the mini, I show both the game card with art for reference and the figure. As usual, the photos are poor, the flash makes them shiney, and accentuates the shadows from the dip. Use them as a visual reference for the paints.
OBTW, since this post was started, I supported the follow-on KS and have piles more to paint…
So far, i have painted the bases with Delta Ceramcoat Brown Velvet. I will probably do something more elaborate for the minis that are clearly outdoor creatures.
Skuthus • Krylon tan prime • Citadel Kislev Flesh • Army Painter Alien Purple – skirt • Army Painter Pure Red – robe • Army Painter Necromancers Cloak – decorative fur • Vallejo Ivory – skulls and bone • Citadel Bugmans Glow – decapitated head • Army Painter Greedy Gold – adornments • Army Painter Crystal Blue – decoration • Army Painter Oak Brown- straps and sandals
Khosatral Khel • Citadel Corax White prime • Vallejo Leather Brown – skirt, sandals • Army Painter Greedy Gold – belt, pommel, handguard, sheath ornaments, headband • Vallejo Ivory – hilt • Citadel Necron Abyss – scabbard • Army Painter Matt Black – eyes, hair Amboola • Krylon Camo Brown prime • Army Painter Gunmetal – shoulder pauldrons, sword • Citadel Runefang Silver – armor and sword highlights; headdress • Citadel XV-88 – sword hilt • Army Painter Oak Brown – leather armor • Army Painter Necromancers Cloak – pants; belt • Army Painter Leather Brown – straps • Citadel Karak Stone – drybush boot tops • Citadel Stormvermin Fur – boot bottoms • Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash overall • Citadel Nuln Oil – hair & armor
Ageera • Krylon Camo Brown prime • Citadel Doombull Brown – flesh • Army Painter Dragon Red – skirt, neck beads, thongs • Citadel Karak Stone – shield • Army Painter Gunmetal – shield armor • Army Painter Greedy Gold – nipple ring • Vallejo Matte Black – hair • Citadel XV-88 – leg thong • Vallejo Pale Sand – mid horns • Army Painter Gunmetal – spear blade • Vallejo Ivory – horn, knuckle bones, skulls, teeth • Citadel XV-88 – skirt top • Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash
N’Gora • Brown prime • Citadel Doombull Brown – flesh • Vallejo Ivory – shield, headband, belt fur, lower horns • Army Painter Dragon Red – loin cloth, headdress, spear and leg feathers • Army Painter Weapon Bronze – shield edge and boss, belt • Army Painter Desert Yellow- spearshaft • Army Painter Greedy Gold – arm bands • Vallejo Matte Black – hair, shield points, spear blade, shield spots • Citadel Mournfang Brown – belt pouch • Citadel XV-88 – thongs, scabbard, arm and leg bands, lower fur, shield spots • Citadel Balor Brown – upper fur, spear blade thong • Vallejo Pale Sand – mid horns • Army Painter Gunmetal – spear blade • Army Painter Plate Male – spear blade edges; Army Painter Shining Silver – spear blade point edges • Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash
Belit • Citadel Corax White prime • Citadel Kislev Flesh; Citadel Reikland Shade • Army Painter Greedy Gold – Adornments • Army Painter Shining Silver – blade • Vallejo Saddles Brown – sandals • Citadel Balor Brown – spear shaft; Citadel Agrax Earthshade
Belit’s Guard • Krylon tan prime • Citadel Doombull Brown – flesh • Vallejo Ivory – shield, headband, belt fur, lower horns • Army Painter Pure Red – loin cloth, headdress, spear and leg feathers • Army Painter Necromancers Cloak – head cover • Army Painter Weapon Bronze – shield edge and boss, belt • Army Painter Desert Yellow- spearshaft • Army Painter Greedy Gold – arm bands • Vallejo Matte Black – hair, shield points, spear blade, shield spots • Citadel Mournfang Brown – belt pouch • Citadel XV-88 – lower fur, shield spots • Citadel Balor Brown – upper fur, spear blade thong • Vallejo Pale Sand – leg bands, mid horns, necklace • Citadel Leadbelcher – spear blade • Army Painter Plate Male – spear blade edges; Army Painter Shining Silver – spear blade point edges • Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash
Bossonian Captain
Bossonian Crossbowmen
Bossonian Archers • Krylon tan prime • Citadel Kislev Flesh- face, hands • Vallejo 940 Saddle Brown – outer tunic, leather shoulder armor left • Citadel Balor Brown – leather shoulder armor right, dagger and sword scabbards • Army Painter Army Green – hose, neck scarf • Army Painter gunmetal – armor, hilts, scabbard tips • Army Painter Oak Brown – under tunic, straps, quiver, foot covers, bow handgrip • P3 Morrow White – feathers • Army Painter Skeleton Bone – bow, arrows; Citadel Seraphim Sepia wash • Citadel Agrax Earthshade – wash all but metal • Citadel Nuln Oil – armor • Vallejo Matt Varnish – overall • Vallejo Satin Varnish – metal bits
Bossonian Guard
• Krylon tan prime
• Citadel Kislev Flesh – face, hands
• Vallejo 940 Saddle Brown – pants, boots
• Citadel Balor Brown – leather shoulder armor right, dagger and sword scabbards
• Army Painter Dragon Red – tunic
• Army Painter gunmetal – armor, hilts, scabbard tips
• Army Painter Oak Brown – under tunic, straps, foot covers
• Army Painter Skeleton Bone – bow, arrows; Citadel Seraphim Sepia wash
• Citadel Agrax Earthshade – wash all but metal
• Citadel Nuln Oil – armor
• Vallejo Matt Varnish – overall
• Vallejo Satin Varnish – metal bits
Pirates • Krylon tan prime • Pants – Citadel Doombull Brown, Citadel Dark Reaper, Army Painter Dragon Red, Citadel Steel Legion Drab, Army Painter Goblin Green • Sashes – Citadel Caledon Sky, Citadel Kantor Blue, Army Painter Goblin Green, Army Painter Necromancers Cloak, Army Painter Wizard Orb • Citadel Balor Brown – Ax hafts, pouches • Citadel Leadbelcher – sword and blades • Citadel Mournfang Brown – things • P3 Morrow White – bracelet • Citadel Greedy Gold – necklace adornment • Army Painter Weapon Bronze – armlet • Scarves – mix of above • Citadel Seraphim Sepia – wash
Picts • Krylon tan primer • Citadel Bugmans glow – skin • Citadel Vestigor Flesh – skin drybrush • Citadel Flesh Wash – skin • Vallejo Black – hair & eyes • Citadel Mournfang Brown – loincloth, quivers, and cords • Citadel Doombull Brown/ Vallejo Ivory – drybrush loincloth & quivers • Citadel Mournfang Brown – Axe haft Hammer haft, & Arrow shaft • Vallejo Ivory – Feathers, Bones, Teeth, & Skulls • Army Painter Gunmetal – Axe blades & Hammer heads • Citadel Bubonic Brown – weapon thing wraps • Army Painter Weapon Bronze – necklace ring • Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash clothing and kit
Giant Snake • Citadel Corax White prime • Citadel Seraphim Sepia – belly • Citadel Drakenhof Nightshade – body • Citadel Carroburg Crimson – dorsal ridge / Army Painter Pure Red – drybush / Army Painter Lava Orange – highlights • Citadel Nuln Oil – rocks & skeleton tail / Citadel Seraphim Sepia / Vallejo Ivory drybrush • Vallejo Satin Varnish – body • Citadel Fire Dragon Bright – eyes • Vallejo Ivory – gangs • Citadel Liche Purple – mouth / Vallejo Gloss Varnish
Giant Scorpion
•
Giant Spider
•
Thak
•
Man-Ape • Army Painter Skeleton Bone prime
Dark Demon • Krylon Camo Brown prime • Army Painter Flat Black overall • Citadel Dark Reaper / Citadel Stormvermin Fur / P3 Morrow White – body • Army Painter Dragon Red – mouth, eyes • P3 Morrow White – teeth • Citadel Drakenhof Nightshade – body • Citadel Nuln Oil – hair • Vallejo Satin Varnish – body • Vallejo Matt Varnish- hair
Demon of the Outer Dark • Krylon Camo Brown prime • Citadel Dark Reaper / Army Painter Dragon Red / Citadel Karal Stone Forest Demon • Army Painter Skeleton Bone prime
Thauk
• Army Painter Skeleton Bone prime
Demon of the Earth
•
Bone Golem
• Army Painter Skeleton Bone prime
• Citadel Seraphim Sepia wash
Thauk
•
Thaug
•
Furnishings • Krylon Camo Dark Brown prime • Vallejo Saddle Brown drybrush • Army Painter Weapon Bronze – hardware • Citadel Agrax Earthshade wash • Citadel Jokaero Orange / Citadel Fire Dragon Bright / Army Painter Dragon Red / Citadel Bubonic Brown / Casandora Yellow wash
Not a resolution, but a resolve. Go ahead and publish the lingering blog entries that have been waiting for new pictures. So from 2015 with a few newer pictures….
I have wanted to play games set in Vinland for years. I have also had a hankering for Conan in the Pictish lands. I think both the the Skraelings and the Picts have lots in common. For that matter Cimmerians and Vikings probably also share similarities.
Dragon ship in Vinland
Skraelings:
I purchased the Skraelings from Gripping Beast and
Skraelings from both manufacturers mix, but they would clearly represent different tribes and genetic pools.
C-P Models Skraelings are adequate, but definitely could use some improvement with respect to the size of the weapons and the sculpting of the hands, feet, and head. They do provide some leadership variation – I decided my warband needs a shaman and the fellow with the cape meets the bill.
Saga Skraelings are very nice, but each of the limited sculpts is very distinct. This means that you get four of each miniature type and the same poses are very obvious. I think the set could definitely benefit from more diversity. I also had problems with one of the bows breaking off (replaced it with a copper wire), two of the overhand spear thrower’s hands broke off when I drilled them out for the spear, and the spears are a bit flimsy result in another breaking during assembly. I would have preferred cast spear tips with separate copper rods for the spear hafts.
What is missing? Women and children. It would be nice if either of these manufacturers made a four mini family that could be used for various scenarios.
Wigmans:
I bought into the 2013 Acheson 28mm American Frontier Kickstarter specifically for the cool Woodland Indian Wigwams:.
Vinland or Pictland?
I painted them as follows:
Rustoleum Brown Primer inside and out
Bark / Mats – Delta Ceramcoat Raw Sienna base coat & dry-brush Delta Ceramcoat Honeycomb
Limb Framework – Delta Ceramcoat Burnt Umber for the limb frameworks & very light dry-brush Delta Ceramcoat Honeycomb
Light dry-brush – Delta Ceramcoat Black around the smoke vents
Overall – patchy dry-brush with Plaid Vineyard Green (for moss)
Wattle Structures
The various wattle structures were made with small dowels and cloth wrapped floral wire. I bought some very inexpensive thin plywood bases from the craft store, drill a hole for each post, and glue it in with white glue. Once the frame is solid, I weave the floral wire between the frame. Then I liberally coat all of it with ModgePodge. To paint it I use a base coat of Delta Ceramcoat Burn Umber and then dry-brush with Delta Ceramcoat Quaker Grey. I go back and hit the ends of the frame with a 50/50 dry-brush of Burnt Umber and Quaker Grey to keep the posts distinct.
Basing Technique:
This is the technique I use of for the bases of all my woodland buildings, structures, trees, and miniatures.
Paint any large exposed Rocks & Stones with a base coat of Delta Ceramcoat Hippo Grey with dry-brush Delta Ceramcoat Quaker Grey
Liberally paint the base with Delta Ceramcoat Autumn Brown, sprinkle a few patches of Woodland Scenics Coarse / Medium Gray here and there and then dunk it in Woodland Scenics Fine Brown Ballast. To finish, I spot more Autumn Brown here and there and sprinkle with Woodland Scenics burnt turf and green static grass. and patches of Static Grass.
Miscellaneous features:
Fires – Dwarven Forge
Bear skins – Old Glory & Megaminis
Baskets – JR Miniatures
Canoe scene – Acheson
Trees from various sources mounted to circular wooden discs and based per the standard technique with the addition of a little “Italian Seasoning” used as leaf scatter.
Rocky shore – made from foam and painted per basing technique with cotton floss for wave foam
Water – Lemax Village Collection Ocean Display Mat
Norseman:
Foundry Vikings
Old Glory Viking Ships
Game Ideas:
Skraeling Raid
Viking Raid
Hunting Challenge
Scavenger Hunt
Race through the woods – Animals and Pitfalls
Conan and Beyond Thunder River
Here is a set-up with the Acheson village with pallisades integrated with Dwarven Forge Wildlands:
After the big push for my Star Wars Endor game, this lad’s attention turned to Dust. Previously, I shared photos of my first five Axis walkers (https://sfdfsfd.wordpress.com/2018/06/28/dust-1947-achtung-panzer-28june2018/). Next, I focused on mustering the Axis Sturm Grenadiers, Allied Rangers, and Allied Vehicles.
Allied Medium Combat Walkers – M3B “Hotdog” and M3C “Pounder”
Sturm Grenadiers
I searched the internet for Dust Paint guides and received lots inspiration, but ended up going my own way. I decided that I would leverage a historical paint scheme that many German soldiers wore through 1945. To this I added a few variants with a focus on winter camo and field expedient repaints of helmets and armor. I plan to eventually add some 3-color camo elements to some of the troops, but the new uniforms had not arrived at the depot as the Troopen marched off to their first engagement.
Axis Sturmgrenadier Assault Squad
Here is the paint scheme I used:
• Primed as Received
• Flesh – Citadel Bugman’s Glow; Reikland Fleshshade; highlight with Citadel Cadian Flesh; final highlight Citadel Kislev
• Blond Hair – Vallejo Pale Sand or Vallejo Iraqi Sand
• Boots – Vallejo Black
• Gloves, Scarves, Gaiters, Packs, Pouches, Webbing – Vallejo Green Grey; highlight mixed with Vallejo Light Grey
• Uniform Pants & Smock – Vallejo German Field Gray WWII; highlight mixed with Vallejo Light Grey
• Helmet & Armor – Vallejo German Dark Green Camo
• Goggles & Gasmasks– Vallejo Black; highlight mixed with Vallejo Gun Metal
• Lenses – Army Painter Jungle Green
• Peaked Cap – Vallejo German Field Grey WWII; highlight mixed with Vallejo Light Grey
• Guns – Vallejo Black / Vallejo Gunmetal; Citadel Nuln Oil wash
• Panzerfaust – Vallejo Green Ochre
• Bazooka, Flamethrower – Vallejo Luftwaffe Camo Green
• Wash – Citadel Nuln Oil
Basing
• Base – Vallejo Brown Earth Gel
• Wash – 50/50 Vallejo Sepia Game Ink / water
• Drybrush – Delta Ceramcoat Linen
• Scatter – Army Painter Winter Tufts; Real Scenics Snow
Axis Sturmgrenadier Recon Squad
For winter gear, I painted or dry-bused various pants, smock, armor, and helmets with Vallejo Flat white.
Allied Rangers
I was pleased with the historically based scheme for the Germans and decided that I would take a similar approach for the Allied Rangers.
Allied Ranger Attack Squad
I may add a few dark green great-coats for future troops, but thought the Khaki trench-coat worked well for my “Green & Tan Boys”:
• Primed as Received
• Flesh – Citadel Bugman’s Glow; Reikland Fleshshade; highlight with Citadel Cadian Flesh; final highlight Citadel Kislev
• Boots – Vallejo Chocolate Brown
• Gloves, Scarves, Gaiters, Packs, Pouches, Webbing – Vallejo Green Grey; highlight mixed with Vallejo Light Grey
• Holsters / Knife Sheaths – Vallejo Red Brown
• Trench Coat – Vallejo Khaki; highlight mixed with Vallejo Light Grey
• Pants & Tunics – Vallejo Grey Olive; highlight mixed with Vallejo Light Grey
• Armor – Vallejo Light Grey
• Goggles – Vallejo Black
• Lenses – Army Painter Greenskin
• Helmet & Metal – Army Painter Army Green or Vallejo Pale Grey
• Guns – Vallejo Black / Vallejo Gunmetal; Citadel Nuln Oil wash
• Wash – Army Painter Dark Tone
Basing
• Base – Vallejo Brown Earth Gel
• Wash – 50/50 Vallejo Sepia Game Ink / water
• Drybrush – Delta Ceramcoat Linen
• Scatter – Army Painter Winter Tufts; Real Scenics Snow
Allied Vehicles
The scheme for Allied Vehicles was basically just a little bit of block painting guns, tubing, and mechanical bits followed by weathering:
• Primed as received; touch-up with Vallejo Grey Olive
• Machine Guns – Vallejo Black / Vallejo Gun Metal; wash Citadel Nuln Oil
• Tubing – Vallejo Black; wash Citadel Nuln Oil
• Mechanical bits – Vallejo Gun Metal ; wash Citadel Nuln Oil
• Chassis; wash Army Painter Military Shader
• Chipping – Vallejo Gun Metal
• Rust – Citadel Typhus Corrosion
• Dirt – Citadel Stormvermin Fur
Basing
• Base – Vallejo Brown Earth Gel
• Wash – 50/50 Vallejo Sepia Game Ink / water
• Drybrush – Delta Ceramcoat Linen
• Scatter – Army Painter Winter Tufts; Woodland Scenics Soft White Snow
I have loved comic book style WWII and uber-weaponized stories since I was a kid. When DUST came out, my friend bought one of the fully painted versions and I was intrigued, but not hooked. A few years later, I won a raffle at a convention and used the prize money to buy a Heinrich/Herman axis walker and two allied Mickey walkers with multiple turret configurations for some future Weird War Two action. Their boxes have gathered dust for a long while. More recently a friend told me he wanted to get into a pre-painted table top miniatures game and settle upon DUST. So, I pulled out my walkers and bought into the most recent version of the game. I bought a Axis / Sino-Soviet Union (SSU) starter set, the rules, and cards.
First up are the Axis walkers of my Kampfgruppe platoon marching through the eastern front.
PANZERSPAHLAUFER I-A (LIGHT FLAK) – Heinrich
PANZERKAMPFLAUFER II-A (ASSAULT FLAK) – Luther
PANZERKAMPFLAUFER II-B (TANK HUNTER) – Ludwig
Panzer Kampflaufer IV-D (Tank Hunter) Tank Hunter – Jagdluther
More to follow!
Painting Guide:
Armor
– base primer – use Citadel Codex Gray for touch-ups
– camo use masking tape over chassis and then spray with Testors Flat Dark Aircraft Gray spray paint
– overall wash Citadel 1:1 Nuln Oil / water
– chipping Vallejo gunmetal
– rust Citadel Typhus Corrosion
– mud Agrax Earthshade
Basing
– Vallejo Brown Earth Gel
– Vallejo Game Color Sepia Shade
– drybrush Folkart Linen
Its been long while since I updated the blog, but gaming has proceeded apace. I have my Star Wars mojo going with the release of Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars Legion game. I had tried to dodge it like a raging gundark, but lost the battle as I became enamored with the nicely detailed miniatures and the very affordable starter set. I have been wanting to play games in the Endor setting for a bit and this was good a time as any.
Last year I bought into the Battle Kiwi kickstarter for some large scale Imperial Terrain. I picked up the Landing Platform, the Bunker, the Shield Generator, Laser Turret, twin Plasma Power Generators, the Scatter Terain sets, and a pair of the Outpost Builder walls. I told myself that these were for my WOTC Star Wars miniatures as I whistled away in the dark.
I also have a stalled X-wing on Endor project that had identified the Deep Cut Studios Muddy Field game mat as appropriate for both that project and my evolving larger scale Endor project. I bought the three by six mat in cloth – it is very nice and will work well for many rain-forest settings including Endor, Kashyyyk, Yavin 4, Vietnam, and the WWII Pacific.
Next, I needed some trees – lots of trees. If you search for Endor trees you will find lot of how-to videos that are a lot of work. I decided that for a large forest with two or three dozen trees, I needed a quicker method. To make my trees, I ordered a carton of two inch diameter fifteen inch long mailing tubes from Amazon. I then searched for a textured bark wallpaper and found an appropriate item – ANAGLYPTA BARK BLOWN PATTERN. You can buy a roll from e-bay for $16 that is enough to make about 50 trees.
I also bought some cheap four inch round pulpboard coasters to complete the supplies. To make the trees, I cut a rectangle of the wall-paper, glued it to the tube with craft glue, and used a hot glue gun to adhere it to the coaster. I also glued two inch diameter matte board circles to the top of the trunks.
To obscure the seam, I ran beads of hot glue on the seam and other spots on the trees plus made a few old branch scars on some of the trees. I also added roots using the glue gun to run the roots up the trunk and onto the coaster. I painted them dark brown or leather brown splotched with red-brown mottling using spray-paints. To bring out the details, I dry-brushed them with tan which really highlights the bark and roots. Next I applied basing materials to match my Muddy Field game mat. I added moss to the sides of the trees with a bit of burnt grass flock. The most involved part of the project was making little fern clumps which I added to the tree bases. I found a artificial plastic fern at Michaels and spent hours cutting short fronds which I stuck into little balls of green-stuff to make a 3 to 6 frond fern plants.
So, can you see the forest for the trees?
I wanted a fallen tree and found these nice 3-D printed ones from Filament to Fantasy on Etsy.
That completes the terrain except for more woodland scatter pieces – ferns and clump foliage.
I am now working my way through the Legion miniatures. I completed the 14 Stormtroopers using the painting scheme recommended by Sorastro in his YouTube videos. I did not achieve his level of quality but was generally pleased with the results.
Next up are the Scout Speeder bikes, an AT-ST, Darth Vader, Luke, Leia, General Veers, and the Rebels. More sooner, than later.
I have heard about games and seen some discussions on using Logarithmic Scaling for ground scales to compress the ranges so that long range weapon platforms (notably artillery or tank guns) can be used on the same gaming board with short range weapons. It is a straight forward mathematical exercise to do this, but the compression factors will create some weird visual anomalies and necessitate using sophisticated Die Modifiers (DM) adjustments at those long ranges that seem a bit out of kilter with the actual measured tabletop range.
What follows is my analysis of the M16A1 rifle used in Vietnam as an example (all mathematical errors are clearly mine and reflect the 35 years since I did real math) and trying to develop an effective logarithmic tabletop scale for 28mm games.
Let’s apply the probabilities to a D20 roll, where you need to roll 20 or less and we will apply a positive die modifier based on the range. So for the case of 300 Meters the M16A1 DM is Zero, for 600 Meters the DM is +5, and for 800 Meters is +12. Per the report, we will ignore ranges beyond the maximum lethal range of 900 Meters for the M-16A1.
Now translating those ranges into log values where the 10 times the log of the range in meters will be represented as inches on the table, we get:
Now to plot them and use a polynomial trend-line to estimate the DM at 900 Meters (max lethal range), the estimated DM for 900 Meters (lethal range) is +17 as shown below by the orange data and trend-line:
So for the M-16A1 at Tabletop Ranges 0 to 25 inches DM = 0, 26 DM +1, 27 inches DM +3, 28 inches DM +5, 28.5 inches DM +9, 29 inches DM +12, 30 inches DM +17 and cannot shoot past 30 inches on the table.
The net is that there is nothing wrong with using Log ranges, but the game system needs to use appropriate DMs. This leads to some very wild DM for a small squad of 28mm minis on 1 inch (25mm) bases. Out to 26 inches, ignore the DM for range and then suddenly a mini at 30” has a DM = +17 to miss while his mate 3 figures over is still at DM = 0. This would make playability very difficult.
Alternatively, you could just use this data to estimate the Range DM =0 to 26 inches and make that the maximum range. So what is interesting about that is that the US army treats max range as 300M (which is 26 inches in our 28mm log scale) and does not train to shoot the weapon further than that. To qualify you shoot a series of pop-up targets at 50, 100, 200, and 300 meters with most at the shorter ranges AND need to hit 50% of them.
So taking this a bit further, let’s include estimates for shooter accuracy. What the data above does not account for is the ability of a soldier to accurately aim the weapon at range nor the ability of the shooter to bring the weapon to bear. As range extends, two things happen – the shooter needs to compensate for bullet drop and the flight path of the bullet is an expanding cone due to barrel movement. (The barrel movement reflects things like how well the weapon fits the shooter, the stance, how rigid the gun is held, nerves, etc.) Added to the effects of visual acuity (mirage effects) and the effectiveness of obscuring cover, camo, and target darkening (target darkening – have you ever noticed that the bright red car 20 feet in front of you turns very dark when it is several hundred meters down the road). These are in essence accuracy effects that degrade linearly. Out to 50 meters, the shooter should have no issues seeing the target, holding his aim so that the flight path cone intersects a man-size target, and the target will still be fully visible. So for an average shooter using regular vision and iron sights shooting off-hand, let’s assign a hit probability of 80% due to nervousness in combat at 100M and by the time we get to 300M we will assume that the hit probability has decreased to 50%. Since this is a linear degradation, the DM becomes 20 at ~640M. (You can adjust this to reflect how accurate you think your Green, Regular, Veteran, and Elite troops will shoot in YOUR game. I took a swag at it based on my observations of Regulars shooting in preparation for war and then how nervousness effected them.)
So with this combined data, on our 28mm log range tabletop we get these DMs:
The net is that a normal shooter cannot hit past 27 Inches and that you get dramatically changing DMs for all ranges past 20 inches.
Personally, I prefer to use realistic ground scales that match the minis. That means a 4 foot board is really only about 100 meters and that anything other than short-barreled pistols are always in range. As long as plenty of cover and terrain exist this is not a factor. However, this does mean that artillery ends up on the table as an objective instead of a realistic threat to infantry (unless it is shooting over open sites).
This also means that any DMs for range should be linear. Of course, we usually use range bands, but since the DMs are linear, if you use the average DM for the range band it is still a close estimate.
So if you are trying to figure out if the rules you use reflect some real ballistics and shooter ability, you can perform a similar analysis to see if the DM make since. If not, then it is a game not a simulation. Both can be fun and for the case of Toy Soldiers a game seems adequate to the purpose.
I have been fascinated by large, dangerous AFVs ever since I played OGRE and read the Bolo series. Of course a 28mm OGRE battle is probably too large for even me to contemplate (although a do have a platoon of the OGRE Macroture GEVs just in case); however, 28mm Battle Mechs are fully doable.
So about a lustrum ago, I bought the 25mm Steiner and Kurita BattleTroop platoons and finally managed to paint them a decade or two later. I also eventually bought the four different JoyRide Studios MechWarrior Mechs that include a MadCat II, Jupiter, Legionnaire, and Forestry Mech. I also found the 25mm Clan Elementals now made by Iron Wind Metals. I managed to get them into a battle or three using the Star Grunt rules, but it would be unwieldy for large numbers of Mech and Grunt style games. With Mechs de-activated and in moth-balls, they waited for their day in the future. This older post recounts those days – https://sfdfsfd.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/25mm-battletech-bring-on-the-mechs-01jun2016/
This summer, a friend mentioned SF gaming and wanting to do some BattleMech stuff. Being a 25mm man, I told him that I had the drugs he needed, but I needed to find some rules that were less detailed than StarGrunt. A bit of web-surfing turned up folks playing big stomping robots using the ArmorGrid Mech Attack rules http://armorgridgames.com/ and I was off to the races again.
So for Fathers Day, Number 1 son arrived and we gave the rules a test run using 6mm minis (some MechWarrior Dark Age clicks and OGRE tank and infantry miniatures). No pictures of our crude efforts were taken, but this convinced me that this simple system was our grail.
For our full-scale demo, I managed to buy some other clanking robots to go with my JoyRide mechs. These include the Raidar X Battloid, Excalibur Mk VI Battloid, SPARTAN Battloid Civil Defense Unit, Macross VF-1J Battloid Valkyrie, and a Gobot with a Bull-dozer scoop.
In this game, the infantry are dangerous, but fragile and the mechs are darn awesome.
There is not a lot of narrative to go with this battle, since the forces and the terrain are identical. That said, it was a lot of fun and pretty balanced.
Panzer Lehr Uniforms – Note Panzer Wrap Tunic and Camouflage Helmet covers
I have slowly amassed a large number of WWII minis and vehicles, but had never found a set of late war Germans that interested me until I learned about the intriguing Panzer Lehr. This unit was very well equipped, fought in Normandy, the Ardennes, and in Germany over 1944 and 1945, has very interesting uniforms, and is an elite unit not associated with the infamous SS.
My lads
Pretty much lousy pictures but you can see the basic paint job of their uniforms. The photos are a little greener than the actual minis, but it is close. They are looking away so that you cannot see that they are faceless Soldats.
Here are some of the more specialized troops with Panzershreck, MG-42, etc.
Quasi-available Minis
Artizan Designs made four different blister packs of Panzer Lehr which I understand may be out of production:
I need to add some support weapons and more NCOs so I supplemented these with some of the Late War Germans in Panzer Wraps or Smocks (handwavium caveat: I realize that the smocks may be ahistorical from the pictorial record, but beggars can not be choosers):
Bread bag, Mess Kit & Gasmask container – mix lot of Vallejo Luftwaffe Green, Vallejo Russian Green, Vallejo German Uniform, Vallejo Gray Green, Reaper Adamantine Black
Canteen – Vallejo Brown
Flesh – Vallejo Flesh
Rifle Stock – Vallejo British Uniform
SMG / Rifle Barrel / Binoculars – Reaper Adamantine Black with dry brush of Vallejo Gunmetal Gray
Panzerfaust – Vallejo Yellow Ochre
MG Belt – Vallejo Gunmetal Gray
Great Coat – Vallejo Gray Green
Gaiters – Vallejo Green Grey (Vallejo 886
Helmet Covers – Splittermuster 41
Base Grey – Vallejo Light Grey 70.990 or Deck Tan 70.986
Camo splotches – Vallejo Luftwaffe Camo Green 70.823
Camo splotches – Vallejo German Camo Black Brown 70.882
Equipment
One of the more alluring attractions to the Panzer Lehr is the heavy armor assets they enjoyed. No one walks in my unit. Everyone gets Sdkfz 250 and Sdkfz 251 half-tracks. Our scouts receive Sdkfz 234 Pumas to sniff out targets for our Pz IV / Sturmgeshutz tracks in Normandy or the Pz VI Panthers and Jadgpanthers of the Ardennes and final battles in Germany. Smoking hot big cats!
Got to play the 2nd Edition of Warlord’s Bolt Action game this weekend. The game focused on the action in and around St. Lo during the allied break-out from Normandy. This was the first time, my Panzer Lehr minis have seen any action (and how I painted them https://sfdfsfd.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/wwii-panzer-lehr/) – those snazzy tunics and sporty camo helmet covers helped them to unleash a fierce ambush.
Background
Historically, the US break-out was ultimately a great success that punched through the fierce German defenses and then road roughshod through northern France during the summer of ’44. Our game focuses on a US force probing for a weaker spot to break-through. The US forces were Regular, fully mechanized units comprising a Recon Platoon, a Tank Platoon, and an Armored Infantry platoon. In overall command was a Captain with an artillery FOO. The US forces all entered the board on an Advance die with infantry forces mounted and could deploy across multiple turns. Once the enemy was spotted or the US forces received fire, the infantry could dismount.
Standing in the way was a Veteran Panzer Lehr grenadier force dug into the ruins supported by a pair of Panzer IVH. The Germans were allowed to deploy their Infantry units completely hidden (locations marked on a map) with the Panzers slated for Turn 2 arrival.
The terrain was open except for the clumps of dense wood land and the ruined buildings (treated as dense, rough terrain and providing protection as buildings.
The German infantry were dug in to the 3 of the 4 buildings south of the road. One MMG was in the center dense terrain and one MMG was in the southern end of the Dragon Teeth. The Panzerschreck team was hiding in the bocage just south of the church. The Captain and his halftrack were on the south side of the most southern woods to the South.
The first turn, the Greyhounds entered the board to the left and right. The right hand M8 spotted the Panzerschreck and used its Recce ability to avoid a heat-round up its nose.
The second round, two halftracks entered the right board supported by two Sherman tanks. Lots of shooting, but no hits or even pins occurred. The Panzers moved onto the board, but did not manage to put rounds on target.
The third round, the left M8 moved up to spot the Panzer Lehr hiding in the ruins of the left two southern buildings and received a catastrophe flank shot by the Panzerfaust which left a smoking hulk.
The rest of US forces arrived and the FOO called for artillery on the left center ruined building.
The fourth round, the US started suppressive fire against the buildings with several casualties and pins. The Germans answered with another catastrophic shot by the right Pz IV with an AT round that blew the stuffings out of the US Command tank. The artillery was delayed, but the Panzer Lehr unit paid attention to the spotting smoke round and charged across the road to take position in the far left northern building intending to destroy the Sherman lurking behind it.
As the fifth round opened, we called the game due to the lateness of the hour. We rolled for the arty round and it arrived, but did not hurt anyone directly. It did pin the US MMG, the Infantry 1st LT, and the left Pz IV, but the presence of the leadership so nearby and the tough Veteran soldats were likely to shrug off the effects.
As the 4th turn ended, the Germans lost a LMG, 5 Panzer Grenadiers, and a Panzerschreck team losing 174 points from 1901. The US had lost a Sherman, the tank Platoon leader, and a Greyhound losing 345 points from 2047.
That left 4 largely intact veteran HQ, Panzer Lehr squads with 7 LMG and 1 Panzerfaust, two MMGs, a Sdkfz 250with a MMG, and 2 Pz IVH to contend with a Regular US force with a HQ, 3 largely intact squads with BARs, 2 bazookas, 1 MMG, 4 halftracks with MMGs, 1 Greyhound and 2 Sherman tanks. The Germans had very strong right flank and strong center; the US had a very strong right flank.
The artillery strike was good, but did not degrade combat power. One MMG, a tank, and both the 1st and 2nd LT were in the impact zone. That meant that the center needed to make morale rolls, but in addition to the LTs the Captain was within 12 inches so they would need to roll 9 or less to activate. So I would anticipate mostly a minor effect from the arty.
Hard to tell what would happen next, but the order dice rolls would have been key for the next turn. I am guessing lots of attrition with the Germans taking out another Sherman (either to one on the Mk IVs, the Panzerfaust, or the two tank hunter squads) and at least one transport. The US would probably have killed the Panzerfaust squad before it could take out another Sherman.
Minis
Panzer Lehr – Artizan Designs with some Late War Germans to supplement the lack of PL MMG
US Infantry – mostly Crusader with some Black Tree Design here and there
US Vehicles – Solido M8 Greyhound, M4 Sherman tanks, and M3 Halftracks
German Vehicles – Sdkfz 250 is from the OOP old Bolt Action line; Pz IV tanks were from the OOP New Millennium (from Walmart for $5 a pop back in the day)
Buildings – the houses were made from one Warlord Hamlet kit and the Church is from Hovels
Now to plot them and use a polynomial trend-line to estimate the DM at 900 Meters (max lethal range), the estimated DM for 900 Meters (lethal range) is +17 as shown below by the orange data and trend-line:
The net is that a normal shooter cannot hit past 27 Inches and that you get dramatically changing DMs for all ranges past 20 inches.
Little Men 