Inspired by our first game of Bolt Action last week, I have completed a British 6pdr Anti Tank gun with Universal carrier tow. The carrier is a lovely little model that fits together easily, - for the most part. I did have problems with the tracks however. I planned to make a Mark II, but I couldn't make the track guards fit on the chassis. The Mark I track guards fitted much better so I went with the earlier model. I suspect I didn't glue the tracks close enough to the body of the carrier. Next time (because of course I will be making more carriers!) I will take more care with dry assembly. The driver and riders are nicely posed. The three helmeted heads are identical which is a bit dull, so I swapped two of them for spare heads from the British infantry set. When I first got the British infantry I wondered if these faces were a bit too close to caricature but they paint up very nicely. The 6pdr was straightforward to build and paint. I had fun using Forge World weathering powders on the gun and tow.
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Ian, Matt and I had our first game of Bolt Action on 6 July, using our growing forces of new figures. Ian brought along his Fallschirmjagers, Matt his first squad of Yanks and I used my British. We played about 570 points a side, using scenario 1 in the rulebook. As this was our first time with the rules, we played it a bit by committee. It was a great game. Ian chose to be the attacker, with the objective of getting units into our deployment zone or off the table. Matt and I deployed with a strong concentration on a hill at our right rear, from which our MMG had a good field of fire over the centre and along our baseline. We left the centre clear and placed two squads in woods and behind a wall on our left. Ian came on in the first turn, concentrating all his force opposite the Allied Right. To cut a long story short, Ian's frontal attack on our hill battered hard against a British section in woods. This section barely fired a shot as it spent most of the game ducked down to survive Ian's assault rifles. It ultimately lost seven men but held on grimly while our two left wing sections took Ian's force in the flank. As time ran out for Ian to get his troops forward, we managed to knock out his right hand squad, scoring 2 VPs that were enough to win us the scenario. We were helped by a lucky morale test and the only medic-induced save of the game, which allowed our officer to hang on and share his morale bonus when it mattered. We agreed that it was a tough scenario for an attacker without transports to win. We picked up the rules pretty quickly. It's not an original comment but the 40K pedigree is very evident. The key difference for me is the downgrade in lethality compared to 40k, making pinning the enemy as important or even more so than killing figures. The activation system was really easy and created some tense moments. Although I suspect Chain of Command may produce a more realistic simulation of small unit tactics, I know I'm more likely to be playing Bolt Action for a clean and fast moving game system that supplies plenty of excitement. We are about to place our next order. I am still tempted by a Carrier section, although I do like the boxy functionality of the Cromwell. But why have one tank when you can have three? On 6 July we will have our first game of Bolt Action. In preparation,I have been painting my British to 499 points and finishing off some terrain pieces. My only 28mm scenery to date has been either fantasy or Gothic Sci Fi, so I need the table to look more Normandy than Bretonnia. At least the hills and woods already fit the part, as long as nobody looks too closely at some of the debris stuck to bases (damn those old White Dwarf articles about theming terrain!). The Charlie Foxtrot house is now table-ready. I had some problems fitting the windows because I stuck chinchilla dust on the inside of the openings, making them too small for the window frames to fit. Instead I had to glue them behind the openings. This was fiddly and I'll be careful where I put the dust in future but they do make the walls look more substantial. If anybody questions the look of the model I'll send them outside to look at the windows of our real house, which are recessed by the depth of a brick. And with one bound he was free. The army list for Wednesday is as follows:
First Lieutenant. 75 points 1 Regular runner. 10 points Medic. 30 points 1 supporting infantryman. 13 points. 1st Regular infantry section, 10 men, 1 Bren gun, 1 sten. 123 points 2nd Regular infantry section, 10 men, 1 Bren gun, 1 sten. 123 points Regular PIAT team. 40 points Regular Light mortar team. 35 points Regular Machine gun team. 50 points Total 499 points If I put on a turn of speed I might complete the universal carrier and 6pdr anti tank gun by mid-week, although as I don't think anybody has painted armour yet, there's little point in including it in Wednesday's game. But the two pieces combined come to 145 points, taking me some way to the next target of 750 points. Next I'm thinking of a third section so I have a full strength platoon. Then I'll have to turn my attention back to the Germans so the two forces grow at the same rate. This weekend, I have been assembling an mdf house that I bought from Charlie Foxtrot Models last week. The kit fitted together very neatly. I especially like the engraved roof, complete with broken and slipped roof tiles. Kevin from Charlie Foxtrot advised me to render the outside walls with Chinchilla Bathing sand, which is made of very finely ground cork. Alesia at my local pet shop was a bit disappointed that we weren't getting a new pet, but didn't bat an eyelid when I told her it was for plastering a model house. In my first attempt to cover the walls, I watered down the pva glue too much and it left bald patches on the wall. I also varied between dipping the walls in the sand and sprinkling it on from above. My conclusion, based on this first attempt, is that the smoothest finish is achieved by applying undiluted glue to the surface, then rolling this gently in a bowl of the sand. I need to spray the walls white tomorrow, before coming back with colour from a Duluth tester pot. This model doesn't come with shutters, but I will try to make some to reinforce the French feel of the building.
I am really enjoying this project and suspect I'll be picking up a lot more houses in the coming months. For one thing, what else would I do with all that Chinchilla sand? I have nearly finished my first 22 British infantry for Bolt Action. I have assembled two sections of ten men, each with a Bren team and a sten gun-armed Corporal. The first section is varnished ready for basing and the second just needs highlighting on faces and hands. In addition I have made a two man PIAT team. There are three figures left to assemble. I will leave these until after my next purchase, to see what would be the best fit with whatever I pick up. I imagine a good candidate would be runners to join the HQ. I am not that scientific in the early stages of building an army list. What comes next will depend on what second hand figures are on sale at Colonel Bill's stall at Valhalla next Sunday, or on what figures I most like the look of at the Warlord stand. I am, however, pretty sure I want a 6pdr anti tank gun and a universal carrier to tow it. Regarding points, so far I have the following. 1st Regular infantry section, 10 men, 1 Bren gun, 1 sten. 123 points 2nd Regular infantry section, 10 men, 1 Bren gun, 1 sten. 123 points Regular PIAT team. 40 points I will need an officer, let's say a First Lieutenant for 75 points With 2 Regular runners at 20 points That makes 381 points so far. A QF 6pdr would cost 75 points, Universal Carrier 70 points Subtotal at that stage: 526 points. If I can pick up one more section for 100 points that would be good, as two sections feel like too few but I don't especially want a full box of another 25 plastics yet., how about a Vickers MMG for support, with its own carrier? That would be another 120. I'm starting to wonder if the Carrier platoon boxed set would be a cost-effective buy, since it gives 3 carriers and 15 infantry for £50.... The Bolt Action project is under way. Matt has started on a US force; Ian has ordered some Fallschirmjagers and I have assembled two British sections and a PIAT team. I began painting these last night. I used Coate d'Armes British khaki, which is a good colour but however hard I stir it, it seems to stay a bit shiny. Once the base colours are blocked out, I'll wash the figures with GW Agrax. The plan is to finish these figures before Valhalla on 19 June, when I'll pick up British command, an Anti Tank gun and a vehicle or two. I am tempted to but some universal carriers, a favourite ever since I made the Airfix model in 1/72. In larger game systems the universal carrier is a bit vulnerable all round. Perhaps at Bolt Action scale it will have a practical application.
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