Bolt Action - After Action Report GB vs GER

German Panzer Grenadiers (aaron)
1st Lt.    2 Troops, Veteran
Artillery Foward Artillery Observer    Veteran
Infantry Section (7) Panzergrenadier    1LMG, 3x SMG, Panzerfaust    Veteran
Infantry Section (7)7 Panzergrenadier    1LMG, Reg, 2x SMG
Infantry Section (7) 7 Panzergrenadier    1LMG, Reg, 1x Assault Rifle, 1x SMG
120mm Mortar   w/ Spotter   Veteran
MG42   Machine Gun Team Regular
SdFzk 222 Armored Car    Regular
Panzer IVh  Tank  Regular

1000 points -9 Orders

British Paratroopers , Red Devils ( John)   
all Veterans
1st Lt, +2 Troops
Paratroop Section (6) , LMG, SMG   
Paratroop Section (6) , LMG, SMG
Commando Section (6)  6x SMG ATG
Medic
Forward Observer
Vickers MMG
Medium Mortar w/ Spotter
Sniper Team
PIAT anti tank team
Humber Mark IV armored Car
6 pnd'r Anti Tank Gun
Transport Jeep with MMG



 1000 points -13 Orders

Scenario: Point Defense

So my Red Devils got another go at Aaron's Panzer Grens on Tuesday evening, we choose the Point Defense scenario which is one we have not played before. Aaron won the roll off, and choose to attack. leaving my Paratroops to defend. The board was set up as a small village on the hill with some surrounding buildings stretching across the table.

In Point Defense, the defender has three objective that need to be protected, I am also allowed to have several units in reserve. Aaron, as the Attacker must capture two objectives to win the game. I placed two of the objectives on my left, near the village and one objective on the right side near my farthest table edge.  I choose to keep my vehicles in reserve and my commandos ( who would use their "Behind enemy lines" ability later in the match), this was the first time I used a Commando section so I was curious to see how they would perform.

The rest of my army was deployed as follows:

I placed  2 Paratroop squads. my HQ section with  my1st Lt and 2 men  , 1 6pdr AT gun around objective 1.

The Mortar , PIAT team , Vickers HMG , Sniper Team, Mortar Spotter and Forward Observer were all around the large building on the hill close enough to cover both objectives.

Aaron deployed the majority his force across from the village leaving only a single 7 man squad and forward observer across from objective one..he had his heavy mortar with a MG 42 for cover in the center of his deployment zone, 

I had went first on Turn One and had my units on the right advance toward hard cover  and aarons single squad , the rest of my troops on the left were hidden or set into ambush mode,..lastly I had my FO call in some bombarments from afar...this was a particular pain the rear for Aaron as I rolled  "delay" an got to recenter my target point up to 12 inches from my intital target- I moved it right to where his troops would he advancing.

With  the threat of  heavy artillery bombardment right in his face...Aaron advance was bit shooken up -trying to advance but keep his troops apart from a potential disaster of a lucky artillery strike. He managed to maneuver and advance his scout car up toward my objective on my left flank. 

Turn Two- I make a reserve order roll and my Humber scout car comes on the board right where objective 3 is and proceeds to blow the turret right off Aarons 222 scout car...mortars , artillery and my sniper soon start hitting  put a whole bunch of pin markers all over Aarons units.

Turn Three- things get grim when my commandos and Jeep with MMG come on the board further putting causalities on the Germans. The artillery threat has forced he Panzer IV out of position and Aaron is shelling the building with my Sniper in it to little avail. On the Right side of the board my troops are advancing on Aaron's loan squad.and his forward observer. Fire is exchanges, the german take some pin markers, nothing major, my Sniper kills one German soldier.  Aaron then decides to have his FO call in artillery stike on his own position! in an epic bit of martyrdom , He  hopes to wipe a bunch of my men  but in the end takes as much as he gives..

Turn Four My farthest right squad over runs his FO and capture on building  but My whole HQ is wipoed out by aarons ambushing squad I has forgotten about, My two remaining squads, standfast both prepping for shoot -then assault- two squad attack..

Back in the village things get a litte better for the Germans  who have taken many casualties and pins, after my sniper kills his Lt..., Aaron decides he's had enough sniping he's be zeroing in with the 120mm Mortar for 3 turns now and finally scores. the heavy mortar basically levels the big building on the table, killing my sniper team and Mortar spotter. my FO survives the pile of rubble.
 My jeep and Humber are shooting at his Panzer IV and his squads and keep the pins and  kills coming

Aarons rallies a squad and rushes the clearing at the top of the hill to assault my PIAT team in preparation for his Tank to advance. The Panzer IV is pinning down my Commandos with co axial MMG fire , BUT The German assault team forgoets my Vickers MMG is close by AND in ambush and lets loose killing two of the squad. The assault advance happens but Aaron trolls terribly and loses to my PIAT team in assault and the remaining squad is wiped out.

Turn Five. My Commandos with the tough fighters rule all armed with SMGs and Anti Tank grenades- assault Aarons tank and blow it hell up . The successful vehicle assault being a nice ending to the entire left flank advance, the right flank s position is also looking grim being heavily outnumber and my AT gun can start shelling anything on the left or center of his board. Facing heavy losses the surviving Germans retreat, to fight another day.

Thoughts
This game played out with a great narrative- which is one of things I love about Bolt Action. Both our commanders KIA, artillery and mortars everywhere and  the troops carried on until victorious or forced to retreat. Aaron was knocked off his game by the turn 1 FO bombardment (we did not use preparatory bombardment in this scenario) which ended up screwing up his advance, my fast vehicles in reserve coming on strong further halted his advance where he needed a quick foothold to push on from and it wasnt there. My Commando squad with 12 dice for shooting and 18 in assault just added fuel to fire...The simultaneous push from the right really bound the Germans up. The secret to defense in this scenario was for the British to Attack!  This was definitely the most lopsided victory of our games so far, but I am sure the Germans will be back with a vengeance.

Crash and Burn

It turns out I wont be making it to Bilbo's Birthday Bash this year. The event, which starts tomorrow at 8am,  had fate working against me almost out of the gate post Adepticon and it never let up no matter how hard I fought back.  It's drag since I havent missed a local LotR event since 2009, and I was one of the last two guys who had the opportunity have said they played in all 5 of these tournaments. That honor will now fall to my Team Tourney partner, Chris. There can only be one, buddy.!

Overall it was combination of starting way too late on what I wanted to do with the FUBAD (freaking unbelievable big ass displays)  theme several of us were going for. Then life just got in way for the rest. I was on schedule even thou abit rushed until just last week when an ass kicking case of food poisoning knocked me out of the hobby game all last weekend making completion seem nigh impossible, still in my mind I calculated the sleepless hours needed to finish and there was a path!.  In the end , a last minute hiccup with child care issues for my daughters over the weekend had me saying "WTF am I doing here?" that sealed the deal for me and on Tuesday I delivered the news to our Tournament Organizer, Brent.

My mounted Witch King here is about 90% done...he was going to show up as is but since he's missing the big dance I'm putting hours more blending on him till all those color transitions are nice and smooth

Moving to dual Good and Evil armies at 750 points was quite a challenge for anyone, especially anyone with passing interest in the game since the release of the Hobbit material.  Despite my numerous fully painted armies 750 was big bump over past tourament standards and with new warband rules. I had new heroes that had to painted in both foot and mounted profiles and then the killer (FUBAD style) display which is where things went awry.

Per its registration page and what I am hearing about drops this will be the smallest field since probably the tournaments first year. A full circle closure you could say, as this will be more than likely be the swan song for BBB. Despite a brief resurgence around the release of the Hobbit, the game has suffered a steady decline overall since, I attribute this to a bunch of things, mainly
Games Workshop and its insanity and bad choices., But the crazy amount of great new miniatures games in the last couple years has had a strong hand in the fading of its diehard fanbase.  That one , two punch , combined with games overall age has put the "The Hobbit" *cough* Strategy Battle Game on the bottom of the pile when it comes to popularity.  While I'll still paint my sizable collection, when it comes to tournaments, games like Bolt Action are doing a great job of seducing all us Lord of the Rings old timers.

Whether the game becomes a one a year get together as a novelty Team event at Adepticon or sails off on the last ship to Valinor is up in the air right now. I'll be playing in the Adepticon TT this year .(especially since I missed this and I'll be right there anyway to setup and run LotHS) . but still I wish I was there this weekend. Well, I will be, but as a spectator. I told some of the guys I stop by Sunday afternoon around lunch to say hello.

Check out my pal Jeremy's awesome work over at Chef of War, he was literally cooking with gas on this project all year and knocked it out of park with his well timed Dol Guldur setup, my money is on him for all the year 5 hobby awards!..

Return of the Pirates

Now that its official, it might be time to announce the return of Legends of the High Seas at Adepticon 2014. Pirate gaming has been on the back burner for a couple years now but the interest and demand is still there, so after a bunch of back and forth I was eventually keelhauled back in to run it. I am quite confident already that with some help from Tim , the rule books author, and some other fine folk all ready secured it is going to be one hell of a game! I am running it as a big game this year rather than a traditional tournament, however its a 3 stage game so it will have that down home tournament feel. We are assembling a really great board of terrain old and new, and in honor of the most successful pirate on record and all those entertaining Rum commercials its themed on Captain Henry Morgan.

Direct from the Adepticon webcart here is the event description:

Legends of the High Seas - The Sacking of Panama, 1671

  In December 1670 and January 1671, Henry Morgan, one of the most notorious and successful pirates on the Spanish Main, destroyed Fort San Lorenzo and Burned and Sacked the City of Panama. The utter chaos that followed was a payday for Pirate and Pirate Hunters alike. Be one of 10 Privateer, Pirate or Royal Navy Crews that explore the ruins of Fort San Lorenzo and the City of Panama searching for plundered Spanish gold. Bring your Crew comprised of up to 15 men and face off on a 48 Square foot board to capture objectives, eliminate enemy crews and capture as much gold as possible in this 3 Stage, 4 hour event. In the end, only one players name will rival that of Henry Morgan, but they will damn sure know the names of the ones who almost stopped them! Awards for the top two scorers and Best Painted Crew!

10 spots , $10 dollars,  given the interest on our local forums and my inbox this should sell out right away.

I'll be posting the rules as soon they are submitted for the event, as I was working from the cancelled

2012 event most the work is done, slight changes to tailor to the event. excited to get back pirate gaming, you know we will run a demo of this event at the house before Adepticon...Arghhhh.

Empire of the Dead- Order of the Dragon

Didn't find much time to hobby this weekend, with Pumpkin Patches, a broken fridge, plenty of house work and Halloween coming up, I barely had time to base up and prime a second faction for Empire of the Dead. Fitting with the Halloween theme here is most of the new Order of the Dragon figures, which are the Nosferatu faction for the game.

Bases are made from Hirst floor pieces shaped with a dremel, I gave the Count a sword in a minor conversion

 The base Requiem set contains, The Count (Graf) the Count in bat form, 3 consorts (1 pictured here)
the Mad Man (Renfield) and a Thrall with a Gatling Gun (not pictured) The other figures are masked Order of the Dragon Thugs, a separate 4 figure set. No Guardian with the new figures (yet?) but there are plenty of other figures in the Kickstarter exclusives that can fill that role.

 A starting 150 point force for our Demo Tuesday is the Count, a Consort, 4 thralls and a bat swarm
Versus the Unwitting Policemen of the Supernatural Branch, A Detective and Sergeant, 2 Constables and the Firearms Constable, they might seem a bit outmatched at the basic level but the Police are packing a Shotgun and the Gatling Gun so we will see how that goes.

No much to look at now, but I hope to get some real paint on both factions asap, my work on the upcoming Bilbos Birthday Bash is really behind, I need a couple long painting session for some big models and my display still needs a ton of work..it might end up getting pushed back to Adepticon
but if so, I am SOL as my theme is really tied together via the display, not sure what I'll do if that doesn't come together, I know! paint some Empire of the Dead instead.....

Empire of the Dead- A Night's Work

 The first week of this month I received my Kickstarter package for the new launch of Empire of the Dead by Westwind Productions.  Titled "Empire of the Dead: Requiem" its complete overhaul of the game with a whole bunch of new factions , figures and vehicles. The original game had 5 starter boxed and worked in conjunction with Westwinds previous Vampire Wars line. With this big Kickstarter release the game is now fully developed with its own line. I'll talk about the game play at a later date, I am planning on playing some Demos on Tuesday evening. But needless to say if you are a fan of the GW skirmish rule sets, like Mordheim, Lord of the Rings and the "Legends" games you are going to enjoy this.

Just primed and basecoated, bases by Secret Weapon.

Because I am seriously in the weeds getting my Lord of the Rings stuff ready for Bilbo's Birthday Bash, I have barely had time to go thru the EotD stuff, but tonight I took a break and did. I modeled up, primed and basecoated my first faction, The London Police's "Supernatural Branch", in which I also included Sherlock Holmes, and Dr Watson. The 8 models outside of Holmes and Watson are set 2 of the available Police figures, and includes the Steampunk Infernium Hound.  I plan on working on my second faction, The Nosferatu., this weekend. I'll probably get into finishing the paint right after BBB concludes in early November.

I took a few minutes to figure out how I wanted the Blues to work.

 With GW games falling totally off my Radar, and Lord of the Rings, er,, excuse me ,"The Hobbit SBG" winding down for a host of reasons, I've been looking for good skirmish game to get into and I am hoping this is it, I love the setting as old school Gothic Horror fan with touches on so many other fantasy and Science Fiction elements from classic literature, its drippy with that classic nostalgia from my youth that made me such LotR fan.  Moving ahead, I pretty sure beside our Ancients gaming , EotD and Bolt Action are the games I will be playing.

Love this Holmes and Watson pair, can't wait to paint them!

A couple things I want to point however if your interested in taking the plunge. # 1 these miniatures are true 25'smm the don't scale well with Reaper or GW miniatures they are roughly the size of the older GW LotR plastics.  The do work perfectly with alot of the Hasslefree miniatures stuff which was a pleasant surprise as I picked up some Hasslefree stuff a few years back for a project and couldnt use it due to the scale disparity of the other figs I was using, and now I have use for them!

#2, Kudos to Westwind Productions as this was hands down the best Kickstarter I have been involved in as far as backer communication, and product delivery all clearly spelled out and on time, Also delivery to backers first before any retail sales which I guess starts in November. That is super positive sign these guys have it together so if you want to invest in a new games from a small company. This  is a good barometer of their business practices.

I'll try to post some pics and demo reports of our games on Tuesday,....

Reaper Bones II launches!

When I awoke this morning I was greeted by an email from Reaper announcing the launch of Bones II. when I checked in on the Kickstarter page, after grabbing my morning coffee, it had already hit well over 300K or 300% of its goal. Now I get home from work its at 750K and still "Cha-Chinging" away with no signs of slowing down- this is just day one people.

I have to ask, and maybe you can help me...but who, exactly is buying these things? while the first Bones was a great deal for its $100 Vampire pledge and the resulting bonus rewards . Its almost universally agreed upon by the miniature collecting blogosphere that Bones was an exercise in mediocrity. from the odd bendy material to the shallow detail, to difficulties people having getting paint to stick to it. In general I have observed that people who just want miniatures for RPG's like pre painted ones and I didnt see the feedback on Bones from the greater community that this was anything more than a very successful stunt with mixed results based on people's personal tastes. Nothing that would quite justify the very possible 1 million dollar 24 hour opening, or at the very least first 48 hours.

 Now dont get me wrong I like my stuff from Bones I , they have there uses, But do I already have way more then I will ever need, before Bones 2? Yes.  Would I much rather Reaper get back to it regular release schedule instead of it being stopped almost to a crawl in the wake of servicing Bones?. Yes. Would I and many others rather have the metal figures with a wider Bones selection for cheap rank and file troops, and not the entire Reaper catalog converted to Bones? Yes.

So I have to ask again who exactly is buying these at these amounts and level of interest?
I  must say I dont get it.  I'll gladly take select Reaper metals and some select Bones figs for various gaming purposes..but another 200 bendy plastic figs with hit or miss details, No thank you.

I guess if you are buying into Bones 2, thanks for expanding the line for the rest of us that want to cherry pick  Bones figures, but this must be disconcerting to other long time Reaper fans other than myself  when there hasnt been a Dark Heaven or Chronoscope new release in pewter since February.

Another one bites the dust...

So strolling thru Oak Park,IL today to catch a matinee of the new Riddick movie, I walked by the old stomping grounds of Games Workshop, Oak Park, and noticed the big sign in the window they are  closing on 9.22.13 . A textbook lesson  on how to "Kamikazee a great retail location with constant foot traffic and a huge public High School and Library within walking distance. "GWOP" as we used to call it went from gaming mecha and after hours club hangout with never less than a dozen people in the store and three employees at all times...to one man store run by super fan and awesome guy, who was really reaching out to the kids. to generic one man  red shirt, tumble weeds and crickets chirping. Maybe my pal Jeff who used to run it will muse how he made that place a kick ass gaming store from 2007 to 2009.  Anyway the writings been on wall for sometime well see what happens to GW overall, I read they want to sell it off . Games Workshop , Oak Park 2007-2013..I'd say I'd miss you but I think I have been in there 2 times in the last 3 years, maybe something useful will take over that location.