Chocolate Teapots in the Back of Beyond

Hard as nails at the back. Teapot at the Front

I've got a game of Back of Beyond in a couple of weeks time, which makes a nice change and which I'm really looking forward to. I'll be wheeling out my Texan oil prospecting expedition again, based as it is on the Dinosaur Hunter list in the Contemptible Little Armies supplement. This is a great little force packing quite a bit of firepower but it has one major weakness, the unarmoured vehicles of which you need to have at least three to be able to deploy their armoured counterparts.

A disaster waiting to happen

These have a very inconvenient habit of blowing up after only one hit, whether from a single shot from a rifle or a fusilade of fire from a whole unit of figures or heavy machine gun. This means they make excellent speed bumps and cover for your advancing infantry but are relatively useless otherwise, despite costing fifty points and being equipped with a Lewis gun or similar. I think that a 'house rule' is needed to fix this, especially as my opponent has the same problem, being in command of an archaeological expedition from the British Museum.

So, without further ado, whatever the heck that means, here's my nifty solution to the chocolate teapot situation.

1. First, roll to hit as usual for each figure firing, applying any relevant modifiers.
2. Next, if a miss there will be no effect but, if a hit is scored re-roll the D6.
3. If the score is 1-3, the shot has pinged off the engine block, scratched the woodwork or dinged the bumpers etc. No effect.
4. If the score is 4-6, the shot has hit something unpleasant like the fuel tank, ammunition box, driver, tyres or radiator, and the vehicle is now hors de combat.

I think this will work and give the unarmoured trucks in my expedition at least a chance of surviving more than five minutes as they whizz across the steppe looking for some non-existent cover to hide behind?!