Find, Fix and Strike

I thought I'd have a look at these new WW2 fast play naval rules by David Manley, based on the same mechanics as his other Long Face Games naval rules. I have a number of different rules that I could use for WW2 games and a French fleet in 1/3000 scale, so it's a potential alternative to Victory at Sea, for example, which is okay but not perfect. 

I like the mechanics that David has developed for his naval rules and especially the inclusion of a campaign system that makes it possible to link games together in a narrative, without the need for loads of paperwork. This is really useful as I will be playing mostly solo games, so it makes it relatively straightforward for just one person to manage.

I just need to sort out my as yet unpainted Italian fleet and I'll be able to try them out for a 'what if?' 1940 clash in the Mediterranean. It also reminds me that I have some ironclads and pre-dreadnoughts that deserve some attention at some point this year, especially the former as they've been staring at me from the shelf above the workbench for far too long!

PaK-40 Anti-Tank Gun for What a Tanker!

There are no rules for anti tank guns in What a Tanker!, which is a bit of an oversight but one which has stirred up quite  a lot of ideas for rules that could be worked into the system to cater for their use. I thought I might try some of these out, so looked around for a cheap anti-tank gun model in 1/72nd scale that I could use for the Russian Front. 

The best one I could find, that would be both sturdy enough for wargaming but still cheap enough to deploy in small numbers, was this Zvezda PaK 40. It comes with a set of gunners and is supposedly snap together but I'll be using glue to stick all the bits firmly in place. This should make it more durable and easier to pick up without the worry of bits snapping off.

I'm thinking of giving it a LOW PROFILE, a TANK DESTROYER ability to aim better and a SMALL size to reflect the fact it is a relatively compact target to hit? Other than that the only real issue is the DRIVE dice but I'm sure that can be used just to traverse or to manhandle the gun forward and backward by 1D6 or similar? 

What a Tanker! Club Clash

We had three very enjoyable back to back games of What a Tanker! at the club this evening, with a bit of head scratching to start with but some fast paced action from game number two onwards. In the first clash, two Mark IV's clashed with two T34/76, ending in a draw and a stalemate, with one Soviet and one German tank destroyed. The second game was a rematch with two Panthers against an SU-100 and a T34/85, which ended with both of the Panthers brewed up for no loss. The final game was a three on one with a Jagdpanther versus three Lend Lease Shermans, producing the biggest surprise of the evening when the first shot from one of the Sherman M4A2(76) penetrated the side armour and blew up the big cat before it even had a chance to fire back. Ka Boom!

Target Locked On! at the Club

There's some interest at the local club from a couple of players in a game of Target Locked On! at some point in the not too distant future, which is great as I now have plenty of 1/600th scale aircraft to bring along and a good handle on the rules, albeit a slightly rusty one as I haven't played a game since the summer holidays. I'm thinking of using my Cold War Soviet aircraft against the Chinese aircraft for a few 'what if?' games, followed by the Flashpoint: Taiwan option once we've mastered the mechanisms. We also have a talented graphic designer on hand, who has just worked up a new and much improved version of the turn templates and counters, so that the games will really look great!

What's Next for What a Tanker?

I'm enjoying the modelling for What a Tanker! and have been planning to expand my tank forces to cover more than just the Eastern Front. I originally thought about assembling a troop of British Shermans or Cromwells and may well do so, but I've now decided to go for a Battle of the Bulge American approach instead. I only have one Armourfast Sherman M4A2 left over from my Soviet tank project, together with some assorted spare parts for an M4A3 (76mm), so I've had to splash out on a new selection of kits for the USA.

These include an Italeri M4A3 (76mm) box and an Armourfast M4A3 75mm box, so which give me some options to kick start the project, with some further kits and accessory bits to follow.

In the meantime, I also want to finish the last of the Russian and German tanks, then get the Cruel Seas S-boats assembled and painted, so the What a Tanker! US tanks will have to wait a little bit longer before they get underway. I've neglected the Cruel Seas project of late, which is something that I really need to sort out, as I'm sure there will be more club games to take part in soon and I would like to be able to bring along my own boats. The one game I have played was great fun and it would be a shame if I just left the project high and dry, especially when it's still fresh at the club.

What a Tanker! Winter Whitewash

It's my day off so I've started on the winter whitewash camouflage, using the tried and tested drybrush and splodge technique. The KV's have only had a light overbrush, as the aim is to have a washed out effect, but one of the T34/76 tanks has had a more overall white stipple for a more effective whitewash camouflage look. The whole lot will get a second wash in my Future gunge mix to tone it down before I then highlight the camouflage white bits. 

I glued together one of the Armourfast Mark IV F/G models last night, then undercoated it in Halfords grey primer. This has now had an  experimental overall matt white wet coat followed by a top down, overhead toot with Halfords white primer, ready for a wash in the gunge once it's all dried out. I'm not sure if this approach will work but it's worth trying out, as the effect I'm after may well be a good way to paint tanks in overall whitewashed winter camouflage, rather than the drybrush approach I've been using so far?

Bag the Blenheims Play Testing

I'm setting up a play test game for a couple of weeks time at the club, in order to nail down the Bag the Blenheims scenario for the Lard Day in March. I still need to work up the card deck for this but I'm hoping to get that done this week, along with laminating the aircraft record sheets, briefings and help sheets. I already have three players signed up for playtest and I'm sure one or two more will join in once I've set a firm date. Tally Ho!

Ruined Russian Farmstead

I've quickly assembled and painted some 20mm Red Vectors buildings for the What a Tanker! game on Tuesday, so that's there's a bit more cover for the tanks to hide behind. This lasercut set is available from Minibits and is sold as a ruined Russian village, but it's more of a farmstead if you only have the single set. You can also get it in an un-ruined format, which I may well do later on, as well as a ruined factory that would be great for urban themed scenarios:

http://minibits.net/red-vectors/20mm/wwii/

This lot was done really quickly using spray paints and some PVA, filler and acrylic paste mix to texture the bases and model the snow on what's left of the rooves. I also chopped up some of the frames and added them as collapsed timbers inside the houses and the barns, just to add a bit of a scenic effect. I was originally planning to wash and drybrush the woodwork but I can't be bothered, as I reckon they look fine just as they are?

Armourfast Panzer Mark IV F/G's

These new Armourfast Mark IV's arrived in the post today, so they will be the next thing to hit the workbench once the current convoy of Russian tanks has trundled over the horizon. I'm going to try a different approach to painting these, which I originally experimented with when I painted my Pegasus Tiger II's, namely a grey undercoat followed by an all over heavy white camouflage wet brush. 

This is the effect I'm trying to replicate.

I did think of undercoating them in matt black, then wet brushing with panzer grey before the whitewash, but that wouldn't be historically accurate as by 1942 most tanks would be supplied in factory dunkelgelb. I'm aiming for a  more uniform winter camouflage effect with this approach, rather than the washed out streaking on the rest of the What a Tanker! panzers that I've already painted.

What a Tanker! Wash and Go

I've now wet brushed the Russian tanks in Flames of War Russian Green and then washed them in my usual mix of Future, Nuln Oil, Gryphon Sepia and Agrax Earthshade, ready for some drybrush highlighting  with a 50:50 mix of FoW Russian Green and Vallejo Yellow Ochre tomorrow. I will then be able to add the white camouflage stippling, striping and splodging, which is my favourite bit assuming it actually looks right by the end. I've also found a lone Pegasus SU-85 kit that was a leftover from last years What a Tanker! project, so I'll see if I can glue it together and possibly even get it painted for the game?