AK47 Battle of Watumbi

The AK47 game this evening threw up a load of surprises along the way but ended in a hard fought yet decisive victory for the attackers. The rules had to be bent a bit along the way but it worked out fine in the end, thanks to some massaging of the reinforcement rolls and some hungry crocodiles. Anyway, the players seemed to enjoy themselves and I had a good time umpiring from the sidelines, so a result all round. It looks like there's some interest in a club AK47 campaign too, so I better paint up the armies that I have in waiting.

Newsflash - Nbuto spearhead strikes Mbote border (Reuters)

From our correspondent in Watumbi

Reports are coming in of a punitive strike by units of the FART on Mbotean positions in the disputed border zone along the Bagombo River. The situation is very confused but initial indications are that a mobile column of Force Action Rapide Territoriale armoured vehicles, supported by helicopter gunships and airborne paratroopers, has crossed the border and has engaged localised units of the Mbote Defence Force.

                                       

The UN Combined Regional African Peacekeeping mission has withdrawn it's units from the combat zone but has yet to confirm the situation on the ground. In a statement from CRAP HQ, Major Short-Cummins, military spokesman for the peacekeeping organisation, acknowledged the inability of the peacekeeping force to actually keep the peace but suggested that a nice cup of tea might calm things down a bit.

(in other words, it's another AK47 game tomorrow, this time with the colonial settlers as the attackers!)

Dead Man's Hand First Impressions

The Chimichanga bothers - Pedro, Jesus, Mongo, Juan and Loco

My copy of Dead Man's Hand arrived yesterday along with the cards and a pack of cowboy figures. The set of markers that were supposed to be included in the parcel failed to materialise but a quick email to Great Escape Games resolved the problem and they'll be in the post on Tuesday. I'd definately purchase stuff from GEG again, despite this minor slip up.

The rulebook itself is very well presented and printed on glossy paper. It explains the turn mechanism and card play well, which should make it easy to pick up after a few turns. The emphasis is definately on gunfighting rather than more convoluted scenarios but the campaign system looks really good and provides for a linked, narrative style series of games which I think would be great for a club evening.

The gangs themselve are similar in composition to the posses in Legends of the West, although there is less flexibility in the armaments department, which means that my lawmen are a little inadequate in their current line up. This is nothing that a couple of figures wouldn't resolve, so they may well get to see some action once I've sorted out the extras.

The banditos are, on the other hand, pretty much ready to deploy as an eight figure strong, twenty one point gang of Desperadoes down Mexico way. I have a couple of figures that are half painted up as well, so could easily expand the Chimichanga brothers to a full on family reunion. The standard contingent is set at twenty one points, based on the Reputation total of the gang, so roughly eight to ten figures seems the norm.

On the whole, I think these rules will be a lot of fun and will re-vitalise the Old West gaming genre at my local club at least. A bit pricey for £20 but, as this includes the all important cards, I suppose it's not too bad and certainly in line with similar rules on the market. I'm thinking of putting together a new gang to add to the two that I already have, either cowboys or outlaws,  so this could end up as a half term mini-project.

Good stuff!

Wanayani Bridge

 

In the AK47 games that I've played at the club, there is one bit of geography that has featured on more than one occasion. The Batufu corridor has been a battleground that we've fought over back and forth on several occasions, with control of the strategically vital Wanayani Bridge as a the principal objective.

http://jimswargamesworkbench.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/ak47-battle-of-wanayani-bridgehead.html

Until now, this has been notable by it's absence, but no longer...

I found a very, very old Airfix kit in the shed today, stashed away in a box of model railway stuff that I was given by my Grandad in his will. He was an avid, if unproductive, railway modelller so had a stack of unfinished kits in his workshop which I inherited when he passed away in 1989. I'm sure he would approve of my efforts to make use of this one, even if it's not for a model railway.

The Kindle Effect

I've not been reading much of late, which is pretty unusual for me but easily explained by the mountain of work that I've been climbing for the last few weeks. I have, however, been making the most of the various deals and special offers on Amazon, resulting in a serious backlog of books that are now clogging up the Kindle. I have indulged in a couple of relatively expensive ones but, on the whole, the rest have been at the bottom end of the price range. It's not the same as having a 'real' book in your sweaty palms but I will have plenty of reading material for the summer.

AK47 Objective Marker Update

I finished off the destroyed APC objective marker this evening, although I think it needs a few tweaks to be completely sorted. I may well add a few bits of random debris to the base, just to give that 'hit by an RPG and brewed up' nuance to the whole thing. I'm planning to finish of the other objective marker this weekend and possibly build some shanty town templates for the game on Tuesday.

AK47 Colonial Settlers APC's

In recent games of AK47 my colonial settlers have come off worse, mainly due to the small size of the army and it's limited options. I painted the army up a good ten years ago, so it's a bit long in the tooth and not exactly up to my usual standards, especially as it was done in a rush. They've served me well over the years but are definately outnumbered by the opposition.

To add some extra mobility and firepower for the game next week, I've finished painting up three old Peter Pig M113 APC's, all armed to the teeth with .50c cals and capable of transporting six bases of infantry between them. These were crudely painted second hand models which I over-painted to match the other vehicles in the army but never got round to finishing off.

They're a bit basic but I'm sure will come in handy as the basis of a regular armoured infantry unit for the game on Tuesday.

Muskets and Tomahawks Game

Another cracking game at the club this evening, in the shape of a French Indian Wars skirmish using the Muskets and Tomahawks rules. I missed the last game of this so was keen to take part and have a go with the rules, which turned out to be really good fun. I'm a big fan of card based turns and 'random' stuff, so the system gets a definite thumbs up. In the end it was a close run thing but went downhill fast for the British in the last two turns. The superb figures made it even more enjoyable and reminded me of the box of Woodland Indians that I have in the leadpile...yet another project for a rainy day?

Dead Man's Hand

I've just finished a shedload of work, which means that the immediate horizon is relatively clear again, as far as wargaming and painting are concerned. It's been a real uphill struggle over the last couple of weeks so to celebrate my new found freedom I've ordered a copy of the new Dead Man's Hand rules and a counter set to go with it.

I've been looking out for these rules since I first heard about them last year, so I'm keen to try them out, especially as I already have a couple of painted up posses and some terrain to stick straight onto the table. There was a good write up in Wargames Illustrated this month and the system looks pretty solid, so it'll be fun to dust off the lawmen and banditos for a try out.

AK47 Objective Markers...again

I got a bit carried away this evening and knocked together yet another AK47 objective marker, this time in the form of a knocked out Poundland diecast APC. This had it's chunky wheels removed and replaced with much smaller ones from a couple of cheapo toy cars, the idea being to represent the hubs of the wheels once the tyres had been burned away.

A plastic .50cal from a spare toy tank was glued into the hole in the roof instead of the missle launcher thing that came with the toy. I've kept the base very simple with three Woodlands Scenics trees to add a bit of a filler. I did think about adding some Peter Pig casualty bases to the scene but, as this will be a long destroyed vehicle covered in rust and weeds, I thought that would have been a bit over the top.

...very quick, very easy and very cheap.