D Day Demo part 1

 Last weekend we put on a Demonstration game of D Day using Battlegroup rules with my 20mm collection. I intend to post this report in three parts.

I had not intended to play myself as there was a fair amount of organising the models for players who were unfamiliar with my collection. It turned out that the two German players could not make the weekend due to unforeseen circumstances. This meant that I had to play the German side which turned out to be not too much work. 

The landings took extra time as we had not used the D Day rules before and it was split into three waves on three beaches. Normally the game flows really well on land battles.

The 1st day was spent doing the landings which had just reached the Sea Wall and had some of the beach cleared.

Compressor box

 I built a box to hide my compressor in and attempted to quiet it down with some foam. Unfortunately it is still too noisy and drowns out the radio. I will have to use ear defenders when I use it. I also need to buy some catches for the cover but for now the couch holds it on.

The chip board was donated by the club when they cut down some full sheets to make 6x4 tables years if not decades ago. Everything else I had on hand.

The chipboard was first covered with wallboard sealer which was leftover when I decorated the games room. The paint is Rustoleum paint and primer bought as they no longer sell black primer. I bought two cans of this and found that it’s not Matt and hopeless for coating miniatures. It also takes about three top coats to cover properly. I had no other use for it so no loss to cover the box and the table legs.

I built a spray booth

 I have been a bit busy up cycling some random stuff at home. My eye sight is struggling to see in my dark garage which has no windows so thought I’d better move my airbrush setup into the games room. 

First I started with an old drinks cabinet which was in the dining room when I bought the house. I had previously removed it and used it for storage, but it’s ended up full of junk. Luckily I had a 3 metre led strip I had bought for the garage but never used. I thought the paint would stain the wood so applied some text book plastic bought ages ago. It was a real pain to fit as I could not hold it properly and ended up with lots of bubbles. Unexpectedly his had the added benefit of reflecting much more light.

I then set about using an old redundant bathroom ceiling fan on a removable base to remove the smell. I bodged up a filter with some foam and granny grate. The unit fits into the box when not in use. After using an airbrush I found the smell of brush cleaner outside really noticeable but was ok inside the room.

Next job is I’m repainting an old typewriter table to use with my air compressor. I hope to fit the compressor underneath with a hush cover. Apart from the spray paint this whole project has cost me nothing. Although I may have to replace the pipe later on as it has been joined and is probably a bit fragile.

The Casino Sword Beach

 I wanted something to represent the Casino on Sword beach. I had a second Airfix beach defence bunker I got with the DDay boxed set and an old Dapol shop. So set about combining them. I first cut up the bunker to make it narrower and then set about making some walls with the shop kit. I had an old Fujimi 88mm gun in my scrap box to make up the dummy gun. I haven’t decided if it will be operational for the game yet. I know its nothing like the real thing or the movie version but neither does the beach I'm portraying.

3D printed DD tanks

One of the German players on our upcoming Demo game printed these DD tanks and an Armoured bulldozer for me . He has since printed another one of each. They painted up really nicely.

I had to scratch build a Priest as I had been trying for ages to buy a Matchbox version. I used an Airfix Lee/Grant. I had some left over bits from previous Kangaroo conversions. I think the barrel must have moved when the glue was drying. The crews came from the Airfix 25pdr kits and an Airport refuelling kit.

It would be remiss if me to not post the WIP photos.

 

Well hello again.

 I’ve let this Blog idle for too long. I’m afraid that I have been spending time on Bluesky where you can get instant gratification as soon as you post which is addictive. However I have been reminded how useful a Blog is by my friends Blog where he posted a recent trip. It’s Willstoysoldiers.blogspot.com

I have several projects that I would like to document as I am putting quite a lot of work into. The first is a D-Day Demo game which is being put on at Call to Arms in Wellington New Zealand. We are going to be using my 20mm collection that I have been building since the late eighties. I had not done much with it for about fifteen years but lately have added quite a few vehicles and several platoons of Infantry. The rules we are using is Battlegroup. I will be organising, basically getting all the models out when required. The Allies have two players, one supervising a new player. The Germans will also have two but I am hoping they wont be very co-ordinated.

The second project that I have just started is modifying What a Cowboy to use with my limited Dr Who collection. I have only painted some 10th Dr era figures  and thought that unless I find some rules that I enjoy the rest of the pile will never get touched. Tonight I have started to paint some more Daleks, Ogrons and Unit figures so I guess I must be onto something good with the rules.

By mistake I started using five action dice like Chain of Command but once I realised found that five are good with modern weapons. I have modified weapon stats using CoC as a guide. For instance, an LMG has ten shots but must use a reload dice between bursts as overwise it is just too powerful.

 I have had to make up Dalek weapon stats to see what works. Also have found that a balance between sides is not easy to come up with. Daleks are tough but slow and have limited weapon types.

I reroll the dice in the shock pool for use next turn otherwise it takes too long to recover.

I have made the Time Lords unkillable as it would be to easy to end the game by doing so. You just shock them into uselessness.

I have had to use the D-Day terrain for now as I need to have it fresh in my mind for the upcoming Demo game. So far I have had four games which seem to favour the Humans which is why I am painting more Daleks. 

I will post more and upload stats on the next posts.

Battlegroup German Pioneers

 I have enjoyed playing Battlegroup so much that I have  started painting up a force of German Pioneers with Stug support. I’m using the Barbarossa supplement. I had the Infantry in stock and have bought some Stugs and a Panzer IV. A mixture of Battlefront and Zvezda models. A Stuka in 144th scale works well IMHO.

Am working on some Opel Blitz trucks, 2cm AA and pak38 guns.

I have also bought quite a few Russian Infantry, tanks and supports quite cheaply secondhand.