A quick look through Battlegroup Pacific War

So a new Battlegroup book has arrived and this one is the first step (lets hope there’s more) into the Pacific Theatre, more specifically the Pacific and Far East in 1944-45. This book like the others in the series is by Warwick Kinrade and is a supplement so you do need the separate rule book to play.

Straight away the book is obviously good quality, it’s hard bound and full of background information, period photographs and pictures of miniatures on beautiful tabletops to help inspire you. First up there is a contents page and an introduction by Warwick about what the book is and how he came to make some of the decisions and choices. 

Next up, like all the Battlegroup supplements there is an excellent introduction to the actions and forces in the theatre. It’s well written and engaging with numerous interesting sidebars about specific conflicts, events and participants. It always surprises me when I see people complaining on forums about the fact you have to have a rulebook and a theatre specific supplement, these books are excellent value and the background information allows a complete WW2 novice to get a grip on their chosen theatre and have a good fundamental knowledge of the types of conflict you’re trying to represent. Even a knowledgeable WW2 buff will find information they didn’t know or benefit from the succinct and well written recap on the Pacific.

After the background information there is a section on amphibious assaults (it seems the similar to the original Overlord book) with special rules that will allow you to represent the Amtracs, DUKW’s and landing craft desperately battling to shore in an attempt to secure a foothold on the island of your choice. Next there is a section on the theatre specific rules that give the real flavour of the conflict and how it differs from say Normandy or Tunisia. This covers things like the use of direct lay mortar fire, combat shotguns, lunge mines and Nikaku teams and even a close protection team for an M3 Grant tank (a group of chaps that occupy the back deck of the tank and use their sub-machine guns to keep enemy infantry away from their precious ride). There is the expected Banzai rules which seem very well thought out and this sections hints at the fact that these battles are going to be very different from other games of Battlegroup I’ve played so far.

After the theatre specific rules there’s a description of the new counters (the system that makes Battlegroup such a fun, tense and dare I say realistic game - as realistic as pushing little metal dollies around a table could be) and their effects. Whilst some supplements share counter sets the Pacific one is a new and unique set that instils the flavour of the island hopping or jungle fighting that went on.

Next up the book has 5 force organisation charts. Two for the Imperial Japanese Army in 44-45 (an Infantry division list with adjustments for playing in Burma and an Island garrison force), two for the US (a Marine Corps list and an infantry division list) and a list for the British in Burma (later in the book in a separate section on Burma as it’s quite different to the island hopping campaigns) with adjustments to represent the Australians. It’s very noticeable that these battles will be very infantry-centric and armour is not as prolific as most other theatres. Whilst the American and British have Grants, Sherman, Stuarts and Matildas the Japanese armour is scarce and out dated. If you’re a fan of tanks then this theatre may not be your favourite but it does allow the importance and actions of the poor bloody infantry to shine (also the forces will/should be easier to collect as unlike say, the Germans in 1944 you won’t need umpteen numbers of various armoured vehicles to allow you to field just a few representative forces, a couple of tanks should cover most of your needs).

The army lists are exactly what you’d be used to with this system but the lists have some excellent thematic units like war dogs for the marines (gives you scout2), amphibious landing craft and AFVs or the discussed close protection teams for British Grants. It’s the Japanese lists that are the most interesting. As the period covered is when the Marines are on a roll and the Japanese are effectively retreating or fighting to the last man. There are ways to add BR to your overall rating or diminish the war weary Americans as they lose the will to keep grinding against a force of fanatics that already consider themselves dead. There is the option for a Japanese Last Remnants platoon where the poor chaps have very few if any firearms (and often no ammo) and have to rely on the trusty bit of sharpened bamboo to defend themselves with.

The Japanese defences section is really characterful from spider holes with varying occupants, to numerous booby traps or concealed caves that allow multiple infantry units to appear as if from no where.

After the lists is a section covering specific terrain - jungle and assorted undergrowth. This is very different to the scenery used for the European theatre and really hammers home the problems for vehicles and infantry fighting in such a complex environment. As a table you are going to need a lot of trees and undergrowth to get the feel for what you’re trying to represent (people always seem to ignore terrain but it really is the third army on the tabletop and generally the better the terrain the more fun the game IMHO).

Next up is 5 scenarios ranging from Amphibious assault, to taking/holding a beach stronghold or overlooking fire base and then the fight through dense jungle and the importance of taking and holding key hills. Like all the Battlegroup scenarios they have a map, background information and any specific rules and example forces to fight it out (but you can always adjust these to fit your collection) and whilst these are specifically ‘Pacific’ in flavour many if not most of the scenarios throughout the series of books can be adapted to fit your chosen battlefield.

After this is the section on Burma, with its own background information and the British infantry division list with a helpful addition to allow you to represent the mighty Australians.

Finally you have the standard Appendix covering the weapons and vehicles of both sides, quick reference sheets and the all important BR counters. Also you get to see the first vehicle reference cards for the Japanese.

So that’s about it for this ‘quick’ look at Battlegroup Pacific. I’m really excited for it and whilst I’m still working on Overlord (and into the Reich) and Tunisia I can see how it should complement these other two theatres and provide a third and different experience. If you haven’t tried Battlegroup I can’t recommend it enough, it’s straightforward but feels engaging and has strong flavour. It works on different sizes from small squad games up to platoons and above, with each size giving a fun, playable experience.

I hope this has been of some use and if you want a copy it can be bought from The Plastic Soldier Company’s website here. Apologies for the bad photography as I’m down to one hand (your palm can burst if you hit it hard enough, something I found out this week) which is going to slow down my already ambling hobby speed but at least I’ve got a new book to digest.

Stay safe and well, feel free to comment or ask me any questions about the book,

BALM

Blogging time could be hobby time.

It seems that I am doomed to face the particular human problem of having too little time. The few snatched moments I get to spend staring at tiny metal men I spend doing just that. As this blog is intended as a long term diary of my progress, it is predominantly about allowing me to easily check on what I've done in the past. That some people read it is brilliant, even if, like me, it's just another insomniac in the early hours trying to bore themselves to sleep.

So since D-Day I've been quite productive I just haven't documented anything. This will be a not so brief list and I'll try and get pics up in the next week.

Warlord plastics for Normandy Pacific Firefight:

I've put together seven USMC chaps, each in three poses (Standing/Crouching/Prone or crawling) and they just need some final kit additions and detail sculpting (sleeves, trouser detail etc) to get the three poses as close to identical as my sanity will allow. This is an interesting point: I'll admit I can be meticulous (My words) or obsessive (My FOE's words (paraphrasing and editing for language)) and I still don't know how far I'm going to push myself in the attempt to get each pose looking like the same character. The camo is complex and life too short. We'll have to see. When it stops raining I'm going to spray them up in PSC's Olive drab and try and do one chap (three poses) a night. Check out a painting guide on Bolt Action.net . As an alternative I'm also going to start sticking the Japanese together and I've earmarked spare bits from both for a side project. Which is.....

Wargames Factory Zombie survivors - Men:

Originally I'd intended to buy both the men and the women box set and make up a couple of converted sets to paint and sell on eBay. This is generally the only way I can afford to have my hobby (on the scale I like it:). 

I want to say that "I Hate" these models. They have angered me. My hobby should be relaxing. It should be noted that I've previously fallen out with their Vikings too: So it could be me.

They are hard to mix the parts as they are not really universal and any unique poses will take cutting and re-positioning and sometimes sculpting. For me, if I'd bought a box of 30 chaps for a zombie game I would be looking for characters not clones. I know design isn't that easy and It's not that bad: they are cheap and will allow you to quickly form a character pool for something like ATZ:FFO. I would just like them to be a bit easier to use (and I intend to use 15mm and sculpt my own characters if needed).. 

One interesting point is the weapon choices. I realise that we are no longer the only real country but the weapon choices are, in my mind, firstly America-centric (Which is fine as zombies there is better than zombies here) ands the ratios are bizarre. There are few shotguns but tons of assault rifles, which is great for America/Middle Eastern/Ex-USSR stuff but not great for us Brits. Yes there are SA80's (or whatever the current version is) but who needs ten of each. Chainsaws: As a aboriculturist I love the machines of spinning doom. They'd be unwieldy, are hard to use (I've seen bulked up gym lovers find using a saw all day or even a few hours, too much), they are noisy: you don't want more zombies, but they are as iconic and plain ridiculous as ninja's in black, vikings with horned helms and chanbara (which I love). But they are cool. I'd liked to have seen MP5's, shotgun variations but I have the bits from other stuff and I'm going to get creative. 

These are low on my priority list. I do however want to get them out of my hobby mine as they are taking up valuable space; so that may motivate me.

15mm WW2 Germans for BA and CoC:

I've painted the pandashrek for the basic platoon (finishing it for CoC) and replaced the leader. The original chap will still be useful he just isn't what I was looking for.

I've done a few more supports for CoC; including a MMG, Medics, Compound charge, a goliath and team and some other bits and bobs with a few left to do.

My 251 Ambulance made from a PSC 251 and procreate.

PSC are having a painting competition and I'm considering entering. It's not my best painting but I hope the scratchbuilding will help.

I have no specific use for it but it's another weird german non-combative vehicle to add to my motorpool.

I've painted my Wirbelwind and my 251 Ambulance and have the majority of the rest basecoated. I'm still not really sure I'm doing it right but at least they getting done. I've also modified my basing scheme and I'm really happy with it; I'll cover this in the finished platoon pictures I'll take as soon a it's sunny again.

Currently my 15mm mojo is flowing, I just need to maintain it through my hundreds of FJ's.

Other 15mm stuff:

Cafe Gondree by 4ground. Which is nice.

15mm 4ground fences and walls: I finally gave in and assembled these packs. I'd been unsure whether to leave them and use them in fixed positions on landscaped bases for my church etc. I gave in and figured if I needed more I would have to buy them. I sanded a bevel onto the bases (outside, wearing a mask with a dust extracting sander - MDF is no fun) and whilst taking a day out at my mums (makes alaska seem densely populated) I added sand and basecoated them in light grey. I've now just got to find colour schemes I like.

If a bridge could be sexy....

  In other 4ground news they sent my replacement chimneys for my farmhouse and were kind enough to give me one of their memorial sets. Stunning customer service like GW in the eighties/early nineties. Buy their things. They are awesome and whilst I enjoy modelling and intend to scratchbuild some buildings the time saved and quality achieved in 4grounds new builds are hard to ignore. Next up I'll save for the beneouville bridge and hotel complex. Whilst contacting customer services about my chimneys I took the opppurtunity to slip in some ninja-esque questions and can (maybe even) exclusively reveal that higher walls, a manor house and detailed stick on roof sheets to hide the roof tabs are on their way to 15mm. All good stuff.

My farm has just made me want more. So glad I'm not playing in 28mm.

Peter Pig cowboys for gunslinger: I'm still undecided between this scale as its cheap and compact and can be charming enough, or 28mm because of these. In the mean time I've done up a few chaps to use as prettier markers for the excellent Gunslinger by avalon hill. I've played it a couple of times recently and thought it may interest some people who have never heard of a diceless skirmish game. I'll attack this when it's too damp to spraypaint.

Warhammer 40K:

The first and the best. I am loving the new codex art. You get a real sense of ownership of the piece instead of feeling like a it's copied from other people.

I had lost interest in 40k due to cost and more interesting things (Chain of Command) and I may now be heading slowly back. I love my army but having not finished it due to the ridiculous nature of the conversions I was simply overwhelmed at the cost to complete it. And Chain of Command was more fun. The unbound army list options that will allow me to merge Space Marine and IG to get a better representation of the squats is quite attractive and it would allow me to use my dreads. I'm still not as excited as FOE (his eldar and space sharks are mustering) but this is more due to lack of funds and fascination with WW2 in 15mm than anything else. It would certainly be nice to have an army to use at events/clubs actually done.

I realise that's a lot with very little of interest but that's hopefully to come (I haven't even covered everything I've done but I just started boring myself). Thank you for taking the time,

BALM

Normandy Firefight and a Warlord sale.

A couple of days ago my FOE ( Favourite Opponent Ever) texted me to say he'd found an excellent deal on a ruleset we'd been contemplating. The game is Normandy Firefight by Warwick Kinrade (also author of Battle Group series with PSC). It's a small scale skirmish game using between 1-5 combatants on each side. And most importantly Northstar had it for £2.50 (less than a fiver with postage). I splurged and a day or so later this drops through my door.

 It's relatively simple (basic maths and percentage calculations are needed) and yet quite elegant and initially reminded me of Phoenix Command (a game so beautifully complicated and 'accurate' it's damn near impossible to play) that had been streamlined and made more accessible. It is very dependent on terrain (like any decent skirmish games e.g. Infinity) but table sizes are small due to the overall scope. The game uses different stances and it's suggested that the ideal situation would be to have each character have a number of different appropriately positioned miniatures to represent it. Prone, Kneeling, Standing and also Running are all necessary. The author suggests 1/35 Tamiya or Airfix kits as they are accurate, detailed and relatively affordable. I couldn't find any I really liked though and decided to explore other options. Whilst perusing the Bolt Action forum I randomly looked at the web-store and starting investigating the plastics. It seemed possible to get 5 characters in all poses out of one plastic infantry box. The only problem was I was limited for theaters. None of the British or Late War Germans had prone poses so I had to choose between Early-Mid war Eastern front (the Soviet box and the Blitzkrieg Germans) or the P.T.O between USMC and Japan.

If you ever get the chance pick up either Battle Hymn or the E.T.O version Ambush. They are great, replayable solo adventuring at it's best.

The Pacific instantly appealed as I don't have any PTO stuff in 15mm (yet) (I love games like Ambush, Battle Hymn and Leatherneck - where you took a small group of characters through their part of a much bigger war). I did some mental shopping to realise that for less than £50 I could have a playable game. It got added to my mental to-do list or as an impulse splurge at a show. I'm prone to stockpiling and planning ahead so I can still find something to cut up,glue or paint when I can't afford any new toys.

Today I am gazing at the net after many long and arduous adventures to see that Warlord is having a sale on its individual sprues. A 50% sale. After some rapid 'add to cart' work I manage to get the equivalent of the two boxes worth of chaps for less than £30 all in (Just no packaging: something I'm fine with). Normandy Firefight and two complete forces (and the first 28mm WWII I've painted) for £30. A good search of the Lead Mountain and a visit to eBay should adequately pay for my shopping trip. I'm leaning towards a sandbox table with copious jungle and a few buildings (Sarissa precision have a nice set of P.T.O theater scenery). I've also realised I'd have an excuse to buy an LVT (strictly as scenery you understand) in a bigger scale (I have waterline and full ones for 15mm but still need more).

The one other option is in 15mm and from Peter Pig. You can do whole/late war germans vs brits as all the poses are available. This is something I'll probably buy into in the future as a portable set. Back to beheading and re-heading nazis whilst I await my postal supplies.

Thanks for reading,

BALM