Tag: 15mm

Discovering L’Art De La Guerre

Over the long weekend just gone (Queen’s Birthday here in NZ) I was back in my home town of Christchurch and my old local wargaming club there had some members hosting an introduction and training day for Art De La Guerre (ADLG) to coincide with the recent release of Version 4 of the rules. This looked an interesting opportunity to finally try these out and also catch up with several old wargaming comrades from the 1980’s and early 1990’s (most of whom I have not crossed paths with for many years).

Games would be 200 points in size (essentially the smallest size game normally played, and vaguely similar to big battle DBA in army size – more commonly games are 300 points or occasionally 400 points), and the focus would be on basic mechanics, and for those already familiar with ADLG, the rule changes in version 4. The game was played in 15mm and the Early Imperial Romans’ were loaned by Andre (one of the event organisers & host) and my opponent was Gordon with quasi-historical Gallic opposition.

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Miniature Addiction!

Roundie, from my local gaming group (the Auckland Wargaming Club), has recently launched his own website & blog of his wargaming & modelling work – he’s one of our area’s most prolific modellers & painters and has built some amazing terrain boards and scratch-built buildings & terrain… He’s also running a local SDS (Song of Drums & Shakos) Napoleonic Skirmish Campaign at the AWC. Continue reading “Miniature Addiction!”

Gordon & Hague 15mm Plastic ACW Packs

Bulk Packs Of American Civil War Plastic 15mm Figures

Interesting new product line for the 15mm gamers out there – from Gordon & Hague in the USA – Packs of 100 plastic 15mm scale ACW figures, with an assortment of about 80 infantry 10 cavalry, and 2 guns & crew, plus movement trays per base (total of 125 parts per box). Available from today (a Union & a Confederate Pack), with additional expansion packs due in March 2013. Professionally sculptured by a quality UK Figure sculpture too apparently.

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The Vaagso Raid: A Crossfire Game

Operation Archery, the Raid on Vaagso Island in Norway on 27 December 1941, involved over 500 British Commandos, Sappers, and Norwegians with the intent to take pressure off the Russians and to protect Allied convoys heading to Murmansk – and it’s an excellent action for modelling in Crossfire – check out the excellent recent game played at the Nunawading Wargames Association in Melbourne, Australia, on the Small Sagas blog (which includes the entire town made from “Paper Terrain” buildings).

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Custom Moulding: Replicate Your Scratchbuilds!

Fidelis Models USA

A friend just pointed out the following Model Distributor who offers a nice service casting custom models for people who supply an original master. They say “Send us your scratchbuilt master model and we will make an RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing) rubber mold of your model. We can then make approximately 75-100 copies of the master before the mold begins to deteriorate.” With a cost of as little as US$8 for each subsequent resin casting of the mould this could well be a fine option for those people wanting to churn out several dozen copies of an original figure or model – although the initial mould creation does cost around US$175. Check it out at the Fidelis Models Website…

English Civil War in 15mm

15mm Parliamentarian English Civil War figures from my collection – most are Essex with some Frei Korps making up the numbers. These are no longer in my collection as I moved away from figure scales smaller than 20mm in the early 2000’s…

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WCFD Game 18

Close Combat in the Valley.
Close Combat in the Valley

Date Played: 04 April 2009 4.00pm US PDT (04 April Midnight GMT); 1830 WCFD Game Time.

Game Report by Stephen Phenow.

The Germans had retreated to the fortified head of a steep valley. Here they had emplaced a very well-camouflaged ‘88’ that was picking off Allied vehicles on the road (off-table). The 88 couldn’t be used vs. targets on-table because it couldn’t depress sufficiently to target the valley, and its view was obscured as well, but it was a menace to the off-table traffic. The British had to send in men to find it and destroy it. They had an air liaison officer who was having problems calling in Typhoons, and the British could resupply infinitely. How long could the Germans hold out?

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WCFD Game 9

German Kompanie 2 Commander assesses his deployment.
German Kompanie 2 Commander assesses his deployment

Date Played: 04 April 2009 11.00am BST (04 April 10.00am GMT); 1230 WCFD Game Time.

Game Report by Martin Groat.

Each side has released their respective propaganda, published with this report (see below), and provided here is also the third “neutral” report, and a discussion of the terrain and scenario.

The Germans were given the task of defending 2 pillboxes sitting on a hill in the North West corner of the board. They commanded a road to the West, off board. This road was of some significance to the games that followed and the Allied forces were ordered to seize the Pill Boxes so as to secure the road.

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Valuable Assets

Ivan!Somewhere near Kursk, during one of the Soviet counter-offensives, Summer 1943…

Historical Situation

This scenario is set in the Central-Northern Russian countryside at the time of the great Kursk battles, in 1943. A German attack has been cut in two by the brave Russian defenders of the motherland, and some German forces remain isolated from their main force. A German Heavy Panzer platoon is desperately trying to salvage some equipment and get back behind German lines to lick their wounds.

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Higher Ground

GI's reform after an attack.
GI's reform after an attack

Saint Lô & Falaise, France, August 1944 – Light US forces press forward against the encircled Germans…

Historical Situation

Mid-August 1944, central France, the German front is collapsing (although they haven’t realised it) and Hitler is insisting on an armoured thrust west from Trun to counter the U.S. advance. The U.S. XV Corps has already broken through into empty country beyond Saint Lô and General Bradley has now ordered the Corps to swing east to hook round behind the German armour and trap it – preventing a retreat north & east to the Seine river. American forces are pushing forward as far and as fast as they can to keep the Germans guessing, and secure vital objectives for the ongoing advance!

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Wargaming Scales

Figure scales are expressed two ways, either as a simple measurement, e.g. 25mm, defining how high a figure of a normal man or woman stands or as a ratio, e.g. 1/48th, defining how big a model vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or construction is in relation to the real thing. The emphasis here is on the former classification with the latter provided where possible as an approximate comparison.

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