Last weekend we got in some more Nimitz gaming, this time introducing 2 more local gamers (Dave H & Chris P) to Sam Mustafa’s Nimitz. This saw two games with the mighty HMS Hood and HMS Prince of Wales going up against a variety of German opponents in the North Atlantic. Game one was a replay of the first game from a week or so ago versus DKM Bismarck and Graf Spee (see And We’re Off! Nimitz On Table Action, At Last: Part One for the previous game).
Continue reading “More Nimitz Action in the Atlantic”Category: Europe 1939-43
And We’re Off! Nimitz On Table Action, At Last: Part One
Well it’s been over 10 months since I posted “NIMITZ: A New Take On WW2 Fleet Action” so its taken a while to finally get around to getting some game time on the table! However I’ve been looking forward to having a crack and finally managed it this week, with a couple of buddies from the local wargaming scene. So here’s a brief run down of the 2 games we got in and a few related thoughts…
Continue reading “And We’re Off! Nimitz On Table Action, At Last: Part One”MotA First Impression: A Little Underwhelmed
The first 2 episodes of Masters of the Air dropped on AppleTV a few days ago and it wasn’t long before there were floods of posts about how awesome it was and about how stunning and full on the combat scenes were, and the usual nitpicking such as the Brit Bashing in episode 2. I got around to watching it a couple of days later, and I’ve been mulling over what I experienced for 2+ days before writing anything – and this is how I feel about it…
Continue reading “MotA First Impression: A Little Underwhelmed”NIMITZ: A New Take On WW2 Fleet Action
It’s great to see Sam Mustafa’s latest ruleset “NIMITZ” come out – it’s Sam’s take on WW2 Naval Fleet Action. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this released – Sam always has a fresh approach to rules writing that I enjoy and I find usually gets a good balance between playability & fun, and realistic outcomes (i.e. is this how you’d expect such and such an encounter to turn out) with minimal gamey tactics, etc. An expansive campaign system, Halsey, is also included that can incorporate as many players as desired.
Continue reading “NIMITZ: A New Take On WW2 Fleet Action”Blindés de Combat Magazine
Back in 2010-2013 I was talking about the Combat Tank Collection series (of 121 different models), and subsequently Altaya released a second magazine series Blindés de Combat which featured another 62 models, and a much greater variety of non-tank military models in 1/72 scale.
Continue reading “Blindés de Combat Magazine”The Confusion of British 2pdr & 6pdr HE in WW2
Over the years there has been a lot of confusion around British HE for 2pdr and 6pdr guns – especially in the early part of the war. e.g. The 2pdr didn’t have HE, yes it did originally in 1940 but they stopped making it, no it didn’t, yes it did and they even had 11,000 rounds of it siting in storage at the outbreak of World War II – they just never issued it to the troops! Anyway I thought it might be useful (for my sanity and anybody else’s) to collate the facts as known (at least as I now know them), given a lot more information has come to light in the last 10-15 years on the subject. This was partly sparked by a recent YouTube video I watched (on the Matilda) that quoted quite inaccurately the claim that the British had 2pdr HE (in storage in 1939-1941) and never issued it, either through incompetence or criminal negligence!
Continue reading “The Confusion of British 2pdr & 6pdr HE in WW2”Raid On Villa Winter
“Captain Hendry de Cromault paddled steadily and quietly through the uneasy surf, his sergeant and some of his men behind him doing likewise. To either side more boats of British Commandos were also paddling through the surf. As their boats ran up on the volcanic beach with the crashing breakers covering their approach, the first rays of the sun were providing a faint glow off to the east well beyond the mountains, and even further, as the sun rose over Africa and headed towards the Atlantic Ocean. Quickly drawing their boats ashore, they were startled by the sudden winking of a bright lamp inshore, sending jumbled encrypted Morse code signals; ‘a U-Boat must be about’ Cromault thought to himself, ‘why else would the Villa Winter be activating it’s powerful beacon lamp, hopefully it doesn’t stumble across their transport home, a Royal Navy Destroyer lurking to the north’. Even as he thought about it his raiding force was assembling around him at their rallying points, and beyond expectations the entire force had safely made it ashore. Assembled on one of the remotest parts of the Canary Islands, they set off to accomplish their mission of destroying the secret mid-Atlantic U-Boat base built and run by by Gustav Winter, a reclusive German engineer, disguised beneath his Villa ‘Casa Winter’ on the island…“
Continue reading “Raid On Villa Winter”Latest Ready Made Diecast 1/72 Models
The wealth of ready made diecast style models now is simply amazing. Especially in the 1/72 scale range (and I’m including 1/76 and 1/87 in that statement). I’ve not paid much attention to the scene in recent years, but just recently have been looking at it again, especially with a view to getting back into playing some Crossfire again. One of the semi-recent arrivals is PMA (Precision Model Art) and they are producing some highly detailed models that feature interior detail (such as engines and such). They do a range of very nice historical WW2 German models that include a V-2 Rocket (in 4 variants), 8.8cm FlaK, and several Sd.Kfz 8 Half-Track variants; including one of which is my favourite the 8.8 cm Flak 18 (Sfl.) auf Zugkraftwagen 12t (Sd.Kfz. 8) on the DB9 chassis. They also have some nice vehicle crew sets, German Kubelwagens & Motorcycles, and a nice LRDG Chevrolet Truck. Continue reading “Latest Ready Made Diecast 1/72 Models”
How Not To Play Crossfire Video
Following on from the “Operation Crossfire: Smoke & Close Combat” video is yet another useful introductory video by Nikolas Lloyd, covering How Not To Play Crossfire! This gives a quick introduction to what not to do tactically when playing Crossfire – the rules do not introduce artificial constraints such as arbitrary ranges, so you have to use real-life tactics to be successful… Continue reading “How Not To Play Crossfire Video”
Crossfire Smoke & Close Combat Video
Following on from the “Crossfire: Movement & Reaction” video is another good introductory video by Nikolas Lloyd, covering Smoke and Close Combat in Crossfire. This gives a great quick introduction to basic infantry movement and reactive fire in Crossfire. Continue reading “Crossfire Smoke & Close Combat Video”
Crossfire Movement & Reaction Video
Following on from the “Operation Crossfire: Introducing Crossfire – World War Two Wargaming” video is another good introductory video by Nikolas Lloyd, covering Movement and Reaction in Crossfire. This gives a great quick introduction to basic infantry movement and reactive fire in Crossfire. Continue reading “Crossfire Movement & Reaction Video”
Polish Army Video 1939
Here’s a fantastic video of the Polish Army’s equipment (taken sometime pre-September 1939) showing lots of great shots of things like Bofors 37mm AT & 40mm AA Guns, both types of tanks (the Vickers and the 7TP), Armoured Cars, Infantry & HMG teams, various motorcycles, trucks, half-tracks and fully-tracked tractors (e.g. C2P / C4P / C7P), Skoda 220mm Heavy Howitzers and an Armoured Train! Continue reading “Polish Army Video 1939”