A Trench Too Far?

May, 1941, and the Third Reich launches a massive airborne assault of the island of Crete in an attempt to wrest this strategic base just off the coast of mainland Europe. The Fallschirmjager, although successful, would suffer enough casualties to make Hitler wary of using them in this manner again.

Over the last six months, Pete and I have been slowly building our new Bolt Action forces up to allow us to play a series of linked games that featured in Wargames Illustrated #371. As small actions, they gave us realistic targets to aim for, and also helped me to choose what to build (something I struggle with). Also the narrative element is something we’ve really started to enjoy in games of Bolt Action.

The campaign matched perfectly with me starting Fallschirmjager and Pete working on a British force. Admittedly, both our forces are technically in late war uniforms (some of mine are even armed with assault rifles...ignore them), we were using walls and fences to mark a bridge and trench lines, and the less said about the US insignia on the Spitfire the better (it was a random purchase from China, only 1 in 8 was American). However we were all set for our games that centred around Gruppe Buecke actions to take the Tavrontis Bridge and Maleme Airfield from the 22nd New Zealand battalion and RAF 33 Squadron.

Scenario 1: Attack on the RAF Camp

Gruppe Buecke drive across the Tavrontis River and towards a sparsely defended RAF camp. If successful, they would not only drive the British back, but would also capture vital plans left lying around.

The Fallschirmjager firce featured an officer, two small squads, with a third in reserve, and an MMG team (all rated Veteran).

And they were ably assisted by a lone sniper.

Facing them were two squads of New Zealanders (Regular) and two ad hoc groups of RAF ground crew (Inexperienced), one of which was in reserve.

The initial advance of the Fallschirmjager was cautious but positive. A screen of fire from rifles and MGs, ably supported by a strafing run from the Luftwaffe, put numbers of pins on the British units, but didn’t succeed in killing many of them.

However, the return fire was more deadly, as the sniper was killed and both squads took casualties. To add insult to injury, one squad took fright (FUBAR) and retreated to the rear for a time to regroup.

Meanwhile, the Kiwis bolstered their defensive position, whilst RAF crew moved up through the camp in support.



Even with reserves arriving from the rear, the thin German line looked extremely vulnerable as it had no choice but to advance across open ground into the teeth of the enemy, where they took more casualties.



With time running short, and the most advanced squad refusing to move, only the officer and a solitary NCO were in a position to even try to achieve the mission objective, and so a mad dash down the centre was launched.



Unfortunately (or inevitably), both men were killed. This meant that although there were enough Fallschirmjager left to assault the trenches, neither squad would be able to get to the camp.



Simply as a matter of honour, the reserve squad charged and drove an RAF group out of a trench, regaining a modicum of dignity for the misfortune-stricken force. However, they could only look in as the British managed to retrieve the plans before retreating.

We worked out a rudimentary scoring system for the campaign to keep things interesting, and my failure to get close to the camp meant that Pete was now leading 2-0.

In retrospect, I could blame bad luck for the lack of casualties I inflicted, the number of failed orders tests I experienced with veterans, or even the FUBAR that saw one squad run back to the table edge. 

However, in reality, I didn’t get moving quickly enough, I was too cautious and gave Pete too much time to organise his defence. By the time they’d got into assault range, my squads had been shot and pinned to the point of uselessness.

In the next game I’d have to fight my natural instincts and go he’ll for leather towards the enemy.

Scenario 2: Attack on C Company

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Tavrontis Bridge, Gruppe Buecke was also assaulting the Maleme Airfield. C Company of the 22nd Battalion was tasked with holding the trenches against all comers.

The New Zealanders (all Regular) had four squads of varying sizes, with one of the smaller squads held in reserve.

Meanwhile, the Fallschirmjager (Veteran again) had an officer, two larger squads and an MMG team. A smaller squad was also in reserve.

Aware that they needed to get moving, the entire German force move quickly towards the trenches. They took fire, but were aided by another attack from the Luftwaffe that pinned a group of the enemy before they could occupy one of the trenches.

However, the Kiwis were able to point a large number rifles in their direction, but mthe experience of the veteran troops at finding conversion where there was none prevented them taking too many casualties. However, in the chaos, the squad mistakenly opened fire at their own officer (FUBAR, again!), but he wasn’t hurt.

With numbers still intact, a spray of MMG fire kept the heads of the pinned squad down, and left them vulnerable to a surprise attack.

The assault caught the Kiwis flat-footed and saw them wiped out. The successful Germans then consolidated to the safety of the unoccupied trench.

However, the New Zealander’s still had numbers on their side and prepared to launch a series of counter assaults.

The assaults went in, leaving the German officer and one of his squads dead, the Kiwis reduced to two men, but crucially, the British in control of both trenches, with limited time remaining.



However, fate now smiled on the Fallschirmjager. Not only did orders tests get passed and the trench get retaken with minimal casualties, but another attack run from the Luftwaffe wiped out the smaller squads that had been harassing the German flank.



Things looked bleak for the Kiwis. Only four of them remains to hold the last trench. However, pinned by MMG fire, they were unable to resist the assault when it came, and the defensive positions surrounding the Maleme Airfield fell into enemy hands.



For this scenario we’d worked out that each trench was worth one campaign point. This left the score finely poised at 2-2.

I was much happier with my tactics this time, and although I was saved on numbers of occasions (even from my own men) by the extra difficulty of killing veterans, the Fallschirmjager really proved their worth in assault. I was also helped by being able to pass orders tests this time.

The final scenario is worth up to four campaign points and so there’s still all to play for. However, I’m really enjoying these smaller games with specific objectives. We both still need to add a couple of things to our forces before the final game, so it might be a week or two before it happens.

Bringing Knives To A Gunfight

The invasion of Crete is at hand, so it’s time to bring out the...erm...big guns...?

In preparation for Pete and I playing the Invasion of Crete campaign that featured in Wargames Illustrated #371, I’ve set about painting the last few miniatures required for the scenarios against Pete’s British (there’s one against Partisans, but I’ll have to persuade Matt about that).

That meant painting a Light Mortar team, an Anti-Tank Rifle team and a single chap to accompany my sniper.

The Light Mortar will provide a minimal amount of artillery support in the third scenario, which is actually more than Pete gets. I don’t think it will be devastating, but it might allow me to drop smoke as cover.

All of these models are from Crusader Miniatures, and I have to say that they’re not as good as the Artizan Designs miniatures I’ve used so far. All of the prone models have slightly clubbed feet that have been poorly cast. It’s not that obvious, but it’s enough to make me think twice before buying more.

The Anti-Tank Rifle team is a bit of an anachronism as I’ve painted them in later war camo (rather than the earlier plain green), as worn by the Fallschirmjager in Normandy, but the ATR was pretty much obsolete by then.

In the final scenario this will be my only anti-tank weapon when faced with a Matilda II tank! Hopefully it will be enough to hold the monster at bay.

As ever, when I return to my Fallschirmjager, I have to relearn what I did last time to get the colours to match. I really should write it down.

This spotter’s rolled up sleeves betray the fact that the Crusader models are based in early war actions in hotter environments. Although he probably wouldn’t be able to roll up the sleeves of his uniform tunic, I like having the occasional flash of blue in the army, and so I gave him what look like some rather noticeable armbands.

As promised, the tallies are moving in the right direction, it’s almost at a ratio of 2:1...that’s good, isn’t it?

Acquired: 98

Painted: 45

“The future has not been written.”

Given the many and varied futures and pasts presented in the Terminator franchise, it seems I can still somehow manage to stage a scene which didn’t happen at some point.

Future Kyle Reese facing off against the 80’s Terminator.

After a couple of weeks without painting, I’ve returned to Terminator: Genysis because the colour schemes I’ve chosen are really simple and it’s probably my most slapdash project, and so it makes for a quick easy win as I settle into painting again.

Kyle Reese is an official metal miniature from River Horse (via Warlord) which is actually a really nice sculpt. I was surprised to find that it had an integral base as I’ve not bought any of the metal miniatures before. However, a little bit of scenic detail will help me to spot him on the board.

As with he rest of my Resistance, I’ve gone for a simple grey base with a black wash, and then picked out a few details. Metal miniatures suit this method better than plastic as the details are more defined.

My only gripe with this miniature is that hear significantly bigger than the plastic models I already have. For a character, it’s fine, but it’s made me glad I didn’t invest in any of the extremely expensive metal weapons teams.

The ‘Terminator’ is a Reaper Bones miniature I picked whilst in Australia. I think it’s technically meant to be a Mad Max-alike, but it’s suitably Arnie like for my purposes.

I keep nd up being disappointed with Reaper Bones, and this model is no exception. The face lacks definition, there’s a chunky mould line on the far side of the head, and the shotgun is poorl cast. If I’d paid more than a couple of quid for it I’d be annoyed, but I need to learn my lesson and stop buying Reaper Bones as they’re not really a saving.

I may replace the arm holding the shotgun with an endoskeleton arm, however, this would probably stop me from using it as ‘Pops’ or using it as a Road Warrior in games of 7TV...mind you, I have a better miniature for that purpose and so amputation may be imminent.

This is the first positive movement on my tallies for a while, but it’s only fractional as Kyle Reese was actually given to me by Matt in exchange for a billboard I gave him. Even so, this hopefully marks the start of a period of clawing back my totals:

Acquired: 98

Painted: 40

7TV: Pulp Kickstarter

A quick plug for a short Kickstarter being run by Crooked Dice for a small range of miniatures to accompany their forthcoming release of 7TV: Pulp at the UK Games Expo.

There are only twelve miniatures in the Kickstarter and it’s a very simple set up with an all in pledge for all twelve, and then a pledge for just the heroes or just the villains.

All the miniatures have been sculpted by Ernst Veingart and are wonderfully characterful.

The heroes include the Crusading Crimefighter, Renegade Royal, Cynical Gumshoe, Occult Investigator, Intrepid Adventurer and Jungle Paragon.

Several of these are somewhat familiar from texts based in the genre, and my favourite is the Rebegade Royal, reminding me heavily of Princess Aura from Flash Gordon

The villains feature the Ancient Evil, Unholy Cardinal, Degenerate Monarch, Femme Fatale, Kingpin of Crime and Hulking Henchman.

This is the pledge I’ve gone for as the mummy and the priest will work with my Cultist cast (although I am tempted to build a pyramid), and the three on the right form the basis of a gangster cast. I’m not sure what to do with the bird lady, but ‘She’ will certainly find a home in one of my projects - if I didn’t already have one, she’d potentially work as the Sorceress from He-Man.

The Kickstarter only runs until Monday, so you need to move quickly to take advantage. There are, at the time of publishing, already two stretch goals that have been met, which add interesting objective tokens to your pledge.

Go here to find out more.

I’ve backed two Crooked Dice in the last year. Both have been delivered on time and with ta minimum of fuss. I highly recommend this.

New Figs & Chill(con)

Last Saturday saw me heading to the Chillcon show in Sheffield...which was not an arduous trek as that’s where I live.

Unusually, I went to the show alone as my usual band of misfits and miscreants has provided a series of increasingly unlikely excuses: ‘bad back,’ ‘child’s birthday,’ and least plausible of all ‘social life.’

This meant that I was denied the usual show activity of trying to goad other people into spending money. Therefore I endeavoured to goad myself, which was actually tougher than it sounds as I’m in one of those funny phases where there’s not much I actually want that isn’t already waiting to be painted.

Spending money was also made trickier by the fact that some traders who I’d expected to be there (e.g. Crooked Dice) due to their attendance in previous years weren’t. Also others (e.g. Mantic) seemed to have a smaller presence than previously.

I suspect that this is due to the show being quite small and so close to Salute, which I imagine takes a lot of work to prepare for.

There were however a range of other  companies there, including War Banner, who seemed to be sponsoring the show and were demoing Gangs of Rome, and their new Greek game Mortal Gods. In fact the show miniature that I got with my pre-bought ticket is an Ancient Greek. (Top Tip: if you’re going to Chillcon, pre-buy your ticket as it’s cheaper, quicker to get in, and you get free stuff.)

One of the things I like about Chillcon is that there are some small traders that you don really see elsewhere, and the show also acknowledges the fact that role players (and even Larpers!) exist. There is also an awareness that gamers have children and sometimes bring them along.

If I have a gripe about this show, it’s the fact that some features (e.g. the sticker card which you complete with several purchases of £10 or more for free entry to a raffle), although fairly interesting, require you to stay for most of the day to take advantage. To be frank, unless you play every demo game, the show really isn’t big enough to spend several hours at, which means that the spending incentive doesn’t really work.

Having said that, I managed to amuse myself for just over an hour (3 laps) and goaded myself into buying a few things that I’ve pondered for a while:

Kings of War Historical was available at the clearance price of £10, which delighted me as I’d talked myself out of buying it online due to Mantic’s flat £5 shipping.

Campaign: Gigant is the sequel to the Operation Sealion book for Bolt Action, and I complemented this with some Crusader Fallschirmjager from Ainsty Castings.

I also picked up some sabot bases from Warbases for my Sharp Practice force.

Sadly, the free miniature is destined for eBay as I already have a full hoplite army, however, I will add it to some plastics I’m intending to sell.

I also got this chap...

I’ve been hoping to pick one of these up for a while. It’s a pre-undercoated plastic miniature from Wizkids. The detail and casting is excellent, although as you might expect, the gap for that tail will take some filling. It’s also an absolute bargain price given the size of the miniature - drastically cheaper than the same thing would be in resin or metal.

It’s destined for my pulp games, and also a scenario from my supers campaign that I need to get back to.

These purchases, although restrained in the miniatures department, have left the tallies in an even more sorry state. I’m starting to reach the point where I can’t blame Prodos Games for my plight anymore:

Acquired: 97

Painted: 38

All in all it was a good morning out, but I’d hoped that Chillcon would have grown a little in its first three years. I hope it can stay afloat as I like having a local show, and I like shows that are brave enough to try to do things a little differently.

Pimp My Ride

This week I finally started on some of the miniatures that came with the 7TV: Apocalypse Kickstarter.

Starting with the vehicles...

When it came to choosing starter sets to go with my pledge, I opted for the Interceptor kit for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the main difference between 7TV: Apocalypse and the core set is the vehicle rules, and I wanted to take advantage of this. Secondly, the Interceptor came with a bunch of conversion bits that would allow me to tailor it, and possibly other vehicles. Thirdly, and arguably most importantly, it would only add one model to my lead/plastic/resin pile.

In terms of choosing how to set up my Interceptor, my hand was really forced by the first bonus miniature of the Kickstarter looking not unlike the film poster image, along with having seen a replica whilst in Melbourne.

Therefore, I set about using the conversion bits to create something not a million miles away from the last of the V8 Interceptors. This had the added advantage of meaning that there wasn’t that much to do in terms of painting.

The option I went with at rear of the car places my version firmly in Mad Max 2 territory. In terms of painting, I settled with dry brushing as it gave the car a bit of a battered look.

I also picked up a Humvee during the pledge manager stage, with the aim of giving my Resistance a bit of armour. I didn’t worry too much about adding weapons, as conceivably the roof hatch allows for anything to pop out of there.

I did however add a row of lights from the Interceptor kit as the future battles in Terminator (apart from in Salvation) all seem to take place in the dark. Painting wise, this was also extremely simple stuff. 

Although intended for games of Terminator: Genysis, there’s nothing stopping this vehicle turning up in 7TV. In fact the ‘Killbot’ profiles allow for battles between Skynet and humanity in 7TV.

Finally, I also added some guns from the Interceptor set to my alien fuel transport, as I can’t see myself giving the Visitors a Skyfighter any time soon. They are fixed guns which will actually count as hood-mounted in the rules.

So that’s another two added to the painted tally. Sadly, Wargames Illustrated arrived with four Zulus on the cover. However, I can see these getting used in 7TV: Pulp.

Acquired: 78

Painted: 38

I also went to Chillcon at the weekend, but I’ll leave the damage that did to the tallies for another post.

Unwelcome Visitors?

Unwelcome? Quite the opposite. This is the 7TV cast I always wanted but didn't realise until they became available.

The Visitors from ‘V’.

One of the abiding memories of my childhood was in the summer of 1984 or 85 (whichever year it made it to British TV) and the Cheaphammer clan were due to head off on holiday, starting with a long drive to Portsmouth to catch the ferry to Normandy. 

However, we delayed setting off (later forcing a frankly dangerous level of speed from my dad) as we were completely hooked on ‘V’, and the final two hour episode was being broadcast that night.

Such luxuries as Sky+ or catchup were not even imagined, and nobody in the early 80s ever trusted their VHS recorder to do anything other that miss the programme and record Ceefax instead.

A bleary eyed little me watch with mounting joy as the heroic resistance pulled off a classic bait and switch to successfully drive the reptilian aliens off the face of the Earth once and for all...well, at least until the TV series began.

7TV thrives on this sort of nostalgia, and so when these aliens were revealed as a stretch goal in the 7TV: Apocalypse Kickstarter I got very excited. Even though they weren’t unlocked in the campaign, they were put into production anyway and I was able to pick them up at Vapnartak.

Let’s begin with two regular Visitor troopers. I stole an idea from someone else on the 7TV Facebook group to put them in the black armoured vests rather than the plain orange. 

This is partly because it gives more uniformity, but also because the female Visitor reminds me very much of resistance leader Julie Parish when she’s disguised during the recon of the water pumping plant, and I wanted to break that mental link for myself and have this model just be a regular Visitor.

Next up are two Visitor shocktroopers, the armoured fist of the invasion. I’ve always liked the design of these uniforms and I’m likely to buy a few more. The only slight hiccup is that the Alien Spearhead unit card inly allows for one shocktrooper per unit.

As ever, the camera on my phone proves much better than my own eyes and has shown up parts of the helmet that need touching up as the red undercoat (more on that in a bit) I used is showing through.

I’d assumed that this model was based on either Pamela from V: The Final Battle, or Lydia from V: The Series. Both were domineering, power hungry women who tanged with the main antagonist, Diana. Despite the links to these two, this model lacks the command insignia and so I’ve kept the model in the plain orange (rather than trooper black) to keep my options open.

On the subject of the uniforms, there is some debate about whether to paint them red or orange. I’ve decided to go with orange on the grounds that the uniforms were actually orange. :)

In my quest to get the right colour I took the unusual step of starting with a red undercoat, then did the orange basecoat and gave it a Agrax Earthshade (liquid talent) wash. After picking out the black elements I gave the whole model a very light drybrush of pale grey. This was finished off with a yellow wash which turned the grey from dusty looking to highlights and gave the dulled down orange a bit more strength. I’m really quit happy with how the colour has come out.

John, the Supreme Commander is an excellent sculpt, with a jowly face perfectly capturing the original character. I copped out a bit with the rank insignia with relying on highlighting black rather than doing actual stripes.

Similarly, I’ve bottled doing the Visitor logo on the troopers’ hats and chests. My eyesight is not great and I don’t want to worry to much about messing up freehanding.

On the subject of my eyesight, I need to revisit a couple of bits on John’s belt and brighten up the orange in places. He’s probably the model I’m least happy with.

This one makes me smile because it’s clearly based on Marc Singer, the ‘actor’ who played Mike Donovan, the star of the show. It makes me smile because the sculpt is so good that there’s no hiding who it’s meant to be.

Whenever I use it I’ll always think that he’s about to turn on them (at least the Questionable Ally trait makes sense) and I’ll always be reminded of his completely hammy acting.

Finally is the model I’m most proud of, Diana, the villainous mastermind of the invasion as she appears at the end of the original miniseries when the attack on the resistance camp is drive off, complete with torn face.

This is a great sculpt and I’m really proud of how she’s come out and she’s a fitting star for my cast (even though John was in charge, Diana was the star). Although these models were released with 7TV: Apocalypse, ‘V’ seems to fit with the core box better and I’ve already identified the Otherworldly Invader profile for her as the Alien Duplicate special effect handily reflects the conversion process she uses to create spies.

 I’ll finish this tour of the cast with a gratuitous shot of Jane Badler’s bum - something that’s totally in keeping with the show.

This also allows me to focus on the basing, which was simply done with some asphalt flock I had knocking about. I went for this partly because the Visitors always seemed to spend time in car parks, but also because it was much easier than going for spaceship interiors.

I’ve also painted up a Sloth Fuel Crawler from Ainsty Castings that I won as a prize at the first Wargames Illustrated 7TV day I went to. In all honesty I’ve messed this up a couple of times with overdoing the spray paint, and the sculpt itself is a bit rough and ready (I sense it was donated as a prize because of this) so I’ve been very simplistic in how I’ve painted just to get it out if the queue as it’s begun to annoy me.

I’ll mainly use this as terrain in sci-fi games like Necromunda, but I can easily see it as a transport for the mysterious chemical the Visitors manufacture as a cover for their real reason for coming to Earth.

We’re moving in the right direction again with my tallies, but worryingly I’m going to Chillcon next weekend...

Acquired: 74

Painted: 36