Sunday 16 February 2014

A DRIVE IN THE COUNTRY- Additional WW2 German support and Chain of Command update.


I have just finished another four vehicles for my WW2 German force, which now brings the tally up to eight.
   











I already had the Panzer IV and three half tracks, I then painted up a troop leaders half track, the SD.KFZ 251/10 (PAK 36) with the fitted anti-tank gun. A Puma armoured car, a Tiger 1 and a Kubelwagen.

 Unfortunately the Kubelwagen arrived without any front doors but I decided it would still be usable, as in a war zone I am sure a lot of vehicles would have been adapted and this one would have the doors left off so the crew could bail out on the hurry up. All the vehicles are from Warlord. 

The Tiger 1 tank commander is a conversion, I had a spare British tank commander, so I chopped his head off and gave the figure a German head from the Warlord plastic infantry box set and then painted him up in appropriate colours.

I also painted up an additional officer for my German platoon, as I may be needing him when I get started with the Chain of Command campaign rules. I also did another German officer as a dismounted tank commander, which may come in handy if the crew have to bail out.

There is also a Panzerschreck team and an additional figure that I painted up for my mortar team. I did this last chap in summer camo, whereas the rest of the crew have the autumn camo. Again, these are all Warlord figures, both plastic and metal.







      
And the usual staged action shots.........

 

 














 











On the Chain of Command front, as I mentioned last week, I played scenario 6, 'Attack on an Objective'. Dave G played the defending side with his Russians, whilst I had my Germans using the Panzer Grenadiers from the list. Maybe I was just lucky with the dice but the two LMG's with each squad and the forward observer with the mortar battery made short work of the Russians, so this week we are going to keep the same scenario and table layout and I will defend with the Germans. This will give the attacking Russians a lot more points to choose from the support list and I will try using a standard German Infantry platoon instead of the Panzer Grenadiers, which will mean only one LMG per squad.

Hopefully this will make a more balanced game for the Russians and if so, I will use the standard German platoon for when we start our campaign. Having said that, I don't think the Panzer Grenadiers are the 'be all and end all' with their two LMG's per squad, as I have played these twice, both as the German and American, against American Paratroopers and they lost on both occasions.

 Having looked at all the different lists that Chain of Command has produced, I think they all have their strengths and weaknesses and this is one of the great things about the rules, they reflect the challenges each of the fighting nations had to deal with and your platoon commander has to step up to the challenge and get on with it. 'All is fair in love and war'.

Here are a couple of pictures of the game from the other week, with Dave's collection of Russians on the defence.
 







     
I also went around to John Warren's place on Friday, where I played yet another game of Chain of Command. This time it was Japanese against Australians. Up until this game, I had not had occasion  to use 'Close Combat' in the rules but with the limited visibility caused by the terrain of the dense jungle, it was 'close combat' after 'close combat' and the rules worked a treat.

 
I have played more games this year than I do normally in a whole 12 months. That has to say a lot about Chain of Command and with their campaign rules now out, I think I will be playing a lot more.
The rematch with the Russians tomorrow.

Cheers,

Pat.


 

25 comments:

  1. Very, very impressive! The additional vehicles all look great. the camo on all of them makes them into a cohesive looking unit, yet such variety of vehicles. Awesome photography and terrain as always! Best, Dean

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  2. Great stuff as always. My wife just ordered me Chain of Command for Valentine's day. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

    Your tables are always an inspiration; and I mean that in the literal sense. Keep it coming.

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  3. Agree with the others the set up is fantastic Pat! a real feast for the eyes!!

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  4. amazing!! how did you get your cobblestone roads?
    M

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  5. Thanks chaps.
    SC Mike, I picked up the cobblestone roads from a trade stand at Salute a couple of years ago but I can't remember the name of them, sorry.

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  6. Your operating at a much higher level than the rest of us mere mortals. Love that jungle terrain.

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  7. Such a joy! More great additions and a fabulous presentation Pat.

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  8. Beautiful stuff. Very impressive.

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  9. Stunning pictures Pat ! You realy spoiling us :)

    Thank you very much !

    Best regards Michael

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  10. Great stuff Pat, as always, stellar work.
    One thing, not sure that's a pak36 on the '251/10'... I think its a 2.8cm sPzB41 anti-tank rifle...

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    1. Thanks again chaps.
      You may be right Scott, I am only going by what was written on the box that it came in?
      Cheers,
      Pat.

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  11. Superb tanks, vehicles and troops Pat!

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  12. As usual simply cracking work on your figures and terrain Pat!

    Christopher

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  13. Excellent! I have enjoyed looking at the great pictures on your blog since I found it a few weeks ago.

    I like the way you have painted your Germans. I am trying to paint a force for CoC myself and I wonder if you could please tell me what colours you used for the green uniforms?

    Thank you very much, and keep up the excellent work!

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    1. Thanks chaps.
      Goerge, I used Vallejo black and German field grey (830) 50/50. Then add more German field grey75% , German field grey on its own, Field grey with ivory mix for final highlight.
      Cheers,
      Pat.

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    2. Thanks, I very appreciate the response. Very useful. I look forward to future updates.
      Thanks.

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  14. Fantastic work on the vehicles Pat! Exceptional photography as usual too!

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  15. Some beautiful vehicles, troops and terrain always love looking to see what new stuff you have on the table..Fantastic thanks Pat

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  16. Very impressive pictures ! Models and scenery are exceptional !

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  17. Absolutely amazing! The AFV's are top of the shelf but your photo setup is truly exceptionel! It almost makes me feel as beeing amidst the battle watching along the barrel of a Kar98.

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  18. Thanks chaps, much appreciated.
    Pat.

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  19. Pat…your terrain is amazing as are your figures…some of the best I've seen anywhere on the blogs

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