I have just finished painting a platoon of Waffen SS in (mostly) Autumn camouflage. It was quite time consuming but I am happy with the end result. Rather than the usual summer camo, I fancied the autumn look and for them to blend in with my autumn trees that I had made for me by Ralph Spencer.
I originally had a few Artizan figures that I painted in this camo scheme but they were done a couple of years ago using the 'Army Painter Quick Shade' method. When placed next to figures painted in the more traditional method, I felt they no longer reached the muster and had to decide what to do with them?
I did consider selling them and buying some more, or stripping them back to the bare metal and starting again. In the end I decided to cut a few corners and just paint straight over the existing paintwork. I just did the flesh, camo and German grey, followed by a varnish and repainting the base.
A couple of before and after shots, with the army painter figure on the left.
Army Painter.
Repainted.
WIP of the new platoon, these are from Warlord Games, both plastic and metal.
The platoon with the varnish and bases finished.
HQ
Plastic figures from the original infantry set and a sprue from the new Panzergrenadier set.
Metal figures.
And the usual action shots.
The lads came around on Tuesday for a game. Originally it was going to be just an armoured engagement using Chain of Command but as there were now four of us, I decided to do a Big CoC game with a platoon of Infantry and armour on each side. It was a cracking game which went on from 10am until 7.45pm and it was a British victory just. I highly recommend these rules for anyone that hasn't tried them yet.
If you are interested, here is the briefing I sent out to the lads prior to the game.
FALAISE POCKET - BIG CoC
It is mid August 1944 and the Allied armies are attempting to encircle the retreating Germans falling back from Normandy. As the Allies try to close the gap, the race is on and the Germans try to prevent the destruction of what is left of Army Group B, 7TH Army and the Fifth Panzer Army by keeping a corridor open to allow their escape.
The very small part your command will play in this epic event is as follows:
There are two vital crossroads around the area of Flers that have to be kept open or closed, depending on which side you fight for, and so both the British and Germans have rushed forward a fast moving force to achieve their objectives.
Due to the urgency and nature of this engagement to get units to the front, the support options will all be motorised. The infantry platoon attached, has dismounted from their transport and are patrolling the ground looking for a suitable jump off point to engage the enemy and secure their objectives.
This will be scenario 7 ’Attack and Counter- Attack’ from the ’Too Fat Lardies’ Christmas Special 2013.
GERMAN FORCE
1 x platoon of Infantry (Regular:0) (Overall Force Commander)
1 x platoon of StuG IV’s or Panzer IV‘s.
SUPPORT:
1 x Puma
1 x Marder II
1 x Tiger I ( Due to its heavy armour and slow speed, it is only available from turn 2 onwards)
2 x Sdkfz 251’s with a driver and a two man Panzerfaust Team in each. (roll to see if they carry a panzerfaust 60 or 100)
1 x Kubelwagen. This is for the use of the overall force commander. The player controlling the infantry platoon will be able to use his senior leader command activations with any vehicles from the Support list that he takes under his direct command. (He needs to be in the vehicle to use the radio network )
Although he is the Force Commander, he cannot use his CoC dice to influence the Armoured platoon or any vehicle that has been allocated to the armoured platoon from the support list. Vice Versa with the player controlling the armoured platoon, he is unable to use his CoC dice to activate any vehicle or infantry unit under the other players command.
In other words, once a vehicle has been assigned to a platoon (armour or infantry) from the support pool, it is controlled by that players CoC dice only, for the rest of the game.
BRITISH FORCE
1 x platoon of Infantry (Regular:0) (Overall Force Commander)
1 x Troop of Cromwell’s or Sherman’s.
SUPPORT:
1 x Humber A/C
1 x Tetrach light tank
1 x M10 Wolverine
1 x M10 Achilles
2 x Universal Carriers with a driver and a two man Piat Team in each.
1 x Dingo scout car. This is for the use of the overall force commander. The player controlling the infantry platoon will be able to use his senior leader command activations with any vehicles from the Support list that he takes under his direct command. (He needs to be in the vehicle to use the radio network )
Although he is the Force Commander, he cannot use his CoC dice to influence the Armoured platoon or any vehicle that has been allocated to the armoured platoon from the support list. Vice Versa with the player controlling the armoured platoon, he is unable to use his CoC dice to activate any vehicle or infantry unit under the infantry players command.
In other words, once a vehicle has been assigned to a platoon (armour or infantry) from the support pool, it is controlled by that players CoC dice only, for the rest of the game.
TERRAIN.
All buildings are classed as ‘Hard Cover’. (The farmer built that old barn out of railway sleepers.)
All hedges and walls are classed as ’Soft Cover’.
Walls are minor obstacles - discard lower dice.
Hedges are medium obstacles - discard higher dice.
Vehicles crossing walls and hedges, as page 52 in main rule book.
If a tank is fitted with the ‘Culin Prong Hedgerow Cutter’ then it will not become immobilised when crossing a hedge if it rolls a double, roll three dice and discard the lowest.
A couple of pictures of the lads, Dave on the left, he played the Germans with me, and then the victorious British, John in the middle and Steve on the right.
