Thursday, 6 August 2015

WW2 German Autumn Camouflage.


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.


  



 

 
 

29 comments:

  1. Fantastic post Pat - great work on the camo and then to see the great figures on a great table is a real treat for all oif us. Good to see CoC is working well and I am very keen to learn more about the use of additional armour in the game. My first impressions were that it was an infantry based system but you seem to be disproving thus with your sensational games.

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  2. Brilliant - those repaints are very effective, and the photography is lush as always. Very nice.

    Warburton

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  3. Fabulous brushwork as always, Pat. The camo is superb as well as the photography and narrative. First class!

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  4. Stunning paint work !!!

    Love your action picture, they are always so, so good !

    Looks like you had a really nice game on you exellent terrain.

    Best regared Michael

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  5. Repaints are outstanding and the game looks perfect! Man, all that work you've put into your terrain has paid off - top notch! Love the action shots, something I need to start doing myself ...

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  6. Excellent work on the mini's and that table it's so very cool

    Ian

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  7. Absolutely superb Pat, I admire your dedication in going back and re-doing the miniatures. They results speak for themselves, a triumph Sir.

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  8. Fantastic, truly fantastic. Your painting work is wonderful!!! I have painted one of my Waffen SS figure in autumn cammo smock, and I like a lot this scheme.

    That gaming table is really nice.

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  9. The terrain, the figs etc...Stunning..That isn´t a game..it´s a moving Diorama with rules!! There´s only one Thing missing..the Sound.
    The repainted figs..way way way better with the traditional method. Funnily enough, I´ve added to a thread on a Forum where AP has been (lazily IMHO) suggested as a way to improve someones paintjob. Ok..it may improve the actual paintjob but not the persons painting technique.

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  10. Great work on the figures Pat. Thanks for the inspirational photos too!

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  11. Excellent paintjobs. Game sounds like it was a corker!

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  12. Yeah! A new entry! My day is made! :)

    Again, fantastic stuff!

    I too am looking for a different way to go with my SS Platoon. I recently found out that 12th SS was in the Italian Camo pattern at Normandy, so I'm going to go with that. Should be easier to paint too... :)

    Thanks again!

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  13. The results certainly are well worth the effort Pat! Your SS looks awesome.

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  14. These look fantastic and bravo for returning to spruce up old work.

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  15. Lovely stuff Pat. Those figures look so much better.

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  16. Great work Pat, the officer looks suitably gaunt and looks like a real vet.
    Cheers
    Stu

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  17. Wow. Stunning. As you know I have a soft spot for an autumn theme and you have made it to perfection. Very inspiring!
    And that game looks great!
    /Mattias

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  18. Up to the usual very highest standard. Brilliant job.

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  19. Outstanding work and unique pictures. Top notch as usual, Pat.

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  20. Pat, these look fantastic. I love the work you've done on these - the colours, the camuoflage patterns, and the winter themed basing. I think there's something special about wargames set in Autumn....the colours always make the terrain look really special.

    I think these figures are just wonderful, and fit the terrain you've created perfectly. Awesome work!

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  21. Thanks for your very kind remarks chaps.

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  22. Wonderful stuff! Always overwhelmed by all the great pictures. Love the autumn camo scheme. Starting Bolt Action myself, and trying to tackle the Fallschirmjager camo as my first go. :/

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  23. Top notch minis and pictures, as always...thanks for sharing Pat!

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  24. They look fantastic mate, the camo, colour palette, and the basing all give them a fantastically wintery feel.

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  25. This is amazing stuff. Thanks for the pics and the write up!

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  26. WoW! What a stunning looking table Pat and there Germans came out great! Gaming at it's best!

    Christopher

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