Saturday 28 November 2015

GERMAN REINFORCEMENTS & NEW CoC BASES.

I have recently finished a couple of batches of German Infantry and first up are some 'Wargames Foundry' German Sentry's. I will be using these to guard a high ranking German Officer who happens to be visiting a certain Chateau in an upcoming game. I just need to get the Commando's finished off and work out some spotting rules for the sentry's.


   
The main man himself is from Artizan Miniatures. I painted him ages ago but it was done using 'army painter' and I thought as he will be the main character, he needed a repaint. I didn't strip the paint back to the bare metal but just repainted straight over the top and re varnished. 

 Inspecting the guard. What has that man got in his mouth!

The second batch of figures are 'Warlord Games' Blitzkrieg Infantry and I ordered the plastic sprue which contains 6 x figures. I needed 4 x rifle armed Junior Leaders and a couple of extra infantry to give me 4 x squads of 10 x men.

In 'Chain of Command' the German 1940 and 1941 lists vary in that the 1940 Junior Leaders are rifle armed and the 1941 are SMG armed.

The new sprue of 4 x NCO's and 2 x riflemen.

  
Rifle armed Junior Leaders on the left and SMG leaders on the right.
 
 
The 4 x squads with both sets of leaders.
 
I also painted up the couple of extra crew that came with the 'Die Waffenkammer'  Marder II that I had painted a while ago. With this kit, you get 2 x early war and 2 x late war crew. I have based the spare crew so that they can help out manning an ATG.
 
 
Playing 'Chain of Command', you need to mark each squad/team as it picks up 'shock'. A lot of gamers, myself included, do this by placing little dice behind the unit with the number on the dice, indicating how many points of shock is on the squad/team. A couple of lads from the other blogs have used 'dice wells' on a base with a casualty figure which looks much better and I have copied this.  
 
I have also started basing my LMG teams with 2 x figures on a base and setting the 'dice well' into this base, so as to reduce the extra number of casualty bases/dice trailing the squad/team.
 
I have been preparing a new platoon of German Infantry in winter gear and I have based all the LMG's with 2 x figures to a base.
 
Whilst I was at it, I have been basing my Senior and Junior Leaders with 'dice wells' built into the base, so I can indicate with a dice, when the leader has picked up a wound. I use a black dice for this
(red dice for shock). The Leaders are based on hexes, with Senior Leaders on slightly bigger bases than junior leaders, to make it easier to spot on the table who is who.
 
I have also given my support weapons 'dice wells' which can be used for various things such as casualties, if you have more than one figure built into the base, ammo supply (3 x rounds for a bazooka) or the usual shock marker.
 
With this HMG team, there are 3 x figures on the base, so the black dice will indicate how many figures are casualties (with CoC, this would be a 5 x figure team) and the red dice will indicate how many points of shock are on the unit.

 
Because the 'dice wells' are built into the base, I don't think they spoil the look of the figure when there are no dice attached, and when there is, it looks a lot neater and less confusing than having lots of dice scattered all over the table. 
           
A Panzerschreck team with the green dice to indicate how many of his 3 x rounds that he has used.
 
and without the dice.
 
The 'Dice Wells' have been out a little while now and nothing new.  As I picked up some hex bases from 'Warfare' recently, for my leader bases, I thought I would incorporate the 'wells' into these and my support bases and help to tidy up my game. 
 
Back at the Ranch, or rather Chateau.............................................................................................

 
Stop shining that bloody torch in my face!



 It's bloody freezing up here, I can't feel my hands Hans.
 
British Bulldog meets German Shepherd.
 
And a thank you to Adam Clark if you are reading this, for buying my Napoleonic's. I hope you like them.   

34 comments:

  1. beautiful as always mate! love the way you have made the dice wells, great idea!

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  2. Top notch pictures, outstanding details as always...

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  3. Thanks chaps.
    Steve, the 'dice wells' as casualty markers have been around for a while now, I just thought there is more scope for them, depending on what rules you use.

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  4. Excellent stuff again Pat! I have never been a great fan of coloured markers and the like but they are becoming more common. I think the secret is to make them as simple to use and not too obvious as possible. I think you have nailed it Pat!

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    1. If you are reading this Roger, just to let you know my network freezes whenever I try to leave any feedback on your blog.
      If any blogger can pass this message on to Roger for me, would be appreciated.

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  5. Realy stunning work !!! Always a source of inspiration ! Looking forward to the AAR :)

    I have a hard time Se the use of dices and other unpainted counters on a gaming table, think it ruins the look of minis and terrain. Still i understand the need for it in some games... Hard to solve in a good way... Maybe if one used painted dice or diceformed wooden boxes with black dotts om so they blend in with the terrain and minis, like ammo boxes?

    Best regards Michael

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    1. Hi Michael, I guess it comes down to what rules are being used. Good ideas with ammo boxes.

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  6. Quite wonderful work all around, especially the Artizan officer. I've been coveting that casting for my own project.
    I am glad to see the Foundry Sentinels look so good, I've also got them n my wish list.
    I am very curious about the chateau and the fencing/gate - is it scratch built or commercially available?
    Best,
    Michael

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    1. Thanks Michael. The Chateau is a laser cut building made by Sarissa Precision. The fencing/gate I picked up from ebay. It is plastic and I think it was meant for a larger scale.

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  7. The awesomeness continues! :-)

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  8. I need lessons on how this is done. Incredible work.

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  9. I can't tell you just how inspirational your work is to me Pat, absolutely brilliant.

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  10. They look excellent! I love those Foundry figures.

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  11. Awesome work... yet again! ;o)
    As others have said -> inspirational!!!!
    I'll be very interested in the rules for sentries.
    Cheers
    Matt

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  12. Wow that looks superb in all its glory. The force looks fantastic and the sentries look cracking.

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  13. Fantastic yet again Pat! I love all the extra details which you use to tell your stories. Outstanding!!

    Christopher

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  14. Wonderful post yet again Pat. Very much like the look of the dice wells and the fact that are so functional in a game like CoC makes that evn more so. Getting that mix "just right" on the wargames table is a dificult task and I think you have nailed it.

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  15. Great sentries. With your scenery it it a dream for gaming a commando. Look forward to the report!
    Markers on the table are needed and there will always be a trade off between visuals and them being easy to use. Everyone has has their own prefereces. I prefer not to have dice or other non painted plastics as I think they are too much in contrast to the table and miniatures. But if dice are to be used I think integrated dice wells are a preferable sollution. /Mattias

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  16. Excellent work Pat, great paint work, on the Germans and love your attention once more to detail, especially the faces of the Germans standing in line and the German officer. As I view close ups of the Infantry more great terrain detail keeps popping up ,
    I have also been toying around with ways to indicate, Leaders loss of Command Initiatives, loss of Activation for a game turn, out of ammo (HE) for Brits 2” mtr and Infantry Anti tank weapons , FO wounds and markers for vehicles. Hope to finalise them in the not too distant future.

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  17. Great painting work, great. Really inspirational. The dice well system is a very good idea, really clean for the game table.

    Have you read the sentry rules in "Black Ops"?

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  18. Thanks very much chaps, glad you like.
    Juan, I haven't tried 'Black Ops' but I have a couple of ideas so it should be okay.

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  19. More outstanding figures for an already outstanding collection.

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  20. Hi Pat - what size are the dice wells and where do you get them please?

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  21. Stunning as usual Pat! Those guards are bloody awesome and again it shows your attention to little details which make your tables stand out. Most others (me included) probably would have done with regular 'fighting' miniatures for guards. The dice 'wells' are a neat idea. Personally I hope one day someone will do a decent set of rules without the need for dice or other paraphernalia cluttering up the table.
    As to your Chateu it looks awesome with all the sentries around. Looking at the pics my only (very) minor quibble would be the missing window glass.

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    1. Thanks Nic.
      I have some acetate left over from doing the TFL's and Warbases greenhouse, so maybe I should pull my finger out and do the window glass on the Chateau.

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  22. Wow, the figures and also the terrain look great.

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  23. Great Looking Figures. Splendid Table Top.
    Magic comes to mind. Beano Boy

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  24. Great Looking Figures. Splendid Table Top.
    Magic comes to mind. Beano Boy

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