Quick little update. I have begun work on a Soviet Army just in time for the new rule book. Going for a massed troop list with dog mines, heavy machine guns and loads of SMGs.
For starters I have done a basic 1k list and started on my Zis3 and dog mines...
Enjoy.
Hi guys,
A quick update from my American Bolt Action force...
I have finished my 1/48 scale M8 Greyhound and painted it up. I base coated in black then hit the top with white to give the next base coat some fading. Avoiding olive drab as I much prefer the dark green look, which is pretty close anyway once olive drab weathers, so I used gw spray paint dark angels green then dry brushed a few times with a touch of olive drab and military green. Added some rust, weathering and mud and I am a happy camper.
I have also done a test model for my infantry and to keep me from spending too long on each model I basically primed white then gave myself for 5 minutes to paint all the base colours on. I am relying on the two washes to bring in the details. The first a heavy red-brown then a black. I will go back and highlight the flesh and paint weapons to finish it off but I am pleased with the result.
I am hoping to batch paint these in large batches to get them done. I will do a more detailed post and list my colours etc when I do.
I also have an M4 Sherman to put together. Again, it is 1/48 scale and I will do a review of the kit when I assemble it and post it up.
Photos below!
Happy Gaming.
Capt Tycho.
Hi guys,
I had my first game of Bolt Action last night pitting my American force against a German force. We went infantry heavy at 500 points a side and we got in two games in 4 hours and we both loved it.
The things we like:
1) Order Dice mechanic - is amazingly simple and keeps the pace flowing much more realistically than the you go I go mechanic of the likes of 40k. If you are unfamiliar with Bolt Action, for each unit in your army you get a coloured dice, yours and your opponents dice go into a bag and you draw a dice randomly. The owner of the drawn dice then gets to activate a unit. This continues until all the dice are used then you put all the dice back in the bag and the next turn starts.
Each unit can be told to advance (move and shoot), run (double more and assault or just double move), Fire (stand still and fire), Ambush (Overwatch), Down (Go to ground) and Rally (pass test and remove D3+1 pin markers).
It sounds too simple doesnt it? However, in game it is quite tense while you decide which unit to activate. Do you gamble you will get the next dice of do you really not want to activate yet to see what your opponent does? Either way its one of the best things in the game!
2) Simple weapon stats - All weapons fall into specific groups. That have the same range, dice and penetration. No paragraphs of rules or AP or blast markers which means no looking up every time you fire and you know exactly what each of you enemies weapons can do meaning you dont get caught out by not knowing your opponents army book inside out.
Basically you have:
small arms (can not hurt armour) - smgs (sub machine gun), pistols, rifles, assault rifles, light machine guns, medium machine guns.
Anti Tank (can hurt armour) - light AT (anti tank) gun, medium AT gun, heavy AT gun, bazooka, AT rifles and so on.
In the rule book every weapon from every army is listed in one small table. They are able to do this because as an example a Thompson machine gun is an SMG as is its German equivlant the Maschinenpistole 35. Both very different weapons in real life but both SMGs so they get the same stats. Simples.
3) Pinning - When your unit is hit by an enemy unit it receives a pin maker. This reduces the squads leadership by 1 for every pin marker. When a unit needs to take a test. For example if a unit has at least one pin on it then it must test before it is issued an order and is this is failed the unit instead goes down. Meaning they do nothing.
For example a squad of regular troops have a leadership of 9. They have 3 pin markers and we want to tell them to Fire. To issue the order we must roll under their leadership on 2D6 as we are pinned. So we have leadership 9 - 3 pins = 6 is required. Other modifiers an effect this like being within 6" of a command section (+1 or +2 etc to leadership) but pinning a unit is massive in this game and it plays well.
It is what wins and loses you the game.
4) Three leadership values for everything - Again a simple case of selecting if you want to take inexperianced (leadership 8), Regular (leadership 9) and veteran (leadership 10). All units have to be selected as one of the above with incremental points. The leadership values also dictate how easy or hard it is to wound said unit. So you can have few veteran units (and dice) or you can go nuts with loads of cheap inexperianced units (and dice). Most people will find a happy medium.
5) No damn tables to consult - to work out the to hit and to wound rolls. To hit a unit is very much like 2nd edition 40k. Its a basic roll of 3+ with modifiers such as over half range +1, soft cover +1 and hard cover +2. We found most shots were needing 5's to hit as we both hugged cover. Simple and clear.
The to wound roll is even easier! This goes off the infantry leadership. Inexperianced are hit on 3+, regular on 4+ and veterans on 5+.
For vehicles you roll to penetrate instead and this is easy as each vehicle is given an armour value. As an example: jeeps and trucks are +7, small tanks, +8, medium tanks +9 and heavy tanks +10. All weapons are given penetration values which is added to a D6 to work out penetration.
So rifles have no penetration values so to damage a Sherman medium tank we get a d6 for each hit and this value is compaired to the tanks armour value which is 9. You cant pen or glace it.
Same example only a bazooka team is firing which has a penetration value of 5 means we get D6+5 to penetrate. So a Sherman is glanced on a 4+ and 5+ is a pen.
6) Close Combat - is risky, bloody and decisive. There are combat phases. Much like 40k. However, there is no initiative so the attacker goes first. There is no rolling to hit so you simply roll one dice for each member of the squad unless there are any assualt weapons which add an extra dice. You then roll to wound like you would shooting. So 3,4 or 5 depending on the leadership of the troops being attacked. Models are removed and the defender attacks. Count the number of casulties each side and if its a draw (i.e equal number of casulties) then do another round until there is a winner. The loser is destroyed. Awesome.
7) No pre-measuring. Ever. So no procrastinating over endless placement. God that irritates this crap out of me in 40k. Just move your damn dudes! Aaaaaaaagh! Ahem. Sorry.
Things we didnt like:
1) Rulebook - As this is the first edition and we have to be realistic BUT with such heavy weights of the gaming world behind it I would of thought we would have something a bit easier to find specific rules. Its well written but finding rules specific to what you encounter is difficult. The summary at the back helps but endlessly searching for something really held up our games.
The problem with the rulebook is an easy fix. Having more than one place for a rule to be means endless flicking from section to section. Hopefully, this will be address in the 2nd edition.
2) Scenarios - Id like more ways to play the game. More ways to setup and more missions would be cool. I have to give 40k the edge here. Multiple deployment and missions make for more varied games and Id think the missions in the book would only keep us interested so many times.
3) The fact its not 40k.
Overall thoughts:
Bolt action is a triumph and even us hardcore 40k players found its approach simple yet incredably fun.
There is alot to be said for a simple game that demands such a high level of stratagy. I know some people wont understand it and claim it is too random. My counter to this is chaos. A battle is chaos. Its random. Its bloody and thanks to Bolt action its damn good fun to dip into.
Happy gaming,
Capt Tycho
Hi guys,
Another quick one (I know the hobby is flowing at the moment). I have been working on some non-40k terrain to prep for my first bolt action game.
I have decided to work on a few buildings first. I printed off some brick patterns off the internet and applied this to some foam board. Nice and easy start. I got the patterns from a brill site called paper brick (http://paperbrick.co.uk/).
Stuck together with a hot glue gun i had the basic shape. After that I added some balsa wood for the details. I need to base and paint it up but here is a work in progress...
Happy Hobby
Capt Tycho
Hi guys,
A quick update for you. I managed to get my p51 painted for Bolt Action. I trawled through the internet looking for a suitable colour scheme. I am happy with how it turned out.
Check out the photos below.
Happy hobby
Capt Tycho
Hi guys. After much thought, and reading reviews for Warlord Game's Bolt Action, I have taken the leap and decided to get into it.
For the muggles out there Bolt Action is a platoon based 28mm scale game set during World war 2.
After speaking with my friend Alex (who is doing a German force) I decided on doing an American Force. What can I say I loved Band of Brothers, Fury and the M1 Garand.
After having a read of various theatres I decided on basing my force around Patton's 3rd Army. Specifically the 5th Infantry Division "Red Devils" & support from the 7th Armored Division "Lucky Seven". Both saw action together in Europe and the Red Devils have a red diamond unit badge which will be easy to replicate on the helmets.
So here is my list...
5th Infantry Division "Red Devils" & 7th Armored Division "Lucky Seven" (999pts)
Armies of the United States (Allies) Headquarters (188pts)
Air Forward Observer (85pts)
Platoon Commander (103pts)
First Lieutenant
1st Platoon - 1st Rifle Squad - Veteran Infantry Squad (75pts)
Veteran NCO with Garand Rifle
2x Veteran Soldier with Garand Rifle
2x Veteran Soldier with Bar M1918A2
1st Platoon - 2nd Rifle Squad - Veteran Infantry Squad (78pts)
Veteran NCO with smg
2x Veteran Soldier with Garand rifle
2x Veteran Soldier with Bar
2nd Platoon - 1st Rifle Squad - Regular Infantry Squad (118pts)
Regular NCO with Smg
9x Regular Soldier with Garand rifle 1xRegular Soldier with Bar
2nd Platoon - 2nd Rifle Squad - Regular Infantry Squad (118pts)
Regular NCO with smg
·9x Regular Soldier M1 Garand rifle
1x Regular Soldier with Bar
1st Platoon - Bazooka Team (60pts)
1st Platoon - Sniper Team (52pts) [2x Pistol, Regular (52pts)
"Alfie" - M8 Greyhound (110pts) [Coaxial MMG, Regular (110pts), Turret Mounted Light AT Gun]
"Apollo" - M4 Sherman 75MM (200pts) [Coaxial MMG, Forward Facing Hull Mounted MMG, Pintle-Mounted MMG (360) (15pts), Regular (185pts), Turret Mounted Medium AT Gun]
Thats the list done now its time to order some models. We have decide to use Warlord Games infantry but avoid using the tanks as they are 1/56 scale and look (to me) to be too small next to the heroic 28mm infantry models. Tamiya do a range of 1/48 scale which will suit the scales better. We think.☺
The box sets from Warlord are fantastic value. I got two boxes of infantry for £22 each. Each box contains 25 infantry and ALL the options to make hq, snipers, BARs (Browning Automatic Rifles), Bazooka teams. Loads of arm options, weapons and equipment. I also picked up a forward air observer which was a metal miniature but what I was not expecting was 2 other guys in the set to represent the runners. Amazing value for £6! Yes GW £6 for 3 miniatures remember them days? Not £18 for 1! Ahem.
So I got the them assembled and primed ready for some paint.
Below is a few photos of my progress. Including a P-51 Mustang my daughter (14 months) picked for me. Its 1/72 scale but this will represent incoming air craft as American Air Observers have a rule which means they can call TWO air strikes per game which is awesome.
There is also a photo of my daughter Robin playing with her Dads new toys.... monkey!
Next up terrain...
Hi there. I have recently blown the dust off my paints and jumped straight into painting a new unit of Blood Angel Terminators. I decided to do glowing eyes on them and experimented with a few different techniques and below is the fastest way I found.
Glazes take too long but do look cool but I wanted a faster, easier and more striking technique. The method below takes no time at all... enjoy!
(Photos below)
Step 1: Choose colours
You must go for a contrasting colour. I.e do not do red eyes on a red marine! A colour wheel can help pick a suitable colour if you are stuck but as a quick guide I would do red eyes for dark models. So your blacks, purples, greens and blues basically and green eyes for your reds and yellows. Blue eyes go very well with white or greens. There are cross overs as well. For example yellow marines look good with red or green eyes. Its all down to the rule of cool.
For this example I used green for my Blood Angels. You will need two colours of your chosen colour. A very dark base colour and a mid tone.
I went with GW Caliban Green and GW Moot Green. You will also need a white.
Step 2: Base
For this step you need to first block in the entire lense in your base colour. Once this is done (be brave) you need to literially paint a ring around the lense. This is the base of the glow. Be sure to hit the raised areas such as the cheeks as these would naturally catch the glow.
Step 3: 50% Base + 50% mid tone
Now you want to mix a 50/50 mix of your base colour and mid tone. You want a nice heavy milk like consistancy. Slightly thicker than a "normal" for painting. You need it this way for control.
Again block the entire lense with this mix then again ring the outside of the lense. Be sure to leave a ring of the dark colour at the edge. This gives you the start of your gradient.
Step 4: Mid tone
Using pure mid tone colour. Again, block the lense and do the smallest ring possible around the lense leaving a thin band of the previous colours on the outer edges.
Step 5: 50% Mid tone + 50% white
Now mix together a 50/50 mix of your mid tone colour and white. This now needs to be applied in a thin band inside the lense leaving a ring inside the lense showing the previous step colour. For the Terminators I did a thin line inside the lense.
You could stop here and you would have a cool looking glow effect but to really kick ir up a gear...
Step 6: Pure White
Using a very fine brush you need to place a spot 2/3rds of the way up the lense of white. This really makes the effect pop if done well. Hold your nerve and give it a go.
Happy Hobby!
Capt Tycho
Hi guys, a quick update after a fairly long hiatus! I have been working on converting the new Guiliman model from Forgeworld into Rogal Dorn. Primarch of the Imperial Fists Legion.
I have included a photo of the Forge world painted model so you can spot the changes made.
Next up painting!
Enjoy!
