Operation Overlord Starts Sunday!

The fight for France is on at Overlord.WWPD.Net! 

Need help choosing a scenario? Check out this compiled list of suggested scenarios right here!

So get in those gliders, or landing craft and get ready to take the fight to Jerry!

Sign Up: Here
FAQ: Here

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Bolt Action - Dog Mines and Flags

I picked up a blister pack of Celtic War Hounds and box of plastic Soviet Siberians from Warlord with the intention of making Dog Mines and flushing out more Soviets.  I had two flag poles in my bit box, left over from some 28mm Napoleonic figures, so I decided to make a couple figures sporting the Hammer and Sickle.  

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Peter Pig Vietnam Civilians

Back in march having just picked up Tour of Duty and having a quick scan through I decided I needed some resistance teams.

Off I trot to the Peter Pig stand at the WMMS and bought 3 packs of civilians. A pack of male civilians, pack of female civilians and a cart. All packs cost £2.80.

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News From the Front Episode 59

Download News From the Front Episode 59 

The dudes are back in action and ready to roll!  We discuss our recent gaming and painting, Operation Overlord, Historicon, and the Huzzah Hobbies tournament.  In Act III, the guys followup the commonly overlooked rules to discuss the effects of pinning, spearhead, and capturing objectives.

Download After Hours 59!
The dudes talk about their careers filming commercials, and running trains.  In tournaments.

Edit: The WWPD Operation Overlord Campaign reward will be rewarded to participants after submitting 5 battle reports, rather then early signups. The podcast is recorded weeks in advance and the terms were still being discussed with Battlefront.

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Bolt Action - Dirty Jon's Black Tree Design Germans

I just HAD to get some infantry to go along with the Tiger, right?  I loved my 29th Infantry from Black Tree Design, so I went ahead and picked up some Germans at a 'uge discount.  I will now have two armies for Bolt Action.

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Building Lists Without Recon

So new book ABC with list XYZ you always wanted to run just came out - but low and behold your most favoritest and bestest list doesn't have a Recon Platoon slot.

While there has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth over this and there is no 'true' replacement for a good reconnaissance platoon, this article will examine the capabilities of a recon platoon and how to replicate those effects with non-recon units.

Please note this may require you to build your list in a way that you had not originally intended, but will provide a more well-rounded solution in a general tournament environment. It's also important to mention some army lists do not have the options to provide even these 'secondary recon' elements - I'm looking at you RT Panzer-brigade.

What do you mean I have to buy four 8-Rads?

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Company of Heroes 2 Multiplayer

w/ Darqueling and Kerghun (WWPD World of Tanks) and Judson (WWPD Bolt Action Radio)

Company of Heroes 2 is a World War II real-time strategy game that focuses on the Eastern Front being developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sega. It is due out June 25th and can be purchased on a majority of outlets.  

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Review: Flashpoint Miniatures Vietnamese Huts and Palm Trees

Flashpoint Miniatures is an Australian wargame company that makes 15mm miniatures for Vietnam War and Modern Middle East conflicts.  Their Vietnam ranges not only includes a variety of troops and vehicles, but also terrain.  I recently picked up two sets of five huts for $25 a set and two packs of 24 palm trees for $15.  That gave me 10 huts and 48 palm trees for $80.

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Bolt Action - Review: Tamiya 1/48 Scale 88mm Flak 36

Tamiya has long been know as one of the best model kit markers in the industry.  Their highly detailed kits come in a variety of scales and rarely disappoint.  I picked up an Tamiya 1/48 scale 88mm Flak 36 for Bolt Action the other day and plan on putting it to good use.

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Operation Overlord: Battlefront give away Doodlebugs!

From the Flames of War website:

It is a little over one week till the WWPD Operation Overlord Campaign kicks off and we want to see as many of our Flames Of War players getting involved! Sign up for the campaign and submit five or more results and you’ll receive a plastic V-1 Flying bomb as seen in the Open Fire! box set and the German Scientist and Camera man figures as our gift to you for participate in this exciting event. Make sure you add your address details when you sign up (or add them if you have not already) so we know where to aim the V-1...

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Dirty Jon's Latest Tank Adventures

I have been putting together some rather random stuff lately - the tremendous backlog that I have built up over the years has a wide range of stuff!  This will be a short look at some of my latest projects.

Guards Armour

Over the years, I somehow picked up two of the Cromwell Armoured Platoon (BBX12) box sets.  I got these sets, even though I already had and entire Welsh Guards Company....and had already sold a complete Welsh Guards Company a few years ago.  What was I thinking?  The Guards Armoured was one of the first lists I really went after and painted over time.  I had not achieved a consistent look to the tanks and I had messed up the decals and marking more than once.  Instead of flipping the box sets, I went ahead and painted both up.

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Papercraft: Bocage (Free Download!)

Papercraft: Bocage

Operation Overlord is nearly upon us! But there is still some time for preparation.

Continuing on from my previous article with my Normandy themed buildings, I have created another paper-craft template that will allow anyone who is short on cash or short on time to quickly assemble a Normandy themed terrain table.

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Warlord Games Sarge Program

(Hey gang, Mike Majors from Warlord Games asked me to pass on a little message for you. We've recently had a lot of constructive conversation on the forums about the game's local popularity. If you're one of the people that would like to play more Bolt Action, but don't yet have a community in your area, then I think this is the program for you. - Judson)

We are looking for a few good men…and maybe some women

               Do you have what it takes to join the ranks of Warlord Games elite fighting force? The Sarge program is looking for individuals with the knowledge, skill and desire to train others (mostly the desire as we can give you the rest). As an official Sarge of Warlord Games, you would represent us on the field of battle as demonstrators and event organizers. Remember, local game stores need your help!

               You may be asking yourself, do I have what it takes to be a Sarge? Are you 18 years of age or older? Do you have a strong knowledge of Warlord Games or a desire to learn? Can you handle the prestige and glory that comes with representing Warlord Games?  Then I think you are ready!

               Listen up men (or women)! We have some rules you need to know!

·        The Sarge Program member understands and agrees that he/she is an independent contractor and has no power or authority to bind Warlord Games.

·        A Sarge applicant certifies that the information that he/she has provided to become a member of the Program is true and correct. 

·        Any rights or benefits of membership or earned as a member of the Program cannot be assigned or otherwise transferred to any other person or entity.

·        Warlord Games reserves the right to modify terms, conditions and policies of the Sarge Program at any time without notice.

·        Warlord Games or the Program member may terminate Program membership at any time, with or without cause.

Mission:

               Our current objective is to showcase our new Bolt Actions rules to local game stores.

In order to accomplish this goal we will be issuing a standard Sarge uniform (t shirt), field manual (Bolt Action rules), and equipment (Demo sets).

In addition to glory and the envy of your friends you will also earn gear (product) vouchers for every mission completed! Sign up now!

Name:                                                Phone:                                Address:                                                          

Base of Operation (Local Store):                                             Email:                                                                              

Or send the above info to: mike.majors@warlordgames.com Subject Sarge!

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Review: Plastic Soldier Company Allied M5 Halftrack

Plastic Soldier Company hooked us up with their Allied M5 Halftrack box set for review.  In the box, you will find 5 complete sprues and an instruction sheet.  This kit allows you to make the M5 or the M5A1.

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Review: Android Netrunner

Android: Netrunner came out in 2012, and caused quite the splash in the board gaming world. It has held a top spot in Board Game Geeks' "The Hotness" since released (currently at number 1) and also maintained a high overall rating (currently 8.46/10). It is a Living Card Game. What makes it unique in the overcrowded realm of card games, however, is its asymmetrical play - both players are competing for similar goal, but go about doing so in different ways. Netrunner is set in the future with a heavy cyberpunk setting.

The box

Netrunner is a "Living Card Game". This is FFG's answer to Collectible Card Games (such as Magic: The Gathering). LCG's retain a lot of the core concepts that make CCG's so successful, such as deckbuilding, customization, and a constantly changing metagame, but eliminats the random trading and collectibility. Instead of buying randomized booster packs (or boxes...or crates...), you buy a $15 expansion pack whenever a new set is released, and you get a full playset of all the cards. So rather than spending hundreds or thousands of dollars every few months chasing rare cards, you drop down $15 every month or so and have access to anything you want from that set.

36-page rulebook!

 The game comes with a pretty awesome 36-page color rulebook, as to be expected with a Fantasy Flight game. It takes each side through everything they need to know, has a handy index, quick reference flowchart, and a few pages describing the background of the Netrunner universe.

Basics of the Corporation

One player takes the role of the Corporation. The Corporation's deck contains valuable Agendas, which are the victory point cards for both players. They are worth 1-3 VP's each, and the first person to seven wins.

Assets - the hunt for these is both player's objective

The Corporation must develop these Agendas behind well-defended Servers. They install hidden layers of Ice in front of the server to protect them, and over a turn or two, they advance and develop the Agenda, and eventually advance it far enough to score, claiming the VPs as their own.

Basics of the Runner

The other player takes the role of a Runner. The Runner's goal is to break in to the Corporation's Servers and steal their Agendas before they can be advanced to development. They are aiding with various hacking Icebreakers to accomplish this, which must break through the Corporations defensive layers of Ice. The Corporation can hack and attempt to go after Assets directly as they are being developed, but they can also go after the Corporation's HQ (their hand), their R&D (the deck of cards) and their Archives (discard pile), attempting to steal assets before they even hit the board. All of these areas (called Servers) can be defending with Ice.

Sample board layout

Still with me? Good. Here you can see a sample board layout. If you were sitting in the blue position, the cards closest to you facing vertically are your Servers. The horizontal cards infront of them are the Ice defending them. You'll notice a lot of face-down cards. Ice is played face-down, so the Runner doesn't know what's there until he encounters it. Also, Agendas are played upside down, so the Runner doesn't know if he's attacking a valuable Agenda worth VPs, or perhaps an Asset that's just giving the Corporation some secret benefit. There's even face-down traps played in the Agendas area just to keep the Runner second guessing!

Sample Icebreaker and Ice

The Runner makes attack Runs on the various servers. He encounters the Ice piece by piece, and uses his Icebreakers to "break" them. Each piece of defending Ice has different subroutines that must be broken by the Runners Icebreaker. The Corporation builds different types of styles of Ice, forcing the Runner to alter his Icebreakers as needed to adapt to the fight.

This game has caught on pretty big locally, and we're loving it. It's just completed it's first cycle of expansion - the base starter set and five smaller expansions. A new expansion cycle should start in a few months. I personally really like that it has the basic feel of a game such as Magic: The Gathering, but it's a mirrored game where both players are doing the same thing. Having each side play in different, opposing manners, really adds to the game! I'm looking forward to playing this quite a bit at Gencon, and Templecon 2014 just announced their theme will be Cyberpunk, so I expect this to be pretty popular there too.

It's a great time to jump in. If you have any questions about the game, please feel free to ask!

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M551 Sheridans for Vietnam (VUSBX06)

I was very much looking forward to these guys.  I love how they have that gypsy caravan look- covered with everything but the kitchen sink!  The box includes 3 Sheridans, decals, and magnets as you'd expect.  

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Bolt Action - Scratch Built Fences

How to Make 28mm Slat Fencing

Fences are and were everywhere so why not on your miniature battlefield? This is a quick and easy way to make one type that was common throughout Europe.

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Plastic Soldier Company Zis 2/3

Let's take a look at the Plastic Soldier Company Zis 2/3. For the odd person that is unaware, recent errata/changes made the soviet Zis 2/3 guns medium guns rather than large and reduced the crew from 5 to 4 for the non artillery guns. This means that the dedicated anti-tank battery armed with the Zis can now be placed on a medium base rather than a large base.

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Product Review: Vietnamese Huts (BB169)

PAVN and Free World Forces Clash over a “Strategic Hamlet”

 I have been playing Flames of War “Vietnam” ever since the publication of “The Battle of Ia Drang” in Wargames Illustrated 266. Though I purchased both the initial PAVN Bn and US Airmobile Co sets and have gamed with them for years, I never got around to adding Vietnam terrain to game with.  I simply used my European based terrain and made do. So I was excited to see Battlefront producing some terrain for its Vietnam range. But, I was also a bit apprehensive about getting the Vietnamese Huts (BB169) because they looked so similar to the earlier Rural Farm Buildings (BB139) which Steven reviewed on WWPD.

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Bolt Action - New to Bolt Action: Baxter's First 500

Which Army is Right for Me?
Now that you have bought the basic game components for Bolt Action its time to start considering which army you want to play.  While this might seem straight forward, a lot can go into that decision.  Currently Warlord has made army lists available for the Germans, Russians, British and Commonwealth, Americans (Army and Marines), Japanese, French, and Belgians.  This is by no means the end all for army list options.  One might reliably predict one could expect to see Finland, Romania, Hungarian, Italian, Greek, Partisan, and Chinese lists in the future. (I can confirm that a schedule I saw earlier in the year had many of these lists on it! - Judson)  While it might feel relatively safe to go with one of the five major powers, a minor nation might interest you as well.  There are many things which can be considered when starting a new army.

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Bolt Action - Bolt Action Radio Episode 11

Listen to the episode now!

Dano and Judson talk about the list making process. After a couple hours, they figure out this is not a topic to cover in just a couple hours.

Don't forget to listen to the BAR on your iOS or Android device by searching your respective app stores for "WWPD".  It's the best way to listen!

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Vietnam AAR: Indian Country (Airmobile)

Sean and I were able to get in a Memorial Day game of 'Nam, and with my 2 Cobras, 2 Loaches, and 2nd PAVN company (almost...) complete, we decided to do an Airmobile battle. We settled on the mission "Indian Country". It was my turn to play the Americans, and I was excited to have so many gunships on the table!

Steven's Airmobile Infantry HQ + Medic Airmobile Platoon Airmobile Platoon 4x Slicks Pink Team w/ 1 Loach and 1 Cobra Pink Team w/ 1 Loach and 1 Cobra Heavy Hog w/ Grenade Launcher

Sean's PAVN Infantry Battalion HQ + 4 Booby Traps 2 Platoon Strong PAVN Company w/ 2 LMGs 2 Platoon Strong PAVN Company w/ 2 LMGs 3x Type 54 AAA Guns 6x 75mm Recoilless Guns

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Product Review: Battlefront PT-76 (K-3)

Soviet PT-76 using shipping containers for cover after an Amphibious landing!

With Battlefront's release of Vietnam Tour of Duty kits, it is such a blessing for folks like me who do a bit of 'Cold War Gone Hot' and the PT-76 release is no exception.  I have to admit, I knew next to nothing about Soviet armor, and initially thought these were BMP personnel carriers (A bit of knowledge from playing Battlefield 3) but turns out they were one of the very first amphibious light tanks, used as recon and by the Soviet Navy for landings.  Since I am doing Cold War gaming as the 'Red Team', I knew these would be right up my alley!

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OH-6 Loach Plastic Kit Review and AH-1G Cobras

The OH-6 Loach is one of Battlefront's earliest forays into an all plastic kit, and I am a really big fan.  The kit is easy to assemble, is comprised of few pieces, and is relatively inexpensive at $26 for two Loaches (including 2 flight stands, magnets, and a sheet of decals).  Also included are two optional metal door gunners.

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Bolt Action - Scratch Built Haystacks

(Another great how-to from Chris, a true fan of the do-it-yourself terrain table. Enjoy! - Judson)

Haystacks are, in my opinion, a neglected terrain piece. They were very common throughout Europe both east and west. They stand out in the series Band of Brothers,  Part 7, The Breaking Point. During the attack on Foy,  Easy Company found themselves using stacks for cover.

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A Million Systems a Day

The world of Warhammer 40k is one of the most fleshed out and creative sci-fi universes there is, with infinite possibilities and a freedom not available in historical war games. Even if you don't enjoy the grim dark setting, most can appreciate it. It has clever use of parody and themes taken from other literature, re-written and re-designed to fit into the 40k universe. If you look closely at 40k, you will see a bit of the old testament, a bit of Aliens, a bit of Terminator, a bit of ancient Rome and many, many old  fairy tales.  The whole setting is entirely unoriginal and totally new at the same time.

It is this limitless creation that has allowed its gamers to come up with a million different solutions to the same problem. My army was always Space Marines (Shhh! you groaning at the back), but none of my models are the same as anyone elses, even though they used mostly the same kits. Sure, I collected other armies, but I always came back to remodel my marines. I almost always used the same models each time, stripping them off, remodeling them, and re-branding them.

I started off with Ultramarines. (I told you to stop groaning at the back!) When I started, they weren't the Roman/Spartan mash-up that they are now - they were just the default marines, the perfect model of what marines should be. They were, of-course, terribly painted and too heavy on the varnish.

I'm sorry pictures of my first army are long gone.

They went through a green phase for a short time too, but I changed my mind pretty quickly.

Then they got revived as Black Templars. I went the extra mile this time. I started to explore green stuff and made myself a "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" themed army. Lots of chains, lots of skulls and lots of parts from a Bretonnian Knight sprue. Being the Black Templars, they needed a crusade. Of course the only reasonable crusade for King Arthur is the Holy Grail, and yes there was killer bunny modeled. I also always intended to model a Patsy, with two coconut halves. There was also a Grey Knight Army that had joined them on the crusade.

I still have this army, but they never saw battle.

I moved onto a new Marine Chapter - this time I wanted to move away from the grim dark. I wanted to create a marine chapter that wasn't tied down by the strictures of the Codex Astartes - that didn't regliously believe in the faith of a god emperor. They weren't chaos, they were just realistic. Gone were the skulls and the chains, off with the garish colour schemes. I made an entire history and world for my army. They were isolated to a single planet, forced to battle orks on their own ground, and forced to use new tactics and methods that other marines would order exterminatus on them and call them cowards. They had become disillusioned with the Imperium.

They used camouflage! Anyone who knows the fluff for space marines knows that camo is very un-space marine. I even have a Thunderhawk gunship with nose art. They weren't typical marines, but the scope of the universe allowed it without ruining anyone else's game. People could instantly see and understand my theme without even reading my text. I wont lie, I sometimes miss this creativity from my current wargames.

For all its faults, Warhammer 40k is a fantastic game for the imagination. So what unique spin did you put on the 40k Universe, or any game, lets see your most creative solutions to the same problem!

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