The LRDG II Podcast, Episode 13: Reforming The Bad Boys Of Bolt Action

Welcome to episode "lucky 13" of the LRDG II!

Brad is rejoined by, friend of the cast and all around hobby hero, Luke Emerton to discuss a number of BIG BA topics. First of all the guys talk through the brand new FAQ from Warlord games and what is means for BA as a whole. They also take a deep dive into the history of an interesting "link" in the evolution of modern Soviet tanks, the humongous T-28! They do all this before hitting the main topic of the episode.

In the last episode Brad talked about how exciting it is that with the "new" edition, units and vehicles that used to be terrible have been given new life and how listing has become interesting again because there are so many units to choose from. This episode Brad and Luke dive into the flip side of that coin and examine the "bad boys" of first edition that were "too good" to take. Are vehicle flamethrowers, cavalry, Ghurkas, big HE tanks and more acceptable to take now or are they still to rough to bring in a friendly game? Tune in and find out!

You can also find this find this fine episode on iTunes or download it directly HERE.

Read More

Bolt Action - Camouflage without an Airbrush

By Dennis,
It's been quite some time since I've been able to get some solid hobby time in, even longer for writing articles or giving DIY advice. I've got to say, I'm pleased to finally get back into the swing of it.

Airbrushes can be quite daunting and expensive for anyone starting in the hobby, so today I will walk you through a simple way to get a great result on you armored vehicles without one.

Read More

V4 Launch Party - Hobbytown USA - New Milford, CT USA

This Saturday, my home club, Ordo-Ineptus had the only listed event in Connecticut for a FOW V4 release party.  One of the leaders of the club, Kevin Dietz brought a ton of terrain, and a crew came in the night before to get 2 tables set for demos.

The Tables setup as George looks on at a demo game

Read More

Bolt Action: Australian Commandos Review & Painting Guide

By Bryan

G'day fellas! Warlord Games has finally released the first of it's Australian range in the form of the Independent Company Commandos. The miniatures are fantastic sculpts, very accurate and a pleasure to paint. Read on and I'll go over the boxed set in a little more detail, as well as a step by step painting guide you can follow to paint your own Aussies. 

The boxed set contains a full strength section of Australian Independent Company Commandos, being 10 men. They are equipped in a historically typical fashion with 6 sub machine guns, 1 Bren light machine gun and 4 Lee Enfield rifles. One of those rifles has a scope and the sub machine guns are the iconic, Australian designed and made Owen Gun. These really help to give the models that Australian look.

The sculptor, the talented Steve Saleh, has taken this further by really paying close attention to period photos of the men he is representing in miniature. Take a look at this photo on the left and you'll see what I mean. He has managed to capture the rugged look of the men of these units. They often sported beards as they would be out on 12 day long patrols in the jungle, behind Japanese lines.

The style of beret worn by the Australian Commando units is also slightly different to their more well known British counterparts. Less a sign of elite status and more a practical piece of jungle head gear, the miniatures again capture that individualistic approach to uniform regulations in the Australian Independent Companies.

The sculpting is fantastic, and the equipment and uniforms are accurate, so I give these 5 out of 5 Owen Guns. The models are all single piece sculpts and do not have separate heads. Okay, onto how to paint your Pacific Australians.

Read More

Bolt Action - Reviewing The Volley Fire Painting Service

Ever been too busy to find the time to paint? Ever had more models than you could ever get done in your lifetime? Ever know that you really want to take a specific army to a specific event and you know there is no way you can get things done on time? I definitely have been in all of those situations. I am notoriously time poor but love to try new armies and tactics. This drive to innovate keeps things fresh and interesting and drives my "hobby."

Thankfully, for me, there are extremely talented people in the world who are faster painters and who, for a fee, will help me finish my army projects. One of these painters is Andy Singleton and I recently commissioned him to paint a German force for my upcoming Bolt Action World Series Event.

The results of his work are stunning!

Read More

1945 LW FOW Tournament - Feb 18th "The Final Hour" - Kirwan's Game Store

The end of V3 is fast approaching, as many regular readers of this blog are aware.  And with it comes a possible end to many lists and models we held dear.  In an effort to say our final goodbyes to a version of the rules many of us loved dearly over the past 1/2 a decade, Chris Johnson (my arch enemy) helped put together a tournament up at Kirwan's Game Store. 1945pts LW, 3 rounds, beginning at 11am.

Below - Chris Johnson and a raffled off German Panzer Army for EW.  Everyone started with one ticket, but each loss earned you another ticket. (very good idea)

My List: I debated a lot about what to bring.  I decided on something I could never get to work.  I had only played them once, at 1425 pts and they were the worst list I ever brought to a tournament.  I should have known better at the time, but there it is.  What is over pointed like crazy? What is a fast tank? What has the stink of the oddly non-synergistic British rules about them.....you guessed it.  Comets.

My List - Nachtjager
British Motor Company (which for some reason is an Infantry company)
HQ - 2 white scout cars with cmd and 2ic
1 - Motor Platoon (cmd MG team + 3 MG teams w/ piat and lt mortar) (6 stands)
2 - Motor Platoon (full)
3 - required scout platoon (3 UC's)
4 - Wasp platoon
5 - AT guns 6pdrs
6 - mortar platoon
7 - 4 comets
8 - 4 comets

for a grand total of 1945 pts.

First Round - Joey Laderoute from Blackmoon Games in Lebanon NH

I missed the chance to play him last tournament so I was glad I got a shot this time around.  He brought American Tanks, Jumbos and Easy 8s, and an assortment of other trained armor. He reasoned that in V4, Easy 8s were dead, and Jumbos wouldn't be nearly as good. He attacked, since I was an infantry company.

Read More

Fulda in Fredericksburg: 2017 Team Yankee Nationals

Now with Cold Wars 2017 behind us it is time to turn our attentions to Historicon 2017 and the first ever Team Yankee North American Nationals also known as “Fulda Gap in Fredericksburg”.

Here are the details

GMs: Mitch Reed (WWPDMitch@gmail.com) and Brian Sullivan

Cost: Free!!!

Date/Time: 14 July 10am – 8pm Arrive at 9:30am to register.  Players who do not check in by 9:45 may have their spots taken by a player on the stand by list.
Three 2.5 hour rounds.  100 Points. All official lists from Team Yankee (including Afghansty), Leopard (including Panzertruppen), Iron Maiden, and Volks-Armee will be allowed.  All forces will be fully painted.  We have spots for 120 players and we will make a stand-by list if the tournament fills up. Each participant will get the Wolfgang’s Bratty Wagon objective for free for playing in the tournament.

Read More

On The Road Episode 6: Advanced Squad Leader's Winter Offensive

Episode 6: Advanced Squad Leader's Winter Offensive 2017
Direct download
In this Episode, Sean and I travel to Bowie Maryland to check out one of the nation's premier ASL events.
We have a lengthy interview with Perry Cocke; one of the owners of Multiman Publishing who produces Advanced Squad Leader. We talk about ASL, other board war games, and the wargame industry. Perry goes over the long history of ASL and board war gaming.
A Big thanks to Andrew Hopson who takes over for Tyler in producing the podcast for a few months.



Twitter: @MitchWWPD         

MitchWWPD@gmail.com

"Why We Fight" and "On the Road" Podcasts http://wwpd.libsyn.com/podcast 

Read More

Bolt Action - Painting Guide for US Airborne

By Patch,
Welcome to another painting guide to add to our collection, this time I will look at the very iconic US Airborne. Before reading on though please be aware that while I have themed my force on historical US Airborne I have adapted the colours and general look to suit my style and how I like my wargaming miniatures to look. If you are after a totally accurate historical representation this guide may not appeal to you.

Read More

The LRDG II Podcast: Episode 12

The LRDG II Podcast Episode 12

In this fun filled episode, Brad is joined by long-time BA player and the TO of the World's Largest Bolt Action Event, Steve Tibbs, for a free-style jazz jam like discussion about the game we know and love. 

Steve lays down why Brad shouldn't yawn at US forces in a discussion that heavily revisits the new Battle of the Bulge book. The guys also talk about the M8 Greyhound and how to convert them, enthusiasm, haters, trends in the game and Steve's huge event: Cambridge Too Far.

We invite you to join us and let us know what you think on the LRDG Facebook page. We always read and respond to your comments.

You can find this episode in your friendly iTunes shop or download directly from HERE.

Read More

Bolt Action - The Ins And Outs Of Commission Painting

I, Old Man Morin, have been wargaming for a scarily long period time. It is getting close to three decades at this point. In that time I have discovered a few truths about my hobby, one of which is that I am a painfully slow painter and that my short attention span requires constant stimulation to stay focussed on a given project. This makes painting entire armies very difficult. It took me close to two years of steady work to paint my Late War German army for Bolt Action for example. For someone who loves to play with painted forces this is very problematic. This has led me, over the years, to turn to commission painting as a way of getting boots on the table. Today, I am going to discuss a few things to consider before treading this path.

Read More

FOW - Stalingrad 2000 Point Multi-Player

With the impending arrival of Ver 4 to our gaming tables, the regular players at the Brookhurst Club in Orange County California decided to hold a multi-player Stalingrad FOW game. I had run the Able Kompanie Stalingrad intro game at GenCon several times, so we decided to run a modified version of it. We changed the table arrangement so it wasn't a duplicate and created different army lists up to 2,000 points per side.

Our rules for the game included the following:
Movement and Cover: All of the table was (at best) Slow Going - Except for roads (regular cross country on roads).
Rubble (any building or rubble bases, as well as blast craters) gave bullet proof cover to infantry if their base was at least half on the rubble base.
Bunker Busters: Building with four walls, and a second story floor or roof were considered "buildings" for bunker buster guns.
Other terrain such as railroad embankments, etc followed the rule book for Ver 3.
Buildings and rubble bases required skill checks for vehicles to avoid bogging.

Scoring: Based on the Able Kompanie GenCon version, we ran a total of eight objectives. Three in each deployment area, and two in the center of the table. The center objectives were slightly offset from the center line, so each side could attempt to get close enough to contest in turn one. At the beginning of each side's turn, they received points for any objectives they held (or had held, and were not contested by the enemy). Objective in your own deployment zone were one point each. Center objectives were two points each, and if you got lucky enough to take one in the enemy deployment zone, those were worth four points each.

Read More

North American Yeam Yankee Nationals; 14 July 2017

With Brian Sullivan

First of all, let me fill you in on some big news; WWPD and Battlefront will be hosting the first ever Team Yankee North American Nationals on 14 July 2017! The event will take place during Historicon 2017 in Fredericksburg Virginia. So, this post serves as “save the date” for all of you that have been looking forward for a huge Team Yankee event and we will be posting a series of “Tournament Organizer” articles to keep you informed over the next few months.

We will be working with Brian Sullivan, who will be the POC from the Battlefront side of the house and I will be the POC from WWPD.

Right now, we have so many details to work out;

Points totals? Will 100 be too much? Is 80 the sweet spot?

Scoring? Do we use an alternative scoring system to have a definitive winner in 3 rounds?

Prize support? Well with Luke doing this I am sure it will be something great!

So, since we have more questions than answers right now please hold off any you have until we have firmed things up. Until we can get the event into the PEL for Historicon we will not be taking any sign-ups, so stay tuned to WWPD.net and we will drop more info as it becomes available.

We want to make this the biggest and best Team Yankee event ever! So come join us for "Fulda in Fredericksburg 2017!"

@MitchWWPD         

MitchWWPD@gmail.com

"Why We Fight" and "On the Road" Podcasts http://wwpd.libsyn.com/podcast 

Read More

Bolt Action - Review: Warlord Games Finnish 75 PSTK/40 Anti-Tank Gun

Hi everyone, after a work induced hiatus I've returned. Some time ago I started collecting Finns, that journey has been long and arduous and thoroughly enjoyable. My most recent acquisition however was the Warlord Games Finnish Pak40 medium anti-tank gun.

Read More

On the Road: Version 4 Roll Out

Episode 5 "On the Road" Flames of War Version 4 Roll out.
Download Directly

A very special OTR Episode! 

Mitch Reed and Sean Sarah went to the Version 4 roll out at "Games and Stuff" in Glenn Burnie Maryland. They have a very frank talk with John Mathews and Bryan Sayman from the US Office. You will want to listen to this one; John spells out what we will see coming out for Version 4 in the future and a whole bunch of spoilers. 

Twitter: @MitchWWPD         

MitchWWPD@gmail.com

"Why We Fight" and "On the Road" Podcasts http://wwpd.libsyn.com/podcast 

Read More

The Ghost Army Podcast Episode 23

The Ghost Army Podcast: Episode 23

In this action packed episode of the GAP, Patch and Bryan are joined by voice from the past to discuss a few thoughts about how to approach making army lists, how to run a huge 4000pt muilti-player game, German forces in Tunisia, armoured carrier tactics and take aways from recent games and Patch's new BEF and Desert French forces. 

Tune in and let us know what you think on the Bolt Action Alliance Facebook Page.

You can find this episode on iTunes or you can download it directly from HERE.

Read More

No Retreat - Late War Version 4 Flames of War Playtest

Following an initial Mid-War Version 4, my good gaming buddy Ed and I returned to Hard Knox Games to borrow the store preview copy and give Version 4 a Late-War tryout. Again, we wanted to test out the "worse case" scenario of  a tank force attacking against a infantry & gun force in the No Retreat mission. The presumption was that tanks, especially medium tanks, were going to have no chance against a strong infantry & gun force.

The Forces

The Soviet Strelkovy Battalion

Read More

Bolt Action AAR - Colonial Free French V DAK

By Patch,I recently got the chance to play James who I shall refer to as JL, a wily opponent and Bolt Action Veteran here in Canberra Australia at our local games store - Jolt Games. The match was set at 1000 points and was to be my Vichy French, who had recently changed sides to be Free French under De Gaulle for the match, against JL's seasoned German Africa Korps (DAK).

Read More

Bolt Action - Australian Army Showcase

Hey guys, Tristan here. This article is long overdue and for that I truly apologize. Today I’d like to share pictures and tips on an army that I painted up to give away as prize for our 2016 Event Series here in Melbourne. Every player at any of the four Bolt Action events we ran in Melbourne during the year got a ticket into the raffle for this army for each event they attended.  The army was made in conjunction with the Australian Army PDF that the BAA produced, which you can find at the Warlord website and you can download for free.

Read More

No Retreat - V4 MW Desert Playtest AAR

 

"Is Mid-War the new Early-War?"

By Tom Burgess


The Goal
I have been very apprehensive about V4 Flames of War, but I have also been equally determined to give V4 a thorough work out. Once my trusty Local Game Store, Hard Knox Games, had a preview copy on site and I had a chance to listen to the WWPD V4 preview podcasts, watch the excellent Dice Devils playtest videos, and participate on the WWPD forum discussions I thought that I was sufficiently armed to give V4 a first go.

Mission Selection

I wanted my first playtest of V4 to be "No Retreat." I thought the Dice Devils did a great job doing three "Free for All" playtest video. More importantly, much of the gripes I've heard about V4 was that infantry backed up by anti-tank guns would be too hard for tank forces to attack into. As much as just getting a feel for V4 as game in general, I did want get a sense for how hard it would be for tanks to go up against defending infantry and anti-tank guns.

The Players

I was joined for this game my gaming buddy, Ed, and a new gamer, Tony.  Ed and Tony would play the German force. I would run the British. In terms of knowledge of the new rules and skill, I'd have to say I had a advantage over my German opponents.  Chad, the LGS store manager, had been reading the V4 preview rulebook for days and when he was not busy tending shop, he would come over and help us look up or resolve rules questions.

Forces

The forces I had available, or could borrow, as well as the very limited lists in the new "Afirka Korps" and "Desert Rat" books drove me to employing German Panzer Force as the attacker against a British Motor Company, backed up by as many guns as I could get in the force.

The attacking German Panzer Ko

 

Fortunately, I had a lot "Axis & Allies" Panzers. Cheap models, but they'd suffice for a playtest. I had only just started repainting them, but for a playtest they would do.  I had to borrow the Schleppers and the AAA Halftracks. 

Read More

Blood and Plunder AAR: English Buccaneers vs Spanish Guarda Costas

Recently, my dad and I backed the Blood and Plunder Kickstarter from Firelock Games.  Blood and Plunder is a 28mm miniatures game set in 17th century Caribbean.  As a player, you control a forces of militia, sailors, privateers, or pirates.  The game allows you to take command of French, Spanish, English or Pirate men and ships to do battle for control of the Caribbean.

Blood and Plunder is similar to many other miniature games in that you have an army made up of models led by a commander.  There are die rolls for attacking and saving; special unit and national rules; and missions with victory conditions.  However Blood and Plunder has a very innovative initiative system which adds an additional tactical element to the game.  

Each turn players draw a number of cards equal to the number of units they have on the board.  Turns are broken into rounds and each round players play one card from their hand.  The suit and number on the card help determine which player activates a unit first and which one goes second.  The card's suit and the unit's experience level then determines how many actions that unit gets.  Suits that give you fewer actions let you seize the initiative and go first, while suits that grant units more actions also make you wait to go last.  This unique activation system gets the strategic juices flowing as you struggle to decide if it is more important to go first or more important to do more things.

The other thing that is really cool about Firelock Games is the attention to history.  The rule book for Blood and Plunder is full of history and it is obvious the authors are really passionate about 17th century Caribean history and warfare.  I knew every little about the time period and in just a few weeks I have become an armchair admiral. 

After playing some smaller games of around 100 points we recently bumped our games up to 300 points.  I brought my English Buccaneers and my dad brought his Spanish Guarda Costas.  I imagined that after a long month or raiding my Buccaneers went ashore to loot the country side for supplies.  The Spanish, none to pleased with my raiding, have sent a contingent of men to intercept and stop me.   Now the Spanish stand between my men and their ship.  We have to fight our way back to the beach in the mission called Breakthrough.

Read More

Bolt Action - Tactics for German halftrack mounted platoons

The Panzer scouts have finally hit the table and even played through their first two day Bolt Action event, taking the 'Best Axis General' award of the weekend and 2nd place overall. In this instalment I'll give you the theory on the army list construction as well as the tactics I employed on the table. These tactics will be useful for anyone running an army with a few armoured transports for their infantry.

Read More

FoW- Version 4: Late and Early War Special Rules Spoiled!

In this second of three articles on the new Version 4 EW/LW release, I plan to go over the special rules in both books in one shot. Starting with the EW/LW rule book; all national rules are covered along with special rules that cover equipment, weapons and unit abilities. While the “Special Rules Book” serves as a V4 translation of all of the EW/LW intelligence briefings and covers all of the warriors for those two periods of the game. While the Rule Book (RB) is a standalone product, the Special Rule Book (SRB) is not a standalone document, and you will still need the original books for the lists and arsenals that are contained in them. Even at first glance, I felt the SRB was easy to navigate and use, so you should not be confused as to what in the older intelligence books still applies in V4.  Starting with the RB, the special/national rules replace all of the special/national rules in V3. Not all of the rules made it to V4, and some like Mission Tactics are a part of the overall rules of the game and now apply to every nation. Others have been changed to adjust the balance of the game.

Equipment, Weapons and Unit Special Rules
This section of the RB covers a lot of rules that came about in the intelligence briefings over the last few years and are now incorporated into the main rules. Many of them take the exact same rules that existed the arsenal (ex. Turntable), or represent a change in how they are applied (Protected Ammo is not a re-roll and now is a -1 to your remount rating), or a total change in the rule (No-HE now adds a +1 to hit an infantry or gun team).

Read More