Lessons from the Front, FAQ by BF, updated

Hi all,

Did rather big update for the LFTF post, added the last from BF, took out something that's not needed anymore, AND added links for the thing. Plus did lot of work with unified to text....

Improved, unified FAQ with links to content here.

No now you don't need to find what you are doing by ctrl+F but can use those links, life is easy.

Feel free to copy anything from that if it helps, I myself think it's more easy to check the page than the pdf by Battlefront.

The three little (american) elephants, that could (ruin the German generals day). Thoughts about my first outing with the Yankee steel.

While I have been only playing German lists for my years at the hobby, the min-maxer that lives on my shoulder has been nagging about getting some US tanks up...

Took the list from one of Bill Willcox's forum posts, thought about it, and now tried it first time. Result: 6-1 in Hasty Attack, versus 10 platoons of gebirgjägers, with pioneers, Stugs, 2 lots of Paks, and stuff.

I know Hasty Attack isn't the hardest test for the list, but still, my first time with it so pretty good result.

I lost 2iC Jumbo and 1 PJ Sherman in the game, while killed 4 platoons. Focused attack at one objective, then gunning down everything that tried to move to help it. Ninja Shermans kept one Pak40 platoons 2 guns fighting them somewhere where the battle wasn't won.

3 Jumbos is the key for survival, Patton is something else, I even forgot he could re-roll reserves and had that 3+ motivation. :P

2 lots of Priests was nice, and I even combined them with hit with everything with 105mm Shermans for one strike.

Will try it versus other lists in other scenarios to see if it shines there also, while actually learning to play it as well...

My force, very much WIP still.

Everything but AOP from Gaming Models #Gamodls Lot of painting and all the decals missing still.

The field of battle, after objective setup.

After the Germans have setup, lot of unpainted ones, but he was moving houses so no time to paint.

After 1st round movement. The Americans really get around, even with Jumbos.

Now what to do, what to do? Damned if you do, damned if you don't. (I rolled abysmal firepower checks for the first turns.)
Pair of Ninjas use smokebombs.

Remains of a full platoon of Gebs after two platoons worth of MG fire hits them while doubling.

The objective isn't safe anymore...

AOP takes the artillery to elsewhere.

Stugs to the rescue! 6" smoothriding E8's and Jumbos make Stug life hard.


No more pics, for I forgot to take any, usual endgame issue for me. Stugs died, 3 at first salvo, the last stayed to ding on Jumbo, before finally submitting. Gebs came on the objective, failed the Tank-terror, got obliterated. We checked the last reserves and it went too far, so 6-1 for the Americans.

Sound off like you got a pair!

Would you read tutorials written by this man?

I am Pete Pelkonen and I am a new contributor to this blog.

I first started modelling when I was a boy, but in my teens I found another hobbies, but every now and then I turned my thoughts on returning to the hobby. Years went on, I bought a lot of models for Normandy landing diorama in 1:35, but it didn't catch on. Yet.

In the year 2010 I bought a 1:48 Tamiya model of North American P-51D Mustang (Chuck Yeager) that I built and wrote an article of the process to Finnish modelling magazine Pienoismalli (2/2011). The real itch had begun.

In 2012 I happened to walk in a gaming store ("I'm just looking") my eye caught a starter set of Flames of War. The box included two StuGs and three Shermans. The same summer I ordered Tigers March and Panzergrenadier company. Since then, my armies have grown to include two companies of US paratroopers, an US beach assault company, an armoured US company, an SS company with strong support platoons... and in the boxes awaits a German armoured company and Soviet armoured battalion.

I am not a competetive player, but a recreational player. I like small games, but I love huge Total War games. I like the games to represent the true history and therefore I have played with few of my friends the Normandy landing and later the Market Garden. Still to come, the Bastogne. In talks are the Kursk and Berlin. The thing in common with all of these games is, that they were played at home. Hence, Homewargamer. Hence, lots of terrain at home.

Some scratch built nests.

My contribution to this blog is mostly going to be easy building tutorials concerning terrain features, but I will also write out our 5000+ point Total War games.

Why I like to stay at home? Wife, two kids. Questions?

Also, I'm trying to raise a next generation of wargamers.
Pictured the Normandy anniversary game, that my kids started to play,
but I ended up finishing with a friend.

Incoming! - Homerwargamer infiltrates the trenches

Mikko asked me to contribute to this blog and every now and then I will share something from my own blog - Homerwargamer - in here. First, I would like to write about making trenches. So here goes.

I didn't take pictures of the earilest stages of the making - that's something I will revisit when I get around making intersections and shorter trench pieces - but can still describe how I did them.

At first I thought about the trenches a lot. There is a thing that cannot be overlooked, the mindwork. Don't just make them, think about it first, especially when making modular elements as my trenches: will it work compared to other pieces of the modularity; what if I put this piece backwards, would it work; etc. After I had stumbled through these things I was ready to go.

I had decided to make three triangle corners, four square corners, five pentagon corners, nine straight trenches measuring 20 cm (8'') and four gun pits that could join the trench system. From early on I had decided the trenches to have back wall too, because that models the trench being dug better than just the front - at least I think so.

I started by sawing the bases for the trenches out of hard board (recycled old table pieces) and made them 10 cm (4'') wide, which is almost 7 cm (2 3/4'') wider than the medium base. This way, I had enough room to slope the sides and fit the logs inside the trenches.

I glued the logs first. I put four bamboo barbeque sticks on the table vertically, spacing them so that the outmost sticks were 20 cm (8''), the length of the trench section, apart from each other. Then I glued four sticks (already cut to length) side-by-side horisontally. I left a small space and then repeated this as many times as there were room or when I had enough loggings (sic? - not Kenny, though, younger readers, ask your dad or watch Top Gun). After the glue had dried, I cut the log elements out with pliers. (This whole paragraph is hard to describe in words, but as said, I will revisit the subject.)

Next I cut styrofoam to about 1 cm x 2cm strips that I glued to the bases (I had carved the the edges of the bases with my Sissipuukko - google it) so that there were enough room for medium base and log elements. Then I glued in the log elements. For corners I did not make the log elements, but glued the sticks straight to the styrofoam.

Finally, a picture!

I carved the rectangular styrofoams edges off. The coarser the styrofoam and duller the knife, the more uneven and therefore more realistic did the slope end up.

When cutting styrofoam, have the vacuum cleaner standing by. If you don't and The Wife walks into the mess, they will never find your body.

Added some sand to the slopes and to the bottom of the trench.

Sand added, stolen from the kids sand box.

I thought about the painting and ended up taking the easy way: I sprayed the trenches first with hardware stores "brown" (gloss, damn them) and went over it with Mil-Tec's Dunkelgelb. That's right, Dunkelgelb.

Dunkelgelbed. No - coyote browned. No - beiged. No - sand browned. It's  light brown, fellows.

I also painted some gauze bandage with olive green, so I could cut it to desired size, soak in watered down PVA and mold in place.

"I think these bandages are past 'best before' -date..."

 In total, I made 180 cm (6') of straight trench, add corners and that comes to total of about 340 cm (11' 2'') of trench. Plus the gun pits.

Stacked trenches.

 Of course I had to recreate a scene from a TV show on our kitchen table...

Not Sponge Bob Squarepants.

...And then I had to play the scene from a TV show with a friend.

This time around, Lipton actually blew up a gun.

As said, I am forced to revisit the trenches when I make the intersections. Maybe foxholes, too.

-Pete

2./506. Schwere Panzerabteilung reinforced!! UPD. Now also 2./512. Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung reinforced!

"Sir, we have replacements. Two PzKpfw VI Ausf. B "Tiger"s has just arrived from maintenance. Company is now at full strength."

Old KT in the middle, new KTs on the sides

This means my troops for Oosterbeek are now ready. Let those British and American dogs walk straight to our trap!

My oldest KT was made long ago and you can tell. But somehow now that all the KTs are ready and I put them side by side, I like the camouflage on the oldest KT is the best... strange! I thought I'd have learned to paint better by now. Perhaps I need to redo some of the camouflage on the new KTs. Perhaps some fading is in order.

Anyhow I wanted these to look that they have had some repairs in the rear areas and hastly sended to aid in the defense of Oosterbeek. That's why there are replaced guns and turrets etc. without camouflage paint (though should have bought the non-zimmerit ones, these look awful with zimmerit!).

Now to finish some Jagdtigers(done!) and 3,7cm FlaK43s!

UPDATE: 2./512 Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung

Carius with his company

Now we have more Jagdtigers to deploy to the fields of battle. Their leader is the most famous Otto Carius, better known for his actions leading a Tiger I E tank.

My Carius' model is not the BFs Carius but rather a normal Jagdtiger that I use as Carius. No need to buy one more Jagdtiger when I have 3 already!

Here again, as with KTs, I went with a worn look. Also some fuelcans and other stowage was added to personalization.

Enjoy!

SS-Panzerbrigade Westfalen - Part II

My friend wants to attack me, using his British Paras, was thinking that when I need to defend, I'll use the Westfalen. This might be a list that could be used in tourney also, so I want to see what is good and what's not.

So this time, RT Panthers, no KT's, 105mm Arty, otherwise same list as I used versus US Rifles.
Veteran artillery for 135 points is a novelty for a German list.

Will do AAR this time.

SS-Panzerbrigade Westfalen HQ (p.67) -
 CinC Panzerfaust SMG, 2iC Panzerfaust SMG (60 pts)
- 2x Panzerschrek (50 pts)
- 4x Panzerfaust Trap (80 pts)

Ersatz SS-Aufklarungs Platoon (p.67) - Command Panzerfaust Rifle/MG, 6x Panzerfaust Rifle/MG (200 pts)
- Replace Command Panzerfaust Rifle/MG with Command Panzerfaust SMG (0 pts)

Ersatz SS-Aufklarungs Platoon (p.67) - Command Panzerfaust Rifle/MG, 6x Panzerfaust Rifle/MG (200 pts)
- Replace Command Panzerfaust Rifle/MG with Command Panzerfaust SMG (0 pts)

Ersatz SS-Machine-gun Platoon (p.68) - Command SMG, 2x MG42 HMG (60 pts)

Ersatz SS-Panzer Platoon (p.69) - Command Panzer III L or M, 3x Panzer III L or M (200 pts)
- Replace Panzer III L or M with Panzer III N (0 pts)
- Replace Panzer III L or M with Panzer III N (0 pts)
- Replace Panzer III L or M with Panzer IV G or H (15 pts)
- 4x Equip Panzer with Schurzen (20 pts)

508. Schwere Panzer Platoon (p.70) - Command Panther G, 3x Panther G (520 pts)

Veteran Volks Light Artillery Battery (p.75) - Command SMG, Staff, Observer Rifle, 3x 10.5cm leFH18/40 howitzer (135 pts)

Panzer Anti-Aircraft Gun Platoon (p.71) - Command Ostwind, Ostwind (105 pts)


1645 Points, 7 Platoons

Edit- Might 'upgrade' 1 Panther for Tiger for 5 points, so 1650. 40" range and protected ammo, might be good to have.

Bridge by Bridge - 2./506. Schwere Panzerabteilung in Oosterbeek

Lately I've been thinking heavy, and I mean German heavy. I have a lot of planned lists of German Heavy Tanks that I'd like to run given enough heavy tanks (right now not nearly enough).

One of these units is the Schwere Panzerkompanie from Bridge by Bridge. It's currently the only heavy tank kompanie that I've planned with full King Tiger (another list that I have King Tiger is Schwere Panzerkompanie from Atlantik Wall with one KT).

With only four platoons and such a limited numbers I'll be always outnumberet and outgunned. But what this list gives me is heavy anti-tank weapons (88mm KwK43/L71) with excellent armour with infantry support that can scare a s**t out of enemy armour trying to flank my Big Cats. Lastly there is my Coup de Main, 3 StuH42s ready to take out any gunteams or soften up dug in infantry before my pioniers or King Tigers make the assault.

I didn't take recon as four fearless veteran teams for 155 points is kind of a lot. Also no artillery as not enough points, but for that I've my StuH42s.

Lastly with points limited and after checking multiple times that I couldn't get anything else useful, I took Bergepanther. No obvious use for this but it nicely works as a bullet-magnet, and it has AA MG.

This all drops me few points short but I think I can manage that. All in all this list needs to be played in concert, each element supporting and protecting the other (an obvious thing!).

All ideas and comments are welcomed.

My first text here. German Reinforcements ready!

Hi all!

My first text here and I want to thank Mikko H for inviting me in. And specially I want to thank you dear readers for reading!

First something about me. I'm more of a slow painter, furious gamer. I like when my units look a bit better than just dipped into a can of paint. I've never used an airbrush and I doubt I never will, I like more of the close touch and the control of the brush. So don't expect some fancy airbrushed models :)

Enough of me and on to my first showcase.

Decided to show you my third Tiger I E that I've painted. With this one I wanted something different from the earlier ones so no mudguards and more of a rag-a-tag look.

I basecoated the tank black and after that gave it a few light coats of Middlestone. Second camocolor I used is Beige Brown and I did it with an old medium sized drybrush. Tracks, tools, cables and jack were first being painted with Light Grey and then washed over with Nuln Oil. Red oxide was done by mixing 2 parts Red Gore and 1 part Dark Brown and being washed over again with Nuln Oil.

And here are the pictures:

  

As you may notice I haven't done any mud or dust as I'm not sure yet what kind of mud or dust should I do. My older Tigers have just some drybrushed Dark Brown and Beige Brown but I may want something new for this one.

But heres all for now. Thank you for reading ladies and getlemen!