November 2010 Painting Totals

A good month after starting off slow and having to overcome some painters block. The focus this month was on finishing up the remaining Flames of War figures so no progress on other projects. It does feel good to mature this project. I will add items when the mood strikes, most likely when going to the HMGS conventions.

Flames of War:

2 x STUG III: 4 pts
4 x GE half-tracks: 8 pts
5 x US half-tracks: 10 pts
US Armored Rifle Platoon with dismounted machineguns: 58 pts
US Rifle Platoon: 41 pts
FS Sniper section: 6 pts
FS Platoon: 46 pts
FS Mortar Platoon: 24 pts
FS Machinegun Platoon: 16 pts

TOTAL: 213 points !!!!

Gaming:
1 game of Memior '44
1 game of Flying Lead

Next month:
8 x 12 figure infantry units for imagi-nation (colonial figures)
Rest of the modern skirmish figures
SL Foxes

Escort Duty Battle Report

Played a game of Flying Lead with my son. This is the Ganesha Games skirmish game using the Song of Blades and Heroes rules. I took some ideas from the Hearts and Minds supplement too..I made a set of cards for events to happen as the game progressed. There are cards for the enemy to appear, civilians to show up, a news crew, IEDs, sniper attack...

A US squad (9 men) with attached medic has a mission to link up with an informant at the mosque and escort him back to the pick up point for a helicopter extraction. The objective is at the end of a dirt road running through a few buildings.

 The squad moves out with the SAW gunners taking up positions on both flanks. SPC Jones checks out a parked truck...

 They can see the objective down the road...

 BOOM! an IED blows up the truck but Jones escapes with a few bumps and bruises [lost by 1 but his body armor protected him]...

A news crew responds to the IED blast...

 Locals come out to see what is happening...

 SNIPER! a single shot rings out killing CPL Baker [rolled a 6 vs a 1]...

 The news crew interviews one of the soldiers while also filming the dead body...

 Despite the loss of Baker, the patrol links up with with informant and his body guards...

 They move out to join up with the other fire team...

 Just in time for some insurgents to come over the hill and block the path to the LZ...

 BOOM! Another IED rips into the team. SPC Brown (medic) is killed while CPL Grant, a civilian, and one of the body guards go down wounded. The informant is unhurt but shaken from the blast...[this was a key part of the battle, I had drawn the card for this IED before and rolled to see how many turns before it went off (2)...the "civilian" who had been working by the truck had started running away when I drew the card as an indicator...my son picked up on the running but thought he was going to get more insurgents, not setting the bomb]

 The insurgents wound SPC Smith and move in to take him prisoner...great fotage on the news...

 AMBUSH! Insurgents open fire from the house by the IED site, wounding Staff Sergeant Bradley...With casualties out of hand, the squad calls in the helo to make a hasty pick-up...

 The casualties are carried to the extraction point...

 SPC Wayne earns the Silver Star for carrying the wounded CPL Grant to the dust-off...

The squad accomplishes the mission but at a heavy cost:
1 POW
2 KIA-missing
2 WIA
1 Died of Wounds (body guard)

This game was lots of fun even as things went south for my son's squad. The sniper shot was a lucky roll  {after my son picked a card from the middle of the deck instead of taking from the top---his own fualt}, and the timing on the second IED as too funny. My son likes to ask to drive the trucks so they were a natural draw, and he took lots of time checking each building along the route {this caused extra card draws}.

I stopped pulling cards after the 2nd IED as things were getting very ugly. Tried to reinforce the need to not leave anyone behind, and he did have a collect all the wounded he could...but two were out of range, and the last was dead...he left him behind because the insurgents were closing on the LZ.

Fallshcrimjager Platoon with snipers and flamethrowers

The last of the Flames of War troops on hand. This matures my first project. I will add to the collection periodically...Marders and some armored cars would be good additions.

Fallschrimjager Machinegun and Mortar Platoons

Two support platoons. Lots of fire power.

US Rifle Platoon

3rd platoon to fill out my son's US Rifle Company.

US Armored Rifle Platoon

US Armored Rifle Platoon in the rare camo uniforms. Includes the five etra machinegun teams that can be dismounted from the half-tracks.

Panzergrenadier Platoon

Updated Panzergrenadier Platoon, now with transport. Have an extra stand too.

STUG Platoon

My favorite German WWII vehicles.

October 2010

October is another success. Good painting progress, plus lots of pre work priming winter and some updates to the blog.

Imagi-nation:
4 x 12 figure Infantry units: 48

Splinterred Lands:
2 x Wolverines: 2
16 x Rats: 16
7 x Badgers: 7

Flames of War:
38 x US Ranger Platoon: 38 points
3 x Shermans: 6
1 x tent: 1

TOTAL: 118 points


Attended one day of Fall In.

Played some more Memior 44 with my son this month after giving him some of the expansions for his birthday.

Plan for November is:
1) SL Foxes
2) US Rifle
3) GE Fallschrimjager platoon with MGs, Mortars, and snipers
4) May try to get the half-tracks and 2 STUGs done too

Squirrels

Next batch of the Splintered Light figures. Need to get these guys on the table.