Xwing miniatures

Mice and Mystics

My wife has been painting some figures for a new board game. Hopefully I'll be able to convince her to help with some 28mm Bolt Action figures (I don't like painting).

One of the baddies.

Conquest 2012 pictures

Game 1 vs Pooch. Marder horde.

Game 1 - Barbed wire blocks half the table.

Last ditch Stuart attack over the hill

Game 2 vs Jon - Cauldron

Marders kill Stuarts, Pioniers assault motor platoon

Game 4 - Pincer vs Lionel. Observer cam.

15. Pionierkompanie progress

15. Pionierkompanie in Combat Mission: Afrika Korps

12 October

 15 October

Marders & M14/41s

Stuart rams Crusader

El Alamein Afrika korps progress

Progress report for Conquest

The models arrived on 9 September 2012. As Conquest is nearly here and seeing the progress on Xelee's and Pooch's blogs I was motivated to get started.

In blister packs at 1940h

6 Marder III (7.62cm)

5 M14/41

Assembled

2 Marder III (7.62cm)

In blister packs at 2157h

4 Marder III (7.62cm)

Assembled

4 Marder III (7.62cm)

5 M14/41

The book has some nice pics and the OOBs for most of the forces at El Alamein.

Tasks to be completed before Conquest

Assemble 4 Marder III (7.62cm)

Paint 8 Marder III (7.62cm)

Paint 5 M14/41

Repaint 2 8-rads

Repaint 2 Pak 38s

Repaint 2 pioneer platoons in DAK colours and rebase, integrating some DAK pioneer models that I got today at Comics.

Find miscellaneous support vehicles and paint...

Decide whether to take a pioneer supply vehicle or AA machine guns on the M14/41s. Mines or wire from the supply vehicle would really fit with the El Alamein setting. On the other hand 30 MG shots from the M14/41s...  

El Alamein 2nd battle list

The german armour at El Alamein consisted mainly of:

Panzer III J            5/3/1 ROF 3 AT 7 FP 4+           @                90 points each

Panzer III J (late)  5/3/1 ROF 3 AT 9 FP 4+           @              105 points each

Panzer IV F1         5/3/1 ROF 2 AT 9 FP 3+           @              100 points each

Panzer IV F2         5/3/1 ROF 2 AT 11 FP 3+         @              145 points each 

Marder III (7.62cm)  1/0/0 ROF 2 AT 11 FP 3+    @               81 points each

Link to list of armour at El Alamein

http://gregpanzerblitz.com/El%20Alamein/Armor%20at%20El%20Alamein.pdf

I'm going to try out a 'glass cannon' list and hope I fight mainly shermans and avoid fighting .50 cal carrier hordes or Churchill IIIs.

Link to article on Kingforce Churchill IIIs.

http://www.northirishhorse.net/articles/7.html

Pictures of Marder IIIs

http://warandgame.com/2009/11/15/marder-iii-in-afrika/

Italian tanks

http://www.africaaxisallied.com/blog/category/italian-afvs/

Brief report - MW 1500 Gepanzerte Panzergrenadiers vs Rota Razvedki

SoSpill vs Xelee - 1st V3 game


Gepanzerte Panzergrenadiers - Eastern Front

HQ - CiC + 2iC knacker SMG 2x251/1c                                          80
Gepanzerte panzergrenadier platoon with knacker and 4 251/1c        235
Gepanzerte panzergrenadier platoon with knacker and 4 251/1c        235
3 Pak 40                                                                                       220
2 Stug f/8                                                                                      340
3 Nebelwerfers                                                                               115
2 3.7cm AA halftracks with armour upgrades                                   125
Limited Stuka G                                                                            135
                                                                                                   

Rota Radzveki - Eastern Front

HQ - CiC + 2iC + komissar + 3 DShK AA MG on truck                 95
9 team rota platoon with 5 captured 251                                       205
7 team rota platoon with 4 captured 251                                       160
7 T-34/76 + 3 T-34/56                                                                 635
4 SU-122                                                                                    245
Sporadic Shturmovik                                                                    145

Hold the line - Panzergrenadiers attacking. Defenders have two platoons on the board - both in ambush!

 

Turn 1 setup. We played the creek as bogging but the fords cross country terrain for a quicker game. The infantry were placed out of their tracks after the photo. Pak 40s on a skill check hill. Nebelwerfers at the back with 3.7cm AA watching out for Shturmoviks. The other panzergrenadier platoon was placed in their halftracks at the top of the photo. They were on the road just to the left of the photo below.

 

 

 Turn 1 - The half tracks move up onto the ford. The Paks all make their skill checks and move to the edge of the cliff overlooking the objective. The stugs and infantry move forward to the ford. The only shooting in the german turn was firing smoke at the 2iC as everything else was in ambush.  

The ambushes - 7 T-34/76s shoot at the Pak 40s and 3 T-34/57s Stugs. 2 Pak 40s destroyed. 1 Stug destroyed and 1 bailed but morale save made. 

 

The large Rota platoon ambushes. The flame thrower shoots hoping to vaporise the panzergrenadier platoon. 

1, 2, 2, 6. 1 halftrack destroyed, 1 infantry team destroyed.*

Turn 2 - German counterattack. No more photos. 

Shoot and assault the rota platoon. Brought below half strength and failed motivation. No losses to the panzergrenadier platoon!

The panzergrenadier platoon assaults the 2iC. 

The T-34 platoons fared somewhat better. 1 stug, 1 pak 40, 1 neb barrage and potentially 3 planes with 6 tanks under a template. End result - 3 bailed tanks. 0 destroyed. The planes were all shot down.

Turn 2 - Russians. Destroyed the stug. Pak 40 survived as the tanks moved to cover both objectives and shot up the panzergrenadier platoons near the forward objective. 2 teams lost.

Turn 3 - Panzergrenadiers drive down road, shoot and destroy the 3 AA DShKtrucks. and stormtrooper out to contest the rear objective. The Pak 40 destroys a T-34. The nebs also get a T-34. Air arrives but is intercepted.

Turns 3 - Russians - No reserves. T 34 platoon has to contest both objectives. T-34/57s shoot and destroy the Pak 40. T-34/76s shoot and assault the panzergrenadiers on the rear objective. Two teams destroyed and the panzergrenadiers break off. 1 T-34 gets stuck in a building where it remains for the rest of the game.

Turns 4-7 The T-34s get whittled down by nebs, air and infantry assaults under smoked cover. The panzergrenadier platoon contesting the rear objective gets wiped out by the rota platoon reserve on turn 5. However, the T-34s now reduced to 2 tanks are contesting the forward objective. The panzergrenadiers assault them and destroy them. The only rota halftrack near enough to contest was bailed by an airstrike and didn't remount*. The rota didn't manage to destroy the panzergrenadiers with shooting so it was a 4-3 victory to the germans.

*While writing this I noticed the same mistake was made twice. When a transport team is bailed or destroyed in the shooting step, the platoon must make an immediate morale save or the transports are sent to the rear. If the panzergrenadiers had failed their save they could have jumped out of the halftracks and moved back 4 inches. This would have given them 11 dice defensive fire as opposed to 12 with the halftracks (using the AA MGs as well). The second instance of this occuring was more important as the rota may have been able to bring the halftrack foward close enough to move and contest the objective. They may not have been able to however as there were teams overwatching the rota so the 16" limit to bringing transports forward may have applied. Xelee might have the relevant photo.

Overall this was a very enjoyable game. The list choices were affected by the transport, air and AA rules. AA seems to be almost essential and 3.7cm armoured AA is great (3 shturmoviks arrived once but were all shot down).