First repaints

Here are the first Sho't and Magach to be repainted in the Hannants Israeli Tank Sand colour.

First tanks painted correctly.

and the before shot (no pun intended)

The first photo isn't finished - I haven't painted the lenses, the markings or weathered it, but you can already see the difference in shade. I painted the new paint on, and find that it dries very quickly after you put it on the palette, so I'm going to go for an even damper wet pallette when I paint up the next tanks. It took me 1 and and a half hours to repaint two tanks, which is a bit of a shock to the system after the super quick Tamiya spray, army painter dip and varnish that I originally used to paint them!

I didn't strip the tanks down and I don't think that I've lost any detail in painting over the previous coat, but it was important to highlight the edges - that is the laborious part of the process.  I didn't weant to use the Army painter dip again partly because I don't know how effective it would be and partly because I don't want to risk a reaction with the paint when the varnish goes on.

I'll slowly paint up all of the tanks, one platoon at a time, and of course I'll paint anything new in this style as well. And I do have a bit of new stuff - two M48s Magachs from QRF, 5 M3 halftracks from Plastic Soldier Company, 6 BTR 152s, 3 M50 Shermans and 4 AMX 13s. 

And the repainted Magach 3

I'll post more on this project as I continue to build it.

Nate

The Sigh-nai Grey blues

I've known all along that the colour of my Israeli tanks was only correct if you look at them at a certain hour through a certain lens on a certain camera.  In other words, it is wrong. In an act of reciprocity I have been inspired by the painting of fellow gamer Daniel McCoy to repaint my Israeli tanks (apparently this blog inspired him to get back into his Arab Israeli Six Day War project, which is nice to know). He uses Vallejo Medium Grey, a colour that I never even considered, but which gives an excellent finish. This will be my fall back colour if the following is unsuccessful. I trawled the net looking for just the right colour and believe that I have found it in the Hannants Xtracrylix Israeli Tank Sand Grey. I went to order directly from Hannants, but they don't accept any order less than 20 quid, so I found Relish Models who have despatched three bottles of this precious pigment to me. When I get it, my first mission will be to repaint a tank and post a picture.

Changing the colour from this...

...to this

Wow... that colour difference is really noticeable - even for a colour blind guy like me!

The other announcement on the Arab-Israeli front is that I have been inspired to extend the collection to cover the Six Day War as well. Now there will be a certain amount of 'make-do' - my T-55s are in 1973 camo and I am not repainting them or buying another 21. But I am going to buy some T-34/85s (10) and paint them in the light sand colour of '67 Egyptian armour. I've already repainted the SU100s for this (the scheme hadn't changed by '73).

I also need new APCs, and I think that I'm going to go with BTR-50s rather than BTR-152s. Both will also cross over into the Yom Kippur War, but I like the idea of the 50s better I think. 

I've already ordered some M5 halftracks for my Israelis, so they are on the way, but I need a few more tanks - specifically AMX-13s. I also need some more Shermans, and I'm tempted to get some M48s and not upgrade their guns but leave them as 90mm.

I've ordered a Tamiya 1/100 Mirage III and a MiG 19 for the air support (such as the Egyptians had). I'm halfway tempted to build a Jordanian army, but this will be built from scratch - infantry plus Centurions and Pattons. So all pretty exciting really.  We played another Arab-Israeli Flames of War game on Friday night. This time the Egyptians actually managed a win with a double envelopment! Forgot my camera, so no pics sorry.

If anyone had told me three years ago that modern tank battles would be my main project focus for wargaming , I wouldn't have believed them. Now I can't get enough of it!

Nate

Rethinking Israeli stats and rules

A little extra research has seen me revise the stats and special rules for Israeli tanks, but I haven't playtested to look at points balance yet.

Sh’ot Kal	155	Tracked	13	6	2	105mm gun, coax MG, 0.50” AAMG, Protected Ammo,Semi Indirect Fire, Rangefinder, Hull down, unflappable, stabilisers
105mm tank gun		100cm	2	17	2+	Smoke
MAGACH 3	140	Tracked	13	7	1	105mm gun, AAHMG, coax MG, Rangefinder, Wide track, burns easily, hull down, unflappable
105mm tank gun		100cm	2	17	2+	Smoke

First up, stabilisers are removed. From what I can tell, the Israeli tanks did not have stabilisers at all. So out they go. This significantly reduces the mobility of the Israelis. So what then, did the Israelis manage to do well in the Yom Kippur War? Well, they were actually best on the defensive in hull down positions, so I've added a hull down rule.

Hull Down
tanks with Hull down are able to conceal themselves particularly well, so as well as being concealed for using a reverse slope, they also give a -1 to the enemy's firepower rating.

I could have made it an extra +1 to hit, but that means that the Egyptians and Syrians would not even be able to hit the Israelis from distance or on the move (+1 for hen and Chicks, +1 for concealed is already a 6 to hit against veterans), and I don't think that that is a fair reflection. A large number of Israeli tanks were destroyed whilst in hull down positions, although I think artillery had a big say in this. By altering the firepower rating it gives the Israelis greater survivability - more chance of a penetration becoming a bail. I think that this is a pretty good result.

'Umm - I hope we count as hull down here?'

The Magach 3 had flammable hydraulics at the front of the tank which made it burn easily. So it loses protected ammo and gains the burns easily rule.

Burns Easily
Enemy players can reroll their firepower rolls if they fail to bail or penetrate the Magach 3.

As the firepower on a T-55 is 2+ it effectively means rerolling '1's.

I've also added in unflappable (reroll platoon morale), wide tracks (for the Magach) and rangefinders (no +1 to hit at long range). All of this means that when the Israelis are hull down in firing positions at a distance they are at a huge advantage over the enemy- just like in the actual war. It also means that there is now a significant difference between taking a Sho't Kal and a Magach. I'm not sure if the points adjustment is quite right, but I will playtest this soon.

Nate

Edit: On further reading of Simon Dunstan's book Centurion vs T-55, it would appear that the Centurion was indeed built with stabilisers. So I've modified the above table and included them. If someone can tell me that the Magach was fitted with them too, that would be great.

Friday night is games night

We went out to John's place for our monthly games night on Friday and this gave me a chance to try out a couple of things.
First of all, I've been playing around with the Yom Kippur Flames of War stats based on those that have come out in the Vietnam Tour of Duty supplement. As a result I've had to upgrade the points on a T-55 so that it now costs the same to field 7 T-55s as it does 3 Centurion Shot Cal or M48A4 Magachs. I played three games of 420 points that was basically Israeli tank platoon on Egyptian tank company to see how the points balance.

In starting positions - scenario 1 is the 'Valley of Death'. With new points and uparmoured/upgunned  on previous stats, could T-55s survive charging headlong into an Israeli platoon of similar points?

The Magachs wait at extreme range. Their 105mm guns have an extra 20cm on the T-55s' 100mm gun.

The first round of Israeli firing leads to four bails and a burn. This forces a morale test which the confident Egyptians pass quite happily.

The brave Egyptians get back into their tanks and advance again.With Hen and Chicks they are rolling a single d6 at +1 for over 40cm and an additional +1 for moving. That means sixes to hit the veteran Israelis.

The inevitable end result. The company commander dies and the remaining tank can't test morale. Israeli clear win!

Game 2 was entitled 'Use some cover you idiot'. The Egyptians started behind a hill and advanced with tthe town blocking the Israeli line of sight.

"Hey! We've moved more than 20cm and we aren't dead yet!"

Already a better start for the Egyptians. Frontal armour on a Magach is 13 + 2 (blue dice) is a 15. AP on a 100mm is 16 and Firepower is 2+ (green dice).  Boom!

The Israelis find they have to move. Never mind, with modern stabilisers they have full RoF and if they move 15cm or less they suffer no +1 penalty to hit. It has never been so easy to be mobile! Take that T-55s - one bail and one kill.

Hen and Chicks is not especially noted for enhancing mobility, but the chance of a flank shot is just too good to pass up. The miracle 5 is rolled - but not by the flanking tank! Nevertheless the shot penetrates when you roll a 1 for your armour save and then it is pretty likely to go klabooie! Scratch one more Magach. The surviving Israeli tanker fails his morale test - but Israeli armour is unflappable. He rerolls morale successfully.

The end of the game. The last Magach bails one tank and kills another, but can't force a morale check. In the next round  a one is rolled, which is never a good result. The Egyptians win! It is 1 game all. Time for the decider.

The last game saw the Magachs replaced with Centurions. A Shot Cal is practically the same as a Magach in terms of stats but I just wanted to use some different models. We played out the same scenario as game 2 again.

The Israelis started with a much more mobile defence and moved up to the town hoping to cover all of the flanks. The right hand Centurion got bogged, but managed to free himself. Hen and Chicks prevented the T-55s from making an impression - moving +1, target concealed +1 = 6s to hit. On the other hand the Israelis were +1 for concealed target against conscripts - they needed threes. The resulting carnage can be seen above.

It is hard to know exactly how balanced a full 2000 point game will be because neither side had any support or the chance to bring superior numbers to bear on any one particular point, but it is already obvious that the Egyptians are better off than they were. Suicidal charges are just that - The superior Israeli gunnery makes a real difference, but just using a bit of terrain was a big game changer and forced the Israelis to counter with their own manoeuvring. When you have 9 Israeli tanks vs 21 Egyptians then the Israelis are going to have to think very carefully about how they deal with these numbers. This is a good thing.

The stats that I used are here:

Sh’ot Cal	140	Tracked	13	6	2	105mm gun, coax MG, 0.50” AAMG, Protected Ammo, Modern Stabiliser, Semi Indirect Fire, unflappable
105mm tank gun		100cm/40”	2	17	2+	Smoke

M48A4 (mod)	140	Tracked	13	7	1	105mm, coax MG, 0.50” AAMG, Protected Ammo, Semi Indirect Fire, unflappable
105mm tank gun		40”	2	17	2+	Canister, Smoke

T55	60	Tracked	12	6	1	100mm gun, 12.7mm AAMG, coax MG, Smoke Generator, Hen and Chicks, infra-red night fighting
100mm tank gun		32”	2	16	2+

I have to admit, I'm not used to using smoke and didn't think to include it in any of the playtests. I have used it in previous games and it has made a slight difference. The RoF on the T-55 is to account for slightly more room for the crew and the addition of stabilisers to the T-55 compared to the BF stats for the T-54. I've run these past Owen who thinks that AT on the 105mm gun should be 18, but I think that this unbalances the game too much in favour of the Israelis. It means that T-55s need to get a 6 at close range  for a bail. I think a 5 to bail gives better balance when you lump it in with all of the other special rules working in the Israeli favour - hen and chicks and modern stabilisers in particular.

Alongside these test runs I also had my first couple of games of X-Wing. Very reminiscent of Wings of War and a really fun little game. I had the basics down very quickly and we were able to have a prolonged dogfight in our second game because we were choosing better options for manoeuvre and actions.

Y Wing in a crossfire - lucky it has good shields!

On a side note, as I left to go to John's I dropped the Millenium Falcon on the ground. I had a heart wrenching moment where I thought it might have shattered, but it didn't even have a scratch on it. What I didn't realise is that I had also dropped Darth Vader's Advanced TIE on the ground until I was unpacking at John's place. I realised it must have been under the car as I drove out. Sure enough, when I got home, there it was on the garage floor. Damage report? One wing fell off, which I easily glued back on. These models are tough - or maybe they just know how to use the force!

There is a bit more of a write up including the other games that were played on the club blog here:
http://rotoirregulars.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/games-night-5th-april-2013/

Nate

Projects have been happening

Even if posting hasn't :(

All of my projects are now on hold while I concentrate on painting for John and Terry, but being the anal character that I am, I couldn't leave any loose ends, so I made sure that what was on the list to be completed  was finished.
First up, my sea boards and Prussian Dystopian Wars fleet.

The Prussian Fleet

The sea boards are 3' x 4' MDF painted blue. I was going to play around with glass coat (couldn't find it) then had the idea of using clear sealant, but in the end just plain paint looks pretty good. I'm happy anyway.

Close-up of the Prussian Battleship, Cruisers and Frigates.

I used the air brush that Marcus gave me to paint the Prussian Fleet and then put down liberal black wash and brown ink wash for the decking. The photos don't do the final effect any justice at all.

The fleets clash

I haven't even played Dystopian Wars yet due to my dislike of playing with anything that isn't painted. I'm looking forward to it, having read some great battle reports online.

I've already posted pictures of the Britannian Fleet, but not of the Bombers which I've also finished now.

Britannian Bomber

These models are very easy to paint and have a lot of character. I still have some buildings and a French fleet to put together. I'm not really interested in the land aspect of the game, as it was the ships that really caught my attention in the first place, and I'm not 100% sold on the look of the land elements.

Another project that finally got finished was my terrain boards for Superhero gaming.

Fantastic Four square off against the Frightful Four.

It looks pretty good close up, but seen from above...

Bird's eye view

...it looks pretty spartan really. I think that it is enough for me to play games with, but not quite the grand city centre I envisioned. The last two buildings that I made had all sorts of issues with different printers printing different sizes and the facades not fitting the structures. There have had to be a a lot of touch ups. There is also a very prominent bow in the building on the right. It ought to be condemned I think.

Thing and Human Torch take on Thundra and Trapster

But when you get down to street level it turns out OK,

Mr fantastic and Invisible Woman face off with the Wizard and Sandman.

Now all I need to do is play the game...

And the third game that I have been quietly building but have not played yet is X-Wing. I'm looking forward to playing this too, but like all things it is a matter of prioritising it. One of the issues I'm faced with is that Super Rugby has started again and the last half a dozen Fridays have featured one of the two teams that I support (yes, I can support two teams, based on where I have lived at different times in my life), either the Blues or the Chiefs. So my plans to solo game Fridays when I don't go to John's have been kiboshed. Anyway, here are my fleets so far:

The Imperial Fleet with obligatory Bounty Hunter on board.

The Rebels looking slightly outnumbered.

It is Games Night this Friday - I'll try and remember my camera.

Nate

Red Devils - first section

It has been a couple of weeks since the last post, but when work and life get busy it is always blogging that goes first. After all, my hobbies are reading, painting, modelling and gaming - if I gave these up there would be nothing to blog about.
So the first catch up post is a commission that I am doing for John. He bought the British Paratrooper 1000 point starter army from Bolt Action and it arrived last week, so here is the first section.

The full section

I am really enjoying painting these, and the only dark spot is that I had to use Gesso to undercoat them. No-one in town stocks Games Workshop because of their ridiculous pricing and ordering structures, so no Chaos Black spray. The nearest city with a gaming store (one and a half hours away) only stocks a few cans because they are so bloody ridiculously expensive and Army Painter is a better alternative. Only there is no Army Painter available at the moment, so it is a one and a half hour drive to buy an over-priced can of $35 spray paint. Luckily, there is an alternative in Plasti-kote metal primer - half the price and just as good. But upon going to order some at the local hardware store I was informed that they are no longer making the spray in black - only white, grey or red oxide! Arrrgh!

Some closer pictures of the paras.

And the rest of the section.

So John is making a trip to Hamilton next week and will buy the last three cans in stock at Mark One of Chaos Black, and I can finally undercoat the Paras properly and the whole painting experience will be that much more pleasant.  The problem with gesso is just its thinness. I find it chips far too easily, taking the top layer of paint with it.

I wish there was an easy way to get hold of the Army Painter undercoat via post in New Zealand. If anybody knows of a way please let me know.  I'm aware of Slave to Painting, but they haven't had it in stock forever.

By the way, I have figured out my 800 point Polish army for FoG Renaissance and will start rebasing this week. I've read through the rulebook and have a fairly good handle on the basics of the rules, so look forward to trying them out.

Last picture is of my poor old companion, Oscar, looking absolutely enthralled as I moan to him about the difficulties of getting a good undercoat. He loves sitting with me when I paint or do modelling. He's probably inhaled as much static grass and spray varnish as I have, but he is still going!

'You bore me... but you feed me. So I'll hang around'

Nate