German Heer Pt. 4- Teams

After choosing your HQ and two squad options for the compulsory Reinforced Platoon selections in Bolt Action, you can then start to have some fun! First off in any list for me comes the weapon teams. These provide a bit more welly in small games, and give you some options for how you want to play a battle/ scenario, but keeps things cheap points-wise (and £££-wise) before you start adding artillery and vehicles to your force.

I've always felt that the 0-1 option for most team-based weapons was quite low. I completely understand that this was done to limit enormous abuse by some players who, if allowed more, would by inclination go in that direction. I have, however, welcomed the new force organisation charts that have appeared in more recent campaign books that have played around with these number more freely and allowed more scope and variation depending on the scenario or the historical forces involved. For now though, I still have one of each of the weapon teams that I want to include in my German force. I would like to include a couple more MMG/ static MG42 teams in the future- as the German army became more focused on defensive actions (and I have a late-war German force)- it feels like more MMG teams would be acceptable additions.

Panzerschreck Team

I don't like the Warlord panzerschreck models. I quite like the Artizan Designs ones, but when I saw the Empress Miniatures teams (and their WW2 Germans in general), I knew these were the ones. It's the earliest version panzerschreck, before a blast shield was added, so the poor operator had to wrestle on a gas mask and gloves before he could fire it! Not conducive to split-second reactive fire at the sudden appearance of Allied armoured vehicles, but at least they sorted this out in the later versions. Love Paul Hicks' sculpts, whatever he's doing, so these were a no-brainer.

Sniper Team

Artizan Designs sculpts. Love these. Some of the first figures that I painted for this army, trying out the Sumpfmuster camo scheme. Got a bit carried away with the shrubbery that these guys are using for cover, I think, but I've still got a soft spot for these figures.

MG42/ MMG Team

These Artizan Designs models are the very first figures I painted for this force, and to me it shows. I love the sculpts, but I had issues with where the MMG firer positions in relation to the gun itself... I didn't even have Feldgrau for the uniform of the team leader with the binoculars, so he's got random GW grey trousers. I know that's not a big issue, and I know German uniform quality/ colour suffered nearer the war's end, but it's something I immediately see (and you all can now too...)

80mm/ Medium Mortar Team

Artizan Designs models, again. I try to base my teams individually so I can represent casualties physically rather than with counters or dice. Additionally, I really don't like basing teams on 60mm round bases or similar because it limits where they can be placed on the table sometimes. If you want to snuggle them into cover nicely or conceal then in ruins/ buildings, a big base won't let you do that. Just my preference, though. Below the mortar team is the spotter that they can optionally take.

German Heer Pt.3- Infantry Squads 2- Veterans & Begliet

 Veteran Grenadier Squad

Originally, this squad was made up of basic grenadier models who were given extra gear and better weapons to denote their more elite status. I wasn't completely satisfied with how they looked, but found an answer in the Warlord plastic Waffen SS sprue. The additional heads, equipment and weapons allowed me to make some individuals that looked like no other soldiers in my force. The 6 men the sprue allowed me to put together freed up some grenadiers to slide into other squads and gave the veterans a more unique appearance.

The 4 grenadier models that remain in the squad are the make-ups to a 10 man squad, but are the ones that I felt fit in (& were already painted & had the equipment I needed them to have...) I know the SS men are wearing the fancy lace-up collared smocks with baggy sleeves, etc, but I covered them all in my primitive Sumpfmuster camo scheme, so hopefully they don't look too out of place and seem like hardy combat veterans that have accumulated a decent amount of experience, firepower and gear between them.

Four StG44s is enough, I really feel, to not feel like overkill (or min/maxing). Two LMG/MG42s gives them some punch and differentiates them from the standard squads. I don't want elite squads to become too abusive in what they're equipped with, or an enormous points sink. I think this squad comes in at around 200 pts, roughly. Ok for larger games where they can be accommodated. Red base edge denotes an NCO, as always.

Begliet Squad

One of my favourite squads in the Soviet army list is the Tank-rider squad. Images of Russian soldiers clinging onto the backs of T-34s as they rumble into battle have always inspired me, and were a big part of why I chose a Russian army first when I started playing Bolt Action. Imagine my happiness when I read through the Stalingrad campaign book and discovered the Begliet (Bodyguard) squads! SMG armed troops riding into battle on top of a StuG! Perfect!

So, some of the discarded veteran grenadiers that needed to make way for their Waffen SS sprue replacements (see above) moved into this squad. A couple needed arm replacements to be equipped with MP40s, but otherwise I had six men already out of the full squad of ten. I didn't opt for an LMG/MG42 in this squad, as I decided close-quarter support for the StuG was more important than a few more mid/long range shots with an LMG. 

German Heer Pt.2- Infantry Squads 1- Grenadiers

I knew I wanted to do a late-war German Heer army, despite loving the various Fallshirmjager ranges out there. I really like the metal sculpts from Artizan Designs, but knew I wanted to use the Warlord plastic Grenadier models for my rank and file. I'd been playing Bolt Action since 1st edition with my Russians, but bought the Band of Brothers 2nd edition starter set mostly for the A5 rulebook, terrain and pin markers, but also for additional grenadiers and the SKDFZ 251/10 halftrack to get me started. My Soviets would now have an opponent to fight against!

Grenadier Squad 1

Led by an Obergetreiter/NCO armed with an SMG/MP40, another man (Gefreiter) armed similarly, an LMG/ MG42 team and 6 men with rifles (+2 panzerfausts), this is my default infantry squad composition. I love the multitude of options that the Grenadier set provides, and combined with other German plastic sprues, it allows for plenty of variations, particularly if you intend to field a lot of squads. As a side note, my NCOs are denoted by the red edge to their bases.

Grenadier Squad 2

Some more of the same, but different... I think the NCO 'gesturing' arm is from an older Warlord German sprue, but cant be totally sure. I like the amount of kit that the Grenadier sprue holds, so you can load out each man with bread bags, canteens and whatever else they might need. I tried to add a helmet hanging from the webbing of any man wearing a cap, but you'll have to take my word on that one...

German Heer Pt.1- HQ Options

HQ Options

So, my second army after my Soviet Russians was some Germans, so that Ivan had someone to fight against. I immediately liked the plastic Grenadier models from Warlord, and particularly liked the Late-War German range from Artizan Designs, which makes up a large portion of my weapon teams. But first, the HQ options.

These are Empress Miniatures, Volksgrenadier NCOs, but I'm using them as my First Lieutenant and his +1. I like the officer model's pose, scanning the action with his binoculars to hand, His gnarly aide has an eyepatch hidden under his cap brim, so I like to think of him as an Eastern Front veteran. Note, I denote officers with a yellow base edge.

This is my other First Lieutenant + man, who represents the actual Volksgrenadier element of my German force. I love the idea of variable troop qualities, and the amended Green rules for Volkgrenadiers for Bolt Action made them a tempting option to model and paint. I've used the Warlord Winter German plastics, plus several Grenadiers to vary up the squads I've made, but the officer and his aide are both equipped with nice warm greatcoats, even if all of his men have not...

These are without doubt my favourite FOO models by nationality. There is so much character to these two men. I chose the peaked capped head for the Forward Observation Officer himself. I like how he's calling out grid references/ directions which the radio operator is frantically shouting to the artillery batteries behind the lines. Nice models. Blue base edges denote non-leadership providing HQ choices.

By contrast, I've never been completely satisfied with any of the German medic models I've come across, so I decided to make my own. This 'Sanitator' was made from a plastic grenadier body- I wanted to capture him running from cover, braving bullets and explosions raining dirt and mayhem all around as he dashes to treat a comrade. His left arm is simply a rifle holding arm, which I angled to (hopefully) represent him flinching/ angling his helmet to shield his eyes. The right arm held a MG34/42 ammo box, which I replaced with a random bag from the sprue which I felt looked like a medical bag. White base edge denotes a medic (plus making them much easier for my opponent to spot and level his snipers at...)

Terrain- High Walls

I'd wanted to make some high walls for a while now. All of my obstacles- hedges, fences and stone walls, to date, have been waist/ chest height, so I wanted to produce something taller to block line of sight and offer some variety.

As I've made more and more urban scenery, I felt like I wanted some taller walls to create storage yards and enclosed spaces to make things a bit more interesting. A continued inspiration for me as I've grown in confidence as a scenery maker has been John Bond and his wargaming blog. He produced some high walls a good while back for his Chain of Command games, and these provided a basis for my ideas. You can see John's walls on his blog here.

I don't have carpentry skills or tools to make attractive walls from wood, like John, but I do like to use foamboard to extend my MDF buildings. I used the same material here, which I'd found worked well for the high walls around my hotel backyard so thought it would do nicely. Instead of engraving brickwork and cracks into the walls, I experimented with using printed brick paper to represent the exposed brickwork under the plaster cladding. I stuck some patches of brick paper onto the bare walls, then added watered-down filler to make the plaster texture over the top. After painting the 'plaster' and capping the tops of the walls with cardboard tiles, I added weathering, moss, rubble and posters.

I like how these came out, and will go back to some of my earlier buildings and add chipped bits of brickwork poking through on some of the more bare surfaces. Watch this space...

I made the gates in my usual way- coffee stirrers. The hinges and lock plates are cut from cardboard. The gate handles are small sections of paperclip bent into loops.

Because foamboard is quite soft, I was able to poke little holes into the surface with a pin to make bullet holes. Think I'll go back and do the same to my older buildings to add a bit more 'war' to them...

The wall sections with the corners missing from the base allow me to join two walls together to make a corner (see below).

I also made two small t-sections to allow me to put walls at right angles to one another and make some different enclosed areas.

British Airborne Pt.12- Characters & Objectives

Characters

I've got a couple of HQ additions to share today. Now that the majority of my British Paras are complete, I can focus on some little additions that I've got lying around.

The first is what was originally going to be my force's First Lieutenant. One of the Perry sculpts from Foundry, he looked the part with his pose and bearing. He is equipped with the unpopular plate armour that was issued to airborne troops on occasion with chest and 'gooly' protection, as it was called. Not many troops wore them, apparently, they were cumbersome, especially if you were jumping out of an aeroplane, I expect. It tended to be worn under the Denison smock, but I like that the Perrys included it over the top. Clearly this is an officer who values his personal safety, so with that in mind, I will promote him to a more senior rank, making him either a Captain or Major when I use him in Bolt Action.

Speaking of Majors...

This Artizan Designs model depicts none other than Major Allison Digby Tatham-Warter DSO, famous for his bravery and eccentricity during the Battle of Arnhem. Commander of A Company, of the 2^nd Parachute Battalion, part of the 1^st Parachute Brigade of the 1^st Airborne Division, Digby’s company was one of the first to reach Arnhem and secure the famous bridge.

27 years old at the time, Digby was known as an aggressive commander- what would be labelled in 1940s officer parlance as ‘having dash’! He did not trust the reliability of the radio sets issued to his company for Operation Market Garden, so drilled them in communicating using calls from hunting bugles- a visionary move as the radios failure became an increasing problem as the battle went on.

Major Tatham-Warter was seen moving through his men’s positions, checking on their needs, wearing a bowler hat procured from somewhere and carrying an umbrella. The story goes, that Digby jumped with the brolly to use as an identifier, as he was useless at remembering daily passwords, his reasoning being, no British sentry would shoot an officer brandishing an umbrella thinking they were a German in disguise!

There are many stories about how Digby led a bayonet charge brandishing said brolly, ran to save his company chaplainand even disabled an enemy armoured car with it! All of these anecdotes, and more, can be found readily online. He was also the inspiration for the fictional brolly-weilding character 'Arry' in the film, 'A Bridge Too Far'.

I thought I'd try an urban base for Digby, which would suit a character fighting within the smashed buildings of Arnhem. It means he stands out from the rest of my other paras more rural basing, but I wanted to try bricks and rubble, and I think it works well enough.

Objective- Combat Nurse

I like this model from Empress. The character in the face is great. I also liked that proceeds for this model went to the NHS when it was released to celebrate their hard work during Lockdown 1. Go to the Empress website to learn the interesting story attached to the photograph sculpter Paul Hicks used as reference for this model. Lovely...

I have an allied war photographer model rattling around, which I envision working as a nice little vignette with this nurse. She looks like she's relaxed, so could be posing for a pic for the folks back home. I'll use them both as an objective marker in a game sometime, I'm sure...

British Airborne Pt. 11- More Troops

 Troops

This is the third section of British Paras for my latest WW2 army. They've been a long time coming, what with one side project or another, but now, I'm fleshing out the rank and file nicely after focusing on the interesting vehicles, characters and weapon teams., up to now.

Perry models from Foundry again. I love these sculpts, and they went a long way towards convincing me this was a project I wanted to undertake. So, other than the NCO and the Bren team, the rest of the section are all sculpts I've had in the other two squads. I love them so much though (did I say that already?!) that it didn't make painting them a chore.

My fourth and final section will be an Artizan Designs contribution- another manufacturer whose British Paras spoke to me- which will give me some different models to paint. That will be it for rank and file for this force, other than my 5-man Royal Engineer section. Then, my Paras will be done! For now...