A foray into Bolt Action WW2

[mcfonz]

Incidentally have you been painting muskets lately ? As you've  done classic Napoleonic Cross over .( .you've painted exposed barrels on your .303's)

No, just got a bit carried away hence the others have all been painted black and will do the others shortly. It's actually a much duller gunmetal than it looks in the photo's. These chaps were a cheap purchase from ebay a few years ago now. I think I paid less than £5 and got 10 west wind paras and they became the sort of "test piece" to see if I enjoyed painting them and could pull off something resembling the camo.

[Citizen Sade]

TSG means that you’ve painted the upper furniture as metal rather than wood.

[mcfonz]

TSG means that you’ve painted the upper furniture as metal rather than wood.

Righty oh, look for better painting tutorials next time! Just finding my way in, easy fix though. Brown it is.

[CapnJim]

Aside from the little snag with the rifles, they look good so far!

[mcfonz]

First section. There is one more chap to add to this section, armed with a sten. As you can see it will take it to 8 men. I found some kicking around at a back of a drawer I had completely forgotten about.

I have also started the officer for this platoon and the medic. I apply the tufts etc on all at the bases at the end. A PIAT team has also been started.

I also have bought the dice in preperation.

[CapnJim]

These guys look good to me!

[tin shed gamer]

They're coming together nicely.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Looking good!

[mcfonz]

A fair bit of progress...



Painted so far, though I have added a light mortar team, flame thrower team, sniper team and PIAT team since that photo was taken...

What I have built and ready to paint next...


The bare chaps will be undercoated tomorrow. I have some chaps to make the two sections here into a 2nd platoon. I have to put together a force for a 1250 club game this weekend. So everything in the two shots will be involved, sadly I won't manage to paint it all. I'll do my best though. I don't think everyone else's will be fully painted either.

I have paid for a spotter for my medium mortar and I intend to paint him to honour Sidney Cornell, a real life member of the Para's who served and died in WW2. I shall get these chaps done and dusted and then move on to doing some late war Germans for which I have a theory. Two platoons will be my initial aim, one that can represent either regular or poor troops as seen in the likes of Normandy from D-Day onwards. The second platoon will have grenadiers that could work as regular or elite troops.

[MaleGriffin]

Absolutely outstanding! Fantastic brushwork! I love the way you painted the faces!

[mcfonz]

Last Saturday we played a club game that roughly imitated the break out of Oosterbeek. It was a fun game and probably my biggest learning experience so far of Bolt Action. As a newbie there are definitely some oddities to it that could easily be ironed out. That's for another day though. I did manage to get more done for the day. The bases I will all do at once but I make sure I paint them all the earth tones I intend to use as a base at the very least.

Anyway, enough of the noise, more photos...


Paras assemble in the town, out of shot to the left is the bridge that they need to get to. Hopefully to link up with the relieving force, even better would be to escape across the bridge.


Another allied player with his troops taking up positions in the other side of town. A light mortar set up on the roof surveys the situation ready to drop damage or smoke to help hold up enemy advancing units approaching the town.


My forward observer started the game in support of some Polish airborne. His artillery strike slowed the German APC column.


The Vickers team, and the keen eyed will spot the legs of the PIAT team, set up with overwatch on one of the roads into town furthest away from the bridge. Their aim is to help slow down the advance of German infantry. It turned out that they did so very effectively with the team gunning down half of a German infantry section after leaving their armoured transport.



My paras leave the town and try to push towards the road leading to the bridge to connect with the relieving forces and provide another threat so they can push over the bridge.

It was a close fought battle. The link up was successful but the escape of any units of note was unsuccessful. German support teams set up in ambush every turn helped to mow down the paras as they were forced to burst from cover to try and make it to the bridge.

That said, on victory points, the paras more than accounted for themselves and were clear winners on that front.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Wow! That all looks ace! And sounds like it was great fun.

[CapnJim]

Your progress here is great!  Loved the battle report, too.  I especially like the very 1st pic in the AAR.  I bet it would look spiffy in black & white!