AKULAs After the Bomb project 1980s imagination - pg34 - Bloodhound Missile

[AKULA]

After the Bomb - the starting idea

Twilight 2000 as a setting is obviously an influence, but the main source of inspiration is actually the short-lived Jericho TV Series, set in the US...again with the focus upon a small town, post a nuclear event. The game will be as much about scavenging for supplies, and protecting what you’ve already got, as out and out combat, although I expect there will be plenty of scope for that as well.

- set in early/mid-1980s in the north east of England
- takes place post a nuclear exchange between NATO & USSR
- Games will centre around a village/small town & how its inhabitants fare
- focus on scavenge and survival
- rules will probably end up being homegrown
- will fictionalise place names, but based in part on actual locations (please avoid naming real towns in the thread)


Thread Index - Key Pages
Page 1  -  Game Outline, Reference Material & Useful Links
Page 2  -  Campaign Map, List of locations & initial figure WIPS 
Page 3  -  Painted British Soldiers, Regional HQs & Bunker Locations
Page 4  -  Bedfords & Saracens
Page 5  -  Police Cars
Page 7  -  US Army Vehicles, British Police & Tents
Page 8  -  More Police, RAF Personnel & Royal Observer Corps
Page 9  -  Supply Counters, Police Mobile Command Centre & Army Supply Convoy
Page 10 - Fire Engine & Green Goddess Proxy
Page 11 - RAF Chevette plus helos...Lynx, Wessex & Sea King
Page 12 - Landrover with Wombat
Page 14 - Ambulance crew plus a second landrover
Page 15 - Territorial Army plus more Regulars
Page 16 - RAF Chipmunk, Soviets in Snow suits plus a AN-2 Colt
Page 17 - More Soviet Airborne plus Soviet Vehicles
Page 18 - Soviet AA HMGs plus British Snipers
Page 19 - A HUGE AN-12 Cub Transport Plane & a platoon of US M1 Abrams Tanks
Page 20 - Loads of Soviet armour/vehicles plus some British civilian vehicles
Page 21 - SU-7 Fitter Soviet Ground Attack Aircraft
Page 22 - Soviet Mi-8 Helicopter
Page 23 - More Soviets, another Mi-8, a Mi-24 Hind & a RAF Rapier SAM
Page 25 - A Soviet RPU-14 MRL plus....an Ice Cream Van
Page 26 - Wartime Leader...with Handbag
Page 27 - More Brits including a General
Page 28 - More vehicles...Military, Police & civilian
Page 29 - Another refugee vehicle plus a Rapier Supply Trailer
Page 30 - Farmer in his Landrover
Page 31 - Police Support Unit Vans
Page 33 - Civilian trucks, Bloodhound Missile & Station Commanders Mini
Page 34 - Saxon APCs & finished Bloodhound Missile

Useful links

Probable Target List(within the UK)
https://www.robedwards.com/2014/06/revealed-the-106-cold-war-nuclear-targets-across-the-uk.html
https://robedwards.typepad.com/files/probable-nuclear-targets-1972-national-archives.pdf

Governing Britain After The Bomb
https://www.subbrit.org.uk/features/struggle-for-survival/

Target NorthWest - Defence Preparedness
https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/110194.pdf?v=76a08c0ba94dc5109274c2014ba19e88

Home Defence & Emergency Planning
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/osp14.pdf
http://www.civildefenceassociation.org.uk/HistCDWebA5V5.pdf

Civil Defence Rescue Manual
https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/5384/A12.CD.H7%20Civil%20Defence%20Handbook%20no%207%20Rescue.pdf;jsessionid=479002CD5CA36F512040074BE12C98F4?sequence=1

UK Cold War Communications - UKWMO, Royal Observer Corps
http://www.ringbell.co.uk/ukwmo/Page221.htm

ORBATs
https://coldwargamer.blogspot.com/2012/05/orbat-1980s-british-bg-part-7-infantry.html
https://www.battleorder.org/military-organization
https://www.fireandfury.com/orbats/modcwbritish.pdf

Reference material

To come up with the setting, Ive looked at some contemporary sources to give a flavour of what I have in mind. First up there is a 1982 pamphlet Target NorthWest which while it makes a lot of assumptions, does tackle the main issues, such as fallout, communications, food etc



Ive also looked at a couple of different contemporary UK Government studies for what a UK target list may or may not look like.





As the various papers/scenarios (such as Operation Square Leg) talk of a range of anything between 150-1000 megatons being used against the UK in an all out nuclear exchange, Im going to go for a more limited scenario....otherwise the game will only consist of cockroaches, especially as the fallout will be spread over a wide area by the prevailing wind 

Thats it for now...my next post will set out the general surroundings for the campaign map

[carlos marighela]

Oh come on, that map was long ago revealed as part of desperate joint marketing effort by Stoke and Swansea’s respective tourism boards to encourage people to visit. Let’s face it, what else would work?

Visit Stoke-on-Trent. Last on Anyone’s List to be Nuked.

 

[Paul @ Empress Miniatures]

If you drop enough bombs you will not need many figures or trucks. Not sure I like this project   

[Dags]

If you drop enough bombs you will not need many figures or trucks. Not sure I like this project 

Don't worry, Akky will be doing it at 1:1 scale so you'll still be able to retire early 

Looking forward to seeing how this pans out 

[voltan]

I'm just hoping the Bed sitting room is amongst your inspiration file.

[Silent Invader]

Looks great Matt  8

Hopefully it’ll inspire me to do more with my own late 70s early 80s post apoc project for which I’ve assembled a load of bikers, moped riders, quad bikes, etc (I’m playing fast and loose with history as well) - no A bomb for me though, just oil shortages, virus, breakdown of society..... 

Am very much looking forward to following progress. 

[ulverston]

Poor old Preston was high on the list though a time traveller visiting today from the early 80's may think the missiles had been flung about! I look forward to your work with this interesting idea.

[Ewart]

Oh come on, that map was long ago revealed as part of desperate joint marketing effort by Stoke and Swansea’s respective tourism boards to encourage people to visit. Let’s face it, what else would work?

Visit Stoke-on-Trent. Last on Anyone’s List to be Nuked.

 

Here was me thinking this map represented the fact that Stoke has actually been A-bombed. Not sure I could tell the difference day to day.  I mean it's not like a USSR nuke would make that much of a difference to the streets here, probably clean them to a nice glow.

[NurgleHH]

Matt,
with the new Version of TW2000 I was also in the mood for it. But I tend more to a 21st century RCW. It is a very old idea from the inspiration of the Copplestone Nebo-soviets.
But I hope you show more of your stuff here. Very interesting and exciting.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

I look forward to seeing how this goes.

Do not forget Threads and The War Game.

I have not actually eaten the Spam yet.

The Death of Grass by John Christopher is an interesting view on on how things go down hill.

[Mr. White]

I'm really into creating my own settings for games as well (not so much rules...I'll leverage the hard work of betters), so am following this project.
Also, as an American military brat living abroad (W. Germany) through the entire 80s, 80's cold-war-gone-hot/WWIII scenarios in Europe are of interest.

[Captain Blood]

Brilliant. What a great idea.

But Salcombe?

The yachties will be the first to die 

Ah, those Russians... 

[carlos marighela]

At a guess, at least one of those USAF ‘airbases’ on that map is the former CFS at RAF Little Rissington, which the tin tanks were using as a military hospital at the time. Not sure that would have been a priority target for the Soviets.

So maybe Stow-on-the-Wold (where the wind blows cold) or Bourton-on-the-Water would be safe spots?With the latter you get the added advantage of creating a miniature village that has it’s own miniature village (6mm buildings set inside a 28mm town?)

Whatever you do avoid Mid Somer, it has a higher casualty rate than any post nuclear exchange wasteland.

[Andym]

What about setting in the town you live?...or where you were brought up? Or even a recognisable city? You could make specific scenery from your town? Even if your location gets blasted during the apocalypse, the survivors going back in after the devastation to salvage stuff, would make a good game. Just because the bombs dropped in the 80's would mean its all 80's tech, but it could be set later when the fallout ain't so bad.

Loving where your going with this mate! I had some good pictures of a post apocalyptic London somewhere....

[Mr Kissyfur]

So maybe Stow-on-the-Wold (where the wind blows cold) or Bourton-on-the-Water would be safe spots?With the latter you get the added advantage of creating a miniature village that has it’s own miniature village (6mm buildings set inside a 28mm town?)

Oh my word this is an amazing idea! )))