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Author Topic: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm  (Read 6607 times)

Offline blacksoilbill

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #15 on: February 17, 2022, 12:54:55 PM »
This is a fantastic thread. Your models look superb.

Like you, I love all the oddments you find in the early war in the Middle East. A friend and I are starting a new project for Chain of Command with this in mind: French and Australian forces for Lebanon in 1941. You know things are curious when an R-35 is the apex predator!

Offline CapnJim

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2022, 07:30:16 PM »
So far so good. Really like the Matilda.  When I (eventually) get around to doing 8th Army and DAK, and Matilda will be on the list...
"Remember - Incoming Fire Has the Right-of-Way"

Offline retrovertigo

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2022, 10:19:12 PM »
Muchos gracias everyone who has commented  :D

Alongside my Africa campaign project, is an ever expanding later-war German force. Initially put together to fight across France and the Low Countries circa 1944, it's also now being pressed into service to defend the Rhineland in March campaign using the Battlegroup Fall of the Reich campaign book. A couple of months ago I started adding in some of the larger and later examples of German armour to compliment a core of Panthers and Panzer iV's I've been using for the France/Holland stuff.

First up was a Tiger II. This took me ages to finish, not because it was a hard one to paint, but because it wasn't going to see regular use in the non-1945 theatres except the occasional massive 1000+ pts battles and so motivation to get it finished wasn't that high. Oh, and the fact I repainted the camo three times. Anyway, here it is!





In the same vein of stalling progress, a fortnight ago when I was doing the Ford staff car I randomly decided to add in a few German vehicles to the batch paint, unsurprisingly they aren't any further forward than in this photo  lol



Jagdpanther that will get used all over Europe and a command (proxy with extra aerials) Sd.kfz 251 halftrack, and the plastic paperweight that is the Jagdtiger! That will get an occasional runout in Germany '45 but may mostly end up as a piece of scatter terrain having expectedly conked out/runout of fuel by the side of the road somewhere.

Offline retrovertigo

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #18 on: February 24, 2022, 04:28:43 PM »
Work continues on the terrain for North Africa Battlegroup.



First a few odds and sods - Scatter/objective marker well I picked up from Vap; a drinks cabinet for my Brit/Aussie commanding officer ...or an objective marker/jump off point; and three piles of ammo boxes as scatter to accompany my gun crews and to add a bit of 'something' for the 25 and 2pdrs emplacements.



And the first round of terrain and defences for the Tobruk campaign. Games will be largely open tables with undulating rocky earth, so don't need a huge amount. I've also made a cardboard anti-tank ditch to lay under the excellent fleece mat from Geek Villain, from Amazon cardboard boxes and hot glue (so cheap as chips). I did look into doing it properly with foam and what not, but it will only get very occasional use so this will do - a test run with it and it looks really good for the time spent on it if I do say so myself!


I went for a very chaotic, tangled, messy barbed wire (that's a WIP for a close up) rather than a neat row of even coils. Looking at photos of the Tobruk defences, I tried to mimic that nightmare looking web of wire and posts:

« Last Edit: February 24, 2022, 04:31:59 PM by retrovertigo »

Offline Golgotha

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #19 on: February 24, 2022, 06:53:01 PM »
Stunning work and do like the barbed wire too.

Offline Grumpy Gnome

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #20 on: February 24, 2022, 07:37:53 PM »
It all looks brilliant!
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Offline BeneathALeadMountain

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #21 on: February 25, 2022, 11:21:48 AM »
Your barbed wire is excellent and a must have in defensive games (or as scenery) but even more so with desert warfare and the big open flanks. Your prepared positions are great too (again needed in this theatre desperately).

For Torch you need some prickly pear cactus, if you can, as there were formidably dense patches that would have stopped all but determined engineers with too much time/explosives on their hands. I’m struggling in 15mm to find them but you can get them in 28mm or at least looking appropriate.

Thank you for posting
BALM
« Last Edit: February 25, 2022, 09:59:13 PM by BeneathALeadMountain »
Beneath A Lead Mountain - my blog of hobby procrastination and sometimes even some progress
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Offline khartoum2

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #22 on: February 25, 2022, 12:48:18 PM »
Hi This is some really nice stuff - well out together and beautifully painted.  Looking forward to seeing more

who makes the Major Marmaduke Darling figure?  One I'd love to add to my drinking tea collection.

Offline Hammers

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #23 on: February 25, 2022, 01:53:29 PM »
Lovely, all of it.

Offline retrovertigo

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #24 on: February 25, 2022, 04:10:45 PM »
Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Your barbed wire is excellent and a must have in defensive games (or as scenery) but even more so with desert warfare and the big open flanks (it feels more open again playing in 15mm but at least the 6” of wire look bigger compared to the chaps). Your prepared positions are great too (again needed in this theatre desperately).

For Torch you need some prickly pear cactus, if you can, as there were formidably dense patches that would have stopped all but engineers with too much time/explosives on their hands. I’m struggling in 15mm to find them but you can get them in 28mm or at least looking appropriate. These Italians have got themselves a cactus fort (and the barrel is elevated slightly so when I look at this picture I presume they are waiting in ambush over watching a ridge - but imagine the spiky vegetable shrapnel when the patch comes under fire though).

Thank you for posting
BALM

Good lord that looks like a health and safety nightmare all right! We may branch out into Torch at a later date, for now it's very much early war N. Africa though.

Hi This is some really nice stuff - well out together and beautifully painted.  Looking forward to seeing more

who makes the Major Marmaduke Darling figure?  One I'd love to add to my drinking tea collection.

He's part of the Warlord Games 8th Army HQ pack >>> https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/british-8th-army/products/8th-army-hq?variant=31469292027984

Offline Captain Blood

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #25 on: February 25, 2022, 04:40:55 PM »
Great job on the barbed wire entanglements  8)

Offline retrovertigo

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #26 on: February 25, 2022, 09:49:53 PM »
We played the first Tobruk campaign game last night from the Battlegroup Tobruk book. A couple of sections of Aussie's with a single HMG and 2pdr had to hold out for five turns against an Afrika Korp pioneer platoon with Panzer III and Panzer IV support  :o Strongpoint 19 was the chosen point of attack on the Tobruk Red Line and it had to be held at all costs.

For those of you who know the Battlegroup rules, you can appreciate what a task that is to keep a 7BR total intact for that long! The Australian 9th Infantry Division troops had an anti-tank ditch, barbed wire, two minefields, and a range of dugouts and trenches in which to shelter and pray for their reinforcements to arrive as dawn broke.







As if by some insane miracle, the plucky blokes held firm with the help of some deadly early mortar barrages that stalled the pioneer advance on the minefields and barbed wire, and some frankly titanium coated sandbag entrenchments!

Turn five the Aussie reinforcements arrived and after a couple more turns sent the Germans packing into the desert, as Panzer III's burnt and pioneer corpses littered the sand.





Great opening game, with the Germans plotting a swift second attack as the sun rises on Tobruk.

Offline BeneathALeadMountain

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #27 on: February 25, 2022, 10:17:18 PM »
That looks like excellent fun (and very aesthetically pleasing) I love the BR system as (as it happened here) it can lead to some real nail biters.

Seeing your progress and results is very inspiring, thank you for posting.

Andrew
BALM.
« Last Edit: February 25, 2022, 10:19:52 PM by BeneathALeadMountain »

Offline MaleGriffin

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #28 on: February 25, 2022, 10:24:28 PM »
Fantastic terrain! I'd love more pics from your games!
Hoc quoque transibit
Sanguinem sistit semper

Offline FramFramson

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Re: From West Africa to Western Europe: Wargaming The Second World War in 28mm
« Reply #29 on: February 26, 2022, 07:58:40 PM »
Hurrah for the diggers!

Also loving these paint jobs, wow, how did I miss this thread earlier. Beautiful stuff!


I joined my gun with pirate swords, and sailed the seas of cyberspace.

 

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