Tigers on Parade

The company commanders' tank rumbles past the battalion commander.

Each tank in turn passes the commander on their way to the front.

It's good that the commander is here to see them off, they know he will lead from the front.

A cameraman from the Ministry of Propaganda is here to record the event, maybe mama will see my tank!

The tanks rumble through the small town as the leave the parade grounds.

Tiger II

The battalion commander has arrived to inspect the 1st heavy tank company.

The tanks are lined up, each with the tank commander by the side of the tank.

14 brand new Tiger II's.

Ready for inspection.

Gentlemen, mount your tanks and pass in review.

40 Year Old Tigers

An early production Tiger II company.

Roco Minitanks that are probably 40 years old.  This is the HQ section.

Three platoons of four tanks per platoon.

They are in pretty good shape considering their age.

Not many real Tigers made to age 40.

I try to collect my armies 1 to 1 scale, one tank in real life represented by one tank model on the tabletop.

Christmas Building

This year the Christmas building selection was pretty poor.

I got this one at Rite Aide.

I will have to fill in the huge hole with a fake window.

This building is a bit larger than many of then I have been getting.

This one may end up as an embassy in Berlin.

Parts is Parts

Recently at Dollar Tree I picked up this set of four military vehicles.

I also got this set of police vehicles.

These two helicopters are not bad and they would make pretty good drones.

The boats are a bit small but I am thinking of cutting down the superstructure, they might be okay.

This is a great upper LAV upper in just about HO scale.

Not bad for 25 cents.

A van and a truck, I got this set for parts, I will show you what I built with it soon.

Tank Commanders

Krieg & Company HO scale tankers, US Army, with T6 medium tank.

HO scale Russian tankers with Mir Russian T-34 tank.

Roco Panzer III with tank commander in HO scale.

Another one in HO scale.

The figures need to be glued in order to stand straight up right.

Two Germans standing next to a Panzer III.
info@tabletopscale.com  http://www.tabletopscale.com/ 

Krieg & Company HO Tankers

 

 

Bill from Kreig and Company sent me a selection of HO 1/87th scale metal figures.

These are WWII German tank commanders.

These are Russians, also from WWII.  The figures are flash free and well sculpted.

I like the man with the SMG and the flag man is nicely animated.

These are WWII US Army tankers.  The half figures are designed to fit inside open tank hatches.

 

All of the standing figures have their feet close together and they should fit into most tank turrets.  They are especially useful for standing on or around tanks or inside halftracks or self propelled guns.

 

You can order them from Krieg & Company, 1602 Belle View Blvd, Unit 850, Alexandria, VA 22307 USA  or by phone, 703.338.4494.  Contact them on the web at info@tabletopscale.com

 http://www.tabletopscale.com/ 



International MXT

On a recent visit to Dollar Tree, I picked up a few of these.

These are International MXT trucks used by the military.

They are listed as 1/64ht scale.

I think the wells need to be repainted, but otherwise they look okay.

These are Caesar Miniatures 1/72nd scale figures and they look fine with these trucks to me.

The truck bed is black plastic and probably needs to be painted too.

Matchbox is good for one decent military vehicle just about every year.

Old Soldiers Never Die

These are MPC ring hand figures.  They are in this glass display case because they are the oldest figures that I got new.  My parents gave them to me in 1958. 

When I was a kid, one of my friends down the street also had toy solders.  We used to play together.  In order to get our own army men back after play, we each marked them.  I used a marker to draw a black line around the middle of each figure, like a belt.  My friend, Jim, used a marker to draw an X on the bottom of his figures.

The figure in the jumpsuit has that mark clearly visible, and the one in the trench coat still has a very faint bit of ink around his waist.  After 55 years of hard campaigning these soldiers have been retired to a place of honor in my war room.  Of course, they still get deployed for the occasional special mission!

Strategic Turns

            Strategic turns are best used to cover large distances or long periods of time.  Units are moved on the map using the largest possible size units.  Battalions are the smallest size units that frequently operate independently.  Make small counters to fit the size of the map you are using.  One of the best ways is to use a board game for the strategic turns and fight the combat in miniature.  Board game counters can be used on your own maps.  Your own maps can be drawn to reflect the nature of the terrain and buildings you have available to you.

 

            A strategic turn can last one hour or one day.  The Bunkermeister will inform the players of the time interval and determine the distance units will move.  Movement is dependant on unit type and terrain.  A truck company going forty miles per hour, driving round the clock, might move several hundred miles in a day.  A foot infantry battalion in one day might only move 20 miles in rough terrain, much less in jungle or mountains.

Game Set Up

A referee or Bunkermeister will set up the game.  He may be a player, or he may be impartial.  This is up to the group.  Usually the game will have two sides with one or more players each, and an impartial Bunkermeister.  Any changes to the rules or special rules must be explained at the beginning of the game.

            The Bunkermeister will hold a general briefing with both sides to tell them the overall situation, time period, terrain.  Then each side will be briefed separately on those facts that apply only to them that the other side may not know.  Each side will be briefed on the situation, as they perceive it to be.  This may not be the way things really are.  The defenders of the Alamo thought help was on the way during the siege.  The Bunkermeister before the start of the game will write down the true facts.

 

            Each side is assigned a mission by the Bunkermeister.  This can be as simple as both sides march onto the playing area and destroy the enemy.  Missions can also be much more complex and can enable smaller forces to win a victory over a larger force.  The mission of the Texans at the Alamo was the delay the advance of Santa Ana and his army long enough to allow Sam Houston to form an army.  The defenders of the Alamo accomplished their mission and won a victory even though they were all killed.

            The game is divided into Strategic and Tactical turns.  Strategic turns are used when combat units are out of contact with one another.  Strategic turns are conducted as map movement.  Tactical turns occur when two opposing units make contact on the Strategic map.

 

            Tactical turns are done using miniatures.  Each Tactical turn is composed of several phases.  All activity within each phase is usually considered as simultaneous.  Each Tactical turn counts as one hour in the Strategic game.  Each Strategic turn counts as one day.

Wargame Scale

            These rules are designed for one model figure to represent one real soldier.  This one to one ratio is used for all equipment, land, sea and air.  One player can easily control 50 troops and five tanks.  Experienced players can control many more.  Game size is limited only by space, time and the quantity of materials available.

            These rules are written for Minitank size models, 1/87 to 1/72 scales.  To compensate for the distortion caused by figures that are larger than the ground scale, the ground scale is expanded at short ranges and contracted at long ranges.  The ground scale at short range is one inch equals ten meters for the first ten inches, or 100 meters.  Each of the next five inches equals 30 meters apiece, up to 250 meters.  After 250 meters the ground scale is 1 inch equals 50 meters.

 

MEASUREMENT

Range in meters 10       50        100       250       500       750       1000     1250     1500     1725    2000

Actual inches      1”       5”         10”       15”       20”       25”       30”       35”       40”       45”       50”

 

            Distances are written in meters.  Yards and meters are averaged together and used inter-changeably.  Use the scale shown to convert a distance in meters to the scale shown on the measurement table.  Distances shown in inches are real world inches.

Wargame Game Theory

Game Theory

            Human beings have remained relatively constant, biologically, for all of recorded history.  The ability of the average person to see, hear and move has not improved much in the history of warfare.  Technology has allowed people to see farther, hear better, and move faster.  These technological advancements have been one of the key factors driving tactics.  Successful tactics seek to optimize the ability of weapons to destroy the enemy.

             The mind of the commander is not simulated on the game table.  Each player acts as a unit commander, and brings his own mind to the game.  In all times the commander must use the given troops and technology to accomplish the mission.

 

Wargame scenarios are determined by the number of models on hand and they type of terrain you have to use for the game.  The referee or the players can determine the initial placement of the models and terrain.

Gray Yellow Submarines

I painted the propeller copper on this submarine.

I think having the propeller guard all one color looks pretty good.

I think the gray works well for these submarines.  I added a number for the sail.

The original yellow and two gray ones.

I added a hull number on one and painted the propeller bronze, to distinguish it from the other gray one.

Two deep sea diving submersibles explore a wrecked fishing ship.

They move in carefully to avoid the nets and rigging.

It is just a fishing ship, right?