You know what my hobby life needs? Another project!
Let's get a piece of that Bolt Action!
Despite a brief dalliance with Viking Saga (I'd like to dally more with that, but who has the time?), I've not really looking at historical games.
But of the ones I've not been looking at, Bolt Action was at the top of the list. A low-level skirmish game with some interesting mechanics and a cheap buy-in.
It doesn't help that everyone I play against is a massive enabler, so the question: "Should I buy...?" only has one answer.
It also turbo-charged my nostalgia engine, since WW2 armies were some of the first kits I ever painted as a tween.
I kicked off with a 'Desert Campaign' starter set, which came with two sides and all the pieces for a basic game: Deutsches Afrika Korps vs 8th Army.
The infantry plastic kits are good value - 30 miniatures for under £20. They're at 28mm scale, so noticeably smaller than the 'heroic-scale' of Warhammer (although, the Perry Miniatures troops are smaller still than the Warlord Games one - scale is difficult).
There's a decent range of options in there too - lots of head options (Afrika Korps have a real mix of helmets, caps, pith helmets, face masks and googles), some nice poses and enough special weapons to have sub-machine guns, machine guns, light mortars and anti-tank rifles.
Painting these was quick and easy (with the amount I'm loading on my poor painting desk these days, it's got to be quick):
One of the cool things about these Afrika Korps models is the proliferation of googles and cloth masks - which gives a very Mad Max vibe (it took a lot of willpower not to paint them as Cobra Troopers).
The guys with the SMG are the unit leaders - and with the 'Initiative Training' rule for the German armies, they have a lot more survivability.
And to lead the reinforced platoon, an Oberleutnant with Luger. He gets to be accompanied by an aide, so I gave him an SMG, plan case under his arm, and fag hanging out of his mouth - hello Corporal Nobbs!
Machine guns are another special feature of German units, so I took as many of them as I could - although I did realise that with 'true line of sight' in effect, this is going to be a bugger to fire from behind a wall.
So I also kitbashed a light machine gunner standing up - it works when posed resting on a wall, although in this case, he seems to be educating his comrade on the dangers of friendly fire.
An overhead shot of the map & compass model - pay no attention to the squiggles written down, it must be some kind of ENIGMA code.
A light mortar also comes with the infantry. I think a medium mortar is a better option, but it's nice to have some support toys available in the base kit.
And finally, I got a bonus miniature with the starter set (and a metal one - I'd just got used to dropping all my armies without fear!). Some dude called Rommel, although I copied the paint scheme from Col. Vogel, the antagonist from Indiana Jones.
I had a lot of fun painting these up, and I suspect I'll have just as much doing the Desert Rats. And if I can stay away from expanding into vehicles, this should be a nice little sideline.
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| "I think I can see half an inch of shelf space left - fill it up!" |
Let's get a piece of that Bolt Action!
Despite a brief dalliance with Viking Saga (I'd like to dally more with that, but who has the time?), I've not really looking at historical games.
But of the ones I've not been looking at, Bolt Action was at the top of the list. A low-level skirmish game with some interesting mechanics and a cheap buy-in.
It doesn't help that everyone I play against is a massive enabler, so the question: "Should I buy...?" only has one answer.
 |
| Was there a better way to spend a childhood? |
The infantry plastic kits are good value - 30 miniatures for under £20. They're at 28mm scale, so noticeably smaller than the 'heroic-scale' of Warhammer (although, the Perry Miniatures troops are smaller still than the Warlord Games one - scale is difficult).
There's a decent range of options in there too - lots of head options (Afrika Korps have a real mix of helmets, caps, pith helmets, face masks and googles), some nice poses and enough special weapons to have sub-machine guns, machine guns, light mortars and anti-tank rifles.
Painting these was quick and easy (with the amount I'm loading on my poor painting desk these days, it's got to be quick):
- Undercoat: Army Painter Desert Yellow
- Tunics/caps: Vallejo Russian Unifirm
- Helmet: Zamesi Desert
- Breadbag: Celestra Grey
- Gas mask: Zamesi Desert
- Boots: Rhinox Hide
- Canteen: Rhinox Hide
- Cartridge box: Dryad Bark
- Straps, braces, googles: Dryad Bark
- Gun stocks: Mournfang Brown
- Gun barrels: Leadbelcher
And then everything gets washed with Agrax Earthshade, with Nuln Oil for the metalics. And thena light brush of Terminatus Stone.
The best thing about this scale - they're just too small to paint eyes. No painting eyes!
One of the cool things about these Afrika Korps models is the proliferation of googles and cloth masks - which gives a very Mad Max vibe (it took a lot of willpower not to paint them as Cobra Troopers).
The guys with the SMG are the unit leaders - and with the 'Initiative Training' rule for the German armies, they have a lot more survivability.
And to lead the reinforced platoon, an Oberleutnant with Luger. He gets to be accompanied by an aide, so I gave him an SMG, plan case under his arm, and fag hanging out of his mouth - hello Corporal Nobbs!
Machine guns are another special feature of German units, so I took as many of them as I could - although I did realise that with 'true line of sight' in effect, this is going to be a bugger to fire from behind a wall.
So I also kitbashed a light machine gunner standing up - it works when posed resting on a wall, although in this case, he seems to be educating his comrade on the dangers of friendly fire.
An overhead shot of the map & compass model - pay no attention to the squiggles written down, it must be some kind of ENIGMA code.
A light mortar also comes with the infantry. I think a medium mortar is a better option, but it's nice to have some support toys available in the base kit.
And finally - a trio of machine-gunners. It seems the in-game difference between an Light Machine Gun and Medium Machine Gun is just how many crew it has (and whether it has a bipod or tripod), so I'm using the model with the biggest MG 42 (a relic from my Tamiya days) as the MMG.
And finally, I got a bonus miniature with the starter set (and a metal one - I'd just got used to dropping all my armies without fear!). Some dude called Rommel, although I copied the paint scheme from Col. Vogel, the antagonist from Indiana Jones.
 |
| Played by an English character actor. As they all are. |
I had a lot of fun painting these up, and I suspect I'll have just as much doing the Desert Rats. And if I can stay away from expanding into vehicles, this should be a nice little sideline.
Those look great! Bolt Action is a great game, by all accounts. Looking forward to hearing your first reports and seeing the first tanks roll out!
ReplyDeleteI do have a mini battle report in the pipeline.
DeleteIt's mostly me learning the ropes, but it does feature a Special Guest Star.
Very cool, particularly given the smaller scale. I'm really just impressed how you can crank out so many painted models at such quality
ReplyDeleteThanks! I can have an 8th Army force all painted up too, if you're interested in giving it a whirl at our next encounter.
DeleteI'd love to at some point, but we need to schedule a Thousand Sons/Death Guard game! Mind you, maybe this could work for a Skype fight in the meantime...
DeleteTanks? Oh no, no tanks here...
ReplyDeleteGreat painting Stylus! That really is a great range of face options.
I'm trying to swear off tanks, so a trip to Bovington probably isn't going to help my cause.
DeleteWhat I wouldn't give to get my hands on a Matilda...