When I was at SELWG on Sunday I got chatting to the guys from the Maidstone Wargames Society about their Operation Deadstick Game. They showed me some of the 3D buildings they had made specially for this game and of course the Bridges were made this way as well. All very impressive and the finished game looked very impressive as well as being historically accurate. But the thing that caught my attention was the fact that they were using Micro Armour (1:285 or 6mm scale) with a simplified version of the Flames of War rules.
Then later in the show, up on the 'balcony' area, I came across a huge micro armour game of the Arab Israeli war with dozens of tanks and helicopters in an epic tank clash. The seeds of an idea were beginning to be planted....
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| Streatham & Tooting Wargamers - Arab Israeli War |
Perhaps ill advisedly I mentioned this to the other Rejects and after that I was doomed. It was like having three little devils sitting on my shoulder whispering "Buy, buy, buy..." into my ear. I didn't stand a chance, and in the end I did purchase a few tanks, just to give them a try out. However I should say that common sense kicked in and I managed to restrained my impulse purchase to just a small 'sample' of models. I wanted to see how they painted up, explore some rule systems online and decide on what period I wanted to play before I threw some serious money at a completely new project.
Now that I have had a couple of days to think this over I'm really getting excited by the prospect of 'branching out' into other theatres of WWII beyond my normal focus on the Normandy Campaign. In particular I have long had an interest in the conflict in the Western Desert in 1940-41 and maybe - through the relatively inexpensive models of companies like GHQ and others - I will get a chance to play this particular period after all. There are several army sets I could buy or I could build up my forces a little bit at a time. Whatever I decide it most definitely won't break the bank with an Army pack coming in less than the cost of a single platoon of tanks for Flames of War!
Rest easy folks, I'm not about to abandon 15mm wargaming, but it does increasingly look like I'll be scaling down and building some new armies for some Western Desert action in the near future.
Sounds like a plan Lee. Plus it sounds sodding cheap, which is always a bonus in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteYou were gonna buy them anyway, you just needed a little prod!
ReplyDeleteYou were the worst culprit of the lot! LoL.
DeleteI'm liking the idea that this is a scale I could easily play on a small games surface (one rule set suggests a table size of just 2x4'). Plus I could probably store the two armies (and all the terrain) in a small box. And it wouldn't take long to paint both armies either. Why the hell didn't I go down this route years ago??
Hi Lee. You might want to look at these rules http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/BGMR/
ReplyDeleteBGMR are a free set of modern rules. They are well worth a look, not simple fast play rules, but very complete. They are played at the MAidstone and Sittingbourne clubs and I am sure thee guys there would be happy to "teach" you the rules.
Always liked micro-armour games - GHQ are lovely models, but bloody expensive...
ReplyDeleteNot compared to 15mm stuff! LoL.
DeleteI've been looking around the internet today actually trying to gauge prices, ranges available etc and where to buy them. Its a whole new world for me and I'm getting rather fired up with enthusiasm for the project.
The sound of a convert, next you will be selling al your other stuff LOL
ReplyDeleteIan
Ye godz no! I've spent a small fortune building up my 15mm stuff and I'm determined to get some mileage out of it. In fact I bought the first models for a new FOW army (British 7th Armoured) on Sunday.
DeleteLee - if you're going for 6mm I'd suggest heroics and Ros as they are much cheaper than GHQ and still good quality. Andy at H and R was talking about doing unit packs to support FOW style rules in 6mm.
ReplyDeleteFor divisional battles we use Spearhead ; by far the best set of rules and quite simple to pick up but they give an excellent game. There are also 4 scenario books to cover desert, eastern and western front and more obscure areas of the Ww2 theatre.
When you see the tactical and strategic choices that 6mm give you, you may not go back to 15mm again.
Lee - just read one of your comments. If you need any help in the world of 6mm (1/300) then let me know.
ReplyDeleteLoads of Ww2 stuff on the blog re 6mm battles as well.
I would have been that 4th little voice in your ear!
ReplyDeleteMicro-armour was my first avenue into historical gaming, and after 30 years I am looking to get stuck back in. Just need to decide on desert or France and I'm off.
Good luck on the new project!