Finished: Limbered 40mm Bofors

Hi folks,

I've gotten myself into that odd situation (for me at least) where I have multiple units being painted together. This has led to a break in things getting finished, followed by a load of units completed simultaneously. 

This weekend I finished off another oddball unit - one that I've thought about for a while but only recently had cause to build. Anyone who regularly follows will know I like to have limbered versions of my various guns (with 6-pdrs, 17-pdrs and Pak40s all having limbered models in my collection). During our recent Gold Beach game, some of the arriving reinforcements consisted of 40mm Bofors armed Crusader AA tanks towing limbered 40mm Bofors guns. 

I managed to jury rig tanks for this purpose (and have since converted some, which should be finished soon), but I could only proxy the limbered 40mm with a limbered 17-pdr. I had a load of spare 40mm Bofors parts in my bits box and a blister of two guns in my lead pile. I managed to find another two of the metal blisters online - giving me enough parts to build six guns in the limbered configuration. Which was lucky, as the online bought packs were old, partially unsealed and missing a lot of bits.

The old metal Battlefront kits came with axles and wheels. I'm not sure about the placement of the axles as the guns sit a bit higher than I think they should - but these were supposed to be more base decoration that use I think. 

I found some parts to make gun cradles (handles from German drop canister trolley parts), tow bars (cut down 75mm gun barrels), seats (upturned Sherman tank bogeys) and seat backs (bits of plastic cut from a blister pack). If I'd had more skill I'd have boxed in the ammo feed, as per historical photos. Instead, I went with just painting the ammo black. 

The result is something that's 'close enough' for me. At 15mm scale, my skills wouldn't stretch much further. And these are models which are unlikely to see the table often - they were just a cool idea bodged together. Something I don't think many others will have in their collections.  

These sit nicely behind my previously completed transports for this unit. 

Finished: 15mm SP Bofors

Hi folks,

Yet another allied anti-aircraft unit for my collection. This time some 40mm self-propelled Bofors guns. 

These rapid-firing AA guns were mounted on a Morris C9/B truck and used for mobile air protection of armoured divisions. I had previously painted four of these, but this left me short of the full unit strength of six so I've added the missing two. Decals have been applied for the AA regiment of the 1st Polish Armoured Division. 

These are both older 15mm resin and metal Battlefront kits. 

I chose a more subdued highlighting colour for these, to match them into the older models. 

I'm quite happy that this pair match in well enough to not immediately stand out as having been painted years later. 

I've still allied AA units in the painting pile, so expect more of the same shortly. And another 6 of these in the painting pile for the Canadians...

Finished: 15mm Battlefront command teams (with piper)

Hi folks,

Just a small post for my own documentation really. While my son J was visiting, I gave him some painting lessons and he worked on a couple of figures to add to a command team I'd planned. Specifically another piper for my Scottish infantry battalion. Ideally, I'd like one of these per company, not sure if this is my 3rd or 4th. 

J did most of the base colours on the two other models, while I did the highlighting. Excuse the poor quality of the image. We used a lot of Vallejo Xpress paints on these, specifically the new British Uniform and Khaki colours. 

The other team was a random character set I'd had in my spares pile - something from the old Italian Infantry Aces pack, I think.

Finished: 15mm Polish Crusader AA

Hi folks,

Trying to keep up my momentum with blog posts and painted units. 

This week, I finished a pair of 15mm Battlefront resin and metal Crusader AA tanks. These were intended for my Polish Cromwell force (10 Pulk Strzelcow Konnych). Equipped with two 20mm autocannon, they were supposed to provide local air defence to tank units.

I've two more pairs of these tanks in the painting queue (both for Canadian units). Honestly, I've more of these vehicles than I would ever need if I ignored tactical markings, but when I drew up my painting plans I included a pair with each Squadron for my various forces. Each regiment would have had 11 or so of these, and I've probably got a regiment worth...

I've also never used an allied AA unit on the table, yet seem to have loads of them. Up next - more allied AA!

AAR: 15mm Flames of War - Gold beach, King Green sector

Hi folks,

With this year being the 80th anniversary of D-day, and with our collective 15mm collections having been added to but seeing little game time in the last year or so, myself and DaveD decided to try and do a summer of beach landings. Specifically, we are aiming to play a scenario game for each of the five beaches throughout the summer. 

We've been kindly aided in this aim by Leon and the folks over at Pendraken - who have allowed us to use their gaming annex. This has given us a 16' by 6' playing area. 

Our first game in April had to be on a British or Canadian beach, as I wanted to use my figures. The reason for this was due to a visit from my eldest boy J at the same time. I started painting and collecting my Flames of War British when he was just a toddler, and it was a dream come true to get to show him my hobby. 

Myself and my eldest son J

Me and DaveD had spent some time researching and decided early on that it would be cool to feature the landings of our local Division/regiment. When J visited last summer, I'd taken him to the Green Howard's museum in Richmond. This then led us to model the landings of the 6th Green Howards/50th Tyne and Tees Division on the King Green sector of Gold Beach. 

We also wanted to try and include the units advance up to Crepon, paying some attention to the locations where Stan Hollis won his VC. 

The blue outlined area roughly denotes what we tried to represent on the table

I had done some work looking at the landing tables for Gold Beach and had used these to come up with a rough schedule of units and equipment that would be landing. No points are used for this game, just the historical units. This meant that the main problem the players face is time. German resistance in this area was fairly limited and the marshy ground behind the beaches proved more of a hindrance. 

As the preparatory bombardment of this beach was seen to be quite effective historically, we started with all German units pinned. 

Thus the troops arriving were scheduled to be:

H hour -5 minutes (Turn 1) – 15 x DD tanks (Players were given the option to launch these to arrive early, but at the risk of losing them to rough seas - or land them late but intact. They decided to launch five early, with the rest turning up later in the game)

H hour –  (Turn 2)

LCT: 1 Bobbin, 1 Fascine, SBG, and AVRE. 2 Sherman Crabs. 

LCT: 1 Bobbin, 1 Fascine, Bullshorn, and AVRE. 2 Sherman Crabs.

H+5 (Turn 4)

3 x LCA – A Coy, 6 Green Howards, +2 teams of Engineers, +1 OP team

3 x LCA – D Coy, 6 Green Howards (includes a platoon with Stan Hollis as a command team), +2 teams of Engineers, +1 OP team 

H+10 (Turn 6)

LCT: 2 Centaurs (RMASR), Crusader 40mm AA towing a 40mm Bofors, OP carrier

LCT: 2 Centaurs, 1 Sherman (RMASR), Crusader 40mm AA towing a 40mm Bofors

H+20 (Turn 8)

3 x LCA – B Coy, 6 Green Howards, +2 teams Engineers, 2 MMG teams

3 x LCA – C Coy, 6 Green Howards, +2 teams Engineers, 2 MMG teams

LCM – Green Howards HQ + carrier, FOB (Naval OP) team, OP team

H+45 (Turn 10)

LCT: D7 Bulldozer, 3 mortar carriers, 2 MMG carriers, 2 M10 (3”), 2 Churchill Crocs

LCT: D7 Bulldozer, 3 mortar carriers, 2 MMG carriers, 2 M10 (3”), 2 Churchill Crocs

LCM – Provost jeep, ambulance jeep, 

H+60 (Turn 12)

LCT: 3 Loyd Carriers + 3 6pdr, ARV, 2 Firefly

LCT: 3 Loys Carriers + 3 6pdr, 1 Firefly, 4 Loyd Carriers (4.2" Mortars)

H+90 (Turn 14)

LCT: 2 Sextons, 3 Cromwells + Firefly

LCT: 2 Sextons, 3 Cromwells + Firefly

Up against this onslaught were the defenders of Wn35, some additions HMG Tobruks along the beach, Wn35a (aka the Mont Fleury Battery), and various inland dug-in positions and units. We also had the chance each turn of German 88mm fire along the beach from the positions at StP31 (Courseulles) and Wn36 (Asnelles), alongside a battery of 100mm off-table artillery guns firing from Wn32 in the Juno Beach area. 

The off-table batteries had a chance of falling silent as the game progressed, based on dice rolls which determined the progress of other allied troops. 

Similar to the Utah Beach game, allied egress from the beach was limited due to marshy low ground. We did have foam under the matt which did have the ground rising beyond this. 

The beach area the night before the game - setting up in advance is key when playing on a 16' by 6' table. 

Wn35a, with its two incomplete casemates.

For this type of game, and given the size of the table, the locations and sizes of the towns were fairly 'squashed'. 

A view back down to the beach.

We were joined in playing this game by StiG, Bren, J, R, and MartinC. During the game, we also had a few folks drop in to see it, thanks to DaveD and Leon doing some social media posting. Myself and DaveD umpired/played the Germans. 

The landings surged ahead as planned, with all 5 of the risky DD launches succeeding - 4 tanks making it to the beach and beginning to put fire down on the defences. These were swiftly followed by the breaching teams. 

My scratch-built Landing Craft Tank (LCT) saw use again to deploy the first breaching team

While my Pendraken/Red Vector LCT landed the other (and reminded me I still need to do some work on it)

Risky business, this edge of table beach landing stuff...

The breaching teams make the long trudge up the beach, as a couple of 88mm shots miss over their heads. 

Most of the initial DD tanks landed in front of Wn35. 

The last remaining smoke from the preparatory bombardment lingers over the beach.

Initial landings were swiftly followed by the infantry - no doubt happy to see they are not alone!

Breaching teams moving forward, trying to clear a path off the beach.

A Coy spreading out and trying to find cover - we house rule that infantry on the beach have a 4+ rather than a 3+ save. 

D Coy coming ashore

My recently painted Spits doing a flypast. 

Relatively swiftly the limited beach defences were overcome. There was only one dedicated AT gun present on this stretch of coast, and it was a 5cm gun and incapable of penetrating the leading Churchills. My recently painted Bobbin AVREs led the way, with the following vehicles not having to make a bogging check on the beach. 

The infantry (A and D Coys, 6th Green Howards) hit the beach shortly afterward and had to be chivvied slightly to get shifting. Once up to the minefields within the 'dune' area, the armor reshuffled to get the Crabs forward, while the newly painted Bullshorn plows also saw some action. 

I'd have to add, in all honesty, from around this point onwards hardly anything of the following waves saw action. It couldn't get up the table fast enough to have any impact and just led to the (historical) queue of kit trying to leave the beaches. 

Clearing minefields is a risky business - Bren lost both of his Crabs trying to clear this one. 

Thankfully the local German (Ukrainian) garrison had had enough!

With the abundance of minefields, and a smattering of sHMG and artillery fire, the British lost around a company worth of troops moving up the table. 

Tank losses were, however, light. 

J and Bren took the decision to speed up the advance by mounting the remains of A Coy's infantry on the advancing AVRE and DD tanks. This led to a pretty strong combined arms force that suppressed and assaulted any German resistance they encountered in fairly short order. 

The Umpire reveals new German positions...

Allied armor starts moving around and through Wn35a. The battery is lightly defended and suffers horribly from the effectiveness of Petard fire. D Coy is also involved. 

D coy infantry moved forward quickly, using tank support and terrain to get into the battery position. A swift assault by one platoon cleared the initial bunkers, before taking out the house. On the other flank, A coy infantry with supporting armor shifted further and further forward. J's infantry had some particularly successful assaults and 'random effect' tokens which resulted in nearby German units surrendering. As such, the road before them was clear...

We had more or less called it at that point, with little German resistance still on the table and Crepon within easy reach of A Coy. Just time for some glamour shots:

Supporting artillery lands and sets up, ready to provide fire. 

More support units land, trying to make their way inland to help with the advance. 

British forces stream inland!

The first French settlements are liberated!

The large anti-tank ditch, crossed with the aid of a Fascine.

A random 'broken down' vehicle roll led to an AVRE causing a traffic jam - and then being knocked out by AT fire. It was swiftly bulldozed out of the way. 

Feedback from the players was really positive - though I appreciate that five of these types of games this summer will get a bit samey. We're hoping to focus on different aspects of the landings for the various beaches and try to keep changing things up a bit. Next up we have Utah Beach in May - and possibly two games booked for June, with one of them being on the 6th. 

I did identify a couple of options missing from my collection during this game, so a mini-project has been to work on rectifying these. No 40mm Bofors Crusader AA tanks and no limbered 40mm Bofors guns are some of these. So current work in progress:

A combination of the 20mm Crusader hull and the plastic 40mm Bofors kit. With spare metal crew I have from building limbered Bofors guns. 

Old metal Battlefront 40mm Bofors kits with extra gubbins built to show limbered guns. 

I think J really enjoyed himself. I was proud to show him my hobby and my collection. Being a real history buff himself he had a great understanding of what our aim was and what tactics he should be using. He got on great with all my gaming buddies and I was even prouder of him than ever with how he interacted and contributed. On the way home he asked if I could show him some painting basics, and we picked up some starter supplies for him before he went home. Hopefully, the next time he visits we can do some more gaming together.