German Infantry Guns

Infantry Guns are among my favourite close support weapon (who doesn't has a favourite support weapon?).
German infantry guns have a very nice look, small in size, cramped with crew.
They are not so effective in truth, both in game and in reality. Less agile than a mortar, they are cumbersome to deploy and transport (requiring towing) they suffer also from a low production efficiency, as a lot of work is needed to produce those beauties (mortar, instead, are hollow tubes on bases...).
In game they suffer from their number (2 per platoon is not enough to deliver some serious damage).
But, nonetheless, I like them a lot!

here come a couple of platoons I did some years ago (2013...) and I still like the result.
They are Forged in Battle 15mm German 15cm sIG33 and German 7.5cm IG18. Quality is top notch and I appreciate when poses are reasonable and you can easily understand what they are doing. I really hate when you get artillery crews with shouting poses (to whom are they shouting and why they need to shout in middle of a bombardment) and, worst, with officers intent to look far away with their binocular or with the hand over their eyes... (what do they think to be? Napoleonic artillery officers overlooking their direct fire on enemy battalions?).
In both these sets people is busy with their work of loading, aiming and firing their ordnance without too many distractions...

I'm sorry for the quality of these pictures. They were done in a sunny morning with my old cell phone.

Pendraken Painting Competition 2014 (3)

Last entry for Pendraken Painting Competition 2014:

German Panzergrenadier in the Ardennes.

SS scout platoon

For long time my primary interest in wargaming was into Napoleonic period. Lot of rules, lot of miniatures (mostly plastic 1/72 from various companies)... then I was sucked in Warhammer for a while (just 5 years, nearly not enough for anything but a couple of armies... a lot of fun, by the way, and a very big improve in my painting skills...). After Warhammer I was got in Flames of war. That's eight years ago, and from then, I've collected and painted a lot of platoons (mostly germans), I've had a lot of games (much more fun than WH, indeed), and some tournaments too... I like tournaments, but only when they propose axis vs allies match. I really hate to hear: "Ok, we have both germans... let do it's a drill...!" or worst: " I really like your panzerlehr list. But it's a little bit weak on AT, what do you'll do if you'll meet a Koenigstiger?".
Anyway, I have more shelves devoted to FOW on my cabinets than any other period/scale/system...
I hope to show everything on these pages, but it will take some time.
so, Lets begin with some SS scouts on schwimmwagen, a very nice and charming platoon, but really small to be really useful and, being Fearless Veteran SS, too expensive too!
By the way, they are useful also as Tank-hunters... and this is the role I've depicted them in.

 Schwimmwagen!

 I've tried to match each car crew with a base

 as you can see, I spend a lot of time on bases, as I think they have to be really eye catching at this scale in order to pop out from the tabletop

 It looks like late summer in France...

 ... I've tried to give the impression of a wet morning...

 c'mon yanks, come closer with that bloody M10...

 Ah... what a lovely sunset in t he countryside...

SS in ambush!

 oops, I wasn't aware of that glue blob on the tree... lets paint it on...

WAR SHORES

Last friday night at The Club we enjoyed a very though naval engagement, between my British Home Fleet and W.'s Hochseeflotte...
We did it with Naval Thunder: Clash of Dreadnoughts (http://navalthunder.com/), a ruleset we really like for WWI sea wargaming, and GHQ 1/2400 micronauts range (and I really do not have to tell you how beautiful are these models).
It is amazing to see how fluid and challenging could be a naval battle with miniatures.
we started on the short end of our sea table, 2 division each side, mine formed by a battleships division (BB Queen Elizabeth, Ajax and the old and slow King Edward VII) supported by 3 Light Cruisers (CL Waymounth, Bristol and Aurora) and a Battlecuisers division formed by 3 Battlecruisers (BC Lion, Tiger and Inflexible) flanked by a single Armoured Cruiser (Good Hope) and a Destroyers Flottilla. on the other side the Huns fielded 2 Battleship, 3 Battlecruisers, 3 Lightcruisers and 2 Flottillas of Destroyers.
Then we had 2 fast turns of manouvering in order to achive a good firing angle, and after another turn to close the ranges, we started to hammering targets with steel...
In a naval wargame you have to consider a lot of factor when moving your units: formation and division's coherence, firing ranges and target bearing. Not last you have to keep and eye opened every move to avoid torpedoes... and that was our game. Simultaneously planned moves, trying to keep targets under range with as many turrets was possible and trying to guess were those damned destroyers were heading to.
The outcome, after 3-4 hours of funny hits and miss on the Critical Hit table, was... well... unsatisfactory. but quite historical too: a Draw. a lot of minor unit losts (I've lost my destroyers and most of my light cruisers and, on the other side, both destroyer's flottillase were sunk and only a single cruiser could head home safely) but all the main units were sailing home safely (with some scratches...).
I do not count this result as a fault in the rules. they are clever and well written, fun, simple to manage and to play, with a lot (really a lot) of suspence on each "critical hit" roll and they are absoluting more on the simulation side, with a lot of details to consider when moving or firing... (the only minus, IMHO, is the 90° turning angle... I really cannot swallow it).
The problem is hidden in the period.
During WWI, sea battles were maily draws, ending with both sides performing "strategical withdrawals". So, with these rules simulating so neatly every (or almost every) factor of a WWI naval engagement, you have to consider as a major victory when you can blow up a capital ship or a new Battlecruiser, a draw when both fleets head home with all the big ships still afloat.
Maybe, WWI naval wargaming can be fully enjoyed only with a campaign setted, where you have to consider each loss on a prospective.