Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Rebel Minis Halloween Sale!

Because you demanded it! Rebel Minis' Halloween Sale! Use promo code SCARY at checkout for 20% off miniatures and PDFs! Happy Halloween! Share and like please!





So I saved 20 bucks on the above....not bad!

Rebel Minis

Tanker's Tuesday: The Haunted Tank



Haunted Tank was created by writer and editor Robert Kanigher and
artist Russ Heath in G.I. Combat #87 (May 1961).The feature centers
on the ghost of 19th-century Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart, who is
sent by the spirit of Alexander the Great to act as a guardian over his
two namesakes, Lieutenant Jeb Stuart (named in the early stories as
Jeb Stuart Smith, but eventually just shortened to Jeb Stuart) and the
M3 Stuart that Jeb commands.

"The Haunted Tank" was often the cover feature of G.I. Combat and
was second only to Sgt. Rock as DC Comics' longest-running war
series.

The Haunted Tank 

Happy Halloween!


Monday, October 30, 2017

Super Galactic Dreadnought: Steelville playtest


Super Galactic Dreadnought: Steelville playtest: I had a chance to playtest my Siege of Monopolis Steelville scenario at Dragon's Lair last week. I had six players pushing enough min...

Sunday, October 29, 2017

GZGs FSE Infantry

GZGs FSE infantry painted by Adam Mauer

GZG UPDATE - SUNDAY 29th OCTOBER 2017:

All the SELWG new releases now on the store!
The SELWG show went off very well last weekend, a pleasant day chatting to customers old and new and selling plenty of stuff - now the six packs of NEW RELEASES launched at the show (as listed in the last update - Islamic Fed and ESU Command packs, Grav Bikes and Hunting Beasts for the Kra'Vak, the Alien Mercs HMG teams and the Civilian Power Work Suits) are ON THE STORE and ready for you to buy! Scroll to the bottom of the store front page and you'll see them all listed in the featured new items, or just check the relevant pages of the Stargrunt 15mm figures listings.

More news soon, as WARFARE at Reading - our final show of the year - is now fast approaching!

Thanks for reading,
Jon (GZG), Sunday 29th Oct 2017.
www.gzg.com

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Under New Management


We have some very exciting news to announce today. As followers of our Facebook page may already know, we’ve agreed with Ainsty Castings to take over ownership and production of the Hammer’s Slammers range of 15mm vehicles, based on David Drake’s series of SF combat stories. This includes both the Slammers’ own vehicles plus the ones of other forces such as the Thunderbolt half-tracks and Broglie’s Legion blower vehicles, along with decals and other accessories.

This brings both the 6mm and 15mm Hammer’s Slammers ranges under our roof now, and of course many of our existing models already feature in the Slammer’s universe in other mercenary forces.

We’ve already been talking to John Treadaway, one of the authors of The Crucible, the official Hammer’s Slammers ruleset, about further development of the range including additional vehicles for the Slammers themselves and more opposition forces. This will include many of the vehicles that are mentioned in the rule book but which have never been available in 15mm or 6mm. The first of these should start appearing in the first quarter of 2018.
In the meantime, we’re hoping to start production of at least part of the range within a couple of weeks – our target is to have at least some stock available at Crisis next weekend.
Hammer's Slammers 

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Tank Warfare: "Reinforced Tank Battalion in the Attack" 1950 US Army Tra...

Super Galactic Dreadnought: Join The Siege of Steelville



Super Galactic Dreadnought: Join The Siege of Steelville: Just one week left to register for games at this year's MillenniumCon in Round Rock, Texas (Nov. 10-12). In the spirit of the conventi...

Tanker's Tuesday - Tank Battles of Korea







                                            In 1950 the world is caught off guard as North Korea launches a massive

armored assault into South Korea. This is the story of the American
tankers

who rush to the aid of the South and the bloody battles they
fight up and

down the Korean Peninsula.

Friday, October 20, 2017

OFFICIAL - GZG: more SELWG show news - NEW RELEASES!

UPDATE - THURSDAY 19th OCTOBER 2017:
SELWG new releases!
SELWG (South East London Wargames Group) show is now only a few days away, so here's a quick preview of the NEW packs that will be released at the show!
Our SG15-X05 and X08 "Alien Mercenaries" packs have always been very popular since they were released quite a few years back, but until now I have never got round to expanding the range of these ugly, hairless, pointy-eared little guys - well, now I can finally announce the first HEAVY WEAPONS pack for them - in this new pack you get THREE complete weapon teams of a groundmount drum-fed Heavy Machine Gun with seated gunner, a gun commander standing with binoculars, and a heavily-laden ammo porter festooned with extra drums for the gun:
SG15-X20        Alien Mercs Heavy Machine Gun Teams - THREE teams each consisting of weapon and mount, sitting gunner, gun commander with binoculars and ammo porter with reload drums.          £6.00 per pack inc VAT (£5.00 ex-VAT)

Staying on the alien theme, there are TWO new packs for the ever-popular KRA'VAK - they get some fast recon and support in the form of a pair of GRAV BIKES, plus something very different - a pack of HUNTING BEASTS - fast, vicious dog/lizard beasties with spiky tails and savage mandibles/jaws that echo the K'V figures themselves. The pack contains NINE of the Beasts (three each of three variant sculpts) plus two (different) Kra'Vak "handlers" armed with long pointy weapons to drive their charges in the right direction…..
SG15-K24        Kra'Vak GRAV BIKES - two bikes with riders (bareheaded) and "flight" bases                £6.00 per pack inc VAT (£5.00 ex-VAT)
SG15-K26        Kra'Vak Hunting Beasts - NINE beasts (3 each of 3 poses) plus two "handlers"                £4.50 per pack inc VAT (£3.75 ex-VAT)

Some much-requested COMMAND AND COMMS figures for two existing ranges, the ESU Naval Infantry and the Islamic Federation troops:
SG15-E21        ESU Naval Infantry Command and Comms pack (8 figures)                                £3.00 per pack inc VAT (£2.50 ex-VAT)
SG15-IF23        Islamic Federation Command and Comms pack - in helmets (8 figures)                        £3.00 per pack inc VAT (£2.50 ex-VAT)

Finally, something a little different again: a set of Civilian Power Suits, personal exoskeleton rigs of a similar size to our military Power Armours but designed for heavy industrial work, cargo loading and similar duties - each pack has SIX suit bodies (3 each of 2 variant poses) plus NINE sets of arms, to give you plenty of variety in how you choose to assemble them; you get three sets each of standard manipulator arms, cargo-handling grabs, and work arms with plasma cutter in right hand and a portable power unit in the left. The suits have full enclosed helmets, and could also be used for EVA repair duties or as robotic work units.
SG15-V20        Civilian/Industrial Powered Work Suits - 6 bodies (3 each of 2 poses) plus 9 sets of arms - three standard manipulator sets, three cargo handling grab sets, three sets with plasma cutter and power unit                            £4.50 per pack inc VAT (£3.75 ex-VAT)
All of these NEW codes will be available at SELWG this coming Sunday (though please note that some will be in very limited quantities, so please get there early if you want them!), and very shortly after I'm back they will be added to the store for mailorder.
Thanks for reading, hope to see all our regulars at the show!
Jon (GZG), Thursday 19th Oct 2017.

www.gzg.com

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Tuareg The Desert Warrior | Full Movie | FlixHouse

Canada's 1922 Invasion Of The USA!

A Plan for a Preemptive Strike on the United States by the British Dominion of Canada, circa 1921
In December 2005, the Washington Post published a quixotic article entitled Raiding the Icebox. The piece introduces readers to U.S. War Plan Red, the little-known 1930 plan to conquer Canada. More sardonic than serious, the article acted mostly as a holiday diversion from the quagmire in Iraq: "Invading Canada won't be like invading Iraq: When we invade Canada, nobody will be able to grumble that we didn't have a plan." When interviewed, both Canadians and Americans took it as a joke, competing for the cleverest quip. Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz defiantly vows to the American enemy: "It will be like Napoleon's invasion of Russia."
Americans routinely joke about conquering Canada. But these plans are no joke. As a loyal, self-governing Dominion in the British Empire, Canada served as a proxy for American tensions with Britain throughout the 19th century. American troops invaded Canada during both the American Revolution (!) and the War of 1812. Significant border disputes existed until the 1850s, covering tens of thousands of square miles. Tensions rose during the American Civil War, when Confederates and Irish nationalists looked to Canada as a shelter, launching pad, and target. Even seemingly unrelated matters such as the Venezuelan boundary dispute of 1895 threatened to flare up into conflict between Britain and the United States.
As the twentieth century dawned, tensions lessened as Anglo-American interests coincided more and more. Yet, until the 1920s, there was a real risk that the Anglo-Japanese alliance would draw Canada into war with the United States. The British were quite serious about their alliance with Japan, inviting Japan into the inner circle of the Allied Powers in the Paris peace talks ending World War I. The alliance bound Britain to neutrality in the event of war between Japan and one other power, and to military support of Japan in the event of war between Japan and two other powers. As World War I demonstrated, overlapping treaties can have a cascading effect.
Strategic thinking tends to lag behind strategic reality. Despite the end of the Anglo-Japanese treaty in 1921, the US developed War Plan Red in the 1920s to address a possible war with the British Empire. Conversely on the Canadian side, James Sutherland "Buster" Brown prepared for a war with the United States. Thus was hatched Canadian Defense Scheme No. 1.


Analysis

Knowing that Canada suffered from a ten-to-one manpower disadvantage against the United States, "Buster" Brown's plan relied on strategic surprise and lightning movements. Canada could not hope to win a one-on-one war with the United States, so any Canadian defense plan had to rely on troops from the British Empire for military parity. Yet, in the age before air transport, any aid from Britain or her colonies would take weeks or months to arrive by sea. Canada had precious little strategic depth with which to undertake a defensive war, as the bulk of its population, industry, and rail lines were located near the American border. Indeed, the American War Plan Red relies on the proximity of Canadian resources to project a rapid and successful conquest of Canada.
To counter the seemingly overwhelming American military advantage, "Buster" Brown envisioned a preemptive strike against the United States. Canadian troops would mobilize quickly and attack with little warning, relying on surprise to penetrate American soil as far south as Oregon. Of course, the massively outnumbered Canadian forces could not hope to hold on to the captured territory. So they would begin a strategic withdrawal, destroying bridges, roads, and factories as they went. Thus, it would be American territory, rather than Canadian, that would be used for strategic depth. It would be American industry, farmland, and infrastructure that was destroyed, all of which would hamper American efforts to bring troops to the Canadian border. The gamble, then, was that Imperial forces would arrive to hold the line by the time Canadian forces had retreated back into Canada.
Clearly, Canadian Defense Scheme No. 1 was both daring and risky. It relies to a certain extent on US forces being caught off guard, a naïve assumption given the proximity. Ultimately, Defense Scheme No. 1 and its American counterpart faded away as Anglo-American relations continued to improve. War Plan Red was one of two dozen color-coded plans developed by the US military, ranging from major world wars to the invasion of Caribbean nations (Gray). In contrast, Canada's potential enemies were much fewer. Defense Scheme No. 2 addressed a possible war with Japan, in case the Pacific realignment drew Britain into war with its former ally, and No. 3 and No. 4 simply planned the dispatch of Canadian troops to aid British forces in European and colonial wars2.
American War Plan Red was declassified in the 1970s, but quickly became a footnote in comparison to Black (Germany) and Orange (Japan). Military historians seized on Orange, in particular, as a sign of the times, envisioning super-dreadnought battleships steaming to the Philippines (then an American colony) to engage in a fleet action with the Imperial Japanese Navy, sixteen-inch guns blazing. Canadian Defence Scheme No. 1 fell into even greater obscurity, not least because it was largely an internal army discussion, "not fully disclosed to the Government." War Plan Red resides in the National Archives of the United States, while Defense Scheme No. 1 lives at Queens University, in a collection of James Sutherland Brown's papers. An excerpt was published in a 1965 five-volume academic study of Canada's defense history, which as the sole published copy seems to be the source of most further inquiry (although many sources cite the James Sutherland Brown papers collection directly).
The well-known War Plan Red is available online.  Interestingly, it was located, digitized, and posted to Usenet in 1995 by Floyd Rudmin, who was then at Queens University, where the full Defense Scheme No. 1 is located.  I guess that University is just a hothead of Canadian resistance to American domination!  Until and unless I make my way to Queens University someday to locate the complete copy, I present here the partial plan that is available in published works.  Canadian Crown Copyright lasts fifty years, so the Defense Scheme is now in the public domain.
Some great games of this scenario by MrF'S Gaming
•1 - Invasion USA 1922 intro
•2 - Stone Falls p2
•3 - USA Strikes Back p1
•4 - USA Strikes Back p2

Tanker's Tuesday: Battles Of Tunsia

Monday, October 16, 2017

AT-99 “Scorpion” Gunship



The AT-99 “Scorpion” Gunship (Na'vi name: kunsip) is a VTOL ducted fan rotor, Mosquito-class targeting and missile launch platform. Outfitted to escort shuttle landings and take-off, close air fire support for military operations and air support for mining operations, the Scorpion is the gunship of choice for the RDA on Pandora. 


AT-99 Scorpion Gunship

Saturday, October 14, 2017

V-212 Pegasus VTOL

Taking advantage of the SCI FI SALE at ArmiesArmy!
 www.armiesarmy.com

I picked up four  V-212 Pegasus VTOL







The Pegasus comes in several parts both Resin and Metal.  Two tilt rotors, one
hull, one tail and then two sets of undercarriage to represent them raised or
lowered two Gatling Cannon and two rocket systems.

This platoon pack includes 3 vehicles !

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Monday, October 9, 2017

SCI FI SALE at ArmiesArmy!


SCI FI SALE at ArmiesArmy! www.armiesarmy.com
The shop is open and to celebrate Im offering a 20% off sale!
The sale will run for the next two weeks!
you will need to use the coupon aascifi20 in the shopping cart.
Min order is £5
as a one man band, orders can take up to a week to post and a little longer if 'swamped'! Normally out in a day or so though
www.armiesarmy.com

Combat Walker Construction Stargrunt II




This article was written with particular vehicle miniatures in mind. The author uses the old scale Heavy Gear walker miniatures as Combat Walkers for Stargrunt in the 25mm scale. These miniatures are about the right size in scale for a single-pilot vehicle. These "Mecha-style" vehicles often have weapons and equipment outside the main armour, either held in one of the "hands" or strapped to the back, mounted on a shoulder or leg, etc. The style is very common to combat walkers as depicted in Anime/Mecha style art, and as such is applicable to a wider range of models and miniatures than those produced by Dream Pod 9 for Heavy Gear.
Combat Walkers have several advantages to their design. Perhaps the main advantage is the ability to carry greater firepower than a conventional armoured vehicle of similar size, because the mounting and aiming mechanisms (their "arms") are part of the basic vehicle structure and because the weapons are carried outside the main hull. In some cases, the weapons are interchangeable, and the Walker pilot can choose from several different weapons, with the "arms" grasping the required weapon from a rack or mount on the back or leg.
According to the Vehicle Design rules in the Stargrunt II rulebook (page 31 - 32), a standard armoured vehicle may be fitted with 5 Capacity Points worth of weapons, equipment, or troop carrying space per Size Class of the vehicle. A size 2 vehicle, for example, has 10 Capacity Points for equipment and weapons.
Turreted weapons with wide arcs of fire take up a considerably larger amount of space than non-turreted weapons. A turreted weapon takes up three times the weapon size class in Capacity Points, while a fixed mount weapon requires only two times the weapon size class in Capacity Points. A turret mounted RFAC/2 would thereby take up 6 Capacity Points, making it impossible to fit this weapon system on a size 1 vehicle.
The "Heavy Gear" style combat walker design seems ill suited to this design methadology. These vehicles clearly cannot carry any infantry (they have room for only one pilot), but due to the nature of the design, greater flexibility in weapon and equipment capacity requirements should be considered.
For example, these vehicles have "arms" and a rotating waist as part of the basic vehicle structure. These mechanisms provide what is in effect a turret for weapons without taking up internal volume or detracting from carrying capacity. The weapons themselves are carried externally, requiring less internal space. As such, "turret mounted" weapons on these vehicles should cost less Capacity Points than the equivalent weapon on more standard armoured vehicles. However, there should also be a limit to the maximum size of weapon available for Combat Walker mounted weapons. As the weapons are mounted "off center" and the vehicles walk rather than roll on wheels or tracks (or a stable gravitic platform for grav vehicles), weight and balance would be a concern. A size 2 Combat Walker could theoretically mount a size 5 fixed weapon (10 capacity points), but if carried on one of the arms, the vehicle would be very poorly balanced. In addition, for game balance reasons I suggest there should be a limit to the maximum size weapon carried on a Walker.
These rules enable Size 1 and 2 Combat Walkers to carry a larger weapon load than equivalent size conventional vehicles, but places a strict maximum limit on the weapon classes carried.
Combat Walker Capacity for Weapons and Systems
Size 1 Combat Walkers
Capacity Points: 5
Maximum Weapon Size Class: 2
Size 2 Combat Walkers
Capacity Points: 10
Maximum Weapon Size Class: 3
On either Size 1 or Size 2 Walkers, each "arm" can carry only 1 weapon.
Weapon Capacity Point Costs
Size Class 1 Weapons: 2 Capacity Points
Size Class 2 Weapons: 4 Capacity Points
Size Class 3 Weapons: 6 Capacity Points
"SAW" type infantry support weapons: 1 Capacity Point
Vehicle Mounted Automatic Grenade Launcher: 2 Capacity Points
Heavy Flame Thrower: 2 Capacity Points
Also, GMS systems have "non-standard" space requirements:
GMS-L: 3 Capacity Points
GMS-H: 5 Capacity Points
In addition, shoulder mountings can carry 1 "SAW" type weapon "for free", including SAW, Multiple Launcher Packs (MLP - same as that found on PA) and single shot GMS/L tubes (may be used once during the battle, otherwise acts exactly the same as a standard GMS-L).
As with other vehicles, ECM, fire control, guidance systems, decoy launchers, smoke dischargers and other similar small external fittings do not require Capacity Points.
Arcs of Fire:
There are two ways to account for arcs of fire for this type of vehicles, and either is appropriate. Choose whichever suits your sense of aesthetics for these vehicles. The first is to allow all "arm" mounted weapons a 360 degree Arc of Fire (the arms themselves allow a 180 degree Arc of Fire to the side, and the waist can rotate 90 degrees in either direction, allowing a total coverage of 360 degrees). The second ignores the waist rotation, so arm mounted weapons have a 180 degree Arc of Fire to the side they are mounted on. In addition, all "shoulder" mounted weapons have a 180 degree Arc of Fire to the front only. In my gaming experiece, arc of fire on these type of vehicles rarely is rarely an issue and we generally do not worry about it, but either of these methods provides a simple justification for a GM to make a ruling on line of sight if necessary.
Drawbacks
The main drawback to this design methodology is that the exposed weapon systems are more likely to suffer damage in combat than equivalent systems on more conventional armoured vehicles.

Exposed Weapons on Stargrunt II Walkers


This article was written with particular vehicle miniatures in mind. The author uses the old scale Heavy Gear walker miniatures as Combat Walkers for Stargrunt in the 25mm scale. They are just the right size for a single-pilot vehicle. These miniatures often have weapons and equipment outside the main armour, either held in one of the "hands" or strapped to the back, mounted on a shoulder or leg, etc. The style is very common to combat walkers as depicted in "Anime" style art, and as such is applicable to a wider range of models and miniatures than those produced by Dream Pod 9 for Heavy Gear.
Combat Walkers have several advantages in their design. Perhaps the main advantage is the ability to carry greater firepower than a conventional armoured vehicle of similar size, because the mounting and aiming mechanisms (their arms) are part of the basic vehicle structure and because the weapons are carried outside the main hull. In some cases, the weapons are interchangeable, and the Walker pilot can choose from several different weapons, with the "arms" grasping the required weapon from a rack or mount on the back or leg. The main drawback to this design methodology is that the exposed weapon systems are more likely to suffer damage in combat than equivalent systems on more conventional armoured vehicles.
To simulate this in game terms, when a Combat Walker suffers a non-penetrating hit, as per the standard non-penetrating hit rules a d6 is rolled. On a roll of 1, the exposed weapons take some damage, and on a roll of 5 or 6, the vehicle suffers a Systems hit (Systems hit results as per the SG rule book).
For an exposed weapon hit, randomly determine which of the Walker's weapons has been damaged, and that weapon is rendered inoperable for the rest of the battle. In most cases, the weapon is simply taken out of action, but certain weapon systems, due to the highly explosive nature of their ammunition, are prone to secondary explosions. Two examples of this are the Automatic Grenade Launcher and the Vehicle Mounted Flame Thrower.
Vehicle Mounted Flame Thrower
Vehicle flame throwers on walkers have vulnerable fuel tanks, which can explode spectacularly if damaged. If the flame thrower is damaged (as per the random weapon determination discussed above), roll a further d6. On a 1 through 3 (50% chance) the fuel explodes. The vehicle is covered with burning fuel, and will automatically suffer a secondary hit on the Walker with d10 impact. Roll the d10 impact vs. the Walker's armour as per a normal hit. Also, the area around the vehicle may be set on fire (as per the SG rule book). If there are infantry in close proximity (within 2") to the exploding weapon, they will also take a hit, as if hit by a heavy flamer. This will cause d10 impact hits to each figure affected by the explosion, and will also cause morale effects as normal for flamers.
For further details about these weapons, see our Heavy Flame Thrower article.
Vehicle Mounted Automatic Grenade Launcher
When a Vehicle Mounted Automatic Grenade Launcher is damaged (as per the random weapon determination discussed above), roll a further d6. The ammunition will "cook off" on a d6 roll of 1 or 2, causing a secondary hit on the Walker doing d8x2 impact. Roll the d8x2 impact vs. the Walker's armour as per a normal hit.


No automatic alt text available.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Super Galactic Dreadnought: Trying out Team Yankee



Super Galactic Dreadnought: Trying out Team Yankee: I recently played my first-ever game of Team Yankee , the Flames of War spinoff based on the concept of the 1980s Cold War turning hot. ...

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

An end to the “Cold War” at the Wargames Holiday Centre.



My Good Generals, here is the write up from our recent Cold War game staged here at the WHC by the chaps from the Reigate club. I have included as many photos as was deemed sensible, as I took over 100, so when you take a look through just hover your cursor over the photo to see the note for the picture.

An end to the “Cold War”  

Tanker's Tuesday: Part IV British Tank List



British Tank List:

Challenger II  10 each
Chieftain   10 each
Centurion  30 each
Comet       10 each
Conquer    10 each
Cromwell  10 each
Challenger (WWII) 3 each
Churchill   10 each
Matilda II  20 each
Valentine VIII 10 each
Crusader III  10 each





   

Tanker's Tuesday - Smashing the Gothic Line


Monday, October 2, 2017

Just In From Jon At GZG

I've just posted a news update on the store front page, with the latest 15mm releases (as seen at COLOURS) now up for ordering.
Please pop over to the usual place (www.gzg.com) and take a look…..
More news soon, including details of SELWG (Crystal Palace, London) on the
22nd October!

I also had the honour recently of spending a couple of hours chatting by phone with Neil and co. from the MEEPLES AND MINIATURES podcast, and they've now posted most of my ramblings as No. 230 in their series of wargaming podcasts - so if you can stand an hour and a half of me talking about my early days in the hobby, starting GZG, and assorted other stuff then feel free to have a listen to it:
Jon (GZG), Monday 2nd Oct 2017.


www.gzg.com