Wednesday 9 May 2018

Tanks for the memory....

 
Not to be taken seriously but looks to have a little more depth than Tanks by Gale Force 9 - testing will tell in due course.


Along with rather a lot of other people I was very intrigued by the recent release of What a Tanker! - the latest set of rule from the stable of the Too Fat Lardies. Mindful of my reputation of never indulging on a whim I decided to invest in a set on the grounds that they are WW2 and also that tanks will feature when I get around to the Tunisian campaign in due course.

These rules are not designed as a detailed simulation of WW2 tank combat - rather they are more a Commando comic style of game and so should appeal to most methinks! I know that Dan Mersey of Lion/Dragon Rampant and The Men Who Would be Kings fame is working on something similar with the Plastic Soldier Company which is not really surprising given the amount of tanks kits available from them. I have not read the rules in any great detail but I rather like the idea of improving your crew over time thereby gaining certain advantages.

I could even feel a Wittman bocage-fest or even something from 'Fury' coming on....

I must confess to being a little bit of a tread head and suspect that this is a throwback to my Airfix modelling days. Nowadays of course some lovely models are available on a fast assembly basis and in a bewildering variety of types and scales. My preferred scale would be 20mm and I already have in mind what I want to get. Tunisia features a good selection of tank types from the Tiger 1 downwards so there is a lot of potential. In fact it means I could game the period without worrying about the rest of the kit - infantry and support weapons etc. - if I wanted to. That is certainly something to think about as even I can turn out tanks pretty quickly should the need arise.

As is usual with the Lardies rules there are bits and pieces available to download from their website to help with the game and the rules are also available as a PDF.

This is going to be fun.


12 comments:

BigLee said...

I picked up a copy when it was launched at Salute and I rather like it. I managed to playtest the game a few weeks later and I have recently gone on something of a spending spree acquiring all the tanks I need for some games in the Western Desert in 1940/41. To paraphrase a much overused phrase, these rules are easy to understand but hard to master, and that's just how I like em.

David Crook said...

Hi Lee,

It looks like a lot of fun and for pretty much the same reasons you mention. I saw your recent test and model splurge - you certainly haven't hung about!

I rather fancy Tunisia but having said that I am also looking at Greece in 1941 - Germans versus British so Pzr 3s against A9/10s. Having the Germans in the early war grey scheme also opens up for Barbarossa.

Having said that who could resist something 1944 based?

All the best,

DC

Jim Duncan Wargamer said...

I have the rules in my hand now and I've just made up a card deck.

I have some dashboards to do next.

My tanks are all 10mm and I have a chum whose are 20mm or 1/72 and we are not sure what scale to actual use yet.

Developments will be blogged in due course.

David Crook said...

Hi Jim,

Welcome back old chap!

I hope you are feeling better and are going from strength to strength after your recent health dramas

That is what I call prompt! I shall download some dashboards and get the cards sorted out at the weekend I suspect as I have a spare afternoon. I read somewhere that using smaller tanks looks better although I am still looking at 20mm.

Having said that I do have some 1/300th tanks I could experiment with.

All the best,

DC

Looking to see how you get on.

Jim Jackaman said...

I'm now dusting off all my old plastic kits and gluing them together. It's a great way to clear the loft of old Airfix and Armourfast kits from my Rapid Fire days. All very economical until you realise you need some more!

Mike said...

I am always amused by the TFL naming convention of thinly veiled rude phrases!!

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

Likewise ... looks good ... in fact I have been told I am getting too excited at the thought of playing this one

I have even been badgered into getting some 15mm tanks (the Zvezda kit buying thing is a little addictive!) but also intend to do it in multiple scales

20mm seems my "heretical" natural choice for a person who was not officially baptised in FoW but the 15mm minions will probably be my first battle :)

Mice to get excited ;)

David Crook said...

Hi J J,

For me this is one of those games that can be tackled from scratch quite economically - although I do not any kit reserves to speak of to tap into!

Armourfast and PSC would be the way to go for me so in due course I shall be 'dabbling'.

I rather like early 1941 in Greece and early Barbarossa as the grey painted Germans will cover both. Having said that the desert, more specifically Tunisia, has a good variety of tanks to play around with.

One is spoilt for choice really!

All the best,

DC

David Crook said...

Hi Mike,

Very much in the 'saucy seaside postcard or carry on' mode!

All the best,

DC

David Crook said...

Hi Geordie,

I was thinking about 15mm but 20mm has so many plus points for me so I shall probably go with that.

I am very excited about it though, mainly because for me it would be relatively painless to get into.

All the best,

DC

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

Have you played a game yet?

David Crook said...

Hi Geordie,

Not yet - but I have a cunning plan....

All the best,

DC