Bathtub WW2 or Global Domination by any other name....

An earlier version of Command Decision and the Barbarossa 25 campaign supplement.

As part of the 'Airfix generation' I have always been interested in WW2. I have fought many games of the years with land, sea and air featuring; from skirmishes up to full blown campaigns. The period is rich in gaming potential and lets be honest, there is a ton of material available to support the wargaming enthusiast from figures, models and books, not to mention a myriad of rule sets.

So why try something different?

What I want to do is not so much revolutionary as more evolutionary in concept. I want to fight a wide variety of table top wargames encompassing land, sea and air elements against the backdrop of WW2. This will mean games set in desert, the steppes of Russia, western Europe, the far East and the Pacific - on the ground, in the skies and at sea. I want to do this in a meaningful way so that the action relates to the map and how the war unfolds. In short the strategic situation will drive the tactical game - which is the essence of a campaign in any event.

I am merely looking at the bigger picture.

The forces I intend raising and using will be fairly modest as the main rules of choice will probably be the Portable Wargame as I believe these capture the spirit of what I am undertaking.

Many years ago Frank Chadwick of GDW published a supplement to his Command Decision WW2 rules called Barbarossa 25. The idea behind this was that the armies and geography for the campaign in question were divided by 25 (as I recall, again, I stand to be corrected) so that realistic forces could be raised to refight the entire war on the Eastern Front. I believe he also did something similar for the Battle of the Bulge but I stand to be corrected should any readers have a copy of this. His follow up WW1 version of Command Decision called Over the Top also featured a similar approach to the opening moves on the Western front in 1914 called ‘Home before the leaves fall’. 

A wargames campaign is always a compromise in terms of scale as the size of a collection usually determines the forces available. I always work on the basis that a campaign is a scaled down wargame which is in itself a scaled downed from reality. This ‘telescoping’ is fine and is probably the only way to field representational forces in a meaningful way. 

Using Axis and Allies as the basis for a campaign raises a number of challenges. The Infantry figures generally represent whole armies which of course are made up of various troop and equipment types. The area of TOEs for formations in WW2 is a veritable minefield as ‘paper’ and ‘actual’ strengths were usually very different, especially when a force had suffered a number of defeats or was short of supplies. This means that mapping across a map unit into a table top force is fraught with difficulty. I am thinking about using a force that is made up of a core of units with some options to add a little variety.

 

The naval and aerial dimension are something else to consider and as yet I have no thoughts about how I will tackle this. The games resulting from the map movement will be tactical but it is the challenge of mapping these forces back to the strategic picture that is where the fun starts.

 

In terms of the additional models I will need above and beyond the contents of the game the list is actually pretty modest. Trucks and halftracks are the main requirement for the land forces and a few extra aircraft types will be thrown into the mix. the naval side probably needs the most amount of material and, if I am honest, it is only because my old fleet building habits have not been totally erased....

Axis and Allies Part 3....The Shape of Things to Come

 

The world according to Axis and Allies



After my post of yesterday I spent some time messing around with basing ideas and considering exactly what I want to achieve by using Axis and Allies game pieces for my WW2 needs. On the face of it the whole idea probably seems a little odd after all, why pay for a game with oddly scaled models that are not as detailed as easily available scale metal miniatures?

In truth there are no simple answers to this. I believe that I can produce a good game using the components included - be it land sea or air - and that the overall cost will be more palatable. I am conscious that I have wasted a lot of money over the years on models and if I am honest, the thought of replicating what I am planning on tackling with the game pieces using metal models instead is a financial outlay I am reluctant to embark upon. To illustrate my point for an overall projected expenditure of around £150 I will have fleets, air forces and land assets for five nations - or around £30 a go - and this includes basing etc. My solution also has the advantage of having everything in one place - buy the game and you have all the bits needed. I am only buying a further edition of the game (included in the budget, as are the additional pieces that are not available in the games) simply because the extra material adds to the variety of models as well as bulking out some of the existing ranges. In short it is more wargamer friendly.

From a painting perspective these models will be very straightforward to tackle. Given my aversion to this part of our hobby (to be strictly accurate it is my aversion to painting anything 'organic' rather than mechanical!) this is another positive consideration. The ships will be painted in my usual fashion and will feature names and ensigns on the bases and the aircraft will be mounted on flying stands with decals provided by Tumbling Dice. The land stuff I am still pondering over simply because it is an age since I painted anything in this area.

In respect of rules, well, anything goes. The Portable Wargame will feature or even straight Memoir 44 although Sam Mustapha's Rommel will make an appearance at some point. Axis and Allies: Angels 20 will probably be the rules of choice for the aerial stuff whilst for the naval side I could do a lot worse than using good old GQ1 and 2.

Mention of the naval side adds a further element in that the models lend themselves to some basic conversions. There is a very good selection of merchantmen and I plan to use some of these as AMCs or possibly commerce raiders. Some of the other ships could also be tweaked slightly so this is another avenue I can explore. There will be plenty of spares to play around with!

Axis and Allies: The Game

The game itself is designed ideally for multiple players and it has been described as a 'light' strategy game. this is true and if I am honest I am very unlikely to play this as it should be played. The components are very useful (I mean other than the miniatures) and will be used for a number of ideas I have in mind. The map board is also very handy and could be used quite readily for a global based miniatures mega-campaign. In fact one could argue why not just 'wargameify' the board game itself?

Hmmm, turning a perfectly good lightweight strategic level WW2 boardgame into a miniatures based gaming tool? Whoever would have thought it?

Axis and Allies Part 2....The Best of the Rest

Rather than show you the same castings but in a different colour plastic I figured it would make more sense just to show you those types unique to each nation. The allies seemed to be the main victim in this as the Fletcher class destroyer appears in the US, USSR and the Royal Navy, likewise the 105mm Howitzer. The Russians also benefit from the Royal Sovereign and an Illustrious class carrier. So without further ado.

The great American arsenal of democracy - a Wasp class carrier (methinks it is an Essex class, not the original Wasp), an Iowa class battleship, a B17 and a P38 fighter. The destroyer, submarine, Liberty ship, Sherman and 105mm howitzer appeared in the previous post.

From the USSR we have a T34/76, a PE 8 bomber and a YAK fighter - again, the destroyer, submarine, transport and artillery piece are courtesy of the USA.

The first of the Germans. A Graf Zeppelin class carrier, Bismarck, a type 34a (Z5) destroyer, a type 7 U Boat and a Danzig transport type.

A Ju 88 and Ju 87 Stuka together with a Panther tank and an 88m deployed in this AA configuration. Fortunately there is a 105mm howitzer and a Me 109G in the next set I am getting (Spring 1942). The 1941 set features a Tiger 1 (as well as a JS2) and earlier Panzers are available - as well as shielded 88mm - from the suppliers mentioned in my previous post.

For Japan we have the carrier Shinano, the mighty Yamato, a Fubuki class destroyer, an I class submarine and a Hakusan Maru class transport. You can get a Kongo class battle cruiser and an Akagi class carrier separately to expand the selection somewhat.

A Betty bomber, a Zero fighter, a type 95 Kyugo light tank and a 70mm howitzer. The tank is quite a nice model and I reckon it could double as a Panzer 38t with a German paint job.

The generic AA gun and an industrial complex aka a target.

There are a lot of holes with the choice of models but many of these can be addressed. The later sets include a greater variety of pieces and include other nations. It is possible to get Italian and French models and even the ANZACs get a look in. The set I am getting next will give me a lot of extra pieces to bulk out the set I have as well as some new models - cruisers being the main item, not to mention some more nation specific stuff for the British and Germans. Finally, and by way of a little experiment I messed about with some basing ideas during the course of which I compared the land models with the Tumbling Dice 1/600th scale infantry.

The base size is 40 x 30mm, the infantry are 1/600th with the Panther for comparison.

I must confess that the above has given me a lot to think about as the land models look fine alongside the metal infantry. The base size works well with a strip of the figures or a single vehicle/artillery piece. I may use a dice frame to hold a strength point dice or possibly a small magnet - rather like the system Bob Cordery and others use for Megablitz. The base also fits on a Heroscape tile quite tidily.

So once again it is very much a tale that grew in the telling but I am confident I will get a lot of mileage out of this idea.

Axis and Allies Part 1....The British

I have finally had a chance to crack open the recently acquired copy of Axis and Allies (2004 revised edition) and so I thought it would be a good idea to share some pictures of the pieces and my thoughts as to how I shall be using them going forwards. The most pleasant surprise though, was the fact that the models are hard plastic and not polythene. They are basic in respect of detail but that will work fine for me. There are some curious choices in the mix for the British (as with the others nations as well) although later editions do address this after a fashion. There are also the additional pieces available from Historical Boardgaming and Stratak which can serve to fill in the gaps where needed.

The British

From left to right you have HMS Illustrious, HMS Royal Oak, a US Fletcher class destroyer, a US submarine and a Liberty ship. The ruler gives you a guide as to the size of the models.

You can see the variable scaling of the pieces in that the destroyer and submarine are virtually the same size asthe capital ships - which is sure to put off many gamers. I, on the other hand, am not in the least bit bothered by this! I will explain my thinking around this a little later but for now just assume that all is well with my thought processes. I am more concerned by the choice of models in this edition but mercifully this can be addressed by the acquisition of a later version of the base game or buying some additional pieces from the suppliers mentioned. The next set I have my eye on is the Spring 1942 set which not only includes cruisers (a County class for the RN - HMS Kent) for each nationality but the British get their own destroyer in the shape of HMS Saumerez. I would have preferred a J to N type or possibly a Tribal but will make do with what is to hand. From the suppliers mentioned earlier you can get HMS Warspite, HMS Hood and a KGV class in the same notional scale. There is also an Ark Royal. 

The variable scales are not a problem in my opinion. In my mind’s eye I see battleships as shooting from far away so naturally they should look smaller. Destroyers operate at shorter ranges so will appear larger. I realise this will offend the purist but it works for me....

A cannon armed Spitfire (let’s assume it is a Mark 9 for arguments sake) and a Halifax bomber

I reckon these are scaled at around 1/600th or thereabouts so I am planning on making use of the decals available from Tumbling Dice in due course. There are a few other types available from the suppliers named - namely a Hurricane, a Mosquito, a Lancaster, an Albacore and a Swordfish. These will go on flying stands in due course for use with standalone aerial games as well as for air support for ground troops or even carrier strikes.

A Sherman Tank and a US 105mm Howitzer

The last pieces for the British in the edition I have are a Sherman tank and a 105mm Howitzer. There are other British pieces available - the Spring 1942 edition has a Valentine tank and a 25pdr - which will also be acquired in due course. From a scale perspective these are roughly 1/300th or 1/285th.

In Conclusion

For sure these are gaming pieces and not models but they look like what they are supposed to represent. The major types of air, land and naval assets can be acquired from other sets or from the suppliers mentioned. There are significant gaps in the ranges overall but crucially there is enough of a variety to make use of. The edition I acquired has given me sufficient material to make a start on all five nations should I wish. There will be spares - how many R class battleships do you need (especially as the Russians get one as well - HMS Royal Sovereign)? - but these can be used for conversions or imagi-nation type set ups. From a cost perspective the set I acquired was very good value (£30 all in) and you would not be able to buy the material included for less than double that I should think - the aircraft alone would cost around £30 from Tumbling Dice and the hundred odd vehicles/artillery at roughly 50p a go comes out at £50. Then of course there are the ships.

This approach will not suit everyone but it absolutely ticks a lot of boxes for me!

The March of Time and the HMRC

Last Saturday a small brown envelope dropped through my letterbox from the HMRC.

I was not expecting this so imagine my surprise when I opened it to see the notification date of when I can retire and take the state element of my pension.

The 28th of March 2026 to be exact.

I must confess that it came as a little bit of a shock - I don't know why as I shall be 58 this year so retirement is not exactly an unknown quantity that is steadily looming over the horizon - as seeing it in black and white and officially means that it is on its way.

It made me feel a little uneasy and, to be honest, disappointed as I still feel as though I have things to do and contributions to make before the day - so best I get motivated then!

Looking backwards to go forwards....

 

I will post pictures of all the bits and pieces once I have sorted them all out 

In pursuit of some bits and pieces I need to support my block armies for 20^th century gaming I have managed to source a cheap copy of Axis and Allies. The version I have acquired is the 2004 revised edition  which was the last produced before the range exploded into a number of other versions. I am really excited about this as the game is unplayed and all the component pieces are still in their packs. Aside from the land bits and pieces there are also the ships and aircraft to consider. I am looking forward to working with these and already have a few simple rules ideas to play around with.

The ships and aircraft will be painted and based and for the latter I shall also make use of some decals. This will add to the flavour. Aircraft will also be mounted of ‘flying’ bases. The overall ‘generic-ness’ of the models is fairly muted so whilst they are pretty nondescript detail-wise they can be readily identified as to what they are supposed to be. Again, this will add to the flavour. I have also been looking long and hard at the offerings from the two companies mentioned in my previous posts – Historical Boardgaming and Stratak – and will probably expand the Axis and Allies pieces to include some of these in due course.

In many ways there are elements of ‘going back to my roots’ in this latest adventure as making use of materials for purposes other than that for which they were intended used to be very much my stock in trade in the early days of my wargaming. It was a lot of fun and the games I had were real enough to me at the time. Using my block armies over the last few years has reinforced the values I had long since discarded – improvisation and making the best of what you could find  - and has made me look at my wargames from a wider perspective. Well certainly wider than painting great numbers of figures at the very least. I have the utmost respect and admiration for those that choose this approach – it just isn’t for me. Having said that I shall not be entirely removed from the whole figure thing as I shall be using those that come as gaming pieces where I am able, for example the Medieval and 18th Century Risk figures at some point. The infantry figures in Axis and Allies may even get a lick of paint, similarly those from Memoir 44/Battle Cry. Of course I also have the 54mm Foreign Legion and Arabs to tackle in due course so I am not really severing all my links with the world of painted figures. There is now no urgency around painting these though which means I can do them when the mood takes me and not to any timetable.

I fully intend to paint the pieces that I use alongside the block armies though as, and I can almost hear the mocking laughter in the background, the look of the thing is important to me – this is primarily why I prefer the 3D terrain option rather than using a map. Using varying scales of model within the same game is not a problem - there are rules around that happily do this - so I can take comfort from the fact that all I am doing is standing on the shoulders of giants so to speak.

Enigma Variations....Part 3

 

The Airfix polythene Tiger 1 - much coveted 'back in the day'

I am experiencing that circular kind of feeling, you know, that Deja vu kind of thing. Way back in the early 1970s when I first dabbled in wargames my resources were very limited. My family circumstances were very modest and money was never plentiful. My mother was bringing up three of us on her own with yours truly being the eldest so hobby 'stuff' was low on the list of our budgetary requirements.. Figures and models were rarities and limited to birthday presents and Christmas, with the odd acquisition as the result of my paper round. The Isle of Sheppey, located in the Thames estuary(where I come from), did not have a model shop although there were a couple of toy shops that stocked Airfix kits and figures, not to mention a gift shop at Leysdown that did the same. The nearest model shops were on the mainland at Sittingbourne. The only magazine I was aware of was Military Modelling and so I used to buy that when I could. 

The Airfix Pontoon Bridge Assault Set - complete with British Commandoes assaulting early war German Infantry ably assisted by Patton and Centurion tanks and that rather mysterious SP Gun (I never did find out what it was based on)

In order to wargame then I needed to eke out my finances and make do with what I had to hand. In short, I needed to improvise. I can remember using Lego bricks as troop blocks and scratchbuilding tanks and buildings for my games from a combination . The results may not have won any awards but they served a purpose. In the games I fought they were real enough. The release of the Airfix polythene vehicle range was a major boon for my WW2 games – even if the range was initially a little odd. I happily used vehicles as whatever was needed so the Patton tank served in most armies until the Tiger and the T34 made an appearance. The SP was used by everyone and the 25pdr with tractor was used for pretty much any type of towed artillery or anti-tank gun. I never used the tank transporter or the landing craft though. The point I am trying to make is that I was happy enough using models for things other than what they were as I had little choice. Did the games suffer for this? Absolutely not! In fact it was quite handy as it meant that a particular vehicle could serve in any army – rather like Hollywood in a way. I was reminded of this when I recently watched The Battle of the Bulge for the umpteenth time - M48s as King Tigers anyone? 

Gradually as the finances improved through a variety of pocket money jobs and so I was able to add into the mix some ‘proper’ models and other equipment. Sadly this came at a price as with this new found ‘maturity’ came the gradual descent into 1980s ‘rivet counting’ rules. 

Fast forward to the present day and after I have divested myself of my rose-tinted spectacles I find myself on the brink of doing something vaguely similar but with the benefit of over 40 odd years of wargaming ‘experience’. I have abandoned the rivet counting of yesteryear and so for my 20^th century games I will use the blocks and make do with what models I can get to use alongside them. This would not work for many people but suits me to a tee as I generally fight most of my games on a solo basis. It will also make battle reports a little easier on the eye. 

It does not mean I am abandoning figures and models entirely – it is just that in order to satisfy a certain requirement this is the solution I shall adopt. 

 

 

An example of some painted Axis and Allies game pieces

The pieces included in the Axis and Allies series of games also feature a number of ships. Each of the major powers fields a carrier, a battleship, a cruiser, a destroyer, a submarine and a merchantman. These are not consistent in terms of scale but are quite obvious as to what they represent. There also a number of nation specific types available from a couple of suppliers which are useful to fill some gaps in the range. In fact one could build up a navy with the 'correct' ships being used as intended via these suppliers if desired as long as one bears in mind they are not scaled in anyway but are designed as gaming pieces.

 

 

Another supplier of gaming pieces for use with Axis and Allies - the website is on the pictures should you want to take a quick look.



 

The Soul Searching bit....

 

If I am honest with myself I believe that I have been pursuing a wargaming blind alley for years now. I am unlikely to paint great armies of figures - it has little appeal to me for a variety of reasons - or huge fleets of ships (I have tried both) and it many ways this has held me back from my enjoyment of fighting wargames. I do not believe you need to use figures or models to have a good wargame - all you need is a little imagination and a gaming medium that works for you. I want to fight table top battles using whatever I need to - be it detailed models, cardboard counters, wooden blocks or gaming pieces with the proviso that if any models are used then they should be painted.

 

So there you have it.