Tag Archives: Tanks

Tanks! Redux

Watched Dunkirk the other night.  Not the new one, the good one.

Duly inspired, I dug out my 1/100 armor with accompanying terrain, and set up a mini-campaign for Tanks!.

Basic premise was a pack of misfit British armor, caught up in the backwash of the Arras counterattack, tries to get to the coast.  Set up random parameters for German opposition, and British crew capabilities.

Since the campaign was “based on a true story”, the rag-tags had an interesting set of crew skills and helpful equipment.  These add-ons provide the abilities to shrug off misfortunes of all kinds. The Germans were faceless, robotic drones.

The tricky part was what each force could see, and if they saw something, how/could that information be communicated.  Did some basic research on tank radios and found there is not that much out there.  So, just had some fun with it, using yes/no, directional, and other random dice.

The British had an armored car for scouting; an A12 Cruiser,  a Mk 1 Matilda and a Mk 2 Matilda.  The German mix could include Pz II, III or IVs.

The unintended consequence of all of this was another trip into the world of computer graphic design.  I’d designed some Tanks! cards with GIMP in the past, but had lost all of my chops.  Downloaded a template over a Boardgamegeek, and  floundered.  Wound up using my old mock-up cards.  Hopefully, I’ll continue to slog away at the new cards.

Again, it’s a real challenge to resist ginning up too many house rules.  Sure, I had to make spot judgments on backing up, Matilda frontal armor and others, but resisted the need to codify them.  Here’s photos of the first two scenarios.  Lots of Hide N’ Seek trying to work through woods along roads/side roads.

Had to pick up this AM.  I’m thinking coastal operations later in the week, or Heroes of Normandie.

Always The Last To Know?

The good news is that this isn’t another relationship situation.  The bad news is that it looks like the Tanks! franchise has been discontinued.    No posts in quite a while and no merchandise in the store.

While I use the less expensive Zvezda models, I did enjoy checking out the site for scenarios and information.  I guess I will go over to Flames of War for news updates.

Meanwhile, I continue to build up my late war Germans in anticipation of creating some urban combat scenarios.  Here’s the latest additions.  One more traunch of kits to finish up for a representative set of both German and Soviet AFVs.

 

 

More Tanks

Working on my latest batch of Zvezda 1/100 (15mm) late-war German tanks.

After trying adhesive putty to delineate camouflage, using both brush and spray paint, I tried using a small sponge.

The sponge seemed to work best.  I used a couple of umber and black washes to gritty the tank up, and then a little bit of touch-up using a Q-tip.  I do enjoy tanks, because my lack of precision and technique can be superficially covered up by applying dirt, grime and weathering.

The result…. it “looks good on the table” (which is a miniatures equivalent of  “Bless His Heart”).

Here are some dynamic before and after shots taken in the usual crypt like lighting.

 

Tanks…..And Stalin’s Tanks

Finally finished up the late-war Soviet and German tanks purchased some time ago.  They were languishing  in a painting induced purgatory, victims of my incompetence.

Painting early war tanks is straight forward.  Single color, weathering, dirt & grime…done.  Later war Germans are something else.

There are some excellent resources on the web about how to paint them (#1 and #2) .  The problem is I just couldn’t leave it alone and do what I was told.

Instead, I tried using the Blu Tack (or its far less expensive counterpart Blue Stik), along with spray paint and, just to make things more interesting, ignore cleaning out some stray landscape flock from the painting box.  The result was ridges along the color lines, and grit all over the tanks, like a molted zimmerit paste.

It took a awhile to psychically recover from this screw up.  But, in the spirit of clearing out all the miscellaneous bits and pieces before the next  big project, I trudged to the finish.  The results……..well……..(let’s blame it on the bad lighting).  If they look glossy, it’s because I finished them in gloss coat.  Perverse, but they seem to look better this way.

Undeterred from this episode I bought some more late German and Soviets.  Exotics.  What started out as a “let’s get a few late-war tanks and fight in an urban setting” has ballooned into something else.  And, don’t even get me started on the continued scale printing problems with the paper buildings.

During this sad process, I picked up a copy of Stalin’s Tanks.  Had read some positive comments, and remembered it as something I thought about buying way back when.  The hope is I can mash up this rule set along with Tanks!  to add a little depth  to a beer and pretzels game from another beer and pretzels game.

Tanks! Book To Get

Borrowed Steven Zaloga’s “Armored Champion” book from Tim.  Subtitled “The Top Tanks of World War II”, it is a fantastic overview of  tanks development from 1919 to 1945.

While the author’s selection of “Top Tank” for specific eras/years at first seems  gimmicky, it is actually an interesting exercise, as he takes both Commander’s and Tank Crew’s perspective.

Zaloga’s criteria focuses on the “Holy Trinity” of tank design; armor, firepower and mobility.

Chapter 1 explores “What Makes a Great Tank.”  In addition to the “Trinity”, Zaloga also addresses communications, crew layout/tasks, durability, crew capabilities and cost.  These criteria are used throughout the book.

Later chapters examine pre-war developments, and a by-year analysis of tank development and combat, with selections made at the end of each chapter.

Easily appreciated charts help illustrate his criteria and support his conclusions.  The photographs are of excellent quality.

Indispensable!

Armour Camouflage and Markings

Back from a week in the Sun with friends.  Nice way to spend the time.

Just before departure, I  received the last of three books ordered to help with the Tanks project.  All of these involved camouflage and markings throughout World War II.  I already had one book covering the Polish and French campaigns.  Each of these four books, while originally published many years ago,  is highly recommended.  Here’s a few comments on each.

The cover says it all.  I was especially intrigued by the widespread use of tankettes and carriers by the Allies.  Many of the photos were of abandoned Allied armor, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, but the sheer frequency of breakdowns reported was astounding.

 

This is the only book not published by Arms and Armour.  George Bradford is well known for his profiles series.  I was not overly impressed with it at first glance-through, but subsequent readings proved it to be a very satisfying overview, complete with scale drawings of all the armored vehicles used during the campaign.

Another volume with Steven Zaloga, the well known armor expert and author of the popular  Panzer Colors series.  This volume includes a helpful survey of German Panzer unit insignia, as well as an interesting discussion of Soviet tank inscriptions. Vehicles from Romania and Hungary are also covered.

 

This book begins with a very interesting discussion of the purposes and techniques of camouflage.  The author emphasizes the effects of dirt, dust and foliage on armor camouflage, and the differences in philosophy between the Great Britain, United States and Germany.  To me, the illustrations aren’t consistently as good, but I am a fan of profiles and not aspect renderings of equipment and aircraft.  Most of German vehicles photographed were captured, with only a few shots of them in action.

Prices for these books – all used- range from the reasonable to the absurd.  It took time and effort over a period of months to locate quality copies at good prices.  I feel the money was well spent.

Tanks – BEF Breakthrough Pt III

Had too much fun yesterday with another session of Tanks.

This time it was the A-9s and A-10s (Cruisers) versus the Germans.  And, this was a wild one.

The Cruisers formed a box formation, veering to the West in an attempt to exit the map.  The Germans used their “Blitzkrieg” ability (can use the repair phase to make extra move, for a total of 3 moves in a turn), to get into the copses and prepare for stationary fire under cover.

The British engaged immediately, and managed to knock out the Mk III, as well as getting into a multi-tank and point-blank duel with a Mk IV.  After knocking out the Mk IV, the remaining British threw caution to the winds and took multiple moves, risking breakdown on a die roll of 6.

One Cruiser broke down, but the others were able to move off the board.

Cruisers Advance. Panzers will use their “Blitzkrieg” move to get into the woods.
Gunfight At Close Range
MkIII Knocked Out. Cruisers Maneuver Past A Burning A-9.  While An A-10 Brews Up In The Copse.  The Mk IV Will Get Theirs In The Next Turn.

That’s it for Tanks (for awhile).  Next up….Storm Over Arnhem.

Tanks – BEF Breakthrough Pt II

Pitted the Matildas against two Pz IVs (short) and a PZ III (short).

This time, the Germans opted to head for the copses, allowing for some stationary firing (can re-roll firing dice), as well as a modifier for cover.

The Matildas stuck to their earlier plan, with the Mk IIs providing cover for the Mk Is.

This time, the heavier guns of the Panzers brewed up one Mk II.  However, the other pair of Matildas threw caution to the winds and risked breakdown (die roll of 6) by moving two bounds in a turn.

Fortune was with the Matildas as their armor and luck allowed them to bypass the Germans and move off the board to engage the now  exposed Wermacht infantry units.

Panzers Take Up Stationary Firing Positions Ready To Engage Advancing British
Matilda Mk II Burns
Despite Three Hits, Matilda Mk II Braves Point Blank Fire.

Tanks – BEF Breakthrough Pt I

Decided to get on it and set up Tanks downstairs.  First chance to use BEF armor.

Threw out tiles and randomly slapped terrain mats down for a fight between Matildas and light German armor.

British orders were for the the Matildas to exploit a breakthrough (a quasi often gamed Arras maybe-it-would-have-been-something-decisive scenario).

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I settled on ratings for the Matildas.

The Two Matilda Marks At The Top
The Pz II Defense Rating Should Be A “1”

The machine gun armed Matilda I is virtually useless against armor, but can hammer German infantry.  The Matilda IIs guided the little waddlers, while fending off the German armor.

The Panzers pressed their attacks, but the combination of British armor thickness and good die rolls were too much.

Matilda IIs Protecting The Little Matilda Is
Panzer 38ts Destroyed In Close Combat

Another fun, fast game.  Next up……Matildas vs. The Panzer Varsity (Mk IIIs and MK IVs).

Tanks – Brit Cruisers Finished

Finished them up right before I left for a Southwest hike/bike/drink-beer-with-friends trip.

The A-9 didn’t have a power turret, and both A-9 and A-10 had a variety of mechanical problems.  The question I’m mulling is how to reflect that in the Tanks rules without starting down the slippery slope of too much chrome.

Instinct is to have a die roll if the tank moves more than 1 move in a turn.  Roll of six, tank breaks down, and must be repaired in the appropriate phase.  Maybe use the Bail-Out card, in which the crew abandons the tank and no firing that turn.  It’s an idea.

Here’s a hasty photo of them.  The two A-9s in the front.