Bringing the Pig to the Nam - US M60 teams

Howdy folks, 

I hope all is well on your respective sides of the internets. Thanks to Mike's suggestion of doing a Vietnam Infantry Aces campaign, I've brought some momentum to bear on my lead mountain. So, I have for you: some M60 machinegun teams for my US forces.

Within 'The Nam' ruleset the M60, also called the Pig (thanks to its size, etc...), shows up throughout almost every American formation. Depending on your force (either US Army or Marines) it can be brought to the field as a machinegun platoon and/or individual teams can be added to your infantry combat platoons. Any teams that you would add to your platoon would be in addition, not as a replacement, to your platoon troops. If I remember correctly, the only case that jumps to mind that is different is for Special Forces troops who can add M60 teams at no extra cost (but then these are based 2 figs/small base) so they don't really fit the platoon or 'infantry team' standard base size (I think Battlefront calls it a medium base).

Regardless of where it fits in, the Pig is a Vietnam icon and US player staple!

My immediate plan for these beauties is to max out their option for my main infantry combat platoons and chop 2 teams per platoon. At the moment I plan to have 2 combat platoons, and am painting enough figs to go either Army or Marines...and that includes enough figures to max out the Marine combat platoons (10 x M16 teams + 2 optional M60 teams vice the Army...7 teams + 2 M60 teams...if I remember correctly).

Anyway, that is the latest from the table. Take care, enjoy the pics.

Lead Mountain 2021

Painted:

 

Large scale             3

28mm                   23

15mm                   24, +12

Bought                  24

Progress               +26

The Nam - Lurps Up

Howdy folks,

 

Hello last days of summer, here's to the coming Fall and all that fun. Today's post is just a quick one to show off some progress I made on a new/old project. Back some time ago, I was working on an Air Cavalry unit for Vietnam and Battlefront's The Nam. Admittedly I haven't painted any Nam figures let alone many 15mm in some time. So with Mike's recent push to have a Vietnam:Aces campaign I thought why the hell not...it was time to paint up some more.

The Aces campaign is a scale up mutli-round campaign where you can develop your infantry 'ace' as they gain more experience. Originally rolled out with Monte Cassino as the main battle, the Aces campaign also lets you select specific skills as your 'ace' develops. And concurrent to this, the size of your force similarly scales up...from 1-2 platoons, to company w/some support, to company and support options. In current game terms, this means the scale goes from about 20pts to 40 to 60...or even 80 I think...depending on the number of rounds you want to have I guess.

 

But I'll have to capture these thoughts in an aces dedicated post in the future. Anyhow, in prep for this, I already have my AirCav unit coming in around 20 points...so I'm good for the first round. But while I have plenty of chopper-goodness to add to the force, I wanted some actual boots to add...so I thought I'd start with some special forces troops. In this case, Battlefront does not distinguish between the options available to US Forces in Vietnam; depending on the theme of your force, they can be SEALs, Green Berets, Force Recon, or even Long Range Recon Patrols (LRRPs..lurps).

In tiger stripes and boonie hats, I thought I would field a 6 team Lurp team...with free upgrade for 2 of these teams from an M16 team to a M60 team. I don't think I had tried tiger stripe before, and like I said it had been some time since I painted 15mm...other than random crewmembers for vehicles, the last 'real' 15mm troops I painted was my 4CMBG mech infantry.

Anyway, they painted up ALOT quicker than my recent Marvel Crisis Protocol figures, go figure that...and it was fun to get back to the scale that got me into this hobby. Oh, and if you’re wondering where the figures come from or have guessed already…Yes, I used Battlefronts Aussie infantry for this unit so I could get the boonie hats.

Enjoy the pics.

 

Same troops, just a little natural light added as we head outside for a shot of clearcoat.

Lead Mountain 2021

Painted:

 

Large scale             3

28mm                    23

15mm                  +12

Bought                  24

Progress               +14

“I AM GROOT”…and Rocket…

…and a Giant in Miniature, the Warrior Woman…

Howdy everyone,

I hope all is going well as we get closer to the end of summer. It has definitely been a little warmer than I would like, but it looks like it should be a little cooler in the coming week. Certainly all the best for those going through weather extremes.

I thought I’d share a quick post…as the title suggests, this past weekend I just finished up the Marvel Crisis Protocol expansion with Groot and Rocket. On top of that, I thought I’d share a few pictures of The Warrior Woman from Wargames Illustrated’s Giants in Miniature line. Like all of the figures in this line, they are a limited run, and this one is inspired by the Game of Thrones character Brienne of Tarth.

Groot and Rocket were a real treat to paint. If you’re not familiar with Sorastro or his tutorial videos and website, you should check it out sometime. I am definitely a big fan of his work. He has a great tutorial for Painting Groot that I also used to do the limb that Rocket stands on. I took the chance to use the citadel technical paints suggested by Sorastro…I’d never tried these before or ‘inks’ that heavy before. I was pretty happy with the overall affect and they certainly made the painting go easier.

For Rocket, I also tried a couple of other techniques from Sorastro’s other guides, the back piece on Rocket came from the silver metal technique for Ironman’s suite and the nmm technique I used on his BFG came from a pdf guide for Crossbones and his gloves. Not sure if I nailed them, but I do like how they turned out. 

sorastro painting techniques

Crossbones pdf

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the pics, there a few to go through. Take care.

First, Brienne…pretty straight forward. I was looking to keep trying my hand at the non metal techniques while also making her armour look like it’s taken a beating or two. 

Second and third, Rocket and Groot. These were both areal hoot to paint up and both presented with some extremes. While Groot was quite oversized and quick to paint up, moving to the much smaller Rocket right after was a little tricky at first. 

A couple of pics with the a few of the other MCP characters I’ve worked through (in the background).

Lead Mountain 2021

Painted:

 

Large scale           3

28mm                 23, +3

Bought                24, +2

Progress              +2

A REAL BATTLE REPORT!!!!

Hello everyone,

 

I hope all is well on your respective ends. Well, as the title says, this post is all about battle reporting! Yup, it has been some time, but after almost a year I was able to get together with Mike and Duncan to get some proper gaming in. Given some of the homelife dynamics that we have to be careful of, the vaccine deployment has offered some relief on that front, so it seemed like the right time to hit the table!

 

Now as always, Mike has beaten me to the punch, so you can read his side of events here. 

Not only did this give me an opportunity to get a game in, but at Duncan's suggestion of SAGA it also gave me an opportunity to get my Viking Warband on the table...I've had these gents waiting in the wings for some time so just showing up was already a win-win.

Onto the reporting!

The table size was standardish size of the gamemat, I think about a 3x3 with some scattered terrain about the field...some trees and rock formations. Mike was setup on my left (Natives) and Duncan (witchcrafty/sorceror Norse Gaels) on my right, and I setup my Viking War Chief, the fearless Bohner Offheft, along with a Hearthguard, Berserkers, and 2 groups of Warriors.

The Setup:

Duncan’s Gaels…3 Hearthguards and a buttload of SAGA sorcery.

Mike’s warband…I think 1 Hearthguard and 3 warriors with some javelin throwers…so pretty much the only ranged capability on the table.

And my Vikings…Warriors centre and right, Zerkers on the left, Hearth just behind Bohner.

The Mixup:

Duncan leaps forward to Mike's leading warriors and makes some noise with them...

Moving up, Zerkers taking to the woods

Mike's warriors maneuvering...

Mike's warriors move to the edge of the woods, my Zerkers go...well berserk and charge into contact.

Much flailing and bloodlusting...each group fought to the last man.

Duncan moving Hearthguards forward, my warriors continue moving towards the clearing...some what line abreast...very organized.

My warriors leap from the hill crest and charge into contact with one of Duncan's Hearthguard.

 

After much bloodletting each group is down to one each...7 warriors and 3 heartguards to the end.

 Mike sitting pretty with 2 groups of warriors and his warchief

 

At this point, I rush my hearthguard forward to relieve the sole warrior and met out Viking justice...whatever that may be...sounds just like what I've doing...rush foward and bash! If I remember correctly, my hearthguard do their thing...kill Duncan's last guard, but then they get jumped by his Warchief and lose a couple of their number...but it forces Brodir back...and he takes some hits...

 

  Bohner rushes forward...I think he fights Duncan's warchief, gets him good and tired...and then Mike throws a javellin at him and kills him...sigh. My warriors keep up the pressure and rush the rock formation dealing damage to Mike's warriors and then push left to go toe to toe with his other grouping...

Bonher joins his warriors and Mike throws another javelin volley to reduce our numbers...he is successful and pulls out ahead for the victory.

Final view of the field of battle...not much left. I lost one group of warriors, my hearthguard, and berserkers...a great day for Valhalla, but not much combat power at the end of the game.

Overall a very enjoyable slugfest and great to have the gaming opportunity.