[Kar98k]

I was never fond of prone figures, but I think this was because of a bad childhood experience. When I was a kid, I bought multiple boxes of Airfix American Civil War figures. In fact, I bought all the boxes the hobby store had at the time, which were, if I can remember correctly, two boxes of Union infantry, three boxes Confederate infantry, and two boxes of Artillery – yes, even as a kid I was a figure fanatic. (see pics below for those that don’t know or would like a blast from the past)

Anyway, the first box I opened was the Artillery (of course), but then the Union and Confederate infantry. I noticed that only the Union infantry came with prone figures. In fact, ten out of forty-eight are prone, so about 20% of the box has prone figures. Now, this didn’t mean much at first, but later I found Airfix Guide #24: American Civil War Wargaming, and what a fantastic and useful book! However, that’s when I realized I needed more boxes of Airfix figures. Lots more, but unfortunately, because of all those darn prone figures, even more boxes of Union infantry. In the end, I had a big bag of prone Union infantry figures which had little use. Yes, I did try to make casualties.

Because of that, I think that is why I’m not keen about prone figures for tabletop miniature gaming. That being said, your figures look very good. In fact, I like what you did to make your prone Bren Gun team. I’m actually very tempted to do the same thing. That’s what I already did with some of the prone figures we get with the plastic US Airborne and Soviet Infantry box sets – the first sets that were released because you don’t get prone figures in the newer sets (Hmm, I wonder why?). The prone figures were used to make LMG teams, and for the Soviets, AT-Rifle teams, but you only need so many, so I try to find other uses for prone figures like snipers, forward observers, and what not.

  

[Kar98k]

First, the background story: A long time ago I picked up a couple of Rubicon Models Pak 40 (1:56 scale) plastic model kits because frankly I didn’t want the metal Pak 40. Rubicon Models also released the Pak 36 AT Gun, the Pak 38 (Pak 97/38) AT Gun, Flak 36/37 (88), Flak 38, and others. All in plastic. Just recently I picked up a couple of the new plastic Pak 40 kits by Warlord Games. The Rubicon Models kit is a completely different plastic kit than the Warlord Games plastic kit, and before anyone asks, I do not have a preference (or recommendation) as to which one is better. Either one will make for an excellent model for the gaming table, and they are ten times, no wait… twenty times better than the metal Pak 40.

Also, before someone asks, “Why did you buy more Pak 40 kits?”, well, the short answer is that I missed my Miniature-Maniac-Addiction-Anonymous meeting.

That’s good and all, but what about the 28mm figures? The Rubicon Models kit gives you six crew figures while the Warlord kit gives you four crew figures. These are 28mm figures*, but the Rubicon Models figures are much more anatomically correct while the Warlord figures are definitely heroic scaled. That being said, Warlord was forced to do this so the figs would be more compatible with their later plastic infantry sets. As for the two different AT Gun models themselves, well, after you assemble and paint them, they look identical on the gaming table, so the gamer is good to go for either one, and I highly recommend either one instead of the metal Pak 40.

Now I do not have the new soon to be released US 57mm anti-tank gun (plastic) and British 6-pounder anti-tank gun (plastic) kits, but if the Pak 40 is any indication, they are going to be a must have for anyone wanting to avoid the metal guns. Hmm… I wonder what is next, a Soviet AT gun?

*but isn’t 28mm figs related to the scale-creep of 25mm figs?

• This reply was modified 1 week, 1 day ago by Kar98k.
• This reply was modified 1 week, 1 day ago by Kar98k.

[Kar98k]

Hopefully a quick question. Do the Army Special Rules in the “Armies of” supplements supersede those in the Main Rule Book or are they additional?

Hopefully a quick answer 🙂

It is either one or the other, but not both

Now for a longer response 😉

You and your opponent must decide whether to use the “Army Lists” and their special rules from either the Bolt Action 3E rule book, or the “Armies of…” books. Not both at the same time.

Also note that it’s not just the army special rules that might be different, but some of the units themselves. There are several to note, but here is an easy one; if you look at the American MMG team, you will see a difference. In the Bolt Action rule book (in the Army Lists), the MMG team has an “Extra Selection (MMG only)” special rule, but you do not get this option in the “Armies of the United States” book.

• This reply was modified 1 week, 6 days ago by Kar98k.

[Kar98k]

That’s why the Fallschirmjager FG42 is an automatic rifle and NOT an assault rifle.

@L.T. Russell: Yes, and many Bolt Action gamers agree with you. Now, if only Warlord Games can get it correct.

Also, for more details see (click the link below):

The FG42 in Bolt Action, and how easy it is to fix the error.

It is clear as daylight that the FG42 is an automatic rifle, no doubt, and as you can read from the above, this is very easy to fix in the game. Hint. hint, Warlord Games (wink).

As for the Bren, I have to agree with Stuart Harrison’s comment. In Bolt Action, the “Automatic Rifle” is a category intended to cover weapons like the one-man FG42 automatic rifle used by the Germans, and the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) used by American infantry squads. However, if you use historical doctrine, the Bren Light Machine Gun (note the name) is typically crewed by two (gunner and loader), and this gave it a much higher rate of fire than the BAR or FG42, so in Bolt Action game terms, it would better fit into the LMG category.

Note: The Bren does not have a single, universal, full name, but it does have a few official designations. Officially it is categorized as a light machine gun (LMG), and the official British service name (in British Armed Forces) is the “Gun, Machine, Bren”, or “Bren Machine Gun”. There are a few good books about this weapon, and I recommend Neil Grant’s book “Bren Gun” by Osprey Publishing.

Gaming note: there is a very good argument for the Bren being used without an assistant, and history does support special cases where the Bren Gun was operated by a single person (no assistant). So if my opponent asked if they could use their Bren Guns as such, I would be okay with that, and in game terms, this would be easy. It would be temporary categorized as an Automatic Rifle with the same ROF and Points Cost as the FG42 and BAR.

 

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 1 day ago by Kar98k.

[Kar98k]

@Stuart Harrison: Just to confirm, you are saying “Yes” to Jeff Knez’s question? Which was:

“Let’s say I have a Inexperienced transport that has a MMG for a weapon (a German SdKfz 251/1 halftrack for example). When it shoots, it incurs a -1
To Hit penalty due to being inexperienced. Got it.

Now let’s say I have a Veteran infantry squad riding in the transport. Can it shoot the MMG instead so that it doesn’t incur the -1 to Hit penalty?”

I’m not so sure the answer is “Yes”, and here is why: 1) The transport’s MG (MMG or HMG) is fired by the Inexperienced crew and not by the passengers – I will explain. 2) If the transport had additional MGs (usually MMGs), they could be fired by the passengers. However the original question by Jeff Knez was, “I have a Inexperienced transport that has a[sic] MMG for a weapon”, implying the transport has only one MG with no additional MGs added. According to the rules as written, “first declare which weapon is operated by the crew and which are operated by the passengers.” (see page 146). Granted, it would have been a whole lot more clear had it said, “first declare which weapon is operated by the crew and then which are operated by the passengers.”, which is what I think they meant.

[Kar98k]

@Kar98k – that would be a house rule.

@Stuart Harrison and @Jeff Knez (answer to your question)

Stuart, yes, you are correct. This was a common house rule for earlier editions (which still intermingles with long-timers), but in Bolt Action: Third Edition, it is no longer a house rule. It is included as a rule. This is on page 146 under Weapons Mounted on Transports. You are correct in that passengers can fire the other weapons (if there is more than one), however, “If either the vehicle crew or the passengers are Inexperienced, or have pin markers, their shots suffer the normal penalties.”

[Kar98k]

Now let’s say I have a Veteran infantry squad riding in the transport. Can it shoot the MMG instead so that it doesn’t incur the -1 to Hit penalty?

To discourage exploiting build points mechanics, most gaming groups I know do not allow this. If you purchased a inexperience half-track, it fires as inexperienced regardless of the passengers. Also, page 134 (VEHICLE-MOUNTED WEAPONS) supports this, “FIXED AND TEAM WEAPONS – We assume that vehicles have sufficient crew to employ whatever weapons they carry. “

[Kar98k]

is the re-crewing move for artillery units affected by terrain or always as the bird flies 12″?

Impassable terrain is still impassable, as are other terrain restrictions.

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 4 days ago by Kar98k.

[Kar98k]

Yes, what Stuart said. But remember, every time the spotter spots for a different unit, it resets the ranging-in (roll of 6).

No, if the spotter has pins, but the mortar team doesn’t have pins, the mortar team does not need to pass an order test to fire. As explained on page 102, the spotter and mortar team (or any unit with a spotter) can be thought of as two elements that share the same order die.

[Kar98k]

I just picked up the new “plastic” German heavy weapons and Pak 40 boxes. First things first, yes, they are a bit “Heroic” Scale. Its the new trend that will not die.

Now that we got that out of the way, I would like to quickly talk about the new boxed sets. They are a great match up for the German Veteran Infantry Platoon (plastic) box set. Why? Simple really, the bodies are interchangeable. In fact, two of the bodies on the crew sprue, which you get with both the heavy weapons or Pak40 packs, are exactly the same as two of the bodies on the Veteran Infantry sprue. Okay, well, they are not exactly the same. The two bodies (the kneeling poses) are pretty much exactly the same, sort of. If you look a them at a glance, they look the same, but look closer. The boots are different (which is okay). Also, on the Vet Inf body, there is a stick grenade stuck in his boot.

Regardless, you can use the Veteran Infantry bodies as crew for your heavy weapons and Pak40 and vice versa – interchangeable. For mid to late war, different boots in the same unit is okay. However, if you are concerned about the boots for early war, you can easily use the bodies from the Veteran Infantry sprue and the bits and arms from the crew sprue to make early war crew with the earlier boot.

If you have a lot of extra bits from the other German Infantry plastic boxes, there are a lot of great kit-bashing ideas you can explore.

If you do not have any Germans yet, I recommend getting the new Cross of Iron (all plastic) starter set, a German Veteran Infantry Platoon (plastic) box, and maybe one more Pak40 (the new plastic one). Between the Panzer Grenadier sprues and the Veteran Infantry sprues, you get lots of great options and combos. Yes, the boots are different, but from mid to late war, that is okay. Also, you can always keep the same boot type in the same unit if you like.

[Kar98k]

Hi Greg. You can find your answer and much more on page 102 of the rules (Spotters). “If an indirect fire weapon is fired by a Veteran or Regular crew, the crew are assumed to be able to also see whatever any spotter (or forward observer) in your force can see.” And yes, indirect fire weapons with inexperienced crews cannot use spotters or forward observers.

Note: because it is in the Errata & FAQS, some people forget or don’t know yet, but if a crew changes spotters, it resets the ranging-in process. That is, a six is needed to hit. Also, a spotter can only spot for a single indirect fire weapon per game turn.

[Kar98k]

And I was wondering if anyone else could think of any other French Vehicles that should be included.

Not easy to answer this because we are not sure what will already be included in the new book.

For sure, the basic vehicles, and maybe some of the more obscure ones, but unless they release a preview list, we will not know for sure what will be included until the book is released.

@Warlord – would it possible to see a list of the vehicles that will be included?

[Kar98k]

P131, Vehicles, introduction, second para, last two sentences – “Before looking at the role of vehicles in depth, we will…

Okay, thanks Stuart, that’s helpful. Yep, “In all other respects the rules for vehicles and infantry are the same.” But in my book, this is on page 130  😉

Overall, that helps keep things simple and easy, and even though tanks don’t have “hand grenades”, at point-blank range, the muzzle blast might count for something.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Kar98k.

[Kar98k]

Do tanks also get the +2 point-blank range modifier to hit if a tank shoots at an infantry or artillery unit?

This might seem simple to answer, but please keep reading.

I only ask because 1) we have “Shooting at Vehicles” rules (p.137)* but no “Shooting at Infantry” rules, and 2) under “Roll to Hit” (p.83) the point-blank heading says “Also know as Hand Grenade Range”. So, given these two interesting points, a reasonable person might wonder if the point-blank modifier does not apply to tanks shooting at infantry. What do you think?

*this states, “This works as normal”, so yes, add point-blank, but the heading is “Shooting at Vehicles” and not Infantry.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Kar98k.

[Kar98k]

Hi again you said you introduced your own simple rules what are they?

Our smoke rules are nothing fancy, but we did a bit of research to make sure certain vehicles or units could produce smoke. Surprisingly, a lot of tanks can produce some sort of smoke for cover. Even if it was some sort of smoke canister installed on the back of the tank. Interestingly, we discovered that the Soviets didn’t seem to use a lot of smoke devices on their tanks.

Anyway, my friend typed all this up, so I can post here, but like I said, they are nothing fancy. Also, we are still tweaking for a balance of historical flavor and game-play. Basically, a unit uses a Fire or Advance order to make smoke. We are tweaking the idea of popping smoke as a combined action. That is to say, a unit can make smoke and then move (e.g. back up into it) or use Advance order to do a combination of move, shoot, smoke as practiced by some armies in WW2. That is to say, a Tiger would fire its main gun, then pop smoke using its smoke projectors (must use Advance order and counts as moving for shooting), or even a Panzer III would use its main gun, pop smoke (canisters mounted in the rear) and back-up into the smoke (again, must use Advance and counts as moving for shooting)

Oh, smoke depends on what is producing it. Usually one or more 2″ or 3″ puffs – a Tiger I using its smoke projectors puts out two 2″ puffs side-by-side in front of the tank whereas an infantry unit might place one or more 2″ puffs next to it (front, flank, rear). All other smoke rules can be found on page 128 in the BA3E rule book.

Oh, I almost forgot. When firing a howitzer (never mortars) directly (has direct LOS), or when firing a smoke round from a main gun (88mm on a Tiger I, 75mm Pak40, or 75mm or 76mm gun from a Sherman – like in the movie Fury), the shooting player picks a point of aim and rolls to hit as normal (4+ with modifiers). If miss, nothing happens (KISS – Keep it Simple and Straightforward), but if hit, place a 3″ puff at point of aim.

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