NCO Weapons

[Nigel Heather]

I’m looking at Soviet infantry but I guess this applies equally to other nations.

So using the nation lists, the NCO usually has a rifle for no extra cost and can often take an SMG for extra cost.

Also, I guess they can also carry a pistol, and in fact the models are commonly shown like this – certainly makes them more distinguishable.

So a couple of questions

1) is an NCO considered to have a pistol in addition to any other weapon
2) if not, why would you equip the officer with a pistol rather than a rifle or SMG

Cheers,

Nigel

[Stuart Harrison]

1. No – models are only armed with the weapons listed in their entry. There is a specific provision for HQ models to be considered to have a pistol IF they don’t have a weapon modelled.

2. Because you have the model and don’t want to convert it by changing the weapons – a pistol has no advantage over an SMG other than discouraging you from getting your HQ unit too close to the enemy and risking it’s loss. Sometimes you just want to use the cool model.

[Nigel Heather]

Thanks,

I’m talking about the NCO leading a squad or section.

An SMG is better than a pistol as it has longer range and fires twice. It also has the ASSAULT special rule (but I’m not entirely sure what that is).

Rifle outranges both but doesn’t have the ASSAULT special rule.

So why would you field one with a pistol? No cost difference to rifle, and the SMG is only a few points extra.

Plus you talk about what the figure is fitted with. Well he may be holding a rifle, but as an NCO he will almost certainly have a holstered pistol on his belt.

So my question, is if he armed with a rifle, but has a holstered pistol can he use the rifle at range and the pistol in assault – as he might well have done in real life.

Or is it purely a case of what you want you model to look like, an aesthetic thing.

Cheers,

Nigel

• This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by Nigel Heather.

[Stuart Harrison]

As stated above, no.

He only has a pistol if it’s an option for him in the unit entry. Very few allow anything but rifle or smg for your squad NCOs (or assault rifle for late war germans). It doesn’t matter if you put a pistol/holster on the model, if it’s not an option, or you haven’t paid for him to take it when it is an option, he doesn’t have it. Same goes for putting a sword on a Japanese NCO – he doesn’t gain the tough fighter rule in the way an officer does for the Japanese.

You can add it for aesthetics, or leave it there if it was part of the model, but for game purposes it doesn’t exist.

[Nigel Heather]

Thanks, the penny has just dropped. I thought NCOs could have pistols, after what you have said I read through the the rule book and the army books and I now see what you mean. Rifle or optional SMG, no pistols.

Cheers,

Nigel

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