Friday, May 2, 2014

Small Batch of Small Germans - 15mm WW2

More fodder for 15mm Chain of Command

My Legion Project is currently at a pause while I assemble more models, get them primed and wait for the primer to dry etc.  I have been filling the gap by finishing off some small lingering 15mm WW2 projects that have been lying around the pending pile for too long.  Up first is this small assortment of German WW2 infantry from Battlefront.

The figures are based individually for skirmish gaming - rules like Bolt Action, Chain of Command and  Dallas' own excellent "Blitzkrieg" skirmish rules. There are eight riflemen and one NCO with an MP40. I believe these figures would be early-to-mid war - a guess based on the boots that most of them seem to be wearing, but I'm not 100% certain.

Eight rifles and an SMG for the NCO
I quite enjoy the skirmish gaming in this scale.  One tricky bit can be trying to discern who is carrying what weapon - in sci-fi games, the weapons are often really big and even in 15mm scale it is obvious which model is carrying, say, the MG/pulser/big laser cannon.  It is also easier to tell officers/commanders apart in 15mm sci fi - with leaders wearing different/whackier armour, or a real stand-out colour helmet or some such thing.

Bases are 20mm rounds
With WW2 figures, this is not always the case, and when I first used 15mm stuff for skirmishing it was a little hard on the eyes.  Out in Regina my good friend Curt had been puzzling over the same issue, and came up with a basing system to help.  NCOs on squares, senior officers on hexes, super unique/special weapons on octagons - and that's it.  It works pretty well, and it's easier on the eyes!

Figures from Battlefront
There are three great things about WW2 skirmish gaming in 15mm.  For one, I already have a very large number of 15mm vehicles for games like Flames of War.  Second thing is the price - you can purchase a platoon-worth of models for relatively cheap, and if you are buying from Battlefront or Peter Pig, you have the whole platoon in one purchase, including supporting weapons like MG teams, light mortars and bazookas. The third thing (and most important) is that I love the look of it on the table - the ranges "look" a lot more in tune on a 6' x 4' table.  

I hope to get the progress renewed on the Legion project soon...but there will be a little 15mm diversion for now as Prairiecon 2014 approaches...stay tuned for more on that!

2 comments:

Dallas said...

Great looking models dude!

Allison M. said...

I see people crapping on Flames of War/Battlefront all the time, and it's baffling. Well, maybe not since there's nothing crankier than "grognards". I've always been impressed by BF's products, both the prices and quality have always been top notch.

Anyway, you did a very good job on these, they're based nicely too. the different base shapes is a great idea, another idea could be to embellish command figures' bases in some way to make them stand out (but not in a WH40K "standing on a six foot rock" way).