I have just ordered a bunch of figures from Pendraken for a BCW game, circa 1936.
Has anyone done this before and got any Batreps, OOB's, etc ?
All I know so far is what I have read on Wikipedia: British Fascist Union(Black Shirts) vs Britsh Home Guard & Army
I may go for a slightly exaggerated turn of events where the forces are closer to equal in size ?
Do Pendraken do any 10mm Police figures and civilians for the period ? or any that will fudge ?
As usual all help, ideas and comment greatly appreciated :o)
Wayne
Lots - much on here.
Bear in mind the Army would be much more 1914 style.
IanS
Hi Wayne,
check out a couple of batreps on the link below:
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3088.0
The Edward VII Cocktail Bar on the Gentlemans Wargames Parlour website has loads of info, so well worth a visit.
Steve J.
Here are links to my 28mm stuff.
http://www.durhamwargames.co.uk/campaigns_projects/index.asp (http://www.durhamwargames.co.uk/campaigns_projects/index.asp)
http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=648 (http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=648)
This might be useful too...http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?s=d6b0b9bdeea248f4ae87edfe7168d973&showtopic=1689 (http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?s=d6b0b9bdeea248f4ae87edfe7168d973&showtopic=1689)
Currently considering the move to 10mm using BkC rules. Pendraken's figs are just so nice... :D
There is now an AVBCW guide list in the BKC downloads section courtesy of a certain N. Harwood Esq. I can vouch that it works very well using BKC, so no excuse not to go the 10mm route ;).
Hello Olivant
Quote from: TheOlivant on 26 October 2011, 10:02:28 AM
Do Pendraken do any 10mm Police figures and civilians for the period ? or any that will fudge ?
Wayne
Welcome to the peculiar madness that is VBCW and the particular madness that is VBCW in 10mm :D. As regards police some here have used early WW1 German pickelhaube but I favour the Zulu War British or the North West Frontier types. There is a a Maxim MG (NWF) that can be fudged as a Police Vickers :). There are some Home Guard/LDV militia types and some of the SCW figures do wonderful service. There have been lots of threads talking about these and others such as naval types.
Some threads:-
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=2340.0 (http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=2340.0)
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=563.0 (http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=563.0)
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=299.0 (http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=299.0)
and 10mm thread from GWP:-
http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=4456 (http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=4456)
Cheers
GrumpyOldMan
Hi Olivant
Just some of my thoughts on what might be suitable Pendraken figures for AVBCW police & general use. The WW1 British Commmand figures in cap, riding boots, sam browne belt & a great pose and the WW2 British Officers also in cap with possible modifications (have a look on the catalogue). The heliograpth set in the Boer War range has the operators with a pith helmet which also might be suitable.
Hope that helps?
Quote from: Steve J on 26 October 2011, 06:25:01 PM
There is now an AVBCW guide list in the BKC downloads section courtesy of a certain N. Harwood Esq. I can vouch that it works very well using BKC, so no excuse not to go the 10mm route ;).
Thanks for the 'pimp' Steve :D 8)
It's also on my wiki: http://nikharwood.pbworks.com & Leon's got a copy which he might want to directly link from this site
It's also being pimped on GWP3: http://gwargamesp.18.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=6438
Part of the fun of this is looking at your own locale and constructing forces accordingly - good fun 8) Anyway, hope it's useful - I'm assembling my own forces - will be using some of my existing SCW & WW2 Italians as well as some nice shiny new Pendraken toys
Its a good list Nik.
If you don't mind me saying, think it misses the AVBCW mark though.
Where are the 'Heath Robinson' contraptions? ('Its marvellous Peterson; what does it do?')
What about 'demogogues' like commisars for the Communists? Jack-booted propaganda units for the BUF? Gangs of hosewives haranguing and hen-pecking their LDV husbands to give the local police a good seeing to?
What about rules for the inherent unreliability of these vehicles (there are a lot of tanks in their old chap - most unsporting - especially the Italian CV35 flamethrower...frankly the use of that sort of foriegn devilry will get the crew red-carded from the field immediately, probably followed by a thick ear from their mother...)?
Lists for AVBCW need to reflect a few of the basic tenets of the setting;
'Super-weapons' are out. A chap with an SMG is pretty much top of the tree. Armour should be limited and unreliable, short of fuel and ammunition, as should supports like mortars and HMGs. ('Twenty three bullets for the Vickers eh? Best make them count then old boy')
Character is all. Lists should reflect the 1930's general and specific stereotypes. All Communists are shifty sorts in league with Moscow. All BUF are laughable mockeries of political extremism (given to squabbling over who gets to wear the natty leather trenchcoat). All LDVs are 'Warmington-onSea'. All coppers get confused over whether they're supposed to be arresting people of shooting them, etc., etc.
Its 'a very British civil war'.
The leaders are typically toffs who think they'e playing cricket on the greens at Eton. Fair play should pervade the battles.
'I say Algie, those chaps dfon't seem to have any tanks. Doesn't seem right to use ours does it?'
'Good point old boy. Save the fuel. We'll give them what for the old fashioned way, courtesy of Messers MArtini and Henry'.
'You still carrying that old thing?'
'I say! Pop that fellow somebody!'
'We can't sir, he's hiding behind Ted Grundy's No.7 bus. Thats got to do the school run in the morning, so we can't risk damaging it'.
'*Gasp* That absolute CAD!! Wilkins, take your willow, get up there and give him six of the best. I'll bring this outrage up with their commander down at the club tomorrow night'...
:D Hehe...
That said, i have my own lists that look remarkably similar to your Nik. ;D
I guess its all in the tone of play...
Fair enough - and thanks for the feedback...I don't see some of your comments though...
- Heath Robinson stuff: yep, not done those...yet. Therefore they're not there - and if they do appear in West Somerset, they'll get added in.
- Commissars: my factions here are more Socialist than Communist...more likely to be persuaded by Big Jim from The Star in Watchet than some Party plonker.
- Jack-booted BUF: they're there - they're called "Regulars" in my BUF list
- Gangs of housewives? Nope - not round here...doesn't fit
- unreliability of vehicles? - built into command & control with BKC
- lots of tanks? - don't agree: only two of my six factions have any access
- CV35 flamethrower? - nope, it's not in my list
Basic tenets of the setting:
- super weapons: well, possibly - but there is plenty of kit knocking about - it's all about flavour & keeping it limited - but there *are* MGs and mortars and stuff around...
- character is all / very British - yep, agreed: it's how you play though, not what's in a list...
So I don't agree that these "miss" the AVBCW mark...they might not follow the published books from Solway, but that's fine. This is my interpretation of AVBCW in my part of the world, not necessarily me following the doctrine. 8)
One to discuss over a snifter perhaps, old boy? :D
Its certainly a good starting platform.
Between Republic of Tolworth, Sardinista and myself we have been pilliaging the Spanish Civil War lists and toying with some house rules to get the flavour of things we want to include, eg
- Improvised armoured vehicles, being more "protected" than absolutely bullet proof.
- Their vulnerability to close assult (persumably men going about a tank or armoured car with molotovs, oiled blankets, crowbars and sledge hammers etc).
- Steel cored 'K-bullets' (more rolled into close assult now).
- Charismatic captains with a tendency to get stuck in to a fight and get themselves killed.
- Civilians getting in the way/harranging the combatants!
- Superweapons? not got there yet. :-\
Basic tanks, big guns (railway mounted), modern aircraft are our superweapons at the moment.
When they do come, I can see us treating them more as targets/objectives.
As we are more roleplayers who wargame on the side i'm sure any super weapon fielded will come with loads of baggage and be extremely useless/absolute liability outside their narrow speciality. ;)
Quote from: nikharwood on 27 October 2011, 02:12:25 PM
Fair enough - and thanks for the feedback...I don't see some of your comments though...
- Heath Robinson stuff: yep, not done those...yet. Therefore they're not there - and if they do appear in West Somerset, they'll get added in.
- Commissars: my factions here are more Socialist than Communist...more likely to be persuaded by Big Jim from The Star in Watchet than some Party plonker.
- Jack-booted BUF: they're there - they're called "Regulars" in my BUF list
- Gangs of housewives? Nope - not round here...doesn't fit
- unreliability of vehicles? - built into command & control with BKC
- lots of tanks? - don't agree: only two of my six factions have any access
- CV35 flamethrower? - nope, it's not in my list
Basic tenets of the setting:
- super weapons: well, possibly - but there is plenty of kit knocking about - it's all about flavour & keeping it limited - but there *are* MGs and mortars and stuff around...
- character is all / very British - yep, agreed: it's how you play though, not what's in a list...
So I don't agree that these "miss" the AVBCW mark...they might not follow the published books from Solway, but that's fine. This is my interpretation of AVBCW in my part of the world, not necessarily me following the doctrine. 8)
One to discuss over a snifter perhaps, old boy? :D
Not criticisng your Somerset lists old chap.
Indeed not criticising any of it at all. As you say AVBCW is very much a 'take and do your own thing with it' sort of game.
Up in the Durham coalfields for example, anything bigger than an armoured car is pretty much out, and even those dashed things are pretty unreliable, more rpone to running people over than actually fighting. So far we've had them break down, run out of ammunition on the first turn, and we've had a crew bail out the first time they were raked with LMG fire to hide behind a nearby hedge for the rest of the game...i do believe the only casualty they've caused so far was a chap who got run over by an out of control AC...
That said, the navy did shell Chopwell with its big guns i suppose*...
Part of the reason we did 28mm is because it keeps things 'small' and character-packed. I'm actually thinking of perhaps moving a bit later into the war if i'm going to shift down to 10mm, to give some justification as why there's more armour about.
Germany's supplied the BUF with some nasty Panzer 1's, the glut of FT17's sitting about in France after the Great war have steadily found their way into Britain through the ports. Mother Russia helps out the Communists with a few light tanks and boatloads of small arms, etc...
However, i'm wary of 'upscaling' like this as i'm worried it'll take out the, i don't know, 'flavour' of the game. 'Super weapons' being the big 'flavour killer' for me.
However, as you said - down in your Somerset the war's really hotting up! Love it!
I've always liked the idea of an armoured train chugging through an enemy district shelling and strafing the locals for all they're worth - of course only the ghastly BUF would do such an awful thing.
:D
*This is patently untrue. the damage was caused by a gas explosion. Entirely accidental old chap. There wasn't even a navy destroyer on the Tyne on that evening**.
**Are you sure? Becaue i'm pretty sure i saw one there***.
***Shhhh....
Wow, loads of interest, great links, figure recommendations and ideas, thanks guys really appreciate it.
Just waiting for my two first batches of Pendraken figs to arrive to get me started.
regards
Wayne
I like the West Somerset stuff Nik, similar in flavour to what we are doing in North Surrey
I think the great thing about the whole AVBCW era is it's complete flexibility. Personally I like having a few tanks and ACs running around because I like them and they add another level to the game. 'Home made' armour will also be making an appearance at some point to add something a little different.
I really like Nik's Somerset lists and have 'borrowed' some of his ideas and as I live a stones throw from the old Somerset boundary of the Avon, they will be making guest appearances on my games table. I too have used the SCW lists as a guide, especially in terms of numbers and availibility of AFVs and the like.
But at the end of the day, go with what you enjoy and have fun :). I certainly have!
The Right Honourable S. C. Johnson Esq.
I do like the openenss, let no 2 campaings be quite the same, I'm not even sure our group sees it all the same way. :-\
I'm not sure how the others in our "clique" are playing it but I'm leaving tanks mostly the preserve of the "professionals" (regular army or defecting forces), with the mostly irregular forces we will be using having a few armoured cars (improvised or old WW1 vehicles) and initially one or two 'reactivated' war memorials/reclaimed from the scrap yard WW1 tank.
With the improvised stuff, there are sealion lists out a plenty there that give a good starting point (Beaveretts and the Bedford armoured trucks being nothing much more than mass produced improvised armoured vehicles).
In the next few weeks I hope to get my Navy landing company and RNAS detachment (thats Red Navy Armoured Squadron) painted and into battle. I'm taking inspiration part from the RNAS armourd car squadrons of WW1 and landing parties, and considering their generaly good technical/mechanical reputation, I will likely have a few technicals (as imagined for 1935, take a look at the WW1 Middle East item "ME17 Model T Ford HMG with 2 crew " for an example)
The Battle for Barleymows Farm
I have just added a BatRep to my AVBCW web: http://theolivant.pbworks.com/w/page/47355244/10mm%20British%20Civil%20War
I love the low tech early war games. I played the Home Guard in this game and got a beating...hmm :o(
I cant remember the name of the tank used by the Home Guard in this game, can anyone help ? I have added it to the HG army list as a Vickers MK1 for the time being....
Wayne
Quote from: TheOlivant on 26 January 2012, 10:13:00 AM
I cant remember the name of the tank used by the Home Guard in this game, can anyone help ? I have added it to the HG army list as a Vickers MK1 for the time being....
I've had a look but it's hard to tell, have you got a closer pic?
If you fancy popping this in the BatReps section as well, that'd be great, and I can feature it in next month's newsletter. 8)
Nice table Wayne - looks like a good game 8)
Hi
Quote from: TheOlivant on 26 January 2012, 10:13:00 AM
I cant remember the name of the tank used by the Home Guard in this game, can anyone help ? I have added it to the HG army list as a Vickers MK1 for the time being....
Wayne
Bit hard to tell from the size of the pic but my guess would be a Trubia naval tank
(http://forum.axishistory.com/download/file.php?id=218561&sid=cf2f312e005e7fb37b00ac8d30072087)
My guess anyway :D.
Nice report cheers
GrumpyOldMan
Re: Bit hard to tell from the size of the pic but my guess would be a Trubia naval tank
Don't think Pendraken make these (?) wonder where I picked them up....hmmm? any ideas ?
Re: Closer pics
I will dig them out and post soon... thanks
Re: Batrep section
Will do, glad you enjoyed them, first game of 2012 for me, so I loved it, well over due :o)
Wayne
Hi
Quote from: TheOlivant on 27 January 2012, 06:32:33 PM
Don't think Pendraken make these (?) wonder where I picked them up....hmmm? any ideas ?
Wayne
Minifigs have a SCW range which only contains 2 types of Trubia tanks. No pics of the models though.
pic of the Trubia series A, based on the Ft-17
(http://forum.axishistory.com/download/file.php?id=218560&sid=00278a9484f51ae749854ae2f40c70f0)
Cheers
GrumpyOldMan
Got my copy of Blandford WW1 Tanks out last night for a drool over. It's a shame you cant get more of the vehicles in there, although I must say I am impressed with the amount of them are available here at Pandraken, good show :o)