tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post6414307227173200120..comments2024-03-28T22:10:41.636-07:00Comments on Archduke Piccolo: Sort this lot out!Archduke Piccolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-84273393272008149802016-03-05T02:02:58.698-08:002016-03-05T02:02:58.698-08:00I had invested far too much into my OO/HO gear to ...I had invested far too much into my OO/HO gear to be much tempted by FOW, though that is VERY popular (or was) in this country. Rapid Fire I just haven't seen in action, but it isn't really a direction I want to go. I quite liked Panzer Marsch as a rule set, but, again, I don't really want to go there on a regular basis. <br /><br />Now, if the Italeri sponsored 'Operation Overlord' ever re-emerges as a fully developed rule set, I'd give that another try. For player inter-action I have never experienced the like. The only time I played that game, I was still smoking. But so intense was the play I went for two or three hours without a fag - AND DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE! Now that, that is attention grabbing.<br />Archduke Piccolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-19469341642591659842016-03-05T01:23:08.057-08:002016-03-05T01:23:08.057-08:00As long as you avoid the kids games- Rapid Fire an...As long as you avoid the kids games- Rapid Fire and FOW- though there is a modern version of RF that isn't bad .... Big Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17235478427317774609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-82834427612448254772016-03-04T14:12:45.986-08:002016-03-04T14:12:45.986-08:00When I made those Russian field guns, they were av...When I made those Russian field guns, they were available only in metal and had to be imported. That, I could not afford at the time. Using a friend's metal piece (Hinchliffe, I think) as a model, I made up templates on paper and used that to mark out the shapes on cardboard of about 1-2mm thickness. The legs of the trail were two thicknesses of cardboard glued together. The spades, tool box (?) and other details are all cardboard. <br /><br />The 'floor' of the piece is balsa (some thick cardboard, too, I think) with recesses in the rear corners to accept the trail legs. The legs had short pieces of round rod glued on the ends to suggest axles by which the trail could be closed up for towing or opened out for action. The legs were, of course fixed in place. I could have made them moveable, I think, but the thing would have been too delicate for war games. For the gun barrels etc I used plastic tubing though the unpainted gun is made from wooden rod or skewer, by the look. The muzzle brake I fashioned from the soft plastic (emptied) ink reservoir of a ball-point pen. <br /><br />On the whole I was very pleased at how these turned out. I have in addition made some heavier ordnance - 3x152mm and 1x122mm - using left over bits and pieces from a friend's collection. They are still mostly cardboard though!<br /><br />My attempts to build cardboard 57mm anti-tank guns was less successful. Owing to a couple of errors of measurement and of assembly, the pair I made look far more like Zis-3 field pieces without the muzzle brake. I rather think that is what they will become.<br /><br />Thanks for the link. I have been considering the Zvezda option. I may look into replacing my 57mm ATGs, adding a couple or so 122mm... and my Brits could use some 2pr portees...Archduke Piccolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-37760397018719220732016-03-04T13:39:22.390-08:002016-03-04T13:39:22.390-08:00Cheers, Paul. I didn't know you were into - o...Cheers, Paul. I didn't know you were into - or at least had your eyes on - Megablitz. The thing is, CD forces seem to me easily adaptable to Mb, without completely scrambling my orgaization as Panzer Marsch does (not that I have anything against PM).<br /><br />I'm also looking at the Not Quite Mechanised thing, which lies between CD and MB in scale.Archduke Piccolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-18402520314162107522016-03-04T13:01:17.932-08:002016-03-04T13:01:17.932-08:00I like the guns a lot. What did you use for the tr...I like the guns a lot. What did you use for the trails? If you want to upgrade you could consider these or Zvezda.<br /><br />https://reivercasting.wordpress.com/reiver-20-wwii/wwii-artillery-range/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-10353150988551400682016-03-04T12:28:55.776-08:002016-03-04T12:28:55.776-08:00Excellent post Ion. Don't worry about the base...Excellent post Ion. Don't worry about the base size mate. As the kids say nowadays, "Let the haters hate"!<br /><br />The Megablitz armies are a great way of using up odds and ends you collect in your travels. Easy to field, and more relaxed about everything.<br /><br />Model on!Paul Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14624335534094164830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-19069302780941866952016-03-04T03:35:09.352-08:002016-03-04T03:35:09.352-08:00Hi Andy! CD2 is my version for choice, though I ha...Hi Andy! CD2 is my version for choice, though I have been a keen follower of Bob Mackenzie's CD4/ToB games. I have looked at Spearhead off and on, and it is quite popular in this part of the world, but, oddly enough no one plays WW2 Spearhead in 1:76 figure scale (1:300 scale instead, yet the WW1 incarnation is played in 1:76 scale). <br /><br />Along with other options, I am considering modifying CD2 by substituting the present 1:1800 ground scale to 1:4500, that is 1cm to 50 yards. This will reduce movement distances, shooting ranges and command radii on table, but everything else would be left unchanged. <br /><br />Well... it MIGHT work!<br /><br />Incidentally, the Oasis Hakim game I wrote up back in 2012 was played using Combined Arms (http://archdukepiccolo.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/border-incident-at-oasis-hakeem-part-1.html).<br /><br />Archduke Piccolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-45816339101260398912016-03-04T02:20:33.838-08:002016-03-04T02:20:33.838-08:00Ion- personally I'd stick with CD or possibly ...Ion- personally I'd stick with CD or possibly Blitzkrieg Commander. There is also a set called Spearhead- which frankly is CD with its brains kicked out.<br /> I'm a CD fan though not so much of the latest version so we TWATS still play CD2 or CD3 with Combined Arms for Moderns Big Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17235478427317774609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-50747092383299217602016-03-04T01:57:05.508-08:002016-03-04T01:57:05.508-08:00You are not wrong about it keeping me busy!You are not wrong about it keeping me busy!Archduke Piccolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-20211706434612895162016-03-04T01:56:39.432-08:002016-03-04T01:56:39.432-08:00Actually it is a little bit more sorted than I tho...Actually it is a little bit more sorted than I thought. But organising the artillery, anti-tank and supply columns might take more thought. Plenty of work to do here (and this stuff can't sit on muy kitchen table for too long...).Archduke Piccolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-49679280728940187762016-03-04T01:54:54.049-08:002016-03-04T01:54:54.049-08:00Cheers, Bob. I've been eyeing the Megablitz i...Cheers, Bob. I've been eyeing the Megablitz idea for a while, and have been very tempted to go down that track. I even recently joined the 'Not Quite Mechanized' Group. <br /><br />One idea I have had was to use 1 base per battalion. A German infantry Division of the type 352 (Omaha Beach) would comprise 3 regiments of two stands each, a fusilier stand (one battalion), 1 medium and 3 artillery stands, an engineer (company strength) stand, and something to represent the SP AT/AA abteilung (a 10-vehicle StuG company, a 14-vehicle Marder 38(t) company, and a SP AA company - probably 20 or 37mm AA on half tracks). <br /><br />I have occasionally wondered about other assets in such an organisation, e.g. the 9 PaK40 AT guns (3 per regiment), the 14 7.5cm infantry guns (one regiment had 2 the others 6) and the 6 15cm IGs. To be sure, these can be subsumed by the battalion and regiment HQs, but it seems such a pity to leave them out. <br /><br />I could certainly field your 66th Army out of my collection, though that would use up ALL my 152mm field pieces. I do have a couple of ISU152s, and a single 122mm artillery piece...<br /><br />I was going to mention my Red Army AFVs in a future posting: 14 T34s, 6KVs, 6 IS2s and 1 SU85. No light tanks. Could use 4 or 5 of these (BT7, T60 or T70). <br /><br />Thanks for mentioning the idea - I might well follow that up further in the coming weeks...Archduke Piccolohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15533325665451889661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-61101115450715360462016-03-04T00:42:38.718-08:002016-03-04T00:42:38.718-08:00Very cool collection! That'll keep you busy fo...Very cool collection! That'll keep you busy for quite a whileAlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718729719551125559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-76243922975793455672016-03-03T16:05:27.202-08:002016-03-03T16:05:27.202-08:00That looks like my table at the moment! Good luck ...That looks like my table at the moment! Good luck with the sorting!Don Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07230631364253238804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650770985225450559.post-36066907562501471842016-03-03T16:01:31.392-08:002016-03-03T16:01:31.392-08:00Archduke Piccolo,
It is a great pity that you don...Archduke Piccolo,<br /><br />It is a great pity that you don't play Megablitz because your collection of Soviet stuff would be enough to create several Armies ... or possibly even a Front. Base sizes - particularly for artillery - are not that important in Megablitz, and I have fielded Rifle Divisions with three infantry bases (1 base = 1 Regiment) and 1 artillery/mortar base. My 66th Army has six such divisions plus two Tank brigades (1 T-34 for each brigade) plus supply columns. It has an Artillery Division in support (3 bases of heavy artillery plus tractors plus supply columns).<br /><br />Good luck with your great collection,<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />BobRobert (Bob) Corderyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13109130990434792266noreply@blogger.com