Flames of War General: Make up your own witty Title Edition

THat list looks like it's from fowlists blog-spot com (remove the dash, substitute dots for spaces). There is also forces.flamesofwar.com , but you have to pay (a dollar a list, 75% if you buy entire books), which looks much better.

I use this fowlists dot blogspot dot it/ to build the list and go on print view afterwards

While we're on EW, I was considering taking this list to an EW Round-robin tournament happening soon. Any thoughts? (Yes, I have or have fairly quick access to all the models)

Has anyone ever homebrewed a Czech 1938 army?

Thinking of picking up a box from PSC, any of you know how good the quality of their stuff is? It's pretty cheap so I'm assuming I'm mostly likely gonna get what I pay for

I would personally rearrange the LT40s, so that your company commander(s) can't be guntanked. Other than that, looks reasonable. You will have to count on your guts if the enemy brings heavies, but it ought to be doable.

Surprisingly good, depending somewhat on what you want. The newer stuff is better (giving BF a real run for their money, quality-wise).

Depends on the kit, but they're generally very good.

What were you looking at?

The late war panzer army namely, I already have 5 panzer IV's and 5 Panthers A's and other than a few NW41's that box has EVERYTHING else I need for my list and then some

The Tanks and Halftracks are excellent, but those infantry are the old-style ones which aren't so hot.

It's a bit of an iffy call, DESU.

Really depends on the kit. What are you looking to buy? I like their T-34s (they are a little smaller than the battlefront ones, but are much easier to desprue and put together). I also really like their gun teams and heavy weapons boxes. I'd pass on the general soviet infantry, though I hear some of their later infantry kits are in heroic scale, like BFs.

Soviets get quite a few counters to heavy armor in EW to the point of overkill. Besides waves of dirt cheap unarmed sappers and their heavy armor, they have their wonderful ZIS-2 and ZIS-3 volley firing gun teams. They can even bring the comical ZIS-30 which is a T-20 artillery tractor retrofitted with a ZIS-2. You can even bring an IL-2. Many of these options are overkill and will not be that useful against a large group of small tanks or infantry, but I did convert a couple of my T-20s over to ZIS-30s to use in EW.

I've built PSC's Panthers, M5 Stuarts, and US Halftracks.

All of those are very good kits.

I'd recommend almost any of PSC's vehicles.

Their infantry are reportedly a bit more hit-or-miss, but I don't have any firsthand experience with them.

Eh well infantry aren't made to be focused on 1 by 1 so I'll take my chances

Not much I can do about the LT40s i'm afraid; there's no LT38 option for the commanders, only 40s or 35s. I'm probably just going to hide them or if I really have to, stick them with the first platoon and use the extra LT40 as an ablative shield.

Just don't mix them with BF's infantry on the same base (or, really, in the same platoon) and you're probably fine.

PSC's older infantry look really anorexic next to BF's heroic-proportioned stuff.

Will do

that is the coolest idea.

only problem we have is doctrines for Czechs.
you could run one from Blitzkrieg being very picky about your choice of infantry (Rifles) and Artie (Czechatrie) as well....

>Their infantry are reportedly a bit more hit-or-miss, but I don't have any firsthand experience with them.
The infantry that've come out more recently (grenadiers in normany, EW germans, brits) are all pretty equivalent to BF's. Their vehicles are all excellent.

It's not a case of getting what you pay for, it's just battlefront operating a brand-name premium.

Like I said, no first had experience with their infantry, song didn't know that.

And like I already said, PSC's vehicles are excellent.

As for Battlfront's plastics, their early stuff had some issues, especially the first run of Open Fire Shermans, but pretty much everything from their plastic T-34s onward have been excellent.

Its pretty much neck and neck at this point for the quality of the plastic kits from those two companies.

The one thing that PSC has going for it is that they have a wider variety of stuff available in plastic.

>song

How did my autocorrect get "song" from "so I"?

Your life is now a musical number

Set it to the music of Billy Joel and I could be ok with that.

Anyone know where I can get small shrubbery to use as camo? Got a German force from market garden and I want to put down camoflage and what not on tanks, guns and infantry bases.

>Virus and Eagles never sleep edition

thanks again Eagles. To answer your previous question about my friends and I perhaps quitting FoW. When we first started we were exiles from 40k. After two decades of Games Workshop, jumping ship to something else felt a little daunting.

There was the scale to contend with, and getting around painting a lot of infantry. In 40k we found tanks were weak, but in FoW, it's armour that seems to rule the roost (or at least be the most forgiving).

Next was the rules themselves. They're similar to, but likewise, nothing like warhammer 40,000. We're still stumbling with them now, but going from masters of one game to novices in another was tricky. Back in the day, if we didn't know what to do, we went to the local Games Workshop. Here, it's playing games at 1/4 speed, making a list of everything that confuses us, then me asking yourself and Viruscide whatever stumped us.

On the plus side though, we feel we're playing a game that hasn't run off and left us in the dust. GW's policies haven't been the kindest.

Thanks to these threads, our gaming group has increased from 2 to 4, including my father. We've got:

Me - 352nd Infantrie Division Light Fusilier Kompany (MG platoons + StuG G & Marder III M's)

Si - Grimball's Beasts. (Sexy sherman variants + Pershings & Mech Infantry)

Dad - Vasily's Hammer. (Russian T34-85 spams)

Gary - Soviet Infantry / Sapper Horde with artillery support. I think Gary's finding it the toughest. Unlike armour, I think Infantry benefits most from combined arms. Some artillery, some tanks, maybe some aircraft. It seems to be that infantry hold things... and tanks advance.

Thanks to everyone on Veeky Forums who's helped us so far.

Anyone here play in the Northern Virginia area? A friend and I want to play more flames, but the only group/store that's local to me (Hobbies Etc, warrenton) is small and pretty bad about meeting up regularly.

Hobby stores that sell model railway stuff tend to have a lot of good stuff that can be used for foliage.

>Virus and Eagles never sleep edition

I really don't. I'll stay up to 2 in the morning some times without even realizing it. Even when I need to be awake and functioning(ha!) by 7:30am.

And Virus, he's at an 18 hour time difference from me down there in New Zealand, so he's almost guaranteed to be on when I'm not.

>Thanks to everyone on Veeky Forums who's helped us so far.

Not a problem. Always glad to help.

>Anyone here play in the Northern Virginia area?

I think the guys from WWPD are in the Richmond area, and they seem to be pretty active.

Other than that I couldn't tell you. I'm just outside of New York myself.

Vasily's hammer is, I seem to remember, a hero list; I'm surprised it's not the worst one since hero lists are kind of a handicap choice.

Sappers should be amazing tarpits against most of those, though.

Hey if you can get us a list of what your soviet pal running infantry has we can probably help. I run assault sappers (the body armor equipped elite pioneers) so I may be able to give some tips.

Dont even need a specific list, just what he tends to run. Might be able to recommend a new unit to try for support

Noob question: when painting a tank, do you assemble first and then paint it or paint first then assemble?
Same with infantry and artillery: paint first and base or base first and paint?

Assemble first, glue rarely sticks well to paint, and you will have to go over and paint any exposed bits afterwards if you paint first.

I assemble then paint. I know others do it the other way around for infantry but I cant imagine ever doing that with tanks

>tanks
Assemble fully, then paint. You will learn the exceptions as you get more experience.

>infantry
Assemble and base texture, not flock, foliage etc. Spray, paint, finish basing.
Some prefer painting individual figs first. This is more time consuming.

For vehicles (especially of plastic): Assemble, prime, paint. This way you get a good bond with whatever glue you use. If you are using plastic cement, you won't be able to get a bond at all if you prime or paint first.

With infantry you can either base them, prime, and paint. Or use sticky tack to adhere them to golf tees or popsicle sticks, prime, paint, and then base.

I base before painting with my strelk, because it helps me stay motivated and I don't have to worry about painting shadowed areas. A lot of people prefer to base after painting though.

That’s a tough one. For infantry, if you aren’t doing any crazy basing I’d stick them onto popsicle sticks to paint them individually. If you want them to look well integrated into a base then you just have to do that first, and accept that you might not be able to get the same level of detail on them. Probably won’t be able to get the angle needed to paint their eyeballs.

For tanks, I think the ideal is to assemble it except for the tracks. Then you spray the assembled hull and turret separately – the paint at the turret-hull joint adds some resistance but the hole’s slightly oversized so I prefer it that way. The tracks get sprayed separately in track color. You can mask them and spray the rest of the pieces in hull color or just brush that on. Mask the hull and tracks where they’ll glue to each other.

Alright, thanks.
One more thing: how historically accurate do I have to paint my units? Do I have to stick to Green Shermans or could I have one look like a taxicab?
Also, how do I get the decals on the tank? Could I make my own custom ones or do I have to paint them?

If you’re playing in a WWII setting, you’ll be expected to find the right shade of green. You don’t have to, obviously, but coming up with an immersive setting that looks like WWII but clearly isn’t will take some effort and convincing. Depends on who you plan on playing with.

It’s much easier with something like the Tanks skirmish game. There’s not much expectation of historical context there, so you can paint them like Girls und Panzer tanks or old arcade game tanks.

>One more thing: how historically accurate do I have to paint my units? Do I have to stick to Green Shermans or could I have one look like a taxicab?
You paint your stuff however you want don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Just be prepared for your opponent refusing to play against taxi sherms.

>Also, how do I get the decals on the tank?
Follow the instructions. Use decal medium and solvent. Apply gloss varnish on the surface beforehand. Protect with varnish after. Apply weatherimg after decals so they blend in.

>Could I make my own custom ones or do I have to paint them?
Uh I guess? I've never tried it to an avceptable effect though.

A lot of companies sell 1/100 decals, including Battlefront. You want to paint some gloss coat where you’re going to put the decal, put it on with decal softener, then matte coat over it (or over the whole tank).

A lot of symbols were roughly painted on so hand-brushing is okay too.

>how historically accurate do I have to paint my units? Do I have to stick to Green Shermans or could I have one look like a taxicab?

it is a historical wargame, so I'd assume that most people you'll be playing against would be making at least some effort to paint things in a misty historical way.

That being said, there are people that have done joke units such as a Pink Panther or a Captain America command team that have gotten a positive response from the people here on Veeky Forums.

On the flip side of the same coin you also get something like the "Nachtwulfen" Nazi super-natural artifact hunters played by that buffoon over at Beasts of War. He is by far our go-to example of how NOT to get into a historical wargame.

Also, just out of curiosity, why a Sherman painted like a Taxi?

I enjoy giving tanks odd, sometimes vulgar names. I planned on calling it "Taxicab Confession".
Some of my other extravagant names for random tanks (usually 40k games): Call Waiting, Abortion Clinic, Parking Ticket, Tax Return, McRib, and Sex Tape

>that buffoon over at Beasts of War

Warren. The guy is such a lovable idiot. But you can SEE the long-suffering reactions of the guy they have teaching him to play FoW. Especially when he starts talking about his Indiana Jones inspired Nazis.

Also, he had to invent a whole new fictional communist country of Something-slavia that NATO was invading when he was running the Beasts of War boot camp for Team Yankee.

Oh, and Daddy's Favorite

You don't HAVE to paint your force historicaly correct. In the end, it will be up to you and your usual opposition how correct it have to be.

That said, my personal preferences, from most prefered to least:

1) Historically Correct: you've done your research, this is an exact copy of the unit as it was at a certain date, or as close as you can get within the rules and the points alloted.
2) Historically Plausible: It would be reasonable to expect a non-specific unit to look like this (so something close to the right shade of OD for shermans, german LW tanks in dunkelgelb and brown and/or green camo). A "Historically Correct" force that is used as a standin for something else, also go here (such as if your Panzer Lehr panzerkompanie stands in for a panzerkompanie from Grey Wolf). Also allow for some ahistorical/silly names. Note that this is what I personally aim for.
3) Primed Units: it's a work in progress, but all units are at least primed, and the major colours have been painted (or are at least in the process of being painted)
4) unpainted plastic/resin/metal: what it said, things are put together (or close enough), but no paint on it yet, or at least not on a majority of the force
5) Wild proxies: You have models for everything, just not always the RIGHT models (say, you want to try british, and proxy your americans, or you have LW Panzer IVs for EW Panzers, to a reasonable degree). An exception is made if it's just one or two platoons of new equipment you want to try out before buying.
6) Card-board cutouts: you've literally just cut out some card into approimate sizes for your models.
7) Circus tanks: your units are not even close to being historically accurate. Could be you wanted your yanks to be painted as Ultrasmurfs, or just thought metallic yellow looked good. I will automatically assume that you are a retard, and had your parents glue your models for you, to avoid you shoving a bottle of superglue up your nose.

Cont.

>Tax Return

We all know that feeling. Splurging with the "free money" we get back from the government.

Single "special" models, such as Captain America or the Pink Panther usually get a pass (though obviously not in type 1 armies), since they look cool and adds a bit of fun. However, they should generally be kept to one or a scant few in the army.

>that buffoon over at Beasts of War.
Don't call him a buffoon, that's being unnecessarily harsh on buffoons. Calling him an illiterate bumbling baboon is doing a disservice to the baboon, but at least it can't read and get offended.

Talking about TANKS and GuP, anyone know where I can get 15mm schoolgirls for tank commanders?

My local group is getting in on Tanks! action. Next stop, actual games of FoW.

I'm thinking of grabbing a copy of Blood, Guts & Glory to use Tank Aces as the entry point to FoW proper. I mean, Mechanised & Infantry Aces are also available for free, but Tank Aces seems like the logical next step. Has anyone compiled a list of which of the official free online briefings are compatible with which 'aces' campaigns? I figure outright advocating piracy on my FLGS' facebook page would be somewhat poor form.

Also, I'm kind of sad that the Finns in Lapin Sota briefing has vanished from their website.

Generally looking vaguely like the historical vehicle is advised. That said, there's shitloads of camos; part of the fun for me is finding weird camo, like american desert, el alamein, marine camo, the late-war german units working primer into the colour scheme...

>Just be prepared for your opponent refusing to play against taxi sherms.
Frankly people who don't play goofy tanks are probably boring grognards you don't want to play against anyway.

I heard Eureka miniatures were doing some, but that was part of their 100 club or whatever which they've stopped doing now.

Lol circus tanks.

To me it's like a fart joke. There is a very specific time and place for it and with good timing and a good crowd it brings enjoyment and smiles.
And at other times it just embarassing and ruins the whole funeral.

>Talking about TANKS and GuP, anyone know where I can get 15mm schoolgirls for tank commanders?
I've asked before to no luck. Doesn't seem to be a thing people make.

Vasiliy's Hammer is just the box set with (iirc) something like 10 T-34s and 3 SU-100s.

It is designed to be a really shitty hero tank list, but otherwise just two of those kits will get you a solid core to a (normal) tank army. So it's easy to build upon. Seeing him say his dad is playing "Vasiliy's Hammer", without any count of how much he actually has, makes me believe he's got that and other stuff as well. Provided you max it out with 10 T-34-85s and 3 SU-100s, the box can only go to about 1300 pts before it starts needing filler upgrades like Bedspring or Escorts.

>Frankly people who don't play goofy tanks are probably boring grognards you don't want to play against anyway.
Count me in for a boring grog then.
I'll gladly play wwII anime girl card games with rommel as a cute girl with lewd lingerie but when me and my friends spent countless hours on our great looking armies and some fantastic individual shows up to a tourney with germans painted like ultramarines then I get upset.

Nothing against smurfs, I play them in NetEpicA GO TEAM ULTRA

lets see, it was 1,500 points. Page 108 of the Old Red Bear. He had

1 x HQ (2 x SMG + 1 Komissar)
2 x Compulsory Sapper Companies (2 Platoons Each)
1 x Spetznaz Platoon (2 x Squads)
1 x Heavy Mortar Platoon (6 x 120 PM)
1 x Artillery Platoon (4 x 122mm or 152mm, I forget which)

He also has 5 lend lease M4 Shermans I passed him

>Don't call him a buffoon, that's being unnecessarily harsh on buffoons.

The politest thing I can say about him is that he was the wrong man for the job. Yes he's their face man, but he was the wrong person to showcase a historical game since he had no knowledge of and no interest in the history of WWII.

And his teacher, the Doctor Who look-alike, wasn't much better. Zero charisma.

As for Girls und Panzer tank commanders, I have yet to see anything like that for sale anywhere. The market for something like that is so small that the people behind the anime haven't even thought of it.

Question: At how much points you guys mostly play EW? 1400-1500-1750?

Someone know which uniform the PSC Early War Grenadiers use? and if they have mg34 or mg42? Because i want to use them as early 1944 heer grenadiers for the Eastern Front.

yeah my dad's more happy with the models than the gaming. He loves the T34 line on WOT. I reckon we can expand upon the list with all sorts of options, and we'll probably be going Red Bear instead of Desperate Measures.

EW: Usually 1500-1550

PSC: Since they're called "Early War", I would venture a guess that they're quite early, with the MG-34.

That's easy to understand, then. The T-34 and T-34-85 are probably two of the funnest Soviet tanks to play in all of WoT, along with the SU-76, SU-100, and KV-13. And that's even counting the fact that I grinded my way to getting the ISU's god-slayer cannon.

If your dad really likes doing a Soviet tank force, my recommendation would be for him to get another Vasiliy Hammer box, the plastic ISU box (or two), and 5 badass looking infantry stands (1 being a commander) to act as Spetsnaz. From there, 120mm Mortars (if going Red Bear, 160mm if going Desperate Measures), some pioneers/sappers, ZiS-2 tank guns, Razvedki (a bit of an investment due to needing the M3A1s), and an Il-2 Shturmovik.

>Talking about TANKS and GuP, anyone know where I can get 15mm schoolgirls for tank commanders?
Well i think it is time to buy one of those 3d printers.

well just for early then.

Too bad that the japanese only make 1/35 figures for plastic models.

That only helps if someone has already made the files needed for the 3D printout.

Plus the detail level probably isn't quite there yet for 15mm scale human figures.

PSC has two relevant boxes:

"WW2015008 15mm Early War German Infantry 1939-42" ...what is says, suitable for EW and MW, comes with MG34. Also has some 5cm mortars and AT Rifles

"Model: WW2015011 15mm German Grenadiers in Normandy 1944" ...basically LW German Grenadier/PzGrens, comes with some guys with Panzerfuasts and Panzerschrecks. Also, some Panzerfaust pieces you can easily glue to other figures as if they were carrying 'fausts, etc.

NOTE: "WW2015002 15mm WW2 Late War German Infantry 1943-45" ...this is a different set, the old-style weedy figures: avoid this code. The two codes above are the new style and much better figures.

Did the Brits use any sort of SMG during the Battle of France? I can't find anything conclusive.

Thanks, i already knew about the grenadiers in normandy and late war infantry boxes (i bought the late war one when they come out).

I asked about the early war box because i need some Germans grenadiers without ponchos, camouflage, etc. for mid war infantry and late war infantry like 78 sturmdivision.

What colour are those ponchos, by the way? Did they come in winter versions or are they specifically a summer uniform?

The sten?

Splinter for summer and I'm pretty sure it was all white during the winter, and they're actually smocks, ponchos were during the winter

Entered service 1941. Prior to that, from what I can find, the Brits were buying tons of Thompsons to get guns after the disaster of the Battle of France, but I can't find anything on whether or not they had any that could have been used in France.

Zeltbahn mostly had spring/summer and autumn/winter variations, but the heer and SS units had different patterns. They are pretty varied

I lack a deep knowledge about german uniforms though. Like the panzer grenadier jacket, etc.

Oh sorry m8, maybe the Lanchester but that was 1941 AND after Dunkirk. The Brits didn't really have a sub machine gun, the Thompson was in use though starting Febuary 1940, used by a spec ops team( I think) you could play it safe and just run LMGs which the Brits had a metric fuckton of

For a 2k game against an unknown opponent, would you prefer the list in the PDF or this list:

B squadron, 15th/19th Hussars
Tank Company, from Nachtjager
>All Platoons rated CV

>Compulsory B Squadron HQ (p.11) - CinC Cromwell IV, 2iC Cromwell VI CS, Cromwell VI CS (245 pts)
-->Sherman ARV (10 pts)

>Compulsory Challenger Platoon (p.11) - Command Challenger, 2x Challenger (430 pts)

>Compulsory Cromwell Platoon (p.12) - Command Cromwell IV, 3x Cromwell IV (380 pts)

>Cromwell Platoon (p.12) - Command Cromwell IV, 2x Cromwell IV (285 pts)

>15th/19th Hussars Recce Patrol (p.12) - Command Scout Car, 3x Scout Car (120 pts)

>Lorried Rifle Platoon (p.13) - Command Rifle/MG, PIAT, Light Mortar, 6x Rifle/MG (180 pts)

>Field Battery, Royal Artillery (p.32) - Command Rifle, Staff, 2x Command Rifle, 2x Observer Rifle, 2x OP Carrier, 8x OQF 25 pdr gun (315 pts)

>Air Observation Post (p.30) - Auster AOP (25 pts)

1990 Points, 8 Platoons

Actually the ponchos or "Zeltbahn" (they could be used a tents too) were made in different colors, actually one side was camouflaged and the other with one color.

A good number of soldiers used them as ponchos like pic related.

Now the new plastic grenadiers from BF comes with both ponchos and smocks, the best way to differentiate them at this scale if they have the hood.

>could I have one that looks like a taxi cab

I demand storytime, because there has to be something funny going on here

>Do I have to stick to Green Shermans or could I have one look like a taxicab?
If I were playing you, I’d need a good story to explain what the hell is going on. In a skirmish game like Tanks I’ll buy anything, but FoW games have infantry, artillery, etc… stuff that’s harder to explain in a non-serious setting.

On the other hand, a taxi livery would be one of the coolest fake paint jobs I’ve ever heard of. Could be fun.

yeah he wouldnt hurt to get some sort of tank. I'd recommend some IS 85's or KV85's. Theyd be some beefy tanks that can assault, bitch slap enemy mediums, and hold a point.

You can get a plastic box for IS 85's pretty cheap from PSC or Battlefront

>I enjoy giving tanks odd, sometimes vulgar names. I planned on calling it "Taxicab Confession", some of my other extravagant names for random tanks (usually 40k games): Call Waiting, Abortion Clinic, Parking Ticket, Tax Return, McRib, and Sex Tape.

Using names or text at the side of the tanks isn't something really unhistorical actually it is plausible more if it has to do with something that about the unit like pic related.

I couldn't help myself, buying from zvezda is like buying candy.

nice, I always get confused with the Russian assault guns/ tank hunters

>if it has to do with something that about the unit like pic related
*have something to do about the unit. Dear god my english is getting worse by every day,

It's the crapular SU-152.
I guess I'll have to buy the ISU-122/152 box too just so I can learn to see the difference.

Don't worry about it.

Once you start making as many typos as Eagles, then you should start worrying.

>Fames of War

The difference lies mostly in the back deck, where the exhaust and engine bits are. The KV chassis has those two circular "tank tits" near the back, while the IS chassis had two grills angled away from each other in thst spot. The SU-152 is an oddball of the SU series, as it's the only one based off the KV (85 and 100 being T-34 based, 76 being T-70 based), while the ISU is based off the IS chassis.

>Virus and Eagles never sleep edition
It was like, 12am, and I'm unemployed.

Damn user, this is exactly the kind of info I need. Thanks!

No problem.

By the way, you're never going to be able to look at any KV again without seeing those tank-tits on the back deck...

Yeah I noticed them before.
Since they looked like them I call them man-holes

I just wanted to name it Taxicab Confession. I don't have to paint it like a taxicab to name it that but I feel it is appropriate.

Even if you paint it olive drab, you should paint a double row of white checkers down the sides.

That's actually a good idea. What I want to know is how I'll get the side of the tank to say Taxicab Confession in that tiny font. I'm guessing it's a decal but I doubt a company is going to sell some of my more eccentric tank names.

Make them. or try to write it yourself.

I'd assume you'd be able to order decals that are just letters, so you place them all individually.