Chain of Command Bits and Bobs Review (Care of Monty's Wargaming World)

Not too much to update regarding my Scottish Corridor/Chain of Command project, but I did want to give a little bit of the spotlight to some accessories I've recently purchased from Richard Morrill in the UK (or "Monty" as he is known among fellow Lardies).

As with any miniatures game, a necessary amount of markers and tokens are needed to track information in Chain of Command. While most gamers make these themselves, I decided to look online for tokens and markers which would look much better than anything I could produce.

Richard is one of the big names in Chain of Command (he authored the excellent Operation Winter Storm campaign book) and it was no surprise that when I checked out his website of hand-made gaming accessories, that I found the pieces I needed.

The first were patrol markers. The "patrol phase," sort of a game within a game, is one of the unique features of the ruleset. Before the shooting begins, the search for the enemy's whereabouts by scouting patrols is played out by the two sides maneuvering circular counters around the table in an effort to secure the best positions for their platoons to "jump off" into combat. While Too Fat Lardies provides free patrol markers that can be printed out, I wanted something a little sturdier. Monty's website advertises that customers can order generic markers or unit-specific ones. To add a little flair to the campaign, I decided to order markers for the four divisions primarily involved in the fray. On the British side of things, this meant the 11th Armoured Division (whose 3rd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment will be covering the Allies' right flank in the campaign) and the 15th (Scottish) Division, who gave the name to the "Scottish Corridor." On the German side, I went with the divisions from which the bulk of the two kampfgruppes were formed: 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" (the parent unit of KG Frey) and 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich". Specifics of the patrol markers' construction were not given on the website, but they wound up being poker chips with the appropriate unit insignia printed on paper and affixed to the chip. Richard even ensured that the 11th Armoured's distinctive yellow flash was mounted on a chip of the same color!

Patrol makers for the 1st SS Panzer Division (top left), 2nd SS Panzer Division (top right), 11th Armoured (bottom left), and 15th (Scottish) Division (bottom right)

The sets of patrol markers also come with a set of jump off points (which are placed after the patrol phase ends at the start of the game proper). I've seen a number of gamers make their own out of barrels, ammo crates, and other bits of military supplies/stowage, but, personally, I think those items look a bit out of place in the "no man's land" between the two armies and so was looking for something different. Richard offers two options: non-scenic, which are just smaller versions of the patrol markers, and scenic, which are distinctive terrain bases - available in temperate, desert, and winter versions. Since my first campaign will be set in the Normandy campaign during the summer of '44, I chose to order two temperate sets and was pleased with the results.

The scenic bases have a mix of features. Two include rather unfortunate cows, a few have rather distinctive logs, and the rest either have large clumps of grass or larger rocks. The jumping off points are well made and will stand out as noticeable features on my battlefields.

Lastly were the shock markers. While I've seen some people using acrylic tokens or small dials to track the amount of shock their units take in the game, I decided to go with Monty's dice bases, which I figured would look the least obtrusive (and a little less "gamey"). In the games of Chain of Command and Sharp Practice that I've played before, we used some microdice I had lying around from the old Pirates of the Spanish Main game but they were almost too small to handle, so I ordered a few packs of the bases offered with 10mm dice, which seemed a little more manageable. The bases are nicely flocked and are magnetic, too, which will help with storage (they'll be able to go right into the storage trays with my miniatures).

While there was admittedly nothing really flashy about these game markers, they're all necessary bits for conducting a game of Chain of Command and will look great on the table. Richard Morrill makes some excellent products and his customer service, both in his communication and willingness to bundle products and get the best deal on shipping, are second to none! I'd highly recommend checking out his page at Monty's Wargaming World (http://www.montyswargamingworld.co.uk/gaming-accessories.html).

Britannia 20mm Review

My ongoing Chain of Command project took a big step forward a few weeks ago when I finally ordered over my miniatures. When I had first planned the campaign, I considered using 28mm figures, but quickly realized that the miniatures, vehicles, and scenery would be a little out of my price range at the moment and would be a bit cramped on my 6' x 4' table. Then I thought about 15mm, which would match the ground scale of the rules, but decided that it would be a little too small for what I imagined for a 1:1 scale skirmish game. That led to me deciding on 20mm, which would serve as a happy, and affordable, medium.

Then came the decision about which manufacturer to use. The World War II range from AB Figures is probably the best on the market, but didn't have all of the support options I need and is sold in specific packs that would have meant a lot of extra lead sitting around. While there are many other manufacturers who make both plastic and metal 20mm ranges, I find most of their figures to be rather spindly. I've always liked my miniatures with some chunkiness to their proportions (probably a throwback to my first miniatures game, Alternative Armies' Flintloque) and so I turned to Britannia Miniatures (available from Grubby Tanks). I first encountered the range when I picked up a copy of the Rapid Fire World War II rules years ago and really liked the bulky, somewhat-cartoony look of the sculpts. They are for a game, after all.

Having settled on a range, I took my copy of the Scottish Corridor pint-sized campaign booklet (and the Operation Martlet one for good measure) and made an extensive shopping list. The Allied force is comprised of a standard British infantry platoon, with a variety of supports from a sniper to a anti-tank gun and crew. The Tommies are supported by Stuart, Sherman (standard and Firefly), and Churchill tanks. Their German opposition is made up of a Waffen SS panzergrenadier platoon with its fair share of supports (forward observer, infantry gun, anti-tank gun, etc.), backed up by a Panzer III, Panzer IVs, a Panther, and a Tiger.

An advantage of ordering from Grubby Tansk is that all of the Britannia's WWII vehicles are available painted. I also found out, after the order, that the figures are also available painted for very competitive rates. I opted to have the miniatures painted by my go-to painter friend, but since the vehicles were only 2.00 GBP more painted, I decided to order them with that option. Though this added a few weeks to my wait time, the end result was worth it.

My new Sherman and one of the Churchills (with 75mm gun, though 2 and 6 pdrs are also available)

Panzer III, Panzer IV, and Panther

The vehicles were expertly painted and, for the most part, tabletop ready. Andy Grubb (the proprietor of Grubby Tanks, and the painter) contacted me a number of times throughout the painting process to ask about the paint and camouflage schemes I wanted and which gun barrels to use on the models that included options for the armaments. There were a few spots of paint that needed some touching up and the turret of my Stuart had a small piece of the turret chipped of (though nothing a little dab of super glue couldn't fix), but considering that the majority of the twelve models had made their way across the Atlantic in excellent condition, I was rather pleased. Though tank nuts may appreciate the crisp, accurate details provided by plastic model kits, these resin models are more than worthy to be pushed around a gaming table. Andy even included an extra Panzer IV with the order...a gesture I greatly appreciated.

British rifleman, Sten gunner, rifleman, and bagpiper

Another shot of a sampling of Brits

Waffen SS rifleman, MG42 team, MP40 gunner (with potato masher grenade), and STG44 gunner

Then there were the figures...over 130 of them and 4 guns. Since I already own some Britannia WWII figures and a fair number from their modern Afghanistan range, there weren't too many surprises with these. As previously stated, the miniatures have rather bulky/chunkier proportions, but means they are by and large sturdy little models. There was some flash from the casting process present, especially along the bases (you can see some of this in the above photo with the felt), but it was comparable to what is seen on figures from most manufactures. The weapons and limbers were ramrod straight. I had ordered a wide range of poses and was pleased with the variety and realism of the pieces. While some manufacturers produce figures in unnatural poses or one that would never be assumed if following the manual (and common sense), the Britannia figures all appeared as if they were out on patrol or taking enemy fire. I was confident that with this animation, both of my platoons will be brimming with character. I was also extremely please with the details on the figures. For instance, though British infantryman were officially issued with a cumbersome entrenching tool, large t-handled shovels began filtering their way into the sections by D-Day (and one or two pick axes as well) and most of these battle hardened soldiers are kitted out with these rather noticeable engineering implements. A little bit of research and realism goes a long way with me.

Overall, I was very pleased with the quality of my miniatures and painted vehicles from Britannia/Grubby Tanks. Andy Grubb is an excellent retailer and his customer service is as best as they come in the hobby. The prices for the figures (0.65 GBP per miniature) and vehicles were extremely affordable and the shipping across the pond reasonable as well (20% of the order). It was a delight doing business with Grubby Tanks and I certainly will again in the future. I'd highly recommend the figure range and the company.

For now, the minis and guns are in the possession of my favorite painter and I'll be picking them up the next time our paths cross at Cold Wars this March, so stay tuned!