4Ground Northwest European Farm Buildings (20mm) Review

At long last, I have the opportunity to post a review for the collection of 20mm farm buildings I bought a few weeks ago from 4Ground. My planned Chain of Command campaigns take place in the rolling farm fields outside Caen, so I knew a collection of agricultural buildings would be a must. As I've been very impressed with the 4Ground kits I've gotten thus far, I saw no reason to stop.

The first building I put together (I actually got two of them) was the North West European Hay Loft. A simple, but practical structure, this building will look great among the large wheatfields that feature in the Scottish Corridor campaign. Not too much to say here. The construction was straightforward and it came together in less than a half hour. Overall, a fairly handsome little structure with removable roof and staircase. I may put some dirt on the ground floor and pick up some hay bales at some point, but I'm glad to just have them to throw out on the table for now.

The completed loft

The loft's second floor interior

The lower floor and stairs

Next was the Dairy/Lean To. I wanted a small building for my farms and thought this would do the trick, but I did not realize at first that this model was just an add-on and, thus, only had three walls. It will add some variety, but undeterred, I bought a second that, when put next to the other, creates a workable (at least I think so) outbuilding.

Dairy exterior

Dairy interior

Ersatz outbuilding (good enough when needed)

Next came my favorite building, the North West European Granary/Cart Shed. Definitely the largest of the lot, this structure was not as intimidating to piece together as I'd thought. It has a nice mix of open ground floor and enclosed top floor, which should provided some useful cover for any defending troops. It also features a mixture of building materials which make it stand out even more. As always, the finished interior on the top floor is a nice touch. I may pimp out the ground floor a bit and maybe get a wagon for one of the stalls, but it's battle-ready for the time being.

Granary/Cart Shed

Upstairs interior

I really like these inlays

Rear detail

Since I needed more buildings than the variety offered, I bought two of the North West European Threshing Barn. Though I've assembled four-wall 4Ground buildings before, I had trouble with both of these. The problem seemed to be gluing the outer walls onto the inner ones fast enough so that the glue would not dry, but then I couldn't seem to get the recommended rubber bands and clothespins on fast enough to prevent the walls from warping slightly. Even leaving the bands and pins on for more than a day didn't seem to help much. The second one definitely came together more easily (though both were definitely messy affairs), but in my haste, I glued the long outer walls on the wrong side, so the vent holes don't match up perfectly with the inner ones. Nevertheless, it doesn't look half bad, and its enclosed design will stand out from the more open buildings. Wouldn't mind trying it again some time (maybe I'll try gluing the walls together first and then attach them to the floor).

The Threshing Barn

Threshing barn interior, showing some of the warping

The last building was the only one I decide to experiment with upgrading, but I felt like a pigsty without dirt and mud just wouldn't look right. As I've stated before, though I'm a veteran wargamer, I have never really done much when it comes to terrain construction or painting before, but figured this would be an easy project on which to experiment, I picked up some brown battleground basing material and wet mud paint from The Army Painter and applied them liberally throughout the pigsty. Though the dirt settled nicely, I was a little disappointed with the mud. I applied an undercoat and then, as instructed on the bottle, hit it with varnish and put another coat on to bring out more of the gloss, but it didn't turn out as expected. I tried the process again, but it still didn't have the glossy effect I hoped for. Perhaps it is just slightly dried mud. :-)

The finished Pigsty/Chicken Coop

The interior of the chicken coop

The interior of the pigsty

Finally, I picked up some accessory packs. I got some of the stone walls and stone walls with gates kits. These are super easy to assemble (and inexpensive) but will add a lot to the table. I also purchased some telegraph pole kits. I was really looking forward to these as I thought they would be a really nice detail that would add a level of realism to my setups. The straights were much lighter than the gate sections, so I hit them with a wash of Vallejo smoke, which helped a little. Might need to add another coat (and do the same to some of the stone buildings). While the base and poles were easy to glue together, but most of the more fiddly pits are made of a very flimsy cardboard that often separated as I tried to cut the pieces out or glue them to the poles. Though I got a few of those pieces on, it was turning out to be much more frustrating than I had hoped. Losing my patience (and terrain-making fun), I decided just to leave a couple as is and save them to be used as Rommel's asparagus - poles with mines mounted on top - if I ever decide to do the 29 Let's Go campaign.

I added some dirt to the walls and put a wash on some of the lighter sections

A sampling of some of my telegraph pole attempts

The untouched sheet of pole bits - the bane of my terraining existence

Though the kits did not all turn out as planned, I'm rather pleased with my acquisitions overall and can't wait to get them on the tabletop with my long-awaited figures. For those looking for farm building kits, I'd highly recommend the Hay Loft, Cart Shed/Granary, Dairy/Lean To, and Pigsty (as well as the stone walls). They are available for 15mm, 20mm, and 28mm figure scales.

Plastcraft Bridges Review

One of the purchases I made at the Williamsburg Muster last month was a set "medieval bridges" from Plascraft Games. Though designed for use with the SAGA rules system, the two pieces are fairly generic, and since my collection was lacking in bridges, I figured it was a useful set to pick up.

These are rather simple kits, and so there is not much to write, but I am very pleased. Each bridge is just a few pieces and I was able to glue them together in a matter of minutes. I thought the buildings from Plastcraft had been pretty straightforward, but these were even easier!

As one of the ColorED offerings from Plastcraft, they are completely game-ready once the superglue sets.

Here are a few photos to illustrate the finished products

The arched bridge:

My rivers from Hotz mats are almost perfect-sized

Some views of the plank bridge

Another great view with the Hotz rivers

Plastcraft Games EWAR 15mm ColorED Review

When I started gathering terrain together for my CoC Normandy projects, I faced a big decision to make regarding the buildings to choose for my tabletop. While there are loads of options for 28mm gamers and, thanks especially to flames of war, a ton of great 15mm options (including pre-painted ones), my choice in using 20mm figures found me a bit limited. Sure, there are plenty of HO scale model railroad buildings that could fit the bill, but at least from what's available in the States, these looked better suited for a 1950s suburb than a 1940s French battlefield. Both Sarissa and Charlie Foxtrot offer 20mm ranges, but they are quite limited and I wasn't keen on painting the buildings myself (at least not yet, anyway). 4Ground has some nice agricultural buildings in the scale, but not much in terms of residential buildings, which I knew I was going to need. Then I heard about Plastcraft's EWAR ColorED range of printed PVC buildings and my curiosity was picqued.

I had seen the company mentioned on a few forums and on the Plastcraft website, but the the only reviews I could were for their other ColorED ranges or for their unpainted WWII models. Thankfully a number of participation games at Fall In this past November featured the 28mm EWAR ColorED buildings and I was hooked. The detail on the models was fantastic, they seemed rather easy to put together, and the price seemed extremely reasonable for the quality, so when I found out that my boss at the bookstore could get them through his wargame distributor, I promptly ordered the 15-20mm Building set, an additional two-storey building, and the Saint-Mère-Èglise church (the latter was not required for either of the two CoC campaigns I am putting together, but just looked cool!).

I had to wait a few weeks to get all the models in from the distributor, but they all came before Christmas and thankfully my fiancée was gracious enough to help me put some of them together one evening.

Here a some pics of the finished products:

The "Two-Storey Buidling"

Second and third floor interior of the same

The ruins/base for the "Two-Storey Building"

The "Semi-Detached Building"

"Semi Detached" interior. I love that the two buildings have markedly different floors 

The "Town House" and its base

The Saint-Mère-Èglise church

Stained glass windows

Bellfry interior

Lovely details inside the church

The buildings arrive packed flat in cardboard boxes (the 4-building set came in one box) and most of the parts were rubber-baneded together. Some of the parts in the big set had become separated in shipping, so I had spend a little time sorting those pieces out, but it wasn't much of a problem. Regrettably, the large window for the grocery was missing (I can just pretend it's been blown out), but otherwise, all the kits were complete. Unlike the 4Ground kits, printed directions are not included, but the instruction sheets can be found on the company's website.

In terms of actual assembly, these models are pretty straight forward. Since they require superglue and not the PVA of MDF kits, they go together pretty quickly. The downside of this, however, is that these buildings are less forgiving when it comes to making adjustments. A few pieces, especially some of the roof tiles, needed to be forced into a dry fit before gluing to ensure they would sit properly, but for the most part the pieces assembled easily. It took me a few tries (and very careful prying) to adjust the doors to fit over the ruins base and stoop. Though the first building took me about an hour to complete (it took a while to work up a system for installing the windows), I completed the last small building in about 20-25 minutes and did the whole church in about 45. No waiting for interior walls to dry, no need for rubber bands or clothespins to hold everything together.

As you can see in the photos, the printed exteriors are full color and are wonderfully illustrated and the interior floors are exceptionally detailed. The windows add a nice touch to the realism (especially with the church).

They are styled as "15-20mm" which I assumed would mean they would be a bit on the small side for my 20mm figures, and they are, but not by much. This is also partly due to my preferred 20mm figures being on the bulkier side of the spectrum. Since CoC's ground scale is truly fit for 15mm anyway, I'm not too concerned. For anyone using 15mm  or the popular brands of 20mm, these pieces should fit in with the miniatures just fine.

A 20mm modern British soldier from Elheim Miniatures outside the "Grocery"

The same figure inside the "Two-Storey House"

Outside the church (and a bit out of scale)

So for my residential building needs, I think I made the right choice. Since Plastcraft has yet to release any farm buildings for the EWAR range, I've opted to go with 4Ground for those (review to follow), but for my Norman villages, these will do nicely. I've included photos of all 5 buildings from the 15mm-20mm range. The same structures (with some variations in color) are available in their 28mm range, which also includes a warehouse model. For anyone looking for an affordable, pre-painted  scenery option for Chain of Command, Bolt Action, Flames of War, or any other WWII game, scenery option for Chain of Command, Bolt Action, Flames of War, or any other WWII game, I can't recommend these kits enough

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!