Modern Scatter Terrain

I've been working away on my modern scatter terrain.  I've had to look all over the place for various items so I thought I'd save you the trouble of finding it and post both pictures and links to the sellers here in this post.

Construction Pallets
Made by:  WARSENAL

Soda Machines
Made by:  Armorcast
Available on Ebay from "terraform-terrain"

Large Tires
Made by:  Kromlech

Damaged Jersey Barriers
Made by: Secret Weapon

Dumpster & Trash Pile
Made by:  Armorcast
Available on Ebay from "terraform-terrain"

Mailbox
(still painting the other two that
come in the pack)
Made by:  Armorcast
Available on Ebay from "terraform-terrain"

Oil Drums
Made by:  Pegasus Hobbies
(pre-painted)

Trash Cans
Made by:  Plasticraft Games
(Made for Malifaux and called the "Suburb Props"
set, you can buy it from The Warstore)

I liked this set so much I bought a bunch to
put around - can't have too much trash!

This stuff also works for a bunch of other settings as well ... such as post-apocalyptic/zombies.

Modern British Vehicles

I just put the finishing touches on two British vehicles and took some pictures to post.  My British force is smaller than my USMC force but I did need at least one tank and an infantry fighting vehicle so that's what has been added now.  Pictures below of the Challenger II and Warrior.  Both models are from Empress Miniatures and are just outstanding kits.

Lighting of the shadows came out odd ... gotta work on that (for the pictures, not the painting ... the shading is more subtle in person).

Challenger II
Empress Miniatures

Challenger 2
Empress Miniatures

Challenger II
Empress Miniatures

Warrior
Empress Miniatures

Warrior
Empress Miniatures

Warrior
Empress Miniatures

That does it for now ... more games planned this week as my workplace is shutdown between now and new years.  I'm going to play another Bolt Action modern game and perhaps break out my Dead Man's Hand stuff ... or M&T ... or something else ... not sure yet ... too many choices!

Bolt Action Modern Army Lists

As promised I've finally written down the unit statistics I've been using in a "proper" Bolt Action army list format.  I've focused on the troops and vehicles I have in my collection but you can certainly very easily add to the army lists using the vehicles covered here as a template.

I've created four separate army list files (click the links below to download):

NOTE:  Version 3.1 rules and army lists are available HERE (rules) and HERE (army lists).

• United States Marine Corps (USMC)
• United States Army
• British Army
• Iraqi Army, Republican Guard & Insurgents

Hopefully the above lists get you started.  I did have a request via email to provide statistics for the Canadian/German Leopard 2A6 and the Russian T-90 and BMP-3.  You can find those units below.

Leopard 2A6 MBT

Morale:  Regular

Damage Value: 11+ (super-heavy tank)

Main: Super-heavy AT gun

Secondary:  1 x MMG (coaxial), 1 x MMG (pintle-mounted)

Special:  Advanced Amour, Fire Control System, Advanced Ammunition, Advanced Optics

Optional:  Slat Armour

T-90 MBT

Morale:  Regular

Damage Value: 11+ (super-heavy tank)

Main: Super-heavy AT gun

Secondary:  1 x MMG (coaxial), 1 x HMG (pintle-mounted)

Special:  Fire Control System, Advanced Ammunition, Advanced Optics, Reactive Armour

BMP-3 

Morale:  Regular

Damage Value: 8+ (light tank)

Main: Light AT gun

Secondary:  1 x Automatic Cannon (coaxial), 1 x MMG (coaxial), 2 x MMG (forward facing hull-mounted)

Special:  Fire Control System, Advanced Optics

Merry Christmas!

I'd like to wish all my followers a very Merry Christmas, or whatever tradition you choose to celebrate (or not) this time of year.  It has been a great year for my tiny toy soldier collection.  Here's hoping you all get something resin or lead under your Christmas trees this evening!

Thanks to everyone who follows the blog - I really appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to look at or read my ramblings.

Bolt Action Modern Rules Update 1.3

My 200th post!  Wow, can't believe it.  Things are moving along nicely ...

Based on the latest game I played I've made a few more tweaks to the rules.  I'm still working on the army lists that will be specific to my forces I've built up for Iraq, but should give everyone the idea of how to add various other nations units if they are not in the one I make.  I hope to post that up soon.

Download Bolt Action Modern version 1.3 here.

NOTE:  Version 3.1 rules and army lists are available HERE.

Summary Of v1.3 Changes

• Fixed Grenade Launcher and Automatic Grenade Launcher, should have been HE (D3).
• Added line to grenades, they don't take a long range penalty.
• Modified the Assault special rule to remove the ability to move and shoot without penalty.  Now the rule only confers two attacks in close quarters.
• Added the Recycle special rule.
• Readded the Tough Fighters special rule from the Bolt Action rule book.
• Added the No Long special rule (also applies to thrown grenades).
• Added the GL (grenade launcher) special rule for weapons.
• Updated victory points rules.
• Updated the weapons table to add new special rules to the appropriate weapons.
• Modified Body Armour to apply in close quarters as well.
• Restructured the special rules page into a two column format to fit everything in a single page.
• Removed indirect fire special rule from grenade launcher and automatic grenade launcher (replaced with GL).

A Few Thoughts To Date

The games so far have been really fun and representative of modern asymmetrical combat.  There is of course more that can be added to give yourself the feel of the modern insurgent battlefield.  I've been toying with trying a few things, such as random events.  For a random event your would add an off coloured dice to the orders bag.  When drawn, roll 1D6.  On the result of a 1 there is a random event.  Roll 2D6 and consult the random events table.  I have not put one together yet but it would be a mix of things that could benefit the coalition forces or the insurgent forces ... with results covering from 2-12 ... probably combining a few together to reduce the number of possibilities.

If you've played WW2 Bolt Action (BAWII) I must say that this modification (BAMOD) gives a very different experience of play.  As the coalition player you are hard to kill ... being in the open isn't the same death sentence as it is in BAWII - you have body armour and a medic save.  On top of that you get various armoured vehicles to hide behind as they advance around the tabletop.  

The strangest part is that the coalition forces are expected to mop the floor ... killing most if not all insurgents ... that is built into the VPs and the game play.  But it all actually works at the end of a game.  The insurgents/irregulars are just trying to kill as many as they can before getting killed themselves.

One of the challenges of doing BAWII in a town/fully built up area is that building hoping and floor jumping takes a lot of time - but is necessary because being outside without cover is a bad idea.  With BAMOD you don't want to building hop ... it takes too much time and slows you down (guaranteed losing strategy).  You need to be aggressive and engage insurgent groups to keep the VP's piling up ... and most importantly for insurgent groups that recycle, you need to take the target that is allowing them to recycle so it stops ... otherwise you are facing a never ending wave of insurgents.  If you go slow and try to use every building the insurgents will eventually strike enough hits on your guys before you can sufficiently destroy enough insurgent groups to keep up from a VP perspective.  You need to think of a key building or two (or strong point) that you want to move a fireteam into to provide covering fire/suppression for your other teams that will assault the objectives.  Moving fast means being outside ... not inside.  If you think of how many turns it takes to get up to the 2nd or 3rd floor of a building and back down and outside again ... you are just done in a six or even eight turn game.

For the insurgents the same concept applies.  You want to get your groups into a position to maximize firepower on advancing coalition forces.  Getting out in the open is usually the best way to do this.  Pick a couple of strong points to occupy, but know that you can't match the western forces firepower ... plan the risks you will take by popping out your groups to inflict a sudden barrage of firepower on a western military unit ... hope to get a couple or a few casualties before you get blown away (and hopefully recycle).  So long as you kill at least one guy you are ahead ... that is 1VP ... when your recycling unit gets blown away that is only a 1/2VP for the coalition.

So, don't approach BAMOD with the same tactics and mindset of BAWWII ... they are two different games using the same core rules ... but outcomes and tactical game play are night and day.

If anyone out there has tried the rules, or are planning to try them I'd be curious to see how your games have played out.  Or, if nobody is using them ... so be it ... I'm having fun with them ;-)

Sweep & Clear - Modern Bolt Action AAR

I manged to sneak in another wargame this week ... which is great.  I have been eager to continue playing the modern Bolt Action modification and this proved another great game with a few minor tweaks coming into play (will be updating to version 1.3 soon).  I played the part of the Iraqi and insurgent forces while Roy played the coalition forces.

A hard fought game - this SAS member decides to
take a break near a smoking HUMVEE and have a Coca Cola.

In this fictional scenario the USMC and British Army worked together.  The objective of the coalition forces was to clear the Intisar Quarter, located north of Basra.  The Intisar Quarter is located just a few miles down the road from the Al Hartha Power Station.  Before being able to secure the power station at Al Hartha, the coalition forces must first clear the Intisar Quarter of Iraqi Army and Insurgent forces.

A SAS team that was evaluating insurgent activity in the area has been ambushed.  Their HUMVEE has been destroyed and they've taken cover near a park.  The coalition forces must reinforce the SAS team and eliminate all insurgent activity in the area.  You can see the starting positions outlined in the map below.  Yellow indicates the starting position for the Iraqi and insurgent forces while red indicates the starting coalition positions.

Table overview.

The coalition forces start rolling on turn 2 for the arrival of a M1A1 Abrams.  On a 4+ the tank arrives.  If not, the USMC player tests at the start of each turn (+1 each turn past turn 2, so 3+ on turn 3, 2+ and turn 4 and so on).  Roy rolled the tank in on turn 3.

The Iraqi and insurgent forces start rolling on turn 2 for the arrival of a BTR 70 carrying an Iraqi Army infantry team and squad leader.  I rolled them on in turn 2.  The arrival of the Iraqi Army reinforcements is randomized (roll 1D6 and enter the numbered edge as shown on the map above).  I rolled a 6 so the BTR 70 entered on the road near the mosque.

USMC OOB (Regulars)

1 x Squad Leader (Leader, First Aid, Body Armour, Urban Operations)
3 x Fireteams each with 2 x assault rifles, 1 x assault rifle w UGL and 1 x SAW (First Aid, Body Armour, Urban Operations)
1 x SMAW team (Team, First Aid, Body Armour, Urban Operations)
1 x M1A1 Abrams (delayed arrival) (Advanced Ammunition, Advanced Armour, Fire Control System, Advanced Optics, Crewed, 11+ super-heavy tank, super-heavy AT gun, coaxial MMG, pintle-mounted HMG and pintle-mounted MMG)

British Army OOB (Regulars)

1 x Squad Leader (Leader, First Aid, Body Armour, Urban Operations)
1 x Fireteam with 2 x assault rifle, 1 x assault rifle w UGL and 1 x SAW (First Aid, Body Armour, Urban Operations)
1 x Fireteam with 3 x assault rifle and 1 x SAW (First Aid, Body Armour, Urban Operations)

(Veteran) 1 x SAS Team with 2 x assault rifles, 1 x assault rifle with UGL and 1 x SAW (Elite, First Aid, Body Armour, Urban Operations)

Iraqi Army OOB (Inexperienced)

1 x Squad Leader (Leader)
1 x Infantry Team with 4 x assault rifles, 1 x LMG and 1 x RPG
1 x BTR 70 (turret mounted HMG, 7+ damage, armoured wheeled vehicle)

Saddam Fedayeen OOB (Inexperienced)

1 x Jihadist Leader (Leader, Martyr, Close Quarters)
1 x Insurgent Cell with 2 x assault rifles and 2 x LMG (Recycle, Martyrs, Close Quarters)
1 x Insurgent Cell with 3 x assault rifles and 1 x LMG (Recycle, Martyrs, Close Quarters)
1 x Insurgent Recoilless Rifle Team (Team, Amateur Hour)

1 x Jihadist Leader (Leader, Close Quarters)
1 x Insurgent Cell with 3 x assault rifles, 1 x LMG and 1 x RPG (Close Quarters, Amateur Hour)
1 x Insurgent Cell with 4 x assault rifles, 1 x LMG and 1 x RPG (Close Quarters, Amateur Hour)
1 x Insurgent Cell with 4 x assault rifles, 1 x LMG and 1 x RPG (Close Quarters, Amateur Hour)

The Game

It was a great game.  I made a minor adjustment to how victory points are awarded:

• Coalition
• +1/2 VP for each eliminated insurgent group that recycles each time they are eliminated.
• +1 VP for each eliminated insurgent group that does not recycle.
• +3 VPs for clearing the market area.
• +3 VPs for clearing the mosque area.
• Iraqi Army & Insurgents
• +1 VP for each coalition casualty.
• +3 VPs for each destroyed coalition armoured vehicle.
• +2 VPs for each destroyed coalition soft skinned vehicle.
• +3 VPs for holding the market area.
• +3 VPs for holding the mosque area.

We ended the game with all Iraqi Army and Insurgent forces removed by the end of turn 5 (six turn game, so ended a turn early).  The final victory points:  Coalition 16 - Iraqi Army & Insurgents 14.  A minor victory for the coalition.

My recoilless rifle team failed their Amateur Hour test and exploded right when they were about to fire on the M1A1 Abrams ... lol.  Not long after, one of Roy's British infantry fireteams FUBAR'd and there was a friendly fire incident that killed the British squad leader (perhaps on purpose?).  I had one of my RPGs late in the game explode as well ... lots of fun and the randomness of asymmetrical warfare.  The experience of play is very different from regular old Bolt Action.

Lots of eye candy below ... I added a little more scatter terrain ... garbage pile ... coke machine ... wooden pallets ... more to build/paint.

Amateur Hour - my recoilless rifle fails the test
and explodes (YouTube "fail" video coming soon).

Friendly fire isn't friendly.  The British section FUBARs
and mistakenly fires on the British squad leader located
in the building just behind the insurgent group - killing him
(or perhaps fragging him on purpose for not helping them).

I hope you've enjoyed this ... I'm really digging this rule set!