Creating a WWII Vichy Counterattack Game Scenario

Over the summer, happily, golf dominated my free time for the most part. I didn’t really have much time for hobby work or wargames. Blogging about what little I did complete or participate in fell to the wayside. The “little” that I refer to is work on my 15mm/1:100 scale WWII scenario, Operation Torch: Vichy Mounts a Counterattack. This scenario is part of a What a Tanker game. It is set in Morocco in November 1942. The Vichy French responded to the American landings during this time with an armored counterattack.

It is a little-known clash. France the June 1940 post-armistice was titurlarly neutral, and had the responsibility to defend its colonies against any allied invasions. At this time in 1942, the Soviets were under massive German pressure on the Eastern Front. They were begging the Allies to get in the fight against the Germans – anywhere at all. However, at this point in the war, the US/UK were not in a position logistically to assault Fortress Europe. They also lacked the necessary forces to execute such a mission successfully.

The invasion of North Africa – and the colonies of Vichy France – became the compromised option. Operation Torch thus came to be. In addition, this assault would open up a line of attack on Rommel’s rear. This would reduce pressure on the British 8th Army in Egypt. However, no one knew how much the Vichy French would resist.

As I write this, the 2025 golf season is over now. At least it is here in balmy Massachusetts in November. It’s time for me to capture my summer and fall efforts that led to my running this games at conventions. This post will cover some of my preparations, upgrades, and the actual games themselves. I will discuss the initial games at HMGS HISTORICON, then my upgrades, then the games at HMGS FALL IN! and EllisCon.

By the time I attended HISTORICON in July of 2025, I had the scenario pretty much where I wanted it. I had play-tested it with friends, and was ready to roll it out. This year, in total I have run the game twice at three different conventions. These are HMGS HISTORICON in July, and both HMGS FALL IN! and EllisCon in November. This makes six iterations so far since the spring.

For vehicles for the game, I have finished many AFV’s for that I have discussed in previous posts. Here below are those posts in reverse chronological order in case you missed them:

In addition to the vehicles, many game aids also were on my to do list. Before HISTORICON, I made road sections and town bases out of poster board and painted them. I also built dice boxes and dice frames for ease of play. Plus, I needed more blast markers for destroyed vehicles.

I was making these dice aids to make play better. What a Tanker is a great game. However, for a multiplayer game at a convention, the activation sequence is not the greatest. It does not keep the players engaged. I decided to borrow Buck services Double Random Activation^TM activation methodology, and that seemed to serve the game well. I also added Bonus Attack Cards and other changes as discussed in the next section.

Overview of My Scenario Rules Modifications

The game uses modified What a Tanker rules. The major modifications that I use are:

The game starts with each player receiving $75 in Tanker Bucks.
Before there are any play or purchases of extra resources, there is a VICHY FREE ATTACK PHASE. All US vehicles on the table will receive both 1 French infantry attack and 1 French AT attack. This phase represents the Vichy infantry attacks that were repulsed in November 1942 prior to the armor engagement. This happens only once at the beginning of the game.
There is an ACQUISITION PHASE after the free attacks conclude. More vehicles and Bonus Attack Cards may be purchased. This phase happens once at the beginning of each turn.
Uses of Bonus Attack Cards in the game simulate infantry, anti-tank, artillery, naval gunfire, and air actions. These are deployed by scout cars according to each sides’ historical capabilities. These cards can be shared across the team. Bonus Attack Cards are purchased with “Tanker Bucks”, which also play into Victory Conditions. Having more Tanker Bucks at the games end is better, as high amount remaining wins the game. I allow teams to share their Tanker Bucks as well. However, you need to use resources to defeat the enemy. You earn $25 for each AFV or plane destroyed. See the card below to see the costs for acquisitions and for rewards. So, a balancing act exists for the players. Do they hoard their Tanker Bucks, or use them effectively against their opponent?

Costs and Rewards as shown on the requisition form.

To represent the French vehicles’ advanced age and mechanical unreliability. “OLD” French vehicles that try to move and roll a 3 or less will lose 1 die to temporary damage. Mathematically, there is an 8.33% chance of that happening. So a good number of the Vichy Forces are indeed OLD (mainly the armored cars and the FT-17’s). In addition, all of the French tanks and some armored cars are SLOW – which limits their advances. But, in the game, there are more of them, and not all of the French tanks are OLD.
Any vehicle touching a road can convert any die to a DRIVE dice.
Armored and scout cars may engage other armored cars and tanks with heavy machine guns or deploy Bonus Attack Cards. Also I have rules that show how devastating any cannon fire would have been against thin-skinned vehicles. Cannon fire causes double hits on thinly armored vehicles that are not tanks.
The US Army was inexperienced before these landings. To represent that, their status is GREEN at this point in the war. GREEN means their base roll needed to hit increases. It goes from needing a 6 on 2d6 added together to a 7 as a base number. Most of the French vehicles are SMALL. This necessitates an additional +1 to hit at short range. There is also another +1 at long range. Oh yeah, the Stuarts have just a 37mm gun. This means that the US has a tough time making damaging hits at long range against French tanks.
The US use of Bonus Attack Cards is limited to just the US Scout and French Armored Cars. The M5 Stuart’s radios got wet during the landings and were not working. Many French tanks in North Africa did not have radios. The one-man-turrets in all of these Vichy tanks made coordinating activities very difficult.
To represent the fight for air superiority, I added Bonus Attack Cards that allow the deployment of French Dewoitine D.520’s and American carrier-bases F4F Wildcats. These vie for air superiority and can also convert to ground attack missions with other Bonus Attack Cards as well.
Having air superiority enables the US player to deploy the Avenger TBM’s as spotter planes. These can improve US artillery accuracy significantly. They also can also bomb the French vehicles with depth charges (yes that happened). Lastly, Avenger deployment also opens up the chance for devastating naval gunfire from the light cruiser USS Savannah.
Modifying the activation sequencing methodology by using Buck Surdu’s “DOUBLE RANDOM ^TM ACTIVATION” method.
Because of the different activation sequence from What a Tanker, I now use three types of dice. Larger white d6 are used for COMMAND DICE (these let your AFV take actions). Larger colored d6 are used for ACTION DICE (for rolling for movement and firing). Smaller colored d6 are used for ACTIVATION DICE (to, well, activate an AFV in the game).
Scoring is done with TANKER BUCKS. Most wins at game end. See the rules file below (downloadable) for all the details.

I was asked to share my rules on the Facebook What a Tanker page. As I am a wicked nice guy (as we say here in Massachusetts), I am happy to do so. Below is the Word document that outlines all of the rules changes in detail. Feel free to download. If you use them, please do share your thoughts and experiences with me, I’d love to hear them.

VICHY COUNTERATTACK RULES (NOV 2025)V3 Download

Let’s look at some photos from the HMGS HISTORICON convention games next.

HMGS HISTORICON 2025 PHOTOS OF THE GAME

I ran the scenario twice at HISTORICON in July 2025. The games went well. Each side won once.

The tabletop set up from the French side. Note the painted poster board roads and town pavements.

Each French player started with 5 vehicles. The number of American vehicles varied by player, usually 2-3 including one M5 Stuart tank.

Set up with Tanker Bucks. I did eventually decide on $75 per player on each side with the differentials being the cost of resources.

The players from the first game – the French won here.

In the second game, the US won. This victory was mainly because Dan Eustace successfully used his Bonus Attack Cards. He successively achieved air superiority with Wildcats, then got the Avenger deployed. This led to calling in naval gunfire from the USS Savannah – unleashing a volley from its 15 6″ guns. The results on the French armor was devastating.

After the game, I pondered what improvements I could make. The tweaks in the rules are reflected in the file I shared previously. However, I need to add:

More game aids like dice holders
More blast markers
Better roads – I wanted rubber ones that laid flat and took up less space in a box.
Better town bases that also were rubber and laid flat on the tabletop.
Actual plane models to represent the aircraft. I was using photos on flight stands at HISTORICON for the planes, and I wanted better.

I wanted to read a book on the campaign that I learned about. It was recommended to me in a comment to one of my blog post links on TMP. It focused on this phase of WWII, and I planned to do this before I did any more hobby work. Rick Atkinsons’s An Army at Dawn is a true gem of a historical book, and a must read. This was my August effort.

After reading these, it was time to get going on the additional “stuff” listed above. I knocked out the dice frames and similar tasks quickly. I had enough for 8 players, and now I was set for 10.

Building Dirt Roads and City Bases WIP Shots

Now it was time to make the roads and city bases. I stumbled on this excellent video on how to make rubber wargaming roads. It became the blueprint I used and I highly recommend his process.

Here is a link to the excellent video.

Below are progress WIP shots of how I built 54 sections of road and 4 bases.

What I needed included a small paint roller, a caulking gun, and paintable caulk sealant. It also involved cutting up rubber floor runner material. Additionally, play sand and chinchilla dust were used on the roads for texture.

I cut the floor runner rubber with a box cutter on a wooden cutting board. I made the same number and types of dirt roads I had previously made with the poster board (54).

For a working space to work on the roads, I covered one of my gaming tables with paper. The sheets were secured with packing tape and this was sufficient to protect the table.

Here you see some of the road sections in progress. Sand and chinchilla dust were both rolled onto the caulk with a wet paint roller.

…and here painted minus some final dry brushing.

Then it was on to the city bases. I limited the width of the city bases to accommodate using a Green Stuff World Mega roller. The roller made a cobblestone imprint.Greg Priebe was kind enough to gift me the roller. Here I cut the first piece of rubber floor runner. As I did with the roads, I beveled the edges slightly. The edge angle was around 45 degrees.

A caulking gun spread out the sealant. Then I smoothed it as you see with two different putty knives, before rolling the cobblestone patterns. This was the approach for all four bases – I just sized and shaped them differently.

The painting scheme was basically the same for all four. Here you can see the imprinted cobblestones. To accentuate them, I used a Liquitex “Burnt Umber” ink cut with thinner. Then I let them dry before adding a quick dry brush.

The final bases completed. I would place 15mm buildings on them.

This was far more economical than buying similar roads. Now that the dirt roads and town bases were completed, it was time to add my 3 aircraft.

Aircraft Model WIP Shots

My search initially was for the right three 1:100 scale planes, but that effort proved fruitless. No one really makes aircraft in that scale, at least not the ones that I was looking for. Most models were 1:72. I did find some die cast models that would work just fine. They are more like game status makers. Those diecast models were the carrier-based Grumman F4F Wildcat and the Dewoitine D.520. Both had flight stands – an important feature as I wanted their landing gear to be retracted in flight.

A bit of assembly for these two diecast models was required, but not much. That left the Grumman Avenger TBM to source. And lucky me, I found one on eBay – obviously left unassembled since at least 1979 – if not much earlier. It was an Airfix plastic model, and it was complete. The papers inside were amazingly yellowed with age as you will see. I had not built a plastic model like this since I was a kid. It was probably for sale back then!

The F4F Wildcat, the Dewoitine D.520, and the Avenger kit. It says “new”, but…I guess it was at some point in the 1970’s? 1960’s?

The components laid out so as to figure it all out. The directions were fine. The decals were, well, as you can see, trash. I did order some replacements from eBay as you will see.

As for assembly, it went fine. I painted the three crewmen. The tail gunner will never be seen because the acrylic window was not too clear. As for the outside, I went with a Vallejo “Deep Prussian Blue” – it seemed closest to the box color. In my research, I saw several different color schemes for the undercarriage. Some were blue, some were two-toned. The model would be on a flight stand. This stand would not afford visibility to the bottom, so I decided that blue was sufficient.

The three crewmen and the rear landing gear and tailhook. The tailhook would not survive the build.

Avenger TBM assembled and painted (and below in the gallery).

The last assembly from the kit for the Avenger was the rockets underneath. I assume that any depth charges would have been in the bomb bay – as unseen as the gunner underneath. So that works!

The rockets are mounted. Next, we moved on to applying appropriate decals. That proved to be the most difficult part.

The decals I bought were from the US and came via a modeling shop in Latvia of all places. I have no idea of the age – except likely post-Cold War I imagine. I used multiple coats of Microscale “Liquid Decal File” to restore them as best I could. Even with that, several of them disintegrated into multiple jigsaw pieces in the progress of placing them on the model. This led to my having to reconstruct the decals while wet. Ugh. I made it work.

But wait – before all the decal work – I needed a flight stand! I made one with a 1/4″ wooden dowel, green stuff, and a 2″ acrylic base. I carefully carved out a hole on the model to accommodate the stand.

Then it was on to applying decals as best as I could.

Mid-stage with the decals. The tail and rudder ones were really finicky.

Finally the planes were done. I also built a special travel box for the Avenger. For the other two, the original package blisters served that purpose.

All three planes for the game, frontal view…

Upon completion, I could mock up the tabletop in the cellar in preparation for HMGS FALL IN! in Lancaster PA and EllisCon in Danielson, CT.

Mock up of the Tabletop

I used photos of this mock up in my cellar to guide its recreation at both upcoming gaming conventions.

First up, HMGS FALL IN!

HMGS FALL IN! 2025 PHOTOS OF THE GAME

The game as set up in the H.A.W.K.’s room.

The players in my first game. It was nice to have my Wargame Wingman Leif Magnuson in the game. Several Maine Historical Wargame Association members joined as well! As I am also a member of MHWA, that was VERY cool.

The French tanks and armored cars were cautious about leaving a town here.

The US then deployed air, achieved superiority, and brought on the Avenger.

The F4F Wildcat about to dispatch the Dewoitine D.520.

While US vehicles burn in the background, the Avenger deploys, and calls in naval gunfire…

With that, the US won the first game I ran.

In the second game, the tables turned. The US never got going very well. Or, perhaps, the French were very lucky. Take your pick. I don’t have any photos of that game (apologies) – but it was a complete French victory.

Next up, one week later, was EllisCon.

EllisCon 2025 Photos

Here I also ran the game twice.

The first game at EllisCon had 4 players. Leif joined us again for both games. Here he strategizes for the French with his teammate Brian.

A Laffly S15 TOE armored car is hit and burns early in the game.

The US players are then hit hard, as the M5 Stuart “Beast”, and M3A1 Scout Car “Annie” are destroyed. The M3 GMC “Hurricane” takes cover in a brush firing position.

Once again, though at a different convention, the Vichy armor looks to leave the town safely in the face of “Hurricane”.

An AMC Schneider P16 (the old armored car on right) uses its 37mm gun to destroy the M5 Stuart “Beast”.

The FT-17 ” Marechal Foch” is taken out near r=the end of the game.

At the end, the Vichy claimed a victory, as their Tanker Bucks were more than the Americans total.

In game two, the fortunes reversed yet again. Leif played again and was joined on the other side by Gregg Belevick. Both were involved in my initial play testing of this scenario.

The players discuss their game strategies.

The French players move up – and Gregg has a twinkle in his eye – does he have a plan?

Yours truly GM’s the game. Photo courtesy of David DeVeau

I guess Gregg did have a plan – naval gunfire! Convention history repeats itself as 5 Vichy vehicles burn on the Moroccan sand.

The US won this game with the last barrage destroying 1/3 of the Vichy force deployed at the time. A massive US victory!

I really like this scenario. So far, the victories have been 3 for each side. It seems pretty fairly balanced. It’s fun and highlights a little-known part of WWII. It’s likely coming again to a convention in 2026.

I list the paints that I used for the roads at the end of this blog post. For my records, I am sharing these materials I use for these projects with you, dear reader. You’ll see the list below detailing the process and materials for both the roads/bases and the Avenger torpedo bomber.

I hope that you found this tale of my journey interesting. If you do use my rules modifications, again please let me know how they worked out. If you have any questions, certainly throw them at me. I’d also enjoy any feedback on the work or this post in the comments section. Thanks in advance for that.

Lastly, I have compiled all of my posts on WWII games and projects. There is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE DIRT ROADS:

TrafficMaster Rubber Floor Runner from Home Depot, SKU 1003092882
DynaFlex Ultra Advanced All Weather Sealant “Cedar Tan”, (paintable caulking)
Quikrete “All Purpose Sand”
Chinchilla Dust
DecoArt Americana “Cinnamon Stick”
DecoArt Americana “Deep Ochre”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Sienna”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Umber”
Apple Barrel “Burnt Umber”
Vallejo Thinner

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE TOWN BASES:

TrafficMaster Rubber Floor Runner from Home Depot, SKU 1003092882
DynaFlex Ultra Advanced All Weather Sealant “Cedar Tan”, (paintable caulking)
Quikrete “All Purpose Sand”
Chinchilla Dust
DecoArt Americana “Cinnamon Stick”
DecoArt Americana “Deep Ochre”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Sienna”
DecoArt Americana “Raw Umber”
Apple Barrel “Burnt Umber”
Vallejo Thinner
Liquitex “Burnt Umber” (ink)

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE AIRFIX AVENGER TBM-3 MODEL:

Airfix Grumman Avenger TBM-3 1:72 plastic model kit
Tamiya “Extra Thin Cement”
Vallejo Surface Primer “USA Olive Drab”
Vallejo Surface Primer “Sun Yellow”
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Dark Yellow”
Vallejo Surface Primer “Leather Brown”
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
P3 “Midland Flesh”
Army Painter “Soft Tone” (wash)
P3 “Flesh Wash”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Prussian Blue”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
Hataka “Gris Clair Neutre”
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Pure White”
Vallejo Model Air “Black Metallic”
Tamiya “XF-16 Flat Aluminum”
Green Stuff
Vallejo Model Air Metallic “Signal Red”
Vallejo Model Color “Red”
Vallejo “Mecha Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Thinner
Citadel “Nuln Oil Gloss” (shade/wash)
1/4″ square wooden dowel
2″ Clear acrylic disk
2″ steel washer
Gorilla Glue
Microscale Industries “Liquid Decal Film”
Avenger decals from eBay
Microscale Industries “Micro Set”
Microscale Industries “Micro Sol”

Thanks for looking!

M5 Stuart tanks for “Operation Torch: Vichy Mounts an Armored Counterattack” Game

I promised back in August that I would post about my US M5 Stuart tanks. These would be the linchpin of my US forces in my “Operation Torch: Vichy Mounts an Armored Counterattack” games.

Yes, the US and UK did briefly engage French forces of Vichy in North Africa in WWII. After the US Operation Torch landings, Vichy did put up a resistance. Technically they were supposed to be neutral after the 1940 Armistice. However, the Soviets were dealing with massive battles on the Eastern Front, and the US/UK allies were not yet ready to successfully invade Fortress Europe. As the Dieppe raid showed, it would have been a catastrophic failure in 1942.

The idea was to take off some of the pressure on the Soviets by getting in the war somewhere and tie down the Germans. French North Africa became the chosen option, with the hope that the Vichy French would welcome the US/UK invaders as liberators and not invaders. For a brief period in November 1942, both of these two options played out in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria – until the French there decided to cease resisting the Allies. Subsequently, back in Europe, Hitler was enraged at the Vichy capitulation and ordered his forces to invade the remaining southern part of France that was not yet occupied.

Back in North Africa in November 1942, one of the more obscure incidents of the conflict was in Morocco – where the French 1er Regiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique launched an armored counterattack towards the landing beaches. At that critical juncture, the 66th Armored Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division (and Sub-Task Force Goalpost) had just 7 M5 Stuart tanks that it could cobble together to intercept the French. Their M4 Sherman tanks needed a port to unload, and that had not happened yet.

I found this article/post by Patrick Chaisson to be an excellent description of the combat that happened in November 1942.

As far as a concept for a wargame, I liked the idea of a game that would recreate this clash of armor – especially as one side was green as hell, and the other fielded such a hodgepodge of elderly and obsolescent armor.

I ran this game twice at HISTORICON 2025, along with two Wars of Ozz games. All went well. I hope to post some convention shots in my next post (albeit very late). Unfortunately golf season was very busy this summer (well, fortunately for my golf game and not my hobby projects). Still, I keep my word. I thought I’d add a bit about the game as well, while saving specific game/convention photos for the next post. However, the game is coming back!

I will be running the game again twice at HMGS Fall In this November. Here are the inks – one is on Friday afternoon and one is on Friday night. I can handle up to 10 players per game – and I can scale it for fewer as well. as of this writing, there are still slots available.

My game poster. It marks my first foray using AI (Freepik) to generate an image. I wasn’t completely thrilled with the result, but it’s OK for a flyer.

The game uses modified What a Tanker rules. The major modifications that I use are:

Using Bonus Attack Cards to simulate infantry, anti-tank, artillery, naval gunfire, and air actions. These are deployed by scout cars according to each sides’ historical capabilities. Bonus Attack Cards are purchased with “Tanker Bucks”, which also play into Victory Conditions. Having more Tanker Bucks at the games end is better. Yet, you need to use resources to take out the enemy. So, a balancing act exists for the players. Do they hoard their Tanker Bucks, or use them effectively against their opponent?
Representing the French vehicles’ advanced age and mechanical unreliability. “OLD” French vehicles that try to move and roll a 5 or less will lose 1 die to temporary damage. Mathematically, there is an 11% chance of that happening. So the Vichy Forces are indeed slow. But there are more of them, and not all of the French tanks are OLD.
Creating a way for armored cars to engage other armored cars – and tanks, with heavy machine guns or Bonus Attack Cards. Also I have rules that show how devastating any cannon fire would have been against thin-skinned vehicles.
Representing the US Army as being totally GREEN at this point in the war. Their base roll needed to hit goes from needing a 6 on 2d6 added together to a 7. Add to that the concept that most of the French vehicles are SMALL, necessitating an addition +1 to hit at short range, and another +1 at long range. Oh yeah, the Stuarts have just a 37mm gun. This means that the US has a tough time making damaging hits at long range against French tanks.
The US use of Bonus Attack Cards is limited to just the US and French Armored Cars. The M5 Stuart’s radios got wet during the landings and were not working. Many French tanks in North Africa did not have radios.
Use of Bonus Attack Cards also represented that the US had both carrier-based air support as well as naval gunfire from the USS Savannah. I added F4F Wildcat’s and Avenger TBF’s for US air support. The F4F’s can provide air superiority, which allows them to also do limited close air support missions. Having air superiority enables the US player to deploy the Avengers, which can act as spotter planes for both artillery and naval gunfire. The Avengers can also bomb the French vehicles with depth charges (yes that happened). The French can contest the US air superiority by deploying Dewoitine D.520’s.
Modifying the activation sequencing methodology by using Buck Surdu’s “Double Random Activation” method. It’s the same one used with Wars of Ozz, Feudal Patrol, and Combat Patrol games.

Back to the Stuarts. The M5 vehicles are 15mm/1:100 scale. I sourced them from two places. I got an OOP Flames of War 5-tank platoon (plastic) from Noble Knight Games. I also bought five 3D-printed resin models on eBay from HobbyHouse&Miniatures LLC. The plastic models were fun to work on, and I was glad to have the additional resin ones. Historically, 7 M5 Stuarts were sent to counter the Vichy counterattack. When I drilled out the resin models for magnet installation, two broke in half (not the fault of the model, just me. In the end, I had 3 of those, making 8 models in total, which was fine given that seven were originally sent along with some M3 and M6 tank destroyers.

I worked on the M5 tanks in parallel with the M3A1 Scout Cars and the M3 and M6 Tank Destroyers that I have discussed previously. I tried to incorporate the gold stars and US flags that were unique to that period of the war. I also decided to give the vehicles hand-painted names:

Honey (my Mom’s nickname)
Dragon
Beast
Killah
Ellen (my daughter’s name)
Tabitha (my granddaughter’s name)
Caesar (my late cockatiel’s name)
Lynn (for my ever-so-tolerant wife)

The M5’s without their turrets, showing the basing and details. I list the paints and other materials used at the end of this post.

The 22 US Army vehicles for my game in a Really Useful Box.

This wraps up this post on my 8 M5’s. If you have any feedback – please let me know in the comments section!

Lastly, for all of my posts on WWII games and projects – there is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE FIVE BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR PLASTIC M5 TANK MODELS AND THE THREE HOBBYHOUSE&MINIATURES LLC 3D-PRINTED RESIN M5 TANK MODELS:

Green Stuff
Paper Clip wire
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 16 (½” x ½”)
Wooden Blocks, steel bolts, steel washers, magnets, steel screws
Neodymium magnets (⅛” and ¼”)
Gorilla Glue
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement
Daisy BB’s
Plastic broom bristles
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Vallejo Surface Primer “USA Olive Drab”
Vallejo Model Air “Black Metallic”
Army Painter “Military Shader” (shade/wash)
Hataka “Vert Fonce”
Vallejo Model Color “USA Olive Drab”
Vallejo Model Air “Tire Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sea Grey”
Vallejo Model Air “Gun Metal”
Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
Vallejo Mecha Weathering Effects “Dark Rust Wash”
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Citadel “Agrellan Earth” (texture)
Army Painter “Mid Brown” (shade/wash)
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Blackened Brown”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
Citadel “Averland Sunset”
Vallejo “Mecha Varnish Gloss”
Microscale Industries “Micro Set”
Microscale Industries “Micro Sol”
Microscale Industries “Liquid Decal Film”
Battlefront US Army decals
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Citadel “‘Ardcoat”
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo “Matte Polyurethane Varnish”
Printed labels on card stock
Gamers Grass “Tiny Beige 2mm Tufts” (flocking)
PVA Glue

US Vehicles for Operation Torch: TANK DESTROYERS – M3 GMC’s and M6 GMC Fargo’s

The US Army had a lot of catching up to do at the start of World War II. This was true both in terms of vehicles and doctrine in the way of armored warfare. This included anti-tank units.

Initially, the US Army experienced internal squabbles about anti-tank troops and control. These were among the infantry, cavalry, and artillery branches. They disputed over which would control what were then-called “anti-tank battalions”. Interestingly, the Armor Branch (created in 1940) had little interest in that fight. It desired to stay focused on offensive operations.

The September 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers demonstrated the efficacy of anti- tank battalions. In June 1942, the Army created a new branch for this force. They also developed a doctrine to support their use (Field Manual 18–5, Tactical Employment, Tank Destroyer Unit). Tank destroyer battalions were then created and began to be fielded.

Developing doctrine is one thing – fielding self-propelled anti-tank equipment is another. When Operation Torch was launched, there were not any of the tank destroyers that you saw in later battles. No M10 Wolverines, M18 Hellcats, or M36 Jacksons – or even towed M1 57mm or M5 guns – took part in Torch.

Nope, at the start of the war, the US Army fielded just two models of tank destroyer. One was on an M3 half-track, which mounted the venerable 75mm Canon_de_75_modèle_1897. This combination was called the M3 Gun Motor Carriage (GMC). The other was the M6 Gun Motor Carriage (GMC). This was a Dodge Fargo truck with a rear-mounted M3 37mm gun. Defensively, needless to say, both of these types were not well-armored at all.

Offensively, while the 75mm gun could still pack an anti-armor punch, the 37mm was well on its way to complete obsolescence. Add to that the M6 GMC was rearward-facing. It would have to be turned around to fire, That would have been quite a challenge in combat. I imagine that it was inspired by the British use of portee anti-tank weapons. However, the main reason was probably the urgency of fielding something to fight in the anti-tank role. Add to that – US industrial might had not yet reached full production capacity seen later in the war.

But you go to war with the Army you have. Tank Destroyer battalions were formed, consisting of a headquarters company, a reconnaissance company (including a pioneer platoon – Engineers!), and 3 twelve-vehicle tank destroyer companies. Each company fielded each one platoon of M6 Fargo GMC’s and two platoons of M3 GMC’s. Each M6 platoon had 4 vehicles, and each of both of the M3 platoons had 4. These would see combat starting in November 1942 during Operation Torch.

At that point, doctrinally, tank destroyers were by nature defensive forces. They were supposed to blunt any enemy armored attack or counterattack – obviously by destroying tanks. This would allow for counterattack by US tanks and infantry. Operation Torch would be the first test.

For my What a Tanker games for Operation Torch at HISTORICON 2025, I needed both types of tank destroyers. For the M3 GMC’s, I bought 6 from Old Glory (SKU CD-223A) and assembled and painted up just 3. I also found one Battlefront/FOW model (SKU US101) at HAVOC that joined the mix. Now I had 4 M3 GMC’s for gaming. M6 GMC were not easy to source – and I also had never heard of them. So my friend Greg Priebe agreed to 3D-print some for me. You may remember that Greg printed the French vehicles for me I previously wrote about here. He made Panhard 175 TOE’s and Berliet VUDB’s for me.

Thanks again Greg!

I was able to put together 3 M6 GMC’s with what Greg sent me. I worked on these in June as well.

June was a crazy month – and I was able to get these together before HISTORICON 2025. As for photos – well you’ll see what I have.

M3 GMC

The three Old Glory models are metal, while the FOW model is metal and resin. all are 15mm/1:100 scale. Painting the crews was challenging (and fun)!

I painted them up with both gold and white stars. The gold stars were unique to the North African campaign. I thought they gave a more authentic Operation Torch look. Apparently in November of 1942, standardization to white stars was not yet part of the US Army’s official painting scheme. Unlike my M3A1 Scout Cars, I freehand painted the stars. I found they looked better than my decals. For more variation, I either painted the stars on the hood or the grills. Also, each got a name – I used the decals that I had available. The names of these were:

BLOOD N GUTS
DESTRUCTION
HURRICANE
LUCKY

My 4 M3 GMC’s. From left to right, BLOOD N GUTS, HURRICANE, DESTRUCTION and LUCKY (the only FOW model).

M6 GMC (FARGO)

These were all 3D-printed resin in 15mm/1:100 scale. I wish that I had been able to add crew to these. They were already so fiddly and small, that I satisfied myself with just having a driver. Even at that I had to do a good amount of surgery to get him to fit in his seat!

The M6 GMC’s washed after putting in magnets and ready for assembly and painting. I added magnets to each M3 and M6 to allow brewed-up markers to stick to the vehicles on the tabletop.

The M6 GMC’s shown here painted staring at the back end of my Berliet VUDB’s. The M6’s are awaiting basing work and varnishing.

Like with the M3 GMC’s, I gave names to these as well. These names were the only differentiator for these models. The names were:

BUCK (for Buck Surdu)
DUKE
TEX

A close up of two completed models. Here, BUCK is maneuvering into a hide firing position. It would of course have to turn around to fire. Behind is DUKE moving up the road.

While the M3 GMC was partially effective in North Africa, the M6 was not. Clearly, both were very vulnerable to direct and indirect fire. As time progressed, they were both replaced by self-propelled vehicles with turrets and better protection. The M3 GMC’s were converted back into half-tracks. The M6 GMC’s were stripped of their guns, and were later used as just trucks.

In conclusion, I had some tank destroyers for Operation Torch games of What a Tanker! I also hope that you enjoyed this post on my early war tank destroyers. All that I have left to share on this project are my 8 American M5 Stuart tanks. I will also share a bit about my games at HISTORICON.

What did you think of these tank destroyers? Did anything surprise you? Motivate you to get some for yourself? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section!

Lastly, you can find all of my posts on WWII games and projects in one place. There is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.

The next lists are what I used on these vehicles. I review these lists for my own uses on future projects. For some of you, they may also be helpful.

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE ONE BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR RESIN M3 GMC MODEL AND THE THREE OLD GLORY M3 GMC MODELS:

Green Stuff
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Vallejo Surface Primer “USA Olive Drab”
Gorilla Glue
Battlefront “European Skin”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 16 (½” x ½”)
Green Stuff Wooden Blocks, steel bolts, steel washers, magnets, steel screws
Neodymium magnets (⅛” and ¼”)
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Army Painter “Mid Brown” (shade/wash)
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Blackened Brown”
Vallejo Model Color “USA Olive Drab”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (shade/wash)
Vallejo Model Color “Brass”
Vallejo Model Air “Tire Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sea Grey”
Vallejo Primers “NATO Green”
Army Painter “Military Shader” (shade/wash)
Reaper MSP “Pure White”
Citadel “Averland Sunset”
Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Steel”
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash/shade)
Citadel “Agrellan Badlands” (texture)
Citadel “Agrellan Earth” (texture)
Vallejo Mecha Weathering Effects “Dark Rust Wash”
Vallejo “Mecha Varnish Gloss”
Microscale Industries “Micro Set”
Microscale Industries “Micro Sol”
Microscale Industries “Liquid Decal Film”
Gin Fritter US Army decals
Battlefront US Army decals
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Citadel “‘Ardcoat”
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo “Matte Polyurethane Varnish”
Printed labels on card stock
Gamers Grass “Tiny Beige 2mm Tufts” (flocking)
PVA Glue

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE THREE RESIN M6 GMC MODELS (FARGO’S):

Gorilla Glue
Green Stuff Neodymium magnets (⅛”)
Wooden Blocks, steel bolts, steel washers, magnets, steel screws
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Vallejo Surface Primer “USA Olive Drab”
Battlefront “European Skin”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Army Painter “Mid Brown” (shade/wash)
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Blackened Brown”
FolkArt “Champagne”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (shade/wash)
Vallejo Model Air “Tire Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sea Grey”
Vallejo Primers “NATO Green”
Army Painter “Military Shader” (shade/wash)
Citadel “Averland Sunset”
Citadel “Agrellan Badlands” (texture)
Citadel “Agrellan Earth” (texture)
Vallejo “Mecha Varnish Gloss”
Microscale Industries “Micro Set”
Microscale Industries “Micro Sol”
Microscale Industries “Liquid Decal Film”
Battlefront US Army decals
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Citadel “‘Ardcoat”
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo “Matte Polyurethane Varnish”
Printed labels on card stock
Gamers Grass “Tiny Beige 2mm Tufts” (flocking)
PVA Glue

Thanks for checking this out!

US Vehicles for Operation Torch: M3A1 Scout Cars

Now that I have shared all of the Vichy French vehicles that I completed on this blog, it is time for me to add the American models. These will also be used in my What a Tanker games for Operation Torch at HISTORICON 2025. I am starting with the American reconnaissance scout car – the M3A1 Scout Car.

It was designed and built by the now-defunct White Motor Company, with the chassis interestingly being a product of the Diebold Lock and Safe Company. It was a 4×4, and could do up to 50 mph on the road (80 kph). Many of you will notice how similar the M3A1 is to the M3 half-track. And for good reason, as the M3 half-track was a development of the M3A1 Scout car.

It typically carried a Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun plus up to two additional Browning M1919 .30 caliber machine guns. It was open-topped with armor on the chassis up to 13mm/.5″ in thickness. It could carry up to 6 soldiers in addition to the driver. A canvas cover was available for protection against the elements. The M3A1 was intended to be a reconnaissance vehicle, but its lack of protection made it less desirable than the M3 half-track in that role. In US use, it was relegated to rear-echelon uses after Operation Torch and Operation Husky (the invasion of Sicily). Over 21,000 were made, with over half of that number going as Lend-Lease, mainly to the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union.

I found David Doyle’s book, M3A1 Scout Car: The US Army’s Early World War II Reconnaissance Vehicle (Legends of Warfare: Ground, 8), very interesting and useful.

For my Operation Torch What a Tanker games, I decided that these would serve as the cavalry scouts that would run into those quirky French armored cars that I’ve been posting about recently.

Sourcing of the M3A1 models came from two different places. I got two Battlefront Flames of War models (SKU US 300) from a flea market at the HAVOC gaming convention in April. These models came with crew and machine guns. As the Battlefront model seems to be out-of-production, I needed to look elsewhere for more models. I went to eBay as a second source.

There from Wolverine3d.com I found models with the tarpaulin covers on. Given that a) these were different from the Battlefront models, b) there would be no crew to paint (saving time), and c) very reasonably-priced, I ordered 5, bringing my total available to 7 M3A1’s. They were not too crisp, and made of PLA plastic, but good enough for tabletop use. I started work on them all on May 23rd, and finished them on June 2nd. As I was hurrying to complete the entire project, photography of in-progress work took a backseat. I did work on multiple types of US vehicles concurrently as well. I judged doing separate posts for each type was better for me and you dear reader!

I cleaned up the models and washed them. For ease of painting I then mounted a small 1/2″ square steel base under each M3A1 model. This would allow me to use magnets to support the vehicles while I painted them. I also drilled out and installed small neodymium magnets (secured with green stuff) so that I would be capable of using my equally-magnetized blast markers on any that got brewed up in a game. As for crew- I used my alligator clip stand and some wood screws on them as supports – in a painful way for them (if they were capable of pain of course).

After painting I added decals and labels. Each M3A1 got a different name. Because in Operation Torch there was a mixed use of gold and white stars on US vehicles, I varied their application as well with some home-made gold star decals. They were ok – but not 100% to my liking, and you will see the different approach that I took on the other US vehicles (in future posts).

The seven M3A1’s before I added any tufts as final flocking. The bases are 1.5″ x 2″.

Once completed, I took a few photos of them assembled on my tabletop set up.

M3A1’s in convoy from the drivers’ sides.

Close up shot of M3A1 “Fierce”. Each Battlefront model had a driver and two soldiers in the back. I also replaced some of the bendy metal machine guns with plastic ones from another kit.

This wraps up this post on my 7 M3A1’s. Remaining are I have 8 American tanks and 6 tank destroyers to share. Which ones? You can probably guess – rightly or wrongly! What did you think of the M3A1’s? Did you learn anything? Maybe I motivated you to get some for yourself? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section!

Lastly, for all of my posts on WWII games and projects – there is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE TWO BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR RESIN M3A1 MODELS AND THE FIVE WOLVERINE3D.COM M3A1 3D-PRINTED MODELS:

Green Stuff
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 16 (½” x ½”)
Gorilla Glue
Alligator clips and stand
Wooden Blocks, steel bolts, steel washers, magnets, steel screws
Neodymium magnets (⅛” and ¼”)
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Plastic machine guns from Battlefront M5 Stuart Platoon kit
Vallejo Surface Primer “USA Olive Drab”
Citadel “Agrellan Earth” (texture)
Army Painter “Mid Brown” (shade/wash)
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Blackened Brown”
Vallejo Model Air “Tire Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sea Grey”
Battlefront “Tommy Green”
Vallejo Model Air “Ivory”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
Reaper MSP “Pure Black”
Battlefront “European Skin”
Vallejo Model Air “Black Metallic”
Vallejo Model Color “Wood Grain”
Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
Army Painter “Flesh Wash” (shade/wash)
Army Painter “Military Shader” (shade/wash)
Hataka “Vert Fonce”
Vallejo Model Color “USA Olive Drab”
Vallejo “Mecha Varnish Gloss”
Microscale Industries “Micro Set”
Microscale Industries “Micro Sol”
Microscale Industries “Liquid Decal Film”
Expert’s Choice Ink Jet Clear Decal Paper
Gin Fritter US Army decals
Battlefront US Army decals
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Citadel “‘Ardcoat”
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo “Matte Polyurethane Varnish”
Printed labels on card stock
Gamers Grass “Tiny Beige 2mm Tufts” (flocking)
PVA Glue

French Armor for Operation Torch: Hotchkiss H35’s, H39’s, and Renault R35’s

In November 1942, the Vichy French had a 8 division’s worth of troops in her colonies – from Morocco to the Levant. Under the terms of the Armistice of 22 June 1940, Vichy France was still obligated to defend its unoccupied lands as a neutral state.

And yes, they had more tanks than just the FT-17’s you saw in my last post. In addition to those old WWI relics, Vichy had Hotchkiss H35 and H39 tanks, as well as Renault R35’s. Both of the Hotchkiss models were “cavalry” tanks, in that they had been forced as a light tank on the French cavalry in the 1930’s (and later forced on infantry tank regiments as stopgaps). Contrastingly, the R35 was an “infantry tank”. After the Armistice, the Vichy Army had both types in the colonies. I did read somewhere that some R35’s were hidden away under hay bales behind horse barns to keep prying German and Italian officers of the Armistice Commission from finding them.

The H35, or Char léger modèle 1935 H, was a two-man tank, armed with the same cannon as the FT-17 (the Puteaux SA18 37mm cannon). The H39, or Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39, was a 1938 upgrade of the H35 that also got a better engine, and a newer and longer 37mm gun – the SA38 cannon, that supposedly had increased armor penetration over the SA18 (how much I cannot find!). Both variants were in North Africa in November 1942. There are only two observable differences to an outsider between the two models. Both have different engine deck configurations and the mufflers of H35’s point forward – while H39 mufflers point rearward.

An H35 tank. Note the engine deck and the forward-pointing muffler.

An H39 tank shown in Israeli markings at Yad La-Shiryon (officially: The Armored Corps Memorial Site and Museum at Latrun in Israel. Note the rearward-pointing muffler.

As for the R35, or Char léger Modèle 1935 R, it was an infantry tank under French Army doctrine. It too had a two-man crew, and was also armed with the Puteaux SA18 37mm cannon. It was thought to be slightly better mechanically than the H35/H39 variants. As the Armistice forbade Vichy from having pure tank units, these and the Hotchkiss tanks would be spread around into combined-arms units. These Vichy tanks and armored cars would play a role in Operation Torch in November 1942 against US forces in Morocco (and Algeria as well).

In gathering appropriate models for my What a Tanker game for HISTORICON, I started with looking for H35 and H39 metal or 3D-printed models in resin. I found a two listings for some on eBay. One was for Sarge_s Stuff – he had H35’s that could be bought individually – and I ordered 4 of them. The other site was the same one I bought the FT-17’s from earlier – jacobsminis (aka HobbyHouse&Miniatures.LLC). I ordered 5 from HH&M as that was the minimum order. The tanks from HH&M were (and still are) listed as H39’s, but when I got them I realized that they were actually H35’s. Unlike their excellent FT-17 models, some of these had printing errors, and I ended up using just 2 of these. However, I did use all 4 of the Sarge_s Stuff ones as H35’s. For H39’s and R35’s, I decided to rebase the ones that I painted a few years ago. I had 1 H35 and 3 H39’s (documented here) and 2 R35’s (documented here). I rebased all 6 of these.

This left me with 6 H35’s to paint to round out the tanks for Vichy (more armored cars would be coming!). As I was also working on many other vehicles at the time, plus running for reelection (I won), plus preparing for and attending HUZZAH, AND prepping for HISTORICON…plus golf…I was BUSY in April, May and even June and July. I am sure that you get the picture, and ironically I have few WIP pictures! But I’ll share what I have.

I used neodymium magnets and flat-head nail again to mount the turrets. The two H35 turret prints were slightly different, but I adapted with green stuff.

The 6 H35’s primed with the first desert sand color.

I used poster-tack again for masking/making camouflage patterns over the initial color. I did experiment with using Silly Putty as masking as I had seen someone do that – but it did not work for me. So I went back to what I knew would work – poster tack and touching up afterwards..

Then I applied a second prime with a NATO Green. Al paints are listed at the end of this post.

Now I had 6 H35’s. The third one from the left is one from an earlier project that I rebased, with the other 5 being new. The yellow is different on that older one, but ok enough I think for a game.

Now, I can share some limited…

Eye Candy

I am indeed – as promised – catching up on the posts I have backlogged for my What a Tanker Operation Torch game project- and yes there are more AFV’s to come. I do appreciate you, my readers. Of the eventually-painted 31 Vichy vehicles I had for the game, this brings me up to 24 Vichy combat vehicles that I have covered to date in this blog. I have 8 remaining Vichy armored cars to write about before I get to the USA. Those 8 will be the topic of my next post. Please, if you want, I’d love to hear any feedback – feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

For all of my posts on WWII games and projects – there is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THESE H35 MODELS:

Green Stuff
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
No. 19 x ½” flat head nails
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Neodymium magnets (¼”)
Gorilla Glue
Wooden Blocks, steel bolts, steel washers, nails, magnets, steel screws
Citadel “Agrellan Earth” (texture)
Vallejo Primers “NATO Green”
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Vallejo Primers “Desert Tan”
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Blackened Brown”
Army Painter “Mid Brown” (shade/wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Dark Steel”
Battlefront “Oxide Red”
Reaper MSP “Carrot Top Red”
Army Painter Speed Paint 1.0 “Dark Wood”
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Weathering Effects “Dark Rust Wash”
Vallejo Model Air “Tire Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sea Grey”
Vallejo “Mecha Varnish Gloss”
Microscale Industries “Micro Set”
Microscale Industries “Micro Sol”
Microscale Industries “Liquid Decal Film”
Flames of War French Decal Set (FR940)
Peddinghaus-Decals 1/100 2181 “World of Flames French tanks early war”
Citadel “‘Ardcoat”
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Citadel “Agrellan Earth” (texture)
Army Painter “Mid Brown” (shade/wash)
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Blackened Brown”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo “Matte Polyurethane Varnish”
Printed labels on card stock
Gamers Grass “Tiny Beige 2mm Tufts” (flocking)
PVA Glue

French Armor for Operation Torch: Renault FT-17’s

Vichy France had many different old or at least obsolete combat vehicles in their colonies. While more than half of Metropolitan France was occupied by the Germans, under the Armistice of 22 June 1940, Vichy was still obligated to defend its unoccupied lands as a neutral state.

As such, while Vichy was denied armored units, she was allowed to have integrated combined-arms units in the colonies – forces that had armored vehicles. These Vichy tanks and armored cars would play a role in Operation Torch in November 1942 against US forces in Morocco (and Algeria as well).

Abandoned / damaged Vichy French Renault FT-17 tanks are examined by curious US Personnel in Safi Morocco during Operation Torch – November 1942 – from https://www.reddit.com/r/WW2info/comments/17rn03o/abandoned_damaged_vichy_french_renault_ft17_tanks/

My last post covered two older (by November 1942 standards) armored cars used by Vichy forces – the White-Laffly AMD 80 and the Schneider AMC P16. Vichy also had tanks in North Africa, one of the most common was the WWI-vintage Renault FT-17.

For this post, I will discuss the venerable Renault FT-17’s that I built and painted up for my Operation Torch game of What a Tanker that I ran at HISTORICON 2025.

3,000 FT-17’s were built by France between 1917 and 1919. Indeed, she had so many old FT-17’s that the development and acquisition of newer tanks was negatively affected. Simply put, the French budgetary bean counters saw that the French Army had plenty of tanks available on paper, so why build too many more expensive ones? This would not bode well when May-June 1940 came around. Of course, French military doctrine was as least as equally to blame for the Fall of France (read BG Doughty’s The Seeds of Disaster: The Development of French Army Doctrine 1919-1939). After that debacle, Vichy did have many FT-17’s still in her colonies.

For my game, I had to have some FT-17’s. Historically, some were armed with the Puteaux SA18 37mm cannon, others with machine guns and even a very few with a short-barreled 75mm howitzer. For my game-design purposes, I decided that all should be armed with the 37mm cannon. I did have one completed 15mm/1:100 scale metal FT-17 from Peter Pig that I could rebase and use – it was described in my blog here.

To augment that, I purchased a 5-vehicle FT-17 platoon on eBay from jacobsminis (aka HobbyHouse&Miniatures.LLC). The tanks were nice crisp resin models. I ordered them on April 8th, and they arrived on April 14th. I started to work on them on April 28th (while concurrently working on all of the other vehicles for the project).

After washing the models, I drilled out and installed neodymium magnets in the hulls with green stuff. I also drilled out the turret bases to accommodate small flat-headed steel nails. These would work with the magnets in the hulls to both allow rotation and keep the turrets relatively secure. Priming and painting followed.

As I was working on many other vehicles, photo time got to be rare for me. Therefore, I do not have much in terms of WIP shots. I adopted the same airbrush painting pattern as I used for the Peter Pig model. The only difference was that I did not add a lot of mud to the tracks.

The main painting is done. You can see the turrets are semi-mounted temporarily on magnets and steel washers for painting purposes.

Then it was on to the decal and basing phases, which were like those that I employed and shared in my last post. I did end up with similar numerical decals on different tanks – but I did vary the sides and the other decals. Each one had a distinct name.

As an example, here is “MARECHAL PETAIN”. Each steel base is 1½” x 2″.

I’m sure that you’d like some better “eye candy”, so…

FT-17’s

“REIMS”

“MARECHAL FOCH”

“MARECHAL PETAIN”

“TYPHON”

“TOMBOUCTOU”

Group Shots

Below are all my FT-17’s, including the Peter Pig model on the front right. It has no name – but it does have mud!

Another view of the opposite side of the tanks – the Peter Pig model is on the bottom right here as well.

With terrible armor – yet the same 37mm gun as many other Vichy French AFV’s – these antique FT-17’s did indeed engage the US in battle in November 1942.

And an Instagram link for a video: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMwIOgMNcpD/

I do want to dedicate this post to my good friend Leif, who adores the FT-17 more than anyone else I know. When we play, it’s an easy choice as to which side he wants. He also helps me immensely at conventions – so this post is for you!

To all of you, thanks for looking! I will have share more Vichy vehicles soon. I eventually painted up 31 Vichy – and so far I’ve covered just 12 of them (6 FT-17’s, 3 White-Laffly AMD 80’s, and 3 Schneider AMC P16’s). More to come as I catch up. And there of course will be US vehicles. As always, if you want, I’d love to hear any feedback – feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments section.

For all of my posts on WWII games and projects – there is a consolidated list of posts and their links located here.

Next up – Hotchkiss 35’s, 39’s, and Renault 35’s. Until my next post!

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THESE FT-17 MODELS:

Vallejo “Flow Improver”
Green Stuff
War Games Accessories Steel Bases Number 23 (1½” x 2″)
No. 19 x ½” flat head nails
Neodymium magnets (⅛” and ¼”)
Gorilla Glue
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Wooden Blocks, steel bolts, steel washers, nails, magnets, steel screws
Vallejo Model Air “Dark Brown”
Vallejo Primers “NATO Green”
Vallejo Premium Color “Yellow Ochre”
Hataka “Vert Fonce”
Vallejo Model Air “Tire Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sea Grey”
Battlefront “Oxide Red”
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Weathering Effects “Dark Rust Wash”
Vallejo “Mecha Varnish Gloss”
Microscale Industries “Micro Set”
Microscale Industries “Micro Sol”
Microscale Industries “Liquid Decal Film”
Flames of War French Decal Set (FR940)
Peddinghaus-Decals 1/100 2181 “World of Flames French tanks early war”
Citadel “‘Ardcoat”
Vallejo Surface Primer “German Green Brown”
Vallejo “Gloss Acrylic Varnish”
Citadel “Agrellan Earth” (texture)
Army Painter “Mid Brown” (shade/wash)
Reaper MSP Core Colors “Blackened Brown”
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Vallejo “Matte Polyurethane Varnish”
Printed labels on card stock
Gamers Grass “Tiny Beige 2mm Tufts” (flocking)
PVA Glue

Battle Report! Battle of France, May-June 1940 (What a Tanker) – TotalCon 36, Chapter 2

This post covers the second game that I ran at TotalCon 36 in Marlboro, Massachusetts on the morning of Friday, February 25th. The scenario has the Germans are coming out of a wooded area and trying to break out through the French lines to the other side of the tabletop, and ostensibly on to the sea. The French of course must attempt to stop them.

I used the Too Fat Lardies What a Tanker Rule set with some modifications. The French set up secretly at any of 18 possible hidden locations (and letting me, the GM, know so that I can adjudicate issues without compromising the French deployment locations). The French tanks remain so hidden until they are spotted or if they choose to shoot their main guns or move.

The Germans deploy onto the tabletop on one of two roads that cross bridges over a river (treated as a minor or major obstacle depending upon where a crossing is attempted). The bridges may or may not be already successfully wired for demolition. As the GM, I resolve that secretly to add more “fog of war ” as a) the Germans may not detect if the bridges were wired properly or at all and correspondingly b) the French sapeurs (combat engineers) may or may not have wired the bridges correctly for successful demolition. The French also get one small minefield (3″ x 5″) that is rarely effective due to the What a Tanker rules. Also, the French use of mines was nearly nonexistent in 1940, mainly because of logistics. However, that small minefield is available there and that is also deployed secretly at the start of the game by the French. The picture below is my set up guide:

The Germans enter from the near side. The French deploy secretly on the circles (possible secret locations). The German’s exit crossing points are the two roads off-board on the far side.

One change that I made from my previous iterations of this scenario was to eliminate the use of poker chips for scoring and resource acquisition. I made “Tanker Bucks” instead. I had found that the poker chips’ values were not always easily understood (as not everyone hits the casino). I also had an excessive number of differently-colored file folders left over from various jobs that I had had before my retirement. I cut up the folders into same-sized an same-colored 3″ x 5″card stock using my paper cutter. I designed the Tanker Bucks in PowerPoint, using images of my 1940 vehicle models – and printed them off on the card stock on two sides with the same images:

These Tanker Bucks serve three purposes. First, score is kept with the “Tanker Bucks” – as the side with the most Tanker Bucks at the end of the game wins. Second, Tanker Bucks are earned by each side for achieving objectives. Third, they are used to buy resources such as new or respawning tanks, as well as Bonus Attack Cards (BAC’s).

Tanker Bucks are earned by a side by:

Knocking out an enemy tank or armored car earns Tanker Bucks (getting a 20% bonus over the initial cost of the AFV).
Reconnoitering one of the secret French deployment locations(by the Germans) or voluntarily uncovering one (by the French) both earn Tanker Bucks.
Successfully crossing the board to the other side earns the Germans a 20% bonus.
Gaining objective bonuses (French only). The French earn potential bonuses at the game’s end in two ways. First. and most importantly, by preventing the Germans from crossing the tabletop. That earns them $25 if none cross, $10 if only 1 crosses, and $0 if more than 2 vehicles cross. Second, they get points for any initial deployment points that have not been uncovered or reconnoitered.

Tanker Bucks are assigned to the team captain, but team collaboration in their use is expected. Each side starts with 100 Tanker Bucks per side or 30 per player, whatever is bigger. Both sides must start with recon vehicles (two SdKfz 231 6 rad for the Germans and three Panhard 178’s for the French. They each may also start with one additional light tank, and they must pay for them all out of their initial Tanker Bucks.

Here is the list of available vehicles for the scenario. Each side starts with all available scout cars, plus one light tank from the next category block listed here may be bought. Subject to availability, subsequent vehicles can only be bought from subsequent category blocks, until at least one vehicle has been previously deployed from each immediately preceding block. Once one vehicle has been deployed from each block, anything may be purchased. As an example, the French start the game with the three Panhard-178’s, and elect to buy an FCM 36 (the next category) in the “Light Infantry Tank” block. . Their next purchase or upgrade could be a Char B1 bis or a Char D2, but not a Hotchkiss H35 or H39.

Tanker Bucks are used to:

Buy new AFV’s or upgrade respawning vehicles. Respawning vehicles are replacements for ones that have been either knocked out or that have made it across the tabletop. If the replacement vehicle is of lesser value, there is a refund of the value difference. If the replacement vehicle is of greater value, there is an upcharge of the value difference.
Buy Bonus Attack Cards (BAC’s).
- BAC’s bring the combat effects of other arms or additional resources to a vehicle – at a cost of $5 per card.
- Buying them is a risk/reward proposition there are no guarantees what card will be bought. The Germans get a chance at a card giving them air support for example, while the French have no chance at that. Similarly, each card bought gives the French relatively more chances for infantry, anti-tank gun, or artillery support.
- Each recon vehicle can buy and have two BAC’s, and each tank with a radio can have one. These radios replicate the German historical communications advantage as many of the French vehicles have no radios and cannot buy BAC’s. The BAC’s cost $5 each, and are different for each side (see below).

Bonus Attack Cards are additional combat and logistical resource opportunities that can be bought as described below.

The list of BAC’s by side. These cards allow for the addition of resources – in most cases offensive support. Offensive BAC’s can be used as long as a tank has a current ACQUIRE and an AIM on a viable target. The others are self explanatory. As for the bridge cards, they allow the French to keep the Germans guessing as to if they tried to demolish a bridge – and to keep the French guessing if they failed because the bridge was defectively wired with explosives.

On to the Game! I am only mostly sure as to the end score for the turns here – so this is my best recollection of the action. I wish I had more photos, and my thanks to Mal for some of these.

Both sides hopeful at the beginning of the game – here you see the French players on the left and the German players on the right.

Turn 1

The French team (Mal, John, and Cameron) decided to not buy any tanks in addition to the three mandatory Panhard-178’s. They bought two BAC’s for each scout car. The German team (Steven and Leif -and later joined by Gregg) bought the two mandatory SdKfz 231 (6-rad)’s, plus a Panzer 35(t). They also got 5 BAC’s to distribute among them. All deployed onto the tabletop and a few BAC’s came into play as the hidden Panhards called in a few French infantry attacks that failed to hurt the Germans. Meanwhile, the Germans did some reconnaissance, searching for the French. The end of the turn found the Germans ahead, 54-47.

Turn 2

The Germans conserved their Tanker Bucks and spent the turn looking for an enemy to shoot. The French decided to get an R40 tank (Mal) and a BAC, as well as replenish their BAC’s used in the previous turn. No additional Tanker Bucks were gained for the Germans who tried in vain to find a French target – and barely failing to find Cameron’s Panhard in the woods. Notably, the Germans avoided either bridge, choosing instead to ford the river. Cameron, seeing how close one of the German SdKfz 231 (6-rad)’s was to his Panhard, activated it and slightly damaged it before getting further into woods where it was safer. With the French purchases, the end of the turn found the Germans further ahead, 54-32.

The opposing scout cars (Cameron and Leif) play a game of cat and mouse.

Turn 3

The Germans decided that given their lead, they could safely use their Tanker Bucks to jump to the next category and get a Panzer IVD for Leif, bringing them to 4 vehicles on the table. They did not buy any more BAC. The French were feeling poor, so they bought no vehicles or BAC. The French did uncover all of their vehicles during the turn to get a few more bucks and to move and shoot as well as to use BAC. They also attempted to blow the bridge under the Panzer IVD, but the wires fizzled. The Panhards did call in artillery fire that did cause some damage to the Panzer IVD. Additionally, from a hidden location, John’s Panhard opened fire on Leif’s SdKfz 231 (6-rad) and set it ablaze. On the German left, the French R40 took out Steven’s Panzer 35(t) with a side shot. The Germans were able to do more reconnaissance – enough to cover the cost of new – and now-damaged Panzer IVD. The end of the turn found the French catching up but the Germans still ahead, 58-44.

Mal’s R40 kills Steven’s Panzer 35(t) after it fords the river.

Turn 4

Both sides dug into their Tanker Bucks wallets this time. Cameron bought a Char B1 bis (pricey at $12) and a BAC and deployed this tank secretly in a covered position. The Germans respawned Steven’s lost Panzer 35(t) with a StuG IIIA plus a BAC. Leif bought a new Panzer IIC. Mal’s R40 called in smoke to cover his R40 from the approaching StuG IIIA. The Germans reconned more vacant French positions. The purchases on both sides found the Germans slightly increasing their lead to 51-27.

Mal’s R40 lying in ambush for Steven’s StuG IIIA after calling in smoke to cover him.

Mal then backed off a bit into a true ambush position.

Turn 5

The French went on an austerity budget, only buying a replacement BAC. The Germans got a new player, Gregg, to take over the Panzer IIC, and they also went a bit on a spending spree to buy a studly Panzer IIIE for him and 2 BAC. The French made progress! The previously-damaged Panzer IVD got taken out by the Char B1 bis, and Steven’s remaining SdKfz 231 (6-rad) got taken out by artillery. The Germans called in Stukas to hit the Char B1 bis, but missed. The Panzer IIC ran nearly the length of the table but did not get off the table. The French successes saw the score reversed to 41-28 in favor of the French.

Turn 6

Hoping to maintain their lead, the French spent nothing. The Germans respawned Steven’s scout car with a Panzer 38(t), and Leif’s Panzer IVD with a Panzerjager I. They also bought a Panzer IVB for Gregg. The Panzer IIC (Gregg) activated and crossed the rest of the tabletop, cutting into the French’s endgame bonus opportunity. Steven’s Panzer 38(t) with a magical roll of the dice hightailed it across the other bridge and neared the other side. At the same time another French demolition attempt fizzled, and the hidden minefield caused no damage to the Germans. Meanwhile, Steven’s StuG IIIA hunted down Mal’s R40 (which was trying desperately to stop Steven’s Panzer 38(t)). The R40 was destroyed by the StuG by devastating shots to the French vehicle’s rear armor. The French successes of the previous turn were vaporized. The Germans’ successes saw the score reversed to 52-41 in their favor.

A Panzer IVB crosses the bridge and approaches the Char B1 bis position. A German Panzer IVD and a SdKfz 231 (6 rad) burn in the background.

Turn 7

Neither side bought anything on this Turn. The Panzer 38(t) easily crossed the tabletop before the French could stop it, as did the Panzer IIIE. This effectively nullified the French endgame bonus. No further losses happened on the German side, but the French lost a few of their remaining vehicles (not completely sure which ones) as they desperately tried to kill anything German. The French got bonus points for uncovered deployment positions, but it was not enough and after applying bonuses the Germans had won 100-70.

I want to thank the players – who all said they had a good time. I will keep this scenario in my quiver – it is a lot of fun, though I will do a few minor tweaks on it. I also want to thank Leif for his help, as well as Bryan Clauss!

I also offered a prize for the game – a 1000-piece tank jigsaw puzzle, won by Leif in a roll-off.

This was my second game of the con – my first can be found here for those interested.

My 2021 Hobby, Gaming, and Blogging Roundup

2021 was another one that we all want to forget in many ways, but not all.

I set out some goals for myself back last December for 2022. Some were around gaming, some around hobby production, some were around golf, and more. Back when I was working in “the dreaded private sector”, I had sales goals to hit every period – be it yearly, quarterly, thrice annually, or whatever. Every manager would ask you for “stretch goals” – which was pretty unnecessary as the sales quotas you were given from corporate were never layups anyways. Still, it’s always good to have a plan and try your best. It’s also good to be honest with yourself and be accountable to yourself. Hopefully, that’s what I did with regards to my goals in 2021.

How did I do versus my 2020 goals?

Paint 250 figures or more

That did not happen, though my production was pretty good at 104. For three months I did not do any painting (August-October) as I was pretty involved with the new garage+ project.

Complete the figures and terrain for Civilizations Collide

I have to give myself full credit here – the building of the Aztec cityscape was an epic project. However, I still am finding that I have more to do as I develop scenarios for my Spanish Conquest scenarios booklet – so yes I built what I planned – I just have more to do to flesh out the other scenarios with terrain and figures.

Complete my figures for Wars of Ozz, ok at least 40 of them

Big miss here – did not get to them. I did get to play a game at Christoricon though – commanding the Greater and Lesser Pumpkinheads.

Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™.

Big miss here – did not get to them either.

Attend and run games at conventions or club nights or both, if possible – to include Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games, ***What a Tanker©* Battle of France May-June 1940, and Aztec games (live or virtually) for Feudal Patrol^TM using my “Civilizations Collide**” supplement

No retro sci-fi games or WaT games this year – but I did run multiple games of for Feudal Patrol^TM using my “Civilizations Collide” supplement, to include at Historicon.

Get my golf handicap down below 15

HA! I have hovered around 20-21 all year. I did get new clubs this year, and I won my flight in the Club Championship (and as a caveat it was the D Flight, but I am proud of that).

Play golf (in season) at least twice a week

I did do this!

The new G425 toys! I also got G710 irons.

Make between 30 and 36 blog posts of value and quality

As far as quality, I would judge them as up to standard (but that is the reader’s judgement, no?). Quantity-wise, I did 54, so that’s a “check”.

Get back on the Imperial Rebel Ork podcast

Well IRO euthanized his podcast earlier this year, so that wasn’t possible. Understandably, the man had a cabin to build!

Build a new garage

As most of you know, that is on-going, so not yet done.

Personal Highs for 2021

Continuing to serve my Town (East Brookfield, MA) as the elected Board of Health Chairman during the pandemic. Specifically, getting over 500 seniors vaccinated (1/3 from neighboring towns even), and getting nearly 100% of the 56+ residents vaccinations.
Completing the Aztec cityscape and bringing it to the gaming at Historicon – and playing with Harry (borderguy190 at War Across the Ages and Other Dark Horrors).
Getting together with Dave Wood, Buck Surdu, Greg Priebe, Chris Palmer, and Duncan Adams in person and on Zoom games. Even had The Imperfect Modeller on one game as an observer (which was cool).
Winning my flight in the club championship at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Oakham, MA.
Having fun Zoom chats with Luke (IRO), Dave (The Imperfect Modeller), Dave (Wargames Terrain Workshop), Mike (despertaferres), and Pete (S/P Project Blog).
Getting the garage started and mostly done.
Getting together with family especially my daughter Ellen and my granddaughter Tabitha.
My wife Lynn, every day (seriously).

Personal Lows for 2021

One that comes to mind I’ll save for next year as it was 2022. Still a fresh wound.
That pandemic thingy from China, ’nuff said.

My goals for 2022

Well, its time to set my goals for 2022.

Paint 150 figures or more.
Complete the remaining conquistador figures for Civilizations Collide.
Complete the remaining terrain for Civilizations Collide, to include the brigantines.
Complete the remaining Maya figures for Civilizations Collide.
Complete the scenario booklet for Civilizations Collide.
Complete my figures for Wars of Ozz, ok at least 40 of them.
Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™ .
Try to get my Nomonhan WaT project off the ground.
Attend and run games at conventions or club nights or both, if possible. This would include TotalCon34, HMGS South Recon, HAVOC, HUZZAH!, Historicon, and BARRAGE .
Get the Mass Pikemen more active once the pandemic diminishes.
Celebrate my wife’s retirement (and mine belatedly) with a nice trip.
Finish the garage+ and launch that baby successfully.
Post on the blog 48 times or more – and in good quality.
Be a good blog follower.
Have multiple Zoom chats with fellow hobbyists.
Go to a golf school and get my golf handicap down below 18.
Play golf (in season) at least twice a week.
Win my flight in the Championship.
Be a competitive golfer.

Again, thanks to all who make the time to read this blog – Happy New Year!

Lastly, here follows a detailed list of the 2021 production. You can access more details here.

104 figures painted
0 figures cast
25 figures assembled
144 terrain pieces made or assembled
145 terrain pieces painted
1 figure or terrain piece conversions
1 creation or component sculpted or scratch-built
0 molds made
1,051 game pieces/game aids made and/or painted

2020 Hobby, Gaming, and Blogging Roundup

2020 was – HOPEFULLY – a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As we all did, I had highs and lows on the personal side of life, the hobby side of life, and the golf side and others.

First, my deep thanks for all of you who regularly follow this blog and share your feedback with me. My thanks also to those whose blogs I follow. Your work inspires me.

As readers of this blog know, I am currently knee-deep in finishing up my forces for Feudal Patrol^TM games. But I did set some goals back in January 2020 – so here I’d like to examine and share how I did – or did not do – versus those benchmarks, how my production was in 2020, how the blog did, and my personal highs and lows. I’ll also set some 2021 goals for myself. This is really to hold myself accountable here – and please know I’m open to any and all feedback.

How did I do versus my 2020 goals?

These are the goals I set for myself and how I did:

Games:

Run convention games at TotalCon, HAVOC, HUZZAH, BARRAGE, and the Fort Devens Game Day (and a few more maybe) –

I did get to run four games (at the time it felt like too many) at TotalCon before the pandemic hit – two were Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games – “Space Cowboys versus Giant Zombie Cosmonauts” and “Attack of the Warbots” with my mostly OOP collections from Archive Miniatures, Mega Miniatures, War Games Supply Dump (and my own creations). The other two were scenarios for What a Tanker© that I have created and discussed previously in this blog: Battle of France May-June 1940 and Normandy Breakout!. I also ran one Aztec game virtually for Feudal Patrol^TM using my “Civilizations Collide” supplement. The rest of the conventions never had a chance.

2. Grow the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club with new members and new GM’s

We had two gaming sessions before the pandemic – and we did add more members.

3. Support the Historical Gaming Club of Uxbridge

Well, that only happened until the pandemic.

Models

Build a suitable force of French and German tanks for the Battle of France scenario for 80th anniversary of this event.

I did accomplish this but did not get to run anything for the 80th in May-June. I did get to run the game at TotalCon.

2. Build 2 or more new platoons for retro sci-fi games of Combat Patrol^TM

Did not happen.

3. Start the Nomonhan project (or Khalkhin Gol).

Did not happen – but will eventually.

Other:

Complete a supplement for Feudal Patrol^TM for Mesoamerican warfare (Aztecs, etc).

Yes – this was a big part of my February and March. Civilizations Collide was published on the Sally 4th website and Buck Surdu’s website as free downloads. This is the accomplishment in 2020 of which I am most proud.

2. Be productive, but never sacrifice quality

Well, you dear reader can be the judge of that. I did paint 181 figures this year versus 153 in 2019. My project total was only 403 versus 775 in 2019, but I did a lot of scratch-building numerous game aids (410 to be exact while I only did 146 in 2020), so my production was different. Still, almost 181 figures is a lot!

3. Grow the blog and find new ones to follow!

I definitely did both of these. As for the blog, it grew by about 12% in terms of views and visitors, and my followers are up too. My posts were fewer by five – so that is something I need to work on.

4. Entertain my audience!

I think so – again – you are the judge of this, not me!

Golf

Get my handicap below 14 (if I have enough non-gaming time!)

I did not achieve this. As my golf summary page shows, I only got down to 17.4. I was able to achieve a personal goal in that I got my first eagle in June!

Personal Highs for 2020

Serving my Town (East Brookfield, MA) as the elected Board of Health Chairman during the pandemic. Duty called.
Getting my supplement for Feudal Patrol^TM published, Civilizations Collide.
Seeing my Mark 1 Sphere Tank brilliantly displayed (just yesterday!) on IRO’s blog.
Getting the eagle.
Getting interviewed on the Imperial Rebel Ork podcast.

Personal Lows for 2020

Losing my Dad in February. This was one month before the pandemic really hit, so at least he did not die alone. Miss him terribly.
COVID-19 Pandemic, aka the China Virus. ’nuff said.

My goals for 2021

Well, its time to set my goals for 2021.

Paint 250 figures or more.
Complete the figures and terrain for Civilizations Collide.
Complete my figures for Wars of Ozz, ok at least 40 of them.
Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™ .
Attend and run games at conventions or club nights or both, if possible – to include Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games, What a Tanker© Battle of France May-June 1940, and Aztec games (live or virtually) for Feudal Patrol^TM using my “Civilizations Collide” supplement.
Get my golf handicap down below 15.
Play golf (in season) at least twice a week.
Make between 30 and 36 blog posts of value and quality.
Get back on the Imperial Rebel Ork podcast.
Build a new garage. Well, pay someone to do that.

Again, thanks to all who make the time to read this blog – Happy New Year!

Lastly, here follows a detailed list of the 2020 production!

A list of my 2020 production

I do keep a running tally of my production:

2020 Total Miniatures & Projects to Date: 403

181 figures painted
0 figures cast
58 figures assembled
0 terrain pieces made or assembled
15 terrain pieces painted
3 figure conversions
0 creation or component sculpted or scratch-built
0 molds made
146 game pieces/game aids made and/or painted

January: 34 projects

Figures painted (9):
- 9 French tanks/armored cars painted for What a Tanker© for France 1940
  - 3 AMC 35 tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Old Glory (#CD606)
  - 1 Char D1/D2 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FFV10)
  - 1 FT-17 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from Peter Pig (#PP252)
  - 1 Panhard 178 armored car (15mm/1:100 scale), from Peter Pig (#PP25)
  - 2 Panhard 178 armored car (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FAC01)
  - 1 R40 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FFV13)
Figures assembled (14):
- 3 French tanks/armored cars assembled for What a Tanker© in France 1940
  - 2 Panhard 178 armored car (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FAC01)
  - 1 R40 tank (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#FFV13)
- 11 German tanks/armored cars assembled for What a Tanker© in France 1940
  - 2 Panzer 35(t) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#GFV28)
  - 2 Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-rad) armored cars (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#GE320)
  - 2 Panzer 38(t) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#GE022)
  - 5 Panzer IV tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Zvezda (via The Plastic Soldier Company (#6151)
    - 3 built as Panzer IVB
    - 2 built as Panzer IVD
Game pieces/game aids made or painted (11):
- 11 dashboards built for French 1940 tanks in What a Tanker© games
  - 2 Panzer IVA dashboards
  - 3 AMC 35 dashboards
  - 1 Char D2 dashboard
  - 1 FT-17 tank dashboard
  - 3 Panhard 178 armored car dashboards
  - 1 R40 tank dashboard
- 6 unit data cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
- 3 vehicle data cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
- 3 vehicle data cards updated for my Mark 1 Sphere tanks use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games
- 34 casualty cards made for my Retrovians use in Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games

February: 126 projects

Figures painted (11):
- 11 German tanks painted for What a Tanker© for France 1940
  - 2 Panzer 35(t) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from QRF (#GFV28)
  - 2 Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-rad) armored cars (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#GE320)
  - 2 Panzer 38(t) tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Battlefront (#GE022)
  - 5 Panzer IV tanks (15mm/1:100 scale), from Zvezda (via The Plastic Soldier Company (#6151)
    - 3 built as Panzer IVB
    - 2 built as Panzer IVD
Game pieces/game aids made or painted (115):
- 11 dashboards built for German 1940 tanks in What a Tanker© games
  - 2 Panzer 35(t) tank dashboards
  - 2 Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-rad) armored car dashboards
  - 2 Panzer 38(t) tank dashboards
  - 3 Panzer IVB dashboards
  - 2 Panzer IVD dashboards
- 104 “Bonus Attack Cards” built for What a Tanker© games
  - 50 German cards
    - 16 Infantry Assault cards
    - 6 37 mm anti-tank gun cards
    - 3 88 mm anti-tank gun cards
    - 7 Artillery HE Support cards
    - 10 Air Support cards
    - 3 Artillery Smoke Support Cards
    - 2 Radio problem cards
    - 2 Quick Repair cards
    - 1 Heinz Guderian Arrives! card
  - 54 French cards
    - 20 Infantry Assault cards
    - 7 25 mm anti-tank gun cards
    - 4 47 mm anti-tank gun cards
    - 10 Artillery HE Support cards
    - 4 Artillery Smoke Support Cards
    - 2 Radio problem cards
    - 2 Quick Repair cards
    - 1 Charles de Gaulle Arrives! card

March: 0 projects

I did a lot of research in March and wrote Civilizations Collide, a supplement for the upcoming Feudal Patrol™ card-based wargaming system from Buck Surdu. The supplement covers the Spanish Conquest, to include the Conquistadores, the Aztecs of the Triple Alliance, Aztecs of the Aztec-Chichimec Alliance, the Maya, and the Inca. I cannot quantitate this as a hobby project, but it certainly was one!

April: 19 projects

Figures painted (19):
- 12 Aztec Novice Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#WF AZ018 Novice Warriors II)
- 7 Power-Armored Frinx figures painted/repainted for Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games (25mm/28mm scale) from Archive (#2040)

May: 36 projects

Figures painted (36):
- 6 Aztec Eagle Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (25mm scale), from Tin Soldier UK (#25 AZ4)
- 6 Aztec Arrow Knight figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (25mm scale), from Ral Partha’s 1200 A.D. line (circa 1988), (#42-305)
- 12 Aztec Veteran Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#WF AZ017 Ixtlilxochitl’s Veteran Warriors)
- 12 Aztec Veteran Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#WF AZ023 Cuauhtli’s Veteran Warriors)

June: 2 projects

Figures converted (2):
- 2 Aztec Jaguar Warriors converted from incomplete blister pack #AZ015 Chimalpopoca’s Jaguar Warriors

July: 21 projects

Figures painted (21):
- 3 Aztec Veteran Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ012 Heroes of Tenochtitlan)
- 2 Aztec Jaguar Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ012 Heroes of Tenochtitlan)
- 1 Aztec Warrior Priest figure painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ012 Heroes of Tenochtitlan)
- 7 Aztec Jaguar Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ015 Chimalpopoca’s Jaguar Warriors)
- 8 Aztec Jaguar Warrior figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZ5 Jaguar Warriors)

August: 6 projects

Figures painted (3):
- 2 Aztec Command figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZG001 General as Snake Woman Priestess w/Drummer)
  - 1 Snake Woman General
  - 1 Drummer
- 1 Folder Bot 3000 figure painted for Combat Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Armorcast Terraform Terrain Ltd (#Folder Bot 3000)
Figures assembled (3):
- 2 Aztec Command figures assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZG001 General as Snake Woman Priestess w/Drummer)
  - 1 Snake Woman General
  - 1 Drummer
- 1 Folder Bot 3000 figure (aka Bender) assembled for Combat Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Armorcast Terraform Terrain Ltd (#Folder Bot 3000)

September: 28 projects

Figures painted (8):
- 8 Tlaxcalan Archers painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX4 Tlaxcalan Archers)
Game pieces made (20):
- 20 Skull tokens assembled for Feudal Patrol™

October: 89 projects

Figures painted (42):
- 8 Tlaxcalan Novice Warriors painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX2 Tlaxcalan Novices in Padded Vests)
- 8 Tlaxcalan Elite Warriors painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX3b Elite Warriors in Feather Costume)
- 1 Tlaxcalan Captain painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TXC01 Tlaxcalan Captain with Conch Blower)
- 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TXC01 Tlaxcalan Captain with Conch Blower)
- 6 Aztec Warrior Priests painted as Tlaxcalans for Feudal Patrol™ (25mm scale), from Ral Partha’s 1200 A.D. line, circa 1988 (#42-302 Aztec Warrior Priests)
- 18 Aztec Novice Warriors painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry Aztecs line (12 from 2 blisters of #AZ016 Novice Aztec Warriors I, 6 from 1 blister of #AZ028 Novice Aztec Warriors III).
Figures assembled (32):
- 8 Tlaxcalan Novice Warriors assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX2 Tlaxcalan Novices in Padded Vests)
- 8 Tlaxcalan Elite Warriors assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TX3b Elite Warriors in Feather Costume)
- 1 Tlaxcalan Captain assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TXC01 Tlaxcalan Captain with Conch Blower)
- 1 Tlaxcalan Conch Blower assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#TXC01 Tlaxcalan Captain with Conch Blower)
- 6 Aztec Warrior Priests assembled as Tlaxcalans for Feudal Patrol™ (25mm scale), from Ral Partha’s 1200 A.D. line, circa 1988 (#42-302 Aztec Warrior Priests)
- 8 Aztec Novice Warriors assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry Aztecs line (6 from 2 blisters of #AZ016 Novice Aztec Warriors I, 2 from 1 blister of #AZ028 Novice Aztec Warriors III).
Terrain pieces painted (15):
- 15 cacti/desert bushes painted, weathered, and flocked (from JTT Scenery Products SKU #441980)

November: 24 projects

Figures painted (14):
- 6 Aztec figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ021 Tloxtoxl and the Priests of the Great Temple)
  - 2 Warrior Priests
  - 1 Priestess of the Temple
  - 1 Priest of the Temple
  - 1 Aztec Command Group (2 figures)
    - 1 Aztec Captain
    - 1 Conch Blower
  - 8 Aztec Cuachicqueh (the “Shorn Ones” shock troops) figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZ006 Cuachic Warriors- body suit and back banner)
Figures assembled (9):
- 8 Aztec Cuachicqueh (the “Shorn Ones” shock troops) figures assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Outpost Wargames Services (#AZ006 Cuachic Warriors- body suit and back banner)
- 1 Aztec Warrior Priest figure assembled for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ011 Montezuma and Chieftains)
Figures converted (1):
- 1 Aztec Chieftain converted to one with a signaling drum from #AZ011 Montezuma and Chieftains

December: 18 projects

Figures painted (18):
- 6 Aztec figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#AZ011 Montezuma and Chieftains)
  - 1 Montezuma
  - 4 Aztec Chieftains/leaders
  - 1 Aztec Warrior Priest
- 6 Conquistador figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#SB012 Audacious Arquebusiers)
  - 6 Arquebusiers
- 6 Conquistador figures painted for Feudal Patrol™ (28mm scale), from Wargames Foundry (#SB014 Merciless Adventurers)
  - 6 Arquebusiers

Combat Patrol and What a Tanker games – My TotalCon 34 Recap

It’s been about a month since the last gaming convention I attended, and my how the world has changed. I cannot see how a large convention could be held right now (though Cold Wars indeed happened in Pennsylvania this weekend). There are a few upcoming gaming cons in obvious risk – and for now I think it useful to blog and paint and reflect back until this COVID-19 crisis passes (and that it will). Best wishes for health and happiness to all my readers all over the world, from the US to Australia to the UK, All across Europe, and Africa and Asia. Now with everything at a lock down or a standstill due to the coronavirus crisis, I thought it was a good time to write a post about the games at my last convention as a distraction.

I had promised you great readers a few battle reports from TotalCon 34. It was a very large convention with around 600 attendees. Miniature games were a smaller offering there compared to RPG, LARP, board games – and a number of other offerings with which I was unfamiliar!

The convention was held from February 20-23, 2020 at the Best Western Conference Center in Marlborough, MA. I had signed up to run four games – two on Friday and two on Saturday. Two were Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games – “Space Cowboys versus Giant Zombie Cosmonauts” and “Attack of the Warbots” with my mostly OOP collections from Archive Miniatures, Mega Miniatures, War Games Supply Dump (and my own creations). The other two were scenarios for What a Tanker© that I have created and discussed previously in this blog: “Battle of France May-June 1940” and “Normandy Breakout!“.

Running four different games in two days was a challenge (my vehicle was full of mats, terrain, and miniatures) but I pulled it off well enough I believe. I’ll share some photos and some descriptions of the action. I think the players had a good time. This post will be pretty photo-heavy.

The first game I ran was on Friday was “Space Cowboys versus Giant Zombie Cosmonauts“. I had four players (though I could have accommodated 9). It turned out that I had two seasoned gamers on the defending Space Cowboys side and two younger players on the attacking Giant Zombie Cosmonaut/Martian/Retrovian side.

02212020 TOTALCON Space Cowboys versus Giant Zombie Cosmonauts — My flyer for this game – the space on the right is for business cards to share information about my gaming club – the Mass Pikemen Gaming Club.

1 set up from defenders side — View from the defenders’ side. They must save the chemical plant from destruction or kill The Mind.

2 set up from attackers side — View from the attackers’ side. They must destroy the chemical plant in 10 turns or less.

1 SC vs GZC setup — The game set up at TotalCon 34.

2 SC vs GZC setup — Retrovians prepare to attack.

3 SC vs GZC setup — Close up of the chemical plant before the defenders deployed. I allow the defenders to deploy by any barrier or the chemical plant.

4 Retrovians attack — The attackers ponder their next move. The defenders moved and took up good defensive positions in and overlooking the wadi.

5 SC take casualties — On the attackers’ left flank, Retrovian fire begins to take its toll on the defending Space Cowboys (aka Texican Space Rangers).

6 Martians take casualties in wadi — On the other side of the table, Martian infantry attempt to charge across the wadi. Effective rifle fire decimates the Martians in the open. The stack of cards on the right indicates a pile of Martian KIA that ran into a hail of cowboy lead.

7 GCZ take casualties and move towards wadi — The Mind and its Giant Zombie Cosmonauts get close to the wadi, while Retrovians provide supporting fire.

8 SC squad runs away — The Retrovian fire is too much for one squad of Space Cowboys, which fails a morale check and skedaddles for cover.

9 Robo servo gun and Brasheer knocked out — Carnage ensues. A Robo-Servo gun is destroyed (black smoke), while another gun destroys a Retrovian three-legged assault pod. The fleeing Space Cowboy squad from the previous shot is in the upper left. The Mind is breaking through in the top center, but many of its zombies have taken hits to legs and are falling away from the advance.

10 Brain is killed — As the protecting zombies fall away, the platoon sergeant, Armando Garcia, jet packs next to The Mind in a desperate attack. The Mind had a 60% chance to react to the move and preemptively fry the Space Cowboy, but failed in the attempt. SFC Garcia fired his assault rifle and killed The Mind, ending the game.

The game was a blast. The defenders took up good positions but the attackers’ pressure was building to a decisive point. Unfortunately, The Mind became vulnerable and the defenders’ gambit worked this time. The players quickly got used to the Combat Patrol™ system.

The next game was later that night, when I ran “Attack of the Warbots”. I have run this game several times, and it always is a crowd pleaser.

02212020 TOTALCON Attack of the Warbots — My flyer for the game.

I had about 8 players for the game. The attacking Warbots made good progress initially in breaching the wall. However, the defenders jet-packed their bazooka-armed Star Ducks onto unprotected rooftops – and got pretty shot up.

1 Attack of the Warbots set up — The Biological Alliance is in an “Alamo” type of a defense, with a massive force of Warbots attacking from this side, and an allied Martian force (yup they showed up in this game too) from the opposite side.

2 wall is pierced — The Warbot on the far right uses a plasma beam breacher (basically a long disintegrator ray) to piece the defenders rusty wall. This kicks up a lot of smoke from the vaporized material. The Warbot that did this uses a lot of energy in the effort and is stunned for three turns while recharging (hence the multiple “stun” placards).

3 targets on the roof — More Warbot destruction ensues as they fire another plasma beam breacher through the Aphid position in the center.

4 Mark 1 Sphere tank stunned by attacking Frinx — Frinx cavalry (on glyptodons) armed with anti-robot arc weapons and blasters charge! They manage to stop a Mark 1 Sphere tank with a non-penetrating hit that stuns it at the walls edge.

5 The other Mark 1 Sphere tank attempts to flank — On the left Warbot flank, a defending Space Roo player checks to see if his RPG-armed Space Roo can engage the other Warbot Mark 1 Sphere tank. It could, and at extreme range knocked out the other Warbot tank.

5a end of game — The end of the game found the captured Warbot tank repaired and capable of driving off of the board. Therefore, a Biological Alliance victory!

6 After Battle — Happy gamers (and me) after the game are all smiles!

After this game, (which was around 11:00 PM+), I and some of the players cleaned this all up. As my next game was in the morning at 8 AM, I set up my Normandy Breakout! scenario for What a Tanker©! I have a lot of bocage (hedgerows) for this game as you will see. I got set up, and ambled off to my hotel room for a few hours of shut-eye.

02222020 TOTALCON Normandy Breakout! — My flyer for the game.

This scenario is as described on the flyer above, but to be clear, the Germans are in hidden positions across the board known only to them and the GM (me). Additionally, the exact force composition selections on both sides are done secretly, as each side buys vehicles and Bonus Attack cards with points. Each side starts with 200 points.

Points are earned by the Allies (US and UK) for successfully reconnoitering hidden positions (which could have either possible or actual Germans there), for knocking out Germans, and for crossing the board and breaking out. Germans earn points for unreconnoitered positions, knocking out Allied vehicles, and can get a game bonus for limiting Allied crossings to zero or no more than 1 vehicle. The Germans vehicles are more expensive, so their defensive benefits need to be offset by successful ambushes and an overall defense against any Allied breakout. I announce only who is winning at the beginning of each turn, but not the exact score – so as to keep the game feeling crew-focused.

I had between 4 and 6 players (some joined mid-game). The Germans went initially with two 8-wheeled scout cars (an Sd.Kfz. 231 and an Sd.Kfz. 233, a Panther D, and a Tiger I, all of which deployed secretly. They loaded up on Bonus Attack cards as well.

The US deployed on the left half of the board, and the UK/commonwealth on the right half. The US chose an M5 Stuart light tank (with recon abilities) and an M10 Wolverine tank destroyer to start, while the Brits took a Daimler Dingo scout car and an M4 Sherman. The Allies also maxed out their Bonus Attack cards possibilities.

1 Dingo and Achilles move out — The Americans move up their M10 Wolverine “Demon”, while behind a British Daimler Dingo recons a field.

On turn 1, the Allies spent 71 points on vehicles and cards. They successfully reconned 5 positions at 2 points each for 10 points, leaving them with 139 points at the end of the turn. The Germans spent 88 points on vehicles and cards. The German Tiger I ambushed and knocked out the British M4 Sherman for 14 points. At the end of turn 1, it was close – 139 to 126 in favor of the Allies.

On turn 2, the Allies respawned another British M4 Sherman for the destroyed one, and bought 1 more Bonus Attack card. This new vehicle was at no cost as the replacement cost as much as the previous loss (the Germans did get more points for killing that previous Sherman on turn 1). The M10 Wolverine rolled a great movement, and was able to breakout successfully, gaining the Allies 16 points and taking away half of any potential German end-of-game bonus for preventing Allied vehicle crossings. On turn 1, the US M5 Stuart had been able to move into a field and successfully recon a position where an Sd.Kfz. 231 was hiding. On turn 2, the Stuart activated first, and destroyed the German scout car, gaining 11 more points for the kill. The Germans for their part bought two more Bonus Attack cards for 10 points. Overall, the Germans had a weak turn, and only recovered 2 points by activating their Sd.Kfz. 233 before the US could find it. The successful M10 “Demon” crossing widened the score at the end of turn 2 to 161-118 in favor of the Allies.

2 Sd.Kfz. 231 is pursued by M5 Stuart with Brit M4 Sherman burning — At the end of turn 1, the M5 Stuart chased down a German Sd.Kfz. 231 in a field. The M5 activated first in turn 2, and destroyed the German scout car.

On turn 3, the Germans knew that they were losing, but not by how much. They made a bold move and chose an expensive new tank for a respawn of their lost Sd.Kfz. 231 – a Tiger II. The net cost was 18 points after “credit” for the “trade-in” in lieu of a free respawn of another Sd.Kfz. 231. Adding another Bonus Attack card brought the German spend for turn 3 to 23 points. The US player got a free respawning replacement M10 for the one that crossed on turn 2, so the Allies spent no points at all on turn 3. They did earn 6 points for reconning German positions. The Germans got a bit of revenge as a Panther activated and took out the M5 that killed the Stuart for 12 points, and the Tiger I moved to a crossroads and took out a second British Sherman for 14 points. The score at the end of turn 3 was 167-123 in favor of the Allies.

Turn 3 action – the destroyed the German scout car is the left. The Tiger I has moved to an excellent position at the crossroads and has knocked out the second Brit Sherman. The Panther (not seen ) was hiding at position “F”, and activated.

4 Panther avenges Sd.Kfz.231 by taking out Stuart — The M5 Stuart was no match for the activated Panther.

On turn 4, the Allies decided to get three more vehicles. Two were respawning ones for turn 3 losses – the US got a “free” M5 to replace the one killed in turn 3, and the Brits “upgraded” its second lost M4 Sherman to an M10 Achilles tank destroyer “Tabitha”. They also bought another M4 Sherman for a new very young player that joined the game, and a couple of Bonus Attack cards. The Allied spend was 24 points. The Germans only bought 1 card, for 5 points.

During turn 4, the Daimler Dingo had a fun time. It successfully reconned the hidden position of the Tiger II! Then, scared for its survival, it and its crew sped off down the road to cross the other side – gaining 7 points for crossing and thereby nullifying any potential German end-of-game bonus.

The Brit side then flanked the Tiger I at the crossroads with the M10 Achilles “Tabitha”. It took a quick flank shot on the German, and did some damage. It then called in the RAF (with a Bonus Attack card) which destroyed the Tiger I for a big 25 points. The Allies successes widened the score at the end of turn 3 to 177-118 in their favor.

5 Dingo finds Tiger II — Surprise! Daimler Dingo finds a Tiger II and takes off before it can be destroyed.

6 Young player and his Dad use a SHerman — A young player takes command of a Sherman for the US.

7 lots of action and Tiger I hit by USAAF — The Tiger I is destroyed in the crossroads by the RAF.

Turn 5 would be the last turn of the game. The Allies respawned another Daimler Dingo for the one that crossed in turn 4, and bought a couple more Bonus attack cards, spending only 10 points. The Germans were despondent, and decided to buy a Jagdpanther and a Bonus Attack card for 29 points.

The M10 Achilles “Tabitha” fresh off the combined arms kill of the Tiger I maneuvered for a rear shot on the Panther – and killed it for 22 points. The Germans tried to hunt down a fleeing M5 Stuart. It lined up a deadly point-blank rear shot on the Stuart – only to miss the shot. It was emblematic of the German sides day. After another position was reconned, the day belonged to the Allies. The final score was a lopsided 191-89 in favor of the Allies.

This was the biggest disparity in this game ever (and I have run it many times). In my opinion, the Germans did not keep their eyes on the objectives. They also did not effectively take advantage of their ambush positions, and left too many openings for the Allies, who maneuvered their lesser vehicles much better than their foes. With that said, all had a fun game.

8 Jagdpanther hunts M5 Stuart — Turn 5 – the M5 Stuart is missed by the Jadgpanther.

With some help from players, the tabletop was cleaned and it was time to take a break. I could have played a game but I decided to spend the next game slot relaxing as I felt a but tired.

My next game was on Saturday night – “The Battle of France, May-June 1940” for What a Tanker©. The scenario reverses the previous game a bit, with the Germans attempting to break through the French defenses and head to the channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium. There are also two different Bonus Attack card decks that I made for this scenario. I described this scenario in my blog previously here.

02222020 TOTALCON Battle of France 1940 — My flyer for the game.

I had originally 10 players signed up for this game, with 2 on a waiting list. I was disappointed that I only had 5 players show up – but it was fine. I had two German players and three French players.

Each side had 200 points at the start. Here again, the exact force composition selections on both sides are done secretly, as each side buys vehicles and Bonus Attack cards with points. Points here are earned by the Germans for successfully reconnoitering hidden positions (which could have either possible or actual French located there), for knocking out French vehicles, and for crossing the board and breaking out. The French earn points for unreconnoitered positions, knocking out German vehicles, and can get a point bonus for limiting German crossings to zero or no more than 1 vehicle. Similar to the Normandy Breakout! game, I announce only who is winning at the beginning of each turn, but not the exact score. This definitely keeps the game feeling crew-focused.

There are a couple more key additional nuances to this scenario. There are two bridges, and the French player can spend points to wire one, both or neither bridge for demolition. Any French attempts at demolition may be tried at any time, but are not guaranteed. They also get a “free” small minefield (that is not very effective) that is also secretly set at the beginning of the game. The French decided to wire the bridge on their right flank for demolition prior to the game, leaving the one on their left with the small minefield next to it. During the game (which I will discuss), the French did blow the bridge on the right, and were able to fool the Germans into believing that the other was wired as well. This rendered the minefield a non-factor in the game, but made the Germans attempt to ford the river.

The Germans decided to buy 2 6-wheeled Sd.Kfz. 231’s and a Panzer 38(t) on turn 1. They also maxed out on Bonus Attack cards for a total of 50 points spent. The French deployed in hidden positions (half the tabletop is designated as under the control of French cavalry tanks, and the other half (mainly the town area) is under the control of French infantry tanks. The French bought a Panhard 178 armored car, a Char B1 bis, and a SOMUA S35. Their initial purchases all had radios (some French tanks do not), so they were able to max out their Bonus Attack cards. The total initial French spend was 71 points, including the wiring of the right flank bridge.

During turn 1, the Germans drove one of their scout cars onto the right flank bridge, and the French successfully destroyed the bridge with the German on it, gaining 11 points. This also spooked the Germans to avoid the bridge as they feared it was also wired (and it was not!). After this the Germans were forced to use fords to attempt crossing the river. The Germans did successfully recon one possible hidden position for 2 points. The score at the end of turn 1 was 152-140 in favor of the Germans.

On turn 2, the Germans respawned a Panzer IVD for the lost Sd.Kfz. 231 at no net point cost. They also reconned a couple of French potential positions for 4 more points. The French bought an additional SOMUA S35 for the cavalry for 10 points, and uncovered three of their own positions in order to meet a table-crossing threat from the surviving Sd.Kfz. 231 and a Panzer 38(t). This gained them 6 points. The Panzer 38(t) is a fast light tank, and was able to ford the river, along with the other scout car. The French recognized this threat, and attempted to deal with it by activating its vehicles in the town. The Germans used a Bonus Attack card to bring down smoke and obscure their movements. The score at the end of turn 2 was 156-136 in favor of the Germans.

1 Sd.Kfz. 231 and Panzer 38(t) skirt the town — The Panzer 38(t) on the left and the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-rad) on the right successfully ford the river, fearing that the bridge was wired for demolition (it wasn’t). They get ready to dash off the table into the vulnerable French rear.

2 Germans plan their assaults and roll dice — The Germans get some excellent movement rolls.

3 Char B1bis moves out in town — The French react and send tanks such as their Char B1 bis to stop the penetration by the Germans.

4 German smoke screen blocks Char B1 — The Germans foil the Char B1 with a smoke screen.

On turn 3, the French hurriedly bought a Renault R40 for 8 points and tried to use it to stop the crossings. The French also bought more Bonus Attack cards for 15 points. The Germans bought nothing. During the turn, the Germans successfully crossed the Panzer 38(t). This despite the fact that at first the Char B1 crossed the smoke and missed it, and then the R40 shot at and missed it. This crossing earned the Germans 8 points, and limited the French end-of-game bonus chances.

On the cavalry side of the table, the Germans tried another smoke screen to protect a Panzer IVD as it crossed a ford. one of the smoke rounds hit the river mud and did not ignite – leaving a hole in the smoke screen. The French cavalry S35 did manage to shoot and damage the Panzer IVD on the other side, just after it forded the river. This pushed it back into the river. The French SOMUA then called in and then destroyed it with an artillery barrage using a Bonus Attack card, earning 8 points as well (and blocking that ford). The Germans also reconned another of the hidden positions for 2 points. However, the Sd.Kfz. 231 made it to within 1″ of the other side of the table – and the R40 had a rear shot aimed at it at turn’s end. The score at the end of turn 3 was 166-124 in favor of the Germans.

5 Sd.Kfz. 231 escapes R40 and Panzer 38(t) sees Char B1 — The Char B1 crosses the smoke and takes aim at the Panzer 38(t) – and misses. An R40 activated and missed the Panzer 38(t) as well. The Panzer 38(t) then rolled well and was able to cross the table. The German Sd.Kfz. 231 almost made it off of the table and was in the R40’s sights as turn 3 ended.

6 On other flank, bridge blows and fords attempted — The German smoke screen imperfectly covers the Panzer IVD after it fords the river…

7 Panzer IV knocked into ford and knocked out — The Panzer IVD is pushed back into the ford and destroyed by artillery and SOMUA fire. This blocks the ford (to the consternation of the following Panzer 38(t)!).

On turn 4, the Germans respawned the crossing Panzer 38(t) and the destroyed Panzer IVD for identical models, and added a Bonus Attack card for a total spend of only 5 points. The French bought 3 Bonus Attack cards in the hope of stopping the German scout car from crossing. The R40 activated first, and then missed the Sd.Kfz. 231. The German scout then crossed, ending any chance of a game bonus for the French and earning 11 points for the Germans. The score at the end of turn 4 was 172-109 in favor of the Germans.

I failed to get any more photos after turn 4 (I think I was getting tired!)

On turns 5 and 6, the French were getting desperate as they knew they had lost the game bonus. They bought an Hotchkiss H35, and a SOMUA S35 took out another Panzer IVD. The Germans bought a StuG III ausf. A. Both bought more Bonus Attack cards. The Luftwaffe was called in on the Char B1 bis and successfully destroyed it. That loss ended the game. The score at the end of the game was 159-89 in favor of the Germans.

Both sides played well, bu I have to say the dice abandoned the French at critical times. The Germans crossings sealed the fate of the game. It’s nice to see that both games results have differed each time and that no side has an advantage.

After this, I packed up with help (especially from Leif Magnuson – who was a BIG HELP THANK YOU!), and went home to sleep.

I hope you enjoyed these battle reports. Now that the COVID-19 is endangering lives, we’ll have to see if and when I get to run these games again soon. Let’s all hope for the best, and prepare accordingly.

Wishing all of you and your families safety and health!

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Overview of My Scenario Rules Modifications

HMGS HISTORICON 2025 PHOTOS OF THE GAME

Building Dirt Roads and City Bases WIP Shots

Aircraft Model WIP Shots

Mock up of the Tabletop

HMGS FALL IN! 2025 PHOTOS OF THE GAME

EllisCon 2025 Photos

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE DIRT ROADS:

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE TOWN BASES:

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE AIRFIX AVENGER TBM-3 MODEL:

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE FIVE BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR PLASTIC M5 TANK MODELS AND THE THREE HOBBYHOUSE&MINIATURES LLC 3D-PRINTED RESIN M5 TANK MODELS:

M3 GMC

M6 GMC (FARGO)

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE ONE BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR RESIN M3 GMC MODEL AND THE THREE OLD GLORY M3 GMC MODELS:

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE THREE RESIN M6 GMC MODELS (FARGO’S):

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THE TWO BATTLEFRONT/FLAMES OF WAR RESIN M3A1 MODELS AND THE FIVE WOLVERINE3D.COM M3A1 3D-PRINTED MODELS:

Eye Candy

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THESE H35 MODELS:

FT-17’s

“REIMS”

“MARECHAL FOCH”

“MARECHAL PETAIN”

“TYPHON”

“TOMBOUCTOU”

Group Shots

MATERIALS USED

PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS AND FLOCKING USED ON THESE FT-17 MODELS:

Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

Turn 4

Turn 5

Turn 6

Turn 7

How did I do versus my 2020 goals?

Paint 250 figures or more

Complete the figures and terrain for Civilizations Collide

Complete my figures for Wars of Ozz, ok at least 40 of them

Paint up a platoon from Wargames Supply Dump for Combat Patrol™.

Attend and run games at conventions or club nights or both, if possible – to include Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games, What a Tanker© Battle of France May-June 1940, and Aztec games (live or virtually) for Feudal PatrolTM using my “Civilizations Collide” supplement

Get my golf handicap down below 15

Play golf (in season) at least twice a week

Make between 30 and 36 blog posts of value and quality

Get back on the Imperial Rebel Ork podcast

Build a new garage

Personal Highs for 2021

Personal Lows for 2021

My goals for 2022

How did I do versus my 2020 goals?

Games:

Models

Other:

Golf

Personal Highs for 2020

Personal Lows for 2020

My goals for 2021

A list of my 2020 production

Attend and run games at conventions or club nights or both, if possible – to include Combat Patrol™ retro sci-fi games, ***What a Tanker©* Battle of France May-June 1940, and Aztec games (live or virtually) for Feudal Patrol^TM using my “Civilizations Collide**” supplement