New Campaign

The invasion of Italy has commenced! Axis forces are proving stubborn resistance and Allied troops pay dearly for ever inch of ground. In an unnamed village in an Italian valley, the battle has turned to chaos. Allied and Axis positions are scattered without order and contact erupts into firefights with no objective but to survive. American commanders have sent the men of the 91st Recon Squadron into the jumbled fray. The mission is yet unknown, but the battlefield proves it will be no easy task.

From the Workbench

I was kit bashing today and this pose struck me.

"Paint me like one of your French models."

Early War U.S. Infantry Sneak Peak

2020 Painting Progress

Using the new year as motivation, I have been finishing long semi-completed figures and managing to take some new ones from sprue to base.

My brand new Fallschirmjäger squad from Master Box. These were a Christmas present and my first Master Box models. As always my skills can never do the sculpts justice as these are truly wonderful figures. Having seen the destructive capabilities of the rifle mounted grenade launcher in my last Fistfull of Lead game, I dug through old sprues until I found a Tamiya Kar98k with the attached grenade launcher. These veteran troops are armed to the teeth. With how poorly my 91st recon have been performing ( a single successful mission over four disastrous failures), there Germans may be too much for them to handle any time soon.

My only Japanese squad is completed! The soldier in the gas mask is carrying both a rifle and a knee mortar. Can't wait to see how I can use these on the table. However my pacific theater is mostly air support currently. The pretty models get my money when I should be painting what I have or buying what I can put on a table over and over again.

Russian Comrades from a half finished Tamiya box. With the wonderful Fistful of Lead rules, I see a three-way game in a destroyed German city between Germans, Soviets, and possibly my 91st Recon if they miraculously survive the Italian Campaign. Secret objectives would add an interesting twist. My Lincoln Logs may see table time soon to recreate a cluttered urban area. 

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    On the workbench currently are some Mediterranean Theater British troops, and a little custom project of mine. I hope to put together an early war American squad using Tamiya sculpts and ICM WW1 American Equipment. Could be some of the 50 Rangers at Dieppe. Could be hardened jungle fighters. And they might end up on the scrap plastic pile. Will keep you updated as always!

Massive Terrain

So I have an issue. I came into some massive terrain boards from a friend who is leaving the hobby. One board is 3 feet by 4 feet and is a Mars like planet scape. The others are a set of 6 modular 2 foot by 2 foot boards. If anyone is in the Kansas City area and is interested in buying these, let me know.

Fistful of Lead: Italian Front

Had a wonderful time playing Ffol at the club tonight.Our game set the American force on a mission to blow up a bridge somewhere in Italy. The vital explosives would be airdropped after two turns. I must admit I got very caught up in the game and so I took very few pictures.

My valiant men of the 91st Recon Squadron. I made an error on the cards. The sergeant should use d12s.

The dastardly German defenders. Same error as above.

 A bad drop left the explosives at the bottom of the river. My men would have to swim for it.

 Pvt. Phillips proves once again to be a valuable resource with his quick reloads and powerful grenade launcher.

Sgt. Cox makes a desperate swim for the dynamite, shaken, wounded, and out of ammo. He was the last of my squad left and routed the next turn. The next game went even worse, losing all five men without taking anyone with me. Still two wonderful games no matter the outcome.