Monday 16 April 2012

Kursk (North) - part 3

More of Tom's photos from the Kursk game. 
Panzergrenadiers of 5PD
The Luftwaffe's 'flying artillery' gets stuck into 70th Army's more conventional kind. The Ju-87s were in my collection but now aren't. The Russians were mostly built by Chris Kemp, and were at the time owned by Chris Willey and are now weighing down my own shelves. Clear? Good.
5 Artillery Penetration Division of 13 Army.  One of four artillery divisions present!
Behind the glamour of the Panzers came the plodding horse transport of the infantry divisions.  An SHQ metal kit built and painted by Wg Cdr Luddite.
The Soviet forces included an armoured train.
Soviet artillery spotters from 13 Army.
Elements of 20 Panzergrenadier Division prepare to advance.
An AA Regiment of 70 Army.  Model by John Armatys.
An overview of the western table near the end of the game.  Soviet armour (nearest) is in full flight, pursued by 16 and 14 PDs.

23 comments:

Paul said...

I am in kitbash heaven Tim. The eye candy is inspiring.

Is there nothing ROCO cannot convert!

Tim Gow said...

Paul
A profusion of dodgy conversions, cheapo die-casts and lots of ROCO. Never let it be said that I don't aim to please!

Don M said...

Very nice Tim and to quote my favorite movie concerning dodgy conversions, "they are just numbers, numbers!" It's all good.

Ross Mac rmacfa@gmail.com said...

I really like looking at all the toys. Just can't decide whether I really like the level of the game vs the size of the toys on a theoretical basis and should pursue trying something similar in the 19thC, or just the opposite.

Tim Gow said...

Don M
What movie would that be? Glad you like the toys.

Tim Gow said...

Ross Mac
I appreciate that the level of abstraction is a step too far for some. On the other hand, it does give me an excuse to field everything from riflemen to level bombers in one game!

Don M said...

That would be the worse movie ever made "Mega Force"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0kw9wpqQmg&feature=related

David Crook said...

Hi Tim (and Ross),

I have to go with Tim on this (and not just because he wrote the rules!)as the rules do give a much higher level of game than perhaps the models warrant. Having said that it does give a great excuse to have all the toys on the table which is surely no bad thing....;-)

It also means that kit from other scales that may be better suited to the action can be used - especially for buildings etc - as the foorprints are more map related than model based.

I would love to take part in a huge one of these - it appeals to the megalomaniac in me (and probably most wargamers if truth be told!).

All the best,

DC

Tim Gow said...

Don M
I shall watch the clip later..

Tim Gow said...

David Crook
Thanks for the kind words. Your comment shows a firm grasp of the principles behind Megablitz - the ability to field big units and fight proper 20th C battles while still using pretty toys.

Robert (Bob) Cordery said...

Tim,

Seeing these recent blog entries has made me remember how much I enjoyed the Megablitz battles I have taken part in.

I also noticed some of my rather poorly painted figures in one or two of the photographs ... and it made me realise that my level of skill hasn't improved much over the years!

All the best,

Bob

Al said...

Awesome collection of kit Tim

Ross Mac rmacfa@gmail.com said...

Tim (and DC) I did actually play V&B for a while with 54mm figures. It seems to me that sometimes using figures much larger than the ground scale actually helps reduce the risk of confusion as opposed to lets say games where a tank model represents a platoon or a company and one has to fight the urge to treat it like a single tank.

But I'm picturing something like the siege and relief of Ladysmith, all on 1 table with 1 stand per battalion/commando, and wondering if I would actually want to play it or would rather just think about it!

Martin Rapier said...

"But I'm picturing something like the siege and relief of Ladysmith, all on 1 table with 1 stand per battalion/commando, and wondering if I would actually want to play it or would rather just think about it!"

As Tim says, the level of abstraction can be a bit much for some players. OTOH I'm sure Ladysmith at a mere 1 base = 1 battalion would be fine, I did Koeniggratz with 1 base = 1 brigade....

Tim Gow said...

Bob Cordery
Your old figures still look good on the table - all I did was rebase and give them a blast of matt varnish.

Tim Gow said...

Al
Thanks Al - these games are a great excuse to field some weird stuff!

Tim Gow said...

Ross Mac
I rather like the sound of your Ladysmith game!

Tim Gow said...

Martin Rapier
Another classic case of fighting a large battle cheaply!

Tim Gow said...

Don M
That looks a truly awful film!

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

A collection to die for ;)

Nice work Tim

Tim Gow said...

Geordie
It hasn't killed me yet!

Chris Kemp said...

A fascinating glipse of a past game that I missed but would have loved to have been at.

Ross Mac's comment goes to the heart of using models for operational level gaming: What is missing in most of our games is space. On the few occasions when we have been able to raise enough floor or table space (Newark, Sandhurst, Wellingborough, Tradewinds) these games really come to life, because the visual gives you clumps of vehicles surrounded by wide open spaces. When the clumps aggregate due to insufficient space the visual effect is of a car park or slightly hysterical WH40K mega battle.

For me, this is where the visual dislocation of 1:100 toys on bases and 1:200 or 300 buildings helps. It tells you that "this is not a diorama".

Regards. Chris

Tim Gow said...

Chris Kemp
You were there in spirit Chris!