BLOODY OMAHA
THE BATTLE FOR OMAHA BEACH
D-DAY 6 JUNE 1944
Battlefront/Flames of War
The latest Flames of War supplement, Bloody Omaha, allows fans of this game system the opportunity to recreate the D-Day battle for Omaha Beach. Produced in full color, the book is yet another in the beautifully produced rules supplements. 60 pages.
The choices available to the defending Germans and attacking Americans are primarily infantry ones to include US Rangers; there are MANY different support weapons choices to allow the construction of an almost limitless amount of forces. The book contains the traditional painting guides, battle history, specific unit histories (and the guidelines to reproduce them) and two scenarios. The book is beautifully illustrated like all other Battlefront books with cool extras like a new hero (General Cota), how LCVPs were loaded and maps of the landing areas. A photo of a game board, specifically made for one of the scenarios, is just too cool! The part of this supplement that really sets it apart from others are the rules for beach fortifications – barbed wire, trenches, gun pits, tank obstacles and rocket launchers compliment the different bunkers to include anti-tank, light gun, HMG and tank turret bunkers! There are instructions on how to either make these from scratch or modify “Battlefield in a Box” bunkers. The tank turrets can be purchased as a set instead of having to cannibalize early war French tanks. These are really cool looking pieces to put on the table – even though they are static formations, they make really sharp looking figures. This book is another book that covers a part of the D-Day battlefield and promotes the opportunity for gamers to field more infantry based armies on both sides of the table. This and the inclusion of the extensive Festung Europa field fortifications makes the book a must for the Flames of War enthusiast.
http://www.flamesofwar.com/

40mm AWI, TRIDENT ROADS
The Miniature Service Center
When I was in college we had a phrase: “Go big or go home!” Well, the Miniature Service Center (MSC) and Trident Designs have chosen to “go big” with their 40mm Battleroad American War of Independence (AWI) figures. The AWI is an excellent period in which to game in 40mm as the number of troops on each side is small and few cavalry are needed.
A selection of colonial militia/minutemen and British regulars were made available for this review (of the approximately 100 infantry and artillery miniatures available). The figures were 35-37M on the Barrett Scale and only the grenadier standing firing had a molded weapon. All other figures had weapons for individual or both hands – the neat thing about this is that many of the hands are interchangeable (and the website shows nicely painted figures with different combinations for comparison!) The two-handed weapons fit perfectly into the arms of the figures, a compliment to the sculpting. The figures are beautifully sculpted with lots of detail and wear varied bits of equipment like canteen, ammo pouches, backpack, powder horns and spare pistols. Their poses are very patriotic and inspiring (or loyal and inspiring depending on the side you prefer!) Only five of the six figures are presented here as I plan to paint one using the techniques described by Sascha Herm in his DVD – I think the final presentation will look spectacular.Another very sharp things located on the MSC are the photographs that show the scratch built AWI buildings by Fred & Marie Carroccio. They are beautiful buildings that compliment a beautifully sculpted line of AWI figures.
http://www.miniatureservicecenter.com

ELEVATED AREA EFFECT TEMPLATE
(BLAST TEMPLATES)
Litko Areosystems
Litko makes a selection of clear templates with 3, 4, 5 and 6 inch radii so that even the most annoying rules lawyer cannot argue about which figures are or are not in the blast radius of your attack. Three 4-inch high legs that are held in place with two very small rubber bands support each template. This will allow the template to be raised or lowered to whatever height desired on the gaming table. The clear plastic really helps to clear up any discrepancies on the gaming battlefield. Another advantage of the range of selection is the ability to use the right radius as either needed or as able to be placed on the table due to terrain or other obstructions. Take care when removing the supporting legs is to hold on to the little rubber band as the leg clears the template or else the small rubber band will go into the oblivion where small parts tend to fly and never get found. Just in case, Litko has thoughtfully included some spare rubber bands, for just such an emergency!
Litko makes lots of other clear templates like 30, 45 and 600 fire arcs as well as lots of other cool things to help with practically all your wargaming needs.
http://www.litkoaero.com

BUNKERSTORM FIGURES
HOUR OF GLORY EXPANSION GAME
When you want a change of pace from the stealth and guile involved in the Hour of Glory’s (HoG) stronghold, their variant game “Bunkerstorm” is the ticket. Just the opposite of HoG, Bunkerstorm requires speed, audacity, skill and firepower to play and win. The original opponents in this expansion game are British and German paratroopers in five man teams.
The British Red Devils sport their characteristic red berets and wear little equipment on their web gear – expected of a force that intends to get involved in a short, sharp firefight! Their commander has a pistol and already has a target in view! Half of the remaining four-team members carry Bren guns and the other half rifles. They are a little more casually posed than their German counterparts, perhaps, reflecting a combination of bulldog and typical British calm. This should not fool anyone into thinking this team is a pushover as all Bunkerstorm teams are tough!
The Fallschirmjager wear their trademark brimless helmets except for their leader who has a hat made famous by mountain troops. The carry a little more equipment and are more aggressively posed. Like the British two have SMGs and two rifles; the commander (a lefty!) has a pistol. All are wearing jump smocks. Painting both the Red and Green Devils will be LOTS of fun for wargamers who like to paint their interesting camouflage schemes.
New teams are now available to play Bunkerstorm to include: British commandos, US Rangers, Soviet scouts, German mountain troops (my personal favorite) and partisans. The items available from the Warm Acre Forge increase all the time and are always worth checking out! And did I mention the limited time for the free postage?
http://www.warmacre.com/

HOUR OF GLORY
SENTRIES, GUARDS with SMGs
When I first got my Hour of Glory game over a year ago Gav and Wolfrik included the newer sentries with greatcoats. Some of them were so cool that I chose to use them instead of the standard sentries that can with the game (that is why the top photos include a mix of sentries with and without greatcoats!) Please check out the full review of the “Hour of Glory” game and figures from July 2007 for more information and details.
As in the previous review, the miniatures produced by Warm Acre really bring the game to life! All of the figures come with slotted bases and fit nicely into them though another option is to use the metal scenic bases that make it look like the figure is standing on a stony floor. The figures carry rifles, wear ammo pouches and gas mask container (one has a bread bag). All have the look of a man who has been forced to stand for hours upon end waiting and watching for nothing to happen!While the sentries are usually “targets” in the game, the guards mean business! These guards are armed with SMGs – initially I had wanted to use a few cool looking figures when I set the game up but chose not to upset the intent of the original game balance. Each has an MP38 and wears an assortment of gear – ammo pouches, gas mask container, bread bag, canteen and pack. If you are looking for a game that offers a change of pace to the usual shoot ‘em up style and requires stealth and wits (and some shooting!) HoG is a great choice and these figures really compliment the game well and make it even more fun to play!
For a limited time, the company is offering free postage across the pond - nice!
http://www.warmacre.com/

PACWAR JAPANESE COMMAND
JAPANESE STANDARD BEARER SPECIAL FIGURE
by Brigade Games
If you have Marines and Australians, you have to have someone to fight and Brigade Games has a wide line of infantry, artillery, machinegun and tank packs for the Imperial Japanese Army (though I have seen some painted up nicely to represent Special Naval Landing Forces). Some very neat packs include snipers and anti-tank teams. Like the Marines, these packs have a wide selection of poses, mix of equipment and headgear. Please refer to the “Brushstrokes” article in HMG Issue #8 where the Japanese infantry and some command figures were highlighted.
The command figures are very distinctive with most of them sporting swords or attempting to draw them. They measure 25M on the Barrett scale and are proportionally smaller than their USMC counterparts. All have soft hats with various amounts of equipment and really look amazing once painted up.
Brigade Games’ PACWAR line has now offered its second PC Deal figure – a Japanese flag bearer. Beautifully sculpted, it is a 23M figure, though this does not accurately reflect its height as the figure is leaning forward, charging across the battlefield. The figure is sprinting forward and is wearing a helmet and full kit – ammo pouches, bread bag, canteen, bayonet/scabbard with a rifle slung across his back. It is still not listed on the Brigade Games website but I anticipate it is available just like the John Wayne SGT Stryker figure – free! when ordering six PACWAR packs. This figure is unique and an excellent piece. It is definitely worth getting!
http://www.brigadegames.com/

More photos of the Japanese shirtless artillery crews firing from behind coconut log defenses (also available from Brigade Games) and the anti-tank teams assaulting a Marine flame-throwing tank.

PACWAR USMC COMMAND, INFANTRY
JOHN WAYNE SPECIAL FIGURE
by Brigade Games
Brigade Games has a wide range of figures for the WWII Pacific War (and recently introduced a beautiful selection of Australians – I got to see them before they were scheduled to be introduced at Fall In!) that permits gamers to play all sorts of scenarios in the Far East. They have multiple packs of US Marines to include command (the figure in the front left of the photo), infantry (the rest of the photo), a BAR team, raiders x2, machineguns, howitzer (gun and crew) and engineers (can anyone pass up figs with bangalore torpedoes, satchel charges and flame throwers?)
The Marines measure 27M on the Barrett scale and are very clean, making prep time quick and easy. The USMC figures come with a wide variety of equipment, backpacks, ammo pouches, canteens, shovels, etc. so that no two poses are alike in any of the sets they produce. The sets have a mix of advancing and firing poses, with mostly standing figures (I know most real marines would be looking for cover, but I really prefer standing to kneeling poses, personally). The detail on the figures makes painting very simple and fun – put on your favorite marine movie, break out the paints and try not to hum the Marine Corps Hymn!
From “The Sands of Iwo Jima” to your wargaming table, Brigade Games now produces the John Wayne character “Sgt John Stryker” to add new character to WWII Pacific island fighting. He fits perfectly with their existing USMC line. The figure is wearing standard Marine camouflage covered helmet, full sleeves and canvas gaiters. Equipped with a rifle, ammo pouches, two canteens and shovel, this leatherneck is ready for action! This figure is available for free with the purchase of six Brigade Games PacWar figures.
http://www.brigadegames.com/

Check out the cool shots from a game played using Brigade Games’ PacWAr figures. Here the Marines are storming the beaches of a Japanese held island.

GERMAN MILITARY POLICE
BRITISH COMMANDO COMMAND
BRITISH COMMANDOS
20MM Figures, Armour and Artillery
Figures, Armour and Artillery (FAA) have presented a selection of 20mm figures from their WWII line to include German field police and British commandos with command. My first thought when I saw these figures was what a nice objective marker/group the feldpolizei would make and, almost immediately, “Darn, I do not play WWII in 20mm!” The figures, especially the military police, are very nice figures.
The three German MPs stand as if guarding a checkpoint or ready to guide traffic each armed with a different weapon and each wearing different sorts of equipment. Two wear gorgets, the symbol of their authority. The commander rests with his arms on his SMG ammo pouches, looking on with an air of authority.
The British commandos have similar uniforms – all wear berets and backpacks, in fact, they appear to be quite heavily laden! The overall commander is easy to identify with his pistol; all of the other command section figures are armed with submachine guns. The rifle section consists of three riflemen and a bren gunner. All of the commando figures look like they are advancing into battle and all but one are standing.FAA appears to make a wide range of 20mm miniatures to allow wargamers to play in any early war theater of WWII. There are figures to support all of the major and many of the minor countries that fought in that great conflict – the early war is a particular favorite of mine and these nice looking figures make that possible.
http://www.figuresarmourartilleryusa.com

COSSACK MOLOITSY WITH SWORDS AND PISTOLS

Assault Group REN-083

Little Wars LLC

The extensive Renaissance line available from the Assault Group/Little Wars is truly complimented by the Cossack Moloitsy with swords and pistols pack. Moloitsy (boys) represented the bulk of the rank and file of the Cossack army who fought in loose order. There are four packs of Moloitsy and this one appears to represent the command section.
These figures, like the other figures in this line, are 27M (please refer to HMG Issue #7). There are four different poses all with swords and two have pistols. Their dress is as different as I have ever seen in a single pack of miniatures – the figure that looks like the overall leader wears a fir cap and long cape, advancing with sword drawn and pistol ready to fire. Another figure, also richly dressed, calmly smokes his pipe, awaiting the enemy. The third pose represents a poorer soldier wearing only shirt and pants and the last, while wearing some type of neck jewelry, is shirtless as he attacks his foes. This last figure reminds me of the Cossack envoy who gets impaled in the Polish Trilogy “With Fire and Sword”.
Like many of the other figures reviewed this issue, these figures practically paint themselves. They are beautifully sculpted and would compliment anyone’s collection of figures. The ability to choose almost any color you wish makes these figures lots of fun to paint. I can guarantee that these figures will be in the front lines if I can ever get my Polish Commonwealth army painted!
Leader cape – V869, uniform V841
Leader (pipe) – shirt V907/951, vest V970/969, pants V926
Poor soldier – shirt V819, pants V850Shirtless soldier – pants V874

http://littlewars.net

MARCH WARDEN/BORDER REIVERS
Vendel Miniatures
Vendel Miniatures make several lines of figures including those specific for Border Reiver period. Six different “families”, a raiding party, additional and the March Warden are produced along with many other items for this turbulent period in English/Scottish history (e.g. flags, mastiffs). Many of these figures are based upon drawings in the Osprey MAA 279 Border Reivers book illustrated by Angus McBride. There are sister lines to include the “O’Neils”, an Irish family just in case you wish to take the fight to Ireland.
The March Warden set comes with 5 horse and 26 foot figures. The riders include figures like the March Warden, a bugler and three lancers (one of whom I have used as my rider holding a bit of burning sod) and definitely fall into my “gotta have them ‘cause they’re too cool” category. The foot figures have an assortment of weapons, separately cast so that you can pick and choose who will carry what and to allow more variance in the figures. Both foot and horse figures are 28H and match very well with my existing figs from other well known US and UK companies. Another of the amazing things about this “family” is that all of the figures are unique! 26 foot figs = 26 different poses! There are two figs with pistols, 12 with muskets and another 12 with hand held weapons. The pack comes with more than enough shields and hand weapons from which to choose including swords, spears and halberds. While there was an assortment of trousers/pants, each figure sported breast and back plates as well as morion type helmets – well, they are the March Warden’s men aren’t they?! There was very little flash on the figures I chose to paint for the article. The figures were a breeze to prepare; the riders fit very naturally and easily onto their mounts without the need to trim anything. The faces are very animated with lots of detail in each figure making them a lot of fun to paint!
No warden would dare set out on a dangerous “Hot Trod” without the assistance of his faithful mastiffs. Vendel makes three different types; those included here were both resting and upright. These figures needed little cleaning and painted up very quickly with great results! Very nicely animated and aggressive looking, these fellows are a must for those autumn forays across the border.
Speaking of a “Hot Trod” and border reiving, Vendel provides a set of FREE rules entitled “Hot Trod and Red Hand” to allow gamers the opportunity to use these beautiful figures. Merely click on the “Border Reivers” icon from the website and the link to the rules is next to the first large photo on the page. All you need do is pick a family, paint them up and start picking on someone else!
The final picture is from a game I ran at the local Enfilade convention. It was a wild free for all and everyone had lots of fun! Here the March Warden and his men arrive to a scene of utter chaos – please note the scratch built bit of flaming sod on top of the spear.
http://www.vendelminiatures.co.uk/

RENAISSANCE INK INKS
Renaissance Ink
(This article is reprinted from the magazine in order to show more and larger photos of the entire process. The small photos in the magazine were due to my error completely. Also, the figures used are from Dixon's 25mm Old West line.)
While a wide range of inks are available, two main inks were examined here over varied colors and with different dilutions: blue ink over a mid blue color and brown ink over two shades of brown and yellow and with two different dilutions. Please note that the wash used only a single drop of ink so the bottle should last a long time.
I must admit that I used some assistance with this project as I have had limited success using inks before. I found that Ren Inks dilute and mix very well with water and, because they have a dropper type top, it is quite simple to guarantee the same dilution time after time (I also use a dropper to dispense my water). For all colors and washes I painted a plain base coat, applied the wash and finished with drybrushing. I was very pleased with the final results and were far better than those obtained with diluted standard acrylic paints.
Painting with blues can be problematic as the shadows really should be a darker shade of blue for the best effect. Using Vallejo 844 (Deep Sky Blue) I painted the cowboy’s shirt and let it dry before covering it with a 2:1 ratio (water to ink) wash of Ren Ink blue wash. Do not worry if it looks too dark at this point. After it dried completely, I drybrushed the original color over top and highlighted it with a light drybrush using a lightened original blue. You can see how the ink has left with darkened shadows in place without an unnatural look to the all over blue effect.
I used a similar 2:1 brown ink wash over Vallejo 953 (Deep yellow) and 843 (Cork Brown). The yellow shirt was painted exactly as the blue example though a very light painting with white could be used to allow for an even brighter shade of yellow, if desired. After applying the ink to the brown trousers, I felt I did not like how dark it was. The solution was quite simple – using an old brush (one that used to be pointed became useless for that and had the tip cut off to make a broad, rounded edged brush), I got it very wet with water and scrubbed it over the larger exposed trouser surfaces. In this manner, I diluted the original color, erased much of it and got a much more desirable final color. After drybrushing, the details of the pockets were more easily seen due to the rich shading produced by the ink wash.
For the final figure, the base color was Vallejo 825 (German Camo Pale Brown) and washed with two different dilutions of brown ink – over the front of the horse I used a 2:1 dilution and over the rear a 10:1 dilution to compare the final differences between the two wash strengths. After the final drybrushing, there is a subtle yet noticeable difference between the contrast of the front and hindquarters of the steed. Which method chosen will depend on personal tastes but either dilution gives a very nice shading effect.
Renaissance Ink inks come in white, black, brown, purple, green and blue.
http://www.renaissanceink.net/

HOUR OF GLORY
Warm Acre
Gavin Tyler and Wolfrik Galland have developed a board game that uses 25/28mm miniatures to simulate the infiltration of a German bunker stronghold by up to three Allied agents. The game is designed for up to four players, takes about an hour to play and has endless replay possibilities. The basic game comes with everything needed to play: beautifully illustrated Allied and German soldiers and player aids printed on solid card stock, dice, plastic supports for the soldiers and doors, nine thick panels representing the 10 rooms and a count-down timer (and more than I can write here!) Everything is very professionally produced and beautifully illustrated/colored – the room panels give the impression of a dark, dank bunker/stronghold complex.
Tired of shoot-em-up games where you must kill everything in your path? If so, this is the game for you – you can choose to be one of three Allied agents (British, American or Soviet) who must infiltrate a bunker stronghold and collect as much information as possible in one hour (hence the “Hour of Glory”!). The Allied object of the game is to slip past sentries to enter the rooms and collect the intelligence card found there. Special combinations score specific points similar to the army cards in Risk. The Allies can move in two modes: raiders (green base) or assaulter (red base). The raiders move more slowly, are tougher to spot and take less time off the clock. Their primary weapons are stealth/silence and a knife. Assaulters move more quickly and can fire weapons but are much easier to spot and, worst of all, can cause minutes to fly off the clock! The German player must thwart the Allied efforts – he has a selection of immobile sentries guarding strategic spots in the stronghold. These soldiers try to spot the intruders to produce “Alert” markers (as do the messy corpses of poorly dispatched sentries!) that the Commander attempts to collect – these “Alert” markers are then placed onto a board. These will accumulate and when an assaulter is located in the stronghold, the Commander can call “ALARRRM!” to activate guards equal to the number of the Alert markers already collected. Far from being passive, these killers move directly towards any assaulter in the stronghold!
The game is simple yet elegant – do you rush to try to open the lock or take your time, knowing that even if you pass part of the skill’s test time can tick off the clock? When do you move from raider to assaulter? Do you, as commander, try to quickly force the Allies’ hand by calling an Alarm as soon as you can or do you patiently pick up Alert markers to allow a massive response later on in the game? Everyone ignores the clock at his peril – it drops almost unnoticed until about the 20 minute mark when it seems to fly to the zero mark!
While the game comes ready to go as is, it really comes to life with the miniatures (28mm to the eyes) specifically produced for the game. These represent the owners’ first attempt at sculpting and the detail is good; it continues to get even better with each new release (a second set of sentries in overcoats, Fallschirmjager and Red Berets for the expansion game as well as cool figures like German Mountain troops and US Rangers.) There are even stone-like base covers that enhance the look of the final figures. The miniatures really make the game – truly adventurous people can construct their own bunker like the owners did!
Got questions about the game, rules or mechanics? Want to see other items soon to come out? The game is very well supported with an online Forum – questions are generally answered completely within 24 hours. There is even a free magazine (Killing Time II is already out – check it out!) and free player aids that you can download (and laminate for multiple game uses – hint, hint!)
I have run the game several times with each game being a “closely run” thing that was decided within a turn or two of the bunker’s entrance/exit. Everyone who played had a blast and enjoyed himself. This is a really fun game – with so many options, the replay ability is high with no two games ever going the same way! New releases, figures and scenarios are planned and the owners eagerly seek input from their readers.
http://www.warmacre.com/

I-94 DECALS
I-94 Enterprises
I-94 makes decals for 15mm, 20mm, 1/144th, 1/285th and 1/300th scales for almost any wargaming need. Each set comes with two identical decal sheets with both sides facing out so you can see all the decals; the number of decals varies from set to set depending on size and type of decals. Of the five sets I was given to review (for 15mm scale), the WWII Hungarian/Romanian Armor set (MI-110) has 160 decals (38 in 20mm scale), WWII US N. Africa (US-120) has 172, WWII German/Italian License plates (MI-109) has 190, WWII French armor (FR-101) has 310 and WWII German armor numbers (NW-101) has a whopping 340 decals!
Long gone are the days when I painstakingly painted the insignia on my WWII planes. It was a task I put off for as long as I could – my WWII armor still does not have insignia because I put it off for so long that I have not gotten around to finishing them completely. I have no idea what I was thinking. There are just so many advantages to using decals – they are a breeze to apply, they are uniform and they are inexpensive!
The advantage of using I-94 decals, especially for planes, is they provide different size decals in the same packet. The Hungarian/Romanian packet, for example, has 10 small under wing/fuselage and eight medium sized decals (there are obviously more in sets dedicated to a single, more common nationality like the US, UK, Germany, etc. – as an aside, one of the WWII German sets is the only one to produce tail swastikas without a circle around them).
Use whatever style you prefer to apply the decals and you will be very pleased with the results. You will find that the very necessary finishing touch of adding unit/national insignia is accomplished very quickly for little effort and cost!
http://www.i-94enterprises.com/

AN APOLOGY - since last summer two major reasons have interfered with timely product reviews in the HMG Reviewing Stand. The first, due to the extended length of time between HMG issues, prevented the publication of many of the items that were given to us last year. The second was finally being able to get home to my family; this cut into the number of figures I was able to paint for the magazine. As well, the Russian Civil War project turned out to be far more involved than I had first anticipated.
To those companies whose items still have not made it to print or to this blog site, I apologize. Over the next few weeks before Historicon, I will endeavor to get everything on the blog site and attempt to make a reference from the next issue of the magazine. Thank you, again, for your patience and support.
Michael Koznarsky