Hoboxes....

...are finished!

Loving these kits. Dinky and fun to put together and paint. Well done Warmill!

TTFN.

Eastern Front re-opened!

So, Nick and I decided to re-open the Eastern Front and so my Soviet soldiers stood ready to counter-attack the aggression of the invaders….. They were pretty much the same lists as last time we played as neither of us had done much to our armies. We also realised the last time we’d played was the final week pre-twins, so about 15 months ago!

So, my forces were going to be attacking 3 objectives and Nick’s elite FJ were going to defend 3 objectives and he got to remove one of them on the 6th, 7th and 8th turns, so I was going to have to get a move on to capture them.

Both our armies set up on the table and I sent a small platoon of 7 bases to sneak up the left flank to keep the defenders there honest and frankly everything else set up threatening the right flank. And then just steamed forward in a Warhammer type formation :) The wood is chock full of infantry and the armour are T-34/85s, SU-57s and SU-122s on the far side.

I did include air support this time and it either didn’t turn up each turn or only had 1 plane arrive – see the blue dice for proof!

Anyway, opposing the Soviet advance was a platoon of dug in FJ, 5 marders (horrible little things) and 4 P4s who appeared out of nowhere in ambush, but fortunately at long range given the Soviets swift advance forcing them back a little.

I couldn’t hit Nick’s forces due to the extra modifier from Hen & Chicks, so over to Nick in the shooting gallery…… which was utterly woeful as Nick’s brand spanking new dice deserted him. The upshot of 16 high calibre shots and an accurate mortar barrage was one wrecked SU-57 and 5 other chaps bailed out across the platoons (you can just see them standing behind their vehicles) as Nick couldn’t buy a Firepower test on 3+ to actually destroy anything….. The P4s, so stunned by their lack of success, failed their stormtrooper roll to get into hiding.

So, the brave Soviets shot back and the T-34s were outstanding – needing 5s to hit from 6 dice, they hit 5 times….. and passed all of their firepower tests on 3+ to add insult to injury. P4s all destroyed (mainly because they failed their Stormtrooper roll on the last turn). The Marders were taken down to the last vehicle, who then failed his morale check and ran for the hills. So, in the middle of turn 2, Nick had all of his armour destroyed and it looked grim….

My planes also decided to turn up and at least pinned the defending FJ platoon and my massive 25 stand infantry unit ran into the open and found themselves in assault range - Losing 5 out of 6 hit bases to defending fire wasn’t great though, but the asssult was on!

Only 3 bases made it close enough to attack and needing 4+ to kill, promptly rolled a 2, 2 & 3. Ah. Oops. The FJ counterattacked and got 7 (!) bases close enough to attack and only needed 3+ to kill bases. This could well embarrass the Soviets and ruin the attack…… but Nick promptly missed with 5 of the 7 attacks! The Soviets took heart and the swirling melee continued for a number of rounds (you keep having rounds until someone breaks off) and the upshot was only an HMG left to the FJ (who also lost their CiC in the melee) and the Soviets down to half strength. The Kommisar having to shoot one stand as an example to the rest of the platoon to make them hold their nerve in the middle of the fight.

As the dust settled, it appeared that my consolidation moves had accidentally claimed me the objective (the two teams in the distance hiding bravely behind the house) and Nick was unable to get anything close enough to the objective to contest it.

So, we got a game in, re-learnt some rules and Nick’s horrible turn of shooting followed by a great turn from my armour really put the FJ in a hole that they couldn’t getout of. Nick’s contempt for the Heer continues to grow as they let the FJ down yet again, the P4s in particular have always done poorly for Nick, so I think his idea of getting the FJ to crew his soon-to-arrive 88s is a good idea :)

Jump the queue.

I always try to have a clear pecking order when it comes to my painting queue but somethings are just too pretty to wait! Now everyone needs to wish the rain away so I can actually get outside to spray it!

Special thanks go out to the Silverback on this one. Ain't it a beaut!

Mock not......the OCELOT!!

'Coz he doesn't like it!

I got a couple of re-enforcements at Colours and I've finally gotten round to knocking them together so they can take their turn in the painting queue. The dreaded but badly named Ocelot with its uber-gun and the much more intriguingly named Dreamsnare. Hmmmmm mysterious!

I also picked up some Hoboxes. Nope! Not a new skirmish game involving women with dubious pasts locked in hand to hand combat but in fact a set of dinky sci-fi urban scatter designed to keep those annoying homeless 'Hobo' types all neatly tucked out of sight. As with the other WarMill sets I have made I found these to be fun to put together and are just lovely interesting pieces to have for the tabletop!

Welcome to Dreadball Tonight!

“Hi, I’m Bob Johnson”

“And I’m John Bobson, and welcome to another fascinating evening of Dreadball Coverage on the home of Dreadball ISPN1!”

Who’s on the slate tonight John?”

“Well Bob, it’s a double header between the Neutrinos and Dorxmund”

“Wow John, should be a great couple of games, with the fights as the Home and Away fans change places between games almost as entertaining as the action on the pitch!”

“Ha, ha, good point Bob, it’s great for the fans to be able to mix fighting with sports viewing”

“Mixed fortunes for the teams so far John, meaning Dorxmund get a while posse of additional players as the underdogs”

“That’s right Bob, just a shame only Jacks and Guards have turned up, Dorxmund have plenty of those already…..”

“Anyway, without further ado, here’s the first launch!”

“And that’s Garyth Bayull with the great pick up for the Neutrinos…. He runs up the side of the pitch….. he cuts inside…. He shoots for the 3 pointer with the Orx Guard in his face….. And he scores!”

“Wow John, that’s 3-0 to the Neutrinos in almost no time at all!”

“The fans are going crazy Bob and the ball is re-launched……Doxmund happy to have some possession here Bob….. and that’s a well worked move that’s netted the Orx a 1 pointer!”

“Well worth keeping the scoreboard ticking over John, especially with the Jacks needing to score little and often”

“So, on the re-launch, the ball is picked up by Mykul Owain and he’s off into the 3 point zone after a really deft pick up”

“That’s true John, he went longer than we expected there, the intervention of the coach on these first two drives with great play calls (DB cards) has really allowed them to push the envelope”

“And he scores!  Another 3 pointer to take it to 5-0 Bob”

“Wow John, this really is quick scoring and Dorxmund appear shell shocked”

“That they do Bob, but they aren’t letting it stop them and they’ve got the ball….. Oh no they haven’t, their jack has spilt it trying to pick it up and the ball is loose!”

“Terrible luck there John, but the neutrinos are onto it in a flash….. they line up the 2 point shot….. And they score for the 7-0 win in 7 drives!”

“I’m not really sure how to sum that one up Bob…..”

“Me neither John, but Dorxmund had better get their heads in the game as it’s the mirror match straight away…..”

“And look at all that cash Dorxmund have generated from this game Bob, that’s enough for more coaching (cards and dice) and leaving them a tidy sum for a rainy day”

“That’s true John, and the Neutrinos get more experience and more coaching (dice) out of the cash from the win”

“Just time for a quick word from our sponsors – Nuka Cola Corp – and we’ll be right back with you………..”

……….

“….. and welcome back Sports fans, it feels like only 5 minutes that we were last with you!”

“Errrrr, that’s because that’s exactly when it was John”

“Good point Bob, let’s get on with the action”

“So, John, with the teams still apart of experience, Dorxmund once again get plenty of help from extra players……but the striker still eludes them with only Jacks and Guards turning up with their boots”

“That’s terrible luck again Bob, they really could have used that striker”

“And the ball is launched!”

“The Neutrinos sat way back this drive Bob, probably worried about a first rush beating from the Orx Guards”

“I should think so too John – and it hasn’t stopped them as the lunatic Orx players have barrelled in and there are a host of players in the injury box and on the floor!”

“Ouch Bob, I don’t think that human jack will be out again”

“Not without his legs that Archibald Merriweather III has ripped off, John”

“Chalk him down as a casualty Bob”

“Lots of ineffective possession here John from both teams”

“Indeed Bob, especially as they’ve both spilled it and the ball is spending plenty of time bouncing around on the floor”

“another crunching tackle there and the Neutrino striker is surely dead after that hit!”

“But wait Bob, he’s got really lucky (skill re-roll) and the lucky rabbit’s foot on his armour has just managed to deflect the worst of that strike leaving him injured for a while”

“but the Neutrinos have it Bob and they’ve gone for a 2 pointer….. It’s in!”

“that’s a small crumb of comfort in a game with the most ineffective scrum of guards in the middle John”

“That’s right Bob, looks more like they’re holding hands and singing Kum-By-Yah as opposed to trying to hurt each other”

“Not what the fans paid to see John”

“That’s right Bob…..But they did pay to see this as the Orx cause another casualty and run the ball up for a 2 pointer to level the scores!”

“Wow, what a play John, the Neutrinos are now two players down and the scores level again….”

“Sounds like it’s time for someone to step up Bob”

“And here’s Mykull Owain John…. He picks the ball up….. dodges a couple of tackles…. Makes his way to the 4 point hex….. and with the coach shouting instructions he nails it!”

“That’s a big score so late in the game Bob – will Dorxmund have time to come back?”

“Let’s find out John… the Ball is re-launched….. and the orx are ignoring the ball and have just taken the head off the neutrino number 5!”

“A third casualty in the game Bob?”

“That it is John, these orx have really brought their A-list pain game to this one”

“And here’s their attempt to score at the death with a deft steal…… But the neutrino player dodges away and the final hooter goes”

“Close one John, only that one score separating the sides”

“True enough Bob, and plenty of neutrino players separated from their limbs too”

“Half a team for the Neutrinos to hire there John, but an absolute avalanche of cash for Dorxmund after that one – those jersey sales really went through the roof as the casualties mounted”

“That they did Bob and Dreadball is all about the money after all…… errrrr, and the game too”

“That’s right John, so here’s us signing off – thanks for tuning in sportsfans”