AndrewB - Big ol WWII bundle! 465pts!

 Back for another year, here I come with the traditional freak giant bundle painted(now to maintain for at least another week or so)!Locally, folks have been really excited about Bolt Action, especially big multiplayer games.  

Unfortunately, most of my bolt action forces are geared towards two player games, so I’ve been painting like mad.  Unfortunately, I completed 50 something Russians immediately before the start of the challenge, but then on the 21st, I sat down and painted a boatload of ‘Tractor Factory’ T34s for a Stalingrad themed game. Gotta love the ability to churn out armor with home 3d printers(that’s a theme for this post). These were a bit of a challenge, as I have no idea what they should really look like, but I figured overall brand spanking new coats of paint to protect from corrosion was probably best.  I also put a newly turned barrel on one, and muddied up the hulls on two which were used as transports for a couple squads of SMG guys.  

That game went over well, with requests for a Normandy themed game.  Naturally, this meant large forces of Americans and Germans taking to the table, with traditional American armor(Shermans and Stuarts), as well as some less traditional German AFVs. First, the Americans!

They’re all 3d printed, with additional resin stowage items I’ve had for years and finally found a good use for!   I attempted to freehand the normal stars, mutilated them horribly, and reprimed, starting over.  I got the tracks dirty after attempting a stippled lightening of upper armor plating, then hit them with a light dusty drybrush one of my local buddies swears by.  I’m not mad with the results. 

Okay, the center guy isn’t technically an M5, but the stubby 75 on the M8 has always been a favorite.  These had the same star issue, but the additional stowage and recognition panel or maybe captured flag on the Scott makes them quite fun and a table favorite.  

The German armor was quite fun, with their command vehicle being a StuG III, with a pair of Wespe and converted R35 tank destroyers mounting Czech 47mm anti tank guns. These were present on the Cotentin peninsula, and made for a breath of fresh air against the standard PzIVs and whatnot seen in the late war. 

As always, wargamers have to agonize over the pointless decisions, but I eventually settled on a two-toned scheme similar to the converted R35 at the panzer museum at Thun.  It’s always fun to try something different, and a similar dirtying up and dusty brush kept these looking uniform, like they’ve been rolling the same dusty roads in June of 44.  

You all know I won’t leave you without infantry, so I knocked out a bunch of American riflemen and a bazooka team I got years ago in a Kickstarter, I believe for Disposable Heroes 2.

 

Looks like a guy with an M3 snuck in there too!  These are painted to represent standard infantry from slightly after the invasion through the end of the war, so they’re a bit boring in their entirely green uniforms, but that’s okay, I’ll find some colorful stuff to put on the bench before long!  I based these guys with one of the mixes from Turf Warz, which I’ve really come to appreciate. These guys preformed admirably in today’s game, so huzzah for painted and based figures!

And now we come to every wargamer’s favorite subject, MATH!  I’ll double check, but to break it down, 25x28mm figures makes 125pts, and 17x28mm tanks makes for 340!  465 might be the largest total for a first post that I’ve ever made!  Lots of work over the past week, but getting them on the table immediately really brings a good feeling.  Now back to the table to keep up momentum!

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Wow, our first real points bomb of the season!

An amazing piece of hobby industry here, Andrew. Working on models for an upcoming game is always a great motivator, and we can certainly see that with your output here! Bolt Action is a great, fast system, and perfect for multi-player game, especially with the random activation system - keeps people on their toes. 

Your math is spot-on! Your output for this post is basically what I'm aiming for this Challenge - Wowzers! Well done.

- Curt