Category: flames of war

Return to Vietnam

Flames of War will be returning to Vietnam…

Last year in Wargames Illustrated we tried something new and let a charge of enthusiasm for an exciting period, led by Pete, culminate in our first attempt at adapting the Flames Of War mechanics to other periods. The result was a wonderful success and with so many people getting excited about both the idea and the period we realised that it could not simply be a one-off. What we have decided to do is bring you Vietnam part II this April with a following instalment each year. The rolling plan has us adding to the forces, models and how it can be played. This has made us realise that Flames Of War Vietnam has become our second period and it will receive ongoing support.

Phil takes us back to a Vietnam in WI282 to bring you the armour and new helicopters for the US and the big guns for the PAVN. Rather than just taking up space in WI we decided to include the 48 page intelligence handbook as a bonus with WI so that everything you need to play is now its own book as well as being free. Phil being the excellent chap he is did not only get you new lists but included everything from the first outing we made to Vietnam so this booklet really has everything you need to play.

Read more

There are going to be a range of new models too, including tanks and the M113 APC with variants.

Quite like the models. Not so sure I will be buying into the era though. Apart from NVA and Vietcong infantry, the US seem to have all the firepower and armour (as they did in Vietnam). Then again I did enjoy Full Metal Jacket and Platoon, so maybe…

We will have railway tracks…

The latest issue of Wargames Illustrated  #281 has a battle report involving the Polish Armoured Train. Well it is worth seeing how big that train is… the more I think about it the more I realise that £52 isn’t that bad for the model.

Anyway, as well as seeing the Renault Ft-17 light tanks in the battle report too, the interesting thing that was mentioned at the end of the article was that an A4 box of pre-painted railway track will be released on March 20th.

There are three good articles on the armoured train in the magazine, one describing the use of armoured trains by the Polish army, a battle report using the armoured train and a modelling and painting article for the armoured train.

Update: Photo of the new Renault FT-17 tank.

15mm British Vickers Dutchman

I have had this tank for sometime. Don’t remember the manufacturer. It actually took me a while to work out which tank this was exactly… I used this site as a reference.

Mechanically similar to the Mark IV, though armament and other features were like the Mark II, the “Dutchmen” were a 1936 commercial version. 40 vehicles were sold to the Netherlands. All 40 were taken over by the War Office in 1939 before export. All vehicles were used for training only by the British Army. The term “Dutchmen” or “Dutchman” was an unofficial moniker.

Though never used in service, in the event of a German invastion (Operation Sealion) they probably would have been used to help defend the country.
After a bit of internet research I believe it is an old SDD miniature. Not convinced totally, but other miniatures in the box it was in carry SDD codes.

Thinking about it…

Initially when I found out that the Flames of War Polish Armoured Train was going to be £52 I was quite surprised and a little disappointed that it was going to cost that much.

However upon reflection and discussing it with Simon, I have come to the realisation that £52 is what I should have expected and prepared myself for.

The German Panther A boxed set with five Panthers has a list price of £41. Whilst the German Tigers Marsch which as well as some dice and tokens, contains five TIger 1E tanks has a list price of £48.

So to get four large resin models complete with extra turrets, £52 isn’t actually as bad as I made out it to be. I suppose I forget how much Flames of War stuff actually is these days.

15mm French Renault R35

The Renault R35, an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R 35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. Designed from 1933 and produced from 1936, the type was intended as a light infantry support tank, equipping autonomous tank battalions, that would be allocated to individual infantry divisions to assist them in executing offensive operations. To this end it was relatively well-armoured but slow and lacking a good antitank-capacity, fitted with a short 37 mm gun. At the outbreak of the war, the antitank-rôle was more emphasized leading to the development and eventual production from April 1940 of a subtype with a more powerful longer gun, the Renault R40. It was planned to shift new production capacity to the manufacture of other, faster, types, but due to the defeat of France the R35/40 remained the most numerous French tank of the war, about 1685 vehicles having been produced in June 1940.

15mm French Renault R35

Like some of my other models I am unsure of the manufacturer of this one. After a bit of internet research I believe it is an old SDD miniature. Not convinced totally, but other miniatures in the box it was in carry SDD codes.

I am going to use this one as the test vehicle for my Flames of War French tanks to try out different paint schemes.

Tempted though to paint as a captured German version.

15mm French Renault R35

Photo source.

£52 for the Polish Armoured Train


Well we now have a price for the Flames of War Polish Armoured Train.

£52

It’s a little more, well a lot more, than I thought it was going to be. To be honest I didn’t know or guess what it was going to be. I suppose I was looking more at £30-35 rather than the £52 price point.

My original idea was to buy it and convert it for use by the Germans or make a British version for Operation Sealion. I don’t have or intend to get a Polish army at this stage. I think at this time I might just leave it alone.

15mm Home Guard Bedford OXA

The Bedford OXA was a gun truck or improvised British heavy armoured car built during World War II by mounting an armoured body onto a Bedford OXD 1.5 ton truck chassis. 948 units were built in 1940-1941. The vehicle was used by British Home Guard units until 1942.

The vehicle was used by British Home Guard units until 1942.

As with many of my 15mm metal vehicles I don’t recall who the manufacturer was. After a bit of internet research I believe it is an old SDD miniature. Not convinced totally, but other miniatures in the box it was in carry SDD codes.

This is a solid whitemetal casting.

The next stage was to give the model a white undercoat.

15mm Home Guard Bedford OYD Armadillo

The Bedford OYD Armadillo was a Bedford OY fitted for airfield defence with Lewis guns and an ex-aircraft COW 37 mm gun.

This vehicle was used by the RAF for airfield defence and later the Home Guard.

After finding the side plates, the next stage will be a white undercoat.

As with many of my 15mm metal vehicles I don’t recall who the manufacturer was.

15mm British Cruiser Tank Mk III A13

The Tank, Cruiser, Mk III (A13) was a British cruiser tank of the Second World War. It was the first British cruiser tank to use the Christie suspension system which gave higher speeds and better cross-country performance, previous models of cruiser tanks having used triple wheeled bogie suspension. Like most British cruisers, the A 13 was fast but under-armoured and proved unreliable mechanically. Most were lost in the French campaign in 1940, but a few were used in Greece and the North African campaign in 1940-41.

I have had this tank for sometime. Don’t remember the manufacturer, though I think it may be an old SDD Miniatures model.

It’s made of metal and is quite well detailed. Hope to compare it with the Flames of War model soon.