Nice article on the Flames of War website complete with photographs of a Normandy Landings based game.
Category: world war two
WW2 British Army Dalek
If you watch the new Doctor Who trailer one of the things that you will find is a Dalek in British Army colours…
Interesting!
Space 1939
The ideas behind Space 1939 have been brewing for some time.
The concept is quite simple, take the Space 1889 universe complete with inter-planetary travel and transpose it to 1939 and the Second World War.
Why 1939?
Well it’s in the main because it sounds like 1889.
In this alternate world we have the same kinds of political machinations that we had prior to World War Two, but in this world you have æther flyers and liftwood armoured fighting vehicles.
As with any alternate history, once you have deviated from the history we know, it is highly improbable that the events that happen in our world also happening in the alternate world. In our world, World War Two was in many ways a direct result of World War One. Would World War One have resulted in trench warfare and the defeat of Germany if either side had liftwood based steam powered flyers.
Well the benefit of an imaginary alternate world, is that you don’t need to worry too much about deviation from the timeline due to the use of liftwood or æther flyers, but to just say that the alternate timeline followed a similar path to our own. If anything 19th Century space travel has increased the rate of technological change.
So it’s 1939 and the great nations of Earth are readying for war. Liftwood is in great demand and as a result shortages mean that only a small proportion of each nation’s war machines are liftwood based.
As well as tanks, armoured cars, cavalry, giant land fortresses and low level liftwood platforms will decide who wins the ground. In the air, liftwood flyers are supplemented with fighters and bombers.
So what about rules?
Well I could write my own rules, but why not use a rules set that people are familiar with. So you could use any rule set you like, but I will be looking at using Flames of War (and possibly Warhammer Historical for skirmish style games).
More soon…
Flames of War – Open Fire
Since finding out about Flames of War, I have been, for some time, thinking about getting into it, but have been putting it off.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the other day in Hobbycraft of all places a starter set for Flames of War that included as well as a pocket set of the full rules, three Sherman Tanks and two Stug G Assault Guns.
Open Fire! has been carefully designed for someone who has never heard of Flames Of War before, or has seen the 256 page rulebook and not known where to start. Open Fire is not a simplified set of the Flames Of War rules, but rather a complete introductory box for a new player!
Really nice idea and perfect for me.
16 page full-colour introduction booklet.
3 detailed American Sherman tank miniatures.
2 detailed German StuG G assault gun miniatures.
3 American dice.
2 German dice.
Time to start painting…
Weaver
Saw this in a bookshop recently and am considering buying it.
Weaver
The Weaver of Time’s Tapestry has finally succeeded in twisting the threads of history into a new shape; the Luftwaffe have pushed the RAF to the brink, and the invasion barges have reached the beaches of Sussex and Kent. Britain wakes up to the nightmare of the Wermacht unleashed in Southern England. As the desperate battle to hold up the invasion rages it is left to a few individuals caught up in the panic and chaos to piece together what has really happened – is this the culmination of a plan that has taken centuries to play out, a plot from the future to change the past forever? Stephen Baxter’s historical thriller series crashes into the 20th century with a terrifying vision of mechanised war and political atrocity unleashed on English soil. This is the climax of one of the most thoughtful and involving series of novels that have brought history alive like no other.
My only reservation was that this is the fourth book in a series of books, the first of which deal with Romans and William the Conqueror.
Do I need to read the first three books to make sense of the fourth, or can I enjoy the fourth without needing to buy and read the first three books?
Spanish Heinkel IIIs
So this is screengrab from the excellent 1969 film, the Battle Of Britain
Notice anything?
Well it was no secret that the film makers did not use original German Heinkel III bombers, but post war Spanish built versions which were at that time still part of the Spanish Airforce.
They used Rolls Royce engines which gave the game away, but look closely at the wings and you can see the Spanish roundles underneath the Luftwaffe paintwork.
Minor quibble on a great film.
Standard Beaverette
A Standard Beaverette of the Home Guard on patrol by a farm.
This is a 15mm scale model with farm buildings from Hornby’s N gauge Lyddle End range.
The first version of the vehicle was built in 1940 by Standard Motor Company at the instigation of Lord Beaverbrook, then Minister of Aircraft Production (hence the name Beaverette). It was based on commercial car chassis, on which a simple riveted armoured hull was mounted. The 11mm of steel was backed by 3 inch thick oak planks. The hull was open at the top and at the rear. The armament consisted of Bren machine gun which could be fired through a slot in the glacis armour. Subsequent versions received all-around protection and a machine gun turret – an enclosed one with Bren MG or an open-topped one with twin Vickers machine guns. Some vehicles also carried Boys anti-tank rifles. Some had No. 11 or No. 19 radio set. The production was stopped in 1942. About 2,800 units were delivered.
I have always liked the idea of gaming Operation Sealion and one day I may get some more of my collection painted and out on the gaming table.
Spitfire, 70 years old
Today is the 70th anniversary of the RAF’s most iconic WWII fighter plane entering service.
Who do you think you are kidding…
I have been looking at Flames of War for a while now, as back in the late 1990s I bought a lot of 15mm (1/100th) World War Two tanks and miniatures; I even painted some!
On the Flames of War website they have a very nice article on building a Dad’s Army unit for Flames of War.
The article not only has pictures of the nicely painted miniatures, it also has pictures of how the different miniatures were modelled.
I have always liked the idea of gaming Operation Sealion and this article is quite inspiring.
In the Presence of Mine Enemies
I am currently reading Harry Turtledove’s alternate history novel, In the Presence of Mine Enemies.
Set in 2009 in a world in which Nazi Germany not only won the Second World War, but also won a Third World War against the United States; the novel concerns the lives of the last Jews in Berlin, who have survived despite the odds against them.
Like many of Harry Turtledove’s novels there are lots of characters who meet now and again, but generally are independent of each other in terms of storylines.
The premise is very interesting and I have enjoyed the book (nearly finished it), but it is nowhere near some of Harry’s other novels in terms of quality and I must say that I have enjoyed other similar backgrounds more, Fatherland
Overall I would say if you enjoy this kind of alternate history and also enjoy Harry Turtledove novels then you will probably enjoy this book.
You can buy the book from Amazon.co.uk