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Excellent thread. I'm just getting into historicals. My mate got me a box of Victrix Napoleonic French Infantry for Christmas which I'm itching to start assembling and painting. I'm hoping to have some skirmish games using the Sharp Practice rules (http://toofatlardies.co.uk/), which look quite fun. He also gave me some 15 mm Polish infantry from the same era, which is a different scale to what I'm used to. Should be interesting to paint.
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Jan 2, 2010 01:15
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 17:49 |
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Lord Commissar posted:28mm Victrix or the new 54mm? The 28mm ones. I'd be a bit intimidated by the 54 mm ones, I imagine they're not too forgiving in terms of painting. But I'm definitely going get around to painting up some 28mm Riflemen as Sharp, Harper and the rest!
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Jan 2, 2010 01:21
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Would anyone be interested in a write up of Advanced Squad Leader? I know it's not a miniatures wargame, but it shares some features and would probably go better in here than in the board games thread.
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Jan 12, 2010 00:21
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 Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is a hex based war-game which simulates company sized battles during and around the Second World War. It dates back to the original Squad Leader game which was released in the late seventies. Originally published by the much missed Avalon Hill, the rights have been farmed out by Hasbro to Multiman Publishing, which is owned by Curt Schilling. Multiman Publishing have continued to develop and update the game, in spite of being a small operation. Much like a game involving miniatures, there are a myriad of scenarios that can be used, which govern the forces battling, and the victory conditions. The game is set up on standard maps, which can be combined in a variety of different ways so as to simulate a variety of terrain. Counters are used to represent squads, support weapons and leaders. Tanks, vehicles and artillery are also represented, and the rules for them get ever more complicated. Troop counters have their firepower, movement and morale printed on them.  Click here for the full 558x637 image.  The structure of the gameplay should be familiar to anyone with a war-gaming background, with each side taking a turn to control their forces. Within each turn there are movement and firing phases. There are also opportunities for the non-active player to fire at moving troops. Battles are resolved with tables (oh so many tables) and the roll of dice. There are two distinct flavours of ASL, Starter Kit ASL and “full” ASL. The starter kit is a relatively new idea to the game, and it is an attempt to attract new players. The idea with the starter kits is to introduce new players to a simplified set of rules, and slowly introduce new rules with subsequent releases of starter kits. Starter Kit one contains rules for infantry battles. Starter Kit two introduces artillery counters and rules. Starter Kit three adds in tank and vehicle rules. All of the starter kits can be purchased and played independently of each other. If your new to the game, it is strongly advised to start with one of these kits.  The “full” ASL is huge, and contains rules for absolutely everything, from movement up a mountainside, to horse drawn carriages. The common way to get into it is to purchase the rulebook and a module called Beyond Valor. The module contains all the counters you need to allow you to play battles between German and Russian forces. Further modules introduce other forces of the period, Yanks for example, contains the counters needed for Americans in the European theatre. Quite a few modules are out of print though, so don't expect to be playing Guadelcanal any time soon. Pros: In depth simulation of battles of the Second World War. Most battles can be played within an afternoon, or evening. Can be played out of the box, no need for buying and painting up miniatures. Scenarios and rules are incredibly well researched for their historical accuracy. Cons: No painting of miniatures, so that aspect of the hobby is cut out. Some people do play with miniatures on the hex maps however. Some modules are out of print, so if you are itching to play anything in the Pacific Theatre, forget about it for the next couple of years. Relatively expensive for what amounts to cardboard and paper in a box. Can be quite complicated, though the learning curve is lessened with the Starter Kits. Links: Multiman Publishing, the current publishers: http://www.multimanpublishing.com/ASL/asl.php VASL, for playing online: http://www.vasl.org/
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Jan 12, 2010 17:46
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Lord Commissar posted:I used to have a game very similar to this called Tet Offensive. I wonder if it used the same rules. I think that there is a Vietnam expansion that has been made by a third party manufacturer, but I'm not sure what it's called. Speaking of which, there is quite a thriving community of third party manufacturers for the game, and most of the modules are reviewed here: http://www.desperationmorale.com/worldofasl/worldmain.html I've been playing hex-based war-games for a couple of years now, and I really enjoy them. It's only recently that I've started to get into miniatures based war-games. I do understand that there is traditionally a bit of a separation between the two types of war-games, but I can't really see why to be honest.
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Jan 12, 2010 19:24
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I've finally got around to painting the two riflemen I got for Christmas, and I've started on some 15 mm Polish figures. They are fiddly. I have a feeling it might be a long time till I paint the 60 French I have in my Victrix set.   Related to this, can someone tell me how to deal with the bases on these figures when I'm basing them. Something tells me I'm not meant to try and cut them off, but I think they'll look really out of place when properly based.
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Mar 9, 2010 15:10
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Lord Commissar posted:Anyone know of any manufacturers that sell Prussians in any scale? Napoleonic era? My friend uses Essex Miniatures, here's a link to their 15 mm range: http://www.essexminiatures.co.uk/frames15nap.html I apologise, it is, unfortunately, an ugly website. Serotonin posted:If properly based you should be able to disguise the integrated bases very easily. My experience with miniatures is with GW where the figure has no integrated base. I can't see these tabs being hidden with basing sand/flock very easily and green stuff seems a bit of a pricey solution.
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Mar 9, 2010 22:46
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 17:49 |
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Thanks lilljonas and R.S. Gumby. I think I'm going to go with the Green Stuff option for now, found some for cheap on EBay. Waiting on Paint Vagrant's basing kit before I do it though. Have to say I'm glad I'm not the only one anal about such things.
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Mar 10, 2010 23:05
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