28mm Winter War trench section

No Winter War set is complete without a trench. Soviets making WW1 style charges against prepared Finnish positions is one of the iconic images of the war, even if in practice it makes for dull wargaming. I actually pretty much completed this during the summer, but it took me quite a while to find a suitable snow product. I was looking at several cheap alternatives, but ended up getting some Woodland Scenics soft flake snow in the end. It worked like a charm for that freshly fallen powdery snow look. I just hope it doesn't become dirty with dust and stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parity

More Baker Company winter war stuff finished. Both sides used Maxim machineguns and now I have one for both. Pretty dangerous machines in chain of command.

Painting these felt like a chore. The sculpts were poor and dull. I'll go to middle earth for a change in scenery next.

A four course Winter War meal

My weekend at Kinkkucon was spent mostly at playing Winter War games this year.

Advanced Squad Leader (The Borders are Burning)
 

This was a long Winter War scenario in which the Soviets must achieve a breakthrough in deep snow conditions. I printed out a winter version of the terrain boards for this game as the stock green terrain in ASL would have been a real immersion killer. The soviets opted to attack through the woods only and managed to slowly make their way through. In the end, they ran out of time and didn't get enough troops through.



Chain of Command

The first official outing of my Winter War figure and terrain set. There's still work to be done on terrain and the scenario, but fun was had. In this scenario, the Soviets attack a village defended by Finns. Playing as the soviets I tried to get a human wave going, but was shot to bits in the open. I still have some learning to do on handling green troops. Those 4 command dice and limited team activations make them hard to get going.


Jäinen Kuolema - Freezing Death

A Finnish production, this is a short wargame encompassing the whole winter war. It's a mix of a Card Driven wargame and block game mechanics (without the blocks). It felt overly simple and gamey. Not my favourite.


Red Winter (GMT)

A GMT production of the Battle of Tolvajärvi. We played the introductionary scenario and the two day scenario. This game is awesome! The mechanics are tried and true, but the scenario is one of the best I've seen with plenty of room to manoeuver and opportunities for different tactics.

Finnish field kitchen for Winter War, 1939

Another one for the 80th anniversary of Winter War. These Baker Company figures are not very good sculpts, but when I looked at them, they did begin to tell a story. There was, for example, a figure who looked like just a boy, sitting on the ground with an expression of anguish. The youngest boys to lie about their age and get into the war are said to have been just 14 years old. I put him in the center, being consoled or maybe scolded by and older soldier. There's also some kind of argument going on in the line for pea soup. Maybe he's not getting that extra portion he was hoping for? I decided to complete them as a small diorama that can be used as an objective or just something to make the table more interesting.

Winter War stuff for the anniversary

80 years ago the Winter War was already in full swing, so I've activated my old project and I'm finally finishing the stuff I need to actually get it on the table, namely a winter table and some support options for Chain of Command.

Two Soviet T-26 tanks have left their infantry support behind and stray too close to the woods. (Tanks are from Warlord Games)

A Finnish Anti-Tank section. Apart from explosive charges, light tanks were immobilized using logs and then burnt by tossing molotov cocktails on top of their engine air intake grills. (Finns from the infamous Baker Company Kickstarter)

Any scenario set in Finland requires lots of woods. I "winterized" some of my fir trees, scratch built some pines and used plastic tree armatures to make the birches.

Winter War Soviet platoon

I painted this platoon of soviet infantry during my summer holiday but didn't have time to photograph them until now. These figures were part of the infamous Baker Company Winter War Kickstarter which didn't end up so well, but these are pretty much the only option to get early war Soviet infantry in greatcoats with their budenovka hat.

The simple nature of these models makes them easy to paint and I didn't want to spend too much time painting these anyway. I now have a basic Chain of Command platoon for both the Soviets and the Finns. Now I just need to do some support options and oh.. terrain. I don't have any winter terrain in my collection :)

Ropecon 2014: Black Powder ACW & Bolt Action Winter War double feature

I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Ropecon this year. Ropecon is definitely the largest gaming convention in Finland, bringing together wargamers, boardgamers, roleplayers, larpers, cosplayers and what have you. It's quite a spectacle and I've missed it for about six years in a row now so I was happy to attend this time.

I played three games during the weekend. The beating I took in Epic Armageddon does not have any surviving images (luckily), but the ACW and Winter War games I participated in do.

I collaborated with the Nopat & Taktiikka association in arranging a Black Powder ACW game to demo during the weekend. My associated designed the scenario and provided some of the miniatures while I provided the terrain and most of the mini's. The scenario put us back in Gettysburg again and was a regimental level scenario going from the cavalry defence of McPherson's ridge on to the defence of Seminary Ridge. Here's the photos:

The scenario fit nicely on a 6x4 foot table. The elevations were made pretty ad-hoc with box lids and whatnot under the grass mat so it looks a bit bulky.

Buford's cavalry defends McPherson's ridge.

Some of my freshly painted dismounted cavalry. I have to take some more photos of these for you soon.

Union reinforcements arrive.

Union forces set up on Seminary ridge. The nice seminary building is from Total Battle Miniatures in case you wonder.

Confederates are preparing to assault seminary ridge.

Union artillery will make it tough to get up that ridge.

Reynolds is slowly retreating under pressure along the railway cut. (It's supposed to be an unfinished railroad, I know. I just wanted to use that railroad I finished last week)

Finally, the Conferedates mount their assault and cave in the Union left flank.

The scenario saw several new players come in and assume the command of a brigade or two during the day and I hope fun was had by all. The multitude of models definitely drew some attention from onlookers as they're more used to seeing WH40k armies.

Next up, I got a chance to take my Winter War Finns to the table as the same Nopat & Taktiikka crew arranged a Winter War demo table. I substituted most of their Finns with mine and played my first game of Bolt Action. The scenario is set during the battle of Raate road. The Soviets are sandwiched on a road between two Finnish forces and must organize a defense as Finns attack. The Finns cannot just sit back and shoot though, as they must capture two trucks on the road and time is against them.

The superb table and opening setup.

The Russians can get a bit of cover in ditches on both sides of the road.

My Finns on offence

The Russians organize...

But get an artillery barrage on top of them which leaves most of them pinned. The Finns fail to exploit this properly though.

On the other flank, the Soviets outnumber the Finns in the woods and attack successfully.

The road under attack.

Finns take cover in the woods and fire.

The situation at the start of the fourth turn. On one side of the road, the Finns are routed but fare better on the other side. The referee calls the final turn and the Finns are in a hurry to make the capture.

A desperate charge is successful, but the scenario ends as a draw nonetheless.

There you have it! I had a blast, thanks to all the players and the crew of Nopat & Taktiikka in particular!