Valleycon 2018 day 2

Day two kicked off at 930 am already very warm and with 2 games to play

Game 3 was vs Paul Goldstone he was using the army he ran last year a German reserves (old men on bicycles) army backed up by a Tiger 1. last year the tiger walked all over me this time I was determined for it to be different.

As order dice were drawn for deployment luckily I got the last dice so my Sherman could avoid the tiger and cause havoc on the left flank.

The rest of the army kept the Tiger 1 busy the half track was first to die. My AT gun put round after round into it doing no more then just pinning it.

My Vet squad of infantry WITHOUT any antitank equipment at all pass the tank terror test to assault. They scored 4 hits so I needed a 6 followed by a second 6 and for Paul to fail a morale check. Well we were both stunned by what had happened. Right before the assault my exact words were oh what the hell ill assault.

Although the tiger was dead Paul's mortar killed off my Vet infantry in revenge and there were still panzerfausts lurking around.

The game ended with Paul conceding as he had very little left and I had 3 of the 4 objectives secured.

As usual with Paul a good game was had very laid back and relaxed.

Game 4 was vs Reg Newell. I hadn't played him before its good to meet a new face at the table. He was running British infantry backed by a Churchill VII.

Most of our forces where at this side of the table.

The Churchill, mortar and forward artillery observer wait for a Juicy target to present itself.

My men advanced under fire from sniper, MG and mortar fire but pressed on.

On the left flank my sniper, hafltrack and vet infantry squad advanced vs one of Reg's vet infantry squads dispatching it very quickly. Then these 3 were able to move off the table for 9pts. 3pts for each squad moved off table.

Meanwhile my men hold their ground killing off his observer. And my Sherman finally managed to kill something.

The Churchill was dead even though I had an immobilized tank with a jammed turret I still got it.

The game ended on turn 6 with me winning with 13pts to Reg's 3pts. Getting squads off the table is defiantly worth it in this mission. Reg was good to play agents for a relaxed quite game no stress.

I was surprised to get best painted army something I had never accomplished at all before so was happy with that. I won an IS2 which will go well with my soon to be started soviets and a $10 mighty ape voucher.

I was also browsing all of Scott Bowman's fine wares of his Paraparaumu Beach Pharmacy Hobby corner which he had set up for the weekend at the hall. So got myself a M26 Pershing heavy tank for my Yanks so they have a bit more punch. I managed to sell quite a bit on the bring and buy table as well so a good weekend all round.

Valleycon 2018 Day one

Valleycon 2018 has come and gone for another year and once again was a great event. I was playing Bolt action this year using my US forces the points limit was 1000pts. Three of my four opponents were new to me this year 2 of which came down from Napier. Here is what I ran.

Game 1 was vs Ethan Phillips he was one of the two Napier boys he also has a blog make sure to visit www.facebook.com/anempirefallen . He was running Japanese I had never fought this nation before and boy was I in for a shock.

Two suicidal Jap AT bombs the Sherman and At gun made quick work of them.

His army didn't look that big but when you have to kill them to the last man they just keep coming.

This Squad was the first to die. Taking a lot of fire just wore them down.

I kept my half track and vet infantry squad in reserve but they didn't turn up till turn 4. By then he was right on top of them when they came on.

My M4 Sherman was the last man standing and survived the game no matter what Ethan threw at it.

Ethan was a great opponent and got a well deserved win 9pts to 6pts.


Game 2 was vs Chris Stewart he was the second guy from Napier he was running British with a AVRE Churchill heavy tank. So buildings were a no go zone with that around.

My Vet infantry and Sherman went up one flank and everything else stayed central.

My sniper and At gun meet resistance at the hedge.

On the right side my .50cal and .30cal do their best to hold back the infantry advancing through the bushes until help can arrive.

My flanking maneuver on the right had gone well. AT gun and squad of infantry dispatched with.

The next turn though my flank march came to a grinding halt. I fired first but missed Chris didn't make the same mistake.

With my last AT asset gone the Churchill had free reign on the table but luckily the game ended before too much was killed.

Second game second good opponent. Good win Chris 6pts to 4pts.

Even though I had lost my first two games I quite enjoyed playing them vs so new opponents. But it was time to get out of the heat in that hall not helped but one of the event organizers turning on the heating thinking the controls were for air conditioning. Oh well home for the evening.

Valleycon 2017 Bolt action Day 2

Day two had another two games ahead for me. The first game of day was vs Paul Goldstone and Toby sorry I didn't get you last name. Toby was learning to play the game so Paul was helping him through the rules and regs. They were both running a Luftwaffe field division supported by a Tiger 1 which would be a problem as I would find out. The lack of decent antitank and the tiger fear rule really played a big part in this game.

My .30cal and bazooka over watch the right flank. Only a sniper would provide any opposition here.

My 57mm AT gun fires shot after shot at the Tiger trying to pin it to no avail

As Paul and Toby's forces advance there was nothing I could do but watch my forces melt away.

At the end of that game I had managed to lose 8 order dice to their 1. Plus they got two units into my deployment zone giving them 6 more points. so it was a 14pts to 1pt loss for me. But i did learn a lot in this game.

Game 4 was vs Allister Mundell. I have played Allister a few times before in Flames of war and have always had a good game with him. He was running a Russian horde of infantry with some war dogs and a Katyusha rocket truck and the mission was No mans land.

My AT gun and .30cal MMG kept the main road in the center of the table clear. Al's armored car was quick to recce away.

The Katyusha fired to devastating effect. then we realized that one of Allister's units was too close for the shot to be legal. I got off very lightly there could of been 16 men dead.

My 57mm AT gun finally got the Armored car and late the jeep that followed.

My M3 half track and a squad of men mop up a few small squads of men and take out the Katyusha with some well placed .50cal shots.

The final game of the weekend ended in a win for me 6pts to 2pts I felt I learned a lot over the four games. Snipers are well worth using, I need a better AT option, learn to use the down and ambush option more instead of all out attack all the time. And with that it was time to pack up the hall and gather for the prize giving which all the comps did together Bolt action, Flames of war, Lord of the rings, Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40k, Hordes/War machine, and Infinity. I was awarded Best sport for the Bolt action comp which i was quite happy about but never expected as I always try to be a great opponent in all my games I play. And also got a voucher to spend at Paraparaumu beach Pharmacy which is run by Scott Bowman which has a vast range of war gaming models and supplies.

I look forward to next year witch is the 20th running of the event and something special is planed the Hutt club have said. My next war gaming outing with be the Wellington X-wing Regionals looking at running Imperials at that.

Valleycon 2017 Bolt action Day 1

Its been a while since my last post but ive still be busy on the gaming front. I have been really into building terrain lately for my bolt action im working on a V2 rocket facility but more on that later.

Over the weekend the Upper Hutt war gaming club held its annual Valley-con event this was the 19th year they have held it. Normally I play flames of war but last year started to delve into Bolt action so this year I entered the Bolt action comp. There was not restriction on theater just as long as your list was 1000pts or less. There was British, Japanese, Russians, Americans and Germans armies being used I went with Americans using a Normandy list.

1944 - Normandy

Order Dice: 10

Platoon #1

Officer
First Lieutenant  (page: 22)	Veteran	103
Qty    Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    First Lieutenant      with Pistol 6" 1 n/a Assault      with Submachine gun 12" 2 n/a Assault      with M1 carbine (rifle) 24" 1 n/a 1    Infantry (equipped as modeled) - -

Infantry Squads
Veteran Infantry Squad  (page: 6)	Veteran	156
Qty    Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    NCO with Submachine gun 12" 2 n/a Assault 2    Infantry with BAR M1918A2 Automatic rifle 30" 2 n/a 8    Infantry with Rifle 24" 1 n/a
Veteran Infantry Squad  (page: 6)	Veteran	156
Qty    Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    NCO with Submachine gun 12" 2 n/a Assault 2    Infantry with BAR M1918A2 Automatic rifle 30" 2 n/a 8    Infantry with Rifle 24" 1 n/a

Infantry
Medium Machine Gun team  (page: 26)	Veteran	65
Qty    Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    Medium Machine gun team 36" 5 n/a Team (3 men), Fixed
Medium Machine Gun team  (page: 26)	Veteran	65
Qty    Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    Medium Machine gun team 36" 5 n/a Team (3 men), Fixed
Medium Machine Gun team  (page: 26)	Veteran	65
Qty    Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    Medium Machine gun team 36" 5 n/a Team (3 men), Fixed
Bazooka team  (page: 28)	Regular	60
Qty    Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    Bazooka team 24" 1 +5 Team (2 men), Shaped Charge

Artillery
57mm Anti-tank Gun M1  (page: 34)	Veteran	90
Qty    Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    57mm Anti-tank Gun M1 60" 1 +5 Team (3 men), Gun shield, Fixed, HE (1")

Tanks and SP Guns
M8 Scott  (page: 44)	Regular	140
Qty    Vehicle Type Transport  Damage Value         Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    M8 Scott Tracked - 8+ Open-topped        Turret-mounted light howitzer 48"(24-60) 1 HE Howitzer, HE (2")        Pintle-mounted HMG 36" 3 +1 Flak, 360 degree arc

Transports
M3 half-track  (page: 50)	Regular	99
Qty    Vehicle Type Transport  Damage Value         Weapons Range Shots Penetration Special Rules 1    M3 half-track Half-track up to 12 7+ Open-topped        Pintle-mounted HMG 36" 3 +1 Flak, 360 degree arc   Tow: Light, medium or heavy anti-tank gun; light or medium howitzer; light anti-aircraft gun

Platoon Points:

999

The weekend consisted of 4 games 3 hours each over the two days.

Mission 1 was Point defense vs Julian Hannam he had traveled down from the Taranaki to play and was running a British list containing the NZ Maori battalion with their own unique rules. The game ended being a draw with myself holding two of the three objectives I was defending given another turn I might of been able to take back the one I lost. But it wasnt to be. 

My 57mm AT gun lines up the Bren carrier for the kill.

A Bren Carrier, M10 and Kangaroo Ram press my defenses to breaking point.

The Second game was Meeting engagement vs Dale Pepperell who was also from the Taranaki. This game was a hard fought battle with his quad 2cm flak Panzer and sniper causing all sorts of problems for my men. This game was and eventual loss 6pts to 4pts.

My troops survive two flame thrower attacks but later or rounded up by Dale's Puma.

My M8 Scott fires its light howitzer at the church town and finally takes out the sniper after it kills a few teams.

Day two to follow.....

Valleycon assorted photos

Just a selection for photos from the event two week ago (I know should of been up sooner).

First off the Flames of war.

The Nick Garden Memorial Trophy. With a Staghound atop for which Nick was known for using in a lot of his armies.

Alex McEwen's German Verlastet Panzers.

Richard Steer's British Armored Cars (Best Painted).

Phillip Mellor's Soviet Infantry.

My Soviet Masses.

Warren Hart's British tanks (Borrowed Army).

Steve Hill's Finnish Infantry.

Bob Pearce's British tanks.

German Infantry.

Pat McShane's German Shutzen.

Tom Leamy's Japanese Infantry.

Some Bolt Action

Japanese Infantry

German Grenadier squad

US soldiers.

Some Ancients.

WW1

A WW1 demo game that was set somewhere in Gallipoli.