Bolt Action Rules

Having taken a look through the rule books at Colours, I hurried home and placed my order.

Initial look gives me a WW2 40K kind of feel. But I'm not put off by this as I like the idea of an easy to learn game with a WW2 feel - which is what most reviewers seem to be saying.

I also like the idea of small army sizes - I like collecting & painting figures more than anything so these rules will give me bags of excuses to carry on.

The big question is what scale?

I bought the Warlord 28mm Germans as soon as they came out, assembled and painted them.

But now I've sold them in favour of the Crusader Metal figures I picked up from Ian Allen Bookstores, for a song.

Nice chunky figures that are easy to paint, I bought these and the Brits for just £28 the two boxes (24/box)

I've also go the Plastic Soldier Company 28mm Russians that came free with a Miniature Wargames Subscription!

These are perfect for Bolt Action - with a box of infantry, heavy weapons and 45mm anti-tank guns you've got more than enough for a 1000pt army for less than £50.

Ok, so the detail doesn't quite measure up to Warlord's standards, but they're adequate.

Now I picked up four 28mm tanks for £15 on the B&B at Colours I'm really almost there (a Sherman & 3 T34's) for 28mm armies.

But now I've pre-ordered the new Flames of Warhammer Starter set.....just for all the nice miniatures.....

This would allow me to do Bolt action in 15mm......Oh what a to do! I know, I'll do it in both scales!

PSC 15mm Panther - Part Two

For a change I decided to finish my new Ausf G Panther in an "Ambush" camouflage scheme. As this was one of only two German vehicles I was finishing I opted to finish it by hand rather than use the airbrush.
Step 1. As ever, spray white undercoat. (at this point the model is just resting on the textured based - not fixed)

Step 2. Then paint the entire model Vallejo Dark Yellow.

Step 3. Requires the entire model to be coated in Vallejo Sepia Wash.

Step 4. When thoroughly dry, heavily dry-brush the model in slightly lightened Dark Yellow.

Step 5. Now the interesting bit - the camouflaging. First paint random patches of Vallejo Russian Green. About five patches will suffice, though check reference materials to get a finish you would like.

Step 6. Next another five or so patches of Vallejo Red Brown. I used Model Air Red Brown which is thinner than normal brush paint hence the slightly thinner finish.

Step 7. Now coat the green and brown areas with Sepia Wash - don't worry if you go over the edges...it won't matter!

Step 8. Now dry-brush the green and brown areas with lightened versions of both colours.

Step 9. Using the dark yellow, fill the green and brown areas with random "dots" to simulate shafts of light hitting a surface beneath a canopy of leaves. A bit tedious, I admit, but you can now see the camouflage effect taking place before your eyes.

Step 10. Next do the same in the remaining dark yellow areas with "dots" of green paint. You'll note that I'd painted the commander's uniform and headgear black ready for finishing.

Step 11.  Now to finish off those little details. The model was attached to the textured mdf base with PVA glue. The tracks were painted Vallejo Dark Grey followed by black wash and ultimately flesh wash to simulate rust. The tools were picked out on the sides and the commander figure finished off. Decals from old 1/144 Dragon kits were added and the whole model lightly dry-brushed with Vallejo Sand.

Step 12. The model was sprayed with GW Purity Seal followed by Army Painter Matt Coat. The last step was to add a little static grass to the base and we're finished.

As I owned the Forged in Battle Panther G I thought it might be useful to do a quick comparison.

Top View: PSC on the left, FiB on the right

Front View:  PSC on the left, FiB on the right

Rear View: PSC on the left, FiB on the right

Side View: PSC on the left, FiB on the right

Well, as you can see, I was in for a bit of a surprise! Faced with the obvious difference in sizes I did something I've never felt the urge to do before - I measured them both and compared this to the actual vehicle dimensions! The reason I've never done this before is I've always been a believer that "if it looks right, it probably is."

Well here's what I found;-
Manufacturer    Length (mm) Width (mm) Height (mm)
PSC                         64.0*                34.5             30.0
FiB                          63.5                  29.0             26.5
*I measured to the back of the hull and ignored the exhausts, Wiki's measurements may include them.

Now using Wikipedia's dimensions I worked out what a 1/100th model should measure and also what a truer 15mm (1/120th) model should measure.
Scale              Length (mm) Width (mm) Height (mm)

1/100th                  68.7*               34.2             29.9
1/120th                  57.3                 28.5             24.9

This leaves things looking like the PSC model is closer to 1/100th scale and the FiB closer to 1/120th (15mm) scale.

So I guess neither is incorrect - but you can't mix the two. Maybe I should have bought a box full after all!

The PSC Panther 'G' with Zvezda's diminutive Sdkfz222 in the same paint scheme.

To sum up, an excellent modelling experience culminating in a wargaming piece I'm very pleased with.

Thoroughly Recommended