Bolt Action - Fallschirmjager vs US Infantry Company

Bolt Action 1250 Point Game

I was happy to get a game of Bolt Action in after many years of not playing. This was a 1250 point game using my Veteran Fallschirmjager against a Regular US Infantry Company. I ended up using a Panther tank, even though I really don't like something that expensive in my lists, but I didn't have enough models of just Fallschirmjager. 

 

My Panther staring down his M4 Sherman.

The Panther nailed the M4 and brewed it up!

I pushed my squads up to cover.

US artillery and infantry on the right flank.

I definitely was outnumbered but was confident in my vets.

Command squad in the center, armed with SMG's.

My big infantry squads were loaded for bear with tons of upgrades.

My medium mortar in the back was in a bad position.

The Panther starts taking howitzer fire.

The US artillery really did a number on my left flank.

The infantry in the center stubbornly hung on to the ruined farmhouse.

US infantry coming up to get better firing positions.

The US howitzer forced my regular Panther to run!

The 2.8 cm AT gun did some pretty good work.

In the end my veteran troops carried the game and just managed to outscore the US infantry. The stubborn nature of the veteran German paratroopers and their firepower (lots of SMG's, assault rifles, and LMG's all over the place) was able to wear down the trained and regular US squads. 

This was a very fun game even with me being really rusty on the rules. I'd forgotten how smooth Bolt Action can be to play. I have now really picked up my painting for more German support and a full US force!

Horus Heresy Escalation League - Vol 5

Warhammer Horus Heresy V.2

My 5th game in our local escalation league game was 2500 points. This has been my first escalation league and I have enjoyed this format immensely. It has motivated me to build and paint all my piles of plastics! Over two months I have built and painted this entire Imperial Fists army, something I wouldn't have done if I had not been playing this much. 

This was the last game in our league, and I was matched up against the Iron Warriors! My opponent had Perturabo, three Leviathan Dreadnoughts, two Predator Tanks, a full Melta Support Squad in a Rhino, a Terminator Command Squad and two Tactical Squads.

I was running a pretty brutal list for the Imperial Fists. I had a Delegatus Centurion, a Armistos Centurion, two Apothecaries, two squads of Phalanx Warders, a Recon Squad, a Scout Squad and a six-man Autocannon Heavy Support Squad. But the main pain in the list were four Castraferrum Dreadnoughts and a Leviathan Dreadnought! Three of the Castraferrum had Lascannons and fists and one had two fists and two assault cannons. I was also running the Iron Gauntlet Rite of War.

I was using two of my new Furibundus dreadnoughts in place of Castraferrums.

We played Blood Feud with the Clash of the Line deployment.

Some really heavy armor on the the way.

Dreads in the center with Warders on the wings and snipers holding the flanks.

A almost mirrored deployment for me.

Besides the Predators, everything was short range for the Iron Warriors.

You do not want to come down mainstreet.

I chose to fight at night, since I had lots of Augery Scanners and Searchlights.

The Imperial Fist wedge advanced slowly and steadily.

The loyalist fire is too much and the Leviathans are losing wounds and an alarming rate.

My own Leviathan moved into range with its Storm Cannon and twin Assault Cannons.

Snipers, as always, doing incredible work.

The last view of the Iron Warriors line before it evaporated.

The next turn saw all the tanks go down and the Leviathans as well.

The game ended with just Perturabo and the two tactical squads hiding at the far end of the table.

I did feel pretty guilty in this game. I killed his entire army except for Perturabo and the two Tactical Squads for the loss of a single Phalanx Warder... The shear amount of firepower this army is able to put down is brutal.  Several things really helped me out. It being nightime, which I was prepared for, and his army being short range and slow, meant I dealt critical damage before any of his troops could return fire. The other big benefit was the deployment being short edge to short edge, meaning he had a long way to run.

Horus Heresy Imperial Fists Dreadnoughts

I have always been a fool for Warhammer 40k dreadnoughts. I can still remember visiting my cousin who played Warhammer 40k and seeing these cool space marines, and then noticing this giant killer robot! He then let me know what a dreadnought was, and I was hooked! That was the original 90's metal Castraferrum Dreadnought. The thing was tiny, by today's standard, and super heavy.

When I decided to play Horus Heresy I knew that I needed Contemptor Dreadnoughts, then that grew to Leviathan Dreadnoughts. But after playing more games of Horus Heresy V2, and feeling slightly guilty about how good Contemptors are, I was drawn back to my roots with the old box dreads. They are, in my opinion, amazing for their points costs. They are easier to kill but still just as skilled as the bigger dreads. 

Over the course of the local game shops Horus Heresy Escalation League my Castraferrum Dreadnoughts were the MVP's of my armies. I would run most of them with a Lascannon/Fist combo and add searchlights (as I love fighting at night). These dreads would advance slowly and target vehicles with the lascannon, then when the enemy got close they would wade in with their dreadnought close combat weapons. Many met their end at the hands of tooled up characters or enemy Contemptor Dreadnoughts but they always were worth their points cost.

An example of my four different Dreadnought miniatures.

That is a lot of heavy metal!

And half dead Astartes.

A few weeks ago I ran across some STL files for the old grandaddy dreadnought, the Rogue Trader era Furibundus Dreadnought! The original, nearly 40 year old, Furibundus model has not held up compared to modern 40k designs. However, some really talented 3d artists have created their own takes on the classic design. There are several different versions of the Furibundus Dreadnought on various sites but I settled on this one by Boredpilot.

I cannot praise this model enough! The design is supper easy to print, even by me, a total novice. I use an older Elegoo Mars Pro for my printing and everything turned out great. It even has an interior, with a interred Space Marine!

I have been running them as Castraferrum Dreadnoughts but they could easily be used as Contemptors.

I have fallen for these goofy-looking designs.

The main aesthetic is true to the old model, but the details are modern.

Details are sharp and clear.

I painted these first two in a traditional Imperial Fist scheme.

Weapons are modular. I can add all different arms.

I even magnetized one, so you can see the pilot.

Stomping on a Word Bearer.