Newbie Questions

Larry R · Post by **Larry R** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:10 am

As some of my projects are winding down and my intrest in micro armor is gearing up I was wondering what most guys do; as a start into WW II in 6mm seems daunting.

1. Do most guys use the TO&Es found here in the free section and scenarios and build to those on a 1:1 scale?
2. What rules are most of you using?
3. North Africa or Europe? I'm thinking Europe right now as it will somewhat match my 15mm Napoleonic terrain (except buildings and trees).

Thanks in advance for answers.. I think my main issue is taking that first step and not wanting to get it stuck in the mud!

kfeltenberger · Post by **kfeltenberger** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 1:10 am

My first question would be what do the people you'll be gaming with have or want to play? If they all want to do North Africa then you might be hobbling yourself if you do a European force as the force mix was substantially different.

One of the reasons I drifted out of the game 25+ years ago (I recently returned) was that there wasn't anyone for me to game against at the shop I frequented. It's kind of difficult to play a modern US Army combined arms battalion up against WW2 forces...

If you're building this purely for your own enjoyment and will be setting the environment for others, then build what most interests you. I did modern US and now I've decided to build up a modern Israeli force. I don't know if I'll ever see them on the table facing off against someone (micro armor pickings are slim here in central PA), but it's what I want to do.

Waddell · Post by **Waddell** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 3:51 am

I too just got back into gaming after a 20 year hiatus. I just got into GHQ miniatures (with a vengeance it seems) and like kfeltenberger started with modern U.S. forces. As I built up that army I started looking for small battles to recreate and began to expand into the French actions in North Africa, U.S. actions in Afghanistan and others.

You can start small as there is NO shortage of small scale actions going on at all times. The battles in North Africa generally run to 1 or 2 battalions on a side at most, often smaller. Afghanistan operations are similar. This will let you build up forces from both sides for not much money as well as practicing whatever rule set you choose to use.

GHQ miniatures are inexpensive enough that you can build multiple armies. My own approach was to find someone that everyone fought with such as the Jihadists in different countries to allow for one force that could be used in multiple situations. U.S. forces fall into this category as well.

Welcome to an amazing hobby and interesting field of study!

kfeltenberger · Post by **kfeltenberger** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 4:08 am

Good points, Waddell!

Whenever we played micro armor, modern or WW2, we always used a 1:1 scale so that one miniature was one vehicle. Using an 8' x 4' table, it would be routine to have between 25 and 40 vehicles per side and things moved pretty smoothly with two or three players per side.

Managing more than a about 20-30 stands became more of a task than an enjoyable game, so we tried to create a force mix tailored to who was playing.

I have no illusions that I'll ever put a full Israeli armored brigade on the table. Ever. Let alone rounding it out to a full division. Ever. But, it's fun to do and as a hobby, $20-$40 provides for several hours of painting and "me time", so it's worth it.

Larry R · Post by **Larry R** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:17 pm

Thanks for the response guys. I have a built in gamer to go against...well at least until he's off to college. Kfeltenberger, I'm from South Central PA. Oh and what rules are you guys using?

kfeltenberger · Post by **kfeltenberger** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:35 pm

Larry R wrote:Thanks for the response guys. I have a built in gamer to go against...well at least until he's off to college. Kfeltenberger, I'm from South Central PA. Oh and what rules are you guys using?

Hey! Small world! I'm from up the road in York.

Back in the day we used a homebrew system for WW2 that was a combination of Tractics and Angriff!, and it was nice and fast; if you hit you looked a the range, the penetration of the gun, and the armor, and if the penetration was more than the armor, you either killed the tank or rolled on a chart for effects (it's been 25 years plus so it's a bit hazy). For modern, we used Tractics for the most part.

Over the years people drifted away and I don't know whether Charlie, Joe, or Bill are even into microarmor anymore.

Larry R · Post by **Larry R** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:48 pm

Thanks Kurt, I'm ion Hanover so not far at all. I'm not set 100% on WW II since I do WW II skirmish now. Heck for that matter not sure if I'm even set on 6mm. I keep getting pressured to do 15mm since I already have the terrain for it from my Napoleonics. However, my gaming partner hasn't painted much lately so he may now have much say in the end!!

kfeltenberger · Post by **kfeltenberger** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 7:58 pm

For me, 6mm solves the question of cost; I can put more vehicles on the board per dollar in 6mm than I can in 15mm. I priced out a Merkava IV and it came out to $30+ for one vehicle...and for that much I can field almost an entire battalion. Plus, and this is just my observation (I haven't gamed it), but the larger scale seem to slide more and more into the infantry skirmish supported by a few pieces of armor than a Kursk-esque tank battle.

Larry R · Post by **Larry R** » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:36 pm

Price is a major consideration, especially since I am the painter too. I may start with one of the company sets. I'll do my research for rules as well. Thanks!

wolfman · Post by **wolfman** » Sat Aug 09, 2014 3:03 am

Hi gents. I'm just down Hwy 15 from the PA crowd posting here. Being new I chose WWII North Africa as the units were smallish in comparison to Europe and the terrain could be expanded to modern battles with just the addition of the new micro armor. What tank commander wouldnt want to play Rommel or Stormin Norman?

kfeltenberger · Post by **kfeltenberger** » Sat Aug 09, 2014 6:18 am

wolfman wrote:Hi gents. I'm just down Hwy 15 from the PA crowd posting here. Being new I chose WWII North Africa as the units were smallish in comparison to Europe and the terrain could be expanded to modern battles with just the addition of the new micro armor. What tank commander wouldnt want to play Rommel or Stormin Norman?

Or Aluf Israel Tal!