A few big armies or many smaller one ?

[Mk 1]

This is my first reply. I have spend years collecting GHQ Micro Armor ...

Hiya ZMON! Welcome to our little corner of the web.

Pull up a tank and sit right down. As a long-time collector of GHQ Microarmor myself, I have found this forum to be a most remarkable fount of information and delight. My own skills in painting (and building) my Microarmor have improved notably from the tips and techniques of this breatheren, and my own enjoyment of the hobby has multiplied many times over.

I don't really have an Army at all. Just a collection of Platoon to Company size elements or big Kampfgrupens: German, USA, USSR, French, and British.

My collection must number well above 1,000 vehicles, maybe even higher than that. And that is not including the infantry, of which I have many bunches as well.

Most of my stuff is in company-sized units too. Some even just in platoons or batteries. Much not organized into units at all, just 5, or 10, or 15 of some item of kit.

More recently I have focussed my purchasing and painting on full units, generally of company size. I have only a few full battalions. But I have MANY companies of this or that. Many ...

I purchased my first package of Tiger I's in 1979 at Fort Knox, KY...

Several of the fellows I game with are ex- or current tankers. One of my best gaming buds is currently commanding recon squadron in the 11th Cav. He's at Knox now as I write this.

He spent a year commanding a platoon of Abrams tanks in Iraq. Within 2 months of getting home he was pushing little toy tanks on my ping-pong table!

[Timothy OConnor]

More armies and smaller ones.

I game at the battalion level. 1 stand = 2-4 squads, AFVs, special weapons, or very roughly a platoon. I'm happy with a reinforced battalion per side on a 4' x 6' table. So, once I build a force to that level, I move on (infantry battalion plus supporting tank company, recon company, engineer company, AT company, helos, etc.)

[ZMONSTER]

Hello Mk 1 and to All,

I have spent the last 20 years collecting GHQ WW2 models to support my gaming interest, which is Advance Squad Leader. So I fall into the Small Armies catagory with my numerous collection of Kampfgruppen.

I have enough of each country to play most of the scenarios in my collection, which is all ETO.

My latest projects include a D-day 3D map of the Veriville Exit on Omaha Beach, done in 6mm scale. More to come in that realm on another Posting page.

I just recently retired from the Army after 21 years, I didn't do anything as galant as Commanding a tank, I just lead and trained my soldiers to do their jobs well.

Bill

[jb]

Its been almost 33 years to the day that I got my first GHQ micro armour ( May, 1975, Checker Flag hobbies, Killeen,TX). From that day to about 1990 I collected all kinds and periods (what GHQ, CinC,and H&R had available). I mostly collected 1 to 1 scale and had all kinds of battalions,and really can't remember what and how many battalions. I stopped counting my micros back in '77.
About '96 I started to collect 15s and just put the micros away. I even went as far as to sell off all my micro armour on ebay in 2002. This caused me to start collecting micro again. While selling off my micro to customers on ebay I picked up a clientel that requested I do specific items for them. This is how I got "hooked" on the "new" MA! I just couldn't resist the detail. The 15s got packed away and MA is back on the table.
Now back to the topic. I got back into my habit of collecting ALL Micro again. Don't know what I have or how much, I do have a fair idea though. I started back with 1 to 1 scale and liked to use battalions on the table. I even have my own ruleset "Panzertruppen" (don't get it confused with the one on the market,"Panzertruppe", I copyrighted mine in 2000)which started from a Vietnam game (Smok'n Charlie) I started to develope in 1999.
Lately I started to play Spearhead and Modern Spearhead, which is a one base equals a platoon scale or generally known as 1 to 5. This scale of gaming lets us do Operational level gaming while still retaining a Tactical sense on the table. The SH &MSH does have certain "flaws" such as a 45 degree only facing change per turn,and obligatory moves for units that have attack orders. These are just a couple of examples of others, but are so easily remedied. I like the game mechanism because it is extremely fast play which is crucial when fielding large units.
Some level of detail is EXPECTED to be sacrificed, such as specific armored areas of AFVs, graduated gunnery results, etc. But tactical necessities such as Hull down, frontal armor, speed, stabilized gun systems to name a few are not.
We put on Prokhorovka 12 July 1943 at Little Wars in April using SH. For units we fielded the 1st and 2nd SS Panzergrenadier divisions; the Soviet 183rd Rifle Division, 18th ,29th,2nd, and 2nd Guards Tank corps. This was done on a 6'X12' actual terrain table. The game played smooth and to a resolution in 4.5 hours, having only 3 players to each side. The sight was impressive to me even on a 1 to 5 scale.
For the last few months I've been working on a sort of 1 to 1 scale version of SH & MSH. What I do is use the same SH &MSH ORBAT but I tag each base or platoon if you will, with a magnetic tag (I use steel bases). This tags lets you know with a number how many elements are in each platoon. Using the SH &MSH mechanism, you roll that many dice,and apply that much damage. BTW this would also work for Micro Armour the game if desiring to play a more detail to the game.
As a bonus with this tag system you may make a "mixed" platoon. For example the platoon of the advance guard of a Soviet MRR would have 2 MBTs and a BMP or vice vesa. Just add a tag stating the status of the platoon. Other things such as 1 or 2 vehicle/squads may also be generated, which by the way is another flaw using the SH &MSH TO&E.
With all this said I guess I have large armies...

[Ritter]

With all this said I guess I have large armies...

LOL at JB!

I enjoyed reading your post so much, I forgot what the thread was about!

My 1 to 1 ruleset, 'Schwere Kompanie' plays well at a company per side plus attachments but starts to bog when trying to play at battalion level. (Not its intended scale but...sometimes you just want big armies!) I added a couple rules to allow movement and fire by platoon for tournament play a few years back and this seemed to ease play with multiple companies on the table.

Just to chime in, and probably repeat a few of the previous posts, I started to collect MA after seeing it in an ad in the back of a ASL rulebook wayyy back in 1990

I was hooked instantly and have been collecting ever since. I 'try' to collect/paint entire platoons at a time but I have many single vehicles. As my skills improved, I moved on to painting armies for customers but have since stopped as I found this became too much like work. (Ever get a box with $1000.00 worth of modern Microarmor sent to you unsolicited with a message, "get to it when you can..."

I have recently begun to create complete companies (except for supply vehicles) and find this to be very rewarding. As the units are completed, they get boxed up in a Bunker box or similar and I move on to the inspiration.

Troy

[ferret701]

I'm relatively new to this. I began collecting micro armor about 5 1/2 years ago, just after the birth of my first son and the consequent sudden need to find a hobby that kept me around the house (apparently, drinking didn't count).

I had had a couple of dozen tanks (modern and WWII) from the mid-1980s, and I found them in a box cleaning out my basement. I looked them over, thought I could do a much better job painting them up, and I was off...

I know have ~3500 moderns and perhaps 450 WWII, but I don't have a really accurate count. A good 75% are painted, probably more, but the unpainted pile has gotten really large in the last two months, as I have been on a buying binge. I get about 2/3rds of my stuff off eBay, generally shooting for the bargain lots, and the rest new (almost all from here, GreatModels or CinC).

Originally, I was just painting up whatever came in the door or what was interested in at the moment, but I started playing Fistful of TOWS about 18 months ago, and I'm now working on units. I have a couple of FFT UK, US, French, Soviet and FRG divisions. My more recent projects have been more esoteric -- I've got a Belgian Mech Brigade (complete with custom M113Bs), an Italian Mech or Armor Brigade (with VCC-1s, VCC-2s) and a San Marco Marine Battalion. I'm currently working on the Canadian 4th Mech Brigade Group and the 5th Brigade.

Pat Callahan
www.microarmormayhem.com

[Gort]

I collect small armies. Lots and lots and lots of 'em. Since I discovered micro-armour way back when I've been buying it steadily - a little here, a little there, sometimes not so little. I originally bought them to fill out 1:5 TOEs for Panzer Leader and Panzer Blitz until I found 1:1 rulesets. Then I started to build company sized units (sometimes 2 companies), reasoning that with these I could cherry-pick whatever I needed for 1:5 games when the need arose. Next I decided to build specific units for a specific battle (mainly non-german) and for german units to use variations of the 3 colour camo to differentiate various sub units. At this point I have to state that that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The insidious thing about micro-armour is how, after 30+ years, it starts to sneak up on you. I mean in terms of total numbers. This thread has caused me to examine what I have collected in that time. Roughly 4000 items (not including the masses of infantry), about 80% of it WW2. Now I can explain the 50 each Panthers and Pz4s, and the 100 SPWs - lots of different cammo schemes (something like 10 each). I just like to be creative with dark yellow and red brown and green. But what really surprised me were the sheer number of Shermans that I have accumulated. Straight purchases, turret swaps, scratch builds, it all adds up. 35 different variants. 635 total. Mainly company sized units with some low volume special variants. US, Canadian, UK, Polish, Free French, Russian. Add to that things like cammo pattern or no cammo pattern, rhino prongs, log armour, sandbag armour, 3rd army ersatz jumbos. It never ends. And there is no cure.

regards

Steve

[av8rmongo]

I have several large modern armies - US 2,300 strong, German 2,200 strong and many small armies, total size about 7,500. (I won't talk about my 400+ ship modern navy or my 300+ ship WWII navy or my 70+ ship Napoleonic navy) But I have to put them away. On Wednesday the movers come to take away my long term storage items and there just isn't room in the housing units in Japan for all my stuff. All arguments to the wife that I would rather have my three boxes than her leather sofa fell on deaf ears. Note to self - before entering into such a discussion look at the calendar to make sure its not Mother's Day, that didn't go over well.

So I'm left with a token force of whatever I can sneak into my other household goods shipments but at least I won the day on bringing the modeling tools along so there is hope of partially rebuilding. I feel like a hollow shell

Paul

[voltigeur]

I never thought of collecting Armies since I think more in terms of building units. My first love is Moderns and by far my largest Army would be the Soviets. A full Regiment of T80B's (94 tanks) a Battallion of T72; 2 battallions of T62's and a Battalion of BMP1; BMP 2; and BTR60PK.

The Americans are my second lots of helicopters a company of M60's a Tank Heavy Battalion and an Armored Cav troop.

Working on the infantry and painting the helos for a Marine BLT. Bush warriors, Infantry for my West German mech infantry company. And starting my Vietnam collection. Americans at 2 platoons the NVA battalion and VC company. (Oh the americans will have lots of Airpower and off board artillery

[chrisswim]

Micro armor, I like collecting, used to like playing....oh, well. I'll get to play again one day.

WW2 is perhaps a 1000 or more, have about 130 PZIII for example. Have US, German, Russian, maybe a few from someone else.

Saving the best for last: I collect modern or I have. Paul (AV8) has some good stuff, great scratch built stuff. Good color scheme. I commend him for his collection.
I have figs representing most of the world. South Africian: 250 vehicles, helos, & planes; Brazil: tanks, APCs, arty. Cuba, tanks, & apc's (soviet), Chile: tanks & apc's, Argentina: tanks, apc's, planes, Mexico:tanks, apc's, including HUMMVs. Canada: I still use 6X6 Cougar, & Grizzley's. field most of Europe and extensive US. I have built some scratch units.

Working to develop RPV vehicles for my forces.

AV8, paul, when to you move to Japan? Good luck there.

[BattlerBritain]

I generally try to get a Battalion of troops as that's about the largest size I can field on a table. I've got most of my WW2 collection together and am starting to play that a lot now, but am also getting my Moderns completed. The GHQ site has some really good scenarios for Moderns that look like they'd play well.

Just finished a FV432 battalion for 1985.

Also a Chieftain Company, Challenger 1 Company and various Brit odds 'n bits. Also did some planes+choppers to go with them (a pair of Jags called 'Prescott flight', some Tonkas and Brit F-4s of 92 Sqdn). Have a further Chieftain and Chall1 Co to do as well as enough Warriors to do a couple of Companies.

Also completed a BTR battalion to go with my BMP battalion, T80 battalion, T64 battalion, T55 battalion and need a few more T74s and T62s to round out those battalions. Painted up a 4-ship of Hinds and need to complete a 4-ship of Mi-8s. Have pairs of Su-17s, Su-25s, MiG-23s and MiG-27s to go with them

Just finished a Marder Co and Leo2 Co and need 1 more of each. Have a Leo1 Co and contemplating getting some more M113s to do a Jaeger Inf Co to go with them.

Also completed 2 M1 Cos, a Bradley Co, an M60A3 Co and a M113 Co. Still to complete 1 more of each of the latter.

Been playing some WW2 Eastern Front. Just did a cracking scenario of a Soviet SMG bn attaching some German Engineers defending a village on a river but with a few tanks thrown in (KVs etc). It played really well using F+F Battlefront rules with lots of Close Combat. May write it up for the AAR slot.

All good stuff.