Build A Dragon Rampant Halfling Army Quick and Cheap!

Let's build a Halfling army for Dragon Rampant on the cheap! We are always looking for inexpensive ways to field an army on any war game table and Dragon Rampant is a grand game for doing that! We'll show you how to get a halfling army on the table for as little as 46 USD.

Wargames Atlantic has put out a Halfling Militia box set that contains 40, yes we said 40, of the brave folk of the Shire for only 34.95 plus shipping. With it as our starting point we will put together a 24 point Dragon Rampant army. This hard plastic box set allows you to build Halfling Militiamen equipped with bow, sling, halberd, or pike and with options for full command.

In Dragon Rampant a unit of 12 infantry is standard. The box set gives you eight sprues with 5 figures each, 15 different heads and all the equipment seen here.

Let's start with a unit of archers or Light Missile troops for some ranged attacks. You can build up to 16 but only need to field 12. The Robin Hood cap and bare head options would do well on these chaps. We will add the Sharpshooter special rule to give them a better chance of hitting on their rolls.

Next is a core of Heavy Foot. These guys don't attack strong but will give you a solid defensive unit to stay stuck in! There are enough options to build plenty of pike, spear and halberd wielding halflings and we only need 12 for our army so have plenty to spare. For our army we'll use the spear halberds for our heavies! Getting two on each sprue will make us the quantity we need for our unit. Sticking with the kettle hat, or brimmed helmet, will add consistency to the unit

Next we will take a unit of Bellicose Foot which will pack a punch on the attack but are considered to have no armor so defense is low. We'll use the sword and spear options and use the various skull cap helmets. That will give you the third infantry squad for your army

With the remaining four models we'd make a command unit with our general, musician, standard bearer and a hero. These will be a reduced model unit of Elite Foot We'll use the sugar loaf helmets on three of them and the crested helm for our general. You could mix and match anything you really wanted for this unit.

Lastly we'll add some additional muscle in the form of a Lesser War Beast. Northstar Military Figures Rangers of Shadows Deep line has a sweet Ogre for around 10.00. "While not inherently evil, they have a tendency towards violence and cruelty which makes them extremely susceptible to the corrupting influence of the Shadow Deep." For our purposes we can use the old lion and the mouse fable and assume a nice hobbit pulled a large splinter from his foot and now he works with the halflings.

There are a lot of other variations you could use like making 6 slingers to use as a unit of Scouts. Another would be to pick up a special general figure like this halfling hero on his pony, with three accompanying halflings from Copplestone Castings for around 11.00.

Warlord Games now offers halfling cavalry in the form of goat riders and heavy pig riders! You can get  5 goat riders for 28.00 and a command unit for about 25.00.

Options are only limited by what you can find out there on the internet.
So get building something!!

Have a Great Battle!!
The Old Crow

Warlord Games Gurkas

Gurkas, like these models from Warlord Games, served in the Second World War recruited from the sovereign state of Nepal. These tough allies to the British royal crown can really pack a punch.

They fought in Syria, North Africa, Italy, Greece, as well as in Burma against the Japanese.

Each Gurka carries a traditional Nepalese knife known as a Khukuri or Kukri. 

This heavy, curved blade is a fearsome close-combat weapon, as well as being useful for more mundane tasks such as clearing a path through dense jungle terrain.

Metal box set contains a 10 man rifle section, 3 man command group and 8 man charging section.

These guys are the completed charging section with NCO.

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

Black Bull Armor Addition from Warlord Games

Well finally we have some additional armor for the Black Bull, British 11th Armoured Division. Here we have the completed A34 Comet Heavy Tank, a Cromwell MK IV and a Daimler MK 1 armored car.

The Comet, advancing toward the main road through the low stone wall....

and Cromwell making use of its bocage cutter, are patterned after the 29th Armoured Brigade's 2nd Fife and Forfar Yeomanry Regiment.

The Daimler is part of the supporting Recce Regiment, the 2nd Northhamptonshire Yeomanry.

The Daimler was a 4 wheel drive vehicle with a 2 pounder canon.

In Bolt Action it has the Recce rule to get out of sticky situations.

The Cromwell is a great all around medium tank in Bolt Action and still my favorite from World of Tanks!

Here you can see added stowage and the crew left their bucket hooked on the rear of the vehicle.

Now for some punch, the A34 Heavy Comet tank!!

This guy can pack a punch and has serious armor comparable to a Panther.

The A34 Comet was the last British tank type to enter the war. The 11th Armoured Division received the Comet in January of 1945.

Have a Great Battle!!!
The Old Crow

Sarissa World War Europe and Warlord Games Reinforcements for Bolt Action

We picked up these Sarissa World War Europe LCVP and LCM to try out for an eventual landing assault on the Atlantic wall.

There will be a need to fill those landing craft so we also started to build reinforcements from Warlord Games. A British Cromwell medium tank and a Daimler Mk1 armored car are in the process.

Additional infantry in the form of two Ghurka squads and an officer are being prepared too. The Warlord box set has a static firing squad and a squad charging into the fray! They are great miniatures and powerful troops on the tabletop.

The LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) or Higgins boat went together very quickly as did the Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM). That is a consistent plus to the Sarissa kits, ease of assembly.

The vehicles need some stowage and will be ready to prime.

Here are the landing craft primed grey. We have US Machine Gun Crews on order from Warlord Games...

and finally the first Ghurka squad and officer have been primed and received a base coat.

Have a Great Battle!!
The Old Crow

Bolt Action Four Army Battle Report! Polish Inaugural Fight!

Our latest Bolt Action Battle involved 4 armies and the Polish Army's inaugural battle. On this grand Soviet hamlet table our fictitious battle involved the German and Japanese armies confronting the Polish and Soviet forces. The game was to control the four objectives seen as the yellow stars. Each army received 750 points.

This was an early war action which involved plenty of infantry. The armor on the table consisted of a Panzer III for the Germans, a CHi-Ha with the light howitzer and tankette for Japan. The Russians brought a T34 and the Poles fielded an Ursus Armored car and a twin turreted 7TP. The Germans also had an AT Gun and the Polish Army brought a medium howitzer.

All armies had to designate who would be in on the first wave. The only reserves were the Poles who kept a truck and unit of 10 infantry off the table.

As things began, the Polish sniper and 7TP moved in on the left side along with the Soviet mortar team and a couple units of infantry.

On the right side the T34 moved in to oppose the CHi-Ha and tankette. He fired and missed. The Polish transport truck raced in across the center of the board stopping next to the far right objective. He was promptly hit by a slurry of machine gun fire and was knocked out disgorging the 12 infantry inside. 2 men died but the Poles were on the first objective. Two Soviet infantry squads and the Ursus armored car moved in to support them.

On the opposing side of the table the Japanese piled all of their units along with a couple German units against the Polish on the objective. The Germans deployed a unit of infantry to the center and a 6 man squad on their far right.

On turn two the Germans brought the Panzer III on to support the infantry squad on their right flank. It promptly fired at the T34 and missed. The T34 returned the favor by also missing. Snipers all missed and a few pin markers were exchanged on both sides.

On turn 3 the Panzer III was able to fire first, missing again. The T34 did not miss this time scoring a hit, penetrating the armor and destroying the German tank!

With the Panzer gone, the only trouble the T34 could possibly have were the Japanese suicide anti-tank team with lunge mines! The Poles on the objective continued to hold out taking tons of fire. The supporting Soviet infantry was also being whittled down. The Polish army brought in their reserve transport and infantry for additional support on the right, hoping to hold the objective. With the last die pulled being Japanese, the suicide team moved within striking distance of the T34!

Turn 4 started with two dice each for the Germans and the Poles. The Polish units tried but could not kill the Japanese suicide team. The next die fell to the Japanese who lunged at the T34 and destroyed it!! The Ursus advanced in support of the right flank but the Poles on the objective were finally wiped out due to having to many pins! The supporting two Russian infantry units fell too, leaving just two men from one of the squads hunkered down behind the destroyed T34. Only the newly arrived Polish infantry squad remained, close enough to contend the objective.

On turn 5 the Chi-Ha was able to crush the remaining Polish infantry. In doing so, its flank was open to the Polish artillery who scored a hit destroying the Japanese armor. Sadly it was to late to help the deceased infantry on the right flank. The Ursus was able to add pins and kill a few opposing infantry but the center and right were now in the hands of the Axis forces while the left two were unoccupied. At the close of turn 5 the German infantry squad, alone on our far left, made a run for the objective nearest them.

Turn six started with a furious exchange of mortar and MMG fire from both sides. The soviets had a 12 man rifle squad hiding in the farmhouse since turn 1. They dislodged themselves, moved into the swampy area, fired on the Germans heading for the left most objective and killed all but one. The twin turreted 7TP with 10 dice was able to kill the last German on the left flank. This allowed the Polish sniper team to run down the hill and capture the left objective.

With four dice left (1 German, 1 Polish and 2 Russian) the Allies had 1 objective and the Axis 2. The Polish die was pulled and their HQ squad ran across the road to contest the center right objective. The Germans fired on the Russian HQ unit but missed. With the last 2 order dice, the Soviet HQ unit ran to occupy the center left objective and ran the last 2 man infantry squad to contest the far right objective.

There the game ended in a victory for the Allied Team holding two objectives and contesting the other two. It wound up being a very close game where most of the action centered on the right objective till the last turn.

The Polish trucks got the infantry into action right away. Having a 12 man squad kept them in the game, taking fire and attracting a lot of attention, till the end of turn 4. There was a great moment of elation on the Allied side when the T34 stood victorious with very little to threaten it. Then a great moment of elation on the Axis side when a stick mine destroyed the T34!

At the end of a close game, on a great table, the Polish sniper team watches over the left objective as the Soviets emerge from the swamp!

Hope You Have A Great Battle!!

Warlord and Artizan 28mm Models for Bolt Action in Progress

Well there are always more models to build and paint! We are like everyone and have several additional projects all going at the same time. For our early war Polish Army we have the wz.29 Ursus heavy armored car from Warlord Games!

Designed in 1929, the Samochd Pancerny wzr 29, was more commonly known as Ursus. It was based on the chassis of a 2-ton truck, mounted a 37mm anti-tank gun and multiple machine guns. Although adequately armored for the inter-war period, the Ursus fared poorly when facing more modern opposition in 1939.

Another Bolt Action project is our US Army in Greatcoats for winter campaigns. You can see an earlier post HERE. These are recently primed reinforcements to bolster the Battle of  the Bulge.

Add a light howitzer, this one from Artizan Designs, and these boys will be ready for the onslaught.

This bazooka team was painted to add firepower. Remember to keep the get away jeep close by.

And of course you can always use an extra squad of British Infantry.

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow