Tournament Report - Cancon 2018 - FOW

Cancon is hands down the largest Wargaming event on the Aussie Calendar. This year was the 40th Cancon and like those before it was not to be missed. Cancon, being a national event is the one weekend that draws players from all over Australia and occasionally overseas. Aside from the numerous competitions and campaigns, there are lots of participation games, a large board game area, traders, a 2nd hand stall, roleplay games and even Cosplayers. Something for everyone.

This year there were no less than 6 different FOW and TY events. In the past few years I had played during the day and night flames but this year I setting on Mid War v4. The total list of events were:

Mid War V4
Early War Campaign
Team Yankee
Team Yankee Campaign mm)
Night Flames Arab Israeli
Night Flames Late War`

I suspect the total FOW and TY numbers were down slightly on past years . We had a very healthy 22 players for MW. Given the newness of the rules and the fact that there are only 3 books out, I think this is pretty good.

Caunter Corner

Players could select 80 points of troops with up to 10 points of cards. Only the 80 points of troops counted towards reserve calculation.

I ran my newly painted Crusader company with some 17/25 pounders, Carriers, Infantry, Bofors and Hurricanes. Over the 8 games I played a variety of different forces - German Tanks,  German Infantry, German Armoured Cars, British Crusaders, British Grants and a US Tank force. The top four players were running British Crusaders, German Armoured Cars, German Infantry and British Grants. Every British army I saw seemed to have Scout Tank and this is still a problem. I think that is a pretty good spread and highlights that MW V4 is otherwise largely balanced.

Interestingly, I played against 2 different German lists with Tigers. Even at these low points, they can be a threat. I don't think they can work with DAK tanks but certainly can with infantry or mechanised Companies.

The MW tournament was well run in the capable hands of Trick and Ben. I didn't see any major issues or heated arguments. The hottest anyone got was the warm pavilion where the air conditioning struggled with 30 plus degree temperatures and too many sweaty gamers.

Darren's Bunkerflak

EW Eastern Front Campaign table

I didn't have a lot of time to look at the other FOW and TY events but I had time to snap a few pics. These events also seemed well attended and the players having a good time.

Nappy game on Monday

Trick doing TO stuff

Some of the lovely desert terrain.

Ben not doing TO stuff

It was this long...

Unboxing and Review: Battlefront Factory (BB192)

Another review rolls off the factory production line.

Box Art

Battlefront's factory building is a nice addition to the Battlefront's range of buildings. The factory is a Team Yankee piece and provides a good 1980's industrial building to create a cold war period table. The building is a large feature, measuring 16.5 cm (6.5") by 8.5 cm (3.5") by approximately 8 cm (3"). It comes standard with 2 levels, the bottom with shutters, doors and windows. The upper level is just windows. Finally, the building also has a black removable roof.

Box Packaging

Like all the Battlefield in a box stuff, the factory is well packed in a dedicated foam container. This is sturdy enough to be used to store and transport the building. There is a compartment for each piece to prevent any damage from pieces colliding during transport. My building arrived in perfect condition.

The building is available on the Flames of War site on this link. They retail in Australia for $73.50. This makes the factory one of the more expensive pieces. Like the church and the manner house, the factory is a center piece for the table. You should only need one.

In game terms the building can hold 6 medium bases per level. I.E 12 in total. There are openings on every face so the building makes a great fire platform.

I hope you enjoyed this review.

Painting: Battlefront Roland Flak Batterie (TGBX08)

Today I test fire the Rolands for my new West Germans.

A while back I un-boxed and reviewed the Battlefront Roland box set. I also reviewed the history of these self propelled West German flak vehicles. You can find that article here.

After some real world delays, I have finally managed to get these 2 Rolands painted up.

I followed my now established paint scheme. For anyone new to this army project, you can find the refined formula here in the Luch article. Like the Gepards, I used the Soviet Green spray as a base coat. 

These vehicles haven't been varnished yet so you might see some gloss varnish around the decals. This will disappear once varnished.

I have another pair of these to paint up which will give me a unit of 4.

I hope you enjoyed my review and painting articles for these lovely models. 

Review: Battlefront Fast Food Restaurant.

Today I un-box one of Battlefronts new Battlefield in a Box (BiaB) Team Yankee buildings - The Fast Food Restaurant or McPizza King.

The building is available on the Battlefront website for US$40 or AU$59 from my local store.

The building comes in the now very familiar BiaB outer box. Like always, it is fully painted, fully assembled and ready to use.

Ironically, unlike your favourite 1980's burger, this packaging is without polystyrene. The packaging is limited to a cardboard wrap and a lot of bubble wrap. A minor quibble but I like to store my buildings in their original box and this building doesn't really have one.

The building is simple enough, a whitewashed exterior with a white-lined red roof. The building is an amalgam of iconic US fast food joints. 

It is great that Battlefront are supporting Team Yankee with more modern buildings and terrain. This certainly fits the bill. I like that this can stand alone or be part of a series of other buildings. It wont work on a WW2 board but will look fine on a Team Yankee board with WW2 buildings.

Who remembers those hideous orange tiles?

As an extra, Battlefront have released a PDF to add window and other details to the building. The PDF is here.

This is a large building and will certainly draw attention on the table. It is nicely detailed and would look even better with a parking lot. However, at sixty dollars, it is a fairly large investment and the price is in line with the large building catagory. I think this is a good option for a Team Yankee regular. For a FOW regular who plays the occasional game of Team Yankee, I think the warehouse is probably a better place to start as it can be used on the WW2 table.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the review. Feel free to leave feedback.

Preparing for a Tournament.

Thinking about playing in a FOW/TY tournament? Worried about what to expect? I will go through some things that new (and experienced players) can do before an event. Here are 10 tips.

Sabre - Picture from www.panzerangriff.org.au

1. Read the player pack. This could be a multi-page document. It could be a single paragraph on a forum or a poster. The items to look for are what you can or cannot bring. What are the points levels being played? What period is it? Are there any restrictions (For example Red Bear and Grey Wolf only or must only be a tank company)? The point here is get all the relevent information about what you need to bring/paint up/borrow.
2. Look for what missions are being played. Does it suit a certain type of list? Are there a lot of mission with reserves? Do the missions allow spearhead and / or infiltration? Are there to be special rules in play? For example snow or dusk. Basically work out what armies are likely to be taken. You want to make sure you understand these missions and how they work. Likewise any special rules that might be in place.
3. Write some lists. Every player is inspired to take lists for different reasons. Some are interested in an historical battle, general or unit. Others care less for the history and like to write killer lists. Either way, write a few and make plans for the missions you expect to be playing. If I attack in fighting withdrawal, can I push my opponent off an objective in 8 turns? If I need to move in hasty attack, can I get to the objective by turn 6. If I defend in hold the line, what will I put in reserve? Understanding these questions - and the answers to them will not only make you a better player, it will speed up your games and leave you more time to work on your opponents list.
4. Check and re-check you army. Nothing worse than leaving a unit behind. Imagine travelling to an event only to work out that you had the wrong army in the bag/box/base. Make sure you go through unit by unit and check that it is all there - including transports and options if applicable.  



Cancon - Photo from www.cgs.asn.au


5. Enter on time and send your list to the tournament organizer (TO). This eliminates any chance of missing out on a place and makes the life of the organiser easier. In the end the TO is usually giving up their weekend. Any help you can give them will only encourage them to run another event in the future.
6. Print out a copy of the list for each opponents. Nothing is nicer than receiving a copy of  a list with all the relevant information - units, special rules, key statistics and warriors in a list. It is nice to be able to keep a copy too.
7. Check all your tools, markers, dice, rules, list books and counters. Do you have the templates for your arty? Do you have counters and dice? Do you have smoke markers if you intend to shoot smoke?
8. If you have a large army, bring a tray. This will allow you to leave the army out between games and speed up play. 
9. Read the rules. Does shooting priority really work the way your mates say it does? How do you play bocage? Knowing the rules speeds up play and make players better.
10. Don't stress! Tournaments are generally full of people there to enjoy their games and spend time with like-minded gamers. Enjoy the experience.

ETC 2016 - Photo from www.flamesofwar.com

Stay tuned for another post where I look at what to do on the day.

I hope you enjoyed this article.

Painting: Battlefront Gepard (TGBX07)

Today on the blog, the freshly painted Gepards roll off the painting desk.

A month and a day ago, I reviewed and un-boxed the Battlefront Gepards. That post is here. We have had terrible weather in Sydney, between high heat, humidity and rainfall. I finally managed a good day for spraying a few days back. The Gepards are the first of that batch of TY West Germans to be finished. More to come!

I used the Plastic Soldier Soviet Green spray. If anyone from Plastic Soldier Company or a distributor in Australia is reading this, your spray cans are great but very hard to come by. I have checked a bunch of shops and was unable to get my hands on a can. I ended up convincing a mate to part with one of his cans that he isn't using just yet. The product is good and I for one would buy more if I could get a hold of more.

Anyway, back to the Gepards. Aside from the Soviet Green spray, I followed my now standard TY paint scheme and it worked well. I couldn't tell from the pictures what colour the radar dish should be so I left it Green. If anyone knows, please sound off in comments.

I hope you enjoyed this review.