First Foray into the Flames of War

Although I have bought some Flames of War stuff months ago, only recently have I actually been able to play it!  And even then it was the smallest of skirmishes, as I only had a short time in which to play, little time to refresh myself on the rules, and only the barest of armies ready for the tabletop. 

Open Fire! Sturmgeschütz III

Here is my first German vehicle from the Flames of War Open Fire! boxed set, a Sturmgeschütz III.

Sherman Armoured Platoon

Following up from my recent post of a Sherman from the new Flames of War Boxed Set Open Fire!, I've finished my first armoured platoon consisting of three Shermans and one Sherman Firefly.  As with the first Sherman, I painted them up as Canadian tanks, forming a platoon in C Squadron, 10th Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse), which was part of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade.

Open Fire! Sherman

Since I recently picked up the new Flames of War starter box set, Open Fire!, I've slowly been assembling the models.  The first model I completed and painted was one of the Sherman tanks.

First, I will complain a little bit about the model itself.  While I have been impressed with most of the products produced by Battlefront, specifically the quality of their books (except for the bindings of the paperback books--read through them once and pages fall out), the models kits range, while extensive, still leave a lot to be desired in terms of quality.

Open Fire! Unboxing

I received my copy of the new Flames of War starter boxed set, Open Fire!, today in the mail.  It seems that Battlefront has taken a page from the Games Workshop's playbook, in that a starter set with two viable forces is a great way to get people into the game.  Along with that, it seems that Open Fire! can stand on its own as a game as well, so it can attract both the beginner and the veteran gamer.

Gotta Do My Research...

Getting into a game like Flames of War is not for the faint hearted.  Not if you're as crazy as I am, that is...

Flames of War. I finally caved...

So I finally caved.  With 3rd Edition of Flames of War coming out, I decided it was time to join the fray.  I picked up the Flames of War 3rd Edition mini-rulebook and have started to dig in, and so far I like what I see.  It will probably be a while before I actually get to play a game, but when I do, look for the battle report here! 

My adversary will undoubtedly be Badelaire, my usual opponent.  After some discussion of what theater and time period that interests us, we've settled on the North Africa campaign.  The mystique of Rommel the Desert Fox has always appealed to me, so I will be building a Afrikakorps force modeled after the 21st Panzer Division.  Badelaire will be taking command of the Brits, for as he said "their tanks were always outgunned by the Germans, so whenever you managed to kill a Panzer, you know you earned it."

I think we're in for some interesting games in our future!

Flames of War...is on FIRE!

Flames of War is taking over the gaming scene!  I predict that in five years, everyone will be playing Flames of War, and if in a gaming crowd you mention Games Workshop, you'll be met with a bunch of blank stares.