Promising and Problematic Plastic Quar

As I said last week, this arrived last Monday. 24 plastic Coftyrans,  24 plastic Crusaders, 2 siocast Coftyran officers, and 3 siocast Crusader Anti-tractor grenade launchers. 

My order was from an early batch of the siocast and not as flexible as they were supposed to be. But the warheads glued back on with superglue after some accelerator, patience, and appeals to the Ancestors. 

Eek!

Warheads fixed

Comparing with older metal

Later batches of the siocast figures will include the plastic bases, but I'm okay with using fender washers so these guys don't bounce around in the box.

Coftyran officers

Comparing siocast with metal. Height is fine. Chubbier, and bigger heads.

After experimentally assembling a few figures I decided to lay out all my sections to help me visualize what I needed to build.

Crusaders need a variety of types. Assistants to the Torpedo launchers, Ryshi gunners for the 4th section, a couple of NCOs.

This helped me realize that I mainly needed section leaders and LMGs for the Royalists. 

This also helped me realize that I've got a good start on Support Weapons for a second company for each side.

Trying a few conversions. Gave myself a nasty cut working on Mr Armless, so I decided that I should go watch Star Trek. 

Coftyran bombers, Cryfen LMG gunners, and Yawdryls with Doru SMGs.

Had the inspiration to use metal bits to accessorize the plastics. The Bombers are suitably burdened with extra grenades

Ryshi gunners get some extra magazine pouches 

I like the extra magazine pouches so much I should retrofit some to my metal Ryshi gunners

Any of the rifle firing or carrying poses were a real pain to get both arms glued on and the left hand gripping the weapon and things oriented in an appropriate direction before the glue set. Fortunately I learned a while ago to glue the head on last so you can have him sighting along the barrel, or at least close enough.

Made a Medic for the Coftyrans. Crusader small packs become medical bags

Another view of Coftyran Medic. He's looking rather pugilistic. 

I was trying to make a Coftyran gunner holding a heavy shell, but it was a complete, glue covered, bodge. A suitable right arm being lacking, unlike the Crusader sprue that has a right arm with enough room to convincingly put an artillery shell in there. I think it was originally holding a ryshi heavy automatic ryhfle.

I managed a shell carrying gunner for the Crusaders

Coftyran gunners, without packs. Or shells.

Crusader Yawdryl waving troops forward.

I was trying to make a Yawdryl gesturing. I was hoping to have him doing the "knife hand" gesture, but didn't like the result. So I repositioned the left hand and put a pouch under it as if he's reaching for a magazine.

A nice detail on the Coftyran sprue is a pack with baguettes sticking out. Don't worry, the Crusaders got one of the baguette packs too. 

Coftyran Yawdryls pointing and gesturing. Although lined up it looks like their rehearsing for Alwyndvision.

Of course I always see people doing amazing conversions of plastics on Social Media, but it seems my vision for chopping, swapping, and gluing is limited. Or I just don't have enough spare bits? Of course, swapping arms and torsos and weapons between different medieval kits to make a cool Middle Earth hero is perhaps more reasonable than hoping some WW2 arms might work for Quar. 

Zombiesmith are doing 3d print .stls for extra arms, bodies, heads, and equipment that couldn't fit on the sprues, so I'll compose myself and wait for them to go on sale. They will be available printed out or as .stls.

I have 10 plastic Crusaders, along with 2 metal mortar quar, and 9 Coftyrans left over, waiting.

For now I'll paint what I've assembled, which should get me enough figures for assaulting the Battery at Brequar Manor.

Leveling Up

Having achieved a significant milestone this week, I can now claim to be a source of sage advice and ancestral wisdom. 

It is essentially this:

Someone be a love and put the kettle on please?

Through the Mud and the Quar

I set up ALL THE TERRAIN last weekend intending to have a game, but between, prepping stats for the tractors, fatigue and being distracted by the plastics arriving, I didn't get to it until this weekend.

Used the "Quar of Command" notes and "Cocking Up the Mud and the Blood" to have the Coftyrans assault the Crusader trenches. The Coftyrans got twice the Support Points, opting for a all the tractors, a towed field gun and two barrage elements. "Cocking Up the Mud and the Blood" lets you build a preparatory artillery plan. You can apply artillery fire to try and cut the wire, counter battery fire (interdicts the SOS Barrage), and shell the supporting trenches to delay deployment. The defenders can pick an SOS Barrage with two pre-plotted targets.

Terrain set up covering a 6.5'x4.5' area

Royalists get some initial good command dice rolls with useful activation and a few double turns. A section finds a gap in the wire and pushes up to the first trench

Crusader deployment is frustrated by falling Royalist heavy artillery. They only get one section into each forward trench

Defenders take casualties and shock

Royalist right hand section advances under fire

Royalist left wing section advances

Center section pushes up to the trench but are shredded by close range Bogen fire and vollies of grenades. They break with 11 shock and 5 ryhflers, rallying with the help of a pig in some shell craters further back.

Draepkindl arrives a bit late to support the assault

MMG team lays down supporting fire, but keeps jamming. Any automatic weapons would jam if they rolled more 1s than 6s

Crusaders get their mortar set up

Some heavy support finally successfully deploys

By this time the Crusaders had a complete Chain of Command Dice, which they used to end the turn and thus end the barrage on their trenches. This effectively shut down the Royalist attack.

Royalist right in the woods taking fire from the H11 section opposite. Casualties and shock are piling up.

With the artillery lifted the Crusaders get their Heavy Shotgun teams deployed.

HSG on right shredding Royalists opposite

The mortar only has 3 FP, but it ignores cover and got a good hit on the center section trying to rally, killing two and breaking them a second time.

H11 section and an HSG effectively holding the left hand trench

Another HSG and the bomber section effectively holding the right hand trench

Right hand section with 7 shock and down to four ryhflers! The Coftyran commander used a couple of pigs to remove shock from the center and right sections.

Coftyran field gun loses the firefight against the Crusader HSG

Game over, quar! 2 ryhflers and 7 shock. Center section is broken by mortar fire

Crusader Force Morale was still at 11. Royalist FM was down to 5 and they only had 6 ryhflers left to attack with.

The Royalists should have concentrated their attack in one sector, using the tractors as bullet magnets to distract fire from the ryhflers. 

I still need to iron out the activation. 8-10 quar sections are a bit unwieldly. But with 5 quar sections it becomes fuzzy which is a team and which is a section. So I need to clarify that in my own mind. I've said I'll bring this to a friend's in June, so I should try and firm things up.

I could just use Xenos Rampant, but I like the detail of different weapons. Otherwise how is a bomber section throwing grenades (Armour Piercing- reduce cover by one), different from a Heavy Shotgun?

More thought required.

Oh Frabjous Day!

One year and eleven days (but who's counting?) since I first fan-squealed about the plastic Quar, I finally have some in my hot, grubby paws.

The blister packs are also being sold by Wargames Atlantic, and it's easy enough to qualify for their free shipping. I added a pair of Coftyran officers, because the Royalists are rather lacking in leadership, and a pack of 3 Splagen anti-tractor torpedoes. These seem to be a combination panzerfaust/RPG and rifle grenade launcher. So rather than try and figure out how to make a rifle grenadier out of a bogen or ryshi, my Crusaders will fill that niche with these and the mortar teams.

This has arrived just as the last of my metal figures are passing out of the Flocking Depot and being posted to their units.

A second Heavy Shotgun team for the Crusaders

A mortar team. Actually, I do have a second mortar team still to assemble, but in the accessory packs I got a 3rd mortar and two mortar packs, so I will do them with some plastic figures.

Two more LMG teams. Which gives me a start on the firepower for a second platoon, if I'm being honest. I suppose the 3rd mortar team does too.

Finished the Royalist HMG gunner. That monopod support takes a bit of patience to assemble, so it got left to the end. 

So these latest additions get my Quar collection to this:

Royalists. 2 1/2 infantry sections, HSG team, 2x HMG teams, officer, cook, 2x snipers, cavalry troop, 4x tractors, 2x towed guns

Crusaders: 2 1/2 infantry sections, 2x HSG teams, mortar, 4x LMG teams, 3x officers, sniper, messenger squirrel handler, stretcher team, sapper, cavalry troop, 5x tractors, kite

So, most of the way to a full company for each side. A Quar "company" equals a big human platoon of 50-ish. A Quar catrawd (regiment) of 10 companies is equivalent to a human battalion.

The observant among you will have noticed the new setting for the up close pictures of the new pieces. Last week I was too tired to do detailed painting, so I go my big make up brush out and finished some ruined buildings I made 3 years ago out of an HO Brewery.

Seeing various ruined buildings on Storm of Steel's and Mogsymakes tables got me thinking I needed some, even if the Rules of War as laid down by Ehn'k'du the Lawgiver, prohibit the attacking of cities. Presumably he didn't mean to include the suburbs or outlying built up areas?

Now with my improved Gorilla Glue method of making craters, I should make some more ruins.

I got all my terrain out on Sunday and am trying to plan a game. This is a 4 1/2 foot by 6 1/2 foot playing area nicely covered.

Of course now I have the plastics to work on.....