ACWBill | 31 Jan 2014 7:54 a.m. PST |
Here are some "before the storm" shots of my Betio-like game for Saturday's SMG club game. I shall use Command Decision Test of Battle and my micros and GHQ Terrain Maker tiles. I could not duplicate the Island of Betio exactly, but it comes across in its basic shape. It ain't perfect, but its close. I will try to post and AAR Sunday.
Some of my Dauntless Dive Bombers
Wading Marines I made for this scenario. CD ToB calls for this in beach scenarios and I wanted mine to actually look the part.
The Airstrip
More of the beach.
The entire board which is approx. 5 X 10 Ft.
Water Line LVTs and some of the landed variety which I made to look as if they were traversing the Sea Wall.
LVTs, some Gray and some Olive Drab as per my sources.
Some of the Japanese infantry and guns. One stand has a flag bearer. I built three of these for any Banzai Charges. The Banzai charge is almost inevitable with my crowd of gamers! Enjoy, B _________________ |
Rich Bliss | 31 Jan 2014 8:08 a.m. PST |
Beautiful! . Let us know how it pays off. |
ArchitectsofWar | 31 Jan 2014 8:23 a.m. PST |
My favorite WW2 battle. Looks great. |
Just Jack | 31 Jan 2014 8:25 a.m. PST |
Awesome Bill!!! If it's WWII USMC, I love it, and this a damned fine looking game! Hurry up with that batrep, I can't wait to see it! Sounds like you had multiple players on each side? I've thought about trying this, each US player has one of the RCTs. I spent some time with both 2nd Marines (C/1/2) and 6th Marines (A/1/6) in the mid-90's. What echelon is a stand (platoon, company)? You really went all out, with the grunts wading and the amtracks in water. I do have to ask, where's the seawall, and where's the pier? Please understand I'm not trying to nitpick, just giving you a little good-natured needling as someone that gets way too excited about USMC fights. Tarawa was just such an iconic fight, and I bring them up because the seawall and the pier (and the grounded freighter, for that matter) were such key geographical locations/attributes of the fight. Also, in the last pic, is the 'hump' the Japanese command post? If I remember correctly, the Japanese CP was the hightest elevation on the island, at a whopping 12 feet! The CP:
The seawall:
Not a great photo. but I believe this shows the pier (there were also a lot of latrines that were essentially outhouses on stilts over the water):
This has got my fever up to try to do something similar, though there's no way mine would look anything near this good! Take care, and I look forward to the batrep. V/R, Jack |
ACWBill | 31 Jan 2014 8:32 a.m. PST |
Hi Jack, I have the pier but it isn't in any of the pics. The sea wall I did not duplicate. My shore hexes don't have them and I am doing this as a one-off. Hence, Betio-ish instead of Betio. CD ToB is a stand = a platoon. Thanks for the pics and the nice comments. |
Just Jack | 31 Jan 2014 8:37 a.m. PST |
Gotcha Bill. Like I said, please don't take my comments as criticism or 'rivet counting,' you did a great job on that table, more than I could ever manage. And I certainly understand the '-ish' aspect, as that's how all my fights are too! The closest resemblance to the real Tarawa I could ever do is 1) having coconut trees, 2) having USMC, and 3) having Japanese. Really great stuff. V/R, Jack |
ACWBill | 31 Jan 2014 8:44 a.m. PST |
Not taken in any negative way. It was my original intent to do Sea Wall beach hexes, then I started thinking about future usage of those hexes, and I could not come up with too many. So I did not do that. B |
GROSSMAN | 31 Jan 2014 9:39 a.m. PST |
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Dynaman8789 | 31 Jan 2014 10:49 a.m. PST |
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SgtGuinness | 31 Jan 2014 11:35 a.m. PST |
Wow, Looks Amazing!!!! We few, we lucky few, who will be playing this game tomorrow! Cheers, JB |
tankette | 31 Jan 2014 1:35 p.m. PST |
SgtGuiness (PVT Termite) – I will be playing the role of a 1/285th scale bloated corpse stinking up the place. Look for me to the seaward side
near the pier
MTB |
V J Stella | 31 Jan 2014 4:59 p.m. PST |
As beautiful as the terrain board looks, I really want to see the 1/285th scale bloated corpse of MTB
.ummm I mean tankette stinking up the place. Heck, just a live figure of him stinks up the place. Seriously Bill, nice job
..looks like it'll be a fun game. VJS |
ACWBill | 31 Jan 2014 6:21 p.m. PST |
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The G Dog | 31 Jan 2014 6:51 p.m. PST |
Simply gorgeous! Great work with the Terrain Maker and very nicely done miniatures. It's been years since I've tackled a beach landing in Command Decision. Looks like you've got a winner. Do post the AAR. |
Legion 4 | 01 Feb 2014 3:42 p.m. PST |
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