"Diving into 20mm SCW - advice requested" Topic

Hi folks – I've decided to get into SCW for my next project, but I'm not familiar with most of the product lines and rules usually associated with it. I'd like to start it at the platoon/skirmish level. I've looked into Chain of Command, and that seems to be the way I'm going, but I'm not set on it.

Looking for advice regarding 2 areas:

1) Rule set – Chain of Command? Something else?

2) Good lines of miniatures? Right now I'm looking at Minairons, but their boxes aren't set up for CoC from the looks of it, and it seems their variety is largely in their vehicles. Irregular has a very tempting Battlepack deal listed, and seems to be arranged closer to the CoC set up, but I haven't been able to find many pictures other than what's on their site. Anyone have figs from these lines? It seems Historical Products Company is in limbo at the moment, due to the death of their owner, so that option appears to be out.

Any other advice on getting into SCW would be very appreciated as well. The only thing I'm 100% on is the 20mm scale.

f you are in the UK, I am pretty sure that Rolf Hedges has the entire range at his Liberation Miniatures website.

No, I'm in the US. Unfortunately they can't export the Bandera line to the US, and HPC was the US distributor. Bandera seems to be out. Thanks though.

Hang on…HPC has a new owner though it will be a while til it's back up and running.

I have a 20mm SCW collection I'd like to sell if you're interested…

Shoot me an email Extra Crispy – primalucem@gmail.com

I'd definitely take a look at the very least.

As Extra Crispy says:
TMP link

Perhaps making contact with the new owner (Bryan Stroup) to get an idea on his timeline, or maybe see if he has a few packs for sale so you can get an idea?

Recently did the same thing, went with minarions packs as they are easy for me to get and Irregular poses made me shudder (though I probably will get a select few). Initially the rules were Force on Force, soon bolt action and then maybe red actions – the rules will change as the forces grow.

Thanks folks!

All my SCW stuff is in 28mm.

But, if I was to restart in 20mm I would go all out with the lovely Miniairons stuff. If you needed to buy extra boxes to make the formations you wanted, then I'm sure the additional figures could have a use found for them or traded/sold.

Hi Scrivs,

Thanks for commenting – your blog is one of the inspirations to move to SCW for my next game. Always been fascinated by the conflict, but you've done some great stuff. Seeing your Empress figures made me want to go 28mm, but between the expense and the fact that I wouldn't be able to use any of my terrain (mostly made for 18mm), pushed me into 20mm.

I'm going the Minairons way for my main force, supplementing with a few things from other companies that Minairons doesn't make yet.

Curiously, is there any particular type of support unit that is "must have" for SCW using Chain of Command?

Thanks for your comments I really appreciate feedback on the articles.

As for 'must haves' that is interesting, most of my stuff is in the collection because I wanted to paint it rather than for any gaming excellence purposes. However, my regular opponent James does accuse me of using my PzI rather too often. To wind him up I have now painted three of them :)

I do have a quite a collection of supports and you cannot go far wrong with a few armoured cars and armoured trucks.

One thing I found when playing the militia is that although your Force Rating is very low and you will be getting lots of points to spend on Force Support, the tip is not to add too many extra units, with just four Command Dice you will not be able to spare the points to activate them all that often. So I try to add things like Army Officer Advisor, El Hombre, Light Machine-guns and extra troops added into the sections are a better way to spend the points. However, never overlook the power of a section of Asaltos to bolster your line.

Hope that helps

Paul

Do not discount plastics, so some of these might do you:

link

Though to be honest, only La legion
link

Republican Army
link

And Security forces
link

Look any real good. Yes, not brilliant, but will fill a gap until something better comes along.

Pillaging and repainting other eras can give dividends. The WW1 Italians from Waterloo 1815 could mostly fit in and possibly not just as early CVT
link

HaT would give you artillery.

Also under the WW2 ranges, Ceaser's Partizans and Restitance sets are well worth plundering for militia types

Excellent, that's good advice. I haven't had a game of CoC yet, so it's hard to tell exactly what I'm going to need/want once I actually get everything painted and on the table.

I hadn't considered the Asaltos to start with, but it is a thought. I was going to start with the Minairons boxes for both sides, which will give me regular army on both sides, with some LMGs, Mortars, and officers/flag bearers. Throw in a bilbao, Pz 1, and a T-26 and I should have a good mid-war game. …Right? Militia will come afterwards I think.

How do you find that CoC Espana plays, as a game, compared to regular CoC?

I just received a free sample of an Empress figure… oh man, it's just gorgeous, but my wife would have my head.

Thanks Hurrahbro. Those certainly seem a bit cheaper than Minairons, but I can't seem to find anyone who stocks them, even in Europe.

If you work on painting ~40 figures per side you cannot go far wrong. Have you downloaded the Espana supplement yet? If not get it from here and have a look at the forces that you plan to do.

toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p=2970

I really like Chain of Command Espana, Jim and Rolf have done a great job of capturing the period and the difference in force organisations (typically, two sections of three teams) makes it very different to play than the WWII variants.

The Empress stuff is lovely, but very pricey. I shudder at how much I spent on it over the past 18 months, I did not have a single SCW figure in January last year, probably well over 200 done now, plus guns and vehicles.

Ok, I'm committed. Bought me a bunch of Minairons stuff from Scalecreep (they have 10% off and free shipping until tomorrow on Minairons), and a copy of Chain of Command.

Thanks for all the help and advice folks. I'm really looking forward to painting and getting my first game.

Best of luck with it. If you have a blog I'll look out for some photos