I've been meaning to post this for a while, but I got really sick after the holidays and then really busy. Apologies for the delay.
My eldest son, Beck and I have been gaming together since I took him to his first Little Wars in Lincolnshire, IL at age 8. He's been hooked ever since and he and I have gamed together at many Little Wars, Gen Cons, NavCons, Total Cons, Havocs and at least one Huzzah since.
This past Fall he went off to college, leaving me without a convention gaming partner since (though we plan to rectify that at the upcoming Little Wars). In October I told him I'd love to play a game with him over the holidays when he would be home to visit. He knows what I have and don't have, so I was surprised that he picked Bolt Action.
I owned no Bolt Action whatsoever at that point other than the main rule book. He and I had gotten to play it at Little Wars last year and he really enjoyed it (apparently far more than I realized).
However, undaunted, I decided to craft two armies from scratch in the ensuing two months. I knew he likes British forces, and I'll play anything, so I accumulated a bunch of forces and got to painting. I did hire someone to help out with the assembly and basic colors for all the main infantry and vehicles, and I proceeded to put the finishing touches, weathering, washes, and highlights on everything to my taste as well as managing to paint some of the units fully myself.
I also designed, 3D printed, painted and flocked up some pin dials to add to the game. link
It was a breathtaking pace for me. I've never put together a set of forces so quickly before. I even managed to sneak in an American force, though we have yet to play with it. However, it left me pretty wiped out. I got Bronchitis just before the holidays and was sick for most of January.
Well worth it to be able to play some toy soldiers with my boy.
Game 1-
On game day, I set up a table with some Miniature Building Authority buildings and other assorted bits of terrain I also acquired. It was closely fought, with my son surprising me by taking the Germans. I took the British and managed to hold my own. After things looking promising for me early on, it ended up being a squeaker with the Germans digging in and taking 2 of 3 objectives for the win.
Game 2-
For game 2, I let Beck layout the table. He took my old Warhammer Battlefield Layout and a bunch of my older trees and went for a more forested ridge look. We switched sides and as the Germans I managed to knock his tanks out almost immediately, but realized how tough veteran British forces truly are- especially against inept vehicle MG dial rolls on my part. My son won that round as well.
Please check out the following images of the forces, the layout, and the action:
link
(Apologies in advance for some of the blurry pics- I took everything with my iphone under not the greatest lighting conditions).
Since the holidays I've slowly been completing all three armies. I've added air support for the Brits and Americans (with German air support coming soon). I've also managed to add a Bren Gun carrier, and finish out the American force to be as complete as the German and British forces, while also adding assorted support for everyone including comms teams, medics, engineers and snipers.
Soon I'll have to add Soviets, as my youngest son, Roland, loves him some Rooskies…
looks at some new terrain products, which use space age technology!
