Re: Field Marshal Games Pieces Project Discussion thread

[Johnson73]

question is:  What are going to do with all those Italians?

[Viracocha]

@Johnson73:

question is:  What are going to do with all those Italians?

Well… no need for single chips  8-)

[knp7765]

@Viracocha:

@Johnson73:

question is:  What are going to do with all those Italians?

Well… no need for single chips  8-)

That’s exactly right!  I like these little units so much, it’s what first attracted me to A&A in the first place.  So I really prefer not to use chips unless absolutely necessary.  For example, in the setup for ALpha+3, there is 11 infantry on Germany and 6 infantry on S Italy.  Those places are just too small so I go ahead and use the chips.  Same for infantry and tanks in Holland/Belgium and the 6 infantry in France.  Also, if there is a massive amount of units somewhere, like when Russia is placing huge stacks of men to defend Moscow, I will chip up there too rather than have 20-30 infantry pieces on the board there.  Most other places though, I just use the actual units.

[FieldMarshalGames]

WOW!  That is a HUGE Army!

Glad you like them!

Thanks for the support of this project.

Jeremy

[CWO Marc]

@knp7765:

That’s exactly right!  I like these little units so much, it’s what first attracted me to A&A in the first place.  So I really prefer not to use chips unless absolutely necessary.  For example, in the setup for ALpha+3, there is 11 infantry on Germany and 6 infantry on S Italy.  Those places are just too small so I go ahead and use the chips.  Same for infantry and tanks in Holland/Belgium and the 6 infantry in France.  Also, if there is a massive amount of units somewhere, like when Russia is placing huge stacks of men to defend Moscow, I will chip up there too rather than have 20-30 infantry pieces on the board there.  Most other places though, I just use the actual units.

One way to get the satisfaction of deploying huge armies (or fleets) of sculpts without getting into crowding problems on the map is to put the sculpts on a separate table and to represent them on the board with small coded unit markers.

I’ve experimented over the years with different ways of doing this.  In my current method, I use small coloured wood or plastic blocks (one per army or fleet), next to each one of which I place a single mini poker chip with an identification code on it.  One block-and-chip pair goes next to each army or fleet of sculpts on the side table, and a second pair goes on the map to show where that unit is located.

For the units of major countries, I use colour-coded square wooden blocks.  A good source for these is the line of “Commands & Colors: Ancients” games (including the various expansion sets).  For minor countries, I use 1-centimeter colour-coded plastic cubes which are sold in jars of 1,000 by school supply companies (example: http://www.classroomproductswarehouse.com/catalog/product?deptId=&prodId=CN319). For mini poker chips, I use the ones which come with A&A.  I either write identification letters on them with a marker, or I stick coloured Avery dots on them.

For those interested in “fog of war” variants of the A&A rules, note that these block-and-chip pairs can be used to partially conceal information from the other player.  If the identification chips placed on the map are put face-down, the other players will be able to see (from the side table) what your various armies and fleets are composed of but won’t be able to tell which one corresponds to which block-and-chip pair on the board.

[Fishmoto37]

@Johnson73:

question is:  What are going to do with all those Italians?

He will surrender them all to the allies. Then the allies will have to use so many men to guard them nobody will be left to fight the germans. Its called team work.

[WARRIOR888]

Gents, you want to avoid crowding an AA map with minatures?  Buy Ben Steins Biggest, Baddest, AA on steroids map for the War Game.  Mine is a wopping 6ft by 3ft in dims.  Only crowding is some smaller countries.

WARRIOR888

[Tall Paul]

Warrior,

Again I think you right.  IMHO, I couldn’t agree more on the value of enlarged maps if you can afford them in space and cost terms.  My map is 48" x 108",… or 4 ft. x 9 ft. and it really helps the congestion problems!

Although it looks as if KNP might want to take over the world with his Italians.  “Mama Mia” Or at least cook everyone a Pizza or something.

I applaud his large purchase as it certainly aids FMG in “paying-off” their large investment in this set and will make future set releases possible.

“Tall Paul”

[WARRIOR888]

KNP,  I figured out a scenario for you to use your massive new FMG Italian Army,  Use half as Axis/Fascist Forces and the others as Italians allied with the UK and USA.  This will keep the Germans from taking over Italy.

WARRIOR888

[knp7765]

@Fishmoto37:

@Johnson73:

question is:  What are going to do with all those Italians?

He will surrender them all to the allies. Then the allies will have to use so many men to guard them nobody will be left to fight the germans. Its called team work.

HA HA HA HA!  Very good.  Better yet, the Italians can give all their Carro Armatos to the Allies then have them go up against Germany’s Tigers and King Tigers.

[Fishmoto37]

@knp7765:

@Fishmoto37:

@Johnson73:

question is:  What are going to do with all those Italians?

He will surrender them all to the allies. Then the allies will have to use so many men to guard them nobody will be left to fight the germans. Its called team work.

HA HA HA HA!  Very good.  Better yet, the Italians can give all their Carro Armatos to the Allies then have them go up against Germany’s Tigers and King Tigers.

Sorry no King Tigers were ever in N. Afica.

[knp7765]

I put together the Alpha+3 setup using first the old OOB Italian pieces then next using the new FMG Italian pieces.  Quite a difference.  I like FMG’s color better.
You probably can’t tell because of the lighting, but for Germany’s tanks, I subbed out the OOB Panthers and put in HBG’s Panzer IIIs.  That seems suitable to me because I don’t think they had Panther tanks until 1942 but they did have Panzer IIIs in 1940.

[KOOLHOVEN]

Got mine Tuesday!HBG says it best-for use with any miniature wargame! I’ll be using a couple of my Littorios for my 1/3000 scale Armada  as a proxie battlecruiser.The DDs/MM will fit in with 1/2400 scale,the SM79/BR20 looks like they may fit in with the old
1/432 Heritage/Pewtercraft Airpower range.These things are a gold mine!Don’t get me started on the armor.

[Guest]

@FieldMarshalGames:

@boboshonda:

Hmmmm…I didn’t get a tracking number in my email.  I hope that doesn’t mean anything bad.

I notice that spam filters etc sometimes catch UPS e-mails.  You can always PM me or e-mail to verify if you are worried.

Yes I got one UPS mail :-D

[Viracocha]

Looks like a pretty cool setup there KNP, I like that you’re using less chips… you plan on using a bigger map eventually?  Or does it seem to be working out ok with the OOB?

[knp7765]

So far the OOB map is doing just fine for me.  I really do prefer to use actual units instead of chips.  That’s why I bought 5 sets of FMG’s Italians.  There are a few spaces like Holland/Belgium and Greater Southern Germany where I just have to chip up because those areas are just too small.  Also, the 6 Inf in S Italy and the 11 Inf in Germany have to be chipped up.  Most places I can do withouth the chips though.
Eventually, I might get the big 1939 map from HBG.  I think I have enough table space now to accomodate it and I would like a bigger map.  I think you can still play 1940 on that map.  I’m not sure how I would go about enlarging the OOB map, but that would be really nice if I could.

[GoSanchez6]

I know FMG has been busy with the shipment of Italians but I was curious on the development of the future countries. I know Germany is pretty much done. We saw some sculpts for the US and then it kind of slowed down. Any new info on the others would be greatly appreciated. I got my Italians and love them just hoping for news on the others. Thanks Dave

[DFWSupertrooper]

I got my Italians yesterday and I have to say - gorgeous!  Haven’t done a complete count yet but the only thing I look “short” on is only 4 cruisers, but I can pick up a couple from HBG so no worries!  The quality is spectacular and the color is perfect.  Bye-bye OOB pieces!  GREAT work, Jeremy & the FMG gang! :-D

Can’t wait to hand paint these suckers.

The ONLY thing I notice is that the infantry pieces are much leaner and more detailed than any others, making them slightly thinner than HBG & OOB pieces - not a quality issue by any stretch, just a difference in sculpts that I wish didn’t exist but not FMG’s fault - these are absolutely beautiful!

[Stefano1189]

@FieldMarshalGames:

WOW!  That is a HUGE Army!

Glad you like them!

Thanks for the support of this project.

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy, i ordered an italian army + dice but i lost my account on your web site with the moving on the new one. How can i see the status of shipping?  I’m in Italy so i expect it for late December, begin of January.

[KOOLHOVEN]

Nice repair job on the Littorio on another thread here.The super imposed gun not too well done,don’t know how I missed that.Still a great set of minis.