Reloader:
Continuing what CWO said, I would argue against Table Tactics making infantry pieces. FMG has two different infantry units for each nation, and I think any more will be overkill.
I would focus more on actual vehicles/tanks/planes/extra unit classes…
I think I’m starting to come more and more reloader’s way on this one…
One key unanswered question is how comfortable you feel, TT, doing figures. If your reaction is “no problem” then perhaps doing a limited # of elite and/or special infantry units would be worthwhile (Keeping in mind the things I said before about distinguishing features, especially headgear which will make ID from a distance more clear…)
On the other hand, there are lots of HO’s out there that we could use for these things if we want, but not much in the way of plastic mini’s in the right scale for alternate vehicles, and, other than the size, I like what you’ve done so far for armored vehicles, and would love to see what you could do with ships…
One thing that I’m pretty sure we DON’T need any more of is “regular infantry!”
I do have some specific thoughts on your current choices (or omissions, rather) for individual armored vehicles:
Italy: You really should have included the P 40, the best Italian tank of the war; didn’t see much use, as it came a little late, but it was good enough that the Germans snapped up all they could get. It wasn’t a world-beater, true, but it was at least competitive with the Sherman/ Panzer IV class of mediums.
Japan: You overlooked the Type 3 Chi-Nu and Type 4 Chi-to. The latter didn’t get past the prototype stage, which might rule it out, but the former was produced in small #’s (but the Japanese didn’t produce any tanks in very large #’s, really) and was kept in reserve for the invasion of Japan that never came…
USSR: You overlooked the IS-2, which saw fairly wide use (over 3,000 produced in the last 2 years of the war), especially in the end game, as the Russians blasted their way through Axis cities… I don’t know which T-34 you chose, but the T-34/85 was a very successful upgrade that was produced in enormous #’s. If you really prefer early-war models, the KV-1 was the premier Russian heavy tank until 1942 or so. (Once the Germans started running out of Panzer I’s & II’s, which had trouble with the early KV’s, and started switching to Panzer IV’s and Panthers, the KV-1 was definitely starting to show its age…) For a medium/ heavy line-up, I’d say go with either an early-war or late-war line-up as follows:
Early War Late War
Medium T-34/76 T-34/85
Heavy KV-1 IS-2
But note: if you mix-&-match to combine a T-34/85 with a KV-1 you’ve got a bit of absurdity on your hands, cause you’ll have a heavy with a smaller gun than the medium! If you do the T-34/85, at least upgrade your KV to a KV-85!
UK: You really should have included the Comet. The Cromwell was a pretty good medium, but its gun just wasn’t quite up to snuff. The Comet wasn’t that much heavier, but the gun upgrade made a huge difference. The “ultimate” fix for a UK heavy, the Centurion, came too late to see any action…
