Re: Field Marshal Games Pieces Project Discussion thread

@moralecheck:

The 88 was indeed versatile and was purpose built in both the AA and AT roles.  It was usable as artillery, and shells were made specifically for that use.  Nonetheless, it was primarily assigned to AA/AT units and the Germans did not classify any model as artillery.  My objection was not based on shell size.  In fact, I think for the british that the 25 pounder (88mm) would be their ideal artillery piece.  There are lots of pics of Russian infantry riding on T-34’s, that doesn’t mean it should be the mech inf piece.  :-D

Ja, the Germans loved the 88mm so much that they stuck it in their tiger tanks!

@moralecheck:

There are lots of pics of Russian infantry riding on T-34’s

The Russians even had a specific term for troops who rode into battle on tanks, then dismounted to go into action: “tank descent infantry”.  Some Russian tanks had handrails welded to their hulls to help soldiers use this tactic.

[Edit: I’ve just had a mental picture of A&A players using the “magnetic aircraft carrier” technique to modify T-34 sculpts to carry a Russian troop piece.  I bet there could even be a house rule developed for this type of unit.]

@moralecheck:

There are lots of pics of Russian infantry riding on T-34’s, that doesn’t mean it should be the mech inf piece.  :-D

“Ha, ha” very funny.  “Ho, ho” it is to laugh.  Actually, I was thinking the KV-1 could be used as the Russian mech infantry piece.
Okay, that’s just silly.

I just noticed something.  The FMG 88mm is aiming more horizontally, like it was shooting at a tank.  The OOB 88mm’s barrel is aimed toward the sky.  So, FMG’s artillery could be anti-tank and OOB’s artillery could be anti-aircraft.
Of course, that still leaves the gap of a German field artillery piece, and none of the other countries yet have dedicated AA or AT guns (although I think Italy’s is more of an AT gun) but I can’t solve everything.

Still think the “Long Tom” would be a good choice for USA artillery.  Anybody with me on this?

Yes, I’m with you on the Long Tom!  The bottom line is they can’t please us all, I suppose.  I really don’t like the Italians having a turreted armored car for their mech inf, when there was a perfectly decent armored personnel carrier to use.  Plus, the armored car piece is similar in size and shape to the Italian tank which will likely cause some confusion in a few games.  But hey, it’s done (well, done in theory….still waiting).

@CWO:

@moralecheck:

There are lots of pics of Russian infantry riding on T-34’s

The Russians even had a specific term for troops who rode into battle on tanks, then dismounted to go into action: “tank descent infantry”.  Some Russian tanks had handrails welded to their hulls to help soldiers use this tactic.

[Edit: I’ve just had a mental picture of A&A players using the “magnetic aircraft carrier” technique to modify T-34 sculpts to carry a Russian troop piece.  I bet there could even be a house rule developed for this type of unit.]

i belive what you refering to were the “tank raider battilions”, 500 strong units armed solely with PPSh sub-machine guns and carriny as many spare magazines as they could. went into battle on a tank and jumped of when the hit enamey. they would jump on the nxt tank avail. after.

@FieldMarshalGames:

@knp7765:

I’m with you boboshonda.  As much as I want my new Italian combat units, I am also very anxious to get my France and ANZAC combat dice.  Right now I use black dice with white pips for France and black dice with red pips for ANZAC.  I am SO looking forward to them having their own dice.

The dice will arrive and ship with the ITALIANS.  There will also be a few other surprise releases during the launch.

I see a Shogun game… is it true? When it will be released?

A new Shogun game?  Hmmm, interesting.  I wonder how much it will differ from Milton Bradley’s Shogun.

@knp7765:

A new Shogun game?  Hmmm, interesting.  I wonder how much it will differ from Milton Bradley’s Shogun.

Except for the name it looks identical.  I wouldn’t be surprised as I think this is the 3rd or 4th itteration of that game now (Shogun, Samurai Swords, ???, Ikusa <- newest version).

From the games website …

Ikusa

It is the sixteenth century in feudal Japan, where war rages across the land. Amid the chaos and conflict, you have risen to power as one of five warlords mighty enough to conquer and control the whole empire. Your victory depends on how expertly you extend your domain while defending it from your enemies.

Send your daimyo leaders, samurai, and ashigaru warriors into battle to seize new provinces and lay siege to castles. Spend your hard-won treasury on building fortifications and bolstering your forces with ronin and ninja.

Prove the strength of your strategy, defeat your rivals, and earn the exalted title of Shogun.

Set details:

The classic rules of this game have not been changed – still a challenge for any strategy board gamer.
The box and game board design have been radically improved. The game board has a new “period feel.”
All of the classic sculptures used for the figures are back with new colors.

Release Date: July 26th, 2011

I know this is off topic but the original Shogun is a great game. If you are on the fence for Ikusa it has my vote. It looks identical to the original.

Anyone has received the italian units?

Nope. Were they supposed to have been shipped to customers recently? If so, I must have missed that news.

On another thread, Jeremy gave a date of 9/20/2011, but didn’t actually say that was the release date.
On FMG’s website, it says a “September Release” for the Italian units.
So, I guess we all have a little longer to wait.

I don’t know if any one else noticed, but the German sculpts we’ve seen so far look very much like some of the German units in Tide of Iron. Especially the Tiger, mech infantry and truck. Also the Flak 88 looks almost identical, but that one was up for remodeling I think.

Now, one might say that a Tiger looks like a Tiger and so on, but that’s not quite true. Different games have different sculpts and they all differ a little bit from each other. A Tiger from M44 doesn’t look exactly like a Tiger from A&A Miniatures, for example. The Tiger and mech infantry from M44 are different from FMG:s sculpts, but the ones from ToI and FMG are almost the same, apart from the size. Coincidence?

conspiracy theories

I think we covered this topic already?

MANY examples were given to sculptor as inspiration.  EACH UNIT was done from scratch based on these many examples.  Of course a Tiger Tank will look similar to other Tiger Tank models!?!?

@Razor:

conspiracy theories

No - seriously.  Look at the weapons the Germans are holding - some of those rifles are the same rifles as the infantry from OOB!  (I always thought that they were mass-produced, but we now know that each country had an army of gunsmiths so…)

:wink:

@FieldMarshalGames:

I think we covered this topic already?

MANY examples were given to sculptor as inspiration.  EACH UNIT was done from scratch based on these many examples.  Of course a Tiger Tank will look similar to other Tiger Tank models!?!?

The thing is, they look similar to one very specific set of other units, namely Tide of Iron. It’s not just the Tiger, it’s the truck, mech inf and 88 as well. Just something I noticed. Maybe it’s the same sculptor?

They look good, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.

@Lozmoid:

Nope. Were they supposed to have been shipped to customers recently? If so, I must have missed that news.

They seems available on FMG site… can’t wait…

Enough with the conspiracy theories.  Personally I don’t give a rat’s asss if they look similar to some other pieces.  As long as they look good, that’s all that matters to me.

@Raeder:

The thing is, they look similar to one very specific set of other units, namely Tide of Iron. It’s not just the Tiger, it’s the truck, mech inf and 88 as well. Just something I noticed. Maybe it’s the same sculptor?

I really don’t understand the complaint.  So Tiger tanks in Tide Of Iron don’t look like Tiger tanks in any other WW2 game?  An SdKfz 251 in Tide Of Iron doesn’t look like an SdKfz 251 in any other WW2 game?  An Opel “Blitz” truck in Tide of Iron doesn’t look like an Opel “Blitz” truck in any other WW2 game?
But wait, now apparently FMG has “copied” those models.  OH MY GOD!  How can we deal with these copies?  Of course, FMG’s pieces will be much smaller to fit in with A&A size pieces, but they will still look so much alike.
This is a really weird thing to complain about.  I can’t help but wonder just what you were expecting FMG to come up with.